Erith

History

Work carried out at the former British Gypsum site in Church Manorway by the Museum of London Archaeological Service shows that the area was covered by a dense forest of oak, yew and alder in the Neolithic period, which by the Bronze Age had given way in part to sedge fen. The museum's work at the former site of Erith School in Belmont Road revealed traces of prehistoric settlement and a substantial community or farmstead in the first century CE. After the collapse of Roman rule in the early 5th century, Britain was colonised by Anglo-Saxon invaders from northern Europe. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that they won the Battle of Crecganford (thought to be modern Crayford) in 457 and shortly after claimed the whole of Kent. Their different way of life was reflected in their settlement pattern. The town and country estates of Roman bureaucrats gave way to a network of villages occupied by warriors and farmers. Erith was one such and has a Saxon name, originally Ærre hyðe meaning "old haven". There was probably a church on the site of the present St John the Baptist's in the Anglo-Saxon period. The early settlement was based around it, meaning that the centre of Erith was once west of its current location. The earliest written reference to the area is in a Latin charter of 695, recording a grant by the Bishop of the East Saxons of land at Erith. The surrounding area was known as Lesnes or Lessness, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. After the Norman Conquest, Lessness passed into the possession of Bishop Odo. In 1315, a Royal Charter was granted for a market to be held in Erith every Thursday, but it was noted in 1776 that the market was long discontinued. Erith owes its existence to the Thames, and was until the 1850s essentially a small riverside…

Geography

Erith is a post town in the DA postcode area, consisting of the DA8 and DA18 postcode districts. It borders the River Thames to the north, Slade Green to the east and south east, Northumberland Heath to the south and south west and Belvedere to the west and north west. To the west of Erith town centre is the Erith Quarry development which aims to redevelopment the former quarry site with construction work beginning in 2015. The site currently features a new primary school and local supermarket and plans to contain 850 new homes once fully completed.

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  32,370
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  31,513
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  31,119
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,508
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,989
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,789
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  23,974
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,664

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom