Eccles is a village in the
English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
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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 ...
, part of the parish of
Aylesford
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone.
Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village s ...
and in the valley of the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
.
Archaeology
It is near to the site of
a Roman villa estate and pottery kiln, excavated between 1962 and 1976. The site was occupied from a decade or so after the Roman invasion up until the end of Roman Rule. The villa underwent at least four main phases of construction. There is possible evidence of a military influence in the initial period and latterly it comprised 37 rooms or more. It was preceded by an earlier development represented by a small, rectangular granary and an associated length of boundary wall, dating to AD 55-AD 65. The discovery of large-scale pottery manufacture in the immediate post-conquest era suggests the likelihood of industrial installations such as workshops, stores and wharves along the Medway. The villa has been described as a particularly large and grand example of its kind and one of the most important villas in Britain from several points of view. Situated beneath and around the villa are traces of an earlier, Iron Age farmstead, represented by a group of linear boundary ditches and pits.
A large Saxon cemetery was discovered adjacent to the south-east wing of the villa formed by 200 or more graves aligned east–west and containing extended human skeletons. Up to three layers of burials were recognised during excavation. Grave goods were found with some of the lower and outlying burials, giving them a likely mid-seventh century date. Some of the skeletons showed evidence of having suffered fatal weapon injuries probably originating from a single hostile event. Towards the south east of the cemetery are a group of post holes which have been interpreted as a shrine, temple or small chapel. Signs of reuse during the medieval period include cesspits and rough cobbling beyond the courtyard boundary wall.
The archaeological site incorporates evidence of Roman and Medieval tile kilns, dating from AD 180 to AD 290 and from the mid thirteenth century respectively. Additionally, large quantities of waste material indicate the site of a Roman pottery kiln with a terminal date of AD 70.
Further details of the archaeology in this area can be found in ''The Romano-British Villa and Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Eccles, Kent.
''
Origins of the village
Prior to 1850, the area now occupied by Eccles was mostly farms and arable land.
Around that time, the builder
Thomas Cubitt
Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. His great-great-g ...
bought two farms near the river and opened a brickyard and cement works. The brick works was the most advanced in the world producing up to 30 million bricks a year. Situated on a gentle slope, the buildings were positioned along tram lines so that each stage of manufacture moved closer to the quay; with this arrangement production progressed by gravity rather haulage. Piped
water was provided to the works from a large reservoir. At its peak, the works employed almost a thousand men and boys. The plant formally closed in 1941 and was later demolished.
As the brick works was established, a local farmer Thomas Abbot built a terrace of 22 cottages to house the workers, the settlement soon increased to 300. The area was known as ‘Bull Lane’ before it adopted the name of ‘Eccles’. The former name still appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1897.
Although the village did not acquire the name ‘Eccles’ until some time in the second half of the 19th century, the name is not new. In her book ''The Place Names of Kent'', Judith Glover traces it in its present form back to 1208 and suggests that it derived from the 10th-century 'Aecclesse', meaning the 'meadow of the oak'. 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 records Eccles as ‘Aiglessa’. At that time, it had a population of 22 households, putting it in the largest 40% of recorded settlements. It has also been suggested that the name 'Eccles' comes from the Latin word 'ecclesia' meaning 'church', implying that a post-Roman Christian community existed in the area, although there is no evidence for this. Volume 4 of ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent'', published in 1798, reports that Eccles was a manor of the parish of Aylesford, "which was of some note in the time of the Conqueror, being then part of the possessions of
Odo
Odo or ODO may refer to:
People
* Odo, a given name; includes a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Franklin Odo (born 1939), Japanese-American historian
* Seikichi Odo (1927–2002), Japanese karateka
* Yuya Odo (born 1990), J ...
, bishop of Baieux, the king's half brother, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in the book of Domesday". The site of the manor of Eccles was lost to public knowledge by the 18th Century, but it was surmised to be somewhere at the eastern extremity of the parish, near Boxley Hill.
A detailed history of the village of Eccles can be found in ''The Medway Valley: A Kent landscape transformed''.
Current amenities
There is a school, a church, a pub, a convenience store with post office services, and a doctors’ surgery. There is also a church hall, which is used by the village pre-school, and a drop-in centre for the over-50s in Cork Street.
At the centre of the village is a large park (‘the Rec’) with a
skate park
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...
, children's play facilities and exercise equipment for adults. On weekends there are junior football games. Nearby, there is a sports field which has been used by Eccles Football Club since the 19th century.
There is now just one pub in Eccles, the Red Bull, which is grade II listed. The Walnut Tree was demolished in early 2012 and the site developed into private housing.
St Mark’s School, Eccles, is a small mixed-year group, Church of England Primary School. It was rebuilt in 2002 on a green-field site close to the small Victorian building that it replaced. It is set in attractive grounds, with solar roof panels, large gardens, allotment beds and a sports court.
A library bus visits every Tuesday afternoon.
A farmers’ market is held on every third Sunday of the month at
Aylesford Priory
Aylesford Priory, or "The Friars" was founded in 1242 when members of the Carmelite order arrived in England from Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Richard de Grey, a crusader, sponsored them, and conveyed to the order a parcel of land locate ...
which is within walking distance of the village.
Location and surroundings
Eccles is three miles from junctions 5 and 6 of 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 the same distance from junction 3 of the M2 motorway. Maidstone East Station is miles away. The village also has road access to communities on the west bank of the Medway by way of Peter's Bridge which was opened in September 2016.
Eccles sits between the villages of
Aylesford
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone.
Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village s ...
(one mile away) and
Burham (also one mile away), below the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...
whose shelter provides a favourable micro-climate for both the village and the adjacent vineyards.
There is a network of footpaths around the village providing access to the surrounding countryside, vineyards and the River Medway. There are all-weather footways south to Aylesford Priory and north to Pilgrims' Way and thence to Burham. Beyond Burham, there is a combined footpath and cycle way down to the Riverside Walk at Peter's Village.
Eccles features on a number of ramblers' routes. For example, it is part of the 'Ancient Sites of Aylesford' walk, which incorporates the ancient monuments of
Kit's Coty House
Kit's Coty House or Kit's Coty is a chambered long barrow near the village of Aylesford in the southeastern English county of Kent. Constructed ''circa'' 4000 BCE, during the Early Neolithic period of British prehistory, today it survives in a ...
and
Little Kit's Coty House.
Three major long-distance trails pass within a mile of the village. They are the
Pilgrims' Way
The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester, Hampshire, Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of compa ...
, the
North Downs Way
The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ...
and the
Medway Valley Walk
The Medway Valley Walk follows the River Medway from Rochester, Kent, Rochester to Tonbridge. Above Allington, Kent, Allington, it follows the bank of the Medway Navigation. It starts on the Saxon Shore Way at Rochester. The North Downs Way cr ...
.
Kit’s Coty vineyard
The vineyard adjacent to Eccles village is located on land acquired by the wine producer Chapel Down in 2007.
It is named after the ancient monument which is situated on the slope of the North Downs immediately above. The conditions for viniculture are reputed to be similar to those of the Champagne region in France. By coincidence, the route of the
2007 Tour de France
The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...
through Kent included a section of Pilgrim’s Way that lies immediately along the northern boundary of the vineyard.
At one time, prior to its acquisition by Chapel Down, the land had been designated as the site for the Mid Kent Parkway Station on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. However, following strong opposition from PEFTT (Protect Eccles From The Train) and other local groups, it was eventually decided that the rail route would not run along the Medway Valley past Eccles and Burham but would instead pass through a 4 km tunnel under Blue Bell Hill, and run alongside the M2. Among those claiming credit for this decision were a coven of White Witches from Hastings who had previously performed a ritual at Little Kit’s Coty House on the Countless Stones to protect them from any disturbance by the railway.
The 95 acres of the vineyard are planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Bacchus grapes. The Chardonnay grape is used in a premium single-vineyard range of wines which are marketed as the Kit’s Coty Collection.
Notable people
*
Sharon Bennett, English Illustrator, designer, artist and author
Sources
*Detsicas, A, ''The Cantiaci'', Sutton,
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, 1987
References
External links
A leaflet which describes the Eccles locality.A series of leaflets which give an overview of the Medway Gap.A circular walk from Aylesford Station which passes through Eccles Entry under the National Heritage List for England for 'Romano-British villa, Anglo-Saxon cemetery and associated remains at Eccles'. List Entry Number: 1011770 Victorian Ordnance Survey Map (1888-1913) of Burham Brick Works and Eccles. ‘Cementopolis’, Andrew Ashbee, p47-50. A detailed account and engravings of the Burham brickworks, reproduced from The Illustrated News of the World 1859.Episode 12 of Series 20 of ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ gives a brief overview of Eccles at 31:30 and 50:00.
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Villages in Kent
Tonbridge and Malling