Chainhurst is a
wealden village in
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 ...
, England, and is part of
Marden civil parish and
Maidstone District. It is about north of Marden, below Bidborough Ridge, and south of the
River Beult
The River Beult ( ) is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England.
Course
The Beult has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding, it is joined by the ...
floodplain.
Landmarks
Chainhurst Farmhouse is
grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and parts of it date back to the 16th century.
Economy
Historically, Chainhurst's predominant employment was in agriculture.
Farmland near Chainhurst is used for
orchards
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
and
arable crops. There were extensive
hop gardens with several former
oast houses surviving. The
Hopper hut
A hopper hut was a form of temporary accommodation provided for hops, hop-pickers on English farms in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Background
Before the days of mechanised farming, hop picking was a labour-intensive process, requiring a vastly g ...
s south of the bridge over the
River Beult
The River Beult ( ) is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England.
Course
The Beult has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding, it is joined by the ...
accommodated seasonal workers for the annual hop harvest.
Many residents now commute to work in London or elsewhere.
Cyclo-cross
Since about 2000, Reed Court Farm has been a
Cyclo-Cross venue in the sport's London and South East League.
References
External links
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Villages in Kent