The Normans and Beyond

In 1066 William of Normandy landed at Pevensey in Sussex and after defeating the Saxon forces in the infamous Battle of Hastings he headed for London. The exact route he took is unknown but it is likely he used the old Roman Road of Watling Street, know today as the A2 taking him through Sittingbourne. We know from contemporary accounts that, feeling unwell William stopped on his route to rest in a ‘ruined tower’  within a Royal Estate and it has been postulated that this tower was in fact the ruined remains of Holy Trinity Church, which had not been rebuilt following it’s destruction 14 years earlier. We shall never know whether the invading Norman army camped out on the site now occupied by the Country Park but it’s certainly a possibility.

In the years following the Norman Conquest the church was rebuilt and Milton Creek grew in importance becoming a busy waterway for the transportation of goods to and from the growing city of London. By 1368 the area was part the estate of Bayford Court, a moated manor house situated near the head of the creek. Maps from 1590 talk of Bayford Castle but no trace of a castle has ever been found and whilst it may lie under the site of the mill, it is more likely a reference to Castle Ruffe (or Rough) which local legend records as being built by the Vikings. However an archaeological dig in 1972 showed that this was not the case and the structure, certainly not a castle arose from an earlier date.

The Comming of the Brickfields

By the Eighteenth Century Brick fields began to appear in the area due to the enormous quantities of brick earth, chalk and clay found in the area. By 1860 it was a thriving industry with brick fields along both sides of the creek. The bricks were taken by barge to London and whilst some returned with ash essential for the brick making process others bought with them refuse from London and the site became a landfill site, a role it continued until 1973.

In the early 1900’s the Milton Creek Conservation Board imposed duties on all goods that used the creek for transportation which meant many of the smaller firms were forced to close.  By the Second World War the brick making industry was in decline and by 1946, the brick earth, clay and chalk were all imported.

Whilst some of the country park was farmland and orchards the bulk of it remained a landfill site until 1973 when the site was closed and was capped (although not to today’s standards).

Into the 21st Century

After the closure of the landfill site was used as a gypsy/travellers encampment. This led to a number of problems including extensive fires and fly tipping.Consultants commissioned by landowners Swale Borough Council in the mid 1990s recommended that, the park should either be closed to the public or some form of remediation measures need to be put in place to deal with the buried contaminants.

The eastern zone of the site was fully remediated in the late 1990s with much of the land being put back to grassland with some woodland belt plantations and a basic path network.

In 2001 Swale Borough Council invited Groundwork Medway Swale to project-manage the design and development of the country park in consultation with the local community, other statutory and non-statutory consultees and interested parties. A detailed plan, including remediation of the landfill and re-enhancement of habitats, was produced and is now being implemented through a public/private partnership.

It was during 2001 that Groundwork Medway Swale , in partnership with and on behalf on Swale Borough Council and in conjunction with private sector partners and Managing Contractor Rural Arisings, identified an opportunity through an Environment Agency Waste Management Licensing Exemption to import inert waste subsoils and place them to a depth of two metres to deal with the landfill contaminants.

Restoration work is anticipated to be complete by 2011.

Click here for Part 1