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Higham is a small village bordering the Hoo Peninsula, in Kent, between Gravesend and Rochester. It is in two parts Higham itself on the main road, and Lower Higham around Higham railway station, a mile to the north.
The Larkin Memorial
Standing almost hidden from sight yet in the highest spot at Higham is the Larkin memorial on Telegraph Hill. This needle was raised in 1835 to the memory of Charles Larkin (1775-1833), an auctioneer from Rochester who promoted the Parliamentary reforms of 1832 that gave the vote to every householder whose property rental value was more than £10. By 1860 this unusual concrete monument was in danger of collapse, but was repaired in 1869 after local newspaper reports about its condition. It was renovated again in 1974.
Gad's Hill
Shakespeare refers to Gad's Hill and its relationship with highway robbery in his Henry IV Part I. As far back as 1558 there was a ballad entitled The Robbers of Gad's Hill. The Sir John Falstaff public house stood at the top of a steep thickly wooded hill, an ideal spot for highwaymen.
Gad's Hill Place was once the home of Charles Dickens who bought it in 1856 for £1,790. In its garden once stood a Swiss chalet in which Dickens would compose his works. The chalet is now in the gardens of Eastgate House a Tudor building of great character in Rochester.
Thames and Medway Canal
The Thames and Medway Canal was proposed in 1778 as a route for military vessels between Chatham and Woolwich dockyards without the need to travel the 46 miles around Hoo Peninsula.
The Gravesend to Higham section was completed by 1801, but then the canal had to get through the hills between Higham and Strood. After various other routes were discounted, construction of the Higham tunnel began in 1819. It was then the largest in Britain, 11,790ft (2.25 miles) long and 35ft wide. It had an 8ft depth of water and a 5ft towpath.
It was also intended for the transport of hops and other locally grown produce, but it was not a commercial success. The tunnel opened in 1824, but soon leaked, so a pump was fitted; complaints then came from barge-owners that it was slow to use, so in 1830 it was shut for two months while a passing place was built in the centre.
"The tunnel is so perfectly straight, that a person placed at one end, may discern a small light entering at the other extremity ... On the opening of the tunnel, a small steam passage boat was employed for the conveyance of passengers from Gravesend to Rochester, and vice versa; but as it was found to injure the towing-path of the tunnel, as well as the banks of the canal, it was discontinued. Foot passengers, however, still pass to and fro, though some caution is necessary, in order to avoid coming into contact with the horse, or horses, towing the barges." (Extracts from notes in the Tallis Directory, 1839)
From 1845 the newly built railway between Gravesend and Strood shared the tunnel with the canal. The waterway soon became unnecessary and was filled in and two tracks laid, the canal company having sold out to the South Eastern Railway. Higham railway station was converted from the canal rowing contactor's home.
The canal between Gravesend and Higham was used until 1934 and has recently been renovated with its towpath now used as a cycle track.
Sources: Memories page feature by Stephen Rayner, Medway News (used with permission).
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