Sevenoaks is a town 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 ...

with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Also classified as a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter

main line railway The Main Line is a railway line in South East Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1865 and 1867. It commences at Roma St Station in Brisbane and extends west 161 km to Toowoomba. It is the first narrow gau ...

into London. Sevenoaks is from

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, the traditional centre of London. It is the principal town of the

Sevenoaks district Sevenoaks is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in west Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks. The district was Local Government Act 1972, formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Sevenoaks Urban District ...

, followed by

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2011 census was 16,226. History I ...

and

Edenbridge Edenbridge may mean: * Edenbridge (band), a symphonic metal band from Austria *Edenbridge, Kent, a town in England *Edenbridge, Saskatchewan, a former Jewish settlement in Canada *Humber Valley Village Humber Valley Village is a neighbourhood lo ...

. A settlement was recorded in the 13th century, when a market was established. Construction of

Knole House Knole () is a country house and former archbishop's palace owned by the National Trust. It is situated within Knole Park, a park located immediately to the south-east of Sevenoaks in west Kent. The house ranks in the top five of England's large ...

in the 15th century helped develop the village. Sevenoaks became part of the modern communications network when one of the early turnpikes was opened in the 18th century; the railway was relatively late in reaching it. In the 21st century, it has a large commuting population. The nearby

Fort Halstead Fort Halstead was a research site of Dstl, an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is situated on the crest of the Kentish North Downs, overlooking the town of Sevenoaks, southeast of London. Originally constructed in 1892 as part ...

defence installation was formerly a major local employer. Located to the south-east of the town is

Knole Park Knole Park is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Sevenoaks in Kent. About 43 acres of the park belongs to the National Trust, as does Knole House, which sits within it. The remaining parkland is privately owned by the Knole Est ...

, within which lies

. Educational establishments in the town include the independent

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...

and

Knole Academy The Knole Academy is a secondary school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England that was opened in September 2010, as a result of the amalgamation of the Wildernesse School (for boys) and Bradbourne School (for girls). The site The former Bradbourne site wa ...

Etymology

The town's name is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word ''"Seouenaca"'', the name given to a small chapel near seven

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

trees in what is now Knole Park around AD 800. In a book by K. Baedeker entitled, "Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland as Far as Loch Maree and the Cromarty Firth" (published in 1887) it is stated that Sevenoaks "is said to be a corruption of Chevenix".

History

There are few records earlier than the 13th century for the town, when it was given market status. The weekly cattle market was held in Hitchen Hatch Lane until 1999. It was closed to make way for the "160 BT building" in London Road. A food market is held in the centre of town every Saturday. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

two hospitals were provided by religious orders for the care of old or sick people, especially those going on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

, at the south end of High Street, is one of the oldest lay foundations in England. It was founded by William Sevenoke in 1432. Sevenoke, a foundling, had been brought up in the town. In later life he became a merchant and served as alderman, sheriff and

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

. Founding the school and adjacent almshouses was his thanks to the town. In 1560 the school was granted letters patent by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and became known as 'Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School'. It was "for the education of boys and youths in grammar and learning". In 1456 Thomas Bourchier,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, purchased the Knole estate and built

. The mansion dominates the town. The eponymous oak trees in Knole Park have been replaced several times over the centuries. In 1902 seven oaks were planted on the north side of

The Vine The True Vine ( ''hē ampelos hē alēthinē'') is an allegory or parable given by Jesus in the New Testament. Found in John , it describes Jesus' disciples as branches of himself, who is described as the "true vine", and God the Father the "hus ...

cricket ground to commemorate the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

. During the Great Storm of 1987, six of those trees were blown down. Their replacements, planted in a ceremony involving well-known people from television shows such as ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...

'' and locals such as

Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appear ...

and

Caron Keating Caron Louisa Keating (5 October 1962 – 13 April 2004) was a Northern Irish television presenter. Early life and education Keating was born on 5 October 1962 in Fulham, west London, to an English father with southern Irish roots and a Northern ...

, were vandalised, leaving the one mature tree standing. The trees have been replaced and eight Oak trees of varying ages line The Vine. A serious railway accident occurred nearby on 24 August 1927. Southern Railway K class passenger

tank engine A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomot ...

No. A800 River Cray was derailed hauling a Cannon Street to Deal express, knocking a road bridge and killing 13 passengers. The locomotive crew survived. The entire K class was subsequently rebuilt to prevent such an event from occurring again. The accident called into question the quality of track laying in the area.

Governance

Sevenoaks is governed by a town council with sixteen members. The town is divided into six wards: Kippington, Northern, St John's, Town, Wildernesse and Eastern. The offices of Sevenoaks District Council are located in the town.

Geography

The town is situated at the junction of two main routes from the north before traffic climbs over the

Greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and c ...

Ridge which crosses Kent from west to east; that situation is similar to

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

and

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

. That road was one of the earliest in the county to be turnpiked in 1709, because of the clay soils. The valley to the north is that of the

River Darent The Darent is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames and takes the waters of the River Cray as a tributary in the tidal portion of the Darent near Crayford, as illustrated by the adjacent photograph, snapped at high tide. 'Darenth' is frequen ...

; that river turns to the north to cut through 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 ...

. Several lakes are located along the course of the river here, the result of the

extraction of sand Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concret ...

and gravel in the past. The built-up area of the town has developed primarily along the main roads. The settlement of Riverhead to the north-west is the largest; other parts of the town (in clockwise order from the north) include Greatness; Wildernesse; St John's; Hollybush; Sevenoaks Common; and Kippington.

Demography

The 2001 census counts approximately 18,588 residents within the Sevenoaks

authority, compared to its population in 1801 of 2,600. The built-up area of the town had a population of 24,987 at the 2011 census.

Economy

Sevenoaks, like much of

West Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe skul ...

, is characterised by high levels of economic activity and a skilled resident workforce. A large proportion of that workforce commutes elsewhere to their places of employment, mostly to central London. Those factors have led to high house prices and pressure on the local area to build more houses. Many of those houses attract high prices, making it difficult for people to buy property. A wide range of middle-class occupations are in short supply locally. Industries such as finance and business services tend to predominate. Transport links are generally very busy and town centre congestion is common at peak times. Blighs

The main industrial area is located north of the town, alongside the A225. Sevenoaks Quarry is on Bat and Ball Road, also to the north. The shopping area in High Street includes the new Bligh's development. It is a typical small town centre, with one M&S department store having opened in 2014. Bligh's shopping development opened in phases in 2002. The site was originally a meadow, before becoming a bus station and car park. Access can be gained from several directions including the High Street and London Road. In 2008, a new third side of the development opened, housing a

Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...

, a Robert Dyas and Tommelise and Zapata: A Mexican restaurant (now closed). Much of the architecture is based on slightly earlier periods but with a contemporary edge. Music string manufacturer

RotoSound Rotosound is a British guitar and bass string manufacturing company based in England. History Rotosound was started in the late 1950s by James How, a musician and engineer by trade. How started manufacturing music strings for many famous arti ...

is based in Sevenoaks. The company's strings have been used by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

, and

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

. In the US, the company is associated with the 'British Invasion' sound of the 1960s and 70s.

Landmarks

Knole Park is a 1,000-acre (4 km²)

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

and medieval deer park containing several thousand trees, a cricket pitch and a golf course running across. In its centre is

Knole Knole () is a country house and former archbishop's palace owned by the National Trust. It is situated within Knole Park, a park located immediately to the south-east of Sevenoaks in west Kent. The house ranks in the top five of England's large ...

, the home of the Sackville family (the

Earls of Dorset Earl of Dorset is a title that has been created at least four times in the Peerage of England. Some of its holders have at various times also held the rank of marquess and, from 1720, duke. A possible first creation is not well documented. About ...

) since it was given to them by Queen Elizabeth I in 1577. The estate is owned and maintained by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, although the Sackvilles still live there.

Riverhill House Riverhill House is a Grade II listed rag-stone Queen Anne manor house located on the southern edge of Sevenoaks in Kent, England. The house and estate, of , are located directly to the south of Knole Park, near to the villages of Sevenoaks We ...

and gardens are located directly to the south of Knole Park, on the southern edge of Sevenoaks. The house and gardens, which were first built in the 16th century, are privately owned by Jane Margaret Rogers but are periodically open to the public.

Religious sites

There are four churches belonging to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in Sevenoaks, dedicated to St Nicholas, St Luke, St Mary and St John the Baptist; and also St Mary's at Riverhead. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church is dedicated to

St Thomas of Canterbury Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

; and there are some eight other denominations represented in the town. These include Hope Church (

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

), the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

and also

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

churches across the town and its villages.

Education

There is one mixed state secondary school, the

, which was created in 2009 from an amalgamation of

Wildernesse School The Knole Academy is a secondary school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England that was opened in September 2010, as a result of the amalgamation of the Wildernesse School (for boys) and Bradbourne School (for girls). The site The former Bradbourne site w ...

(for boys) and Bradbourne School (for girls), and four state primary schools, one of which is Church of England and another of which is Catholic. Lady Boswell's C of E Primary School on Plymouth Drive dates back to 1675 and is one of the oldest state primary schools in England. Lady Margaret Boswell left a bequest to educate 12 poor scholars of the town. The first school building was erected on London Road in 1818: it is a Grade II Listed building with a neo-Classical frontage, now called Lady Boswell House. The school moved to its current site in 1972. A Christian 'Free School' called Trinity School, opened in the 2010s on the Seal Hollow Road in the North-Eastern edge of town, and Seal Hollow Road is also the site of the

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...

first new UK

Grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

, an annex of

Weald of Kent Grammar School Weald of Kent Grammar School is a selective or grammar school with academy status in Tonbridge, Kent, England, for girls aged 11–18 and boys aged 16–18. Selection is by the Kent test. The school holds specialisms in languages and science. ...

for girls in Tonbridge, in over 50 years. A further annex grammar school, of Tunbridge Grammar School for Boys, is due to open on the same site in September 2021. Among the high number of independent schools is

, a co-educational boarding and day school, The Granville School, a girls’ prep school 3-11 (with boys in pre-school) and Walthamstow Hall, an all-girls day school; and several preparatory schools, including Solefield School (an all-boys day school), New Beacon Preparatory School and

Sevenoaks Preparatory School Sevenoaks Prep School is a co-educational, day preparatory school for 385 pupils aged 2–13 in Sevenoaks in south-east England. The school is situated on the Sackville estate, on grounds bordering the park of Knole House. It was founded in 1 ...

Transport

Sevenoaks is located at the junction of two ancient roads heading south from London and

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 ...

to the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

. In 1710 part of one of the roads – from Sevenoaks through

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

and

Pembury Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of 6,128 at the 2011 Census. It lies just to the north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a ...

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

– was the first in Kent to be turnpiked, and others followed within the century. It became the

A21 road This is a list of road designation, roads designated A21. Roads are sorted in the countries' alphabetical order. * A21 road (Australia), a road in South Australia * A21 (Toowoomba, QLD) * A21 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Altlengbach and t ...

in the 1920s; the road now

bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...

the town, and also takes traffic to the M25 London Orbital motorway at Junction 5. The Dartford road is now the A225. The cross-country

A25 road The A25 road is an east–west main road in the South-East of England. Its carries traffic east from Guildford, Surrey, eastward through Surrey and into mid-west Kent, to the town of Sevenoaks, and then on to Wrotham Heath where it connects wit ...

passes through the north of the town along the

Vale of Holmesdale Holmesdale, also known as the Vale of Holmesdale, is a valley in South-East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of ...

There are two railway stations in Sevenoaks, and two on the outskirts. The principal

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

is located on the

South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the C ...

and also acts as the terminus for the suburban stopping services to both London Charing Cross and

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

. The latter services follow the branch line via

, calling at the second of the stations, named Bat & Ball. The outlying stations are

Dunton Green Dunton Green is a small village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies in the valley of the River Darent, north of the town of Sevenoaks. Dunton Green is designated as being part of the Kent Downs area of outstandin ...

(served at off peak times by two trains per hour to London Charing Cross, and three trains per hour to London Cannon Street at peak times) and

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist Churc ...

(two trains per hour to

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

). There are also bus routes in and around Sevenoaks provided by

Go-Coach Go-Coachhire Ltd is a bus operator running a total of 40 bus services (including school services) across Kent and Sussex. The majority of these services are operated on behalf of Kent County Council from their depot in Swanley. History Go-Coa ...

and

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern CountiesCompanies House extract company no 20314 ...

Leisure

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve Sevenoaks Gravel Pits is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Sevenoaks in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust as the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve and Jeffery Harrison Visitor Centre. History The s ...

is to the north of the town centre, around one of the former gravel pits. It is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, covering some 175 acres (71 ha). Sevenoaks Scouts is the active

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

organisation in the town. Sevenoaks Information provides a comprehensive What's On events diary for the town and surrounding area. Sevenoaks Community Forum is a growing, active discussion forum for News and Events within Sevenoaks and surrounding areas. Sevenoaks District Community Directory provides information on local leisure facilities, plus details of Clubs, Societies and Organisations covering all activities, including Sport across Sevenoaks and surrounding Towns / Villages.

Sports

Sevenoaks has three

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

clubs:

Corinthian Football Club Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...

who play at Gay Dawn Farm,

Sevenoaks Town F.C. Sevenoaks Town F.C. is a football club based in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. They were established in 1883 and are currently members of the . History Sevenoaks F.C. was originally formed in 1883 and was amongst the founder members of the original ...

who play at Greatness Park and Ide Hill F.C. who currently play in Borough Green due to construction of a new club house in Ide Hill village. The

Vine Cricket Ground The Vine Cricket Ground, also known as Sevenoaks Vine, is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in Kent in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745–1799) and owner of nearby Knole H ...

is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in 1773 by

John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, KG (25 March 174519 July 1799) was the only son of Lord John Philip Sackville, second son of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset. His mother was the former Lady Frances Leveson-Gower. He succeede ...

(1745–1799) and owner of Knole House. The land was thought previously to have been used as a vineyard for the Archbishops of Canterbury.

Sevenoaks Suns The Sevenoaks Suns are a basketball club and women's professional team from Sevenoaks, Kent, England. The Suns compete in the WBBL, the premier women's basketball competition in the United Kingdom, and are one of the most dominant teams in the ...

is a women's basketball team that plays in the top flight of UK women's basketball, the WBBL. In 2017, the team won the

WBBL Trophy WBBL may refer to: *Women's British Basketball League - the top women's basketball competition in the United Kingdom *Women's Big Bash League, an Australian T20 Women's Cricket Competition *WBBL (FM), a radio station (96.5 FM) licensed to serve Ric ...

, defeating the Leicester Riders 82-67 in the final in Glasgow. Sevenoaks Hockey Club is a large club with a clubhouse at The Vine Pavilion. Sevenoaks has two leisure centres and many sports and other activities are available.

Culture

Television viewers can receive either London (north/west via

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

) or Kent and Sussex (aerial pointing eastwards via

Blue Bell Hill Blue Bell Hill is a chalk hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent. It overlooks the River Medway and is part of the North Downs. Settlements on the hill include the Walderslade suburb of Chatham and the villages of B ...

) transmissions. Programmes including

London Tonight ''ITV News London'' is a British television news service broadcast on both ITV London and the ITV Hub. It is produced by ITN. History London News Network The programme launched on Monday 4 January 1993 as ''London Tonight'', after Carlton Te ...

and

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London News'' and weekly ''Sunday Politics'' on television, ...

, or

Meridian Tonight ''ITV News Meridian'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Meridian. Overview The news service is produced and broadcast from ITV Meridian's studios in Whiteley, near Fareham with reporters also based at bureaux i ...

and

BBC South East Today ''BBC South East Today'' is the BBC South East regional television news programme, serving Kent, East Sussex, part of West Sussex and a small part of Surrey. Prior to its launch on 3 September 2001, most of the viewers in the region received ' ...

. The Stag Theatre, cinema and the Plaza music and conference complex is located at the top of London Road (TN13 1ZZ). It was re-opened as a community arts centre by Sevenoaks Town Council on 2 January 2009 and is supported by a strong network of volunteers. It became a not for profit charity in 2010. The multiplex cinema is open daily showing films. Around £550,000 has invested in equipment, infrastructure and the building since it re-opened. The demonym for a person from Sevenoaks is ''Sennockian''. The demonym ''Old Sennockian'' is used by alumni of

Local media

The local radio station for Sevenoaks is

KMFM West Kent KMFM West Kent is an Independent Local Radio serving the towns of Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Royal Tunbridge Wells plus the surrounding areas of the South East of England. It is the West Kent region of the KMFM radio network (owned by the KM Grou ...

, although no local programmes are broadcast on the station due to it being part of the KMFM network across Kent that broadcasts from Medway. The station still receives local adverts, what-on local events and sponsors. Sevenoaks is served by county wide stations

BBC Radio Kent BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

Heart South Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England from studios in Fareham, Hampshire. The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a mer ...

Smooth Radio Smooth Radio may refer to: * Smooth Radio (2010), the original national network in the UK * Smooth Radio (2014) See also * Smoothfm smoothfm is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by NOVA Entertainment. From original ...

and many London stations. Because of its proximity to London, television signals are in the main received from the Crystal Palace transmitter, placing Sevenoaks in the BBC London and ITV London areas, rather than BBC South East or ITV Meridian which serve most of Kent from the Bluebell Hill and Dover transmitters. The local paper is the ''

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

'' ''Chronicle'', which is published every Thursday by the Courier Media Group.

Notable people

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

(1572–1631), poet *

Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...

(1717–1791), British Army Officer *

George Kelson George Mortimer Kelson (8 December 1835 – 29 March 1920) was an English amateur cricketer, sport angler, and self-promotional author who played for Kent County Cricket Club in the 19th century. Biography Kelson was born in Sevenoaks in 183 ...

(1835–1920), amateur cricketer, fisherman and author *

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

W. H. Davies William Henry Davies (3 July 1871 – 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer, who spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the United Kingdom and the United States, yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes inc ...

(1871–1940), Welsh tramp-poet, lived in Sevenoaks 1907–1914 * Edward Thomas (1878–1917), poet *

Netta Muskett Netta Muskett (1887 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England – 29 May 1963 in Putney) was a British writer of more than 60 romance novels from 1927 to 1963, who also wrote under the pseudonym Anne Hill. Her novels have been translated to several languages, ...

(1887–1963), novelist *

Basil Copper Basil Frederick Albert Copper (5 February 1924 – 3 April 2013) was an English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. Mike Ashley, "Basil Copper", in David Pringle, ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers.''(London: ...

(1924–2013), writer *

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

(1949–), jazz and rock drummer *

Timothy Laurence Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence, (born 1 March 1955) is a retired Royal Navy officer and husband of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Laurence was equerry t ...

(1955–) (husband of Anne, Princess Royal) attended the Sevenoaks School *

Tony Hayward Anthony Bryan Hayward (born 21 May 1957) is a British businessman and former chief executive of oil and energy company BP. He replaced John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, on 1 May 2007. His tenure ended on 1 October 2010 when he was replace ...

(1957–), former CEO of BP *

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

(1961–1997), went to West Heath School in Sevenoaks *

James Whitbourn James Whitbourn (born 1963) is a British composer and conductor. Biography James Whitbourn was born in Kent and educated at Skinners' School before winning a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained his first two degrees. Hi ...

(1963–), composer *

Phil Hartnoll Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root term ...

(1964–), musician with Orbital *

Paul Hartnoll Paul Hartnoll (born 19 May 1968) is one of two brothers (the other being Phil Hartnoll) who make up the electronic dance act Orbital. History Hartnoll played in a local band during the mid-1980s, Noddy and the Satellites, featuring clarinetis ...

(1968–), musician with Orbital *

Matthew Branton Matthew Branton (born 1968) is a British novelist and author. He is noted for interrupting a successful career by publishing his fifth novel as a free download during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Life and career Branton grew up in Sevenoaks, Ken ...

(1968–), novelist *

Murray Lachlan Young Murray Lachlan Young (born 14 March 1969) is a British poet, stand-up performer, broadcaster, playwright, screenwriter and children's author. He came to prominence during the Britpop era of the mid-1990s, when he became the only poet to sign a rec ...

(1969–), performance poet *

Lizzy Yarnold Elizabeth Anne Yarnold, OBE (born 31 October 1988) is a British former skeleton racer who joined the Great Britain national squad in 2010. With consecutive Olympic gold medals in 2014 and 2018, she is the most successful British Winter Olympia ...

(1988–),

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

two time winter Olympic gold medalist. *

Anton du Beke Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...

(1966–), ballroom dancer *

Peter Sissons Peter George Sissons (17 July 1942 – 1 October 2019) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4, before becoming the presenter of the BBC's ''Question Time'' between 1989 ...

(1942–2019), newsreader *

Robert Charles Zaehner Robert Charles Zaehner (1913–1974) was a British academic whose field of study was Eastern religions. He understood the original language of many sacred texts, e.g., Hindu (Sanskrit), Buddhist (Pali), Islamic (Arabic). At Oxford University his ...

(1913–1974), British academic whose field of study was Eastern religions *

Charlie Whiting Charles Whiting (12 August 1952 – 14 March 2019) was a British motorsports director. He served as the FIA Formula One Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Technical Department, in which capacities he generally ma ...

(1952–2019), FIA Formula One Race Director *

Mike Conway Mike Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. Biography Conway who was born in Bromley, Lond ...

(born 1983) 2006 British Formula Three champion and

2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship was the eighth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). T ...

winner

Twinnings

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dépa ...

, France *

Rheinbach Rheinbach is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district (Landkreis), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It belongs to the administrative district (Regierungsbezirk) of Cologne. Geography Situated south-west of Bonn and south of Cologne, Rheinbach ...

, Germany

References

;Notes * ''Kent History Illustrated'' Frank W. Jessup (Kent County Council, 1966) * ''Railways of the Southern Region'' Geoffrey Body (PSL Field Guide 1989)

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Kent Market towns in Kent