Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, 16 miles (26 km) east south-east of central London.
The town centre is situated in a valley through which the River Darent flows, and where the old road from London to Dover crossed: hence the name, from Darent + ford. Dartford became a market town in medieval times and, although today it is principally a commuter town for Greater L...
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Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, 16 miles (26 km) east south-east of central London.
The town centre is situated in a valley through which the River Darent flows, and where the old road from London to Dover crossed: hence the name, from Darent + ford. Dartford became a market town in medieval times and, although today it is principally a commuter town for Greater London, it has a long history of religious, industrial and cultural importance. It is an important rail hub; the main through-road now avoids the town itself.
In prehistory, the first people appeared in the Dartford area around 250,000 years ago: a tribe of prehistoric hunter-gatherers whose exemplar is called Swanscombe Man. Many other archaeological investigations have revealed a good picture of occupation of the district with important finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
When the Romans engineered the Dover to London...
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