IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Darenth Road, DARTFORD, DA1 1LR

On 3 Darenth Road. There is a pub carpark on Chaucer Park road.

This is Darenth Road branching off (or joining) the A226 (East Hill). Beyond the residential property is the main entrance (and probably the original entrance) to The Malt Shovel pub. Kelly's Directory records a certain Stephen Harber as the "beer retailer" here in 1874.

This is the Martyrs' Memorial on the East Hill side of St Edmund's Pleasance, a former burial ground maintained by the Borough Council. Many Protestants were executed during the reigns of Queen Mary (1553-1554) and Philip and Mary (1554-1558), including Christopher Waid, a Dartford linen-weaver who was burnt at the stake in 1555 in front of thousands of spectators on the Brent (a nearby section of the A226). To the right of this area and through the boundary fence there are extensive views across parts of Dartford.

The steps, the ramp and the winding path all lead from approximately halfway up East Hill (A226) opposite Darenth Road to a former cemetery. St Edmund's Pleasance is maintained as an open space by the Borough Council. Richard Trevithick (1771-1833), the Cornish mining engineer and inventor is buried here having died here. He was lodging at the Bull Hotel in the High Street whilst contributing to some work on an engine being developed by John Hall, founder of J. & E. Hall Ltd. However, after he had been working in Dartford for about a year, Trevithick died of pneumonia in his hotel room. He was penniless, with no relatives or friends and as a result his colleagues at Hall's Works made a collection for his funeral expenses and acted as his bearers to this burial ground.

A view of the foot of East Hill (a.k.a. Overy Liberty) from a section of the boundary fence that borders this part of St Edmund's Burial Ground (a.k.a. St Edmund's Pleasance), near to the Martyrs' Memorial.

The junction of Darenth Road with East Hill and in the distance (mid-right) the entrance into High Street via the one way system. The picture was taken from a section of the boundary fence that borders this part of St Edmund's Burial Ground (a.k.a. St Edmund's Pleasance), near to the Martyrs' Memorial.

This shot is taken from the junction of Mount Pleasant Road with Overy Liberty (a.k.a. the foot of East Hill). Amar Hall, "the fully licensed function hall" was home to the Dartford Gospel Hall in the late 60s until ? (date unknown). On the other side of the crossroads is a bridge that carries traffic across the River Darent, with the High Street beyond it.

Hidden in the gardens of Acacia Hall, wedged in between Dartford Bridge Image and the footbridge Image it's worth seeking out.