It is generally accepted that
the name Eastling derives from the Jutish tribe of "Eslingas"
who built a settlement in the area towards the end of the
5th Century. For more, CLICK
HERE.
The locality
Eastling is four-and-a-half
miles south west of Faversham, on the dip slope of the North
Downs, 300 feet (95 metres) above sea level. For more on the
area, CLICK
HERE.
The buildings
Eastling Parish features a
number of fine listed
buildings with severals good examples of hall houses.
Much of the village itself is in a protected Conservation
Area.
Eastling
Manor dates, in part, from 1280 and is regarded by many
as one of the finest houses in Kent. For more, CLICK
HERE.
Huntingfield, one of the "Domesday
manors", is a substantial private property on the eastern
edge of the parish. For more, CLICK
HERE.
Arnolds, another "Domesday
manor" was divided and parts sold off in the 18th Century.
It lost its right to be a manor and reverted to a farm.
For more, CLICK
HERE.
Divan Court, alongside the parish
church, dates from 1380-1400.
North Court is said to date from
around 1450-1490. Restored and converted to private accommodation
in 2003.
The Old Rectory, on the corner
of Newnham Lane and Faversham Road, was built in the 1840s.
For more, CLICK
HERE.
Eastling Manor
The Old Rectory
The Street
A walk along The Street, from the Carpenters
Arms to the junction with Newnham Lane, is full of interest.
The Carpenters Arms public house
is said to date partly from the late 15th Century.
Plantation House (also with late
15th Century origins) was, at one time, a cycle shop.
Orchard House
was once the Orchard Stores. The proprietor's daughters looked
after the telephone exchange.
The Carpenters Arms
Numbers 2,3 and 4 The Street also
date from around 1500 and are notable for the tiled front
elevations.
The Old Post Office was once the
Village Post Office and Stores run by a Mr James Thomas
Doughty. He also provided the butcher's shop in the village
and, today, his grandson owns the butcher's shop in nearby
Doddington.
The front garden of the house called "The
Nook" is the site of a, now demolished, cottage where
it is believed a Mrs Bensted, the village midwife, once
lived and was also a saddlers and harness makers shop which
later became a shoe cobblers.
The domestic garage adjoining Laburnum
Cottage, immediately next door to The Nook, is almost
certainly the only remaining part of the former shop. For
more, CLICK
HERE.
Porch House was built in about
1480 in the shape of a cross and, for many years, was used
as a retreat for orders of nuns. Before the Dissolution
of the Monasteries, Eastling church was served by priests
from Leeds Priory who are thought to have lived in a building
on the same site. In the cellar of Porch House are the beginnings
of an underground passage, rumoured to lead to the sacristy
of the church and walled up around 1913 by the then owner.
Next to Porch House are the white-boarded
Kings Cottages.
These, in turn, lead to Forge House,
once the location of the village forge.
Porch House
Forge House
St Mary Church
Although there has been speculation on the possibility
of an earlier church on the site, there is good evidence
that the base of the south west tower of the Church of St
Mary was built in the early 11th Century. Also that the
west doorway dates from soon after the Norman Conquest of
1066.
The yew tree to the left of the porch entrance, has been
estimated by experts to be 2000 years old and, in 1999,
provided cuttings for a Millennium project to propagate
new yew trees.
St Mary Church
For more on Eastling's historic
church, CLICK
HERE.
The School
Eastling School
celebrated 100 years in its Kettle Hill Road premises in 1981.
Before that, the original village school was in Newnham Lane.
For a brief history of the School, CLICK HERE.
For a longer history of the School, see the School's own web
pages.
For more on the present-day School, see the School's website.
The Village Hall
Eastling villagers got an attractive new
village hall in September 1998.
Previously residents had used a modified
military hut originally from the former Throwley airfield.
For more details, CLICK HERE.
Eastling Village Hall
Echoes from the
past
The Harris
Estate: Once the seat of the Harris family, these substantial
land and property holdings are, today, administered by The
Harris Trust. For more, CLICK
HERE.
Market and Fair: One 13th Century
occupant of North Eastling, Sir Fulco de Peyforer, knighted
by Edward I, obtained a grant for the village to hold a
weekly market and an annual toy and pedlary fair. His family's
Coat of Arms (Argent with Six Fleurs de Lys Azure) can be
seen in the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral.
Squirrel hunting: A one-time annual
event called squirrel hunting, held on November 30 (St Andrew's
Day), seems to have been an excuse for bad behaviour! Edward
Hasted took a dim view of the proceedings in Eastling and
its neighbouring parishes. He regarded them as an excuse
for labourers to "form a lawless rabble" armed
with "guns, poles, clubs and other such weapons"
and spend the day pretending to hunt squirrels, but in reality
killing other wildlife, breaking down hedges and, in the
evening, heading for the pub.
Friendly Society: The Eastling
Friendly Society, formed in 1812 "for the benefit of
working men in the village", became the model for other
communities. The Society's Jubilee Day at Eastling in July
1861 was a major local event. Over time, the various Societies
merged to form the United Men of Kent Friendly Society.
For more on this, CLICK
HERE.
Today
Today, Eastling is a haven
of peace - something much appreciated by its residents. The
church, the school and the pub - together with a small number
of local social groups - provide for some of the needs of
the village. But, as with so many other rural communities,
many services are in neighbouring towns and journeys by car
or the local bus and taxi services have become an everyday
necessity.
