Istead Rise is an estate in the borough of
Gravesham
Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. Its administrative centre and largest town is Gravesend, which was known as ''Gravesham'' in ancient times.
Gravesham was formed on 1 April 1974 by ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England, south of
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
. It had a population of 3,437 at the 2011 Census.
[
The name of the estate is not an ancient one; it first appears as a road-name on the Ordnance Survey 25" map of 1907. At that time Istead Rise was the only road in the region and led to Frog's Island at its western end. The name may be connected to a field-name, Highstead, appearing as plot 690 on the Northfleet tithe award of 1838.
By road, it is east of ]London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on the A2 road. The nearest railway station is away at Meopham
Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it has a population of 6,427 increasi ...
(34 minutes from London Victoria
Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...
). Istead Rise is from Ebbsfleet International
Ebbsfleet International railway station is in Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, east of London, England, near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. The station, part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration pr ...
for Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
services to Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
. Southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
commuter trains run on the high-speed track to London St Pancras
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...
(16 minutes away), stopping only at Stratford International. When devising the route of the high speed railway in the early 2000s the line was planned to pass right through and destroy the estate. It transpired that very old maps had been used which did not feature Istead Rise; the railway was duly redrawn one mile to the north but not without vigorous protests from the residents.
The new Linear Park, on the site of the old A2, is 15 minutes' walk away, 5 minutes by bike, and is suited to cycling, walking and jogging. At the Eastern end is Shorne Country Park. The new Cyclopark opened there in September 2012.
Istead Rise Primary School provides education for children till the age of 11. In addition, on the site of the primary school, there are two nursery schools.
St Barnabas Church (Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
), founded in 1957, is located near the shops.
There is a small parade of shops with an Indian restaurant, fish and chip shop, butcher, pharmacy, Co-op and dry cleaner. On Lewis Road there are an hairdresser, florist and dentist. There is a GP surgery on Worcester Close.
Istead Rise was a pig-farming community in the 1860s, situated in the North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...
pathway. A pig farm was on what is now the site of Istead Rise Primary School. Kent County Council bought the site for its school in the 1960s. Until then Istead Rise did not have a school as there were insufficient children in the area to make this viable. As well as a pig farm on Downs Road, there were orchards on what are now the Community Centre fields and the surrounding housing area. There was also a flower farm with large greenhouses around what is now Flower Hill House and Flowerhill Way. Frog Island is on the site of what is now Istead Rise Parade. Frog Island is also the name of the local Morris Men group. References to these can be found in the local history of Istead Rise ''The Rise of the Rise'', by Ken Jones.
Istead Rise community centre was destroyed by a fire started during a burglary on 20 March 2007. The centre was re-built and opened again on 17 December 2008.Centre restoration begins a year after fire
, News Shopper
References
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Villages in Kent