Broomhill is part of the North Downs ridge of chalk that finishes on the Hoo Peninsular and was formed in the cretaceous period. If you are lucky you may find prehistoric fossils, especially oyster shells, washed up by the sea that used to cover the area.

Chalk was quarried at Broomhill from Roman times until the last quarry was closed in the middle of the 20th century. There were also several lime kilns on the site from the Middle Ages which were were still in use until the 19th Century.

Evidence has been found at Piper’s House Farm that the chalk pits were used as refuges by Ancient Britons when under attack.

An Anglo-Saxon grave was found on the site which contained a spearhead, knife and bronze ring set with an amethyst which can be seen in Rochester Museum.

See the special windmill feature page

Through history, the summit has been used strategically in battle.

Legend has it that Boudica and the Iceni massed ready to swoop on the Romans as they sent their advance guard wading across the Medway.

In 1264 Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester and leader of the 2nd Barons’ uprising, used Broomhill to plan his strategy for capturing Rochester Castle.

When the rebellion in 1554 against Queen Mary marrying Philip of Spain failed, Norfolk and other royalists escaped over the hill to Gravesend.

During the time of the Spanish Armada, Broomhill was part of the chain of early warning beacons set up from strategic points along the south coast, criss-crossing Sussex, Surrey and Kent to London.

In 1606 James I and his family showed off the Dockyard to King Christian IV of Denmark from the Hill and forty years later, during the Civil War, Cromwell’s troops were ambushed there before they eventually captured Rochester.

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Several skeletons have been discovered on Broomhill. It is believed they were victims of the spotted fever epidemic of 1657, when infected sailors were billeted on Strood residents.

Until recently, no one could travel between London and Dover without crossing the hill.

Turner spent a lot of time on the hill painting views from it, Hogarth sketched it and John Cobbett refers to it in his writings.

There were two windmills on Broomhill, the last one was demolished in the 1920s. See our special feature page on the windmills of Broomhill.

In the early 19th century, navvies tunnelled under Broomhill to construct the Gravesend to Strood canal, which was subsequently filled in and is now used for the railway line.

The site was also home to 6 windmills on all sides of the hill until the beginning of the 20th Century.

After the 1st World War, allotments were plotted out and sold, some are still there. By this time housing development had also begun to creep up the hill.

See the special windmill feature page

In 1946-47 some 100 prefab bungalows were built on the top of the hill because of the housing shortage.

The map on the left from 1970, shows Merlin Road, and an extended King Arthur's Drive before the creation of the Park. This is where the prefabs were.

The map on the right from 1988 shows that Merlin Road had disappeared, along with a section of King Arthur's Drive that is now the car park.

The prefabs were all demolished by 1977, when, after a public outcry over Council plans to build ten detached houses on the hill, the summit was declared a park to prevent any further incursion on one of Medway’s green spaces.

Thanks to Ruth Park for the maps.