Swanscombe
Swanscombe is a small town in the District of Dartford in Kent, England. It lies east of Dartford and also north-west of Gravesend, in the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. At the 2001 UK census, the Swanscombe selecting ward had a population of 6,418. Swanscombe was necessary in the early history of concrete. The first concrete manufacturing functions near Swanscombe were opened at Northfleet by James Parker, around 1792, making "Roman cement" from cement stone brought from the Isle of Sheppey. James Frost opened a works at Swanscombe in 1825, making use of chalk from Galley Hill, having patented a brand-new cement called British Cement. The Swanscombe plant was subsequently acquired by John Bazley White & Co, which became the biggest element of Blue Circle Industries when it developed in 1900. It lastly closed down in 1990. Between 1840 and also 1930 it was the largest concrete plant in Britain. By 1882 a number of concrete suppliers were running throughout the north Kent area, yet the resulting dirt pollution drove the people of Swanscombe to take legal action versus the local concrete works. In spite of various technical developments, the problem continued into the 1950s, with telegraph lines over an inch thick in white dust. Modern cement kilns in Kent utilizing chimneys 170 m (550 feet) in height are currently said to be the cleanest on the planet. Nevertheless, the adjoining Medway towns are reported to be the most contaminated inhabited area in the UK, and the concrete industry adds to acid rain in Scandinavia.
