Slade Green

An Anglo-Saxon dictionary asserts that "Slade" most commonly meant a broad strip of grass-covered land.{{cite web|title=Slade|url=http://www.bosworthtoller.com/finder/3/slade|website=Bosworthtoller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary|publisher=Boswothtoller|accessdate=15 September 2016|archive-date=4 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004001405/http://www.bosworthtoller.com/finder/3/slade|url-status=dead}} The London Borough of Bexley suggests the current name most likely derives from Saxon "Slade", with their definition being low-lying ground. An alternative is the Old Norse "Slad", meaning a place for launching boats. Most sources agree that "Green" was added to reflect the deep colour of the grass-covered ground.{{cite web|title=Origins of street and place names in Bexley|url=http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10370/Origins-of-street-and-place-names-in-Bexley|website=London Borough of Bexley|access-date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827084151/http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10370/Origins-of-street-and-place-names-in-Bexley|archive-date=27 August 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Sources differ on when Slade Green was first mentioned with one suggesting the 16th Century.{{cite web|title=Hidden London|url=http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/slade-green/|website=Hidden London|accessdate=7 September 2016}}

Collectors such as Flaxman Charles John Spurrell discovered diverse Palaeolithic fossils around Slade Green, along with flint artefacts that provide evidence of prehistoric human habitation.{{cite web |last1=Juby |first1=Caroline |title=London before London: Reconstructing a Palaeolithic Landscape |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/78863816.pdf |website=CORE |publisher=Royal Holloway, University of London |accessdate=8 August 2018}} Pre-war maps indicate a barrow stood near the current Hazel Drive children's play area, and the Museum of London Archaeological Service revealed the presence of a prehistoric cookery pit at Hollywood Way.[https://web.archive.org/web/20050326103956/http://www.molas.org.uk/pages/siteSummariesDetailsAll.asp?year=summaries1997 Museum of London summary of archaeological work carried out in 1997] accessed 6 April 2008

Some sources claim the area is recorded in the Domesday Book as Hov, and others suggest this was Hou (later Howbury).{{cite web|title=Kent|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/kent2.html#howbury|website=The Domesday Book Online|accessdate=12 September 2016}} An early translation states that Howbury was a hamlet on the bank of River Darent, which is approximately 1 km east of the small Slade Green hamlet recorded by 19th Century geographers.{{cite web|title=Places in Domesday Book near Slade Green|url=http://opendomesday.org/search/?geo=slade+green|website=Open Domesday|accessdate=12 September 2016|archive-date=12 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812145238/http://opendomesday.org/search/?geo=slade+green|url-status=dead}} According to Bexley borough council, this medieval hamlet was held by Askell.{{cite web|title=The Bexley Area in the Domesday Book|url=http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10263/The-Bexley-Area-in-the-Domesday-Book|website=London borough of Bexley|access-date=12 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701040926/http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10263/The-Bexley-Area-in-the-Domesday-Book|archive-date=1 July 2016|df=dmy-all}} Askell the Priest from Abingdon Abbey held estates in various parts of England and bequeathed titles to Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester.{{cite web|title=Askell|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/searchresults.html?q=askell&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Search&cx=partner-pub-4061928869268323%3Achbfv61x01j&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=ISO-8859-1&siteurl=www.domesdaybook.co.uk%2Fhampshire2.html&ss=748j118568j6|website=The Domesday Book Online|publisher=domesdaybook.co.uk|accessdate=12 February 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Roffe|first1=David|title=Brought to Book: Lordship and land in Anglo-Saxon England|url=http://www.roffe.co.uk/bookland.htm|website=David Roffe|accessdate=12 February 2017}}{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Judith|title=The Aristocracy of Norman England|date=15 August 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BFGDIde6L-wC|accessdate=12 February 2017|isbn=9780521335096}}

A moated seigneurial residence was built much closer Slade Green in the High Middle Ages, with its country house completed during the English Renaissance, and these structures were named Howbury Manor.{{cite web|title=River Cray and Southern Marshes Area|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/file/465660|website=All London Green Grid|publisher=Greater London Authority|accessdate=13 September 2016}}{{NHLE|desc=Howbury moated site|num=1001986|accessdate=7 September 2016}} An adjacent tithe barn, with 17th Century styling, has not been accurately dated.{{cite web|last1=Bridge|first1=Martin|title=Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from Howbury Barn, Moat Lane, Slade Green, London Borough of Bexley|url=http://research.historicengland.org.uk/redirect.aspx?id=5471%7CTree-Ring%20Analysis%20of%20Timbers%20from%20Howbury%20Barn,%20Moat%20Lane,%20Slade%20Green,%20London%20Borough%20of%20Bexley|website=Historic England|publisher=Centre for Archaeology|accessdate=12 February 2017|format=PDF|date=2006}} Surrounding green belt marshes contain willows thought to have been planted over 300 years ago to shelter livestock.{{cite book|title=Managing the Marshes Vision & Strategy|date=March 2006|publisher=Bexley Council|page=22|url=https://www.dartford.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/40622/ManagingtheMarshes.pdf|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915165427/https://www.dartford.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/40622/ManagingtheMarshes.pdf|url-status=dead}}

:See also History of Kent and Kingdom of Kent

The communities of North End and Slades Green[http://www.kentrail.org.uk/slade%20green%20station.htm Kent Rail website page on Slade Green station] accessed 6 March 2008 (formerly Slads Green[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/series?xCenter=3343916.89336&yCenter=2786359.39106&scale=63360&viewScale=11338.5888&mapLayer=nineteenth&subLayer=first_edition&title=Ordnance%20Survey%20and%20Ordnance%20Survey%20of%20Scotland%20First%20Series&download=true Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Scotland First Series, 1805] accessed 10 September 2016) had remained disjointed throughout the agricultural revolution. Samuel Lewis' 1848 A Topographical Dictionary of England states that Slades Green was the smaller hamlet with 66 people.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51282 British History Online record of 'A Topographical Dictionary of England', Slackstead - Slawston] accessed 5 November 2007[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51183&strquery=northend British History Online record of 'A Topographical Dictionary of England', Normicott - North Holme] accessed 5 November 2007 While judicial, political and cultural boundaries are continually revised to address various concerns, the tracks of the North Kent Line have been the immovable border between North End and Slade Green since c. 1849.

Evidence suggests the region remained sparsely populated yet highly productive throughout the Industrial Revolution. The 1869-1882 Ordnance Survey recorded a particularly large “Sladesgreen Farm” with its south-west corner occupied by “The Corner Pin” beerhouse.{{cite web|title=Map abbreviations|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/resources/maps-and-geographic-resources/map-abbreviations.html#b|website=Ordnance Survey|accessdate=12 September 2016}} The pub was demolished and rebuilt in 1958. The surrounding area was affectionately known locally as “Cabbage Island” in reference to the market gardens located between Moat Lane (formerly Whitehall Lane) and Slade Green Road (formerly Slade Green Lane).[http://www.saxoncourtbooks.co.uk/railwaybooks/item339.htm Review of book 'An Illustrated History of Slade Green Depot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929180912/http://www.saxoncourtbooks.co.uk/railwaybooks/item339.htm |date=29 September 2007 }} accessed 27 June 2007[http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/users/h/i/l/Julie-M-Hilliard/index.html commentary by person with family from the area at genealogy.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007124446/http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/users/h/i/l/Julie-M-Hilliard/index.html |date=7 October 2007 }} accessed 27 June 2007[Oak Road Conservation Area Consultation Draft, Bexley Council February 2008] pdf version accessed 6 March 2008 at http://www.bexley.gov.uk/service/consultations/conservationareas_phase2/pdfs/oak_road_conservation_area.pdf{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Victorian photographic evidence captures the high crop yield of these agricultural gardens at Slade Green.{{cite web|title=Strawberry Pickers in a Field, Slade Green c.1905|url=http://www.boroughphotos.org/bexley/pcd_959/|website=Bexley Borough Photos|date=15 August 2012 |accessdate=8 September 2016}} Historic maps also chronicle an increasing number of clay pits along the railway on the North End side of the tracks.{{cite web|title='Sheet 003' in Map of Kent|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/os-1-to-10560/kent/003|website=British History Online|publisher=Ordnance Survey, Southampton, 1869-1882|accessdate=10 September 2016}} Marshes are a natural source of clays and brick earths, and local firms produced large numbers of London stock bricks throughout the 19th Century. “Furner of Slade Green“ operated the North End brickworks from 1867 to 1911.{{cite web|last1=Cufley|first1=David|title=Dartford Area Brickworks (map)|url=http://cufley.co.uk/Dartbrkmap.pdf|website=David Cufley's Family History Home Page|publisher=Cufley|accessdate=14 September 2016}}{{cite web|title=Brick Making in Bexley|url=http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10689/Brick-Making-in-Bexley|website=London Borough of Bexley|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914185254/http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10689/Brick-Making-in-Bexley|archive-date=14 September 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Slade Green gained a National School in 1868,{{cite web|title=Slade Green Junior and Infant Schools|url=http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/11155/Slade-Green-Junior-and-Infant-Schools|website=Bexley Council|access-date=12 September 2016}}{{dead link|date=May 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} and became a village when St. Augustine's Church opened in 1899.

The isolated Crayford Marshes, which could support barges along the Rivers Thames and Darent, were seen as an ideal location for the 40 acre ammunition works that may have operated from 1879 to 1962.{{cite web|title=Thames Ammunition Works|url=http://www.londonhistorygroup.com/?job_listing=thames-ammunition-works-slade-greenerith|website=London History|publisher=London History Group|accessdate=13 September 2016}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|title=The Thames Ammunition Works|url=http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2754.0|website=South East History Boards|publisher=KSH History Forum|accessdate=12 September 2016}} Noted mechanical engineer, Hugh Ticehurst MBE, worked at the site from 1893 to 1930.{{cite journal|title=Memoirs|journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers|volume=119|date=1930|pages=1444–1445|doi=10.1243/PIME_PROC_1930_119_027_02}} A comparison of historic and contemporary maps confirms that the boundaries of the Victorian site outline the current Darent Industrial Estate or Crayford Ness Industrial Area.{{cite web|title=OS Maps (Darent Industrial Park)|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/51.4780616714,0.2114950104,15|website=Ordnance Survey|accessdate=14 September 2016}}{{cite web|title=Explore georeferenced maps, Crayford marshes|url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=51.4755&lon=0.2078&layers=173&b=1|website=Map images c. 1888 - 1964|publisher=National Library of Scotland|accessdate=14 September 2016}}{{cite web|title=Crayford Marshes and Darent Industrial Estate|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3865218|website=Geograph|publisher=Marathon|accessdate=13 September 2016}}[http://www.bexley.gov.uk/service/environ/regeneration/pdfs/mm_baselinesummaryreport_06.pdf Managing the Marshes Summary of Baseline data (page 7) (Bexley November 2004)]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} accessed 27 June 2007

Rapid expansion followed the construction of a major rail depot designed to service 100 steam locomotives for South Eastern and Chatham Railway.{{cite web|title=The North Kent Railway|url=http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10727/The-North-Kent-Railway|website=Bexley Council|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214215224/http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/10727/The-North-Kent-Railway|archive-date=14 February 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} A small station was added to serve the depot and community on 1 July 1900 (its name changed from Slades Green station to Slade Green station in 1953), and by 1910 the complete 'railway village' of 158 houses had been built. It follows that today's much larger and more densely populated Slade Green could be described as a railway town.

By 1902 the secure Thames Munition Works was operated by Armstrong Whitworth and equipped with a Thames pier connected to an internal railway.{{cite book|last1=Buxton|first1=Ian|last2=Johnson|first2=Ian|title=The Battleship Builders Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships|date=2013|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|page=202|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5rhiBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Thames+Ammunition+Works%22&pg=PA202|accessdate=12 February 2017|isbn=9781848320932}}{{cite book|last1=Brayley Hodgetts|title=The rise and progress of the British explosives industry|date=1909|publisher=London, New York, Whittaker|page=23|url=http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/international-congress-of-pure-and-applied-chemist/the-rise-and-progress-of-the-british-explosives-industry-hci/page-23-the-rise-and-progress-of-the-british-explosives-industry-hci.shtml|accessdate=12 February 2017}}

Bexley borough's archived photos suggest the significance of the village had increased by 1905 and that it had absorbed historically important Howbury Manor.{{cite web|title=Howbury Grange Farm, Slade Green 1905|url=http://www.boroughphotos.org/bexley/pcd_1044/|website=Bexley borough photos|date=15 August 2012 |publisher=London borough of Bexley|accessdate=10 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=Howbury Grange moat 1910, Was in Crayford now in Slade Green|url=http://www.boroughphotos.org/bexley/phbos_2_991/|website=Bexley Borough Photos|date=15 August 2012 |accessdate=8 September 2016}}

NTWFF Erith, a National Trench Warfare Filling Factory, was constructed next to the larger Thames Munition Works in 1915.{{cite web|title=The National Factory Scheme|url=http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/sites/default/files/06%20The%20National%20Factory%20Scheme%20List.pdf|website=Britain from Above|publisher=Historic Environment Scotland|accessdate=13 February 2017}} For a short time a mortar filling station was connected to Slade Green station by the 1½ mile “Trench Warfare Light Railway”.{{cite web|title=The South Eastern Division's London Suburbs (map)|url=http://www.kentrail.org.uk/south_eastern_division_map.htm|website=Kent Rail|accessdate=13 September 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Burnham|first1=Tom|title="The Trench Warfare Light Railway" in Terrier Number 98 – Winter 2005|url=http://www.hfstephens-museum.org.uk/tenterden-terrier-index/terrier-volume-10/terrier-number-98--winter-2005|website=The Colonel Stephens Museum|publisher=The Colonel Stephens Museum in Tenterden|accessdate=6 February 2017}}

Miss Mary Edith Sheffield, identified only as a superintendent at the Thames Ammunition Works in the Crayford Marshes adjacent to Slade Green, was awarded MBE in King George V's 1918 Birthday Honours.{{cite web|title=The London Gazette, 4 June 1918 (Supplement 30730, Page 6740)|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30730/supplement/6740|website=The London Gazette, Official Public Record|publisher=Authority|accessdate=13 September 2016}}

Slade Green endured a national tragedy.{{cite web|title=Erith: WV Gilbert munitions disaster remembered|url=http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/bexley/4155024.ERITH__WV_Gilbert_munitions_disaster_remembered/|work=News Shopper|date=26 February 2009 |accessdate=13 September 2016}} En-masse explosions at a former Trench Warfare Filling Factory operated by Messrs. W.V. Gilbert, a contractor to the Disposal and Liquidation Commission, caused blinding flashes and the death of 13 workers— 12 teenage girls and one man who was their foreman— on 18 February 1924.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-telegraph/132070323/ "Explosives Disaster. Twelve Persons Burnt to Death. Breaking Down Cartridges."], Derby Daily Telegraph (Derby, England), 18 February 1924, p.3{{cite web|title=Disposal and Liquidation Commission|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/record?catid=3775038&catln=6|website=National Archives|accessdate=9 September 2016}}{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Ian|title=London: Bombed Blitzed and Blown Up: The British Capital Under Attack Since 1867|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TTawDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Slade+Green%22+Ammunition+Works&pg=PA125|date=2016|publisher=Frontline Books|pages=125–126|isbn=9781473879027}}[http://www.whitstablescene.co.uk/1924.htm A Tragedy That Rocked The Nation on 'Whitstable Scene'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006104713/http://www.whitstablescene.co.uk/1924.htm |date=6 October 2007 }} accessed 1 October 2007 The W.V. Gilbert factory was near to or adjoining Thames Munition Works.{{cite web|title=Slade Green Explosion Memorial|url=http://www.pmsa.org.uk/pmsa-database/3289/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212164438/http://www.pmsa.org.uk/pmsa-database/3289/|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 February 2017|website=National Recording Project|publisher=Public Monuments & Sculpture Association|access-date=12 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=Trench Warfare Filling Factories|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Trench_Warfare_Filling_Factories|website=Grace's Guide to British Industrial History|publisher=Grace's Guide Ltd.|accessdate=9 September 2016}} The parliamentary debate that followed showed that the contract did not require a Fair Wages Clause, and was exempt from the provisions of the Explosives Act of 1875.{{cite web|title=Munition Factory Explosion (Slade Green)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1924/feb/25/munition-factory-explosion-slade-green|website=Digitised editions of Commons and Lords Hansard|publisher=Parliament|date=25 February 1924|access-date=9 September 2016}} A prominent mass grave at Northumberland Heath stands in memory of the victims.{{cite web|title=A short History of Slade Green|url=https://sladegreenbiglocal.wordpress.com/about-slade-green/a-short-hostory-of-slade-green/|website=Slade Green Big Local|date=26 June 2013 |accessdate=9 September 2016}}

Development may have stagnated in the interwar years. Records show a Baptist Church was built on Elm road in the early 1930s, and Anti-Aircraft defences were constructed on the edge of Slade Green in the late 1930s.{{cite web|title=London's Local History, Monday 30 March 2015|url=http://edithsstreets.blogspot.co.uk/2015_03_01_archive.html|website=Edith's Streets|accessdate=12 September 2016}}

Variant spelling persisted as evidenced by Parliament recording "Slade Green" in 1924 and at least one chartered geographer recording "Slades Green" in 1933.{{cite web|last1=Bain|first1=James|title=Barnehurst, New Bridge, Erith, North End, Erith, Slades Green, Crayford (1933)|url=http://www.antiquemapsandprints.com/erith-crayford-barnehurst-slade-green-belvedere-northumberland-heath-1933-map-224671-p.asp|website=Antique Maps|publisher=Geographia Ltd|accessdate=8 February 2017}} Thames Munition Works Ltd. became part of the Vickers-Armstrongs conglomerate in 1927.

Throughout Second World War the marshes were used for the 4.5-inch HAA (Heavy Anti-Aircraft) Guns of the 6th Anti-Aircraft Division, corresponding with No. 11 Group RAF. The 4th Home Counties Brigade (Kent) formed from volunteers in the surrounding area in 1908, deployed overseas, and manned London's air defences at Slade Green in 1941. The disused command post and circular battery ramparts remain in the marshes between Slade Green and the former munition works. Slade Green was subject to a series of air raids, notably the night of 16 April 1941 when incendiary raids caused many fires and explosions capable of levelling the area; these threats were contained by the brave intervention of residents resulting in the award of three British Empire Medals and a George Medal.{{cite web|title=Plaque unveiled for men who saved Slade Green from devastation in the Blitz|url=http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/bexley/8985883.SLADE_GREEN__Local_war_heroes_honoured_by_their_community/|website=Newshopper|date=21 April 2011 |accessdate=13 September 2016}}Thomas, E.O.Slade Green and the Crayford Marshes, Bexley Education and Leisure Services Directorate, 2001, {{ISBN|0-902541-55-2}} The Museum of London states that Howbury Manor House, pictured within the moated medieval walls, was bombed during an air raid and then demolished.{{cite web|title=Creeks: Howbury Manor, Slade Green, near Dartford Creek on Easter Sunday, 1935 (front view)|url=http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/910638.html|website=Museum of London|accessdate=8 September 2016}} RAF campaign diaries show Thames Ammunition Works was hit on 12 October 1940.{{cite web|title=Battle of Britain campaign diaries|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/campaign_diaries.cfm?start=91&search=|website=Royal Air Force|publisher=UK Crown|access-date=13 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013104129/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/campaign_diaries.cfm?start=91&search=|archive-date=13 October 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} During the war the community was served by a British Restaurant operating from St. Augustine's Church Hall, which supplied up to 250 lunches six days a week to residents, the school, and nearby factories.

Aerial photographs taken during the North Sea flood of 1953 show the Thames Munition Works.{{cite web|title=Flooding at the Thames munition works, 1953 (photograph 1)|url=http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW048380|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207115923/http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW048380|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 February 2017|website=Britain From Above|publisher=Historic Environment Scotland|access-date=6 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=Flooding at the Thames munition works, 1953 (photograph 2)|url=http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW048379|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207120056/http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW048379|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 February 2017|website=Britain From Above|publisher=Historic Environment Scotland|access-date=6 February 2017}}{{cite web|title=Flooding at the Thames munition works, 1953 (photograph 3)|url=http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW048378|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207115056/http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW048378|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 February 2017|website=Britain From Above|publisher=Historic Environment Scotland|access-date=6 February 2017}} Explosives operations ended in the 1960s, and Bexley borough council gave planning permission for an industrial estate on the site in the 1970s.{{cite web|title=Row over poor state of access road|url=http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/bexley/8110125.SLADE_GREEN__Row_over_poor_state_of_access_road/|website=News Shopper|date=20 April 2010 |publisher=Newsquest (London & Essex) Ltd|accessdate=13 February 2017}}

Slade Green emerged as a London suburb in the post-war era following the construction of at least 1050 new dwellings, and a road bridge spanning the North Kent Line.{{cite web|title=Housing Scheme No. 22, Willow Road, Slade Green, c. 1955|url=http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/galleries/slade-green/willow-rd/willow-rd|website=A History of South-East London Suburbs|publisher=Ideal Homes|accessdate=12 September 2016|archive-date=31 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231092427/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/galleries/slade-green/willow-rd/willow-rd|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Bridge Road West, Slade Green, 1955|url=http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/galleries/slade-green/bridge-road-west|website=A History of Suburbs in South-East London|publisher=Ideal Homes|accessdate=12 September 2016|archive-date=30 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233519/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/galleries/slade-green/bridge-road-west|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Bridge Road, Slade Green, 1961|url=http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/galleries/slade-green/bridge-rd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514111440/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bexley/assets/galleries/slade-green/bridge-rd|url-status=live|archive-date=14 May 2011|website=A History of Suburbs in South-East London|publisher=Ideal Homes|access-date=12 September 2016}}

The Scheduled Ancient Monument known as Howbury Moat or Howbury Manor (c. 900), and a Grade II Listed Tithe Barn (c.1600s), are located between Slade Green and Crayford Marshes. According to Historic England, the interior of the medieval moated site includes a 16th or 17th century country house, with some significant surviving architectural details, and it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. Holders of the Manor of Howbury included Bishop Odo, Roger Apylton (aka Appleton) and Sir Cloudesley Shovell. After Apylton had May Place built in Crayford, occupants of the moated site were tenant farmers, and after the building of a new house (Howbury Grange) for the tenant farmer in 1882, by farm labourers, until the building was condemned in 1934. Photographic evidence from 1935 provides a glimpse of Howbury Manor House, which was bombed and demolished during WW2.{{cite web|title=Creeks: Howbury Manor, Slade Green, near Dartford Creek on Easter Sunday, 1935 (rear view)|url=http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/910644.html|website=Museum of London|accessdate=8 September 2016}} In 2006 the medieval moat site was the subject of an English Heritage sponsored research project by the University of Oxford's Geography Department into techniques of Soft Wall Capping for preservation purposes.[https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/soft-capping-historic-walls/soft-capping-historic-walls.pdf/ Soft capping historic walls] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212164612/https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/soft-capping-historic-walls/soft-capping-historic-walls.pdf/ |date=12 February 2017 }} accessed 6 April 2008{{cite journal |last1=Viles |first1=H. A. |last2=Wood |first2=C. |title=Green walls?: integrated laboratory and field testing of the effectiveness of soft wall capping in conserving ruins |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |date=2007 |volume=271 |issue=1 |pages=309–322 |doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.271.01.29 |url=http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/271/1/309.short |accessdate=8 August 2018|bibcode=2007GSLSP.271..309V |s2cid=129907317 |url-access=subscription }}

Following an investigation by English Heritage, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport listed the Second World War anti-aircraft batteries in Slade Green's London artillery zone.{{cite web|last1=Piper|first1=Linda|title=Slade Green: Residents celebrate as Second World War ack ack gun emplacement is listed|url=http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/bexley/4859856.SLADE_GREEN__Residents_celebrate_as_Second_World_War_ack_ack_gun_emplacement_is_listed/|website=News Shopper|date=20 January 2010 |publisher=Newsquest (London & Essex) Ltd|accessdate=13 February 2017}}{{NHLE|desc=World War II Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) Battery|num=1393580|accessdate=13 February 2017}}

Locally listed buildings are the former Railway Tavern, the Grange and Cottages at Howbury farm, and train sheds with works.{{cite web|title=Appendix D2: Locally Listed Buildings|url=http://udp.bexley.gov.uk/bexleyudp.asp?mode=text&cid=43&page=appendix5|website=London borough of Bexley|accessdate=10 February 2017|archive-date=30 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530102444/http://udp.bexley.gov.uk/bexleyudp.asp?mode=text&cid=43&page=appendix5|url-status=dead}} Oak Road is a conservation area with Railway workers' cottages dating to 1900.{{cite web|title=Appendix E: Conservation Areas|url=http://udp.bexley.gov.uk/bexleyudp.asp?mode=text&cid=46&page=appendix8|website=London borough of Bexley|accessdate=10 February 2017|archive-date=30 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530102512/http://udp.bexley.gov.uk/bexleyudp.asp?mode=text&cid=46&page=appendix8|url-status=dead}} The former Railway Tavern (1a Moat Lane), built by Smith & Sons of South Norwood around 1899, was notable for being illuminated by electricity.{{cite web|title=Sustainability Appraisal Report of the Erith Western Gateway Development Framework SPD February 2011|url=http://www.bexley.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=8480&p=0|website=Bexley Council|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831215528/http://www.bexley.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=8480&p=0|archive-date=31 August 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

St. Augustine's Church was built in 1899 and extended in 1911. Substantial rebuilding was required following a direct hit during a Second World War air raid in 1944 and following a fire in 1991 that destroyed the roof along with much of the internal fabric.

In 2013 the Communities Secretary recognised the endurance of historic county borders. Slade Green is in the historic county of, but not the non-metropolitan administrative county of Kent.

The Howbury Centre was replaced with a new [https://web.archive.org/web/20160914175006/http://www.bexley.gov.uk/article/3548/Slade-Green--Howbury-Community-Centre Slade Green & Howbury Community Centre] in 2014, which hosts the public library and many social activities.{{cite web|title=Greener Bexley|url=http://greenerbexley.org/slade-green-library/|website=Greener Bexley|access-date=7 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913230105/http://greenerbexley.org/slade-green-library/|archive-date=13 September 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}[http://www.thisislewisham.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.2059164.0.councils_centre_sale_plans_met_with_jeers.php Newsshopper article on plans for the Howbury Centre site] accessed 6 March 2008

Churches include a Baptist Union Christian Fellowship, and St Augustine's Anglican parish church; a third Pentecostal church meets in the Anglican church hall.

There are two pubs, and other bars at the Slade Green Railway Club and Erith Yacht Club. The latter relocated from Erith to a site on the edge of Slade Green in 1900.{{cite web|title=Erith Yacht Club|url=http://www.erithyachtclub.org.uk/index.php/facilities-hire|website=Erith Yacht Club|accessdate=7 September 2016|archive-date=17 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517014339/https://erithyachtclub.org.uk/index.php/facilities-hire|url-status=dead}} Slade Green F.C. last competed in 2009.

The adjacent Crayford Marshes have been recognised as ecologically significant since c. 1980 and are now designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The area is popular with bird watchers and video footage shows breeding seals on the waterfront.{{cite book|last1=Yorke|first1=Wendy|last2=Mayon-White|first2=Richard|title=Exploring the Thames Wilderness: A Guide to the Natural Thames: A Guide to the Natural Thames|date=2013|publisher=A&C|page=191}}{{cite web|last1=Ricketts|first1=Lee|title=Seals at Erith River Thames London|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7JGkvj0Vn0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/X7JGkvj0Vn0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|accessdate=7 February 2017}}{{cbignore}} Bexley borough council has discussed intentions to meet the needs of residents as well as the needs of protected amphibians and reptiles.{{cite web|title=All London Green Grid: River Cray and Southern Marshes Area Framework|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/file/465660/download?token=p915Wp0n|website=London Plan|publisher=Greater London Authority|accessdate=12 February 2017}} The site of listed HAA batteries is managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

{{for|infrastructure investments in Slade Green and surrounding areas|Thames Gateway}}

Slade Green is identified in the London Plan as being part of Bexley Riverside and has continued as a target for urban regeneration since at least 2011. Current applications include converting rail-side scrubland into modern housing.{{cite web|title=Bexley housing: Early plans for 50 new flats in Slade Green put to council|url=https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/17604705.bexley-housing-early-plans-for-50-new-flats-in-slade-green-put-to-council/|website=News Shopper|date=29 April 2019 |publisher=Newsquest|accessdate=2 June 2019}}

Nature conservation at Crayford Ness requires Bexley council to normally resist developments that increase lorry traffic around Slade Green.{{cite web|title=Bexley Council - Unitary development plan - Policy TS9, TS10|url=http://udp.bexley.gov.uk/bexleyudp.asp?mode=text&cid=34&page=chapter12#ts9|website=London borough of Bexley|accessdate=10 February 2017|archive-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080318/http://udp.bexley.gov.uk/bexleyudp.asp?mode=text&cid=34&page=chapter12#ts9|url-status=dead}} The town is increasingly a mix of privately owned residential properties benefiting from short commuting times to the City of London.{{cite web|title=Slade Green development is a gem|url=http://www.hbdonline.co.uk/news/slade-green-development-is-a-gem/|website=House builder & Developer|date=12 November 2014 |publisher=HbD|accessdate=12 November 2014}} Local industry is confined to the site of the old works and areas adjacent to the large railway carriage depot.

Various types of investors are attracted to Slade Green's unique combination of strategic rail infrastructure and close proximity to national road network via the M25 at the Dartford Crossing. Some commercial developments immediately outside Slade Green are influenced by London Assembly's [https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/current-london-plan/london-plan-annexes/annex-one-opportunity-and#Stub-221459 Bexley Riverside] Opportunity and Intensification Area.

Slade Green is in the electoral ward of North End in the UK Parliament constituency of Bexleyheath and Crayford. Slade Green is represented at the London Assembly by Bexley and Bromley.{{cite web|title=Mayor of London - London Assembly - Bexley|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/in-my-area/bexley|website=Greater London Authority|accessdate=9 September 2016}}

Slade Green was part of Dartford Rural District in Kent, as created by the Local Government Act 1894.[https://archive.today/20121224054709/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10042136 Vision of Britain 'Unit History of Dartford'] accessed 1 October 2007[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10042136&c_id=10001043 Vision of Britain 'Map of Dartford Rural District']{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} accessed 1 October 2007 In 1920 the area became part of the Crayford Urban District of Kent.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10025746 Vision of Britain 'Unit History of Crayford'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514012308/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10025746 |date=14 May 2011 }} accessed 1 October 2007[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10025746&c_id=10001043 Vision of Britain 'Map of Crayford Urban District']{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} accessed 1 October 2007 In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, the Crayford Urban District was abolished, and its area became part of the present-day London Borough of Bexley in Greater London.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152550 Vision of Britain 'Unit History of Bexley'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412051321/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152550 |date=12 April 2012 }} accessed 1 October 2007

{{further|London Borough of Bexley#Education}}

Slade Green contains one of two campuses in Haberdashers' Crayford Temple Grove Primary, which is part of Haberdashers' Crayford Academy.{{cite web|title=Haberdashers' Aske's Crayford Temple Grove Primary Overview|url=http://www.haaf.org.uk/Crayford-Primary-Overview|accessdate=7 September 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920221955/http://www.haaf.org.uk/Crayford-Primary-Overview|url-status=dead}} Ofsted's report shows the larger Crayford Academy is a good school, with an increasing number of students at Slade Green making good progress.{{cite web|title=Haberdashers' Aske's Crayford Academy, School Inspection Report|url=http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/135951|accessdate=7 September 2016}} The nearest faith schools for this age group are operated by Trinitas Academy Trust. These primary schools include Christ Church (CofE), which Ofsted reports as outstanding,{{cite web|title=Christ Church (Erith) C of E Primary School|url=http://www.christchurch.bexley.sch.uk|website=bexley.sch.uk|publisher=Trinitas Academy Trust|accessdate=12 September 2016}} and St. Paul's (CofE) that has yet to be inspected.{{cite web|title=St. Paul's (Slade Green) C of E Primary|url=http://www.st-pauls.bexley.sch.uk/|website=bexley.sch.uk|publisher=Trinitas Academy Trust|accessdate=2 June 2019}}

Slade Green Secondary School, later known as Howbury Grange, closed in 1992 {{cite web|title=Records of Slade Green Secondary School, Crayford|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/N13973330|accessdate=7 September 2016}} and Bexley Council's Secondary Pupil Referral Unit closed in 2008. The nearest secondary schools are Haberdashers' Crayford Academy, Leigh Academy Bexley, Dartford Grammar School, and Dartford Grammar School for Girls.

• [http://www.staugustines-sladegreen.church St. Augustine's Church] (Anglican)
• [https://www.thewayofthespirit.com/slade-green/ Slade Green Christian Fellowship] (Baptist)

{{Geographic Location

|title = Neighbouring areas of Slade Green

|Northwest = Erith Marshes

|North = Erith

|Northeast = across River Thames
Rainham Marshes

|West = North End, West Heath
towards Greenwich

|Centre =Slade Green parish
Crayford Marshes

|East = across River Darent
Joyce Green

|Southwest = across Barnehust
Bexleyheath

|South = Crayford

|Southeast = Dartford
Bluewater Shopping Centre

}}

Slade Green adjoins the main A206 dual carriageway, which follows the River Thames to Greenwich passing near the Blackwall Tunnel. Another efficient route to inner London is the A2 road via Crayford and Hall Place. In the opposite direction, the A206 road terminates near Bluewater after feeding Junction 1A of the M25 motorway.

Slade Green railway station provides the area with National Rail services to Luton via Woolwich Arsenal and London Blackfriars, London Charing Cross via Woolwich Arsenal and Lewisham, London Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal, London Cannon Street via Bexleyheath, London Cannon Street via Sidcup, Dartford and Rainham.

Slade Green is served by London Buses routes 89, 99, 428 and N89. These connect Slade Green with areas including Bexleyheath, Blackheath, Bluewater, Crayford, Dartford, Erith, Lewisham, Welling and Woolwich.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{LB Bexley}}

Category:Areas of London

Category:Districts of the London Borough of Bexley