Rainham, Kent

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Not to be confused with Rainham, London.

Coordinates: 51°21′34″N 0°36′29″E / 51.359465°N 0.607947°E

Rainham
Rainham Rainham shown within Kent
Population	6,394 (2001)^[1]
OS grid reference	TQ815655
Unitary authority	Medway
Ceremonial county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GILLINGHAM
Postcode district	ME7, ME8
Dialling code	01634
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Gillingham and Rainham
List of places UK England Kent

The town of Rainham is a part of the Medway Towns conurbation, under the unitary authority of Medway, in South East England, and part of the ceremonial county of Kent. Historically, Rainham was a separate village until, in 1928, it was added to the Municipal Borough of Gillingham, which had itself been created in 1903.^[2] It became part of the Medway authority when Gillingham was incorporated with the other towns to form Medway Unitary Authority in 1998.

Geography

Rainham is located on the dip slope of the North Downs where it descends to the River Medway; its maximum height is about 125m above sea level. There are three roads crossing the town. The M2 motorway runs along its southern edge, two miles (6 km) from the town centre. The main road through the town, the A2, follows the ancient Watling Street, the Roman road between London and Canterbury. The most northerly road runs close to the southern bank of the river. The Chatham Main Line has a railway station here. London is approximately 39 miles (62.4 km) to the west.

Parkwood estate, in the south of Rainham, was built mainly during the 1960s and 70s. Building this estate required the destruction of one of the last large areas of relict woodland in North Kent. The area towards Gillingham is known as Rainham Mark, named after an old ecclesiastical boundary: and Macklands is an older part of the town to the north. The Macklands Arms public house was named after Macklands Manor House. The manor house was home to members of the Mackay family, who owned a printing company in Chatham. Lower Rainham, once a separate village, is now also a part of the town.

Demographics

Lower Rainham Road

Rainham was originally a linear settlement along the main road. The population in 1801 was 422;^[3] two centuries later it is well over six thousand. Part of the reason for this huge growth can be attributed to the railway. When the railway came in 1858 it brought an almost immediate increase in the size of the village; when the Chatham Main Line was electrified in 1959, as with all the places served by it, town growth began again. One of the results was the building of Park Wood estate (see above).

Amenities

Rainham station

Rainham station in 1992

The parish church is dedicated to St Margaret; the Roman Catholic church to St Thomas of Canterbury.

Facilities

Rainham has a small shopping area, including the Rainham Shopping Centre precinct, with a few major shops. These include a Tesco Metro, Iceland, Boots and Wilkinsons. There is now also a Costa Coffee store located just outside of the shopping centre, facing out on to the main A2 road. It replaced a furniture store that used to be there called Gerald Lukehurst. There is a record store called MagicDiscs as well as some other various charity shops including Demelza House. The precinct has two different Lloyds Pharmacy chemists, and there are various dining places including a cafe called Bunkers. Other stores include Blockbuster (Now Closed) and two Sense charity shops (A furniture store and a smaller store). Rainham shopping centre also has other essential places of interest, such as: Chip shops, cafes, restaurants and some pubs including Mackland Arms and the Angel on the side of Station Road. When the centre first opened, there was a major branch of Lavells Newsagents. This became a branch of Bart in the late 80s and it now currently trades as Iceland Frozen Foods. There is a smaller shopping precinct in Parkwood. There once used to be a bakery named 'Goldings Bakery' within the centre, but it has since recently closed down (Since early 2012).

Parkwood shopping centre has a few shops including The Co-operative Food, Martin's the Newsagent, a chip shop, a pharmacy, a veterinary and a wine store. The town also has a library as well as several parks and a public swimming pool. This swimming pool is called Splashes and is near Cozenton Park and Rainham Mark Grammar School.

Rainham is also home to the first ever oast house theatre,^[4]^[5] where the Rainham Theatrical Society (RaTS) puts on regular performances.^[6]

Local media

Newspapers

Local newspapers for Rainham include the Medway Messenger, published by the KM Group. The area also has free newspapers in the Medway Extra (KM Group) and yourmedway (KOS Media).
In 2011 Medway News and Medway Standard, both published by Kent Regional News and Media had closed down

Radio

The local commercial radio station for Rainham is KMFM Medway, owned by the KM Group. Medway is also served by community radio station Radio Sunlight. The area can also receive the county wide stations BBC Radio Kent, Heart and Gold.

Education

Rainham has three secondary schools:

The Howard School: a selective and secondary school for boys
Rainham Mark Grammar School: selective school for which the Eleven plus exam has to be taken, open to both boys and girls
Rainham School for Girls: a comprehensive school for girls

For a full list of schools serving Rainham visit List of schools in Medway

Open spaces

Looking across the Medway from Horrid Hill, Riverside Country Park.

The Riverside Country Park, which fronts on to the river Medway at Rainham Creek, includes the promontory of Horrid Hill. Berengrave Local Nature Reserve is located on the Lower Rainham Road.

References

External links

v t e Towns and villages in the Unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England

Allhallows Borstal Brompton Chatham Chattenden Cliffe Cliffe Woods Cooling Cuxton Frindsbury Frindsbury Extra Gillingham Halling Hempstead High Halstow Hoo St Werburgh Isle of Grain Lordswood Rochester Rainham Rainham Mark St Mary Hoo St Mary's Island Stoke Strood Twydall Upnor Wainscott Walderslade Wigmore

List of places in Kent

v t e Ceremonial county of Kent

Kent Portal

Unitary authorities	Borough of Medway

Boroughs or districts	Borough of Ashford Borough of Dartford Borough of Gravesham Borough of Maidstone Borough of Swale Borough of Tonbridge and Malling Borough of Tunbridge Wells City of Canterbury District of Dover District of Sevenoaks District of Shepway District of Thanet

Major settlements	Ashford Broadstairs Canterbury Chatham Cranbrook Dartford Deal Dover Edenbridge Faversham Folkestone Fordwich Gillingham Gravesend Greenhithe Hawkinge Herne Bay Hythe Lydd Maidstone Margate Minster New Romney Northfleet Paddock Wood Queenborough Rainham Ramsgate Rochester Royal Tunbridge Wells Sandwich Sevenoaks Sheerness Sittingbourne Snodland Southborough Strood Swanley Swanscombe Tenterden Tonbridge Walmer West Malling Westerham Westgate-on-Sea Whitstable See also: List of civil parishes in Kent

Rivers	See: Rivers of Kent

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