1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Northfleet

NORTHFLEET, an urban district of Kent, England, within the parliamentary borough of Gravesend, on the Thames, 22 m. E. by S. of London by the South Eastern and Chatham railway. Pop. (1901) 12,906. The church of St Botolph is of Norman foundation, but the nave is principally Decorated and the chancel Perpendicular, and the tower, having fallen down, was rebuilt in 1628. The church contains a brass of the 14th century and other interesting monuments. The nave and chancel have undergone modern restoration. Huggens College, with residences for impoverished ladies, was established in 1847 by John Huggens of Sittingbourne. Besides chemical manufactures, there are chalk, lime, cement and brick works and a shipbuilding yard. Swanscombe almost adjoins Northfleet on the south-west. Its name is said to be derived from a camp formed here by the Danish king, Sweyn, and tradition fixes at this spot the meeting between William the Conqueror and the men of Kent, to whom was confirmed the possession of all their ancient laws and privileges.