Villages in kent, GREAT CHART.

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walter
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Been thinking about a project like this for a while, so thought i would give it a go,
I will concentrate on one village then move on to next, i will see how it pans out before deciding an end to it,

I am hoping to get stories from locals, to make it more interesting,

Any guidance would be appreciated, tips etc:

First photos i will take this w/e.


Links to Villages in kent.
PLUCKLEY
CHARING
LENHAM
GREAT CHART
 
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There's a pace of change that informs such places - they're not stuck in time. Take Yalding, with its medieval bridge - in recent times the farming has changed its bias away from hops, housing has expanded, and there've been flooding problems ...

So there's a recent (speedier) history embedded on a longer & slower span ... a sort of meshed layering that shows in the appearance of the place. Complicated, ain't it, & maybe too much for a snap vision? But food for thought, & I wish you well.
 
There's a pace of change that informs such places - they're not stuck in time. Take Yalding, with its medieval bridge - in recent times the farming has changed its bias away from hops, housing has expanded, and there've been flooding problems ...

So there's a recent (speedier) history embedded on a longer & slower span ... a sort of meshed layering that shows in the appearance of the place. Complicated, ain't it, & maybe too much for a snap vision? But food for thought, & I wish you well.
Thanks
i havnt been to yalding for a long time, it sure has had its problems with all the flooding,,


if i remember correctly David sadler who used to play for Man Utd, mum and dad used to own the two brewers pub, in the village,

I'll be trying to keep things simple, i'll see how it unfolds
 
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I decided to start villages in kent with Pluckley, famous for two main things Ghosts and Darling Buds Of May,
After looking into the village it is surprising how interesting it was and still is.

This is the old brickworks site closed for over thirty years, there is planning permission pending, for houses at moment,
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to the graffiti artist everything is a blank canvas,
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not the quaint village life,

way to go.
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The name Dering has played a bit part in the history of Pluckley,
 
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The railway as with a lot of places has played a big part in the village wealth and resources, now just somewhere to commute to and from,
It is south eastern railways only wayside station left, and has the oldest station buildings in England .
station sign.jpg
Right next to the station is a coal yard which is quite unusual, with lots of people choosing gas and electric for heating, the way I see it there must be demand otherwise it wouldn't survive, and by all accounts it has been there since the year Dot,
coal yard.jpg
it would be interesting to know where the coal came from,
 
What an interesting project with lots of scope. I look forward to following it.

You have chosen to show the "nitty gritty" of the place rather than concentrating on trying to make it look pretty. I like that and the little stories attached to each photo.
Thanks jenny there sure is a lot of scope, so much info,:)
 
Old Bedford anyone, needs TLC,
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the contrast of village life.

television anyone,
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after walking around the village of Pluckley it was clear that it was not a chocolate box village, not saying some of it is not, there certainly is contrast, I suppose the more villages I visit I am sure a lot of them will be similar.
 
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According to research the Dering family were prominent from 1500 to early 1900,s, if you are in Pluckley you will notice a lot of houses have arched windows, known as Dering windows,
The story go's that Sir Edward Dering Royalist raised an army for king Charles, during the English civil war, it was this activity that brought him to the attention of the roundhead army, Surrenden manor came under attack and Edward Dering escaped through a small arched window, which the Roundheads couldn't get through,

Since then it has become a symbol for the family in the area, you can see the windows in photo below.
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Dering arms was an old hunting lodge,
More Dering windows Forge hill,
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One of the claims to fame for Pluckley is that it held the record for the most haunted village in England, there is said to be between twelve to sixteen ghosts in and around the village.
It is apparently the place to go at Halloween, with people looking for Ghosties,
Here is the link for the GHOST SITES WITH A MAP,
Also it was the setting for some of the DARLING BUDS OF MAY scenes, below is the pub in the series which was called HARE AND HOUNDS.
black horse.jpg
Also below is the POST OFFICE used in show.
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the actual farm where the main story took place was the next village down the road at BETHERSDEN Buss Farm.
 
Looks like you are enjoying this project
 
Another view of Pluckley church, this is a stones throw from square, also featured in Darling Buds Of May.
pluckley church.jpg

quaint,

just down the road from square was the site of an old petrol garage now a farm shop, you can still see the islands where the pumps stood,
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as you can see antique shop aswell
 
I found out doing research about the village, that Sir Edward Dering held a massive library, and it was found that he had one of the oldest manuscripts from none other than William Shakespeare, now held in America, Surrenden Manor where the manuscript was found was turned into a school, then succumbed to fire and burnt down.

Country view of Pluckley
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the trees have eyes,
 
On our walk around village we decided to go off the beaten track and we bumped into dogs on the run, on the scent of hares,
on the scent.jpg
mud off of track,
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what apples in January, only drop my boy,
apples drops.jpg
The Darling Buds of May came from Shakespeares sonnet 18,
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Well that's my first village under my belt, I hope I have given a contrasting image of Pluckley,
 
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Also famous for bethersden marble. Used mostly in pavements. One still exists in St michaels. ( it is called the pavement) I lived in the village for thirty years before coming north. My wife was a Maid of Kent going back to the 11th century.
 
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Also famous for bethersden marble. Used mostly in pavements. One still exists in St michaels. ( it is called the pavement) I lived in the village for thirty years before coming north. My wife was a Maid of Kent going back to the 11th century.
When researching I didn't see any reference to marble only clay for the brickworks in Pluckley,
Of course Bethersden lays claim to the farm in Darling Buds Of May (Buss Farm)
 
When researching I didn't see any reference to marble only clay for the brickworks in Pluckley,
Of course Bethersden lays claim to the farm in Darling Buds Of May (Buss Farm)
The last marble was quarried out, in Victorian times. But it is a strange material nothing like marble as we know it, as it is more like a hard limestone full of fossils. The old villagers are very proud of it.
 
Next village is Charing not to far from Pluckley,
charing.jpg

One prominent feature of the Village is that it boasts a racecourse, it sits on the NORTH DOWNS, Nice setting
charing racecourse.jpg
the next meeting
charing races.jpg
racecourse on a different day.
track.jpg
 
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More nice shots of Pluckley. I especially like the row of trees but I would have been tempted to crop it a bit into a letterbox shape. I also love the shot of the apples on the ground. I think you have given a good all round insight into the village.

Look forward to learning more about Charing.
 
More nice shots of Pluckley. I especially like the row of trees but I would have been tempted to crop it a bit into a letterbox shape. I also love the shot of the apples on the ground. I think you have given a good all round insight into the village.

Look forward to learning more about Charing.
thanks jenny,comments much appreciated.
 
Had a chance to check out CHARING village to-day, made a bolt for church weather was rough,
there is a story that goes the stone which JOHN THE BAPTIST was beheaded on was in the church, turns out that it was used to build part of the church, according to local history from LIBRARY,
This is inside of ST PETER AND ST PAUL, church.
charing church s.jpg
hope to have a good look around village when weathers better,

you cant seem to get away from the Dering family,
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laid to rest
on a slightly better day, church in all its glory,
church p&p.jpg
this church is at the end of what used to be the old market,
 
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Good idea for a thread and project, interesting info to go with the good pictures. Hope you continue to enjoy this project
 
The building below was built as a first floor church hall, as time progressed it was turned into a house, then it became the local Vicarage in the early 19th Century.
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The Barn in pic is the current church hall, it was moved from High Halden in 1957, and hosts plays from local players, Farmers Market, and most things associated with local Village life.
image.jpeg Archbishops Palace, (Below)
Was given to the church of Canterbury in the eighth century, It is said to be part of seventeen estates, the Archbishop had, he could ride down from Lambeth and spend a day or so at some of the palaces, on his way to Canterbury.
The palace remand in ownership of church until the reformation, then passed on to HenryV111. image.jpegThis was the main hub of Charing many years ago, with the market occupying this street, it didn't even need a Royal charter because of its Antiquity, the Archbishops palace is to the left image.jpeg Market st
 
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One thing that has struck me since doing this project, is the lack of people using Villages, saying that there must be enough footfall, for the shops to keep going.
With two fair sized convenience stores in High St it must work for them.
Some sign of Life,
I am Mobile.
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I was a bit gutted that I didn't get this mans name, thought about it after I finished talking to him, something to remember to do in future,
He lives in same road as Vic Reeves.
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Good ole posties.
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This was a surprise in the Village High St, this is my third visit, and seems like the Roller hasn't moved.
Seems like an advertising prop, on the back window it says something like Sex Drugs and Lime Green is fun.
image.jpeg
Pumped colour in keeping with the fun look of roller,
 
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Really enjoying looking at your project Walter. I live in Kent, so know how beautiful some of the villages can be. Keep up the good work. :clap:
 
Elizabethan Court (Below) was built of timber in the early 16th Century, a Century later enlarged with brick,
It became an Inn soon after being named The Swan, it provided stabling for Gentlemen's Carriages and Horses,
seeing it now hard to imaging, I believe it is split into different units now, following seeing on the net a let available for a Flat here.
Not a bad spot.
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One of the two main convenience stores in village, just off the main A20 trunk road into Ashford.
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This was an unexpected find for me,
The Venture Works was a Corn Chandlers, originally,
It was taken over by the Cackett Family they sold and mended Penny Farthings, he is accredited with building one of the first Diamond Framed cycles in Kent,
also out of old Engineering parts cobbled together a Motorbike and called it the "Invicta"
If you look to the left of building there is still remains of one of the first petrol pumps in Kent.
image.jpeg
 
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