This is HILDENBOROUGH from A-Z Compiled from various sources by KAY COPE and JOAN DASH Published by Hildenborough Parish Council in 1994 to mark the 150th anniversary of St. John's Church and the centenary of the Parish Council.   Revised in 2006 with contributions from the general public after an invitation by the Parish Council.   The Parish council has gathered a number of photos of the village which you can view by clicking on the links below   view photo of A to Z cover St Johns Church Hildenborough view photo of Schoolchildren of 1926 view photo of B245 looking south from lych gate view photo of Half Moon Lane view photo of Hildenborough School view photo of a pond view photo of Mount Pleasant view photo of B245 looking towards Church view photo of Mount Pleasant with village green on left view photo of Windmill from Watts Cross Road looking across B245 view photo of Hildenborough Church view photo of Another view of Half Moon Lane view photo of Cottages on Mountains Estate / Hildenborough Village Players 1910 view photo of School children during Great War / Kent Cyclists Battalion view photo of Memorial unveiling 1920 / Church Lads Brigade view photo of Telephone Exchange / Hospital Sunday 1921/ Heavy Snow 1927 view photo of Fire Brigade early 30s / Home Guard 1944 view photo of Lollipop man / Flower Show in 50s view photo of Cricket Club 1955 / Womens Institute 1961 view photo of 1987 Hurricane / 1968 Flooding view photo of Planting Trees by Church Hall 1977   Due to the size of this document you can go directly to the beginning of each of the topics by clicking the link below   Foreword Diary of events Parish Council St John The Evangelist Places and Buildings People Incidents and Events Groups and Associations Miscellaneous   Tip - You can also search for names/phrases by holding down "CTRL" and the letter "F" keys at the same time, if you use a MAC/Apple computer you should hold down "Command" and the letter "F" keys at the same time, then type in the name or phrase you are search for.   Foreword - (Back to content list) How did the village get it's name? We have to go back to Saxon times when a den was a clearing in an oak forest. At that time, the whole of the Weald of Kent was covered by a large oak forest, which accounts for the many places, houses etc. with names that include oak, den, dene or hurst. So we have Hilden, a clearing at the bottom of a hill (River hill) .Borough was added later, probably when the Hilden Manor was built, as a borough is an area with privileges conferred upon it by Royal Charter.   The lowy of Tonbridge was an area given to Richard de Fitzgilbert, Count de Brionne by William I, following the Norman Conquest. The story is that it covered the same area as, and replaced, the lands in Normandy which he had lost. The lands and manors had to maintain the garrison of Tonbridge Castle. The lowy deeds have never been found, so very little is known. Hasted, in his "History of Kent" of 1798 wrote, "Hildenburgh is a large district, comprehending all the north-west part of the lowy of Tunbridge and contains within it the manors of Hilden, Dachurst, Martin-Abbey, Lamport, Nizell, Hadloe, and the district of Hollanden, the small manor of Leigh, alias Hildenborough in Leigh, and the manor of "Penshurst Halymote."   The manors of Leigh and Penshurst are not in the present parish of Hildenborough. When the parish boundaries were first established, the manor of Hollanden and part of the Nizels manor came into Leigh parish. The manors of Lamport and Martin-Abbey are still unidentified. The manor house of Hadloe (not to be confused with the present village of Hadlow), stood on the site of The Plough Inn. The manor of Hadloe stretched from there to the manor of Barden.   The manor of Hilden or Hyldenn as it was spelt in those days, dates back to at least 1240. Hasted wrote in 1798: "Hilden is a manor situated at about a mile's distance from Tunbridge town, and was anciently part of the possessions of the family of Vane, before the reign of Edward III. At a small distance from Hilden green, stood the manor house, the ruins of which were entirely erased some years ago by Sir Thomas Dyke." The manor house was the only building of note in the lowy and was the meeting place of the time.The petty sessions court was held there. The area of the manor is not known but the green was almost certainly opposite where the present Hilden Manor stands. There was a small community around the green and the manorial land stretched from there northwards. The manor passed by marriage from the Vane family into the Dixon Dyke family, who sold it, by permission of Parliament, to Thomas Harvey Court, Baron of Tonbridge. The present Hilden Manor was built beside the ruins of the original fortified manor between the 14th and 1 5th centuries, on the road which has been an important route from London to Rye and Hastings since the 10th-12th centuries, when they were the two main ports. During the time the Dixons owned it, the manor became popular as a port of call for royalty and nobility en route to the Continent. A comfortable and convenient half-way house. The tale is told that, during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547), the 3rd Duke of Buckingham fought a duel here with the French Ambassador, a fellow guest, who had suggested that Henry was being unfair to Catherine of Aragon, by courting Anne Boleyn. At about this time, coaches began to use this road but regular mail coaches were not introduced until 1784. The road between River Hill and Pembury via Tonbridge was the first turnpike road in Kent, opened in 1709.   The earliest that we can find mention of Dachurst is 1295. Hasted refers to it in 1798: "At a small distance southward from Hilden green, the foundations of a large house are yet visible, which are supposed by many to be those of Dachurst place". This manor it is said, belonged to Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, given to him by the father of his bride, Margaret D'Audley, as part of her dowry. Henry VIII acquired it for the crown in 1520 with other lands including Tonbridge Castle. In 1523 the house passed to Sir Francis Skeffington. Dachurst, Martin-Abbey, Lamport and Nizels were sold to Col. Robert Gibbon and at the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, reverted to the Crown. The full extent of the manorial land is not known but included Selby Farm and Stocks Green Farm. The manor house probably stood on land between Stocks Green Road and Leigh Road.   Nizels manor covered a large area. It stretched from Morleys Farm in the north to Philpots Lane in the south. Its eastern limit was the main road from Watts Cross to the present Morleys roundabout, and its western edge was the Halls Green road. The earliest date that we have for Nizels is 1327, when the name was changed from Newsoles. The manor house stood where the present house now stands.   The manor of Hollanden started at Watts Cross and covered the area between Mill Lane and Riding Lane. It was originally in the parish of Leigh. In the 1200s, the land was owned by the Fremingham family. In 1271, Ralph de Fremingham obtained a charter of free warrant for several of his manors including Hollanden. In the reign of Henry VII it belonged to the Stace family, who are buried in the sanctuary of Leigh Church, and in Henry VIII's reign the land was owned by John Vane. As a result of the Parish Council Act of 1894, Hollanden was incorporated into the parish of Hildenborough   Diary of Events - (Back to content list) Year 1240 - Earliest mention of Hilden. 1295 - Earliest mention of Dachurst. 1300 - Earliest mention of Philpots. 1327 - Earliest mention of Nizels. 1357 - Earliest mention of Children family. 1450 - Part of Selby Farm built. 1520 - Manor of Dachurst acquired for the crown by Henry VIII. 1570 - The Plough built. 1585 - Earliest mention of Watts Cross. Mention of Nobodie Tree at Noble Tree Cross. 1587 - Nizels Hoath built. 1610 - Treberfydd built. 1614 - Mansers Farm sold. 1616 - The Bank, Hook Hatch Lane built. 1643 - Civil war skirmish at Hilden Bridge. 1652 - Manors of Dachurst, Lamport, Nizels and Martin-Abbey sold. 1660 - Above manors reverted to the Crown. 1701 - Blue Anchor built. 1709 - First turnpike road in Kent from Riverhill to Pembury. 1739 - John Children bought Nizels Hoath. 1784 - Start of regular mail coaches. 1788 - New Cock Inn sold for 170. 1791 - Thomas Francis born. 1804 - Oakhill House and Pembroke Lodge built. 1807 - Mail coach overturned at Hilden Bridge. 1812 - The Mill built at Watts Cross. Gunpowder Mill built. 1825 - Darks cricket ball factory opened. 1826 - Wesleyan chapel opened in Stocks Green Road. 1830 - Meopham Bank built. 1842 - Architectural competition for design of Church. 1844 - The Church consecrated. Wesleyan Chapel closed. 1845 - Vicarage built. 1846 - Thomas Francis appointed Surveyor of Highways. 1847 - Louis Napoleon visited Nizels. Primary school opened. 1865 - John Frederick Herring died. Church clock installed. OlJohn Barleycorn beer house opened. 1866 - Foxbush, Mountains and Hollanden Park built. 1868 - Watts Cross Station (later Hildenborough) opened. The Gate Hotel opened. 1871 - Smallpox in the village. 1873 - The Bank rebuilt and called Oakhurst. Gospel Hall built. 1875 - Horace Hitchcock opened cricket ball factory. 1878 - OlJohn Barleycorn closed. 1879 - Thomas Francis died. 1881 - The Poplars shop closed. 1883 - Foxbush Harriers formed. 1887 - Queen Victorias Golden Jubilee Church bells installed.A stone drinking fountain was erected in the Tonbridge Road (opposite the newsagents) to mark this occasion. It was moved to the Village Green in 2005. 1893 - Parish magazine started. Girls Friendly Society formed. 1894 - Hildenborough became a civil parish. First parish nurse arrived. Village library started. 1895 - Mothers Union founded. 1896 - Restoration of the Church. Cricket Club reorganised. Cottagers & Allotment Holders Association formed. First Flower Show. 1897 - Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee fountain erected. Boys Brigade started. 1899 - Church spire and weather vane damaged in gales. 1901 - Gas laid on in village. 1902 - Coronation celebrations for Edward VII. Drill Hall erected. 1905 - Choral Society formed. 1906 - Foxbush Harriers disbanded. Football Club formed. 1907 - Death of Charles Fitch Kemp. Formation of Rifle Club. 1908 - Bier given to the Church. 1909 - Lord Derbys estate sold. 1910 - The Mill ceased operating. 1911 - Coronation celebrations for George V. Princess Christian Farm Colony opened. 1919 - Womens Institute formed. 1st Hildenborough Guide Company formed. 1st Hildenborough Brownie Pack formed. 1920 - Erection of War Memorial. 1923 - Extension of Drill Hall. 1932 - Recreation ground opened. 1935 - George V Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Branch of girls Friendly Society reformed. 1936 - 8th Tonbridge (Hildenborough) Scout Group formed. 1940 - Spitfire crashed at rear of Half Moon. 1942 - Child Welfare Centre opened. 1944 - Church centenary celebrations. Bomb fell on Recreation ground. 1946 - Hildenborough branch of Royal British Legion formed. Toc H branch formed. 1947 - Formation of Tennis Club. 1948 - Craftcast bungalows. Brookmead built. 1949 - Girls Friendly Society disbanded. Drill Hall and Institute transferred to the Parish Council. 1953 - Coronation festivities for Elizabeth II. Edwin Hendry died. Darby & Joan club started. 1954 - Revision of Parish boundaries. 1956 - Boiling Kettle demolished. Little Hilden Farm sold. British Legion H.Q. built. Church Hall built. Gough Cooper Brookmead estate first occupied. 1957 - Dr Skinner joined Dr Davison. 1959 - Hardwick Road and Hardwick School built. 1960 - Royal British Legion (Womens Section) formed. 1961 - Masque Players perform first play. Festival week. 1962 - Mount Pleasant Court opened. 1963 - Evening W.I. started. 1965 - Festival week. New graveyard and Garden of Remembrance consecrated. 1968 - Severe flooding in area. 1969 - Stocks Green School opened. 1971 - Opening of Tonbridge by-pass. Opening of Village Hall. 2nd Hildenborough Guide Company formed. 1972 - Formation of Badminton club. 1973 - Flooding again. Masters Cafe demolished. Formation of Hildenborough Village Preservation Association. 1975 - Oak Lodge demolished. Green Rabbit demolished. 1977 - Silver Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. 1978 - Church Hall extended. 1981 - Flood Barrier completed. Gravel extraction from Hawden Farm commenced. 1982 - Part of Westwood bought by Parish Council. Formation of Hildenborough Conservation Group. 1983 - Indoor Bowls Club formed. 1986 - Fidelity International acquire Oakhill House 1987 - Introduction of Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Sackville School arrived. October gales. 1989 - Consecration of Garden of Remembrance and memorial plaque. Vitasan Clinic closed. 1991 - Opening of Medical Centre, Westwood. 1992 - Nizels Golf Club opened. 1994 - Centenary of the Parish Council. - Celebration of 150th anniversary of St. Johns Church where a new North window replaced that blown out in 1944. 1996 - Gardeners' Centenary celebrations 1998 - Hildenbrook Farm development completed 2000 - Millenium 2004 - Kelly Holmes Olympic successes. Mount Pleasant Court replaced with new houses. Extension of Riding Lane School. 2007 - Church Hall revised.   Parish Council - (Back to content list) The Local Government Act of 1894 entitled Hildenborough to elect a Chairman and Parish Council of 9 members. The first meeting of the Parish Council, with Charles Fitch Kemp in the chair, took place on 4th December, 1894 in the village school, Riding Lane, Members were T. Basset, R.A. Bosanquet, T. Collins, R. Cuncliffe, E. Francis, E. Hendry, C. Hitchcock, H. Hitchcock and G.W. Johnson (Parish Clerk). The number of members was increased to 11 in 1947.   From early days, the main responsibilities of the Parish Council included the provision of land for allotments and recreational facilities, neither of which existed at the time. Equally important in those early days was the need for the Parish Council to seek improvements by the Rural District Council in refuse collection, public footpaths, drainage and highways.   In 1920, the first representations were made for the adoption of the Highway Act of 1833 for lighting the main road through the village. The Rural District Council were requested by the Parish Council in 1939, to apply to the Ministry of Health for an order enabling the Council to provide street lighting in Hildenborough. However, the Second World War intervened and so it was not until after it ended that lighting was gradually installed. In 1961, fifty six lamps (colour-corrected mercury lanterns) on tall, slender, concrete standards were erected along the main road. During the 1990s all the urban roads in the village were lit to County standards and the lights adopted by the County, although a number of lights at rural cross-roads and the lights from the Station to the War Memorial remain the responsibility of the Parish.   In 1948, a special meeting was called to consider the application by Tonbridge Urban District Council to the Local Government Boundary Commission for the Parish of Hildenborough to be transferred from the Rural District Council to the Urban District Council, Parishioners voted for no change.   In May, 1954, the parish boundaries were revised and the 400-500 houses from Leigh Road to Hilden Manor and from the Green Rabbit to the Tonbridge boundary were brought into the parish. The ecclesiastical boundaries now correspond to the civil boundaries with some exceptions e.g. Horns Lodge and Cataract Cottage, which are in Hildenborough civil parish but in Shipbourne ecclesiastical parish.   Parish Council Chairmen 1894 1907 C. Fitch Kemp 1907 1938 G.W. Johnson 1938 1946 F. Burton 1946 1950 Rev. E.W.E. Fraser 1950 (part) Sir Thomas Butler 1950 1955 A. Oakley 1955 1961 E.A. Woodhams 1961 1965 C.E. Clarke 1965 1981 P.H. Toy 1965 1981 1990 D.E. Williams 1990 1993 Mrs M. Starkey 1993 1995 D.E. Williams 1995 1998 C. Smith 1998 2001 B. Winter 2001 2006 D.Ells 2006 to date T. Barton   Parish Council Clerks 1894 1907 G. W. Johnson 1907 1913 C. Morris 1913 1917 S.U. Lawson 1917 1921 R.F. Hodder 1921 1923 F. Bampton 1923 1929 E.B. Budding 1929 1964 F.G. Balcombe 1964 1965 G. Coles/H.J. Reid 1965 1972 R. DeAth 1972 1993 R.J. Pryke 1993 2001 Mrs M. Flynn 2001 2006 Mrs S Blackmore 2006 to date Mrs P Gow   St. Johns the Evangelist - (Back to content list) Hildenborough Parish Church was built in 1844, for the sum of £2,300 from private contributions, on land given by the Vicar of Leigh, the Rev. Thomas May. Designed by Ewan Christian, it is built of local materials - Kentish rag walling, sandstone dressings, tiled roof and shingled spire, with a plain interior where interest is centred on the great curved ribs springing from the wall-corbels to the apex of the roof, and so greatly increasing the apparent height and size of the building. The clock was installed in 1865 (cost £55.10s.0d.) and the octave of bells (tubular) was installed in 1887 in honour of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.   A complete restoration was planned in 1895; F.W. Hunt was the appointed architect and Langridge & Son of Tonbridge were the builders. The original intention was to repair the spire which had lost much of its shingling, build a porch at the west end, overhaul the roof, reseat the Church in pine or oak, reform the south entrance, reglaze the windows and put in a heating apparatus. However, so well had the money come in from parishioners by 1896, that further improvements were undertaken, including an additional bay to the nave, the south-west porch enlargement of the vestry, reflooring of the Church and paving of the aisles. Gifts given at that time were: the oak pulpit by Mrs H. Hills, the oak eagle lectern by Harold Fitch Kemp, the bronze cross and vases by Bertha Cuncliffe and an alms dish by Mr & Mrs Kingscote. Gas was used for lighting for the first time, supplied from the private gas works at Foxbush and "a handsome lamp" was added over the Church door; hot water heating was also installed and the present boiler room built. In March, 1899 the weather cock was repaired and restored to its place "after the great damage done to the spire by the fury of the gales" earlier in the year.   The stained-glass windows are mostly gifts from local residents in the memory of members of their families, i.e. the south transept windows given by the Lawson family of Bourne Place in memory of Ann, wife of William, died 1863; the main three-light window in the sanctuary dates from 1898 and was given by Mr and Mrs Johnson of Mountains in memory of their eldest daughter, Francis Ann. A series of 8 stained-glass windows in the nave, designed by James Powell & Sons, was added between 1903 and 1911 and commemorate Charles Fitch Kemp (1907), William Norton Lawson and Frances, his wife (1911), Rev. F.A. Stewart Savile (1907) and Sophia, his wife (1904), Mary Ann Lawson (1906), Mary Louisa, wife of F.W. Hunt (1910), and Louisa Pidcock (1903), given by the women of the Parish. The remaining window on the north side of the nave (not one of the series) was inserted in 1900 by the parishioners in memory of Rev. R.L.G. Pidcock; the subject is The Good Shepherd. The large centre window in the west wall was the gift of the many friends of Charles Fitch Kemp, J.P., D.L., of Foxbush, who died 1907; one of the single-light windows (St Gabriel) commemorates Mrs Fitch Kemp and the other (St. Raphael), together with the bullseye window above (St Michael), are in memory of Robert Wingate of Oakhurst (1906). The triple lancet stained-glass window in the north transept was smashed when a bomb fell on the recreation ground on 11th July 1944; the day before a Recital of Music was to have taken place at 7.30 pm as part of the Centenary celebrations. The subject of the window was "Faith, Hope and Charity" and commemorated Frances Letitia Dummelow (1839-1863), one of the daughters of the Rev. Edward Vinall, the first incumbent. The two small, single-light windows in the transepts are in memory of her parents, the Rev. Edward Vinall, died 1880 (south) and Letitia, died 1875 (north). The latter window shows a strong Byrne Jones influence and is perhaps one of the best windows in the church.   Apart from the plaques and windows, there are other items which commemorate those who served the Lord in the Church and community. The very beautiful processional cross was given by the widow and family of Col. C.E. Warner, a bible for the lectern was given by Mrs Wilson and family in memory of J.T. Fellowes Wilson and Mrs Coutanche gave two desks with kneelers for use in the sanctuary in memory of her husband. The oak panelling in the choir stalls, installed in memory of Frances Johnson, was designed by Mr Burke Downing, who also designed the oak font cover dedicated to the memory of Miss Ellen Anne Lawson.   The organ had not been included in the restoration work of 1896, so in 1900, after the death of the Rev. R.L.G. Pidcock, it was decided to commemorate his six years in the Parish by rebuilding the organ as a memorial to him. The organ was originally built by Gray & Davison about 1870, but by the turn of the century improvements were necessary. It was recommended that the organ should be divided, half being placed on the north side of the chancel and half o the south side, that the organ case should be built in oak to match the choir stalls, that tubular pneumatic action and a new blowing apparatus should be installed and that six new stops should be added. This rather formidable list of improvements cost more than £850 to complete. It was inaugurated and dedicated on 2nd February, 1902 and Mr W.F. Kingdon, Mus. Bac., organist of St. Laurence Jewry in the City of London, gave some recitals. In May 1931 it was agreed to electrify the blowing apparatus at a cost of £80, as the hydraulic blower was worn out and had become extremely wasteful of water. By 1987, the two main bellows were leaking air, the action was slow and noisy, the soundboards wee split and many of the pipes were leaning over in their racks, causing considerable tuning problems. The organ was taken down in January, 1987 and most of it was removed to the workshops of the organ builder Martin K. Cross in Essex. The builder constructed a new console complete with new keyboards and pedal board and a modern "capture action" was incorporated for fast stop changes. A new transmission system between the console and pipes was constructed which uses micro processor control. This means that the console can be placed anywhere in the church, linked to the pipes by a single cable. Tonally the instrument was altered to make a more exciting sound. New mixture stops were added to both Swell and Great departments and a Trumpet stop was added to the Swell. The work was completed in June, 1987 and in September, Keith Rusling, the church organist, gave a recital including works by Bach, Wesley, Rheinberger, Howells, Pachelbel and Mulet.   Other recent improvements include the refurbishing of the tubular bells in memory of Miss Ida Clarke-Lawrence in 1982, the complete retiling of the roof in 1985, the installation of permanent floodlighting in 1993 and also that year, the recasting of the church bell in memory of Mr Philip Toy.   The centenary of the Church in 1944 was marked by the publication of a booklet telling the history of the Church, the school and village and "a week of rejoicing which will long be remembered".   To commemorate the 150 th anniversary, a triple lancet stained-glass window was installed in the north transept, designed by Keith & Judy Hill of Staplehurst, and dedicated by the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt. Rev Michael Turnbull, at a special service on Sunday, 26th June 1994, replacing the window blown out by a VI flying bomb during the week of centenary celebrations in 1944.   The building is Listed 2*.   Vicars   Edward Vinall, M.A. 1844 - 1880 M.J.T. Boys M.A. 1818 - 1894 R.L.G. Pidcock, M.A. 1894 - 1900 J. Stone 1901 - 1918 H. Warde 1918 - 1924 L.G. Chamberlen, M.C., M.A. 1924 - 1934 E.H. Wade 1934 - 1935 W.H. Bass, M.A., B.D. 1935 - 1939 E.W.E. Fraser 1939 - 1951 A.R. Fountain 1951 - 1959 P. Tadman 1960 - 1962 S. Plunket 1962 - 1968 G.A.R. Swannell 1968 - 1980 D.R. Corfe 1980 - 1990 R.J. Bawtree 1991 - 2004 J Chandler 2005 to date   Places and Buildings - (Back to content list) ALLOTMENTS - were made available in 1897 when the Parish Council rented a piece of land from O.E. d'Avigdor Goldsmid, Esq., for £3 per annum. It was situated on the London Road, south of The Cock Inn. The Parish Council owned the land between 1919 and 1954. In the early 1920s there were allotments in Riding Lane, between the recreation ground and Great Forge Farm, and in the period 1940 to 1960 there were also allotments on the land now occupied by Mount Pleasant Court. In 1977, land was made available in Coldharbour Lane to provide 9 allotments. By 1979 enthusiasm had waned, some plots were neglected, and in 1980 the land was returned to the owner.   THE BANK - later known as Oakhurst, at the corner of London Road and Bank lane (also known as Hook Hatch Lane and Underriver Road). Built in 1616, and rebuilt in 1873 by Robert Wingate, who called it Oakhurst. When it changed hands in 1869, the particulars and conditions of sale include the following comment on the area; "The air is pure and bracing, the neighbourhood good, the situation well adapted for a Sportsman, the shooting excellent, and Fox Hounds within easy reach*. After the death of Robert Wingate in 1906, it was bought by Chancellor Robert Nesbitt who became a member of Parliament in the 1922 elections. It became the property of the Kent County Council as an old people's home, a children's home and a remand home but was later used as a privately owned retirement home and called Oakhurst Manor before being closed and later redeveloped.   BANK WOOD - also Denman's or Deadman's Wood - on the other corner of London Road and Bank Lane opposite Oakhurst Manor. In this wood was erected the "House of four scratches" (or poles) and this following quaint story may be read in Dr. Gordon Ward's book "Sevenoaks Essays". Apparently, while the owner, Samuel Lone, was in prison "for religion" in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), a house of four scratches (4 props with a covering) was erected by kindly neighbours to shelter Peter Ware and his wife, who were homeless. When Mr Lone was released, there were some who were zealous to have it pulled down and the occupants punished, but Mr Lone, knowing something of prison and punishment, let it remain.   BARLEY HOUSE - Coldharbour Lane. Built in 1932 with timbers from a barley barn in the Edenbridge area, which was then about 200 years old.   THE BARN - Coldharbour Lane. Built about 1650 and converted from a barn and cowshed into two dwellings between the two world wars.   BASSETTS - Mill Lane. This house was bought at an "Ideal Home" exhibition in London and reerected on its present site in 1912. The following inscription carved on the inside of the front door, confirms this: "This house was the prize house at the first Ideal Home Exhibition and stood in the middle of the Olympia. Designed by Reginald Fry, F.R.I.B.A., and erected by Jasper Henson. The house was visited by 5 crowned heads of Europe. 1912."   BLUE ANCHOR - was a public house in Philpots Lane built in 1701. From 1709 - 1714 the licensee was Samuel Ledger. It closed in 1959 and is now a private house.   BOILING KETTLE - a cafe which stood at the corner of Hilden Park Road and Tonbridge Road until 1956, where you could get "a good hot cup of tea". When enlarged in 1933/34, a beam was discovered with the date 1649. Owned for a time by Commander Tomlinson. In 1940, the pilot of a crippled German Junkers 88 bomber on its way to attack Kenley Airfield, while looking for somewhere to land, ordered his gunner/wireless operator to bale out. He landed on the roof of the Boiling Kettle and he recalls being given coffee and cakes while waiting for the police to take him to Tonbridge Police Station. The plane came down in a field at Tanyard Farm, Hadlow Road. Alongside the cafe was a petrol station and in the grounds a collection of gravestones in memory of cats and dogs killed on the roads by "that newfangled machine" - the motor car. See also Hilden Grange.   BOURNE PLACE - Nizels Lane. Part of the Nizels Estate, described in the particulars and conditions of sale in 1919 as "a handsome and substantial edifice with stone mullioned windows, delightfully situate in a prominent position overlooking the charming grounds. The house is modernised in every way… lighted by Electric Light and heated by radiators on both floors." Edward Lawson, a good country gentleman and farmer, resided here in 1843. He supported ploughing matches and gave harvest suppers for his employees. In 1860, they celebrated the Harvest Home in joyous and truly English manner with hot joints and plum puddings and good old country dances. Records refer to William Lawson being at Bourne Place in 1865 onwards, and ingredients for similar suppers were purchased in 1868 and 1869 from The Poplars for the sum of £1 11s. 7d. as follows: 11 lbs Mutton 8s.5d.; 12lbs currents 5/-; 12 lbs raisins 5/-; 1 lb candied peel 1/-; 4ozs ground ginger 6d.; 1oz nutmeg 4d.; 4ozs white pepper 4d.; 7 lbs sugar 2/7d; 8ozs tobacco 2/2d; tobacco pipes 1/-; 7 lbs 8ozs cheese 5/3d. In 1893, rented by Mr and Mrs Henry Hills (nee Helen Georgie Fitch Kemp), a benefactor of the Church. She gave the oak pulpit when the Church was restored in 1896. Now a residential and day special school, opened in 1967 and run by the National Children's Home, a Christian Voluntary Organisation. All the children have learning and/or social adjustment problems. They live in flats of 8-10 boys and girls of similar age, living as a family, with three house parents to look after them. All children attend classes during normal school hours. The last Head teacher was Mr Gwyn Davies. The main building was subsequently redeveloped for housing with some outbuildings being replaced by houses.   BOW WINDOW - 170, Tonbridge Road. Records show that Mr Edward Castle had a bakery business here as early as 1887. He was succeeded by his wife at first, and then by Wm. Castle. There was a bakehouse at the rear. It was a sweet shop in the 1950/60s, more recently suppliers of floor coverings and in 2006 is a hairdresser's salon.   BRICKYARDS - the manufacture of bricks took place in Philpots Lane near the railway bridge and also in the grounds of Foxbush.   BRITISH LEGION HALL - Mount Pleasant. By 1955, after many years of fund raising events, the building fund was sufficient to enable a start to be made on the building of a headquarters. Land was acquired in Mount Pleasant, and many volunteers helped build the hall under the direction and encouragement of Mr F. Buss and Dr. C. Glaisher.   CATARACT COTTAGE - which is off a gated private road from Coldharbour Lane to Shipbourne Road, carries a plaque that it was built by Mary, Lady Derby commemorating April 1892, thought to be the date she had one of the first modern cataract operations in the country.   CHILD WELFARE CENTRE - was housed in a modest little unobtrusive wooden building, originally a seaside holiday hut, which was moved to Hildenborough in 1942. It was bought with money raised by public subscription and was sited between the church and the nurse's cottage. An additional room was added later. Here, mothers met fortnightly to have their babies weighed, discuss feeding difficulties, receive expert medical advice, buy patent foods and vitamins and have a cup of tea prepared by Mrs Roper. Lady Macfadyen was the secretary and Mrs Drayton the treasurer.   CHURCH HALL - was first planned prior to the Second World War and land adjoining the churchyard was purchased in 1938. In 1939, a fund was started to pay off the debt. However, the war years intervened and the hall was not built until 1956, at a cost of approximately £5000. It replaced the hut, which in 1951 had been offered to the Church by the Hildenborough Welfare Centre Committee on condition that it should continue to be used by the County Infant Welfare Office, the Vitasan Clinic and local organisations. The car park was made by volunteers in 1957. The hall was extended in 1978, with donations from parishioners. It was extensively refurbished in 2006 funded by various grants and the results of a public appeal.   CHURCHYARD - the earliest burials were recorded in 1845, but the oldest surviving gravestone is dated 1855. In 1901, ex-Trooper Richard Young, 11th Hussars, who lost an arm in the charge at Balaclava, was buried here with military honours. There are four war graves in the churchyard. During the First World War Pte. Walter Ernest Haines, A.S.C., aged 45, whose wife ran the grocer's shop in Church Road, was taken ill with enteric in France and died at the Military War Hospital, Napsbury. He was buried in July, 1918 and full military honours; the gun carriage, firing party and bearers all provided from the Military Depot at Tunbridge Wells. The other three are: Aircraftsman 2nd C1. F. W. Furneaux, died March, 1941; Flight. Lieut. D.J. Rowe, pilot Instructor R.A.F died November 1945 aged 23 years and C.W. Mathews Leading Stoker R.N..H.M.S. Ulster, died January, 1946, aged 27 years. There is also the Grave of a holder of the Victoria Cross. In 1937, as a memorial of the coronation of George VI, a flag-pole was erected, made by Mr Webber to drawings prepared by Mr Roper. This later disappeared but was replaced in 2004. By 1955 the churchyard was rapidly reaching the limit of its capacity with a probability of having to close. However, 1965 a new graveyard was consecrated which included a Garden of Remembrance. On 30th May, 1989 the Right Reverend Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Rochester, consecrated a new Garden of Remembrance and memorial Plaque. The simple ceremony, in bright sunshine, was attended by Parochial, Parish, Borough and Kent County Councillors. The cremation plot was subsequently rearranged and new land for a further extension taken from the Glebe Field. The Parish Council finance the cost of mowing the churchyard and taking care of the trees. In 1990 a local artist, David Peacock, repainted the wording over the lych-gate.   COCK HORSE - see The Cock Inn.   THE COCK INN - also known as The Old Cock, Lower Cock and The Cock Horse, was built in the 16th Century. Inns with this name are often found at the foot of hills, as the extra horse that was added to a team to help pull coaches up hill and then released at the top to find its own way home, was called a cock horse. Stabling for 12 horses was at one time hired by the Post Office for their mail coaches to London. Horses were released at the White Hart, Sevenoaks. Early in the 1900s the landlord was Walter Palmer, who also ran a slaughter business at the rear.   COLDHARBOUR PARK - also known as Coldharbour House. The house originated from keepers' cottages which have been added to over the years. In 1841 Augustus Langdon lived here with his wife, Sarah, and three children. A barrister, he was one of the original manager of the Church of England Primary School, Riding Lane. The de Rougemont family lived here from the 1930s until 2005.   CRAFTCAST ESTATE - this Brookmead development began in 1948 on land bought from Frank Barkaway, owner of Selbys Farm. These 220 bungalows and houses were built initially with flat-roofs but many have since had sloping roofs fitted They were a result of a "new system of house construction" using concrete poured into preformed moulds introduced by Llewellyn Jones, senior partner in Jones & Harvey, of Sevenoaks and Westminster. The set of moulds could be used for any number of houses, leaving a complete shell of main and partition walls, with openings for doors and windows. A complete house could be made in two weeks by this method and their claim of "durability and great strength" is still being demonstrated.   CROSSWAYS - Noble Tree Cross. Home of Mrs Henry Hills from 1919 to 1937. In 1956 Sir Arthur & Lady Page moved there from Leigh. Sir Arthur was Chief Justice of Burma from 1930 to 1936.   DACHURST (or datchurst) - one of the manors in the lowy of Tonbridge, responsible for supplying the needs of the garrison at Tonbridge Castle. In 1798 Hasted writes: "At a small distance southward from Hilden Green, the foundations of a large house are yet visible, which are supposed by many to be those of Dachurst Place". Datchurst is referred to in May, 1832, when John Francis, victualler, purchased "certain copyhold premises by him held of the Manor of Datchurst in the Parish of Tonbridge", for the sum of £202. 6s. 6d., the receipt signed by Philip Moon, yeoman of Southborough.   DENMAN'S or DEADMAN'S WOOD - see Bank Wood.   DOG'S GRAVEYARD - outside the BP Garage on the corner of Tonbridge Road and Hilden Park Road are several gravestones in memory of pet dogs and cats which were knocked down and killed by "that new fangled machine the motor car" in the 1920s.   DRILL HALL - Riding Lane. A wooden structure clad with corrugated iron erect in the late summer of 1902, measuring 50ft by 20ft. it was presented to the Parish by, it is believed, G. W. Johnson to be used as a Drill hall and gymnasium for the Boys Brigade and Sergeant King's Hildenborough Squad of the Tonbridge Company of Volunteers. In 1904 the stage was built for the production of "The Miser's Bargain" (see Village Players). The year 1923 saw an extension to the hall when a kitchen and laundry were added; a thanks offering to those who served and whose lives were spared in the First World War. This enabled the older girls from the school (those aged between 12 and 14), to be given instruction by a qualified K.C.C. teacher in Domestic Economy classes. It was formally transferred to the Parish Council in 1949. Replaced by the Village Hall in 1971.   EGG PIE LANE or MAGPIE LANE. Two derivations of the name "Egg Pie" are offered. Firstly, that "eg." = island or firm land between two streams or land bordered by a stream, and "pie" = insect or gnat. Both of these are present! Secondly, there are some old farmhouses in the lane and many years ago egg pies or, as we now say, custard tarts, were usually included in the weekly bake. It is likely that travellers along this old lane who received hospitality at the farmhouses would also enjoy egg pies!   FAIRHILL - this estate was bought by Lord Derby in 1870 together with the adjoining properties of Hollanden Farm, Great Trench, Horns Lodge, Great Forge Farm, Limes, Kentlands and Hilden. The estate was sold in 1909.   FARM HOUSE SCHOOL - Nizels Grove, Nizels Lane. A small school with boarders and day pupils, run by three sisters, the Misses Gertrude, May (died 1933) and Isobelle Crisp (died 1943).   FIRE STATION - this was in Church Lane (now Church Road) where the kitchens of the Village Hall now stand. However, the following item in the "Tonbridge Free Press" of May, 1883 indicates that the Hildenborough Fire Station was not operating as early as that: "On Tuesday (1st May), the (Volunteer Fire) Brigade (from Tonbridge) had a call to Hildenborough, a stable being on fire at Oak Hill Lodge, the residence recently vacated by Mr Buchanan. A horse was in the stable, and the room over it was occupied by a stableman whose candle in some way caused the configuration. The call reached Tonbridge just after 7 o'clock in the morning, and the Brigade was on the spot - nearly two miles distant - with its steamer, extinguished the fire by a quarter of an hour's smart work which pumped the well dry, and was packed up again ready to return home by 8 o'clock - a piece of as smart practice as one could wish to see. A good sized hole was burned in the roof of the stable, and we cannot learn that the building was insured. The valuable horse and dog which were in at the time the fire was discovered were happily rescued." Circa 1904, at Church Lane, there was one engine, pulled by two horses with three men to pump the water. Later, Captain Tomlinson used his Wolseley car to tow the pump, and George Killick, Alix Upton and Fred Hoare together with Mr Quinnell were volunteer firemen. In 1910, the Hildenborough village contingent of the Tonbridge Fire Brigade, Harold and George Hitchcock, George Killick and Wm. Burgess, under Capt. W. Clark, attended a congress in Belgium. The photograph of the Volunteer Fire Brigade taken in the early 1930s (page 53), shows the tender, a French Republican petrol engine (ex-Tonbridge Fire Brigade), which used to be garaged in the front of Webber's Garage showroom. As the tender had to be started with a starting handle, it was pushed out and down the hill, always starting by the time it had reached Coldharbour Lane. The Volunteer Fire brigade disbanded in 1939 and reformed as the Auxiliary Fire Service. From 1941, the firemen belonged to the National Fire Service until 1946, when they were disbanded.   FLAT COTTAGES - homes for labourers on the Mountains Estate. They appear on a map of 1870 but were regularly flooded and finally demolished in 1935. On this site, Alan B. Fraser, son of Dr Beaufort Fraser and a keen rally driver, operated Mountains Garage, available for motor and agricultural repairs and day & night breakdown service. In 2006 housed several enterprises including the Brookside Group and a Petrol Station.   FLOOD BARRIER - in 1976, the River Medway Flood Relief Act received Royal Assent and work started on the £1.5 million plan to build a series of barriers at Leigh to store water upstream as far as Penshurst so as to regulate the flow of the River Medway to give protection to places downstream-including Hildenborough and Tonbridge- from further flooding. After a number of setbacks, late 1978 saw the start of the project which was completed in 1981. It is the largest on-river flood storage area in the U.K. and the barriers are frequently raised.   FLYING DUTCHMAN - or Flying Horse. An 18th century public house. A map dated 1801 names the inn as the Flying Horse, and a discarded inn sign of a horse, painted by J.F. Herring, is now in the Tunbridge Wells museum. The Landlord was responsible for the toll-gate or pay-gate that stood here. The fee of 1d. was to be spent on the upkeep of the road. In 1871, records show that the turnpike toll keeper living at Tollgate House was Moses Bedingfield. When the gatehouse was demolished, it is said that the materials were used to build the Old Forge House in Mount Pleasant. Fish carts from Hastings to London changed horses here. Two lamb suppers were held annually, when local farmers met farmers from Romney Marsh to discuss arrangements for winter keep of lambs.   FOOTPATHS - there are 27 miles of footpaths and bridleways in the parish. In 1973, the Parish Council, with the help of volunteers, opened up and marked the footpaths, and monthly walks were arranged to encourage local inhabitants to use and enjoy them. A set of 8 selected walks was printed together with a footpath map, which was updated to coincide with the centenary celebrations.   The FORGE - Watts Cross. Now Mill Garage. It was sold in 1909 for £500, and ceased working as a forge in 1919 as the car took the place of the horse. It has been recorded that on Skinners Day when the Governors of the Skinners Company came down from London to Tonbridge School, the blacksmiths at the forge would strike their ploughshares, etc., with small hammers in a "musical" greeting, and pennies would be thrown from the passing carriages to the folk who had gathered to see them. In 1848 the blacksmith was Jesse Sales.   FOXBUSH - built by Punnett of Tonbridge, for Mr Charles Fitch Kemp in 1866. In 1912, it was bought by Barnett Lewis, a rich diamond magnate, who installed the oak panelling and lived there until his death in 1929. His gardeners mowed the churchyard every week. The third owner was Herbert J. Rae, whose wife's family coat of arms adorns the fireplace in the entrance hall. It was used by the 59th Newfoundland Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, as headquarters during the Second World War, then became the Convent of Our Lady School in 1949 when it moved from Cannon Lane, Tonbridge, and St. Thomas' School in 1970. Now Sackville School.   GARDENER'S HOPE MISSION ROOM - which was at the Grenadier in Riding Lane. For many years, regular monthly meetings were held here, led by Mrs C.H. Scott of Hollanden House and Miss Bryer of Oaklands.   THE GATE - a small hotel, situated beside the railway station, built in 1868, about the time the railway was being built. Now a public house/restaurant, known in 2006 as Bartellas.   GLASS FACTORY -44 Stocks Green Road. Johnson & Jorgenson provided employment for between 20 and 30 people, making test tubes, etc. for laboratories during the Second War. The premises were previously used by Frank Woolley for his indoor cricket training school.   GLEBE FIELD - situated between the churchyard and the recreation ground. In 1893, on 3rd July, a grand fete was held here by kind permission of C. Fitch Kemp, to celebrate the marriage of the Duke of York to Princess May. The Parish magazine of the time describes it as "what may justly be considered the great event of the year". Following tea for all the village children, there was tea for their mothers, also a cricket match, races, games, music from the West Kent Volunteer Band and a display of Fireworks after which 200 buns were distributed to the children. Probably the last social occasion of any significance before the outbreak of the Second World War, was a Church Fete on the Glebe Field and a dance in the Drill Hall on 1st July 1939, to raise funds for the purchase of land adjoining the churchyard on which to build the church hall. It is, of course, now in the care of the Diocese, but part has been transferred to the Parish and fenced off as a Churchyard extension.   GOSPEL HALL - built in 1873 by Samuel Hope Morley of Hall Place, Leigh. The first pastor was Mr Butcher. Some residents recall Pastor Wells who was here for many years and remember him taking a harmonium onto the village green "which he played with great relish". There is a baptistery under the floor in the centre of the Hall, where baptism by immersion is given to anyone seeking to join the assembly on confession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was handed over to the Charity Commissioners, to assure a place of worship for non-conformists.   GOUGH COOPER ESTATE - an estate of approximately 360 houses, built on Little Hilden Farm during 1956-1960. Two of the farm cottages remain at 88 and 90, Tonbridge Road.   GREAT FORGE FARM - Riding Lane. A 16th century building with later cladding and with a loft running the length of the house. It was once known as Kennoltz Farm.   GREAT HOLLANDEN FARM- Riding Lane - The buildings, apart from the farmhouse, are now used as a business centre. Prior to this it was pick-you-own fruit and vegetables farm with a shop and a menagerie, while latterly part of the farm alongside Mill Lane was well known for its rare breeds of farm animals including ponies, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, poultry and geese with a woodland walk to an Iron-age village. Known at one time as Brights Farm.   GREEN RABBIT - built in 1880. Some say that Gandhi stayed there during his visit to England in 1927/8, when it was a private house. It became a restaurant and guest house in 1941 and was demolished in 1975. A group of 5 houses known as Orchard Lea, Tonbridge Road, now occupies the site.   THE GRENADIER - a public house in Riding Lane. It is marked on a map of 1870. In 1901 the landlord was Wm. Peacock, in 1913 George Thomas Miles. It was rebuilt as a private house after it had been flattened by a bomb in 1942. The publican was in the cellar at the time, tapping a new cask of beer, which probably saved his life. It was the landlord of this pub, Mr Southin, who in 1932, as a result of his persistent efforts, succeeded in getting a bus running on Riding Lane to Underriver. The bus was run by Arthur Ashby.   THE HALF MOON - or Old Half Moon Inn. Parts of this public house are probably 500 years old, though the front part was added about 1707, when the licensee was Samuel Peckham. In the days when the mail went by coach, the horses were changed here and it is rumoured that Dick Turpin visited the place on more than one occasion. An inventory of the "household furniture, tenants fixtures, trade fittings and effects on the premises" transferred from Mr Arthur Beaney to Mr Frederick Oaten on 13th November 1895, gives us some ides of the domestic history of that time: 2 wash basins, a six-foot form, 4 bowles, 2 warming pans and sundries (in the attic); a feather bed, 2 chaff pillows, bedsteps, commode and chamber ware (faulty) (in the back bedroom)l; bedsteads in some rooms, palliasses in others. On 7th September, 1904, after the 39th Servants Annual Cricket Match on the village ground, there was a supper in a marquee behind the Half Moon, provided by Mr Austen and the host Mr F. Oaten. The teams were captained by G. Robinson, coachman to Mrs Hills of Bourne Place and E. Jelley, bailiff to Chas. Stewart, Esq. of The Hurst, Coldharbour Lane (now Roughetts). Mr Robinson's side won by 29 runs. In 1913 the Landlord was Charles Thos. Thorne and in the 1930s his son ran a taxi service. On Sunday, 27th October, 1940 at 8.30 a.m., a Spitfire II piloted by Pilot Officer John Romney Mather, 66 Squadron Gravesend, crashed in the grounds and the pilot was killed. He was born at Blackheath, London and is buried at St. Margaret's churchyard, Ifield, Crawley, Sussex. In 1972 Malcolm Pettit, a local enthusiast, recovered the engine from waste ground behind the Half Moon.   HARDWICK ROAD - a cul-de-sac of 24 houses and bungalows started in 1959, in part of the grounds of Hollanden Park, and named after Mr & Mrs Hardwick who lived there in the 1880s.   HARDWICK SCHOOL - a Kent County Council special school for children with learning disability aged from 2 - 19 years, built in 1959 in Coldharbour Lane, which closed in 1990 and moved to form the Ridgeway School.   HILDEN BRIDGE - over Hilden Brook, at the foot of Dry Hill, Tonbridge. There is a record of a skirmish having taken place here between the Roundheads and Cavaliers in 1643. In 1807, another incident occurred; a mail coach overturned, the driver was killed and many were injured. The bridge was rebuilt and widened in 1824, for the cost of £268.   HILDEN BROOK - a spring rising in Sevenoaks flows through the parish into the Medway at Tonbridge.   HILDEN FARM or LATTERS FARM - was once used for a tallow chandler's business, causing a most unpleasant smell in the area, but nevertheless, according to local residents, "they know how to rear white turkeys!"   HILDEN GARAGE - built on the site of the Boiling Kettle café, it was replaced by B.P.'s Food Plus in 1986.   HILDEN GOLF CENTRE - Rings Hill, The centre was built on land that had belonged to the Mountains estate. It had been planted with young trees in 1960 but these were badly damaged in the 1987 gales. The Golf Centre opened in November, 1993.   HILDEN HOUSE - The name occurs twice. A fine Georgian house which stood almost opposite the Hilden Manor roadhouse. At one time owned by Guy Maunsell, a civil engineer, who conceived the idea of the Mulberry Harbour, later by Mr Barrett, who also owned the Green Rabbit. It changed hands again in 1950 and was demolished during the early 1960s. Farm Lane was built in the grounds. Secondly it was the name of a lodge opposite Hildenborough Station designed by George Devey in the late 1860s when a Mansion was planned to be built on Lucys Farm.. The lodge was replaced by a resited house in th 1990s. HILDEN MANOR - the present building dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. It was built beside the ruins of a fortified stone building (see foreword). It became a comfortable and convenient half-way house for royalty and nobility en route to Hastings and Rye. Early this century, it became an inn and its open-air swimming pool became very popular after the Second World War. The swimming pool was later used for part of the Stacey Road development. A function room was demolished after the fire in 2005 burned the Manor. The Manor was rebuilt in 2006 with a budget Hotel on the car park.   HILDEN PARK ROAD - once owned by Lord de Lisle of Penshurst. This area (together with the land facing Tonbridge Road between the BP Garage and Hawden Lane) was sold as the Hilden Park Estate in 1900 by the Crown Lands Society of 154 High Street Tonbridge to individuals and Companies who then built on their plots.   HILDENBOROUGH HALL - Britain's original permanent Young People's Conference Centre. During the years 1945 to 1954, it was run by Tom and Jean Rees in the house originally known as Hollanden Park, Coldharbour Lane. It was described at the time as: "A country mansion midway between London and the south coast, in Kent, the garden of England. Thirty two acres of pleasure grounds. Tennis, swimming, boating and riding. Daily excursions. Excellent food. Garden fruit and vegetables. Guernsey cows. Every comfort. Holiday Conferences designed specially to bring young people face to face with the claims of Jesus Christ as Lord in their lives, train them for Christian Service, and at the same time provide a thoroughly refreshing holiday in a cheerful Christian atmosphere." The Rt. Rev. John B. Taylor, Bishop of St. Albans and the Rt Rev.Maurice A.P.Wood former Bishop of Norwich, were frequent helpers. On his first visit to England, Billy Graham spent his first night in this country at Hildenborough Hall. The organisation moved to Otford but continued to use the name Hildenborough Hall. See also Hollanden Park.   Mrs Henry HILLS MEMORIAL COTTAGE - Foxbush. Built in 1938 for the village nurse. It has now been sold and the money invested to be used for the benefit of the needy of the village.   HOLLANDEN FARM - Riding Lane. A report in the "Tonbridge Free Press" of 1883 reads, "Friday, November 16th in the early morning, Mr Charles Bassett, aged 45, of Hollanden Farm, was found hanging from a hay rack in the stable of his farm. He had evidently been dead some hours and had been missed since two o'clock on Thursday afternoon. An inquest is to be held." The inquest was held at Great Forge Farm. Mr Fitch Kemp was there to offer sympathy to the family. Mr Bassett was one of his tenants. The verdict was "suicide while in a state of temporary insanity".   HOLLANDEN HOUSE - Mill Lane. When Miss Edith Johnson, daughter of J.H. Johnson, married Mr Charles H. Scott in 1899, they lived there for some years. She was president of the Girl's Friendly Society from 1906-1932 and held quarterly meetings in her home. In 1922 she was the second president of the W.I. She died in 1944, aged 78.   HOLLANDEN PARK - Coldharbour Lane. Built between 1866 and 1870 by Punnett of Tonbridge, who also built Foxbush and Mountains. The "Tonbridge Free Press" reports on festivities at Hollanden on Saturday, 22nd September 1883: "The men employed on the estate of P.C. Hardwick Esq., Hollanden, were kindly provided with their annual treat, and at 1 o'clock all sat down to a capital dinner. Ample justice was done to this, and at 2 o'clock all adjourned to a field near the house for cricket, a match having been previously arranged between the House and Garden, captained by C. Eaton, Esq. for the house and Mr G. Goldsmith for the Garden. The weather being all that could be desired, a very pleasant and enjoyable game was played and terminated in favour of the House by 16 runs. During the afternoon Mr and Mrs Hardwick with the family and friends honoured the party with their presence, Mrs Hardwick very kindly officiating as scorer. The game being over, the men and their wives sat down to an excellent tea, which they all thoroughly enjoyed and at 7 o'clock the Hildenborough Drum and Fife Band was entertained by Mr and Mrs Hardwick and after they had enjoyed a capital supper, the whole party adjourned to the coach house, which was decorated with choice plants and illuminated with Chinese lanterns. Here, dancing to the capital music of the band was engaged in with much spirit, and there was some good singing during the evening by the employees, Mr and Mrs Hardwick and friends being present. The singing and dancing were kept up with great spirit until 12 midnight when the singing of the National Anthem brought to a close a holiday which had given great delight to all who had taken part in it." Later known as Hildenborough Hall and Hardwick House (when it was a K.C.C. Old People's Home). During the Second World War, it was occupied by the Rachel McMillan Training College. Now the Raphael Centre.   HOOK HATCH LANE - now known as Bank Lane.   INSTITUTE - Riding Lane. In 1877, two rooms at Little Foxbush Farm were made available for reading and billiards. The late Miss May Chaplin recalled: There is one interesting fact about the back bedroom with the beams at Little Foxbush; for a while, before the present Institute was built, that room was used by the men and lads of the village as an Institute and Reading Room". In October, 1878, the local press reports, "Mr Hardwick of Hollanden Park gave a cottage for the Institute, Shipbourne Road (now Riding Lane) opposite the National School". The building changed hands in 1894 when Mr Hardwick left the area. "Home Words" tells us that when the Parish Council met in October 1895, the main business was to seek consent to purchase the Institute from Mr Charles Barkaway for £580 and a loan for the purchase money. At the Parish Council meeting the following month we read: "refusal by County Council to authorise the loan, building not required, the school being sufficient for the purpose". Eventually purchased by the Parish Council in 1899. The club room was open every night between 6.30pm and 10pm for card games, bagatelle and draughts. Members had to be over 16 years old and the subscription was 2d. per week. No alcohol was sold on the premises until 1925 when the first licence was issued allowing the sale of "intoxicants". A billiard room was added in 1923. See also Working Men's Club.   KENNELS - Longacre, London Road (next to Whitesteppes café). For 47 years owned by W.J. Vanstone, a founder member of the Kent & Sussex Cocker Club.   KEMPS COTTAGES - 12 cottages in Riding Lane, between the school and the present chemist shop, owned by C. Fitch Kemp, Esq. There was no running water; this had to be fetched from an outside tap in the forecourt or from two wells at the back. These are the names of the occupants in 1912 when the cottages were sold to Mr Barkaway; S. Owen, A. Gorham, J. Pluck, J. Porter, E. Quinnell, J. Watson, W. Dale, W. Walters, J. Seale, Mrs Upton (widow of George who was killed on the railway in 1898), D. Slattley and G. Kennard. In 1933, the cottages were condemned and the tenants moved into council houses in Church Road.   KNOWSLEY WAY - 58 houses and bungalows built by A.E. Driscoll in the 1950s, on farmland bought from the Hollanden Park estate.   LAUNDRY COTTAGE - Watts Cross. Was used as a laundry premises, comprising dwelling house and brick-floored laundry. It was let to Mr Bartlett until he bought the property, for £475, when the Nizels Estate was sold in July, 1919.   LEYTON HOUSE - about 1896, was a barber's shop, the a private school and later occupied by R. Woodhams, the builder. In 1950, it became C.W. Woodman's Fruit Store, later hardware was also sold. Subsequent owners have included Mr W.A. Hoare, Mr C. Clarke, Mr K. Groves and Mr I. Ferris and Colin and Pat Mannering. Now used as offices.   LITTLE FOXBUSH - Noble Tree Road. Originally known as Foxbush, then between 1856 and 1912 as Foxbush Farm. Miss Alice May Chaplin, daughter of Ted Chaplin, kennel man to C. Fitch Kemp, was born here in 1894. The house is believed to date back to the reign of Queen Anne, and her account of the history of the house Miss Chaplin recalls: "It is thought that a Mr Fox owned the house and lived there for some time during the 18th century. After he was murdered, his body was buried near the house and a bush was planted over his grave. My grandfather, who was born in 1844, remembered seeing the bush when he was a little boy. Whatever was the first name of the house is now forgotten, but after Mr Fox's death it was always Foxbush. Throughout the 19th century, the house was said to be haunted. Some folk said the ghost was Mr Fox, others that it was his murderer." When the estate was sold in 1912, Mrs Henry Hills bought Little Foxbush and in 1925 her unmarried sisters, misses Kathleen, Ethel and Maud Fitch Kemp moved there. The house was sold in 1949 on the death of Miss Ethel, the last surviving sister.   LITTLE HILDEN FARM - Walter Tibbits sold the land to Gough Cooper for a housing estate in 1956. it stretched from the Boiling Kettle to where Stocks Green School is now. The late Mrs Rosemary Coleman who spent many childhood holidays on the farm remembered "many happy hours spent here on the farm, so green and fresh after London, feeding stock, helping the Land Girls or just exploring".   LITTLE HOLLANDEN HOUSE - Mill Lane. Once owned by Edmund Cartwright, inventor of the power loom (1785), for which Parliament, in 1809, awarded him £10,000 for services to the art of weaving. In the 1870s owned by Thomas Horatio Harris, who opened his house on the Sabbath for religious meetings. He died in 1878.   LOWER STREET - formerly Nether Street, It connects Philpots Lane with the bottom of Rings Hill, near the road to Leigh. It is unusual to find a road called a street in the country, even more so as there have been no Roman "finds" in the area; the Wealden clay being unsuitable for Roman road building.   LOWER STREET FARM - also known as Childrens. Simon Children is recorded as living here in 1377.     MANSERS - Nizels Lane. Converted from three 17th and 18th century farm buildings in the 1930s. The main part of the house originated as a 5-bay threshing barn, the entrance hall was a former cow byre and the other building was a hay barn.   MANSERS FARM - Nizels Lane. In 1614, it was sold to Roger Nicoll, alias Webb, together with a piece of land called Lemmans. During 20th century alterations, a hoard of George III guineas was found when the staircase was removed and in an upstairs cupboard, a blue silk slipper with high heel and curled up toe was found which, unfortunately, crumbled to dust when exposed to the air.   MARCHANTS BARN - Coldharbour Lane. Built by Sir Thomas and Lady Butler in the 1920s from two 500-year-old cottages and a more recent barn, brought from either Mayfield or Matfield. According to their younger son, Sir Thomas and his wife entertained frequently and many of London society and members of the government visited the house. Tea and tennis parties were great favourites. During the Second World War, the house was used to evacuees and later, Canadian troops were billeted there. After the war it was bought by the well-known grocers, Mr and Mrs W.H. Cullen.   MARDENS - Philpots Lane. Part dates from 1623; enlarged and modernised in 1893, when the owner was R.A. Bosanquet, Esq. More recently the home of Col. & Mrs Nicholson.   MARDEN COTTAGES - Philpots Lane. Now known as the Old House, built about 1550. Believed to have been weavers cottages at one time. A receipt for work done for widow Barber in 1692 makes interesting reading:-   March 19th 1692 Day work dun for the widow barber in Hildenborrow for whighting the old house William Dudson 2 dayes Will Dudson 2 dayes   0 - 4 - 0 0 - 2 - 8   March 24th Day for making the great oven and hanging the furnace and building the flew William Dudson 4 dayes Will Dudson 4 dayes   0 - 8 - 0 0 - 5 - 4   June 27th Day for plaisering and whighting the walls of the old house and beame filling and meaning the wall of the barn William Dudson 2 dayes and 3 quarters Will Dudson 2 dayes and 3 quarters For building a stack of chimneys of 4 fiors   0 - 5 - 6 0 - 3 - 8 2 - 10 - 0   MASTERS CAFÉ - Tonbridge Road. The property was previously a grocer's and general store which between 1906 and 1920 had been leased by Mr I. Thompsett from C. Fitch Kemp Esq. Before the Sevenoaks/Tonbridge by-pass was built, the café, owned by Mr Masters, was a popular stopping place for cars and coaches heading to and from the coast. During the Second World War, young soldiers billeted in the village congregated here to play table tennis. In 1962 the café was bought by Frank Horner. It was demolished in 1973 after being an eyesore for many months and replaced by a building occupied by a B & Q Do-it-Yourself shop. This building was itself demolished in 1990 and an office block, Weald Court, erected.   MEDICAL CENTRE - Westwood, Tonbridge Road. By 1989 the premises at 79, Tonbridge Road, although extended twice, had become inadequate for the needs of the practice and a suitable site was sought for a new centre. One acre of land adjoining the service road in the north corner of Westwood was purchased from Mr D. Barkaway and a two-storey, timber-framed, Kentish barn style building, designed by the architect Anthony Teale, was erected by G.B. Thathan & Co. Ltd. It was opened in 1991.   MEOPHAM BANK FARM - was built in 1819   MEOPHAM PARK - now known as Meopham Bank off Leigh Road. A Georgian mansion built in 1830 on the site of a much older house, thought to have been designed by Septimus Burton. When the artist J.F. Herring saw it was "to let with immediate possession" in 1853, he moved from his London home without delay and lived there until his death in 1865. The rent at that time was £180 per annum. Later residents included Mr & Mrs R. Cuncliffe and Sir Eric and Lady MacFadyen.   MILL GARAGE - Mill Lane/Tonbridge Road, Watts Cross. Occupying the site of a forge, it became a garage when the motor car took over from the horse. In the early 1940s the owners, Bryan and Aubrey Smith, set up a light engineering firm called Mill Productions Ltd. On premises adjoining the garage, employing about 12 men. The firm moved to Tonbridge in the 1950s. See also The Forge, Watts Cross.   MILL LANE - prior to the building of the mill, this was known as Hollanden Road.   MILLENIUM - A volunteer Committee raised funds and to celebrate the event organized a two day Carnival, Parade, Art Exhibition and a special open air service. The money raised funded the provision of adventure play equipment in the Recreation Ground. At Midnight the Beacon by the Church Hall was set alight.   MORLEY'S CAFÉ - originally Morley's Farm Hut. In 1939, Mr Eric Mackney owned the café. It grew up around the gypsy caravan, selling cups of tea. The café also sold potatoes, honey and eggs from Morleys Farm. Some famous customers include: Alfie Bass and his parents, Tommy Steele, Dick Emery, Pete Murray, Harry H. Corbett and Dermot Walsh. Popular with lorry drivers. Now having been modernised and extended it is known as the Pit Stop Motel.   MOUNTAINS - Noble Tree Road. Appears on an ordnance survey map of the area dated 1901. In 1845 the estate belonged to Stephen Turley. He sold it to J.H. Johnson Esq., who pulled down the existing farmhouse and built the present house in 1866. People came from miles around to see the "carpet bedding" in the garden. The family lived there until it was sold to Dr. Fraser in 1927. While Dr Beaufort Fraser lived there, he saw his private patients in the sitting-room and "panel" patients in the servants quarters. After a short period in the 1990s as a Health and Fitness Centre it now houses Fosse Bank School with other enterprises in the grounds.   MOUNT PLEASANT COURT - Flats for the elderly were built in 1962 by the Rural District Council as sheltered accommodation on the site of the cricket ball factory. Opened by Cyril E. Clarke, Chairman of the Parish Council from 1961 - 1965. The site was redeveloped as houses in 2004 by the Housing Association.   NETHER STREET - see Lower Street.   NEW COCK INN - also known at one time as Upper Cock (1788), then named Thirst and Last (1983). Neddie Wickens, one-time owner, was the last person to have an animal impounded in the Pound at Watts Cross. The site, which is next to the Stormont Garage, was redeveloped for housing in 2005.   NIZELS - or NYSELLS, NIZELLS or NEWSOLES. Little is known of the early history of this estate and its manor house. In 1327 the name was changed from Newsoles. Previous owners of the estate have included Richard Children Esq., Gentle Brown Esq. and Baron Goldsmid of Somerhill. While staying in England in 1847, Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III) visited Samuel Cartwright, J.P. for Kent (who had been the Prince Regent's dentist) who was then resident at Nizels. The Dowager Lady Downshire and her sister Mrs Balfour rented it in the late 19th century. In 1899 the house was almost totally destroyed by fire, believed to have started in Lady Downshire's bedroom. Both the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge fire brigades attended but to no avail. The house was rebuilt and following the death of Lady Downshire, the estate was sold in 1919, in 33 lots. The house was sold for £10,000 and was described as a "commodious Family Mansion, portions of which have recently been rebuilt". The grounds are delightfully described as comprising "Tennis, Croquet, Bowling and Tea lawns, with Rose pergolas and gravel paths, protected by a well-trimmed Yew hedge. The Flower Gardens consist of long herbaceous borders, Rosary and Rockery and the kitchen garden is chiefly enclosed by an excellent protecting wall, on which are trained some of the finest wall fruit in the neighbourhood." In 1926 the owner was Walter Lloyd Thomas, who had 13 gardeners and a boy to look after the 14 acres of garden. Subsequently bought by Mr B. Nimmo. Now Nizels Hotel, Golf & Leisure Club, opened in 1992.   NIZELS HOATH - originally called Shynes. This house was built in 1587, of wood and plaster around a central chimney. It is now clad in brick and tiles. Ten acres of adjacent heath land was a popular site for travelling fairs and gypsies. A Field nearby adjoining the London Road, in 1415 referred to as "Great Tooth" or "Great Tote", was the site of Whiteleggs Nursery prior to the building of the Sevenoaks/Tonbridge by-pass.   NOBLE TREE CROSS - where the tree is said to have stood in the middle of the crossroads. In 1585 it was known as "Nobodie Tree", but became known as Noble Tree after a Mr Noble was hanged from the tree for sheep stealing. One of the cottages on the corner of the cross roads was a beershop for the navvies when the railway was being built. An interesting extract from the "Tonbridge Free Press" of 31st March 1877 reads: "E.B. Chittenden charged with being owner of a steam engine and it being used on road at Noble Tree with no man being in front of it with a flag." He was fined £1 and £1. 4s. 6d. costs.   NOBLE TREE CROSS HOUSE - was built by Mr J.H. Johnson in 1870 for his sister-in-law, Miss Ellen Ann Lawson. When the Mountains estate was sold in the 1920s, G.W. Johnson, his sister Katherine and brother James lived there with their aunt. After the death of Katherine in 1949, the house was bought by Mr & Mrs Hutton in 1950.   OAK COTTAGE - Tonbridge Road. Built mid-16th century, with fine oak beams and inglenook fireplace.   OAKHILL CRICKET GROUND - Westwood. The open area of Westwood was the village cricket ground prior to the opening of the recreation ground in 1932. An annual event in the early years of this century was the cricket match between the indoor and outdoor servants of the numerous large houses and estates in the parish. Afterwards there would be a dinner with, as on one occasion, "roast beef, plum pudding and copious quantities of ale to liven up the proceedings". A concert might follow, carrying on well into the night. A photograph taken around 1906 includes the following; Mr Ted Chaplin, huntsman of the Foxbush harriers at the kennels at Little Foxbush; Mr Norris, coachman for Mrs Johnson of Mountains; Mr Bill Burgess, farrier and blacksmith at Crowhurst's; Mr Arthur heath, ballmaker, who had a sideline as an amateur dentist; Mr Pink, coachman to Mr C. Finch Kemp of Foxbush; Mr Bill Webb, footman and later butler at Mountains; Mr C. Kemp, head gardener at Foxbush; Mr Callow, coachman at Nizels; Mr G. Robinson, coachman to Mrs Henry Hills of Bourne Place and "Scraggs" Killick, who was a ballmaker at Hitchcock's Cricket Ball factory in Mount Pleasant, one of the best-known characters of the village at the time.   OAKHILL HOUSE - was one of the few large houses built before the church and the building of the railway. In 1804, Francis Hare owned it and lived there. He was a member of the committee set up in 1842 to look into the possibility of Hildenborough having its own church and becoming a parish. Owned by Sir Richard Nicholson in the early part of this century. During the Second World War, Insurance Engineers were evacuated here from London. Later Elliot & Spear arrived and it was used for light industry, i.e. lampshade making, and both provided useful employment. In 1981 an application was made to demolish the house - it was refused. It was bought and extended by Fidelity International in 1986.   OAKHURST - The Bank.   OAKLANDS - Vines Lane. Owned by Mr & Mrs Turnbull from 1860 when they returned from Shanghai, until early 1900's when they bought Vines. Other residents have included Mrs & Miss Stanley in 1893, Mr & Mrs Bryer in 1917 and in 1934 it became a hostel called Oaklands International Centre. Now known as Alexander House, once part of Princess Christian Hospital.   OAK LODGE - stood on the corner of Leigh Road and Tonbridge Road. In the early 1900's it was the home of Mr & Mrs Fellowes Wilson. While it was the his home from the early 1960's until 1975 Dr Skinner held surgeries at the house. Fellowes Way and Wilson Close have been built in the grounds.   THE OLD BARN - Stocks Green Road. The barn itself, formerly a tithe barn, dates from about 1590. The other buildings were added in the 1920s, when Commander A.W. Tomlinson bought Stocks Green Farm and turned the barn into a teahouse. At the time it was very fashionable to motor into the country for tea and The Old Barn became very well known for its cream teas. In the grounds stood a windmill which had been brought from Sussex in 1926 (by a Foden steam wagon) and the sails were retrieved from a derelict mill at Sissinghurst. There was also a bakehouse where all the cakes and bread were baked from Kent grown, stone-milled wholemeal flour, a boating lake, a pottery and a brickyard. Visitors were told not to miss seeing the grave of the famous milking cow called Buttercup. She died after eating a length of fencing wire. On her gravestone these words were carved: "Pause stranger and shed a tear for Buttercup, one of the best cows that ever kicked the bucket". The stocks which once stood in the forecourt were not relics of the past but made by Mr Tomlinson himself. In the 1930s, the British Empire Air Display was held at the Old Barn flying field and was attended by a large crowd who saw Capt. E. W. Bonar do advanced aerobatics in the Hawker Tomtit and Mr Harry Ward make a parachute jump. Seven free flights were won in various competitions. At about this time, as well as a Tower of Babel fashioned from empty bottles, the ballroom was built and became very popular for Saturday afternoon tea dances and dinner dances. In the early part of the Second World War, a German aircraft was forced down and landed on the airfield. It was brought up to the Half Moon where the wings were cut back to enable it to be taken through Sevenoaks to a dismantling depot at Sundridge. The Old Barn was leased by the Tomlinson family in 1993 for use as a night club. It was subsequently burnt down and later sold. The site now contains housing.   OLD COCK INN - See The Cock Inn.   OLD FORGE HOUSE - Mount Pleasant. When the toll-gate and house at the Flying Dutchman were demolished, the materials were used to build this house.   OLD HOUSE - Philpots Lane. See Marden Cottage.   OL'JOHN BARLEYCORN - Stocks Green Road. A beerhouse from 1865 to 1878, near Barleycorn bridge, used by the men building the railway. Now a private house called Barleycorn Lodge. Dates back to the 17th century, with walls of plaster and horsehair.   ORCHARD MAINS - Coldharbour Lane. At one time owned by Lords Arthur and Lionel Cecil, who brought with them from their farm in Scotland, men and women employees and a herd of cattle. They also bought Horns Lodge farm. When Lord Lionel died, everything was sent back to Scotland and it was bought by Lord Derby for his famous herd of Sussex cattle. In March 1903 the wife of a farm bailiff at Orchard mains committed suicide by drowning in a tank. In the early 1940's it housed the lampshade factory who had been evacuated from London prior to their move to Oakhill House. Later it was the home of Mr W. Tillman who had a reproduction furniture business.   PEMBROKE LODGE - Tonbridge Road. Like Oakhill House, it was built before the church, in 1804, and the first owner, D. Peck Esq., lived there for 71 years. He was people's Church warden from 1865 - 1869. When the convent school moved to Foxbush in 1949, the house was used for a time as the kindergarten.   PEST HOUSE - is referred to in the Tonbridge Poor Law accounts of 1754 as being in use at Nizels Hoath, where people with infectious diseases were kept in isolation.   PINE COTTAGE - 182 Tonbridge Road. Parish nurse's house before the Hills Memorial Cottage was built in Foxbush.   PHILPOTS - or PHILPOTTS. The manor is recorded in 1300 when John de Philipott left land to Robert Charles, bailiff of Tunbridge forest. It passed by marriage about the time of Henry VIII to the Childrens, one of the oldest families in the Tonbridge district. In the time of Charles II, it belonged to Richard Polhill, one of whose ancestors was bow-bender to Elizabeth I. It is said to be haunted by two men.   PHILPOTS RAILWAY BRIDGE - the bricks to build this bridge and most of the railway bridges through the parish were made in a brickyard near here.   The PLOUGH INN - Leigh Road. Built in 1570 on the site of Hadloe Place (see foreword). In 1893, the 14-month-old son of the landlord and his wife, Mr and Mrs G Jempson, was drowned in the stream by the side of the road: the verdict was accidental death. Their nephew, Noel Jempson, became the licensee when his uncle died in 1928. He was there for 50 years until his death in 1975. The house was noted for homemade cider.   POLICE HOUSE - was at 180, Tonbridge Road until the house in Foxbush was built in the 1950s but with the end of "the village policeman" the house no longer is used to house him. This is a record dated 2nd April 1823, of the expenses incurred by the constable of Hildenborough, James Couchman:   For refreshments for Self & assistant at Hadlow when in Search of Samuel Aynescomb who was charged with having Stolen a sheep the property of Mr Hilder of Tonbridge………….…….…2 /- …& the like at Wateringbury …………………………………………....5 / 7 …for horse & cart to convey prisoner…………………………………..10 /- …for guard for the night …………………………………………………2 / 6 …for guard for the day …………………………………………………..2 / 6 …journey to West Peckham to serve summons, horse & self……………7 /-   The above was authorised to be paid on 1st January 1825 (nearly two years later) by William Bailey Esq. POPLARS - is now known as The Cottage, Watts Cross. At one time the only grocer's shop in Hildenborough, which closed in 1881. The house belonged to the Francis family for about 200 years. In July 1787, Thomas Francis paid 5 / 4d. for a licence to sell coffee, tea and chocolate. Another licence exists dated October 1789 and costing 2 / 6d. to sell tobacco and snuff. Nearly 100 years later, records show 11 lbs. mutton cost 8 / 5d., 12 lbs currants cost 5 /- and raisins the same, 7 lbs of sugar cost 2 / 7d. and the price of cheese was just over 8d. per lb.   POST OFFICE - 186 Tonbridge Road. This was originally a grocer's shop and did not include the post office until circa 1890, soon after the arrival of Mr E. Hendry. In the 1870s the business was run by Mr Norington and in the 1880s by Mr Cutbush. The census of 1851 names Mrs Mary Ann Luck as Postmistress/receiver of posts, and a directory of 1858 confirms that she still held this position at that time. The post office was then in a private house adjacent to Leyton House. In 1891 it is Mr Edwin Hendry who is referred to as the receiver of posts. About 1898-9 it became the Post & Telegraph office. In May 1925 a small manual telephone exchange was installed which was operated by Miss Doris Hoare until December 1939, when the automatic exchange was built in Riding Lane. The grocery shop, with which Mr Hendry was associated for about 60 years, was later run under his name by Mr Neal, Mr Chapman, Mr Alder, Mr Chattwall and Mr and Mrs C. Raker until it was sold in 1996 as a convenience store, when the name was changed to that of the new owners One Stop.   POUND - an area 12 ft. square surrounded by a 6 ft. fence was situated at Watts Cross, opposite Mill Garage. A fine had to be paid to redeem stray animals. The key was kept at manor Pound Cottage (now called Colorado). The last animal to be impounded was Neddie Wicken's donkey - for a joke - "and he had to feed the donkey for two days and stand drinks all round in his beershop at Noble Tree Cross before he was told where the key was" (from W.I. local history). A much earlier pound, c. 1295, was in Stocks Green Road near the Old Barn, but this had fallen into disrepair about 1692, and was no longer in use after 1780.   POWDER MILL LANE - named after the gunpowder mill built in 1812 by John George Children. The machinery was operated by water power. A small railway carried the explosives from the site to the barges of the Medway Navigation Company. These barges, each flying a red flag to warn of their dangerous cargo, carried the gunpowder via a canal which ran into the river Medway. In 185 an explosion at the mill killed two men, in 1864 four men were killed and one man was killed in 1885. At the beginning of this century a popular sporting powder was made. Then, during the First World War, power was made for the armed services, and local women were employed to fill the shells. Local residents still remember hearing the boom of the testing gun. The mill closed in 1934.   PRINCESS CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL - Riding Lane. An extract from "The Grapevine", a journal of Leybourne Grange and Princess Christian's indicates how and when the colony was established. "In 1846 Princess Helena Victoria, the fifth daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and took, as was the custom not only her husband's title but also the Christian name. Princess Christian, ….became especially interest in mental deficiency and formed a d charity which brought properties and opened them up as homes for the feeble-minded. A trust was formed in 1895 and was called the National Association for the Promoting the Welfare of the Feeble-minded." When the Princess turned her interest in this direction she formed a committee consisting of herself, her sister Princess Marie Louise and four local residents. Dr. Reginald Langdon Down (the son of the man who described Mongolism as a syndrome and this is still taught today), became the first chairman. The quote continues: "They bought land from Lord Derby on which already stood the Farmhouse, Farm Buildings, two labourer's cottages, the Main buildings and the Oast House.* It was envisaged that a farming community should be formed and named Princess Christian Farm Colony, and that it should be self-supporting, growing vegetables, keeping cattle and poultry. In the early days, a milk round was started, operated by the "colonists", as they were called. This was done on foot. Later, a pony and milk flat were bought and the round continued until 1935. The girls did all the laundry for the Hospital, using wooden wash tubs for coppers, and flat-irons heated on special stoves. Apparently the coppers were used at Christmas for cooking the plum puddings. They were scrubbed out on Christmas Eve, the first lighted very early Christmas morning so that the puddings were cooked in time for dinner. It was not until 1950 that sinks and electric irons were installed. The present Girl's Home, now called Glen House, was built in 1916." * Purchased in 1909 it was known as new Trench Farm and described in the particulars of sale as "a bijou residence, with farm premises and lands", and sold at auction for £3400. Clough William. Ellis, who also designed Portmeirion in N. Wales, designed Glen House and one of the dormitories. When the Hospital was closed it was redeveloped for housing with Glen House being preserved but the dormitory could not be reused. * Mrs Ruth Langdon Down, his wife, is now commemorated by a tablet dated 1924 by the entrance.   QUINNELL'S - sweet shop, on the corner of Riding Lane and Church Road, "a port of call for us school children to buy sweets" (circa 1914) recalls a local resident. A popular place for the young lads of the village as Mrs Quinell served up hot drinks made from fruit juice on Sunday afternoons. When the fire-brigade was required, Mr Quinnell was the one to fire a maroon (rocket) from the corner of the Village Green (where the launching stone with a central hole can still be seen) to summon the rest of the men. Later it became a newsagents and was a popular meeting place for the ladies of the village during the years of the Second World War.   RAILWAY - The South Eastern Railway line from Sevenoaks to Tonbridge, passing through Hildenborough, was completed and open for goods trains in February, 1868. The station was built on land given by Mr J.H. Johnson of Mountains, and passenger trains commenced on 1st May 1868. Originally the station was called Watts Cross, then Hildenborough & Watts Cross, but according to the late Mr E. Francis "the nobs did not like Watts Cross so they got round Sir Hart Dyke, the manager, to alter it to Hildenborough". In 1871 the Station master was Henry Burgess. On 1st April, 1898, George Upton (father of Alix and grandfather of Bryan) and James Goldsmith, two plate layers on the South Eastern Railway, were killed instantaneously while engaged in their work near Black Arch. They are buried together in the churchyard.   The RAPHAEL MEDICAL CENTRE - Hollanden Park, Coldharbour Lane. A modern residential medical centre offering an holistic approach to individual treatment and specialist rehabilitation. Opened in 1983, it is managed by Mr G. Florschutz. In recent years Raphael Court and St. Michaels Court, blocks of self-contained flats for retired or disabled persons, have been built in the grounds. A hydrotherapy pool has also been added.   RECREATION GROUND - Riding Lane. At their March meeting in 1897, the Parish Council discussed ways in which the Parish might celebrate the Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Three projects were brought forward: a recreation ground, acquiring the Institute and a dinner or treat for all the parish. Lord Derby was approached with a view to obtaining a piece of land for a recreation ground, but instead he offered £250 towards the purchase of land and the Institute. However it was not until 1931, after 2 months of tiresome wrangling with the Ministry of Health and other official bodies, that the present site was purchased from Mr G. Barkaway. The following year a gift of £150 was received from the Kent County Playing Fields Association towards the completion of work on the playing field. The erection of the pavilion was carried out by local builders Messrs R. Woodhams & Son. The official opening by Mr F.O. Streeten took place on 4th June 1932. The Parish Council provides equipment for children play, swings and the like. Hildenborough Tennis Club leased land and built first two hard courts with a third being added later. In 2005 the Housing Association provided money to build a Ball Court.   REX TEA STORES - was a grocer's shop in Riding Lane, next to the butcher's shop. The business was started by Rex Ravensdale in a shop in Church Road, which upon his sudden death in 1937 aged 26 years, was taken over by his sister and run as a wool shop. The grocery business moved to Riding Lane with Mr A. McIvor as the proprietor. Rex Ravensdale was the son of the deputy head teacher when Mr Hodder was headmaster at the Primary School.   RIDING LANE - once known as Shipbourne Road. It was part of Leigh until 1894.   RIDING PARK - an estate of houses and flats built by Tonbridge Rural District Council on land bought from Mrs Hubble of Hollanden Farm. The building took place in five phases, starting in 1947 with the flats in Riding Lane and the houses in Mount Pleasant. The last phase completed the estate in 1960/61.   RIDING STABLES - Riding Farm, Riding Lane. Started by Ian (Jock) Hayley in the 1940s and taken over by Mr Slinn, who made many improvements and built up the riding school, in the 1960s. Mr Ray Howe, an international show jumper for 25 years who represented England 17 times, succeeded him in 1986. In 2006 owned by Mr & Mrs J. Gosling.   SCHOOLS -   Fosse Bank School When the previous School in Tonbridge was closed some of the staff founded Fosse Bank New School in what had been part of the premises of Hardwick School. It moved to Mountains in Noble Tree Road in 2004.   Church of England Primary School, Riding Lane. Built in 1847, on land bought from the Rev. Thomas May, Vicar of Leigh, for £34. The original school managers were the Rev. Edward Vinall, John Warden, R.N., Richard Puckle, Gentlemen, and Augustus Langdon, Barrister, who lived at Coldharbour House. They appointed Ewan Christian to prepare plans for a school to accommodate 60 boys and 60 girls and a master's house, and warned him to "take care that the master's house be exempt from window tax". It was built by Chalkin and Wellers for under £500. For the first 23 years, the school ran without outside help except for a gift of £10 per annum from the Ironmonger's Company - the Betton Gift.   Fees were as follows: Labourers 2d. per week for 1st child, 1d. for each additional child in the same family. those above the 6/- a quarter if they lived in the district station of labourer 10/- a quarter if they lived outside the district   When in September 1897 children could attend the National Schools free of charge, the following notice appeared in the Parish magazine "the parent must remember that every week they keep their child away, the school loses 9d.". After the Education Act of 1902, the school was taken over by the County Council who became responsible for all expenditure except the upkeep of the buildings and premises and any alterations and extensions that may be called for in the future. In September 1955, the school was able to have its first full-time caretaker, Mr W. Woodgate, who lived at 3 Crossway Cottages. The School was extended in 1963 with the addition of an assembly hall, two classrooms and the infants' playground. A swimming pool was added in 1970. Considerable rebuilding took place in 2005, a new wing comprising 7 new classrooms, cloakrooms and a food servery was openred by Dame Kelly Holmes on 7 December 2004.   Head Teachers: Mr Charles Welland 1847 (1 term) Mr F.G. & Mrs C.F. Smith 1847-1873 Mr Robert Blake 1873-1874 Mr H.J. Sparkes 1874-1897 Mr M.C. & Mrs Morris 1897-1913 Mr R.F. Hodder 1914-1931 Mr L.R.A. Fitz 1931-1952 Mr L.R. Haisell 1952-1979 Mr D. Perry 1979-1990 Mrs C. Berry 1990-2002 Mrs L. Hargreaves 2002-2007 Mrs M. Armstrong 2007- date   Stocks Green School, Leigh Road. The Kent County Council bought the land in 1962 "for education purposes" for £23,123. The school opened on 7th January 1969 with 112 pupils in 4 classes, while there was a bulge between , in 2006 there are 218 pupils in 7 classes. The first headmaster was Mr A. Hillier who was succeeded by Mr Quiney (1977-1985), then Mr R. Edom and Mrs Topiwalawa followed. Mr R Britt became head in 2001 until 2004 when he was succeeded by Mrs Yeomans. The school badge comes from the coat of arms of the Fane or Vane family which is three golden gauntlets on a blue shield. The family moved from Monmouth in Wales to this area in 1426. In 1624, Francis Vane became the first Earl of Westmorland and so it was of the present Earl that the school sought permission to use one of the gauntlets from the Vane coat of arms for the school badge.   Sackville School, Foxbush, Tonbridge Road. In the autumn of 1986, Sackville School was in the process of being founded in Knole Park, Godden Green. When the Foxbush site became available in May 1987, it was purchased and the school opened in September, 1987 with an intake of one year of boys at 13+. The following two years saw a similar intake. The school is designed for children who, for a variety of reasons, need or want a small local day school. It offers a 3-year course in preparation for GCSE examinations. The aim of the school is to equip students with an education which will satisfy not only the academic but the technical, commercial and international needs of the 21st century. In 2006 the Head is Mrs Michelle Sinclair.   SCHOOL HOUSE COTTAGES - London Road (formerly Sevenoaks Road). The south end cottage was the school and the schoolmaster was Mr Richard Woodhams. In 1893, Wednesday evening prayer meetings were held there.   SELBY FARM - Leigh Road. Believed to have been the home farm of Datchurst Manor. Two rooms of the house, one upstairs and one down, date from 1450. Named after the Selby family, owners of Ightham Mote, who also owned land in Hildenborough. It is one of Kent's Historic Buildings. The following account from the Tonbridge Petty Sessions appears in the "Tonbridge Free Press" of May, 1883: "It was reported by Supt. Barnes, that an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease had occurred on the premises of Mr David Evan, Selby Farm, Hildenborough. It appeared that the cow which had failed with the disease had been running among 43 other beasts, and that on Thursday morning a second animal showed signs of contagion. The Bench ordered that under the provisions of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act the district should be declared an infected area."   SEVENOAKS-TONBRIDGE BY-PASS - was opened by the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Edward Heath, in July 1971. A group of vintage vehicles, including buses and vans, led the parade. Work had started in February, 1968. A resident living near the Nizels Lane Bridge at the time recalled "the summer of 1969 was very dry and the dust from the scrapers and the constant clanging and screeching from the huge machines made it unforgettable. During the winter of that year the mud created untold problems". A painting of those days, owned by the Parish Council, can be seen in the Library.   SPRINGWATER COTTAGE - Leigh Road. Part of this cottage is over 300 years old.   STOCKS GREEN FARM - a 65 acre farm bought by Commander A. W. Tomlinson shortly before he retired from the Royal Navy in 1920. He converted the barn into a very popular tea house and his herd of 12 cows provided the cream for the now famous "Oceans of Cream" teas. Four fields were converted into a landing strip in the 1930s. See also The Old Barn.   TELEPHONE EXCHANGE - the telephone was in its infancy when the following accident was reported in the "Tonbridge Free Press" of 1883: "On Monday (14th May) an exceedingly sad accident occurred at Hildenborough to a man named William Morton (aged 41 years), a telegraph engineer, who was employed in running a new wire from London to Tunbridge Wells. It seems he was working on a ladder near the top of one of the poles opposite the Half Moon (at the inquest a fellow telegraph engineer said that the accident occurred 'two poles distant from the Lower Cock, Hildenborough'), when the newly-erected wire slipped from the arm of the pole and struck him with great force, throwing him to the ground. It was soon found that Mr Morton had a fractured spine and he was as quickly as possible conveyed (by horse and cart) to Tunbridge Wells Infirmary, where he lingered till Friday afternoon and then succumbed to his injuries. Morton was formerly a sergeant in the Royal Engineers and had recently been drafted to this neighbourhood to join the Tonbridge contingent of postal telegraph engineers during the absence of some members on drill at Gravesend; and on Monday, the day of the accident, just before the said occurrence his wife arrived in Tonbridge from London to visit him." The first manual exchange in Hildenborough was installed at the Post Office in 1925. In 1977 the automatic telephone exchange, built in 1937 in Riding Lane (now site of the Library), became redundant as the Post Office had built a new exchange in the Tonbridge Road.   THIRST & LAST - see New Cock Inn.   TOLLGATE - or paygate, situated on the Tonbridge side of the Flying Dutchman. The charge was 1d. When the Tollkeeper's house was dismantled, the bricks were used to build the Old Forge House, Mount Pleasant. The road from River hill to Pembury was the first turnpike road to be opened in Kent, in 1709.   TREBERFYDD - Watts Cross. Original house dated 1610 with front of house added in 1820. A clay pipe dated 1860 and materials for making cricket balls were found when floors were removed in the 1960s.   The TRENCH - Coldharbour Lane. A map dated 1822 shows that Trench Farm was owned by George Wilts. In 1870 the owner was Sir Thomas Kingscote, wine-taster to Queen Victoria. Trench Convalescent Home is referred to in "Home Words" of August 1894 and 1898 when "patients entertained". In 1913, the owner was Col Charles Warner who founded the Kent Cyclist Battalion in 1909.   TRENCH WOOD - cannon balls were found here last century.   VICARAGE - described as a "neat parsonage house", was built circa 1845.   VILLAGE GREEN - land given to the Parish in 1920s by Miss Baker who lived at Old Forge House, Mount Pleasant.   VILLAGE HALL - Riding Lane. Investigations, estimates and surveys were carried out in 1968 by Mr H.M. Coleman and Mr John Ash to replace the existing Drill Hall with a new Village Hall. The Parish Council formed a committee, consisting of the above mentioned plus Messrs P. Toy, A. Langdon-Down, T. Barton and J. Simmonds, with Mr E. Holder as financial director. The new building was designed by J. Simmonds A.R.I.B.A, by October, 1969 planning consent had been received and in February, 1970 a short intensive appeal was launched to raise £30,000. All 1500 homes in the parish were visited and from covenanted gifts and donations over £18,000 was raised mostly in small amounts. To this sum was added a grant of £10,000 from the Department of Education & Science. Although short of the total required, the work was put in hand with the main contractors, John Jarvis Ltd. of Tunbridge Wells, in January, 1971. By November, the work was complete and Kent County Council had given £1,000 and the Tonbridge Rural District Council £500. The "Courier" reported in this way: "Built by the community for the community, its successful completion is a tribute to the enthusiastic efforts of local people". The new hall was designed to incorporate the existing stage, dressing rooms and kitchens, which had been rebuilt as a memorial to the victims of the Second World War, but in addition, to include a vestibule, cloakroom, toilets, library and social club. The Hall was officially opened by Philip Toy, Chairman of Tonbridge Rural District Council, on Saturday, 11th December, 1971. It was later extended on the first floor to provide two rooms rather than one and, over the years, improvements have been made to the facilities. These include insulating the building, providing double glazing in the Hall, air conditioning to the larger upstairs room and providing a disabled toilet.   VILLAGE SIGN To help celebrate the Parish Council's Centenary on June 25th and 26th 1994 a Committee was set up representing all Village organisations. As well as organising the weekend the Committee also produced ideas for the Hildenborough Village Badge, the design was later finalised by a resident Claire Knight. This had five elements and was intended to represent the various areas of the village, namely the Church, Foxbush, Riding, Stocks Green and Hilden. A sign was erected on the on the verge by Foxbush which showed the badge. Efforts were made for the sign to be placed in a prominent position at the entrance to the village opposite to the War Memorial, but unfortunately at that time the 40 m.p.h. sign was located at this point and the Local Authority could not give it's approval for the sign to be sited there, so it was moved towards Sevenoaks to what was, then, a clear area. Since 1994 the nearby tree has grown, but a lowering of the sign has not succeeded in making it more visible. VINES or Vynes - Vines Lane. Once known as Three Wents. Owned by Catherine Oliver in the first half of the 19th century, by the Misses Hodgson in 1893, in the early part of the 20th century by Mr & Mrs William Turnbull and in 1922 by Major & Mrs Charrington - "she had a riding school and taught the children simply beautifully and also how to look after a horse".   VITASAN CLINIC - Mount Pleasant/Tonbridge Road. When the doctors' surgery moved in 1971, the physiotherapy department of Sevenoaks Hospital took over the building. This closed in 1989 and was relocated at Tonbridge Cottage Hospital. Now business premises.   WAR MEMORIAL - "Home Words" reported in November, 1920 "The unveiling and dedication of the Memorial Cross took place on Tuesday, 5th October, in the presence of a large gathering of the people of Hildenborough, in perfect summer weather - an event in the life of our village which will long be gratefully remembered. At the hour of Service, behind the Cross were the Choir; to the right of the Cross stood the Bishop and Vicar, with relatives and friends of the fallen with their offerings of flowers, to the left of the Cross was Colonel Cornwallis, supported by a large gathering of ex-service men. The colonel first spoke, and then unveiled the Cross, and the Bishop after dedicating it gave his address. The prayers were said by the Vicar, and the singing was led by the Choir. We all felt it was a glorious Service of remembrance and thanksgiving - another truth to unite us in this parish as one family - a sacred gift, safe from dishonour in the guardianship of us all. "The following is a description of the Cross; The Memorial, which is from the design of Mr H. Burke Downing, F.S.A., stands at the angle of the station and high road looking towards the Church, and takes the form of a wayside Cross - after the fashion of the Iron Cross. The shaft of the Cross rises from a heavy block of Clipsham stone resting on a broad stepped base, and in the Cross-head, which is some twenty feet above the road level, is sculptured in high relief the Figure of Our Lord on the Cross, with attendant figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John. On the shaft is engraved, "Lift up your hearts", and on the base stone, "Remember the Comrades who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-1919", and the prayer, "Grant them, O Lord, eternal rest; let Light perpetual shine upon them." The names of the fallen, thirty-seven in number, are described on the side panels of the base stone. The piece of land was given by Mrs Henry Hills, and is to be turfed, and a yew hedge planted at the back. The memorial is enclosed with oak posts and chains." After the 1939-1945 World War the names of sixteen local men who gave their lives, were inscribed at the base of the memorial. The stone Cross weighs six-and-a-half tons and was hauled to its present position by Mr Fred Fermor, who was a contractor with a traction engine business. The Memorial belongs to a charity whose Trustee is the County Council.   WATTS CROSS - is the area where a small community had gathered around a shop, laundry, cricket ball factory, mill, forge and pound. Originally it had been planned to build the church here. When the railway was built, the station was first known as Watts Cross.   WEBBER'S FORGE also WEBBER'S GARAGE - "Farriers, blacksmiths and wheelwrights, also agents for Morris cars", beside the Half Moon. Mr W. J. Webber ran a taxi service from here in the 1930s. It became a popular meeting place for the menfolk in the 1940s until it closed. Became Tonbridge Motor Company, later Partners, and now Hildenborough Volvo.   WESLEYAN CHAPEL - Stocks Green Road, it opened in 1826 and closed in 1844, when the Parish Church was built.   WESTWOOD - a part of this area i.e. 8.6 acres, was bought by the Parish Council in 1982 from Mr Barkaway, with the aid of a grant from the Countryside Commission and a loan from Tonbridge & Malling District Council, for the purpose of providing a recreation area at the south end of the village (see Oakhill Cricket Ground). Another acre of land was purchased by the doctors in 1989 to build a Medical Centre, and a further 3.5 acres were acquired by the Parish Council at that time.   WHIFFINS - Nizels Lane. Three cottages, now converted into one house. In 1901 these cottages were occupied by J. Hodge, G. Dale and P. Nye.   WHITESTEPPES CAFÉ - near Whitesteppes on London Road. "Morning coffee, lunches, teas, suppers, cream ices, etc. Large parking space for cars and coaches." Open in 1930s. Between 1940 and 1943, it was owned by Major and Mrs Smith.   WINDMILL - a smock mill constructed in 1812 by Budgen of Speldhurst for John London, on land belonging to the family at Watts Cross. All wheels and cogs were made of wood and the cap was turned by hand. It remained in the family until 1829. Records show that in 1841 the miller was John Wright, in 1848 Thomas Blackwell, circa 1860 Mr Uridge and in 1878 Richard Burfoot. It was sold in 1909 at the Fairhill sale for £1010 to the Misses Yeldham who turned the land into a private garden, after the mill ceased working in 1910. When the Home Guard was formed in 1940, the mill was used as their observation post. Dismantled in 1961, only the brick base now remains in the garden of Mill House, Mill Lane, home of Dr & Mrs Glaisher. There is reference in 1658 to another windmill when John Nicholls, a miller of Westerham, sold six parcels of land bounding to Nizels Hoath. The mill stood in Windmill field.   ZAREBA - is the house now built on the site first selected for building the church, on the corner of Mill Lane and London Road. It is said that the plan of the church was actually pegged out on the ground in the field immediately to the north of the house.   People - (Back to content list) Fred G. BALCOMBE - (1890 - 1976). For 35 years, from 1929 - 1964, he was Clerk to the Parish Council. In 1929 he was Chief Officer of the local fire brigade. A skilled shoemaker, he had a shop called "Cobblers" overlooking the Village Green. Later he took over the adjoining grocer's shop and off-licence which had been run by Mrs Haines and called it the Handy shop. He was Hildenborough's first "lollipop" man, seeing the children safely across the main road during the 1950s.   Charles BARKAWAY (1852-1939) He lived at Abnerley Villa, next to his butchers shop- now an office ( 2006)- on the corner of Tonbridge Road and Half Moon Lane which had a slaughterhouse at the rear. He also owned substantial areas of land and property in the district.   Rev. William Henry BASS, M.A., B.D. - Vicar of Hildenborough from 1935 - 1939. In 1938, the land adjoining the churchyard was bought and he worked hard to raise money for this purpose.   Rev. Robert J. BAWTREE Vicar between 1991 and 2004. He was ordained at Canterbury in 1967, and after three curacies he became team vicar with the Bramerton Group in Norfolk. Before coming to Hildenborough he was Rector of Arborfield and Barkham, Berkshire.   R.A. BOSANQUET - during the 1890s, the family lived at Mardens, Philpots Lane. He was a lay reader and Vicar's Church Warden from 1899 to 1906. He took a keen interest in life in the village and in 1895 he supplied the cricketing requisites for St. John's Cricket Club, newly-formed for the youth of the village. When the Gardeners' Society was formed in 1896, he was the first chairman. His wife held Bible Classes for maid servants on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. and in 1895, together with Miss Lawson and the Vicar's wife, founded a branch of the Mother's Union. In 1896 when the church was reopened after restoration, Mr and Mrs Bosanquet supplied 150 hymn books for parishioners.   Rev. M.J.T. BOYS, M.A. - Vicar of Hildenborough from 1881 - 1894. He came to Hildenborough in 1879 as curate, and upon the death of Rev. E. Vinall in November 1880, succeeded him as Vicar. The Rev. Boys introduced the first issue of "Home Words" in this way: "In circulating the first issue of "Home Words" in which it is proposed to give information every month concerning the Parish of St John, Hildenborough, thereby constituting it a Parish magazine, it seemed right to introduce it with a few words from your Vicar. Originally a small hamlet of Tonbridge, Hildenborough is now a separate Ecclesiastical parish. When the Church was consecrated by the then Bishop of Rochester, Bishop Murray (but was subsequently transferred to the See of Canterbury), I happened to be serving my first curacy at Holy Trinity, Maidstone and as I had never witnessed the consecration of a Church, came over to see it. I little thought at the time that I should ever be the Incumbent of Hildenborough." For 5 years, from 1889 - 1894, he had a curate to assist him in the parish, the Rev. Walter H. Brown who lived at Chestnut Cottage. In 1893 Mrs Boys ably superintended the soup kitchen which was "a great means of alleviating the sufferings of the poor of the parish". When Mr and Mrs Boys retired to Brighton in 1894 he was presented with a gold watch and Mrs Boys received a piece of blue china.   Gentle BROWN - of Nizels. One of the members of the Committee of Management formed in 1842 to plan and organise the building of Hildenborough Church. Also resident at the house in 1845 were Peter Brown, Surgeon and Rev. Thomas Brown, 2nd master at the Grammar School in Tonbridge.   Wm. CASTLE - owned the bakery at 170 Tonbridge Road. In 1904, he was secretary of the Institute and Slate Club.   Lord Arthur and Lord Lionel CECIL - owners of Orchard Mains, Coldharbour Lane and Horns Lodge Farm at the turn of the century. They are among the 24 persons/establishments listed in the Tonbridge telephone directory of 1898-9, and the only ones in Hildenborough. In 1900, Lord Arthur was appointed a member of the horse breeding committee in India as the English expert.   Rev. L.G. CHAMBERLEN, M.C., M.A., Hon. C.F. - Vicar from 1924 - 1934. during the First World War, he served on the Somme was Senior Chaplain with the Tank Corps and was awarded the Military Cross. He was the first young vicar to come to Hildenborough and his daughter, Pamela, was the first child to be born at the vicarage, although it had been built 60 years previously. A fine all-round sportsman he did much for the Hildenborough Cricket Club, and his prowess as a billiards player was well-known to members of the Men's Club.   CHILDREN family - son of George Children, born at Ferox Hall,Tonbridge in 1777, who with his friend Sir Humphrey Davy (inventor of the safety lamp) built the gunpowder mill near Ramhurst on the boundaries of Tonbridge, Leigh and Hildenborough in October 1812. See also Power Mill Lane.   Ewan CHRISTIAN - architect of Hildenborough Church. This was his first commission. He also designed St Stephen's Church, Tonbridge and the school in Riding Lane.   Sir Henry COOPER - the heavy weight boxer came to live in the village when the Hildenbrook Farm development replaced Princess Christian Hospital.   Rev. David R. CORFE - Vicar from 1980 - 1990. During this time restoration work was carried out on the church building and the organ. Four curates helped in the Parish during that time: Rev. Simon Stephenson until 1982, Rev. Barry Edmunds, 1982 - 1986, Rev. Alan Tostevin, 1986 - 1989 and Rev. Simon Jones from 1989.   Chas CROWHURST - coachbuilder, wheelwright and blacksmith at Webber's Forge beside the Half Moon. He was elected to the Parish Council in 1898. He lived at Fir Side, London Road, and owned other property in the district.   Roger CUNCLIFFE - (1856 - 1922). Lived at Meopham Bank. Elected to serve on first Parish Council, 1894. Appointed as Hildenborough trustee for Leigh Charities, 1895. Vicar's Warden, 1898. The brass cross and a pair of brass altar vases were given to the church by his wife, Bertha, in 1896. They moved away from the village in 1899. The Roger Cuncliffe Memorial prize is awarded each year at the village school, Riding Lane, to the best boy and best girl, in memory of his son, Roger, who died in 1898, aged 11, from measles followed by influenza. Bertha died in 1964, aged 100 years.   Lord DERBY - owned substantial property in Hildenborough from 1870-1909, including Fairhill estate and properties in Riding Lane and Coldharbour Lane. Derby Close is named after him.   FELLOWES WILSON - this family moved to Hildenborough in the early years of this century and lived at Oak Lodge on the corner of Tonbridge Road and Leigh Road. Mrs Fellowes Wilson was well known to many residents of the village as she was a parish visitor and spent much time visiting the sick and elderly. Mr John Temple Fellowes Wilson was a lay reader and died in 1937. There is a memorial plaque in the church. Their daughter Miss Hilda Wilson opened a children's home in the house in 1948. Fellowes Way and Wilson Close are named after this family.   Mrs Margery FINZI - (1897 - 1978). Founder of the Hildenborough Youth Club and actively involved in the organisation of the Darby & Joan club when Mrs Davison left the area. She lived for many years at Forge Farm, Riding Lane. The upper room at the Village Hall has been named in her memory.   Charles FITCH KEMP, J.P., D.L. - while visiting Mr Lawson at Bourne Place with his friend Mr J.H. Johnson, they saw the Mountains estate for sale, which they bought and divided between them. Mr Johnson rebuilt Mountains and Mr Fitch Kemp lived at Little Foxbush with his wife Sarah and their two eldest children, while he built Foxbush in 1866. He had 10 children and a staff of 20 servants and 6 gardeners. The gardens, park and shrubberies were laid out by George Bennett who worked on the estate until his death in 1882. The "Tonbridge Free Press" of 1877 gives an account of the celebrations to mark the 21st birthday of the eldest son C. W. Middleton Kemp: 3000 lamps decorated the gardens and gatehouse; the elite of the village and Tonbridge attended the ball; the staff gave him a silver hunting flask; and at 10.30pm the Tonbridge Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived, the engine in full steam, and gave a tableau and fireworks display. Mr Fitch Kemp was the first chairman of the Parish Council when it was formed in 1894. Between 1869 and 1907 he was People's Church warden and in 1895 was chairman of the Church Restoration Committee. Many fittings and furnishings in the church were given by the family, including a brass book stand, altar vases and altar frontals. The windows in the west wall of the church, depicting the saints of England, Scotland and Ireland were a gift from his many friends when he died in 1907, aged 78 years. When the estate was sold in 1912, Mrs Sarah Fitch Kemp with three daughters, Kathleen, Ethel and Maud, leased Mardens. After Sarah died in 1921 in her 90th year, the three unmarried daughters moved to Little Foxbush. Grandson Geoffrey Charteris, a naval cadet, died at Osborne in 1917, aged 13 years. He was the son of the youngest daughter, Dorothy, who married Mr William Duncan in August 1899.   Harold FITCH KEMP - donated the oak eagle lectern to the Church in 1896.   L. R. A. FITZ - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1931 - 1952.   Rev. A. R. FOUNTAIN - Vicar from 1951 - 1959. He was married just one month before his institution as vicar of this parish and a daughter, Elisabeth Anne, was born in 1956. During his time here, the dream of a church hall became a reality in 1956.   Thomas FRANCIS - (1791 - 1879). He lived at the Poplars (now called The Cottage, Watts Cross), a house/shop which had belonged to the Francis family since the 17th century and remained so until the early 1960s. Mr Francis was the Surveyor of Highways and Highway Rate Collector for Tonbridge Parish. It is interesting to note that in 1843, a man's daily wage for stone-breaking and highway clearing was 1s.8d. (8p approximately) for an 11-hour day! His wife Jane, ran the shop, the only one between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks prior to 1881, when it closed. He was the Minister at the Wesleyan chapel in Stocks Green Road until Hildenborough church was built and circa 1853 he became a church warden. His eldest son Thomas, was a cricket ball maker and foreman at Dark's cricket ball factory.   John FRANCIS - (1838 - 1908). Second son of Thomas Francis. He was a councillor on the first Parish Council in 1894 and re-elected in 1898. A member of the first committee of the Gardeners' Society in 1896, and also on the Church Restoration Committee that year. For 36 years he was Inspector of Weights & Measures. During that time he covered 100,000 miles in one trap, though he had three horses. He was an ardent gardener and poultry fancier.   Edwin (Ted) FRANCIS - Grandson of Thomas Francis. He was an active member of the Church, serving on the Parochial Church Council, a sidesman and also a member of the choir. For many years he was chairman of the Gardeners' Society and responsible for many successful flower shows. A member of the Parish Council, he was an authority on the history and geography of the Parish, being associated with local government administration for over 50 years. In 1901 he was gardener to R.G.T. Nevins at Pembroke Lodge. He specialised in irises. He was also the local agent for the Sun Fire Insurance Co. and the Tunbridge Wells Equitable Friendly Society. In 1911 he conducted a census for the parish. He moved from the area during the 1950s. Francis Road is named after this local family.   Rev. E. W. FRASER - Vicar during the very difficult years of the Second World War. With many of his congregation engaged in war work or in the forces, with the blackout requiring constant changes in times of services and air raids causing disruption to the normal routine of the village, he did much to keep the life of the Church as normal as possible. He was here from 1939-1951 and for some of the time was assisted by the Rev. F. Cecil Smith who lived at Oakgates, Leigh Road. Between 1946 and 1950 he was chairman of the Parish Council. The gathering arranged to say farewell to the Rev. & Mrs Fraser was "so quickly turned into the saddest of occasions" with the sudden death of Mr John Coutanche who had served the Church in various capacities for 17 years.   Tom FRIEND - known in the area as Tinker Tom. With his pony and trap he toured the area, peddling his wares including kettles, saucepans and other ironware which he made himself. He also sold cane chairs. He lived in one of a pair of cottages on the corner of Coldharbour Lane and Tonbridge Road, which were demolished late 1920s. He died in 1927, aged 84 years, and is buried in the churchyard.   Robert GOODHUGH - Yeoman. Owned much land in the early 17th century. In 1614 he sold Mansers and Lemmans, which he had bought from Sir Francis Fane, to Roger Nicholl (alias Webb) for the sum of £22. In 1634 he was churchwarden at Tonbridge Parish Church. When he died in the 1660s, he owned land around Noble Tree Cross which he had bought from William Saxby of Leigh.   Leslie R. HAISELL - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1952-1979. During this time, the school was extended and a swimming pool was added. School Journeys for 4th year pupils and Saturday morning visits to Robert Mayer concerts in London were introduced. In the sixties the number of pupils increased to an all time high, so a second primary school was built in Stocks Green Road.   Frederick HARE - member of the Committee of Management set up in 1842 to look into the possibility of Hildenborough having its own church. He lived at Oakhill House.   Edwin HENDRY - (1861 - 1953). As a young man he was apprenticed to a grocer in Tunbridge Wells. He married Emma Brown, daughter of Ed Brown the publican of the Gate and they lived at Rochford, Tonbridge Road. Their two sons, Monty and Patrick, went tobacco farming in Nyasaland in the 1920s. In 1894, he was a member of the first Parish Council and in 1896, a member of the first committee of the Gardeners' Society. From 1907 he was People's Church warden for 45 years, during which time "he gave his faithful help to seven vicars". Until 1996 his name appeared on the village Post Office in London Road which he bought, along with two adjoining cottages, for the sum of £460, when C. Fitch Kemp's estate was sold in 1912. See also Post Office.   John Frederick HERRING - lived at Meopham Bank for 12 years from 1853 - 1865, and many of his paintings include farm buildings and animals from there. Because of asthma and gout, he was pushed around in a wheelchair. He is buried in the churchyard (almost opposite the vestry door), together with his wife and much loved son. In 1965 the owner of Meopham Bank, Lady Violet MacFadyen, held an exhibition of his paintings in his old home to mark the centenary of his death. Many of his descendants and their friends gathered to honour him.   A. HILLIER - Headmaster of the primary school, Stocks Green Road from when it opened in January, 1969, until 1977.   Mrs HILLS (nee Helen Georgie Fitch Kemp) - lived at Bourne Place from April, 1893 until 1918. Her husband died in 1895. In 1896, when the church was restored, she donated the oak pulpit. By 1919, when she became the first president of the Hildenborough Women's Institute, she lived at Crossways. She became the first woman magistrate on the Tonbridge bench in 1922. She died in 1937, aged 71 years. See also Mrs Henry Hills Memorial Cottage.   Horace H. HITCHCOCK - was a ball-maker employed by Robert Dark at Treberfydd until 1875, when he opened his own ball-making shop which continued in his name until the 1940s, when it was taken over by Gray-Nicholls Ltd. In 1894, he was a member of the first Parish Council and when the Gardeners' Society was formed in 1896, he was vice-chairman. He died in 1915.   R.F. HODDER - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1913 - 1931. During this time the playground was constructed. The compilers of the Church Centenary booklet (1944), made the comment that "many of the Hildenborough men now serving their country passed through the school during this time; their fine record of distinguished and devoted service owes much to his influence and training". From 1917-1921 he was Parish Clerk.   Dame Kelly HOLMES The double Olympic champion of 2005 was brought up in Hildenborough and still lives in the Village.   W. HOLMWOOD - Builder and undertaker, with premises on the site of the present Chemist shop. His bill for the funeral expenses of the late Mr (John) Francis, dated may 5th 1908, reads thus; Coffin & attendance £3.0.0., one horse hearse £1.1.0, bearers 16s and Church fees 11s total £5.8.0. In 1901, he was treasurer of the Slate Club.   F.W.H. HUNT, F.R.I.B.A. - Architect appointed in 1895 to remodel and transform the interior of the church. Married Mary Louisa, one of the daughters of the Reverend Edward Vinall, the first incumbent.   J.H. JOHNSON - (1827 - 1900). He bought the Mountains estate. Pulled down the old farmhouse and built Mountains in 1866. He had married Frances Lawson in 1856 and of their 8 children only two married, and one grandchild was born. For 30 years from 1867-1898, he was Vicar's Warden and for the last 10 years of his life he was a semi-invalid. The main three-light stained-glass window in the sanctuary of the church, was given by Mr and Mrs Johnson in memory of their eldest daughter, Frances Ann, who died in 1897, aged 39 years. She had been an active worker in the Sunday school and in the management of the Clothing and Coal Club.   G.W. JOHNSON - third son of the above. He was elected to the Parish Council in 1894, becoming chairman from 1907-1938, he was a member of the committee which organised the restoration of the church. Vicar's Warden from 1906-1943 and a licensed lay reader for 47 years. He was associated with the Village Players whose productions became widely famous. He took a prominent part in most events which were connected with the welfare of the community, including Captain of the C.L.B. (Church Lads Brigade) and Superintendent of the Sunday School. He died in 1945 aged 78 years.   Sir Thomas KINGSCOTE - while owner of the Trench, Coldharbour Lane, he would invite local people to special services held in the private chapel at his house. In 1870 he was wine taster to Queen Victoria. When the church was restored in 1896, he and his wife gave alms dish (still in use today) and 100 hymn books for the poor. They left the village in 1899.   LAWSON family - lived at Bourne Place, Nizels Lane, for over 50 years. The stained glass window in the south transept of the church was a gift of the Lawson family in memory of Ann, wife of William, who died in 1863, aged 65 years. William Norton Lawson and his wife Frances are commemorated in one of the series of 8 stained-glass windows in the nave which were inserted between 1903 and 1911, and two commemorate Mary Ann who died in 1906. The font cover, designed by Mr Burke Downing, who also designed the oak panelling in the choir stalls, was given in memory of "Ellen Anne Lawson at rest 17th April, 1933" aged 96 years.   Rev. Thomas MAY - Vicar of Leigh from 1830 - 1876, who owned much land in Leigh and Hollanden. He donated "one acre of land and £50 towards the purchase of another acre for the site of the Church, Parsonage House and School, etc."   M.C. MORRIS - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1897-1913. Writing in the Hildenborough Parish Church Centenary booklet in 1944, he recalls the 200 children between the ages of 3 and 13 years in this way: "Generally speaking they were truly representative of their homes. The sturdy independence of the cricket ball makers, the refinement of the estate employees, the stolid, matter-of-fact outlook of the agricultural workers, plus the varied interests of a sprinkling of artisans, made a happy blend and resulted in a community of children who were sensitive, receptive and critical." The local newspaper reported that on 19th March, 1903 he saved one of his pupils, 3-year-old Alfred Bartlett, from drowning in the pond close to the school. During his years at the school the children were introduced to nature study, gardening and beekeeping, and encouraged to take part in sports, singing and music.   Sir Philip MORRIS, C.B.E., M.A., LL.D. - son of the above-mentioned. He attended the school during the time that his father was headmaster and his mother was the infants' mistress. Sir Philip returned to the school 50 years later to perform the opening ceremony of the new extension in June, 1964, when he was Vice-Chancellor of Bristol University.   Sir Richard NICHOLSON - owner of Oakhill House in the 1870s until the early 1900s. He entertained many well-known political figures of the day and also played his part in village affairs.   PARISH NURSE - Nurse Currie was the first parish nurse and came to the village in 1894; she was followed by Nurse Welch in 1895 and these rules for her are quoted in "Home Words" of that year: The persons employing the nurse for confinement cases are to lodge her if necessary, and let her share their food, and to pay for her serves at the following rates: Farmers and trades-people 5s per week, Cottagers 3s per week. Notice must be given 3 months beforehand for a confinement. When night nursing is required, the nurse shall have some hours rest during the day, and shall be off duty one night in three. The nurse will undertake occasional nursing, dressing wounds, burns, etc. For this a charge of 6d a day or night will be made. Should she attend for a week 1s 6d is charged. On no account must she attend infectious cases. Payments must be made in advance to the District Visitor except in cases of emergency. In no case must the nurse receive her fees, or any gratuity. At one time, there was a voluntary savings scheme which enabled families to contribute weekly to meet nursing costs when needed.   D. PERRY - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1979-1990.   Rev. R.L.G. PIDCOCK, M.A. - Vicar of this parish from 1894-1900. During this time the church was completely restored, the school was enlarged and the Institute was bought for the parish. He set up a Mission Room at Nizels Farm Cottage, Nizels Lane and also gave religious instruction at the village school. The infants loved him; he had such kind eyes and a lovely smile. He died, aged 55 years, in December 1900 and is buried in the churchyard. There is a memorial window in the church depicting the Good Shepherd. Another window, in memory of his wife Louisa, was given by the women of the parish.   Rev. Stanley PLUNKET - Vicar from 1962 - 1968.   Jack SADLER - joined the Church choir as a boy and remained a member for 66 years. In 1969 he became Verger. As a young man he was roundsman for Wm. Castle the baker and it was while delivering bread to Hollanden Park that he met Alison his wife, who was a kitchen maid there at the time. He died in 1982, aged 78, and a memorial seat has been placed against the south wall of the church.   Rev. F.A. & Mrs STEWART SAVILE - lived at Hollanden Park for 13 years from 1894 - 1907. The annual school festival was held at their home in 1896. They provided seats in the school playground in 1898. He gave a silver watch annually to the Sunday school pupil who gained the highest marks in a written examination of the lessons taught during the year. There are memorial windows in the church to the Rev. Stewart Savile who died in 1907, aged 87 years, and Sophia his wife who died in 1904.   Frederick G. SMITH - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1847 - 1873. It is recorded that the managers had to reprove Mr Smith in this way, "That while the Managers approvingly acknowledged the devotion of the Master to the School and the advancement of the scholars, they must seriously advert to a fresh instance of unguarded and excessive punishment, and admonish the Master of its inevitable tendency to bring discredit on himself and disrepute to the School".   H.J. SPARKES - Headmaster of the primary school, Riding Lane from 1874 till he resigned in 1897. During that time, as his own children grew up, they were found places on the staff and when he left, no less than 6 of them were, or had been, members of staff. A purse containing £16.12.0 subscribed by some of the parents of the scholars and the residents of Hildenborough, was presented to Mr and Mrs Sparkes before they left the parish. In 1892, the headmaster's salary was £80 per annum.   R.A.R. STAMPER - gave the lighting in the nave of the church in memory of his wife Marie who died in 1942, aged 48 years.   Rev. J. STONE - Vicar from 1901 - 1918. in 1910, he appointed Mr S.L. Stonely to be organist and choirmaster. Two years later, the Rev A. H. Strand became his curate. When in 1913, the Church choir won the St. Cecilia banner at the West Kent Music Festival for sacred music for the third time in succession, they were allowed to keep it and it is still in the church today.   S. Lovell STONELY - was appointed organist and choirmaster in 1910, a post that he held for more than 50 years, during which time he served 6 vicars. In 1954 Mr Stonely and members of the choir made two short recordings for a BBC television documentary film called "War in the Air". One recording came in a Harvest Festival sequence, and the other in a scene of soldiers singing carols in the desert. The film was produced by the son of Mr H.B. Elliot, who became a churchwarden in 1955. Mr Stonely was a keen cricketer and became captain of the local club in 1932. He died in 1973, aged 88 years.   Rev. G.A.R. SWANNELL - Vicar from 1968 - 1980. During this time the extension to the church hall was built. Two curates assisted him, Rev. Karl Wiggins from 1972 - 1976, followed by Rev. Simon Stephenson who left in 1982.   Rev. P. TADMAN - Vicar from 1960 - 1962 when he died, aged 41 years. He is buried in the churchyard.   Thomas THORNE - was Parish Clerk and Verger for 22 years. A cricket ball maker in employment of H.H. Hitchcock at Mount Pleasant, he lived at Gresham Villa, Half Moon Lane. He died five weeks after his wife in 1902, aged 55 years. His son, A. Thorne, who lived at Oak Cottage, Mount Pleasant, succeeded him as Parish Clerk and Verger.   Commander A. W. TOMLINSON - a man of many parts. As well as owning the Old Barn teahouse, he owned an old Thames barge, the Saucy Skipper, trading between Tonbridge and the mouth of the Thames. He was Captain of the local volunteer Fire Brigade and used his old Wolseley car to tow the pump. During the Second World War, he was a member of the Home Guard. He was a coal merchant and owner of the petrol station with refreshment room attached called the Boiling Kettle. See also Old Barn.   Philip H. TOY - was Chairman of the Parish Council from 1965 - 1981 and an Hon. Alderman of Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council in 1974. A founder of the Friends of Kent Churches; he was secretary from 1949 - 1968. From 1975 - 1983 he served on the Rochester Diocesan Advisory Committee and on the Committee for the Protection of Rural Kent from 1950 - 1976. He died in 1993.   TREE WARDEN - Trees for Kent was set up after the 1987 hurricane, to keep alive in people's minds the need to plant more trees and look after them. A request for volunteers to be tree wardens resulted in Richard Walkley becoming the first tree warden for this parish. Two tree nurseries have been established in local schools, at Riding Lane and Bourne Place.   Rev. Edward VINALL - was the first Vicar of the Parish of Hildenborough, from 1844 until his death in 1880, at the age of 77 years. There was commemorative windows in the church dedicated to himself, his wife Letitia, and two daughters, Frances Letitia Dummelow (destroyed 1944) and Mary Louisa Hunt. He is described in early records as "perpetual curate". The average number of persons attending Divine Service during the twelve months of 1851 was 330 at the morning service and 260 in the evening. He is buried in the churchyard.   Rev. E. H. WADE - Vicar from 1934 - 1935. He came in July while still a bachelor and stayed at Hollanden Farm. After this marriage in September, he moved into the vicarage where his son was born in July, 1935. (His daughter Virginia, Wimbledon Ladies Champion 1977, was born 10 years later.) He left in September to take up an appointment as Chaplain of the Oxford Pastorate.   Rev. H. WARDE - Vicar from 1918 - 1924. During these 6 years following the First World War, the W.I. was formed, also the Parochial Church Council, the War Memorial erected, the churchyard extended, a billiard room added to the Institute and kitchens added to the Drill Hall. He is remembered for his ability as a preacher and his "genial and handsome presence". He died eleven days after his wife Eleanor.   Lieut. Col. C.E. WARNER, O.B.E. - founder of the Kent Cyclist Battalion in 1908. His father was a well-known Tonbridge solicitor and his mother was the daughter of J.F. Herring of Meopham Bank. In 1913 he lived at The Trench, Coldharbour Lane but later moved to Bassetts, Mill Lane where he died in 1937. His widow and family gave a processional cross to the Church in his memory. The Kent Cyclist Battalion was formed for coast defence work, but in November, 1915, they were reformed as an infantry battalion prior to departure for India in February, 1916. They were disbanded in 1920.   Pastor WELLS - Minister at the Gospel Hall for over 40 years, he retired in 1927. He lived at "The Chestnuts" on the corner of Mount Pleasant and Tonbridge Road. Later this was an off-licence, then an estate agents and now (2006) an office.   Robert WINGATE, J.P. - rebuilt The Bank in 1873 and called it Oakhurst, where he lived for 27 years. He was the first man in the village to drive a motor car, which often broke down and he had to send for a horse. In 1895, he became a District Councillor and was instrumental in arranging for a "pay station" in the village, for those who were in receipt of Parish relief. Formerly the poor had to walk, or send someone to fetch their pay from Leigh or Tonbridge. He was also chairman of the Tonbridge Rural District Council, treasurer of Hildenborough Parish Council, treasurer of Hildenborough National Schools, trustee of Smythe's Charity and a "splendid chess player". He died in 1906, aged 70 years and there are two memorial windows in the west wall of the church; a single light (St. Raphael) given by his wife, Bertha and the bullseye window above (St. Michael).   Bobby WOODMAN - he was about 4ft tall, well-known and well-loved in the locality, a greengrocer and pimp maker about 100 years ago. Pimp was a term for a faggot or bundle of firewood. He started his working life as an apprentice at the Uridge windmill, Watts Cross. Although small in stature with disproportionately short legs, he was very strong and when he worked at the mill he carried sacks of wheat without effort. He died in 1892, aged 46 years, and is buried in the churchyard with other members of his family.   Frank WOOLLEY - Kent and England cricketer. He was capped 64 times for England and retired in 1938. He lived at Oakfield, Stocks Green Road where he ran an indoor cricket training school from 1931 until the Second World War.   Incidents and Events - (Back to content list) AIRCRAFT & BOMBS - Here are two eyewitness accounts recorded by Miss May Chaplin: "During the war years there were many incidents in Hildenborough, caused by aircraft, bombs and guns; but, thank God, there were few casualties. I will record just two of these incidents. One was in the earlier years of the War. A Sunday morning at the time of the 8 o'clock Holy Communion Service. We are kneeling at the altar rail, then the deafening noise of an aeroplane coming over the village very, very low. What was going to happen? Was Hildenborough going to be wiped out? Then a horrible thud, and then silence. What had happened? We thanked God we were safe. A British airman had been shot* and killed, and the plane had come lower and lower until it came on the ground at the rear of the Half Moon Inn." See also The Half Moon. "Then in the summer of 1944 - tea-time on a July day - the Vicar and wife out to tea - suddenly a bomb fell on the Recreation Ground. No one was hurt, but very few village folk had much to eat that tea-time, for ceilings came down on the food, and bits of doors and windows were blown up garden paths. The most damage was done to the Church and Vicarage. At the Church the three large stained-glass windows in the north transept were smashed to fragments, and at the Vicarage the French window towards the lawn was broken in pieces and scattered all over the room." (Plain glass was fitted in it's place remaining until June 1994 when new stained glass windows were installed to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Church being built.) Another resident, a schoolboy at the time, recalls three other incidents. In the early 1940s, a German aircraft was forced to land at the Old Barn airfield. It was brought up to the Half Moon where the wings were cut back so it could be taken by road through Sevenoaks to a dismantling depot at Sundridge. Another German aircraft was brought down by our night fighters and fell on the greenhouses at Hollanden Park, then occupied by Rachel McMillan Training College. Of the many incendiary bombs which fell, on one occasion a fuel train had stopped for the night in the down sidings at Hildenborough station and incendiary bombs fell beside the train but did not explode. Of the V1 Flying Bombs or Doodlebugs landing in buzz-bomb alley," reports a local paper. " eleven landed in or near Tonbridge and 98 in surrounding villages". By the time a map was published in the Kent Messenger in September 1944 15 V1s had landed in Hildenborough. One landed in Cow Park between Stocks Green Road and London (now Tonbridge) Road. *The cause of the crash is not known but was possibly due to anoxia - "The Battle of Britain, Then & Now"   BEATING THE BOUNDS - An account recorded by Edwin Francis of an old custom revived in November, 1923: "The members of the Parish Council were interested in the boundary of the Parish so it was decided to walk the boundary. A small service was held in the church at 9.00 am, then a party of about 30 led by E. Francis and A. Smith made for the starting point: the Roundhouse near the Grenadier public house. All landowners were notified that the party was coming. At 10.00 am A.F. Buxton Esq., was waiting at the Roundhouse with maps, etc., to conduct the party through his property. From Tinley Lodge to Hoad Wood a little time was wasted trying to find a boundary stone in Dene Park Wood - then on to Horns Lodge and Frogs Bridge; here we met a gamekeeper, who was trying to throw his weight about and wanted to send us back, but when shown a permit from the owner we were able to go on peacefully to Cage Farm. When getting over a prickly fence a member of the Girl Guides made a jump and landed in a dirty ditch. After a halt cleaning her down, on to Tile Barn corner, turning then to Little Trench and High Hilden, and over London Road to Hawden Farm, and to the Plough Inn. Here Mr J. Mackney had been waiting for one-and-a-half hours to give us a good meal, which we had in a field: we had made a mistake with our times! After our meal it started to rain, and on we went to Lower Street Farm and the Blue Anchor public house. Here we met a member of Sevenoaks R.D.C. who told us we were not on the boundary line; he agreed it was not worth the trouble climbing the hedge in two places for a small corner in the field. Still raining, and on to Old House Farm and the railway arch Irons Lane, to Elses Farm; here we found a boundary stone and the nearest boy to the stone was caught and had his head bumped on the stone - he received 6d. for this bump! On then through Stoney Wood to Morley's Hut. Here we made a stop, everybody wet through and arranged to carry on the following Saturday. Starting again with a few more followers, on we went to Rumstead Farm (now St. Julian's). Here was a stone that connected three parishes; the usual bumping and a photo taken of the party. On then to Kentlands, Great Hollanden Farm and Stone Cottages, Grenadier. Here the boundary runs through the middle of four cottages, so some of us went through one of the middle ones and some through the other. On then to the Roundhouse where we started the week before."   BOER WAR - In 1899, Fred Dolding and George Seal left this parish to serve Queen and Country in South Africa. In September 1902, a dinner was given by the Institute to welcome home all the soldiers from this parish who had returned from the front. They were: Corporal Wm. Garrett and Privates Harry Bardon, Fred Dolding, Jesse Porter, Fred Dale, Walter Dale, James Longley and Walter Clements.   CORONATION OF EDWARD VII - To celebrate the occasion, the following programme was arranged for Saturday, 9th August, 1902: 1.30 Divine Service at the Parish Church 2.15 Procession to Cricket Field, headed by Band 2.45 Sports, Prizes, Punch & Judy performances 4.30 Children's tea 5.45 Adults' tea 6.30 Dancing 9.00 Fireworks 9.45 Torchlight Procession. A band was in attendance throughout the afternoon and there were stalls for sweets and light refreshments. Provisions for the teas included 168 lbs. ham; 290 lbs. beef; 90 lbs. mutton; 124 loaves and 224 cakes. The total number provided with tea was 1147.   CORONATION OF GEORGE V - To mark the Coronation on 22nd June, 1911, 404 mugs were distributed to all children under 14 years and 1182 men, women and children sat down to tea.   CORONATION OF GEORGE VI - 12th May 1937. In the morning, following the distribution of medals to the school children, there was a parade and church service. In the afternoon May Queen, Joan Fox, was crowned and after maypole dancing, everyone processed to the recreation ground, where she planed a Coronation tree. Sports, tea and entertainment followed. During the evening, there were fireworks and a bonfire, followed by a dance in the Drill Hall. Throughout the evening, free beer was provided by Major Charrington of Vines.   CORONATION OF ELIZABETH II - The festivities arranged to celebrate the coronation on 2nd June, 1953 commenced with a parade, followed by a fancy dress competition, judged by Mrs C. Charrington and Mrs G. Fraser. Sports were arranged on the recreation ground by Mr L. Haisell and parents, and the W.I. provided tea for about 450 in the Drill Hall. The children were then entertained by a magician and a Punch & Judy show. A 20-foot high bonfire erected by the Gardeners' Society on the recreation ground was lit at 9.45pm and the British Legion was responsible for the fireworks display which followed. Mr Woodhams and Miss Moore organised the decorations throughout the village, and the day ended with a dance in the Drill Hall.   EMPIRE DAY - was celebrated by the village in the primary school playground on 24th May each year, from 1902 to 1959. Two May Queens were present (the old and the new), and all the 5-year-old girls who wishes to be attendants wore long dresses, white for the new queen and pink for the old. One girl was chosen by the staff of the school to be the flower fairy, who presented bouquets to the Queens and to the local dignitary. A fancy dress parade was held, with dancing round the maypole and entertainment for the village audience. Empire Day commemorated the assistance given by the colonies in the Boer War, and is now known as Commonwealth Day.   FESTIVAL WEEKS - from 9th - 14th October 1961 and 23rd May - 12th June 1965. The Festival week in October 1961 was held to raise money to provide adequate heating, stacked chairs and storage accommodation for the Village Hall, Riding Lane. The festival provide entertainment for all ages: events included table tennis and darts tournaments, whilst drives, bingo, Scottish songs and dancing by the schoolchildren, convent pupils and keep-fit class, a quiz, a play by the Masque Players, a jumble sale, scouting display and a dance. The W.I. held a fair. A total of £359 was raised. The slogan for the week was "Help to swell the week's receipts for better heat and seats". The 1965 festival started with a church service. Events included an art and photographic competition, whist drive, bingo, jumble sale, keep-fit display, a play by the Masque Players, music and dancing displays, children's sports, cricket match, barbecue, baby show and a dance held at the Green Rabbit. The festival raised £461.16s.6d. of which £327.2s.0d. was spent on installing proscenium curtains, repairing brickwork, painting the kitchen and lowering the ceiling in the Village Hall. The slogan for the week was "Renovation, Modernisation and Decoration". This festival was planned to coincide with the centenary of one of Hildenborough's most distinguished former residents - John Frederick Herring.   FIRST WORLD WAR - By September, 1914, there were 30 young men from the village serving in the Royal Navy and land forces. Older men were encouraged to become Special Constables. One of their tasks was to guard the railway bridges and some members of the Boys' Brigade joined these patrols. Weekly work parties started in October, 1915 in the Drill Hall to provide hospital requisites and when the War Work Depot closed in 1919, which by then was affiliated to the surgical branch of Queen Mary's Needlework Guild, the work accomplished included 5337 bandages, 470 pairs. Slippers, 1029 treasure bags, 390 pairs. Socks, 274 pairs, mine sweepers' gloves and 837 various other items. At Christmas 1915, 137 men received parcels containing 1/2 lb. chocolates, a tin of bullseyes, 50 cigarettes and for those in England, a plum pudding. The plum pudding was replaced by a pair of socks for those me on foreign service. Also in 1915, a National Egg Collection commenced and in the first month, 1171 eggs were sent from Hildenborough, for distribution to hospitals with sick and wounded soldiers. By May, 1916, 5661 eggs had been sent. A Government appeal in 1916 for women to offer their services for work on the land, resulted in the registration of 61 women who were willing to help farmers if required. A jam scheme started in 1918, produced 4048 lbs. jam and resulted in a profit of over £50. The Committee was: Mrs A. Johnson of Oakhill, Mrs Tester, Mrs Gallon, Mrs Hodder (wife of the headmaster) and Nurse Genese. In 1919 and 1920, welcome home dinners were held at the Drill Hall for 190 soldiers, sailors and airmen who had returned from the War.   FLOODING - has always been a problem for the lower part of the village. A large proportion of the Brookmead estate was badly hit by floods in 1968 when an exceptionally high tide made already swollen rivers overflow. Many homes lost furniture and fittings from ground floor rooms, those in bungalows being particularly hard hit. Six years later in 1974, nearly 80 houses were again flooded after heavy rain. See Flood Barrier.   FLOWER SHOWS - have been held annually by the Gardeners' Society except for the war years. The first was held on 19th August, 1896 in the meadow adjoining the church, by kind permission of the president, Mr Fitch Kemp. The second show was held in August 1897 in the grounds of his home Foxbush, and he addressed the judges, committee and others after an excellent luncheon provided by Mr A.J. Waller of The Gate Hotel. He pointed out that the association had begun on a modest basis, and was intended solely to develop the noble art of gardening in the little hamlet of Hildenborough. Gardening was one of the best and happiest pursuits people in the country could indulge in and if they went into the higher branch of floral culture, there was unlimited scope for the ability of any man. In 1899, the annual show included the additional attraction of a poultry show and bee tent was held in the grounds of Hollanden Park, home of the Rev. and Mrs Stewart Savile. The jubilee show in 1946 was the first to be held since before the Second Word War, and was staged in three marquees on the recreation ground. The Bosanquet Trophy was presented for the first time to the winner of the highest cash prizes. In 1948 two more challenge cups were presented, the Oakhill Cup by Elliot & Spear and another presented by Mr de Rougemont.   QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S SILVER JUBILEE - was celebrated in the village on Saturday, 28th May, 1977 with a fete on the recreation ground opened by Mrs Margery Finzi, an arts and crafts exhibition in the primary school, Riding Lane and a flower festival in the church. A group of trees and bushes was planted opposite the church hall by Mr Philip Toy, Chairman of the Parish Council and Mrs Joan Dash (see photograph below), bought with money raised by the sale of waste paper. A children's climbing frame was erected in the recreation ground by the Parish Council to mark the occasion.   QUEEN VICTORIA'S DIAMOND JUBILEE - was celebrated on Tuesday, 29th June, 1897 which was a public holiday. The committee appointed to make the arrangements was: The Vicar, C. Fitch Kemp, R. Bosanquet, H. Hitchock, E. Hendry, C.W. Middleton Kemp, G.W. Johnson, C. Crowhurst, W. Holmwood and M.C. Morris. Every child in the school (206) received a commemorative medal. The festivities took place on the Oakhill Cricket Ground which had been decorated with bunting. Over the entrance gate there was an archway bearing Her Majesty's gracious Jubilee message "From my heart I thank my beloved people; may God help them - V.R. and I" made by Mr R. Treadwell. 530 inhabitants sat down to dinner in a huge marquee. The afternoon was spent in games and sports, and at 5.30pm. 550 sat down to tea. The day was brought to a close by "a very fine display of fireworks". A stone drinking fountain which was moved to the Village Green in 2005, was erected in the Tonbridge Road (opposite the newsagents) to mark this occasion.   SECOND WORLD WAR - Local activities recorded in the Parish magazine included the following items: In 1940 Mr E.C. de Rougemont of Coldharbour, chaired the War Comforts Fund, an appeal for donations to send comforts to the men and women of Hildenborough serving with H.M. Forces at home and abroad. The Women's Institute made jam, some of it for the retail trade including J. Sainsbury, South Suburban Co-op and E. Hendry. At the end of the season in October, 1943 the inspector from the Ministry of Agriculture commented on their excellent quality jam and added, "This centre has worked very well this season, has made very good standard of jam and most professional finish to jars. A valuable contribution to the Nation's need". They had made a total of 784 lbs. of jam and chutney. They also collected newspapers. Dr D.B. Fraser, chairman of the War Weapons Committee, wrote in the parish magazine of 1941, "Bring out every penny you can and invest it. You are not asked to give, but to buy a sound investment that you can turn into cash if and when you need to. The money so raised helps to equip those fighting for us, and the better they are armed, the fewer will be the casualties when the fight comes. Thus your money will save precious lives. Why risk keeping your savings in notes? Notes may get burnt. If a War Savings Certificate or Bond gets burnt it is replaceable. Save, and go on saving all you can, defeat the enemy and help our lads to whom we owe so much." The Red Cross solicited gifts of onions. In 1943 Hildenborough collected 7 cwt. The cubs made mats "for our men in submarines to sit on", made from old stockings, cut into strips, rolled and crocheted. A Welcome Home dinner was arranged by the Parish Council for all ex-servicemen and women of the parish on Wednesday, 22nd January 1947 at the Old Barn.     SHAREOUT & SMOKING CONCERT - held at The Gate Hotel. Entertainers included B. Smale who played banjo and mandolin.   WHEELBARROW RACE - 1899. From Pembury Road, Tonbridge, down Leigh Road to Powder Mills and back. At the Flying Dutchman, landlord William Pratt handed out beer.   Groups and Associations - (Back to content list) AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION - In 1865, the president of this association was Wm. Lawson, chairman C Fitch Kemp and secretary Mr J Betts. On 9th February of that year, the association held a ploughing match in two fields on the Mountains Estate near Hildenborough Church. There were three classes: wheel ploughs, foot ploughs and ploughs of all sorts. This was followed by a dinner at the Flying Dutchman at 4 o'clock; tickets 3s. each were obtainable from the secretary or Mr Crispe at the Flying Dutchman. At the prize giving of the association in 1872, although no one from Hildenborough won a prize in the ploughing match, Mr J Goldsmith and his wife of Lower Street Farm, won a prize for being the couple who had lived longest on the same farm, been of good character and had the most children.   BADMINTON CLUB - An inaugural meeting was held in November, 1971 led by some members of the Hildenborough Tennis club, who went on to be members of the steering and club committees. The club opened in January, 1972 using the newly-constructed court which was a feature of the new village hall, and in September that year joined the Tunbridge Wells Badminton League. In 1988 the Mixed 'A' team was successful in winning their division (Mixed Lower 1st) and the League composite cup. In 1994 there were 35 members with one ladies', one men's and three mixed teams, all well placed in the T.W.B.L. the junior club was revived in 1993, providing tuition for 18 youngsters of 8 years and above, and later developed for older children. In March, 1993 the club celebrated its 21st anniversary at Bourneside Barn, Hadlow, which brought together present and past members for an evening of reminiscence. In 2007 they are the third oldest Club in the League. Both seniors and juniors play at Sackville School, where 4 courts are used, from September to April. Club night is Monday with each session lasting from 8-10.30 pm. In 2007 the Club has 56 members and runs 10 teams in the TWBL, 3 mixed, 2 ladies and 5 mens.The Club has a summer season which from 2002 has been held at Combe Bank School, Sundridge as Sackville is not available. In the 2006-2007 season the club revamped the junior section which had been continuously since its foundation. They cater for sixty children who are split into 3 equal squads. Beginners and Improvers play in sequential sessions on Saturday mornings (ten week term) and on Mondays, before the start of the senior session the top squad is coached in advanced stroke play and tactics. In 2007 the Club has 10 youngsters in the senior club which demonstrates the benefits of the junior policy.The Club has 5 full coaches and 5 assistants.   BLANKET FUND - Organised by Miss Ellen Lawson of Noble Tree Cross House. In 1893, between 40 and 50 persons availed themselves of the opportunity to secure these useful winter coverings @ 1/- (one shilling) per year. The blankets were distributed through District Visitors. In 1896, an additional charge of 6d. was made 'the reason being that so many blankets are returned in a very dirty state and quite unfit to go out till they have been washed'. ('Home Words' Oct. 1896). Still in existence in 1912.   BOOT AND SHOE CLUB - A savings club organised by Miss Turnbull to enable families to save for the winter boots and shoes. In 1902, it was found necessary to revise the rules of this club as follows: the club begins the first Monday in January, and ends on the last Monday in October. Members may pay in any sum that they like, at the School, from twelve to a quarter to one; but not more than two may be allowed to pay in from any one family. Only parishioners, i.e. those living within the Ecclesiastical district of Hildenborough, may become members of the club. A bonus of 2d. on the shilling will be given up to 20s. once in the year, but only if the amount deposited be drawn out by ticket. Only those really in need of the help of such a club may become members. The tickets can only be made payable at East's; Freeman, Hardy & Willis; Brock & Co. and Humphrey, Hildenborough. Discontinued in 1922.   BOYS BRIGADE - started on 14th October, 1897. In January, 1898 the first Hildenborough Company of the Boys Brigade assembled at the school in full strength for the first friends' night. The boys were in full uniform with caps, haversacks and belts. The proceedings were opened by Mr G W Johnson, then the boys were put through an exhibition drill by Lieut. Francis and Lieut. Morris. Non-commissioned officers selected were Sergeants G Hitchcock and E Bristow, Corporals W Maxted and W Neal and Lance Corporal R Killick. In 1908 the Brigade Harriers, Will May, Arthur Buss, Jim Allen and Joe Robinson, won an inter-brigade competition. A photograph taken about 1910 or 1911 includes Capt Spender-Clay, M.P., Mr Fred Buss, Capt. Johnson, Lieut. E. Barrett, Mr David Tapp, Philip, John and Harry Fuller. Early in 1916, it became the Church Lads' Brigade, a uniformed cadet corps under Territorial regulations. The commanding officer was G W Johnson with Rev. Strand and E Buss as lieutenants. During the first World War, one of the old boys of the Brigade, Bert Thorne with the Kent Cyclist Battalion, wrote home requesting cricket things 'for use when out of the trenches'. The Brigade and the village Cricket Club sent 4 bats and 6 balls. Former members who returned from the war were: Geo. Field, P Knight, J Ireland, J Allen, A Brown, Walter King, Stan Hitchcock and H Neale. On 15th October, 1958 the Boys Brigade began again after a gap of many years, under the control of the Parish Church , but ceased to operate in 1966 due to lack of leaders. Officers and instructors initially were: Mr E T Wells, 31 Wealden Close, Mr P Eldridge, 5 Riding Park and Mr E C Mason, New Trench, Riding Lane.   CHORAL SOCIETY - was formed in 1905 and gave its first concert in the Drill Hall that year. In 1908, both William and Frances Burgess were commended for their singing. The society appears to have disbanded and been reformed over the years. In 1923, the Church organist, Mr Stonely, restarted the society with 30 members and again it was reformed in 1954, under the musical direction of Mr R G F Sutton. In 1956, under conductor George Smith, the society competed in the Tunbridge Wells Music Festival and won the Silver Challenge Cup. In 1970, and again in 1973, members joined with London choirs at Alexandra Palace to perform Handel's Messiah, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yehudi Menuhin. Mr G McAllister was welcomed as the new conductor in 1970. By 1977, membership was greatly reduced and although on occasions they joined with the singers from Sevenoaks and also with the Hadlow choir, the society eventually disbanded.   CONSERVATION GROUP - this group was formed in 1982 when the Parish Council purchased Westwood for a public open space. Founder members were Lynne Flower, Anita Fleming, Mary Perry, Tony Atkinson and George Gorham. Membership comprises a number of local people whose interest in wildlife extends to a desire to conserve as much as is possible of our rich Kentish heritage for future generations to enjoy. Activities in Westwood include pond and ditch clearing, erection of nest boxes, coppicing, path improvement and also cutting and raking unmown areas of Cricket Meadow. Parties from local schools, scouts and guides are taken on pond-dipping and natural history explorations throughout the summer. Many of these young people put in hours of useful work, under supervision, as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.   CRICKET CLUB - There has been a cricket club in Hildenborough since the 1860s and there is a list of 40 subscribers attached to the statement of accounts of 1879. However there had never been any rules, so in 1896, Mr C Fitch Kemp became the first President and with the help of E Hendry, H H Hitchcock and R Hitchcock, rules were drawn up and the subscription settled at 2/6d. payable 1st May. Matches were played at Oakhill Cricket Ground (open area of Westwood), until the recreation ground was opened in 1932. During the summer of 1961, the local team were given 'a scintillating exhibition of batting' by West Indies' Test skipper, Clyde Walcott, when he captained the President's XI, and went on to score 115 runs. So devastating was the bowling of Mordecai, that Hildenborough only managed to score 42 runs. The visit of the West Indians was arranged by Mr David Powell of Roughetts, Coldharbour Lane, Chairman of Booker Brothers. In 1991, the club joined the West Kent League and were league champions in 1992 and 1993 a period when the Club was very successful and ran both a Saturday and a Sunday side with a mix of experienced and young, talented players. Towards the end of the nineties numerous players had either retired or moved away and the Club ceased to function in 1998. In 2002 supported and sponsored by the Half Moon Public House and Nev' l' 'Fixit of Tonbridge the Club reinvented itself as a pub side, putting together a few local fixtures.The ;Club played with passion but little success, as it did not win a match until the end of 2003. Since then the Club has attracted sponsorship from SR Services and grown in strength, in 2006 it had it's best season since re-formation with more wins than losses and winning the inaugural Hildenborough Charity Cricket Challenge Cup-a complex tournament in aid of Cancer Research UK. In 2006 the Half Moon stood down as sponsors and the Club is solely sponsored by Hildenborough Social Club who act as the club house and provide the venue to club members and opponents for many an enjoyable post match session.   DARBY & JOAN CLUB - Between 1929 and 1934 each July, an outing to Hastings was arranged for the over 70s by Rev. Chamberlen, assisted by Mrs Houghton of Wilma Cottage and Mr Mackney of the Limes. A meeting for this age group was held at Philpots on 25th April, 1953 but regular meetings did not start until 1960. See also H.O.P.S.   FOOTBALL CLUB - The first annual meeting was held on 15th September, 1903 after a successful first season. Mr J Macey was captain and Mr Cannon, vice-captain. In 1904 they joined the Tonbridge League, which they won in 1911, as well as the Tunbridge Wells Charity Cup, under captain Charles Palmer. It is recorded that of the 1911 team, 10 were teetotallers and non-smokers! The club was restarted in 1919 after a five-year break, and by 1920, there were 30 members. In the years before the recreation ground was opened in 1932, matches were played on a field now part of Riding Park. The club has kept going, apart from the years 1939 - 1945, and still plays regularly, although marches are now played at Longmead Sports Ground in Tonbridge.   FOXBUSH HARRIERS - founded in 1883 by Mr C Fitch Kemp. His eldest son C W Middleton Kemp took charge until March, 1903 when they disbanded and became the Hadlow Harriers. The hounds were kennelled at Little Foxbush Cottage and looked after by Mr Ted Chaplin (died 1933). They caused much amusement, as they always howled in unison when the church bells started to ring on Sunday mornings.   GARDENERS' SOCIETY - formed 3rd January, 1896. The first chairman was Mr Bosanquet of Mardens, the vice-chairman was Mr Horace Hitchcock and the secretary Mr A Heath. It was known as the Hildenborough Cottages and Allotment Holders Association. On the first committee were Messrs. J Francis, F Killick (Snr) and G Card (allotment holders); Messrs A. Bolton, E. Ham and M Biddle (professional gardeners) and Messrs King, E Hendry and G Challan (cottagers). The first monthly meeting was held on 12th February, 1896 in the Parish Room at the Institute . Sometime later the name was changed to Hildenborough Gardeners Society which enabled Head Gardeners of the large house to compete with the Schedule of Classes slit into two one for members employing full time gardeners and one for Cottagers and Allotment Holders. The first Flower Show was held on Wednesday 19th August on the Glebe field adjoining the Church. Shows have been held annually (except during the war years)mainly in the field adjoining Foxbush (now the playing field of Sackville School) but also at Mountain's Field, the Glebe Field and, prior to moving to the Village Hall, in a marquee on the Recreation Ground.Great rivalry between the professional gardeners led to a very high standard of exhibits , a local journalist at one time describing the Show as Hildenborough's Little Chelsea. In addition entertainment was arranged for the attendees who enjoyed listening to one of the local bands or displays by, for example, the Fire Brigade as well as sports for both grown ups and children.One of the highlights being "tilt the bucket' and a ' thread the needle' race where at the end the lady had to sew a patch on the back of her partner. Dancing followed until late in the evening. The professional classes still flourished in the latter part of the twentieth century and, while at the Rec., displays by local Nurseries were a feature. From early days the winter programme has mainly consisted of monthly lectures by a visiting speaker. Recently the Society has offered their Members the opportunity to buy from their store at the Recreation Ground on Saturdays.   GIRL GUIDES - The Guide Movement came to Hildenborough in 1919 when both the 1st Hildenborough Guide Company and the 1st Hildenborough Brownie Pack were opened. Miss Evelyn Turnbull was Captain of the Guides. The Guides disbanded in 1931, but were reformed in 1942 and run by Miss Lydia Heathfield until 1964. The 2nd Hildenborough Guide Company was opened in 1971 by Miss Denise Pilbeam and one of the Guides was chosen to take part in a County Laser Camp. For a short while there was also a a Ranger unit. The 1st Hildenborough Brownie pack was formed in 1919 and operated until 1937 when it was disbanded but opened again in 1940 by Miss Dorothy Heathfield and ran until 1962. The 2nd Hildenborough Brownie Pack was formed in 1964, the 3rd in 1970, the 4th in 1971 and the 5th in 1978. Over the years the girls have joined in many village activities including, the mile of pennies for charity in the 1950s and in the 1990s helping the Conservation Group to clear brambles from Westwood and running stalls at their open days and taking part in Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee celebrations. In 2007 only the !1st Hildenborough Guide Company and 5th Brownie pack are operating, not due to lack of interest as there is a waiting list, but because of a lack of helpers.   GIRLS FRIENDLY SOCIETY - First quarterly meeting held at Mardens on Tuesday, 3rd January, 1893 for the purpose of enrolling members. At some time, possibly at the onset of the First World War, the society disbanded; it was reformed in 1935 and continued until 1949. The banner which hangs in the Church contains the names of the girls who embroidered it. Some of them : Molly Mitchell (nee Ager) still lives in the village in 2006, Doris Hoare lives in Tonbridge but Joan Tipping (nee Bridges) has died.   HILDENBOROUGH DRUM and FIFE BAND - in existence in 1883.   HOCKEY CLUB - Inaugurated in September, 1925 with 30 members. The Rev. Chamberlen was chairman and F L Hunt, secretary. By the next season there were three teams: men's, ladies' and mixed. Matches were played on a field at The Old Barn by kind permission of Commander Tomlinson.   HOME GUARD - Originally known as No 13 Platoon, C Company, 21st (Tonbridge) Battalion, Kent Home Guard when formed in May, 1940. In 1941 they became No. 1 Platoon, K Company, 20th Sevenoaks Battalion and for a short while before being stood down in 1944, they were under the command of 32nd Edenbridge Battalion. Their duties included night observation and patrol duties, locating and reporting enemy airborne parachutists and guarding the telephone exchange, railway bridges, the glass factory etc. Training was given in the use of firearms, map reading, battlecraft, signalling etc. Their headquarters was the Drill Hall, Riding Lane and the main observation post was the windmill at Watts Cross.   H.O.P.S. - Hildenborough Old People's Society, originally Darby & Joan. Started in 1960 by 5 friends, Lily Pooley, Kitty North, Phyllis Clark, Audrey Stephens and Doris Austin. As there was no organisation for the elderly, they decided to hire the Drill Hall fortnightly on a Friday afternoon. They each provided 6 cups, saucers and plates, and home-made cakes. Doris Austin recalled, "We put hand-bills all around the village and wondered how many would come. We were delighted to have a good crowd for our first meeting, more came to the following meetings and we then knew it was a success." Later, they invited Kathleen Davison, who was well known in the village, to come and talk to folk while the ladies were getting the tea ready. When Dr. and Mrs Davison moved to Tunbridge Wells, they asked Margery Finzi to be their leader and "she was wonderful in her lovely caring way and they all loved her". The Society still meets fortnightly, led since 1988 by Anne Hawkins, in the summer meetings are held in private gardens and in the winter,when there are speakers, in the Church Hall, with transport provided by a team of volunteers. They hold two special lunches a year and make two outings to places of interest. In 2007 the Society continues to provide a most useful service to senior members of the local community allowing them to meet their friends on a regular basis.   INDOOR BOWLS- There are two clubs Hildenborough indoor (Short Mat) Bowls Club the brain-child of Jim England, a Parish Councillor who, through the Village Hall Management Committee, issued an open invitation to all householders in the Parish to attend a demonstration of "Short-mat" bowling in the Village Hall on Sunday afternoon, 20th February 1983 with the aim of forming a club for the over 60s. The demonstration was given by Mr & Mrs D. Lyle from Maidstone and about 50 people attended. Such was the interest that, during March, a steering committee was formed with Jim England as chairman, Doug Mariarty treasurer and Mabel Goodman secretary, together with Irene Simmonds, Arthur Randall and Ernest Vallence. By the beginning of May, approximately £1000 had been raised from the sale of lottery tickets and donations including £100 from Age Concern, £200 from the Parish Council and £35 from the village waste-paper collection. This was sufficient for the club which meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in the Village Hall to open on 12th May, 1983 with 41 members, subscription being £5 per annum plus 30p playing fee per afternoon. Later the age limit was reduced to 55 years. In 2007 the Club has two teams both competing in the Afternoon and Evening Leagues. Hildenborough Short Mat Bowls Club (Sunday) was subsequently formed by Members of the Social Club and also meets in the Village Hall   INSTITUTE CYCLING CLUB - during the summer of 1902, 16 members took part in 17 runs, captained by J. Rich. Prizewinners that year were J. Rich and E. May (joint 1st), R. Gorham (3rd) and W. May (4th).   MASQUE PLAYERS - This amateur dramatic society was founded in 1960 and as an offshoot of the drama section of the local W.I., some of whose members were no longer content to put on single-sex plays. Initial motivation and organisation were provided by Stan Sharp who was, at the time, Deputy Head of Hildenborough C.E. Primary School. He was first secretary and also produced the first play, "The Camel's Back" by Arnold Helsby, in the Village Hall in the spring of 1961. He also produced the next two plays presented by the Society which were "Kind Cousin" by Janet Allen in November, 1961 and "One of Those Days" by Kent Richards in May 1962. The cast of "Kind Cousin" was Phyllis Coleman, Joan Sharp, Len Nicholls, Bunny West, Dudley Tizzard, Edna Nicholls, Edna Berry, Pat Chisholm, Monty Coleman, Joan Sharp, Paul Manakee, Christopher Thomas and Shelagh Griffiths. Until 1985, when it disbanded, the Masque Players had presented two plays a year.   MOTHERS UNION - The Hildenborough branch was founded in 1895 by Mrs Bosanquet, Mr Pidcock (Vicar's wife) and Miss Lawson; a) to uphold the sanctity of marriage, b) to awaken in mothers a sense of their great responsibility as mothers in training their boys and girls (the future fathers and mothers of England) and c) to organise in every place a band of mothers who will unite in prayer and lead their families in purity and holiness of life. The Hildenborough branch eventually became the Women's Fellowship later being called Wednesday Focus.   NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH SCHEME - This security scheme was introduced in the village in 1987, and while initially the village was well covered with volunteers for specific areas, in recent years this cover has dropped away due to lack of co-ordinators. To get up to date information on crime/problems in the village contact the Police Liason Officer at Tonbridge Police Station.   RIFLE CLUB - Opened in March, 1907 by Lord Hardinge and the first shot was fired by Mrs Levin, "our generous donor and originator of the Club". Two rifles, bearing the Government inspection stamp and made after the latest Army pattern, were acquired. The headquarters was the Drill Hall and members had to be over the age of 18 years. Mr Walter King was range officer and Horace Hill, treasurer. Members were informed that "this is no mere game but a serious attempt, sanctioned by the War Office, to teach all men in our country the use of the rifle for the defence of their country". After the Second World War, the club used a Nissen hut erected on land behind Oakhill House rented from Mr Reg Brooks, who was also president of the club at that time. In 1986, when Oakhill House was sold to Fidelity International, the club moved to the Gaza trading estate.   ROYAL BRITISH LEGION - The Hildenborough Branch was formed on 9th October, 1946 and meetings were held in the Social Club until the hall was built in Mount Pleasant in 1956. The women's section, whose motto is "Service not Self", was formed in October 1960 to care for the wives and children of serving and ex-serving men who were in need. The president was Mrs E. Edwards, secretary Mrs M. Cooke and the first Standard bearer was Mrs J. Smith. During the first 5 years, there were two or three different Standard bearers but after her election in 1966, Mrs V. Hayes proudly carried out this duty for 28 years. Funds were raised by fetes, jumble sales, whist & beetle drives, often raising £3,000. After the membership dwindled the Womens Section Branch was closed by the County in June 1995 because it was no longer viable, The remaing members then became involved in other Branches. The Poppy Day collection continues.   SCOUTS - The 8th Tonbridge (Hildenborough) Scout Group was formed in 1936. Dr Beaufort Fraser was the first scoutmaster, and he allowed the scouts to use a hut in his grounds. During the war years, the troop was not really active, but it was reformed in 1948, with a Service of Dedication at the scout hut. The scouts were poorly supported however, and closed down in 1951. The cubs were kept going by Ted Manners and two other leaders by running a sixer pack from each of three separate houses. Following the return from National Service of Brian Fitz, son of the headmaster of the primary school who became a Cub Scout Leader, Ted Manners started the troop again in 1953. They met in a small hut, between the police house and the nurse's house in Foxbush. The troop performed their own scouting shows and the first one was held in the Drill Hall, Riding Lane in March 1959. By this time, the troop had outgrown their hut. Eventually, an ex-army building was purchased, erected and furnished for £2000, on land owned by the parish Council for a peppercorn rent of £10 per annum. An auxiliary store, for the canoes and larger items, was erected in 1974. Commencing in 1970, the troop published its own journal for several years. In recent years, a scout has regularly attended the International Jamborees. In 1993, the troop was one of the largest in the area with 14 warranted leaders, 12 Ventures, 41 Scouts, 51 Cub Scouts and 20 Beavers. It was therefore decided by the executive committee, that the scout hut should be replaced. After an extensive fund raising campaign over many years £50,000 was raised and a new building was built on the Riding Lane site and finally opened in October 2005. The primary fund raiser is the Firework display o the Recreation Ground around 5th November. In 2007 the Troop is still very active but unable to recruit sufficient leaders to cater for the children who would like to join.   SLATE CLUB - The first annual share-out took place on 18th December 1901 when 61 members received £1 2s. 4d. each. Joint secretaries were C.H. Scott and Wm. Castle, and the treasurer was W. Holmwood. In 1903, together with the local Friendly Societies, they held their first annual Church Parade on 14th June and despite a very wet day, the church was nevertheless full. The procession formed in the school yard at 2.15pm headed by the 11th Co. (Hild) West Kent Boys' brigade and the splendid Brass Band of the C Company 1st Vol. Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment. They proceeded via Shipbourne Road (Riding Lane), The New Road, Mount Pleasant, Church Road, Park Terrace and London Road to the Parish Church, where the Rev. Stone conducted a special service at 3pm. Closed in 1922.   SPORTS ASSOCIATION - was formed in 1984 initially to star a squash club at Hilden Manor. The aims of the association were to promote and assist sport and recreation in the village, the state schools and all Clubs. Fund have been used to start and succour the Squash Club, assist junior cricket, short tennis and football, and effect improvements to the pavilion.The money has come from the annual Fun Run which has been (except for 1991) held since 1985. In recent years the competitors have reached 350 taking part in either 5 or 10 mile runs with a 4km event for youngsters.   STOOLBALL CLUB - The ladies club was founded in the early 1960s by Mrs Lucy Sellers and Mrs Berry. These two ladies were encouraged to start the team by the then Kent county stoolball team captain, Mrs Roper, who at that time also lived in the village. Mrs Roper generously provided the funds for the purchase of wickets, bats and balls. She also presented a cup to be awarded each year to the most improved player. By 1966, the club was a full member of the West Kent Stoolball League. At first wins were few, but eventually the Club became one of the strongest in the league, being league winners in 1992 and 1993. The mixed team was formed in 1982 and proved so popular with the younger players, that a further mixed team was formed in 1988.The Club continues to be very active.   TENNIS CLUB - Hildenborough Tennis Club was originally Westwood Tennis Club, formed in 1947, and members played on a hard concrete court owned by local builder, Edgar Woodhams, sited near where the new medical centre now stands. The name was changed at the 11th annual meeting in April 1958 held in the Institute Room, Riding Lane, when Nigel Clark was elected chairman and D.H. Catt re-elected secretary. As the club grew, they moved to play on the two red shale courts at the back of Hilden Manor. When these were demolished to make way for the swimming pool, three grass courts on Tonbridge recreation ground were hired. At about this time, the club joined the Kent League and Duncan Clarke coached young people in the village. In 1968, the first hard courts were opened on the recreation ground in Hildenborough and when a third was added in 1990, as a result of members' fund raising efforts, the club relinquished the Tonbridge courts. For some years, membership has remained around 80 adults and 60 children, and low junior fees with a range of coaching facilities have remained a priority. In recent years, the two village schools have been given free use of the courts to encourage young players.   TONBRIDGE RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL- When Local Government was reorganised in 1974 the Parish was presented with the painting of the building of the Sevenoaks bypass which is now displayed in the Library and several trees were also planted in the grounds of Stocks Green School alongside Leigh Road.   TOC H - a group was formed in November 1946. They met in the Welfare hut and all men over 16 years old were invited. The Chairman was Mr H.C. Simmons, treasurer Mr J.R. Moore and secretary Mr D.F. Tizzard.   UTILITY RABBIT CLUB - started in 1918 and 26 members. Became Hildenborough Fanciers Association in 1919 when poultry and cage birds were included. About 1932, it appears to have divided into two groups; Mrs H. Hills was president of the Fur & Feather Association and G.W. Johnson was chairman of the Hildenborough & District Fanciers Association.   THE VILLAGE PLAYERS - In January 1904, members of the Institute performed "The Miser's Bargain" written by Mr Dagney Major and Mr John Johnson, two local celebrities. The cast consisted of Mr Geo. Ingrams, Mr F. Marriott, Mr A. Killick, Mr R. Killick, Mr J. Rich, Mr P. Ingrams, Mr C. Cheeseman, Mr Wm. Burgess, Mr J. Macey, Mr A. Goldsmith, Mr R. Neale, Mr W. May and Mr H. Ford: or to put it another way, several cricket-ball makers, a grocer's assistant, a grocer's man, an under gardener, a blacksmith, a blacksmith's improver, an engineer, a rural postman, a waggoner's mate and a gardener's boy! The scenery was painted by Mr G. W. Johnson, who was also stage manager, and the orchestra, with Mr W. Chisholm as musical director, included Mrs Scott, piano; Messrs W. Chisholm, M.C. Morris, D.W. King and W. Woodman, violins; and Mr F. Martin, cello. The play received excellent reviews in the "Daily Mail" and "Daily Chronicle". Following their success in 1904, the Village Players performed "The Luck of the Brians" in 1905; in 1906 an original drama in Prologue and 3 Acts by Dagney Major "The Pilgrims Rest"; 1907 "Back to the Land"; 1907 "Enemies"; 1909 "In days of Yore"; 1910 "The Gentleman from London"; and in 1912 "The Miser's Bargain".   VILLAGE PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION - formed in 1973 as a spontaneous reaction to the proposed massive development at Hilden Farm which was successfully opposed.   The constitution's aims are: "To secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of the amenities of the Parish." "To promote high standards of architecture and planning in schemes affecting the Parish." "To stimulate public interest in and concern for the local environment."   WOMEN'S INSTITUTE - formed in 1919. At their first meeting on 12th March, 70 members enrolled and Mrs Henry Hills was elected the first president. The Evening Institute was formed in 1963, with Mrs LeFevre the first president and Mrs Joan Radvan secretary. Initially, 57 members enrolled and this number increased steadily, until there were 110 members and a waiting list! Both institutes have been strong supporters of County produce and craft shows and have won their fair share of awards. A bursary to the W.I. college is provided annually by both institutes, and education remains a priority, as does voluntary work in the community.   WORKING MEN'S CLUB - this appears to have evolved from the Men's Institute and to have become the Social Club 1936. Reference is made to this club in 1933 when Mr J.G. Barns of Thrift Cottage was the Treasurer. During the Second World War, he worked hard raising funds for the Comforts Fund and was a favourite with the children of the village as he always had some dolly mixtures for them. For nearly 30 years, he was a member of the Parish Council and in latter years he was the honorary Verger at the church. He died in 1959, aged 82.   Miscellaneous - (Back to content list) BANK, Lloyds - In the 1930s, one room in the cottage next to the Post Office, was let to Lloyds Bank, firstly by Mrs Hitchcock and then by Mr Woodman. This was for 1 hour each week on Thursday mornings, so that local businesses could bank their takings.   BIER - was given to the church by Mr & Mrs Stewart of The Hurst, Coldharbour Lane in 1908. It was used in the village until 1949, to transport coffins a short distance to the church, and also from a hearse at the lychgate along the path into the church. The frame stood about three feet high and its six-foot length was fitted with a platform of rollers for easy manipulation of the coffin. It had projecting handles like a barrow and wooden wheels with attractive spokes. The surface was varnished and along the side was painted the words "LORD OF LIFE AND LOVE WE PRAY GRANT US MERCY IN THAT DAY".   BOSANQUET SILVER CHALLENGE TROPHY - presented by Commander Raymond Bosanquet, son of one of the founders of the Gardeners' Society (R.A. Bosanquet), in July 1946 when the society staged its jubilee summer show, the first since the end of the Second World War. It is awarded annually to the member winning the highest cash prizes at the summer show.   George CHILDREN CHARITY - There is a bread shelf in the entrance to the church with a plaque referring to "12 fourpenny loaves every week, the gift of George Children, Esq. in 1718". It is believed that when George Children bought Datchurst, he took over the Skeffington Charity 1684, which reads "£210 to purchase an annuity to provide 12 x 4d. loaves of bread weekly forever for 12 people of Tonbridge and Hildenborough constant frequenters of the Church". Mr R.G. Vinten recalls, "I can plainly remember dear old Mr Frank Old, the verger*; he was always at the church door each Sunday when, as a boy, I used to collect a loaf of bread from him. I couldn't reach the shelf that they were on. There used to be 12 loaves issued by the parish to the poor. I used to get one for my grandmother, and after this my mother when grandmother no longer needed it." * Frank Old was Parish clerk and verger from 1906 till his death in 1936. This charity is no longer in existence.   COLEGATES - a variety of hops named after Mr Colegate who grew them at Limes Farm. Mrs Colegate lived to a great age. She became blind, but at the age of 100, she regained her sight and was able to do sewing and knitting for her family.   COMMUNAL LAUNDRY A Laundry, used at one time by the occupants of Mount Pleasant, can in 2006 still be seen in the rear garden of Number 24.   CRICKET BALLS - In 1825 ball making in the village was started in part of a house called Treberfydd, at Watts Cross, by Robert Dark, who produced first-class handmade cricket balls and supplied Lords cricket ground. An item in the local paper of 1871 records that about 40 workmen employed at Mr Dark's Cricket Ball Factory, met in the Flying Dutchman. "Good old English food" was served by Mr Spratley the host, and Mr Francis (foreman) took the Chair as Mr Dark was unwell. Among the employees were Jack Nightingale, Sam Card, Tickle Thorne, Weasel Owen, Billie Neal, Spindle Wells, George Cooke, Mr Ives and Mr Hadley. Thomas Francis took over the business from Robert Dark. In the 1960s, some discarded balls and materials were found when floorboards were removed. About 1875, Mr Horace Hitchcock decided to leave Mr Dark and set up in business on his own, first in a shed at the bottom of his garden and then in Mount Pleasant, opposite the Green. At one time, there were five brothers and two sons of Horace working with others at the ball shop. In 1887, he sent his first shipment of cricket balls to Adelaide, South Australia. (As a result a niece born that year was named Adelaide.) When he died in 1915, his son Ned took over the business which was eventually sold to Gray-Nicholls Ltd. Ned died in 1937: he had been a ballmaker for 51 years. An employee, Albert Seal, a brilliant cricket ball stitcher, demonstrated his skills at the Festival of Britain Exhibition in 1952. The factory was closed in 1962 and Mount Pleasant Court was built on the site.   ELLIOT & SPEAR - a firm manufacturing lamp shades which moved to Hildenborough during the Second World War. In 1944, they applied for permission to use Hollanden Park for light industry but their request was turned down. At the time they were at Orchard Mains and in 1945, when Insurance Engineers returned to London, they moved to Oakhill House. The firm closed in 1981.   EVENING CLASSES - In the spring of 1898, the Kent County Council was approached by the Parish Council with a request for technical education. The following classes started in October: 6 weekly lectures on practical gardening in the Institute and 10 fortnightly classes in wood-carving in the school. For many years since then evening classes have been held in the village.   GAS LIGHTING - Gas supplies reached Hildenborough in 1901. However, gas had been used for lighting the church during the previous decade, supplied from the private gas works at Foxbush. Miss Chaplin in her story of Hildenborough wrote "The first little flaring gaslights in the church were considered very pretty by the children".   GOODHUGH CHARITY - In his will dated 17th December, 1662 Robert Goodhugh left 40/- (forty shillings) "of lawful English money" to be distributed by Tonbridge Churchwardens "at the feast of St. Michael the Archangel…amongst the most aged poor people which have been laborious and other people who are impotent or charged with children". The owner of Mountains took over the charity when Hildenborough became a parish, and the money paid to Hildenborough churchwardens, for the poor of the parish. This charity is no longer in existence.   GRAVEL EXTRACTION - Hall & Co, were given permission in 1977 to extract gravel from Hawden Farm. Work commenced in October, 1981 and ended in June, 1987 and by the end of that year, the site was cleared of machinery and stockpiles. Even while work was in progress, great crested grebes, herons, mallards, geese and swans were attracted to the area.   HELEN GEORGIE HILLS CHARITY - The Helen Georgie Hills Charity exists to provide one-off grants for residents of Hildenborough to help relieve the needs of persons who are sick, convalescent, disabled, handicapped or infirm. It is able to provide payment for items, services and facilities which are calculated to alleviate suffering and assist with recovery. It started when the Nurses House in Foxbush was sold once it was no longer needed for that purpose. The two trustees are Mrs Sandra Armstrong and David Williams who would be very happy to hear from any parishioner requiring a Grant that would help their personal situation.   HILDENBOROUGH HORSE SHOW - In 1965 in response to a call to raise money for the Village Hall Mrs Finzi asked Anita Fleming to run a Horse Show which took place in Mr & Mrs Barkaways field, the show went from strength to strength and had to move to a larger field at Chequers Farm by kind permission of Mr Streeton and then to be limited to a 10 mile limit for entrants, but even then many tried to falsify their address. In later years Mrs Doris Church took over from Mrs Fleming. Until the show on June 13th 1982 when several of the committee wanted to retire and a new Venue was needed as neither that or volunteers came forward the 18th Hildenborough Horse Show was the last.   LEIGH UNITED CHARITIES - The endowment is small, i.e. three cottages (let) on Leigh Green and a piece of land near Donkey's Fields. The only part of Hildenborough parish eligible is that which was in the parish of Leigh before 1840, i.e. from behind the Bow Window including Riding Park, up to the Grenadiers. In 2007 the Charity continues to assist the elderly needy of the designated part of the village and at present 25 people including 4 couples receive assistance with their electricity and gas bills as well as cash at Christmas/. The Trustee is appointed by the Parish Council.   LIBRARY - In 1894, the library was housed in the school. It contained 800 books and the most popular were those of "an adventure nature". In 1896, it moved to the Institute, then to the new Village Hall complex (1971), until the present premises were obtained in Riding Lane when the Post Office built their new telephone exchange in the Tonbridge Road, in 1980.   MEDICAL CARE - In 1879, Dr Walter Hardin practiced from his home in the High Street, Leigh. He was succeeded in 1881 by Dr. Fraser who moved the surgery to Park House, Leigh, where he remained in practice until after the First World War. He was eventually joined by his son, Dr. Beaufort Fraser, who moved to Mountains, Noble Tree Road, where he saw his patients - private patients in the sitting room, "panel patients" in the servants' quarters. When old Dr. Fraser retired, Dr. Rochester Berkeley joined Dr. B. Fraser and he settled in Leigh where he had his surgery. In 1937, Dr. B. Fraser left Hildenborough and Dr. Stanley Davison joined Dr. Berkeley. As Mountains was no longer available, Dr. Davison bought the baker's shop on the corner of Mount Pleasant/Tonbridge Road (which was later used by the Vitasan Clinic) and converted it into a surgery where the practice was based for the next 30 years. At the outbreak of war in 1939, Dr. Berkeley was called up, leaving Dr. Davison to cope single-handed throughout the years of the war and until 1954, when his son Guy could join him. Tragically, Dr. Guy Davison was killed in a shooting accident two years later. (The flowering cherry trees in front of the Church Hall were given by Dr. and Mrs. Davison in memory of their son.) It was after this tragedy that Dr. Peter. V. Skinner joined Dr. Davison as a partner. In 1947, after demobilisation, Dr Cecil Glaisher set up in practice at "Froxfield" in Tonbridge Road but later moved to Woodfield Avenue. In 1957 he was joined by his brother Brian and they continued together until 1969 when they merged with Dr Skinner's practice and moved to 79 Tonbridge Road (a converted and extended shop, formerly housing Home Counties Dairies). Although extended twice these premises soon became inadequate and the practice moved to a new Medical Centre in Westwood in 1991. As Hildenborough Medical Group the practice has grown steadily in size, now serving nearly 16, 000 patients in Hildenborough, Tonbridge and surrounding villages. In 2006 there were 11 partners. See also Medical Centre.   PARISH MAGAZINE - When first published in 1893 it was called "Home Words". The editor was the curate Rev. Walter Brown, and Miss K. Johnson was treasurer and distributor for 44 years. District visitors were asked to see that no one was left out in the distribution. Now it is called "Keys" and is still delivered to nearly every home in the Parish. Its aim is "to foster a spirit of unity between the Church and the parish, in a broad and positive sense", Until it became self supporting through carrying advertisements a proportion of the production costs were met by the Parish Council.   POPULATION - in 1851 there were 187 houses and a population of 1033; in 1881 the population was 1239; in 1901 it was 1407; in 1911 it had risen to 1607; in 1921 it had increased by only 120 to 1727 and in 1931 it was 2078. The 2001 census, however, showed the population as 4588 with 1928 properties. 3784 people were entitled to vote in 2006.   SHOPS & SERVICES - In 1950 local businesses started advertising in the Parish Magazine and some of them are below. By 2007, like many other villages throughout the country, has lost several shops There are s however still several hairdressers, a Convenience Store which incorporates the Post Office, as well as a Pharmacy, an Estate Agent, a Newsagent, a Hand painted furniture shop, a Pet supplier and a shop concerned with cake decoration. In 2005 a web site was established which carries some detail of all of the businesses in the village who wanted to appear- although not all have.   SMALLPOX - records show several deaths during 1871 and 1872.   Sir Thomas SMYTHE CHARITY - Sir Thomas Smythe lived from 1558 - 1625. He was a member of Haberdashers and Skinners Companies and endowed Tonbridge School and local charities. In 2007 this charity is still active and looking for applicants to support, by way of one off grants. The applicants must be 60 or over and have lived in the village a reasonable time. Mr Tony Langdon Down is the present Trustee dealing with Hildenborough recipients.   WASTE PAPER COLLECTION - During the 1970s and 1980s these collections were organised first by Mrs Joan Dash and subsequently by Mrs Andy Hay. The money raised was given to many organisations in the village. The collections were discontinued when Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council set up recycling centres in Tonbridge.   WEATHER BOARDING - A popular method of cladding the lathe and plaster buildings in areas where there was plenty of timber. It was particularly fashionable in the early part of the 1800s.   WHITE HORSE GIFT - was given to poor children under the age of 11 years in 1854, and 71 children received amounts between 1/- and 3.6d, each from Mr Lambert.   WILLING HANDS - Mrs Pauline Wilson and Mrs Andy Hay undertook to do light housework, shopping, gardening, changing library books, collecting prescriptions, etc. for reasonable rates. When they started in 1989, it was intended mainly for senior citizens of the village. By September 1990 they had over 70 clients in the area but by 2007 no longer operate.

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