HALSTOW (LOWER), a parish in Milton district, Kent; at the upper end of Stangate creek, between the Medway and the Swale, 3 miles ENE of Rainham r. station, and 4½ NW of Sittingbourne. Post town, Sittingbourne. Acres, 1,891; of which 280 are water. Real property, £3, 354. Pop., 399. Houses, 78. The property is divided among a few. Part of the land is marsh. An ancient village, inhabited by potters, seems to have been there; and an old embankment, to protect the land from the sea, and filled with broken tiles and pottery, isnear the church. Brick making now employs many of the inhabitants; and there is a quay on one of the creeks of the Medway. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £245. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is ancient but good; is possibly of Saxon origin; includes much Roman masonry in its walls; and has a small tower. Charities, £14.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))