Erith
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Erith is a place in the London Borough of Bexley, south east London on the River Thames, United Kingdom. Erith's town centre has been successively modernised since 1961.
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[edit] History : Post War
In 1961, plans were put forward by local planners to redevelop Erith into a modern, sleek shopping and working environment. This involved clearing the substandard housing by the riverside and the old street layout in order to incorporate more cars.
Demolition of the old town started in 1966 when the mayor of Bexey smashed Headley Mitchells shop window, and continued in phases until by 1980, all that remained of the old town was Queens Church, The Crosskeys pub and Christchurch.
From the river front there are two point block towers opened in the early seventies, the new playhouse theatre (begun in 1973) and two rather drab shopping centres (1969 and 1973). Recently, these shopping centres have been redeveloped to provide new social housing and better quality shops to go hand in hand with the W.M.Morrisons supermarket to the east of town in an attempt to make Erith a nicer place to visit.
In 1975/76 everything to the south of Pier Road was swept away for more modern housing and a new dual carraigeway, which still stands today.
In 1996, the two sites of Erith School, the East and West buildings, merged onto one site on Avenue Road. In 2005, the school was awarded Specailist Schools status by the Government, recognising its excellence in PE, Maths and ICT. A new sixth form blockis due to open in 2007. It's Community Sports Centre oversees useage during the evenings and weekends to a variety of teams.
[edit] Sport and leisure
A new swimming pool has recently been built at the same location as its sports centre and the David Ives Stadium [1], which is home to Bexley Athletic Club [2] and Erith Town F.C. (note Erith and Belvedere Football Club play in Welling). Erith Rugby Club play at Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground.
The Erith Playhouse Theatre is the largest in Bexley Borough and there is a museum about the history of the area.
Erith is home to the longest pier in London, on the River Thames. It has been recently adapted from commercial to leisure use, and is popular with anglers. The annual Erith Riverside Festival has been held for a number of years in Riverside Gardens alongside the Thames. Erith Yacht Club is very active in both competititve and social sailing and is located on the edge of Crayford Marshes in the direction of Slade Green and Erith Rowing Club is a successful and friendly club located on the waterfront on Erith High Street.
Erith is the starting point for the LOOP (London Outer Orbital Path) and one of the starting points for the Green Chain Walk. [3] The start of the Thames Path National Trail [4] which runs to the source of the River Thames at Kemble is at nearby Crayford Ness.
The initial broadcasts of pirate radio station West and North Kent Radio (WNKR) took place at Norvic House, Larner Road, Erith during the bank holiday weekend in August1987, on a frequency of 91.8FM. The station transmits music shows on the short and medium waves, with some internet streaming options offered since 2000.
[edit] People
A traditional (anonymous) rhyme has it that:
There are men in the village of Erith that nobody seeth or heareth, and there looms on the marge of the river a barge, that nobody roweth or steereth.
The late Linda Smith, comic and writer, came from Erith. She joked it wasn't twinned with any town but did have a suicide pact with Dagenham.
Wendy Cope, poet
[edit] Representation
The largest part of Erith is in the Erith ward of the London Borough of Bexley. The local councillors are Chris Ball and Margaret O'Neill (both Labour), and Bernard Clewes (Conservative). The eastern part of Erith is in North End ward and the southern part in Colyers ward.
Most of Erith lies within the Erith and Thamesmead constituency. The current M.P. is John Austin (Labour). The eastern part of Erith is within the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency. The M.P. is David Evennett (Conservative).
Erith is in the Bexley and Bromley London Assembly constituency and is represented on the London Assembly by Bob Neill (Conservative).
Community interests are represented by Erith Town Forum. In the eastern part of Erith (in North End ward) community interests are represented by Slade Green Community Forum. [5]
[edit] Transport
[edit] Rail
The nearest railway stations in the area are Erith railway station. Trains from this station runs to London Charing Cross and London Cannon Street via Woolwich and Greenwich to the west. To the east the trains go to Dartford and a limited service to Crayford or Gravesend and Gillingham.
[edit] Buses
The 99 bus contracted by TfL runs between Erith Town Centre and Woolwich Shopping Centre; The 99 has a frequency of 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and at evening and Sundays the 99 has a frequency of 20 minutes.
The 229 bus contracted by TfL runs between Thamesmead Town Centre and Sidcup Queen Marys Hospital; The 229 has a frequency of 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and at evening and Sundays the 229 has a frequency of 20 minutes.
The 428 bus contracted by TfL runs between Bluewater Shopping Centre and Erith Town Centre; The 428 has a frequency of 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and at evening and Sundays the 428 has a frequency of 30 minutes.
The 469 bus contracted by TfL runs between Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Woolwich Common; The 469 has a frequency of 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and at evening and Sundays the 469 has a frequency of 20-30 minutes.
The B12 bus contracted by TfL runs between Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Erith Town Centre; The B12 has a frequency of 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and at evening the B12 has a frequency of 20 minutes. There is no Sunday Service.
The N89 bus contracted by TfL runs between Erith Town Centre and Trafalgar Square; The N89 has a frequency of 30 minutes. This bus runs at midnight to 5am.
[edit] Nearest railway stations
- Erith railway station - North Kent line
- Slade Green railway station - North Kent line
- Belvedere railway station - North Kent line
- Barnehurst railway station - Bexleyheath line
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] External links
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The external links in this article may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. Please remove this tag when this is done. (talk) |
- Most of the businesses operating in the town centre
- North West Kent Family History Society - Erith Parish Page
- Erith Museum
- Erith Playhouse Theatre
- Profile of Erith-born Colin Webb
- John Downton Trust
- Erith Rugby Club
- Erith Yacht Club
- Erith Rowing Club
- The Thames Estuary Partnership's fishing page gives details of what fish can be caught from Erith Pier.
| Section 1: | London Outer Orbital Path | Section 1: |
|---|---|---|
| START | Erith | Old Bexley |
