History Articles

A249 Sheppey Crossing Bridge - Kingsferry Bridge Kent

The new A249 Sheppey Crossing opened in 2006 to replace the old Kingsferry Bridge between Sheerness and the mainland near Sittingbourne. The previous Kingsferry Bridge was officially opened in 1960 and had single carriageway each direction but could be lifted to allow river traffic by. The Sheppey Crossing is part of the A249 Dual Carriageway between Sheerness and Maidstone. These photos of the Sheppey Crossing were taken in 2007.

Sheppey Crossing A249 Bridge to SHeerness Kent

The Sheppey Crossing seems to be prone to fog which has caused a number of accidents in the short history of the bridge since 2006. One of the most serious was in September 2013 when over 130 vehicles were involved in a mass pile up along the length of the bridge and left the road closed for many hours. The history of the Sheppey Crossing and Kingsferry Bridge is here

Rainham Church Bells 1913

Rainham Church Bells 1911

The bells of St Margarets Church Rainham. The tower had 6 bells until 1913, the oldest dating from 1582, two more added in 1601.

In 1913 the two smallest ones were cast and all eight were rehung in an iron frame.

The photo shows Rev Tamplin & Mrs Tamplin, Sister Annie, Miss Baker and George Green the verger.

Moor Street A2 Rainham Kent

The main A2 between London, Canterbury and Dover runs through Rainham. Interestingly the road has a number of different names as it passes through from Gillingham to Rainham and then on to Sittingbourne.

One of the names for the A2 as it approaches Rainham from the Sittingbourne direction is Moor Street. Was this because at some point Moors lived here? Other names for the A2 as it runs through Rainham are:

Watling Street

Sovereign Boulevard

High Street

Broad Walk

Moor Street (see photo below)

Top Road

Do you know any others? If so please post any comments below:

Moor Street A2 Rainham Kent (High Street/Broad Walk/Watling Street)

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Old Petrol Filling Stations in Rainham

There has been a lot of change with petrol stations in Rainham over the last few years with many closing and others changing hands between different brands. When I was growing up there were three more petrol stations in Rainham that no longer exist.

Parkwood Green - where St Pauls church is now located was a petrol filling station until the early 1980s when the site was abandoned and remained derelict until the church was built.

Rainham Mark (Texaco, previously Shell garage and now Enterprise Car Rental)

Photo below taken in 2002 - was unleaded really only 76.9p per litre then!

Texaco Petrol station London Road A2 Rainham

Station Road, Rainham (now closed and car dealership)

Petrol station Station Road, Rainham

Greens of Rainham on A2 between Rainham and Newington - Vauxhall car dealer now Hyundai

Texaco Petrol station London Road A2 Rainham

Maidstone Road, Rainham opposite Manor Farm pub (closed, now Hidsons/Olympic motors Car dealership)

Other sites have changed hands over the last few years:

Wigmore, Maidstone Road, was Total Petrol station, now operated by Shell.

Wigmore, Hoath Way next to Sherlodge garage was Shell, then operated by Harvest Energy. Now closed and being used for housing

Shell Petrol station Hoath Way/Lane Wigmore Rainham

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Subcategories

Action Forum Article Count: 231

Action Forum is a free monthly magazine that is distributed to the Rainham area covering Wigmore, Parkwood and Hempstead as well. This archive covers old copies of the magazine dating back to its initial publication in 1969 and give a fascinating glimpse into life in Rainham over the last 50 years.

Link to Article Index - Action Forum Index - Photos and Articles from 1969 onwards

Historical tales Article Count: 3

Historical tales

Local Events Article Count: 48

Local Events

Photos Article Count: 143

Photos

Rainham Life Article Count: 10

Rainham Life

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