On the opposite bank of the river, Strand on the Green grew up as a small fishing village, and has probably existed since the Bronze Age. Hand axes and flint tools have been found and dredging during the last century curiously revealed a large number of human skulls in the River belonging to people living around 600 BC.
The name “strand†means a waterside path; the original fishermen’s cottages backed onto orchards and fields, hence the origin of the name Strand onthe Green. Most of the houses and workshops had entrances onto both the riverside path and Back Lane (renamed Thames Road in 1907). A number of historic alleys and passages still link Thames Road with the waterfront.