Place:


Lenham  Kent

 

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Lenham like this:

LENHAM, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Hollingbourne district, Kent. The village stands near the source of the rivulet Len, 6 miles N by W of Pluckley r. station, and 9½ E by S of Maidstone; was once a market-town; and has a post office, ‡ under Maidstone, and fairs on 6 June and 23 Oct. ...


The parish contains also the hamlets of Lenham-Heath and Sandway. Acres, 6,963. Real property, £10,096. Pop., 2,016. Houses, 411. The property is subdivided. The manor was given, by Kenulf, King of Mercia, and Cudred, King of Kent, to Canterbury abbey; continued in possession of the abbey till the dissolution; and belongs now to James S. Douglas, Esq. Chilston Park is the seat of Mr. Douglas; Torre-Hill is the seat of Lord Kingsdown; and Swadelands is the seat of J. Fermor, Esq. The surface extends across a valley between chalk hills and sand hills; contains the sources of the rivulet Len and a head-stream of the Stour; and is salubrious and of average fertility. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £670.* Patron, A. Akers, Esq. The church is partly early English with alterations, partly decorated; consists of nave, aisles, and two chancels, with a tower; and contains sixteen ancient oaken stalls, which were used by the monks of Canterbury when visiting the manor,-a stone chair, or sedile, with solid arms and a cinquefoil-headed canopy, a pis cina, under a very wide arch,-a richly-carved pulpit, of the 17th century,-the effigies of a priest, probably of the time of Edward III.,-monuments of the Colepepers,- and a brass of a grandson of Mary Honywood, who lived to see 367 of her descendants. There are an Independent chapel, national schools, an endowed school, with £12 a year, and alms houses with £70.—The sub-district contains also five other parishes. Acres, 16,142. Pop., 3,608. Houses, 748.

Lenham through time

Lenham is now part of Maidstone district. Click here for graphs and data of how Maidstone has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Lenham itself, go to Units and Statistics.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Lenham, in Maidstone and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6257

Date accessed: 29th March 2024


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