Cobham, Kent
Encyclopedia
Cobham is a village
and civil parish in the Gravesham
District of Kent
, England
. It is located south of Watling Street
, the old road from Dover
to London
, six miles south-east of Gravesend
. The hamlet of Sole Street lies within the parish, which covers an area of 1,240 ha and has a population of 1,328. (2001 census).
The village is in a Conservation Area
and as such remains relatively unspoilt. The parish church is 13th century and is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, and has brasses
which are reputedly the finest in England. The church in Luddesdown
, part of the ecclesiastical parish, is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. Next to the church in the village is Cobham College, a one-time home for secular priests, and now acting as almshouses.
Cobham Hall
was the former 17th-century home of the Earls of Darnley
: its gardens were designed by Humphry Repton
and the surrounding woods contain the Darnley Mausoleum
, a Grade I listed building now undergoing restoration. Since 1957, the Hall has been a public school
for girls (Cobham Hall School); it opens to the public on some occasions in the year.
There are two areas of open space in the parish: Cobham Park, which includes extensive woodlands; and Jeskyns
, a one-time farm of 360 acres (147 ha), which has been turned into a greenspace area by the Forestry Commission
.
Cobham has strong links with Charles Dickens
, who used to walk out to the village: he set part of The Pickwick Papers
there. Other personalities connected with Cobham include Sir Joseph Williamson
, and the insane artist Richard Dadd
, who murdered his father near here in 1843. The Hon Ivo Bligh
, who became the 8th Earl of Darnley
, was the first English cricket
captain to attempt to recover The Ashes
from Australia
in the late 19th century. Comedian Joe Pasquale
lives in the area and owns land adjoining the estate of Cobham Hall.
The village was also linked to its namesake HMS Cobham
, a Ham class minesweeper
which was an active Royal Navy
vessel between 1953 and 1966.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish in the Gravesham
Gravesham
Gravesham is a local government district and borough in North West Kent, England. It has borders with the River Thames to the north; the City of Rochester and Medway to the east; the borough of Tonbridge and Malling ; and the boroughs of Sevenoaks and Dartford to the west.Its council is based at...
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...
. It is located south of Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, the old road from Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, six miles south-east of Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
. The hamlet of Sole Street lies within the parish, which covers an area of 1,240 ha and has a population of 1,328. (2001 census).
The village is in a Conservation Area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
and as such remains relatively unspoilt. The parish church is 13th century and is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, and has brasses
Monumental brass
Monumental brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood...
which are reputedly the finest in England. The church in Luddesdown
Luddesdown
Luddesdown is a civil parish in the Gravesham District of Kent, England. This very rural parish, forming part of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is located in a dry valley to the south of Gravesend and is named after a scattered group of houses and farms around Luddesdown...
, part of the ecclesiastical parish, is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. Next to the church in the village is Cobham College, a one-time home for secular priests, and now acting as almshouses.
Cobham Hall
Cobham Hall
Cobham Hall is a country house in Cobham, Kent, England. There has been a manor house on the site since the 12th century. The current building consists of a pair of Tudor wings built for William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham in the 16th century and a later classical central block, and a kitchen court...
was the former 17th-century home of the Earls of Darnley
Earl of Darnley
Earl of Darnley is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation in the Peerage of Scotland came in 1580 in favour of Esme Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. He was created Duke of Lennox at the same time. See the latter...
: its gardens were designed by Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
and the surrounding woods contain the Darnley Mausoleum
Darnley Mausoleum
The Darnley Mausoleum, is a Grade I Listed Building, situated in Cobham Woods, Kent . It was designed by James Wyatt for the 4th Earl of Darnley according to detailed instructions in the will of the 3rd Earl of Darnley. It was never used...
, a Grade I listed building now undergoing restoration. Since 1957, the Hall has been a public school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
for girls (Cobham Hall School); it opens to the public on some occasions in the year.
There are two areas of open space in the parish: Cobham Park, which includes extensive woodlands; and Jeskyns
Jeskyns
Jeskyns is near Cobham, in Kent, England. A former farm, now large open-space recreational area with areas being developed as new wildlife habitats.-History:...
, a one-time farm of 360 acres (147 ha), which has been turned into a greenspace area by the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
.
Cobham has strong links with Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, who used to walk out to the village: he set part of The Pickwick Papers
The Pickwick Papers
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club is the first novel by Charles Dickens. After the publication, the widow of the illustrator Robert Seymour claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any...
there. Other personalities connected with Cobham include Sir Joseph Williamson
Joseph Williamson (politician)
Sir Joseph Williamson, FRS was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in the Irish House of Commons between 1692 and 1699....
, and the insane artist Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd
Richard Dadd was an English painter of the Victorian era, noted for his depictions of fairies and other supernatural subjects, Orientalist scenes, and enigmatic genre scenes, rendered with obsessively minuscule detail...
, who murdered his father near here in 1843. The Hon Ivo Bligh
Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley
Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley DL, JP , styled The Honourable Ivo Bligh until 1900, was a British cricketer who captained the English team in the first ever Test series against Australia with the Ashes at stake in 1882/83...
, who became the 8th Earl of Darnley
Earl of Darnley
Earl of Darnley is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation in the Peerage of Scotland came in 1580 in favour of Esme Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. He was created Duke of Lennox at the same time. See the latter...
, was the first English cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
captain to attempt to recover The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the late 19th century. Comedian Joe Pasquale
Joe Pasquale
Joseph Ellis "Joe" Pasquale is an English comedian from Grays, Essex, arguably most famous for his high-pitched voice, use of visual gags and more recently being crowned "King of the Jungle", on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!...
lives in the area and owns land adjoining the estate of Cobham Hall.
The village was also linked to its namesake HMS Cobham
HMS Cobham
HMS Cobham was one of 93 ships of the of inshore minesweepers.Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Cobham in Kent....
, a Ham class minesweeper
Ham class minesweeper
The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers , known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. It took its name from the fact that all the ship names were British place names ending in -"ham"...
which was an active Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
vessel between 1953 and 1966.