Hartley is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. It is located south west of

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

and the same distance south east of

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

History

The village of Hartley is recorded as ''Erclei'' in the Domesday Book of 1086. with a population of 15 families and 3 slaves. The name Hartley means "place in the wood where the deer are". The parish church of All Saints dates from the early 12th century, although it probably replaced an earlier

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

building. On 28 January 1554, during Wyatt's Rebellion against Queen Mary, a rebel force of about 500 men led by Henry Isley clashed with a similar-sized loyal force led by Lord Abergavenny and Sir Robert Southwell, at Wrotham Hill. After a running battle over about four miles, the rebels made their last stand at Hartley Wood, where they were defeated. By 1872, there were 47 houses in Hartley with a population of 244. Some local farms specialised in hop growing. A National School was built in the village in 1841; it was rebuilt in 1960 on a new site. The opening nearby of

Longfield railway station Longfield railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the villages of Longfield, Hartley, and New Ash Green. It is down the line from and is situated between and . The station and all trains that call are operated by So ...

in 1872 began the evolution of the village from an agricultural to a commuter community. Just before World War I, two agricultural estates were purchased by a property developer and sold off in small plots for new houses and bungalows. Major housing developments at New Ash Green in the 1960s and Wellfield in the 1970s continued the trend. The parish was part of

Axstane Hundred Axstane was a hundred in the county of Kent, England. The Hundred of Axstane lay south-east of Dartford and Wilmington Hundred. It is called Achestan in Domesday Book, but by the reign of Edward I it was called Axstane. Its name has been interpr ...

and later Dartford Rural District. It is part of the parliamentary constituency of Dartford.

Places of worship

All Saints Church, the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church, is Grade I-listed and dates from the 12th century. It is supplemented by the All Saints Church Centre in the centre of the village, which is used as a church hall and for worship. St Francis de Sales' Roman Catholic church, a Grade II-listed building, is a 17th-century former barn with timber framing and a thatched roof. Hartley United Reformed Church (formerly Congregational) was registered for worship in 1936 but has closed and was put up for sale, before being demolished and turned into housing.

Sports

Hartley Country Club cricket section were the Kent Cricket League Premier Champions in 2008, 2011-2013 and 2015. The Pétanque section membership at Hartley Country Club currently numbers about ninety players, split equally between men and women.

Transport

Rail

Hartley is served by

with Southeastern services to London Victoria via Bromley South, Ramsagate via Chatham and Dover Priory via Chatham and Canterbury East.

Buses

Hartley is served by Arriva Kent Thameside routes 423, 433 and 489. These connect it with Bluewater, Dartford and Gravesend.

References

External links

Local information and history website

Hartley Parish Council

British Listed Buildings - Listed Buildings in Hartley, Kent, England
{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent