Blue Bell Hill
Encyclopedia
Blue Bell Hill is a chalk
hill
between Maidstone
and Rochester in the English
county of Kent
. It overlooks the River Medway
and is part of the North Downs
. Settlements on the hill include Walderslade
; and Blue Bell Hill and Kit's Coty
villages. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries much of the hill was quarried for chalk.
The south west side of Blue Bell Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
as it harbours several rare plant species. A picnic area serves as a rest point for walkers on the North Downs Way
which runs along the top of the hill whilst the prehistoric trackway of the Pilgrims' Way
skirts its foot. A modern crematorium also surmounts the hill as does the Bluebell Hill transmitting station, which comprises five steel lattice towers, each approximately 45–50 metres in height. The station broadcasts analogue
and digital
television
, FM
radio
and DAB
to much of north and central Kent, and an overspill service for southern Essex
. Services broadcast include BBC One
(South East), ITV1
Meridian
(East), BBC Two
, Channel 4
, Heart Kent, KMFM Extra
, KMFM Medway
and KMFM Maidstone
.
The A229
dual carriageway
follows the route of a former Roman road and climbs the hill, today linking the M2 and M20 motorway
s. High Speed 1 also runs beneath the hill, via the North Downs Tunnel
, and archaeological work in advance of it uncovered a Neolithic long house
on its slopes.
including Kit's Coty House
and Countless Stones
.
The Blue Bell Hill Dolmen was a now lost member of the group of Neolithic
chamber tomb
s in the English
county of Kent
. It is thought to have been one of the Medway Megaliths
. Its precise location is unclear but it stood on Blue Bell Hill on the North Downs
between Maidstone
and Rochester, to the north of Kit's Coty House
. Only fragments of antiquarian
s' records now remain. It was possibly investigated in 1844 and was still extant in the early twentieth century. A sketch in Maidstone Museum indicates that three sarsen
standing stone
s survived to heights of 7 feet forming the walls of the burial chamber. A stone that may have formed the capstone lay between them. The tomb was found to have contained the skeleton of a man and fragments of red pottery were found although none of these has since survived. A kerb
of smaller stones surrounded the larger ones and beneath the standing stones was a large circular pit dug into the natural chalk
and filled with many flint
s. Local people told the investigating antiquarians that many such pits had been found on the hill and that the flints were used as a source of stone to metal new roads. From these fragments it is thought that one, or possibly more, chamber tombs stood on Blue Bell Hill in addition to the surviving Medway Megaliths.-
A Roman temple was also later built on the hill.
Blue Bell Hill is supposedly haunted by a ghostly figure that walks the A229, reported to be actor turned barman Jonas Jonny Boy Kavanagh.
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
between Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and Rochester in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. It overlooks the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
and is part of the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
. Settlements on the hill include Walderslade
Walderslade
Walderslade is a large suburb to the south of Chatham, Kent, England, encompassing almost all the ME5 postcode district ....
; and Blue Bell Hill and Kit's Coty
Kit's Coty
Kit's Coty is a small village on the slopes of Blue Bell Hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent.It is named after the nearby Neolithic chamber tomb of Kit's Coty House and overlooks the valley of the River Medway. The A229 road runs next to the village....
villages. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries much of the hill was quarried for chalk.
The south west side of Blue Bell Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
as it harbours several rare plant species. A picnic area serves as a rest point for walkers on the North Downs Way
North Downs Way
The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Kent Downs AONB.East of Boughton Lees, the path splits...
which runs along the top of the hill whilst the prehistoric trackway of the Pilgrims' Way
Pilgrims' Way
The Pilgrims' Way is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent...
skirts its foot. A modern crematorium also surmounts the hill as does the Bluebell Hill transmitting station, which comprises five steel lattice towers, each approximately 45–50 metres in height. The station broadcasts analogue
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
and digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
to much of north and central Kent, and an overspill service for southern Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Services broadcast include BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
(South East), ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
(East), BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, Heart Kent, KMFM Extra
KMFM Extra
KMFM Extra is a DAB radio station based in Rochester and broadcasting to the county of Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group....
, KMFM Medway
KMFM Medway
KMFM Medway is an Independent Local Radio serving the Medway Towns and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
and KMFM Maidstone
KMFM Maidstone
KMFM Maidstone is an Independent Local Radio serving the town of Maidstone and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
.
The A229
A229 road
The A229 is a major road running north-south through Kent.The road begins in the Medway town of Rochester at the foot of Star Hill forming a junction with the A2 road. It then climbs up through the built-up area of Chatham, passing Troy Town and Rochester Airport before descending the slope of the...
dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
follows the route of a former Roman road and climbs the hill, today linking the M2 and M20 motorway
M20 motorway
The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It runs from the M25 motorway to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long...
s. High Speed 1 also runs beneath the hill, via the North Downs Tunnel
North Downs Tunnel
The North Downs Tunnel is a railway tunnel that carries High Speed 1 through the North Downs, at Blue Bell Hill near Maidstone in Kent, south-east England....
, and archaeological work in advance of it uncovered a Neolithic long house
Neolithic long house
The Neolithic long house was a long, narrow timber dwelling built by the first farmers in Europe beginning at least as early as the period 5000 to 6000 BC. This type of architecture represents the largest free-standing structure in the world in its era...
on its slopes.
Archaeology
A famous feature of the hill is the eastern group of the prehistoric tombs called the Medway megalithsMedway megaliths
The Medway megaliths or Medway tombs are names given to a group of Neolithic chambered long barrows and other megaliths located in the lower valley of the River Medway in the English county of Kent...
including Kit's Coty House
Kit's Coty House
Kit's Coty House or Kit's Coty is the name of the remains of a Neolithic chambered long barrow on Blue Bell Hill near Aylesford in the English county of Kent. It is one of the Medway megaliths....
and Countless Stones
Countless Stones
The Countless Stones, also known as Little Kit's Coty House, is the name of the remains of a Neolithic chambered long barrow on Blue Bell Hill near Aylesford in the English county of Kent. The site is one of the Medway megaliths...
.
The Blue Bell Hill Dolmen was a now lost member of the group of Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
chamber tomb
Chamber tomb
A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one...
s in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. It is thought to have been one of the Medway Megaliths
Medway megaliths
The Medway megaliths or Medway tombs are names given to a group of Neolithic chambered long barrows and other megaliths located in the lower valley of the River Medway in the English county of Kent...
. Its precise location is unclear but it stood on Blue Bell Hill on the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
between Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and Rochester, to the north of Kit's Coty House
Kit's Coty House
Kit's Coty House or Kit's Coty is the name of the remains of a Neolithic chambered long barrow on Blue Bell Hill near Aylesford in the English county of Kent. It is one of the Medway megaliths....
. Only fragments of antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
s' records now remain. It was possibly investigated in 1844 and was still extant in the early twentieth century. A sketch in Maidstone Museum indicates that three sarsen
Sarsen
Sarsen stones are sandstone blocks found in quantity in the United Kingdom on Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, in Kent, and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire...
standing stone
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
s survived to heights of 7 feet forming the walls of the burial chamber. A stone that may have formed the capstone lay between them. The tomb was found to have contained the skeleton of a man and fragments of red pottery were found although none of these has since survived. A kerb
Megalithic architectural elements
This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic structures.-Forecourt:In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb...
of smaller stones surrounded the larger ones and beneath the standing stones was a large circular pit dug into the natural chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
and filled with many flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
s. Local people told the investigating antiquarians that many such pits had been found on the hill and that the flints were used as a source of stone to metal new roads. From these fragments it is thought that one, or possibly more, chamber tombs stood on Blue Bell Hill in addition to the surviving Medway Megaliths.-
A Roman temple was also later built on the hill.
Blue Bell Hill is supposedly haunted by a ghostly figure that walks the A229, reported to be actor turned barman Jonas Jonny Boy Kavanagh.
Analogue radio
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 103.1 MHz | 2 | Heart Kent |
Digital radio
| Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 218.640 MHz | 11B | 0.9 | DRG London DRG London DRG London is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the London area that has been broadcasting since January 2002. It is also referred to as the Greater London 3 multiplex... |
| 220.352 MHz | 11C | 2 | NOW Kent NOW Kent NOW Kent is a DAB Digital Radio broadcast multiplex covering the county of Kent in South-East England. Because of concerns over frequency overlap with France, the service is not available in extreme coastal areas of the county; however, much of the county away from the coast is covered... |
| 222.064 MHz | 11D | 6.3 | Digital One Digital One Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covers more than 90% of the populationfrom a total of 137 transmitters... |
| 223.936 MHz | 12A | 2 | Switch London Switch London Switch London is a DAB ensemble operated by Switch Digital; it broadcasts from a variety of sites in and around London Switch London is a DAB ensemble operated by Switch Digital; it broadcasts from a variety of sites in and around London Switch London is a DAB ensemble operated by Switch Digital;... |
| 225.648 MHz | 12B | 6.3 | BBC National DAB |
| 227.360 MHz | 12C | 1 | CE London CE London CE London is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the London area and has been broadcasting since May 2000. It is also referred to as the Greater London 1 multiplex... |
Analogue television
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 623.25 MHz | 40 | 30 | BBC One BBC One BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution... |
| 647.25 MHz | 43 | 30 | ITV1 ITV1 ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their... |
| 671.25 MHz | 46 | 30 | BBC Two BBC Two BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio... |
| 823.25 MHz | 65 | 30 | Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... |
Digital television
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 498.0 MHz | 24 | 2 | Digital 3&4 Digital 3&4 Digital 3&4 is a consortium consisting of regional Channel 3 companies and Channel 4 Television Corporation, which operates a multiplex broadcasting from a number of transmitter sites in the UK, carrying television and radio channels from both ITV and Channel 4; however three per-cent of the... (Mux 2) |
| 522.0 MHz | 27 | 2 | SDN S4C Digital Networks SDN is a company that operates Multiplex A, one of the six groups of channels on digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom... (Mux A) |
| 618.0 MHz | 39 | 3 | Arqiva Arqiva Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless... (Mux D) |
| 641.8 MHz | 42- | 3 | Arqiva (Mux C) |
| 665.8 MHz | 45- | 3 | BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... (Mux B) |
| 778.0 MHz | 59 | 3 | BBC (Mux 1) |
After switchover
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 618.0 MHz | 39 | 20 | Arqiva Arqiva Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless... A |
| 626.0 MHz | 40 | 20 | BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... B |
| 650.0 MHz | 43 | 20 | Digital 3&4 Digital 3&4 Digital 3&4 is a consortium consisting of regional Channel 3 companies and Channel 4 Television Corporation, which operates a multiplex broadcasting from a number of transmitter sites in the UK, carrying television and radio channels from both ITV and Channel 4; however three per-cent of the... |
| 666.0 MHz | 45 | 20 | SDN S4C Digital Networks SDN is a company that operates Multiplex A, one of the six groups of channels on digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom... |
| 674.0 MHz | 46 | 20 | BBC A |
| 738.0 MHz | 54 | 20 | Arqiva B |