Stone is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 2.5 miles east of Dartford. In 2011 the parish had a population of 10,778.
| Stone | |
|---|---|
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  Stone Location within Kent | |
| Population | 6,100 (2005)[1] 10,778 (2011)[2] |
| OS grid reference | TQ575745 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Dartford |
| Postcode district | DA2 |
| Post town | Greenhithe |
| Postcode district | DA9 |
| Dialling code | 01322 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
History
editIron Age pottery and artefacts have been found here[3] proving it to be an ancient settlement site. The 13th-century parish church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin at Stone, was known as the "Lantern of Kent" from its beacon light known to all sailors on the river. It is one of Kent's most dramatic churches and is renowned for its Gothic sculpture made by the masons who built Westminster Abbey.[3] The Grade I listing entry narrates each spandrel is either identical or almost identical to those at Westminster Abbey and therefore also dates to 1260, it also describes the North Chapel built for Sir Richard Wiltshire's death in 1527 [4]
The parish (including Bean) was part of Axstane Hundred and later Dartford Rural District.
Stone Castle is located about a mile to the south of Greenhithe.
Today
editStone Castle is now the regional office of a large cement manufacturer. The cement works, which once stood here, have been demolished.
The disused John's Hole Quarry at Stone was used as a filming location for the mine scenes in the Doctor Who television story The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It was the first of many quarries to be used in the series.[5]
Education
editSchools in the village include The Brent Primary School[6] and Stone Lodge School.[7]
Sports
editStone has a village cricket team that was established in 1888.[8]
Bluewater Shopping Centre
editBluewater Shopping Centre is located in Stone and is the fourth largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom. It was opened on 16 March 1999 and is located in a former chalk quarry. The site occupies 240 acres and has a sales floor area of 1,600,000 ft2. The centre employs 7,000 people and serves over 27 million visitors a year.
Demography
edit| Stone compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Stone | Dartford District | England |
| Total population | 6,252 | 85,911 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 5.2% | 5.8% | 9.2% |
| White | 95.9% | 94.5% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 1.6% | 3.2% | 4.6% |
| Black | 1.3% | 0.9% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 71% | 73.3% | 72% |
| Muslim | 0.3% | 0.7% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.4% | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 17.4% | 15.1% | 15% |
| Unemployed | 3.1% | 2.5% | 3.3% |
At the 2001 UK census, the Stone electoral ward had a population of 6,252.[9]
The ethnicity was 95.9% white, 0.9% mixed race, 1.6% Asian, 1.3% black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.8% United Kingdom, 0.8% Republic of Ireland, 0.9% other Western European countries, and 3.5% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 71% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 0.5% Sikh and 0.3% Muslim. 17.4% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 9.9% did not state their religion.[9]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 49.7% in full-time employment, 10.8% in part-time employment, 6.9% self-employed, 3.1% unemployed, 1.8% students with jobs, 1.6% students without jobs, 10.1% retired, 7.7% looking after home or family, 4.8% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 22% retail, 14.6% manufacturing, 10% construction, 10.6% real estate, 10.2% health and social work, 5.6% education, 9% transport and communications, 3.8% public administration, 3.4% hotels and restaurants, 4.5% finance, 0.6% agriculture and 5.7% other. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 12% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[9]
Transport
edit
Rail
editStone Crossing railway station serves the village with National Rail services to Luton via Woolwich Arsenal and London St Pancras, London Charing Cross via Sidcup, Gravesend and Rainham.[10]
Buses
editStone is served by London Buses route 492, Arriva Kent Thameside routes A, 477 and 480 and Ensignbus route X80. These connect it with Bexleyheath, Bluewater, Dartford, Gravesend, Lakeside, Orpington, Sidcup and Swanley.
References
edit- ^ "2005 Ward Level Population Estimates" (PDF). Kent County Council. September 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ a b Newman, John (1969). West Kent and the Weald. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 19, 525.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1085810)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ Gary Russell (2003). Doctor Who – The Dalek Invasion Of Earth (DVD). BBC. Event occurs at 6:14–6:41 of "Now and Then" feature on Disc 2. ASIN B00009PBAN.
This was the first ever quarry to be used in the making of Doctor Who.
- ^ website, The Brent Primary School. "Home". The Brent Primary School.
- ^ "Stone Lodge School".
- ^ "Stone CC". Stone Cricket Club. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ a b c "Neighbourhood Statistics". Statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Stone Crossing". kentrail.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
External links
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