Kent
Atwater Court, Lenham
Lenham is a traditional English village, with a village square, in the heart of the garden of England, on the Southern fringe of the North Downs. There was settlement here in Roman and Saxon times. Indeed three Saxon graves, dating from the 6th century, thought to be part of a Saxon cemetery, were discovered in the village in the late 1940s. St. Mary’s church and the adjacent square stands on land given by the Abbott and monks of St. Augustine in Canterbury for a monastery and earlier church. The latter was burnt to the ground in protest at excessive taxes raised by the church, resulting in the villagers being formally cursed by the Archbishop. It was eventually rebuilt in the 14th century.
Village life centred around the Square: its market and fair dated from the 14th and 15th century. Nearly all the houses date from before 1830. High House and the almshouses on Faversham Road, behind which stands the village gaol, are Jacobean. The village once bustled with activity, from trades long since forgotten, as well as its corn market, stock market in the nearby fields - and visits by the traveling circus. The Dog and Bear was one of the great coaching Inns on the old turnpike road from London to Dover that flourished with the carriage trade – ended by the coming of the railway.
Lenham was at the cutting edge of two world wars. In the Great War it was an official staging point for troops on their way to the trenches, whilst in World War II the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies above with a US air base at nearby Egerton and the Guards Armoured and 7th Armoured Brigades were stationed here prior to the D Day invasion. The Lenham white cross, carved into the chalk on the downs and unveiled on Armistice Day 1922, commemorates the dead from both World Wars.
Served by the M25/ M20 and A20 road network Lenham has its own railway station on the London – Victoria line. It is 10 miles from Maidstone - and 10 miles from Ashford, spring board to the continent.
Eylesden Court, Bearsted, Maidstone
The settlement of Bearsted can trace its beginnings to pre-history and it is believed that habitation of sorts began in 4000BC when farmers moved into the area. Early remains have been found in Hog Hill and Ware Street. Although Holy Cross Church can trace its origins back to before 1066AD, Bearsted was not mentioned in the Doomsday Book although this is thought to be an error or failure by the residents to make the necessary Return.
The two public houses on the Green - the White Horse Inn and the Oak on the Green - continue to be the centre of village life. Previously they were not only local Inns but local Justice was dispensed from both premises.
Many famous persons have lived in Bearsted including the cricketer Alfred Mynn who was known as 'The Lion of Kent' and who was one of the first to master 'over-arm' bowling. He lived in Ware Street, is buried in Thurnham Churchyard and is featured on the village sign. The village green cricket ground is said to be one of the oldest in Kent.
Bearsted is but a short distance from Maidstone and has its own railway station with links to london and the south coast. The M20 motorway is readily accesible.
Muskerry Court, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells
The village of Rusthall is only a mile from the spa town of Tunbridge Wells. Many locals like to take the pleasant walk to the town, mostly through the woods and common land that surround the village. The first mention of Rusthall dates from the 8th century, when Egeburth, the Anglo Saxon King of Kent, granted the lands to the Bishop of Rochester. It predates, by several centuries, the existence of its more famous neighbour. Rusthall probably takes its name as a result of the local water becoming rust coloured from the iron in the rocks. It too had its own tourist attractions: attracting visitors to Toad Rock, a rock resembling a sitting toad, on an outcrop of sandstone rocks - and to its “cold bath”. Pelton’s 1881 Guide to Tunbridge Wells describes Rusthall as “a pleasure garden, laid out by James Long, the owner, in 1708 around a cold bath fed by springs”. A series of pools descended to the valley below and a lengthy staircase of rock hewn steps led down from Rusthall Common to the boat house. By 1818 the gardens were revived as tea gardens. In 1895 a house, now the Beacon Hotel, and the gardens were developed as private grounds. To-day touches of Rusthall’s former grandeur remain, whilst the village provides good basic facilities to meet every day needs
Rusthall has two centres: the former Victorian resort at Toad Rock and the main shopping centre which lies about ˝ a mile to the West, where the road to Speldhurst leaves the A264. The nearest railway station and bus stations are at Tunbridge Wells.
Muskerry Court was inspired by the architecture of Decimus Burton, who was responsible for building Calverley Park in Tunbridge Wells and the Palm and Temparate Houses at Kew. It takes its name from Lord Muskerry, who acquired the Manor of Rusthall in 1664.