Swanscombe
Swanscombe is a town 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 stone brought from the Isle of Sheppey. James Frost opened a works at Swanscombe in 1825, utilizing chalk from Galley Hill, having actually patented a new concrete called British Cement. The Swanscombe plant was ultimately gotten by John Bazley White & Co, which became the largest component of Blue Circle Industries when it created in 1900. It ultimately shut down in 1990. In between 1840 and also 1930 it was the biggest concrete plant in Britain. By 1882 numerous concrete manufacturers were operating throughout the north Kent region, yet the resulting dirt contamination drove individuals of Swanscombe to take legal action against the regional cement jobs. Despite different technological advancements, the trouble continued into the 1950s, with telegraph lines over an inch thick in white dirt. Modern concrete kilns in Kent making use of chimneys 170 m (550 feet) in elevation are now claimed to be the cleanest worldwide. Nonetheless, the neighbouring Medway communities are reported to be one of the most contaminated populated area in the UK, and the cement market adds to acid rain in Scandinavia.
