Chiddingstone
Encyclopedia
Chiddingstone is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks (district)
Sevenoaks is a local government district covering the western most part of Kent in England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks. It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Sevenoaks Urban District, Sevenoaks Rural District and part of Dartford...

 District of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The parish is located on the River Eden
River Eden, Kent
The River Eden in West Kent is a tributary of the River Medway. It travels through the Weald of Kent from the border with Surrey, rising from the source in Titsey parish, Surrey, grid reference TQ 420 551, about 350 metres north of Clacket Lane motorway services, and flowing...

 between Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...

 and Edenbridge
Edenbridge, Kent
Edenbridge is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The town's name derives from Old English language "Eadhelmsbrigge" . It is located on the Kent/Surrey border on the upper floodplain of the River Medway and gives its name to the latter's tributary, the River Eden...

. The village of Chiddingstone Causeway is included in the parish.

Origin of name

A popular theory is that the village takes its name from a large sandstone rock formation, situated on its outskirts, named the Chiding Stone. Chidingstone was a previous spelling used for the village. Tradition asserts that the stone was used as a seat of judgement, mainly to remonstrate overbearing local wives. It has also been wrongly described as a Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....

ical ritual site and more convincingly suggested as being a landmark used as a Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 boundary marker
Boundary marker
A boundary marker, boundary stone or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in a direction of a boundary...

. Chiddingstone means "the stone of Chidda's tribe" — Chidda presumably being a local Saxon leader.

Ownership of village

Chiddingstone is unique in that, apart from the church and the Castle
Chiddingstone Castle
Chiddingstone Castle is situated in the village of Chiddingstone, Kent, England, in the upper valley of the River Medway.The castle reopened in 2008 after a period of restoration and now has over 10,000 visitors a year. The castle has collections of ancient artifacts which are on display in the...

, the entire village is owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

. It is described as being " the most perfect surviving example of a Tudor village in the county".

Film location

The village was used as a setting in the 1985 Merchant Ivory film "A Room with a View"
A Room with a View (film)
A Room with a View is a 1985 British drama film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. The film is a close adaptation of E. M...

, in the scene where Lucy and Cecil take a walk after their engagement party. The High Street is seen from the end nearest to The Castle Inn.
Michael Winner used Chiddingstone in his production of 'The Wicked Lady'.
Terry Jones and the "Monty Python" team filmed here for 'Wind in the Willows'.
'Elizabeth R', starring Glenda Jackson was largely made here, as was Gerald Scarfe's 'Life of Hogarth'

Parish Church

The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, enhances the look of the village, and is perhaps the fourth built on that site. In the churchyard is a gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...

 dating from 1736 built by Henry Streatfeild; leading down into the family vault beneath which has a through flow of air provided by vents in two false altar tombs, one adjacent to the gazebo and the other some 30' north.

The church was almost destroyed by a lightning fire in 1624. In recent years it has had new heating, lighting and sound systems installed. In addition to this the chapel has been re-decorated and a lavatory has been built adjoining this.

The parish

There are several reserves in the area including:
  • Sevenoaks Reserve and Jeffery Harrison Visitor Centre (Operated by Kent Wildlife Trust
    Kent Wildlife Trust
    Kent Wildlife Trust covers the county of Kent, England, and is one of the largest of the 47 Wildlife Trust organisations in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney...

    )
  • Bough Beech Visitors Centre and Reserve (Operated by Kent Wildlife Trust
    Kent Wildlife Trust
    Kent Wildlife Trust covers the county of Kent, England, and is one of the largest of the 47 Wildlife Trust organisations in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney...

    )
  • Chiddingstone Reserve (Operated by Kent Wildlife Trust
    Kent Wildlife Trust
    Kent Wildlife Trust covers the county of Kent, England, and is one of the largest of the 47 Wildlife Trust organisations in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney...

    )


Penshurst railway station
Penshurst railway station
Penshurst railway station is on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line and is located approximately two miles north of Penshurst in Kent, in the hamlet of Chiddingstone Causeway....

 is located in the village of Chiddingstone Causeway. It is on the line between Tonbridge and Redhill
Redhill railway station
Redhill railway station serves the town of Redhill, Surrey, England. The station is a major interchange point on the Brighton Main Line 21 miles south of London Victoria...

.

.

External links

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