Swanscombe is a village in the District of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located east of Dartford as well as north-west of Gravesend, in the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. At the 2001 UK census, the Swanscombe electoral ward had a population of 6,418. Swanscombe was necessary in the early history of concrete. The initial cement production works near Swanscombe were opened at Northfleet by James Parker, around 1792, making "Roman cement" from concrete rock brought from the Isle of Sheppey. James Frost opened an operate at Swanscombe in 1825, utilizing chalk from Galley Hill, having actually patented a new concrete called British Cement. The Swanscombe plant was subsequently obtained by John Bazley White & Co, which became the largest part of Blue Circle Industries when it developed in 1900. It ultimately closed down in 1990. Between 1840 as well as 1930 it was the largest cement plant in Britain. By 1882 a number of concrete makers were running across the north Kent area, however the resulting dust contamination drove individuals of Swanscombe to take legal action against the regional cement works. In spite of different technological advancements, the trouble lingered right into the 1950s, with telegraph lines over an inch thick in white dirt. Modern cement kilns in Kent using chimneys 170 m (550 feet) in elevation are now said to be the cleanest in the world. Nevertheless, the adjoining Medway communities are reported to be the most polluted occupied location in the UK, as well as the cement industry adds to acid rain in Scandinavia.