Upchurch

Lower Halstow is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. The village is northwest of Sittingbourne on the banks of the Medway Estuary. It lies north of Newington on the A2 Roman road. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 1,180.The village has a long history, with evidence of constant occupation since the Iron Age. Being so close to the water, Lower Halstow has (until recently) been a village that has made its living from the water. Whether it be ancient pottery making, ancient fishing, barge building, or in the 19th- and 20th-century brick-making (Eastwoods Brickworks), the water has been the lifeblood of the village. According to Edward Hasted in 1798, two large hospital ships, commonly called lazarettos, (which were the surviving hulks of 44-gun ships) were moored in Halstow Creek. The lazarettos monitored ships coming to England which were forced to stay in the creek under quarantine, to protect the country from infectious diseases.In 1563 Queen Elizabeth ordered a survey, and Halstow Key (a wharf on the creek), was made up of 24 people in houses and 14 living on boats. There were two hamlets, one beside the wharf and the other around Halstow Green on Lower Street. The rest of the northern lands were salt marsh. Lands heading southwards (measuring 1200 acres) were heavy clay. All the lands were under the control of the manor of Milton Regis.The creek and some of the village is featured in the 2017 film Wonder Woman. The village has an active cricket club.

Newington railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Newington, Kent. It is 41 miles 44 chains (66.9 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Rainham and Sittingbourne. The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

Hartlip is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. Parish estimated population in 1991 was 680, and in 2011, 746. In 2001 there were 566 registered voters.The name Hartlip derives from the Old English hliep, which meant a gate or fence. In combination with heorot (hart or stag), the name therefore means a "gate over which harts leap". The first recorded version of the name was Heordlyp in the 11th century.

Newington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish is located beside the A2 road (originally a Roman road) between Rainham to the west and Sittingbourne to the east. The population of the parish in 2011 was 2,551.The village has its own railway station which is situated on the Chatham Main Line between Sittingbourne and Rainham.The parish church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, is a grade I listed building. It was built between 1163 and 1177 by Richard de Lucy, with additions being made in the 13th and 14th century. The church was to eventually become the property of Henry VIII who gave it to the Provost and Fellows of Eton College in 1531. The patron today is the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is a stone in the church car park known as the Devil's Stone, which is said to bear the Devil's footprint.Newington village sign was provided by Mrs. S Huxtable in 2007. It holds a memorial plate in memory of Mr. P Huxtable. (Husband of Mrs S. Huxtable) Newington holds the national collection of Witch Hazel which is kept at the Witch Hazel Nursery in Calloways Lane Newington Manor, now a conservation area, is to the south of the village. The Newington Pill Boxes: Newington has at least four World War I pill boxes (or bunkers) at various locations.

Leigh Academy Rainham is an 11–18 mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Rainham, Kent, England. Established in September 2021, it is a free school, and part of the Leigh Academies Trust.

Medway Estuary and Marshes is a 4,748.8-hectare (11,735-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the banks of the River Medway between Gillingham and Sheerness in Kent. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.This site is internationally important for its wintering birds, and nationally important for its breeding birds. It is also has an outstanding flora, such as the nationally rare oak-leaved goosefoot and the nationally scarce slender hare's-ear.

The Upchurch Hoard was a pot containing thirty-seven Roman sestertii dating from the late 1st century to the second half of the 2nd century AD found near the village of Upchurch, Kent, England, in 1950.

Watling Temple is the name given to the temple within a Roman town next to the modern A2 road in Newington, near Sittingbourne in Kent, England.The town was rediscovered in 2019 during an archaeological dig covering 18 acres that found iron furnaces and pottery kilns as part of a manufacturing site, a Roman temple, a seven metre wide Roman road and late Iron Age remains dating from 30BC.The Roman road Watling Street runs through the village of Newington, and the newly discovered road predates it and takes an alternative route.A reconstruction of the temple foundations was officially unveiled in September 2021 as the result of a collaboration between Newington History Group, SWAT Archaeology and Persimmon Homes South East. The reconstruction is the same size and orientation as the original and is located only 70 metres away from where it was uncovered. A footpath reflects the alignment of the seven metre wide Roman road to the temple. It is on permanent, free display in a landscaped area off Watling Drive, Newington, ME9 7FX. The excavation has been built on by Persimmon homes, with 124 homes in a development called "Watling Place".

Berengrave Chalk Pit is a 12.77-hectare (31.6-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Rainham in Kent. It is owned and managed by Medway Council.There is a small lake in a disused chalk pit, and other habitats are scrub, woodland and reedbeds, which flood an area of willow carr.There is access from Berengrave Lane.

Rainham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in South East England, serving the town of Rainham, Kent. It is 38 miles 74 chains (62.6 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Gillingham and Newington. The station and most trains that call are operated by Southeastern. Following a timetable change on Sunday 20 May 2018, some trains are operated by Govia Thameslink. The station has three platforms. Platform 0 is an "up" bay platform, used mainly by Thameslink Services. Platform 1 is an "up" through providing services towards London, and Platform 2 is a "down" through for services towards Ramsgate and Dover Priory. It is sometimes shown as Rainham (Kent) in order to distinguish it from the station of the same name in East London. There are accessible entrances without stairs on both platforms, with step-free access via Platform 1 for services towards London (via main station entrance). Step-free access via Platform 2 for services away from London (via side entrance, short ramp from Granary Close). To interchange platforms, people needing accessible access must use the road and steep paths in excess of 250 metres. (There is also a steep staircase overpass over the tracks to interchange platforms.) Induction loops are available and ticket counters are able to be lowered or raised. There are also accessible ticket machines in the station forecourt. There are fold-away ramps available on platforms for wheelchair train access.

Rainham ( RAY-nəm) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. Historically, Rainham was a separate village until, in 1928, it was added to the Municipal Borough of Gillingham, which was originally created in 1903 and was grouped into the latter's built-up area in analysis of the 2011 census by the Office for National Statistics. It became part of the Medway authority when Gillingham was incorporated with the other towns to form Medway Unitary Authority in 1998.

HMS Bulwark was one of five London-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. The Londons were a sub-class of the Formidable-class pre-dreadnoughts. Completed in 1902 she was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet as its flagship. The ship then served with the Channel and Home Fleets from 1907 to 1910, usually as a flagship. From 1910 to 1914, she was in reserve in the Home Fleet. Following the start of the First World War in August 1914, Bulwark, along with the rest of the squadron, was attached to the reformed Channel Fleet to protect the British Expeditionary Force as it moved across the English Channel to France. On 26 November 1914 she was destroyed by a large internal explosion with the loss of 741 men near Sheerness; only a dozen men survived the detonation. It was probably caused by the overheating of cordite charges that had been placed adjacent to a boiler-room bulkhead. Little of the ship survived to be salvaged and her remains were designated a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. Diving on the wreck is generally forbidden.