Doddington is a village and civil parish in the district of Swale in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The Syndale Valley shelters the central part in the

Kent Downs The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover, including a small section of the London Boroug ...

Area of outstanding natural beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. Today the village is notable for Doddington Place Gardens, for its remarkably well kept buildings and its house prices show higher prices than the home counties average.

History

Within the parish at Sharsted Court, earthworks excavated were believed remains of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

Belgic Fort (100 BC – 43 AD). However the current village settlement dates from the 11th century. Of particular note is Doddington Church with the unusual dedication of "The (decollation) Beheading of St. John the Baptist". The dedication dates from at least 1467 when it is referenced in a will. DoddingtonChurch Sept2006

Other notable buildings within the parish are: ''Doddington Place'' built in 1870 for the Croft family (of 'Croft original sherry' fame) who owned it until 1906 when the Jeffreys and Oldfied families jointly purchased it. It is still owned by the Oldfield family and the Doddington Place Gardens are open to the public and have achieved listed status; in its grounds are the Place, a much-altered house, Park House and Park Cottage, also listed with fascinating history, as Grade II.

Attractions and amenities

Within the parish just to the north east is Sharsted Court, a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Wealden

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 wer ...

distinctive of this area, 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, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...

, however a building on the site dates from at least 1080; today a large romantic rambling manor house due to the many additions and alterations over the centuries. It is owned by former

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

champion

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all fo ...

. The village has an award-winning butchers shop, Doughty's, owned by the Doughty family since 1919 (and a butchers shop since 1789), with its own slaughter house. The village has a strong community spirit with numerous clubs and groups, which include as of 2013: An allotments association, amateur dramatics (The Valley Players), singing (Cantiana), parent/toddler group (Buddies), health and fitness (Medau) and tied in with the neighbouring village of Newnham, folk dancing, Women's Institute and brownies groups.

References

External links

Doddington Village Website

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent