Hildenborough
Encyclopedia
Hildenborough is a village
and rural parish in the District of Tonbridge and Malling
, Kent
. It is two miles (three kilometres) north-west of Tonbridge
and five miles (eight kilometres) south-east of Sevenoaks
. The village lies in the River Medway
valley, near the North Downs
in an area known as The Weald.
In the fields along Stocks Green Road, by the old tea rooms, a German parachutist came down and a Captain from the Royal Artillery from Hildenborough had to take him to a POW camp. A woman in some neighbouring buildings offered the German a cup of tea. Mansers Farm and Fairview house in Nizels Lane were also houses where German soldiers landed.
in 1710: the highway from Sevenoaks through Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells
; carrying much traffic en route to “the Wells”. A number of inns sprang up to service this traffic, including the Hilden Manor and the Half Moon.
Today the village, along with Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, is by-passed by the modern A21 road.
The railway was late coming to Hildenborough: the South Eastern Railway
did not open its direct line from London
until 1 May 1868. The six-mile (ten-kilometre) gradient up to Sevenoaks takes its name from the village. The railway station
was situated close to the existing houses at the time, which is now about one mile (one and a half kilometres) from the village centre.
Dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, the church was consecrated on 9 July 1844.
In 1992 a "church plant" was established by St John's at Stocks Green School, to serve the southern part of the village, initially meeting monthly until 1994 when weekly services started. The congregation moved back to the Church Centre (hall) at St John's in 2008 http://www.stjohnshildenboro.co.uk
Hildenborough Gospel Hall, located in Mount Pleasant, was established some time around 1850. http://www.hildenboroughgospelhall.co.uk
, a private educational establishment, now occupies Foxbush House, built in 1866 for Charles Fitch Kemp, a London chartered accountant, who had an “ambition to be a country landowner”. The house was subsequently sold twice before the second World War, when it was occupied by the military. It was used by various educational establishments from 1949; Sackville School was established in 1987 and its grounds are a Registered Historic Park.
Apart from one large financial institution Fidelity Investments
having set up its UK Headquarters in Hildenborough and a GlaxoSmithKline
factory at nearby Powder Mills, commerce in the village is primarily based on small businesses. It is very much a commuter village with its good transport links with London.
One of the village's oldest buildings, the Hilden Manor restaurant owned by Beefeater
, was burnt down by a fire caused by an electrical fault, and has now been restored and rebuilt by Oaklands. It was officially re-opened on 6 October 2006, along with a Premier Travel Inn
newly built next to it.
The Raphael Medical Centre in Coldharbour Lane offers Speech Therapy, Art & Music Therapy to help patients regain mental and physical abilities lost through serious illness or accidents.
There is one private primary school, Fosse Bank, one private secondary, Sackville, and two state primaries, Stocks Green school and Hildenborough CEP school. Hildenborough primary was the first school in the village, and is over 150 years old.
troop (8th Tonbridge). Further away in Watts Cross is Hildenborough rifle and pistol club. Hildenborough has a very friendly and sometimes successful cricket club that plays its home games on Sundays, on the recreation ground in Riding Lane. The club headquarters is based at the Hildenborough Social Club, just down the road.
It also has a BHS and ABRS qualified riding school and livery yard with a cross country course also in Riding Lane.
There are two football teams associated with the village Hildenborough Athletic FC has Three teams, two being in the local Sevenoaks & District League and the first team playing football in the Kent County Division One league as of 2011-2012 season. http://www.hildenboroughjfc.org.uk/ Hildenborough Junior FC] has two teams in the Crowborough League playing on Sunday mornings. Action Medical Research have a regular charity cycling event, the 'Castle 100' every year that runs through Riding Lane and Shipbourne http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/explore-kent/cycling/Tonbridge-Castle-charity-ride.htm
Hildenborough Gospel Hall hold meetings for adults and children. http://www.hildenboroughgospelhall.co.uk
. Other famous residents included the late Sir Henry Cooper
. Recent news articles say footballer Lee Bowyer
resides in Hildenborough, however he only lived there for a year, moving away again in 2006.
Henry (Real Name Hyla) Stallard MBE (1901 -73) lived in Mill Lane, he was an athlete in the 1924 Paris Olympics and represented Great Britain in the 800 and 1500m. He hurt his foot in one of the races but he picked himself up and carried on running. An actor played him in Chariots of Fire. He became a pioneering eye surgeon at St Barts Hospital and Moorfields. He later moved with his wife Gywnneth to Forest Row in Sussex but used to spend Christmas in Hildenborough with his relatives. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1017335/?page=1
As of the 2001 UK census, the Hildenborough electoral ward had a population of 4,588. The ethnicity was 98.7% white, 0.6% mixed race, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.3% United Kingdom, 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 1.7% other Western European countries, and 3.4% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 78.8% Christian, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.2% Muslim. 12.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 7.6% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.1% in full-time employment, 13.5% in part-time employment, 10.9% self-employed, 1.5% unemployed, 2.4% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 17.1% retired, 7.8% looking after home or family, 2.8% permanently sick or disabled and 1.7% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.4% retail, 9.3% manufacturing, 7.2% construction, 17.6% real estate, 9.2% health and social work, 10.2% education, 5.5% transport and communications, 3.9% public administration, 3.2% hotels and restaurants, 12.5% finance, 1.5% agriculture and 6.5% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in education, finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, public administration, hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 25.9% had a higher education
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
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 rural parish in the District of Tonbridge and Malling
Tonbridge and Malling
Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district and borough in the English county of Kent.Tonbridge and Malling borough covers an area from the North Downs at Burham and Snodland in the north to the town of Tonbridge in the south...
, 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...
. It is two miles (three kilometres) north-west of 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 five miles (eight kilometres) south-east of Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
. The village lies in the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
valley, near the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
in an area known as The Weald.
Origin of name
Hildenborough was originally just Hilden – or, in its 13th-century form, Hyldenn. The elements here are Old English hyll ‘hill’ and denn ‘woodland pasture’, so the sense is of a ‘pasture on or by a hill’. By 1349 the name had become Hildenborough, having acquired the affix from burh ‘manor, borough’.Origin of road names
Mill Lane was named after the Mill near the B245 http://www.windmillworld.com/millid/2656.htmWartime
In World War II a doodlebug (V1) fell near an oast house by Mill Lane and smashed its cowl.In the fields along Stocks Green Road, by the old tea rooms, a German parachutist came down and a Captain from the Royal Artillery from Hildenborough had to take him to a POW camp. A woman in some neighbouring buildings offered the German a cup of tea. Mansers Farm and Fairview house in Nizels Lane were also houses where German soldiers landed.
Transport
Hildenborough stood on the first road in Kent to be turnpikedToll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
in 1710: the highway from Sevenoaks through Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
; carrying much traffic en route to “the Wells”. A number of inns sprang up to service this traffic, including the Hilden Manor and the Half Moon.
Today the village, along with Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, is by-passed by the modern A21 road.
The railway was late coming to Hildenborough: the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
did not open its direct line from 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...
until 1 May 1868. The six-mile (ten-kilometre) gradient up to Sevenoaks takes its name from the village. The railway station
Hildenborough railway station
Hildenborough railway station serves the village of Hildenborough in Kent, as well as surrounding villages. Train services are provided by Southeastern....
was situated close to the existing houses at the time, which is now about one mile (one and a half kilometres) from the village centre.
Religion
By the 1840s, the Parish of Tonbridge was approximately 10 miles (16 km) long and 2½ miles (4 km) wide. A circular letter dated 26 September 1842 explained that, "as the Parish was so large, a great many people were unable to attend the church [in nearby Tonbridge]." It was proposed that, "a new church should be built for the people living in the Hildenborough district."Dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, the church was consecrated on 9 July 1844.
In 1992 a "church plant" was established by St John's at Stocks Green School, to serve the southern part of the village, initially meeting monthly until 1994 when weekly services started. The congregation moved back to the Church Centre (hall) at St John's in 2008 http://www.stjohnshildenboro.co.uk
Hildenborough Gospel Hall, located in Mount Pleasant, was established some time around 1850. http://www.hildenboroughgospelhall.co.uk
Modern Hildenborough
Sackville School, HildenboroughSackville School, Hildenborough
Sackville School is a small profit-making coeducational independent school located in the village of Hildenborough, in Kent, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group.-History:...
, a private educational establishment, now occupies Foxbush House, built in 1866 for Charles Fitch Kemp, a London chartered accountant, who had an “ambition to be a country landowner”. The house was subsequently sold twice before the second World War, when it was occupied by the military. It was used by various educational establishments from 1949; Sackville School was established in 1987 and its grounds are a Registered Historic Park.
Apart from one large financial institution Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments
FMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...
having set up its UK Headquarters in Hildenborough and a GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
factory at nearby Powder Mills, commerce in the village is primarily based on small businesses. It is very much a commuter village with its good transport links with London.
One of the village's oldest buildings, the Hilden Manor restaurant owned by Beefeater
Whitbread
Whitbread PLC is a global hotel, coffee shop and restaurant company headquartered in Dunstable, United Kingdom. Its largest division is Premier Inn, which is the largest hotel brand in the UK with around 580 hotels and over 40,000 rooms. Its Costa Coffee chain has around 1,600 stores across 25...
, was burnt down by a fire caused by an electrical fault, and has now been restored and rebuilt by Oaklands. It was officially re-opened on 6 October 2006, along with a Premier Travel Inn
Premier Travel Inn
Premier Inn is the UK's largest hotel brand, with over 40,500 rooms and more than 600 hotels. Originally opening under the "Travel Inn" brand name in 1987, it has been owned by Whitbread during its entire operation and was set up to compete with the Travelodge brand which was at the time owned by...
newly built next to it.
The Raphael Medical Centre in Coldharbour Lane offers Speech Therapy, Art & Music Therapy to help patients regain mental and physical abilities lost through serious illness or accidents.
Schools
Hildenborough pays host to a number of schools.There is one private primary school, Fosse Bank, one private secondary, Sackville, and two state primaries, Stocks Green school and Hildenborough CEP school. Hildenborough primary was the first school in the village, and is over 150 years old.
Activities
There are several activities for children and teenagers, including those run by Hildenborough Church, and a ScoutScouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
troop (8th Tonbridge). Further away in Watts Cross is Hildenborough rifle and pistol club. Hildenborough has a very friendly and sometimes successful cricket club that plays its home games on Sundays, on the recreation ground in Riding Lane. The club headquarters is based at the Hildenborough Social Club, just down the road.
It also has a BHS and ABRS qualified riding school and livery yard with a cross country course also in Riding Lane.
There are two football teams associated with the village Hildenborough Athletic FC has Three teams, two being in the local Sevenoaks & District League and the first team playing football in the Kent County Division One league as of 2011-2012 season. http://www.hildenboroughjfc.org.uk/ Hildenborough Junior FC] has two teams in the Crowborough League playing on Sunday mornings. Action Medical Research have a regular charity cycling event, the 'Castle 100' every year that runs through Riding Lane and Shipbourne http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/explore-kent/cycling/Tonbridge-Castle-charity-ride.htm
Hildenborough Gospel Hall hold meetings for adults and children. http://www.hildenboroughgospelhall.co.uk
Entertainment and Dining
Hildenborough is home to several pubs and restaurants, including the refurbished Hilden Manor, the Flying Dutchman and the Cock Horse. In addition, the Half Moon pub on Tonbridge road is a frequent live music venue. The village hall is also the home of Hildenborough social club, and the Hildenborough Ex-Serviceman's club is round the corner.Local celebrities
Hildenborough is the family home of Olympic double-gold medallist Kelly HolmesKelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes, DBE, MBE is a retired British middle distance athlete. She specialised in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events and won a gold medal for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens...
. Other famous residents included the late Sir Henry Cooper
Henry Cooper (boxer)
Sir Henry Cooper OBE KSG was an English heavyweight boxer known for the effectiveness of his left hook, "Enry's 'Ammer", and his knockdown of the young Muhammad Ali...
. Recent news articles say footballer Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....
resides in Hildenborough, however he only lived there for a year, moving away again in 2006.
Henry (Real Name Hyla) Stallard MBE (1901 -73) lived in Mill Lane, he was an athlete in the 1924 Paris Olympics and represented Great Britain in the 800 and 1500m. He hurt his foot in one of the races but he picked himself up and carried on running. An actor played him in Chariots of Fire. He became a pioneering eye surgeon at St Barts Hospital and Moorfields. He later moved with his wife Gywnneth to Forest Row in Sussex but used to spend Christmas in Hildenborough with his relatives. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1017335/?page=1
The Titanic
Hildenborough residents were feared drowned in the Titanic http://www.whitstablescene.co.uk/1912.htm. In towns like Salisbury people have left benches in memory of people lost in the tragedy but there is no memorial bench in Hildenborough.Demography
| Hildenborough compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Hildenborough ward | Tonbridge and Malling borough | England |
| Population | 4,588 | 107,561 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 5.7% | 4.6% | 9.2% |
| White | 98.7% | 98.3% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.4% | 0.7% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 78.8% | 76.1% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 12.6% | 15% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.5% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 17.1% | 14.2% | 13.5% |
As of the 2001 UK census, the Hildenborough electoral ward had a population of 4,588. The ethnicity was 98.7% white, 0.6% mixed race, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.3% United Kingdom, 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 1.7% other Western European countries, and 3.4% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 78.8% Christian, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.2% Muslim. 12.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 7.6% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.1% in full-time employment, 13.5% in part-time employment, 10.9% self-employed, 1.5% unemployed, 2.4% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 17.1% retired, 7.8% looking after home or family, 2.8% permanently sick or disabled and 1.7% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.4% retail, 9.3% manufacturing, 7.2% construction, 17.6% real estate, 9.2% health and social work, 10.2% education, 5.5% transport and communications, 3.9% public administration, 3.2% hotels and restaurants, 12.5% finance, 1.5% agriculture and 6.5% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in education, finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, public administration, hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 25.9% had a higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.