Southfleet

infobox UK place

country = England
official_name= Southfleet
latitude= 51.4160

longitude= 0.3207

population =
shire_district= Dartford
shire_county = Kent
region= South East England

constituency_westminster= Dartford
post_town= Gravesend
postcode_district= DA13
postcode_area=DA
dial_code= 01474
os_grid_reference= TQ615715

Southfleet is a small compact village five miles SW of Gravesend in Kent; it is a civil parish within the borough of Dartford, and includes within its boundaries the hamlet of Betsham, and the even smaller settlement of Northfleet Green. The main village is grouped around a crossroads and many of its buildings, including the Ship Inn, are extremely old. The parish church of St Nicholas has 14th century origins, although pre-Roman Christian remains have been found in the area.

Southfleet had a railway station on the Gravesend West Line, which operated from 1886 to 1953. The section of the trackbed south of the A2 road of that closed line was used by Eurostar services to London Waterloo.

Southfleet takes its name from the River Fleet (a minor tributary of the River Thames). The water that supplied the river came from a place called Springhead, where there were watercress and oyster beds; the river then ran on through Southfeet, Ebbsfleet and Northfleet.

External links

* [http://www.southfleetpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/ Parish Council website]