Population 3,437 (2011.ward) Region South East Sovereign state United Kingdom Shire county Kent District Gravesham UK parliament constituency Gravesham | OS grid reference TQ636700 Country England Post town Northfleet, GRAVESEND Local time Thursday 2:19 PM Dialling code 01474 | |
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Weather 16°C, Wind SW at 19 km/h, 62% Humidity | ||
Istead Rise is a village 3 miles (5 km) south of Gravesend in Kent, England. It is in the borough of Gravesham and has a population of 3,437 (2011 census).
Map of Istead Rise, UK
By road, it is 23 miles (37 km) east of London on the A2 road. The nearest railway station is 2 miles (3 km) away at Meopham (34 minutes from London Victoria). Istead Rise is 4 miles (6 km) from Ebbsfleet International railway station which opened in 2007 for Eurostar services to Paris, Brussels and Lille. In June 2009, North Kent commuter trains started running on the high-speed track to London St Pancras (16 minutes away), stopping only at Stratford International.
The new Linear Park, on the site of the old A2, is 15 minutes' walk away, 5 minutes by bike, and is suited to cycling, walking and jogging. At one end are Nell's Cafe and Shorne Country Park, and at the other end is Sainsbury's. The new Cyclopark opened there in September 2012. Nearby is Ifield, a quiet little village with a beautiful church.
Istead Rise Primary School provides education for children till the age of 11. In addition, on the site of the primary school, there are two nursery schools.
St Barnabas Church (Church of England), founded in 1957, is located near the shops.
There is a small parade of shops with an Indian restaurant, bakery, butcher, pharmacy, supermarket, hardware store, dry cleaner, and dentist. On Lewis Road there is a hairdresser, florist and dentist. There is also a new medical practice.
Istead Rise was a pig-farming community in the 1860s, situated in the North Downs pathway. A pig farm was on what is now the site of Istead Rise Primary School. Kent County Council bought the site for its school in the 1960s. Until then Istead Rise did not have a school as there were insufficient children in the area to make this viable. As well as a pig farm on Downs Road, there were orchards on what are now the Community Centre fields and the surrounding housing area. There was also a flower farm with large greenhouses around what is now Flower Hill House and Flowerhill Way. Frog Island is on the site of what is now Istead Rise Parade. Frog Island is also the name of the local Morris Men group. References to these can be found in the local history of Istead Rise The Rise of the Rise, by Ken Jones.
Istead Rise community centre was destroyed by a fire started during a burglary on 20 March 2007. The centre was re-built and opened again on 17 December 2008.