Visit Sittingbourne Places

Welcome to Visit Sittingbourne Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Sittingbourne

  

Sittingbourne Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Sittingbourne

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Sittingbourne history

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Sittingbourne owes its name to a modernised version of an observation on its location. The town’s name came from a small stream or “bourne” running underground in part of the town. The Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274–5, preserved in the National Archives, record Sittingbourne as Sydingeburn.

Romans

There is evidence of settlement in the area before 2000 BC, with farming and trading tribes living inland to avoid attack. In AD 43 the Romans invaded Kent, built Watling Street, which passed straight through Sittingbourne. The port of Milton Regis became the Roman administrative centre for the area.

Middle Age Hostelry

There was no entry for Sittingbourne in the Domesday book of 1086, merely a note attached to Milton Regis showing a population of 393 households. After the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket in 1170, pilgrims began to travel to Canterbury Cathedral and Sittingbourne became a useful hostelry for travellers. The Lyon – now the Red Lion – hosted King Henry V of England on his way back from the Battle of Agincourt. The future Queen Victoria and her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld stayed overnight at the Rose Inn.

Railway and Industrial Revolution

Sittingbourne was a centre of production to fuel the expansion of London. It produced bricks and paper from clay from its clay substrata. The railway came to Sittingbourne in 1858, and it was used to fuel London’s expansion.

The First World War

The Germans used the town as a reference point for bearings on the way to London. About 100 air raid warnings were sounded in Sittingbourne during the First World War. Donald John Dean VC OBE of Sittingbourne was awarded the Victoria Cross for deeds carried out in France in 1918.

Sittingbourne economy & business

Brickmaking

The bricks for the 3.45-mile (5,550 m) London Bridge – Greenwich Railway Viaduct were made at Sittingbourne and transported to the site by barge. In 1870, up to 2,628 men were working in the brick and tile industry.

Bargebuilding & water transport

Sittingbourne developed into a port during the industrial revolution and a successful barge-building industry developed at Milton Creek. During this era over 500 types of barges are believed to have been built, centred around Conyer, a Roman hamlet of the village of Teynham. The Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum was destroyed by arson in 2008.

Paper

Paper manufacture started in Sittingbourne in 1708, when Peter Archer was recorded as a Paper Maker. Sittingbourne Paper Mill was the largest producer of newsprint in the world, with its 1,200 employees using 17 machines to make over 2000 tonnes per week.

You can visit Sittingbourne places with Walkfo Sittingbourne to hear history at Sittingbourne’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Sittingbourne has 26 places to visit in our interactive Sittingbourne map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Sittingbourne, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Sittingbourne places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Sittingbourne & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 26 audio facts unique to Sittingbourne places in an interactive Sittingbourne map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Sittingbourne Places Map
26 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Sittingbourne historic spots	Sittingbourne tourist destinations	Sittingbourne plaques	Sittingbourne geographic features
Walkfo Sittingbourne tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Sittingbourne

  

Best Sittingbourne places to visit

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Sittingbourne has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Sittingbourne’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Sittingbourne’s information audio spots:

Borough of Swale Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The district is named after the narrow channel called The Swale, that separates the mainland of Kent from the Isle of Sheppey.

Visit Sittingbourne plaques