Harrietsham is a rural and industrial village and

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 ...

in the

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 ...

District 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 ...

, England noted in 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 ...

. According to the

United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

, it had a population of 1,504, increasing to 2,113 at the 2011 Census. The parish is in 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 ...

, east of

and includes the settlements of Marley,

Pollhill Pollhill is a hamlet in the parish of Harrietsham near the town of Maidstone 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 ...

and

Fairbourne Fairbourne is a seaside village in Gwynedd, Wales. Located on the coast of Barmouth, Barmouth Bay in Arthog Community (Wales), community, to the south of the estuary of the River Mawddach, it is surrounded by Snowdonia National Park. It is in an ...

History

Harrietsham is noted in the

. In mediaeval times the manor of Harrietsham passed through a succession of families, including the Adam family of Essex. The manor subsequently passed from Stephen Adam to his sister Eve, wife of John

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...

Hollington, East Sussex Hollington is a council estate and local government ward in the northwest of Hastings, East Sussex. The area lies next to Baldslow, Ashdown, North and Conquest, and less than five miles southeast of Battle, East Sussex, the home of Battle Abbey ...

. On Levett's death, his widow remarried Laurence Ashburnham, Gent., of

Broomham Chiddingly ( ) is an English village and civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of the administrative county of East Sussex, within historic Sussex, some five miles (8 km) northwest of Hailsham. The parish is rural in ...

, Sussex, ancestor of the Ashburnham baronets, bringing the manor of Harrietsham into the Ashburnham family. The village contains a number of

listed building 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 ...

s, the most important of which architecturally are The Old House in East Street and the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Church of St John the Baptist, which are both listed Grade I. The village also includes a church dedicated to

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

, a

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 and several nonconformist churches. The Olympic Torch of London 2012 travelled through Harrietsham.

Geography

The village is bypassed by the A20 road between Maidstone and Ashford, although at one time all traffic passed through it.

Harrietsham railway station Harrietsham railway station serves Harrietsham in Kent, England. It is down the line from . The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern. History Harrietsham station opened on 1 July 1884 as part of the London, Chatham ...

serves the village. Both 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

High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...

pass through the parish. The large Marley works to the east of the centre detract from the rural tranquility as well as the transport corridor. The

River Len The River Len is a river in Kent, England. It rises at a spring in ''Bluebell Woods'' to the southeast of the village centre of Lenham from the source of the River Great Stour; both rise on the Greensand Ridge. Its length is c. It enters the ...

flows through the village south of the M20, on which is located Holme Mill.

References

External links

* Civil parishes in Kent Villages in Kent {{Kent-geo-stub