Higham, Kent

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.415
longitude= 0.463
official_name= Higham
population =3,938 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Gravesham
shire_county = Kent
region= South East England
constituency_westminster=
post_town= ROCHESTER|postcode_district = ME3
postcode_area= ME
dial_code= 01474
dial_code1= 01634
os_grid_reference= TQ715715

Higham is a small village bordering the Hoo Peninsula, in Kent, between Gravesend and Rochester. The civil parish [ [http://www.higham-kent-pc.gov.uk/ Higham Parish Council website] ] of Higham is in Gravesham district and as at the 2001 UK Census, had a population of 3,938.

History

The priory dedicated to St. Mary was built on land granted to Mary, daughter of King Stephen. In 1148, the nuns of St Sulphice-la-Foret, Brittany, moved to Higham. Higham priory was also known as Lillechurch. (Medieval Religious Houses, p. 259). On 6 July 1227, King Henry III confirmed the royal grant to the abbey of St. Mary and St. Sulpice of Lillechurch.

The original parish church is dedicated to St. Mary, now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust (formerly The Redundant Churches Fund). The pulpit there is one of the oldest in Kent, dating from the 14th century [ [http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/VisRec/H/HIG/VR.htm photographs of St Mary's church] ] .

Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, is widely believed to have stayed in Higham in 1913.

The Higham Village History Group, founded in 1997, meets to put together the history of the village [ [http://www.highamvillagehistory.org.uk/ Higham Village History Group's website] ]

Parts of Higham

Higham has developed as two parts, the original Saxon village of Higham to the north, and a more recent settlement to the south around the main road linking Gravesend to Rochester which grew in size and importance during the 1800s.

The two parts of Higham are often referred to as Lower Higham (referring to the original village) and Higham (referring to the newer village). Some residents of the village object to the use of Lower Higham, and argue that the distinction should be to use Higham in referring to the original village and Upper Higham or Higham Upshire in reference to the more recent part of the village.

Visitors to the village will not cause offence by using Higham, Lower Higham, Upper Higham or Higham Upshire to refer to the different parts as the terms are well understood within the village. Residents will most commonly refer to the two parts of the village as the top and bottom of the village, e.g. "I'm going to the top of the village" or "I'm going to the slums", rather than using the different names.

For neutrality the article will refer to Higham (lower) and Higham (upper) for the northern and southern parts of the village respectively.

Village facilities

Services within the village are centered around the two parts of Higham.

Higham (upper)is the largest and contains the main parish church of St John's, a Post Office, a GP's surgery, several pubs, convenience shops, a greengrocer, a fish and chip shop, a Chinese takaway, a library and a Spray painting Specialist.

Higham (lower) is smaller. It contains the original and now redundant St Mary's Church, two pubs, a garage and Higham Railway Station. Until recently there was a Post Office and shop serving this area of the village.

The village primary school (Higham County Primary), village hall (Higham Memorial Hall), park (Higham Recreation Ground), tennis courts and the Knowle Restaurant are approximately half way between the two parts of the village on School Lane. Until the 1990s the GP surgery serving the village was also based in this area.

Points of interest

The Larkin Memorial

Standing almost hidden from sight yet in the highest spot at Higham is the Larkin memorial on Telegraph Hill. This needle was raised in 1835 to the memory of Charles Larkin (1775-1833), an auctioneer from Rochester who promoted the Parliamentary reforms of 1832 that gave the vote to every householder whose property rental value was more than £10. By 1860 this unusual concrete monument was in danger of collapse, but was repaired in 1869 after local newspaper reports about its condition. It was renovated again in 1974.

Gad's Hill

Shakespeare refers to Gad's Hill (or "Gadshill") and its relationship with highway robbery in his Henry IV Part I. As far back as 1558 there was a ballad entitled "The Robbers of Gad's Hill". The Sir John Falstaff public house stood at the top of a steep thickly wooded hill, an ideal spot for highwaymen.

Gad's Hill is the only factual detail concerning the incident of the legend of the long ride north made by Dick Turpin, a highway man of some repute. The basic facts of the story are true, but they were told by Turpin to his admirers before he went to the gallows, and he was taking credit for the deed of one of his fellow highwaymen, and gang member, a certain Captain, Richard Dudley who was guilty of the deed.

Gad's Hill Place [ [http://www.perryweb.com/Dickens/life_ghill.shtml Gad's Hill Place] ] was once the home of Charles Dickens, who bought it in 1856 for £1,790 and died there in 1870. In its garden once stood a Swiss chalet in which Dickens would compose his works. [ [http://members.tripod.com/~DickensFellowshipCD/gads.htm Rochester Dickens Fellowship] . Accessed 2006-07-31] The chalet is now in the gardens of Eastgate House, a Tudor building of great character in Rochester, while the house itself is a Public School for girls. In recent years the school has started accepting boys and the split between boys and girls is now equal.

Higham Marshes

The marshes are an important wetland habitat for many species of wildfowl. There are marked walking trails across the marshes. If you plan to visit during the summer months, insect repellant is advised as mosquitoes are abundant especially around dusk and dawn. The easiest access to the marshes is from Church Street. It is interesting to note that Higham marshes are renound as a UFO hotspot, several close encounters and abductions being reported over many years. [ [http://www.higham-kent-pc.gov.uk/Walks.htm Higham Parish Council] ]

Communications

*"Canal": The Thames and Medway Canal now terminates at Higham. Opened 1824, the canal used to connect the Thames at Gravesend to the Medway at Strood. It lost the second half of its route c. 1847 when the railway took over the Higham and Strood canal tunnel, but continued to operate from Gravesend to Higham until 1934. [ [http://www.paulbb.org.uk/history/articles/one_leg_in_the_water.htm "One leg in the water".] Accessed 2006-08-31. Description of Higham and Strood tunnel in 1847.] It is now disused but as of 2006 there are plans to restore it for leisure use.
*"Railways": Higham railway station is located in Higham (lower), near the entrance to the former canal tunnel. It is served by the North Kent Line. This section of the line was closed throughout 2004, to allow the chalk tunnel to be completely lined after a series of roof falls. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4181761.stm "Commuting cut as tunnels reopened"] BBC News 2005-01-17. Accessed 2006-07-31.]
*"Roads": The main A226 road between Gravesend and Rochester runs to the south of Higham village.

Demographics

As of the 2001 UK census, the parish of Higham had 3,471 residents and 1,580 households.cite web | title = Neighbourhood Statistics | publisher = Statistics.gov.uk | url = http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDomainList.do?a=3&c=Higham&d=16&i=1001x1002&m=0&enc=1&areaId=795472&OAAreaId=458218 | accessdate = 2007-05-06 ]

For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. The age distribution was 5% aged 0-4 years, 13% aged 5-15 years, 8% aged 16-24 years, 24% aged 25-44 years, 31% aged 45-64 years and 19% aged 65 years and over.

Economy

As at the 2001 UK census, 62.3% of Higham residents aged 16–74 were in employment, 2.2% were unemployed and 34.1% were economically inactive. Unemployment was low compared to the national rate of 3.4%. 21% of residents aged 16-74 had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationally.

Politics

Higham Parish Council has been Labour since 1973, and is generally seen as representing the left-wing of the party. A petition has recently been organised in the village, calling for John McDonnell to be made the new Labour leader. This is ironic, given the 2007 Newspaper Reading Habits survey, which found that Higham had the highest proportion of Daily Mail readers than anywhere else in the country. There has traditionally been much emnity between left and right wing politics in Higham; in 1986, a Workers' Soviet was established in opposition to the Thatcherite government and, for a time, Higham became a de facto independent workers' republic, organised along Marxist-Leninist lines. The Soviet was brutally crushed by a coalition of National Front members and local landlords and industry owners after two months, however, after their pleas for help from the Soviet Union went unheeded, in what was to be known as the Battle of Higham.

References

ee also

* One track on the towpath, the other over the canal, by Stephen Rayner, Memories page. "Medway News", October 2004
* "A Mosaic History of Higham" by Andrew Rootes, 1974