The 13th Century Parish Church of St. Helen’s (Grade I listed) is one of the largest parish churches in Kent and was a site of Christian worship since at least AD 774 when King Offa of Mercia granted land for the building of a church.
The great importance of Cliffe and its church can be seen by the Rectors of the church producing six Archbishops, eighteen Archdeacons, seven Bishops, four Deans, six Chancellors (four of which being either King’s or Lord’s) and twenty-six Canons. The living at Cliffe was described, in the 17th century, as ‘one of the prizes of the church’.
The Old Rectory, itself a Grade II* listed building, and is among the earliest examples of a stone built building in Kent. It is situated to the south of the village and dates from the early 14th century.
At the northern border of Cliffe Parish, where it meets the River Thames, stands Cliffe Fort (a Scheduled Monument). Cliffe Fort, built in the middle 19th Century, is one of 5 surviving Royal Commission Coastal Forts in the Thames and Medway and the building the planning of the construction of the fort was overseen by General Gordon.
To the northwest of the village of Cliffe, on the south bank of the Thames, is situated the extensive workings of the Curtis & Harvey Explosives Works which operated between 1892 – 1921 for the manufacture of nitro-glycerine, nitro-glycerine based products, cordite, blasting gelatine, the chlorate based explosive ‘Cheddite’ and gelatine dynamite.
Sited between the Thames and the village of Cliffe are the remains of four cement works: The Pottery (1854-1886), Nine Elms (1867-1900), Cliffe Quarry (1874-1921) and Alpha Cement Works (1912-1970).
Looking for a small tube.
Maintenence conducted 02/12/2025