Cement production

At the height of production at the end of the nineteenth century, some seventeen cement factories were working on the banks of the Medway between Frindsbury and Aylesford. Each excavated chalk from the nearby hills and brought it from the quarries to the factories beside the river by industrial railways. These were constantly altered as the workings required. After processing the cement was largely put into barges. The proximity of London ensured that there was a great demand for the product.