Riverside Country Park

Riverside Country Park is a large coastal public park, situated alongside the River Medway estuary between Gillingham and Rainham. The park covers about 100 hectares - approximately 247acre. There are a variety of natural habitats within the park, including mudflats and salt marsh, ponds and reed-beds, grassland and scrub, which provide a haven for wildlife.HistoryThe coastline of Gillingham has had a rich and varied past The park was established in the 1970s by Medway Council and takes in the various areas; of Motney Hill, Rainham Dock, Bloors Wharf, Horrid Hill, Sharp's Green Bay and Eastcourt Meadows.Rainham Docks and Motney HillThe earliest known occupation of the area was in the Neolithic times according to archaeological evidence found around the Rainham Docks area. This was later used by the Romans as a burial site.Like most of Medway, the fertile area was then a major site of hops, cherries, plums and apple orchards and wheat fields.In 1819, Motney Hill appears on maps as an island. Because of its large sand deposits it was also known as 'Gritty Island'. In 1901, the British Standard Cement Company started chalk extraction to London. The chalk came from a large pit, now known as Berengrave Local Nature ReserveA cement works was then established on Motney Hill island in 1912. During high tides, barges sailed into the river near the docks, then workers known as 'Muddies' collected mud from the riverbed and loaded it onto the barges. As the tide came back in, the barges would re-float and sail to Rainham Dock, where the mud would be mixed with chalk and fired at high temperatures to produce cement.