village, at the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Chattenden and Lodge Hill Military Camps and at the Medway Oil and Storage Co at Grain. Chatham Dockyard and the Short Brothers seaplane works at Rochester were also traditional employers for the whole area until they shut many years ago. In 1956 a new school opened, the old school building being demolished along with Hill Farm to make way for additional housing. Building development has continued intermittently, including the new estates of Northwood Park and Heron Fields, development of which began in 1998. The village still has its church, a shop and pub (the Red Dog) but has changed beyond recognition in living memory. The village's cricket club has played in the area for almost 120 years. Ever expanding, the club now has Three Saturday sides, one Sunday side and three colts sides. They play their home matches at Rayner's Meadow, which is situated in Christmas Lane, and at the Hundred of Hoo school, Hoo. Northward Hill RSPB Reserve Northward Hill RSPB Reserve lies to the north of the village, between High Halstow and Cooling. It comprises of grazing marsh, woodland and farmland. The woodland forms High Halstow Nature Reserve (a local SSSI). Here is the largest heronry in Britain, where some 150–200 pairs nest. A heronry has been in the woods from at least 1947, when it was mentioned in a book on the Hundred of Hoo by Ralph Arnold. Many other birds, such as little egrets, avocets and marsh harriers, can also be seen in the reserve. This site was scheduled for demolition under government proposals for an international London airport in connection with the Thames Gateway. Northward Hill, was known once locally as "the Norrards". Beyond it on the marsh is a disused experimental radar station, now part of the reserve. Buck Hole Farmhouse Buck Hole Farmhouse stands next to Northward Hill Reserve; it and another Grade II listed farmhouse Great Dalham date from the early 18th century. Notable people Geoffrey Longfield (1909-1943), first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer See also Lower Halstow References External links High Halstow Parish Council Northwood Hill RSPB Reserve Places in Medway Civil parishes in Kent Populated places on the River Thames Villages in Kent