Smarden is 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 authorit ...

and village, west of

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 **B ...

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 ...

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 Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

. The village has 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 t ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

St Michael the Archangel ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

which, because of its high scissor beam roof, is sometimes known as ''"The Barn of Kent"''.

History

The earliest known date for Smarden is 1205, when Adam de Essex became the Rector of the parish. The area was covered by the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Anderida Anderitum (also ''Anderida'' or ''Anderidos'') was a Saxon Shore fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The ruins adjoin the west end of the village of Pevensey in East Sussex, England. The fort was built in the 290s and was abandoned after it ...

and when clearings were made, the

River Beult The River Beult ( ) is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England. Course The Beult has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding, it is joined by the m ...

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...

) formed the drainage channel. There is now evidence for early iron smelting at a number of sites in the parish. The most noteworthy is at Romden where a field known as 'Black Pitts' was commented on in 1912.This area was investigated briefly in 1994 and later in 2008 with the assistance of members of the Smarden history group under the leadership of Neil Aldridge of the Kent Archaeological Society' The features were recorded in more detail and included an area of waste slag from iron smelting together with Roman pottery sherds, ref: KCC Historic Environment Record and Wealden Iron Research Group database. There are other sites which have produced iron working waste, some prehistoric, including one west of Cousins Farm which has been radio carbon dated to the 1st century BC. There have also been a number of finds of pre-historic flint implements including hand axes associated with the river gravels. The local

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

len industry was encouraged by

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

who brought weaver

craftsmen Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

over from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

to create what was to become one of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

's biggest industries. Edward in recognition granted the village a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1333 permitting them to hold a weekly market and an annual fair thus elevating the status from village to "Town".

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". Eli ...

, en route from

Sissinghurst Castle Sissinghurst Castle Garden, at Sissinghurst in the Weald of Kent in England, was created by Vita Sackville-West, poet and writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. It is among the most famous gardens in England and is desig ...

Boughton Malherbe Boughton Malherbe ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone district of Kent, England, equidistant between Maidstone and Ashford. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 428, including Sandway and Grafty Green, i ...

in 1576, was so impressed by what she saw and ratified the previously granted Charter. A copy of the Charter hangs in the village church.The Smarden Parish Guide
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Houses

The Cloth Hall Smarden Geograph-2250521-by-Oast-House-Archive

Smarden became very prosperous and some fine

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

s were built in the 15th and 16th centuries, many of which remain today. The ''Cloth Hall'' (1430) is an example of a fifteenth-century

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples w ...

. Although built as a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...

it became the central clearing

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of citie ...

for the local cloth industry; the broad-cloth would have been taken from there to the port of

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient Briti ...

. Jubilee House on Pluckley Road is a Grade II listed house built c. 1772. During the Second World War, houses in Smarden, such as Gilletts, were used to relocate evacuees from London.

Geography

The area is drained by the headwaters of the two major rivers ultimately flowing north, via Maidstone to the west or Ashford to the east. These rivers are the

and the River Stour however many of these headwaters are only seasonal.

Amenities

Smarden has a Butcher's shop, as well as the West End House Art 'Gallery' (shop and gallery). In 2019, Smarden's multi-purpose 'Post Office and Stores' closed. However, a new post office located near to the village hall has since opened, providing many of the same amenities as the previous shop in addition to zero-waste facilities. By the three main neighbourhoods are three mostly quite large, family-catering pubs: ''The Flying Horse'', ''The Bell'' and ''The Chequers''. Smaller Maltmans Hill and Haffenden Quarter are well linked and remain tied to the founding neighbourhood which bears the same name as the civil parish. Other amenities in the village include: *Parish Council, PCC (Parocial Church Council) *FOSC (Friend's of Smarden Church) *Charter Hall *WI *Meals On Wheels *Volunteer Car Scheme *Smarden Youth *Cricket *Football *Good Neighbour Scheme *Local History Society *Primary School *Royal British Legion *Pre School *Gardeners Society *Baby and Toddler Group
The Smarden Players
*Conservative Association

Demography

The population rose by 79 between 2001 and 2011, as reported in the latest census.

Past residents

Author and artist

Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...

lived in Smarden in 1950.

Dorothy Crisp Dorothy Crisp (1906–1987) was a right-wing English political figure, writer and publisher. Biography Dorothy Crisp was born in Leeds, England on 17 May 1906. She was the only daughter of Albert Edward Crisp, an examiner, and Annie Beckwith ...

(1906–1987), an English author, political writer, publisher, chairman of the British Housewives' League, lived here. She married John Becker in London in 1945, but retained her maiden name; they moved to the village and had two children.

References

External links

Statistical civil parish overview - map {{authority control Villages in Kent Villages in the Borough of Ashford Civil parishes in Ashford, Kent