Mulberry_Cottages,_High_Street,_Snodland,_Kent_-_geograph

Church of All Saints, Snodland, Tonbridge & Malling, Kent

Snodland is a town in the borough of

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Tonbridge is the largest settlement but the authority is based in the modern development of Kings Hill. Geography Tonbridge and Malling Borough cover ...

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. It lies on the River Medway, between

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest 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 centre of the town, linking it wi ...

, and from central London. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 10,211.

History

"Snoddingland" is first mentioned in a charter of 838 in which King

Egbert of Wessex Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlem ...

gave "four ploughlands in the place called Snoddingland and Holanbeorge" (Holborough) to Beornmod, the Bishop of Rochester. Since

-ing ''-ing'' is a suffix used to make one of the inflected forms of English verbs. This verb form is used as a present participle, as a gerund, and sometimes as an independent noun or adjective. The suffix is also found in certain words like ''morn ...

land names are mostly derived from personal names, the name appears to refer to 'cultivated land connected with Snodd' or Snodda. 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 manus ...

refers to it as "Esnoiland". The first

Roman 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 ...

advance in the conquest of Britain may have crossed the River Medway near Snodland, although there are other possible locations. The supposed crossing place is marked by a memorial on the opposite side of the river from Snodland, close to Burham. Near this spot, a ferry later carried pilgrims bound for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

along the

Pilgrims' Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of comparatively recent coinage ...

. Bishop Gundulph, at the end of the 11th century, built a palace at Halling, which was used by his successors until the 16th century.

Lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

working had been carried out at Snodland for centuries, but expanded dramatically in the 19th century, as building boomed. The firm of Poynder and Medlicott began quarrying on the Snodland-Halling border in the early 19th century and the company was taken over by William Lee in 1846. Others followed and the last one was built in 1923 by W. L. H. Roberts at Holborough. Lime for building Waterloo and other London bridges came from the area. The paper-making industry came to Snodland around 1740, when the May family built a mill which the Hook family took over in 1854. New manufacturing techniques and the coming of the railway in the 1850s improved paper production from five to 70 tons a week. Snodland's population doubled between 1840 and 1857. After the Medway Valley railway was opened on 18 June 1856, the village trebled in size between 1861 and 1881. As a result, the parish boundary was re-aligned in 1898 and again in 1988, both changes absorbing areas of Birling parish, known locally as "Lower Birling". Snodland is now under a 10-year development plan by

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council 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 ...

to redevelop and expand the Holborough part of Snodland. In 2005, Berkeley Homes began the construction of around 1,200 houses on the former Holborough Quarry.

Government

Fifteen members sit on Snodland Town Council. Snodland East ward elects two councillors and Snodland West three councillors on

. In the 2011 election, the West ward elected three Conservative councillors, and East ward elected one Conservative and one Labour. Sarah Hohler is the town's member on Kent County Council, and the town is part of the Chatham and Aylesford constituency, represented at Westminster by Conservative

Tracey Crouch Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (born 24 July 1975) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she gained the seat from Labour's Jonathan S ...

Geography

The town is situated between 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 a ...

to the west and the river Medway to the east.

Leybourne Lakes Country Park Leybourne Lakes Country Park is near Snodland, in Kent, England. The park, which opened in 2004, was created from disused gravel pits that have been flooded and landscaped to make fishing and wildlife lakes. History In the 1930s a river fed from ...

was created from disused gravel pits to the south that have been flooded and landscaped to make fishing and wildlife lakes; across the river is the

Burham Marsh Burham Marsh nature reserve is an 11 hectare tidal Reed bed on the River Medway 5 miles northwest of Maidstone. It is just east of Snodland but being on the east bank of the river it is accessed via Burham. It is part the Holborough to Wouldham ...

nature reserve, a tidal reed bed.

Demography

At the 2011 census, Snodland had a population of 10,211.

Economy

Since 1903, Snodland has been the home of the Mid Kent Water Company. After privatisation of the water companies, the owners of Mid Kent Water in October 2006 also bought South East Water, although regulatory issues dragged on until 2007. The two companies were then merged under the name ''

South East Water South East Water is a UK supplier of drinking water to 2.2 million consumers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire and is a private limited company registered in England and Wales. South East Water is at least 75% owned by entities ...

'', whilst retaining the headquarters facilities in Rocfort Road. The company supplies 2.1 million customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.

Culture and community

Since 1986, Snodland has been twinned with Moyeuvre-Grande, a town of similar size, located near

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

in North East France. The towns planned to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the partnership in May 2016. Snodland has two public houses, The Freemasons Arms and The Monks Head, and two

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class ...

s, Snodland WMC and Ham Hill WMC.

Landmarks

The Roman villa in Church Field has survived quite well and has been partially excavated. Aside from the churches (see below), Woodlands Farmhouse on Constitution Hill is a Grade II* listed building dating to the early-mid 15th century. The Mulberry Cottages on the High Street were originally a classical Wealden hall house dating to c1450; there's another hall house at 72 Holborough Rd. There are a number of more recent listed structures, perhaps the most unusual is a mock ruin, built c1850 to the south of the water company headquarters on the High St.

Transport

The town is situated on the A228 road connecting the

Medway Towns Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to f ...

with

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 populat ...

. The M20 motorway junction 4 is two miles south of the town and affords good access to London and the Channel Ports. The Snodland by-pass takes heavy commercial traffic away from the town centre. The

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

was opened on 18 June 1856, on an extension of the North Kent Line from Strood to

(SER) along the Medway Valley Line. There are peak-time services via HS1 direct to St Pancras; otherwise, passengers for London need to change at Strood or

Maidstone Barracks Invicta Park Barracks is a military installation in Maidstone, Kent. History Maidstone Barracks Permanent barracks were first established in Maidstone as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution in 1797. Maidstone Barr ...

Maidstone East Maidstone East railway station is one of three stations in the central area of Maidstone, Kent, England, but currently the only one with a regular direct service to London. The station is on the Maidstone line, from , and is served by trains o ...

Education

The Holmesdale School is a Foundation school formerly known as Holmesdale Technology College. It still specialises in technology and is linked to The Malling School in The Malling Holmesdale Federation Trust.

Religious sites

All Saints Church dates from the 12th century, and is a Grade I listed building. Christ Church, in the south of the town, was built after the population growth in the 19th century led to the requirement for a new church. It was designed by Percy Monkton in Early English Gothic Revival style. St Benedict's Church, Paddlesworth is a Norman church on the

Pilgrim's Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of comparatively recent coinage ...

about a mile west of the town. It dates from the early 12th century but has spent much of its life as a farm building and is currently in the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. There is a

Kingdom Hall A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii. Rutherford's reasoning was that these bui ...

on Church Field, used by local Jehovah's Witnesses. In the late 1940s, the defunct Grand Picture Palace cinema on Holborough Road was converted into the Catholic Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, but it was closed in 2007 and redeveloped. A Primitive Methodist Chapel on Chapel Road closed in 1976 and is now a car showroom. The Swedenborgian Church of the New Jerusalem on the High St was used until the 1980s but is now a private house, and is called Church House. The United Church on the High Street closed in 2011 after becoming structurally unsound. The cemetery was opened in 1896, with the house and chapel being designed by Hubert Bensted of Maidstone.

Sport

The Snodland Sports Association was set up in 2008. The 2012-13 season saw the merger of all the senior and junior football clubs in the town. Snodland Town F.C. competes in the

Southern Counties East Football League The Southern Counties East Football League is an English football league established in 1966, which has teams based in Kent and Southeast London. Until 2013, it was known as the Kent League. There was a previous Kent League, that existed from ...

, Division One. The other 13 teams include Snodland Town Reserves FC, Snodland Town Sunday FC and Snodland Town Nomads FC. Snodland Community Cricket Club play at Rectory Meadow, just off Rocfort Road car park. The Snodland Chess Club, established in 2003, uses the Cricket Pavilion as its playing venue. The chess club has been national champions in two sections of the National Chess Club Championship.

Notable people

The postal pioneer Thomas Fletcher Waghorn (1800–50), shortened the mail route to India from three months to between 35 and 45 days by going through the Egyptian desert. He is buried in the churchyard. The white

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singer

Judge Dread Alexander Minto Hughes (2 May 1945 – 13 March 1998), better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and the BBC has banned more of his songs than ...

(real name Alex Hughes, 1945–98) lived in Snodland. Alex Hughes Close is now named after him. Several

songs refer to Snodland, such as "Belle of Snodland Town" and "Last Tango in Snodland".

Cultural references

Samuel Beckett referred to the town in his short play '' Play'' of 1963. It is believed that Beckett found Snodland while examining a local map of the area whilst staying in Kent.

"Before I could do anything he disappeared. That meant she had won. That slut! I couldn't credit it. I lay stricken for weeks. Then I drove over to her place. It was all bolted and barred. All grey with frozen dew. On the way back by Ash and Snodland"

The British jazz/rock band Soft Machine included a track titled ''Snodland'' on their 1973 album Seven.

References

External links

Snodland Town CouncilSnodland Historical Society
have far more detail on the town's history

- history of the railway in Snodland
Snodland Community Centre
{{authority control Towns in Kent Civil parishes in Kent Tonbridge and Malling