School History

HISTORY OF ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL

St Augustine Primary School was established as St Augustine's Road County Primary School in St Augustine's Road, Belvedere in 1904. It was managed by Erith Urban District Council which had powers to act as an education authority delegated from Kent County Council. In 1937 Erith became a Borough. Nevertheless in 1944 its status as an education authority was withdrawn and the school came under Kent County Council.

In 1965 the newly created London Borough of Bexley replaced Kent as the local education authority. The word Road was dropped from the name of the school leading to the notion that it was a church foundation that had been taken over by the Council, which was not the case. The popularity of Church schools with parents was such that in 2005 the school was transformed into a Church of England Primary School.​

History of Belvedere

The word Belvedere means "beautiful view" in Italian. When settlement began on top of hill to the west of Erith the view down towards the River Thames and over it to Essex and beyond must indeed have been very beautiful. The origins of the town owe much to the presence of an ancient estate. The Belvedere estate was first recorded in 1654.

The village of Belvedere grew up around Lessness Heath, which was common grazing land for the farms that surrounded it. Several roads and tracks met here, including Heron Hill

Gradually the village established itself in the triangle made by Woolwich Road, Nuxley Road and Albert Road, at the tip of which stood All Saints' Church, built by Sir Culling Eardley and opened in 1853.

The railway came in 1849 with the opening of the North Kent line. The Belvedere station, opened in 1859, was situated at Lower Belvedere, a portion of the settlement detached from the main village and reached via Heron Hill and Picardy Road. Both Upper and Lower Belvedere benefited from the presence of the railway.

Upper Belvedere became a much sought-after area for wealthy city commuters.

In contrast Lower Belvedere attracted a smaller, less wealthy population, perhaps because of the presence nearby of marshland and the Crossness Sewage Works (opened in 1862; see Thamesmead).

Much of the marshland around the station was occupied by travellers and gipsies. However, the community of Lower Belvedere grew enough to justify the establishment of a church, St Augustine's, first built in 1915.

For many years the area remained largely unchanged, apart from a period of development during the 1930s towards the Bostall area. In the Second World War Belvedere, together with many other local areas, suffered from its proximity both to the river, which was used as a guide by German bomber pilots, and to the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, which was of course a major target. Bomb damage led to redevelopment of affected areas.

The large villas on the Woolwich Road and nearby were gradually demolished or divided into flats to suit the less grandiose needs of the 1960s homeowner. Similarly the Victorian shops in Nuxley Road were in most cases converted or rebuilt to cater for more modern tastes. However, the central part of the district along Nuxley Road from All Saints' Church retains a "village feel" and it is still possible to imagine what it must have looked like as a semi-rural Victorian community some 150 years ago.

St Augustine's Primary School was established as St Augustine's Road County Primary School in St Augustine's Road, Belvedere in 1904. It was managed by Erith Urban District Council which had powers to act as an education authority delegated from Kent County Council. In 1937 Erith became a Borough. Nevertheless in 1944 its status as an education authority was withdrawn and the school came under Kent County Council.

In 1965 the newly created London Borough of Bexley replaced Kent as the local education authority. The word Road was dropped from the name of the school leading to the notion that it was a church foundation that had been taken over by the Council, which was not the case. The popularity of Church schools with parents was such that in 2005 the school was transformed into a Church of England Primary School.