Home

Harrietsham owes its existence to the series of springs at the foot of the Downs, some of which now feed the lakes in Woodlands Walk. Others simply feed streams such as that at Goddington. Water was a pre-requisite for human settlement, and an attraction to wildlife and game for the pot. Immediately to the east of the Woodlands Walk lakes there have been important archaeological finds from the Bronze Age, Iron Age and from Roman and Saxon settlement. A Roman dwelling lies partly under the Rectory garden and nearby Harrison Drive. Saxon burial urns have been found on the Glebe Field and in the churchyard. These earliest areas of settlement were subsequently abandoned, but for what reason? This left the ancient Parish Church of Saxon origin, detached from its village.

The original written name ·Heriagierdeshamme· clearly signifies the importance of water to the permanent settlement. The name means ·Heriagierde·s water meadow·. The meadows were probably in the area of the ·Osier Beds· (willow trees), which now lie beneath the M20 and CTRL to the south of the Alms Houses. The whole area would have been well watered by the River Len, which rises in nearby Lenham and joins the Medway at Maidstone.Several areas in the parish were prominent enough to be mentioned in the Domesday Book · Marley, Polhill, Fairbourne (East and West) and Harrietsham itself, given to Robert de Crevecouer by Duke William. The waterways running through the parish were sufficient to operate grinding mills at Fairbourne (·fair stream·), Selesburne (·holy stream·) and at Polhill. In mediaeval times the beech woodlands of the North Downs and the oaks of the Kingswood were abundant in food for the pigs of the community. Track-ways ran northwards up Stede Hill and southwards up Fairbourne Lane and then on into the ·dens· of the Weald.The village envelope of today is has been shaped over the centuries by the influence of the several route-ways that pass through the area from east to west. The Pilgrims Way (North Downs Way) was the mediaeval equivalent of a motorway, linking as it did the great cities of Winchester and Canterbury, with a spur off to the port of Dover. A subsequent road ran from Maidstone to Ashford via West Street and East Street until the Turnpike Road gave quicker access to Lenham. In the 1880·s the London to Ashford railway line was built, further determining the east-west layout of the community. In the 1930·s West Street was by-passed, by an improvement to the A20 running south of the main street. Until the completion of the M20 in the 1990·s, A20 remained a very important trunk road to the Channel ports. Most recently the final addition to the ·transport corridor· the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was added to our collection of routes

The oldest houses in the community, mostly Tudor, are to be found at East Street (The Old House), Polhill, Deans Farm and Lake Cottage beside Woodlands Walk. This latter, built of brick, is likely to have served as a Hospice for weary travellers on the Pilgrims Way, or on the lower track (The Greenway) from Hollingbourne. Historically this house was known as ·The Little Brickhouse· and it was upon ·The Little Brickhouse Field· that the village school was built in 1844.Other Georgian and Stuart houses line both West Street and East Street, which formed the spine of the community for centuries. Prominent amongst these are the Quested Almshouses in East Street. Twelve linked cottages built in 1642 at the instigation of Mark Quested ·a native of this place·, who had left rural Kent to become a successful Fishmonger in London.

Those familiar with the film ·Kind Hearts and Coronets· will have seen the hero of the piece cycle past on his way to commit murder at Leeds castle. Also in East Street is Bell House, formerly one of the six village public houses that the community once managed to support. Opposite is Dial House the home of the Bottle family, which over the generations built and repaired many of the older houses. The sundial high on the wall still works.West Street boasts The Roebuck once a coaching inn and later a stopping off point for the charabancs (motor-coaches) on their way from London to Margate and Ramsgate. Today it is the only remaining pub in the village. ·The Bank House· and ·The Blacksmith·s Arms· are now both private houses. The latter was originally built as the village Poor House in 1779. In those days a wheelwright had a workshop to one side of the Poor House and the blacksmith operated from a forge on the other side. Both trades are still remembered by street names · ·The Wheelwrights· and ·Forge MeadowThe West Street during the 20th Century once boasted a shop selling wool, a sweet shop, Suttons General Stores, a newspaper shop, a clockmakers· shop and a saddle-makers, not to mention its own petrol station · all of which have disappeared.

The more modern developments in the village have been small industrial areas at the Station Yard, the former Council Depot (off Station Road), and Tenacre Court (Oast Houses on A20). This latter was built on land once owned by the Parish Council, who sold it to fund the Medical Centre and provide funds for the Community Centre.
Housing developments have largely been as ·infilling· within the village envelope. The first major developments were in the 1960·s · Mercer Drive, Lakelands, Quested and Ivens Way. These were followed by Cricketers Close, Pilgrims Lakes, Chippendayle Drive. Harrison Drive, Cutbush Close and Downlands were then added to the housing stock.To keep pace with this expansion in population, the Medical Centre and Community Centre were created at the instigation of the Parish Council, as was the open space of Woodlands Walk. Harrietsham village is a viable and pleasant place in which to live.

}