St Aidan's parish was originally formed from the south western quarter of Chalk Parish bounded by the A226 Rochester Road to the north and Thong Lane to the east. Urban developments began in this area after Chalk was annexed by the former borough of Gravesend in 1935. Two estates occupy the area and now fall within the parish of St Aidan: Westcourt and Riverview Park.
Westcourt Estate: this is built on land that once was farmed by West Court Manor and includes roads such as Brown Road, Jubilee Crescent and Hampton Crescent, and West Court School. The original estate was then extended in the 1950's and 60's by roads such as Cruden Road, Medhurst Crescent and Freeman Road. In 1955 St. Aidan's Parish hall was built by Chalk church to serve the increasing population of this area of Chalk, with St. Aidan's church itself being built in the early 1960s and consecrated by the Bishop of Rochester in 1963.
Riverview Park: all of Riverview Park except for the roads in Shorne West are in the former ancient Parish of Chalk. Originally a small wood known as West Wood occupied part of the site as did the Manor of Raynehurst and from 1932 until 1958 the so called "Gravesend" Airport (the airport was actually situated in Chalk Parish). In the late 1950's the Riverview housing estate was built on the site of the airport with the Thong Lane Sports Centre opening across the road in Thong Lane in 1969, Thamesview School opened in 1968, Riverview Primary Schools were opened in 1963 and Raynehurst Primary School was opened in 1965 and changed its name to Raynehurst in 1968. The Southern Valley Golf Course is situated in Chalk Parish on the east side of Thong Lane. Riverview Park branch library was opened in 1964.
(The above information is taken from an article 'Chalk Parish: The built up area' on the 'Discover Gravesend' website)
Click on the following links for more information on:
- the building of St Aidan's Church
- Establishing the Powerhouse
- Plans for redevelopment of the church hall
- Our patron saint, Saint Aidan