Swanscombe
Swanscombe is a town in the Borough 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 essential in the early history of concrete. The first concrete manufacturing 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 up an operate at Swanscombe in 1825, making use of chalk from Galley Hill, having patented a new concrete called British Cement. The Swanscombe plant was consequently obtained by John Bazley White & Co, which came to be the largest part of Blue Circle Industries when it developed in 1900. It lastly closed down in 1990. In between 1840 as well as 1930 it was the largest cement plant in Britain. By 1882 a number of concrete manufacturers were running across the north Kent area, however the resulting dirt air pollution drove individuals of Swanscombe to take legal action against the neighborhood cement jobs. In spite of numerous technological technologies, the trouble persisted right into the 1950s, with telegraph lines over an inch thick in white dust. Modern cement kilns in Kent using chimneys 170 m (550 feet) in height are currently stated to be the cleanest in the world. Nevertheless, the adjoining Medway communities are reported to be one of the most contaminated populated area in the UK, as well as the concrete industry adds to acid rain in Scandinavia.
