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Plumstead, Kent

Historical Description

Plumstead, a suburban town and a parish in Kent. The town is suburban to Woolwich on the E, stands near the river Thames, and has a station on the S.E.R. It is included in the county of London. All statistics will be found under LONDON. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The population has increased considerably of late years, chiefly from contiguity to Woolwich, and from large extension there of Government employment. The manor was given in 960 by King Edgar to Canterbury Abbey; went for a time to Earl Godwin's son Tostan, and to Bishop Odo; passed in the time of Henry VIII. to the Broughtons; and was given in 1736 to Queen's College, Oxford. Lesnes or Lessness Abbey estate, with interesting ruins 1¼ mile E of the parish church, belongs to Christ's Hospital, London. Genteel residences and elegant villas are very numerous. The S portions of the parish are hilly, and have good views, but the N portions are chiefly marsh. Shooter's Hill is in the same range as Plumstead Common. About 2000 acres of the Plumstead and Erith Marshes were inundated in the time of Henry VIII., and were not recovered till the time of James I. Powder magazines are on the Plumstead Marshes; brickfields, tile-kilns, sand pits, and chalk pits are near Plumstead Common; market-gardening is carried on, and sugar moulds are made. The living is a vicarage, united with Arsenal chapel, in the diocese of London. The perpetual curacy of St Nicholas is a separate benefice, in the patronage of the Vicar. St James' chapel, on the Barrage Town estate, forms another charge. St Margaret's Church, on Plumstead Common, is a modern and handsome edifice. St Nicholas' Church is an old building, and has been much improved. St John the Baptist Church is a brick edifice in the Gothic style. St James' Church is a very plain rectangular edifice of brick. There are a mission hall, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Wesleyan chapels. The value of the various livings will be found under LONDON. Bostall Wood, near Plumstead, was opened to the public in 1893. It consists of 61 acres of charming hilly and thickly-wooded land, and was acquired at the joint cost of the London County Council and the Plumstead District Board. It adjoins Bostall Heath, an expanse of 55 acres which had already been acquired as an open space for the public.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyKent 
Ecclesiastical parishPlumstead St. Nicholas 
HundredLessness 
LatheSutton-at-Hone 
Poor Law unionLewisham 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Plumstead from the following:


Maps

Online maps of Plumstead are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.

DistrictGreenwich
CountyGreater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Postal districtSE18
Post TownLondon

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