Addington is a village in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. It is close to the

M20 motorway The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is long. Although not signposted in England, ...

, and between the villages of

Wrotham Heath Wrotham Heath is a settlement in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is part of the civil parish of Wrotham Wrotham ( ) is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is north ...

and

West Malling West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590. Landmarks West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Norma ...

. In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 it is called Eddintune. The meaning of the village's name is "Æddi's (or Eadda's) estate". The village is notable for the

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

chamber tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

s. Its parish covers a little under , containing 291 houses. Addington Brook runs through the parish.

History

Addington has been continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years. Many Neolithic artifacts have been extracted from the village, but much archaeological evidence has been lost to mechanical digging. Some sites were excavated during the building of the motorway. It had two mills at the time of the Domesday survey. There was a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

powered by the Addington Brook (TQ 656 587 ), demolished in the nineteenth century; the site now lies within West Malling Golf Course. The remains of an old structure named the Addington Place were visible until the early 21st century, now beneath a golf course and stables.

Features

There is one pub, the Angel. There are rumours of a tunnel from the basement to the church away. No school is in the village, so children attend schools in nearby villages. Addington is completely divided by the M20 and M26 motorways. It is scarred on both sides of the motorways with sandpits and quarries, which are now almost entirely worked out. The village is home to Addington Village Cricket Club, which has two Saturday teams and a 1st XI in Division 2 of the Kent League (1st XI). St Margaret's Church, Addington 01

The parish church is dedicated to St. Margaret, and dates back to 1403. It is part of a combined benefice with All Saints Birling, St. Martin Ryarsh and St. Peter & St. Paul

Trottiscliffe Trottiscliffe ( ) is a village in Kent, England about north west of West Malling. It is often incorrectly spelled ''Trosley'' after Trosley Country Park at the top of the North Downs, which was once part of the Trosley Towers Estate. The spe ...

. Traces of the former gardens of Addington Park can still be seen. Rockeries, ponds and old tennis courts are easily discernible in the private grounds of the Seekers Trust between a church and the golf course.

Long barrows

Chestnuts

The Chestnuts long barrow is the better preserved of the two long barrows. It was excavated in 1957, and artifacts from the dig are displayed in Maidstone Museum. It is believed to be on a

Ley line Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognised by ancient soci ...

Addington

Addington long barrow is not well-preserved. Its area has been plundered throughout the history of the village, and there is a road that goes through it.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent