Frindsbury

"FRINDSBURY, a parish in the hundred of Shamwell, lathe of Aylesford, county Kent, 1 mile N. of Rochester, its post town, and close to the Strood railway station on the North Kent line. It is situated on the river Medway, along the banks of which are several wharfs and a steamboat pier, and includes the hamlet of Upnor. Its Saxon name was Estingham. For many centuries it formed part of the demesne of the see of Rochester, to which it was given by Offa, King of Mercia. Brickmaking is carried on here, and there are extensive lime and cement works. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester, value £449, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is an ancient structure dedicated to All Saints. From the eminence on which it stands there is an extensive prospect of the river and surrounding country. The charitable endowments of the parish amount to nearly £80 per annum. At the village of Upnor are remains of a castle erected by Queen Elizabeth to defend the passage of the Medway. It consisted of a central building with a round tower at each end, surrounded by a moat; for some time it was used as a powder magazine, and is now converted into barracks."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]