Ightham
Encyclopedia
Ightham is a village in Kent
, England
, located approximately four miles east of Sevenoaks
and six miles north of Tonbridge
. The parish includes the hamlet of Ivy Hatch.
It is most famous for the nearby medieval manor of Ightham Mote
(National Trust
) although the village itself is of even greater antiquity. Ightham is not mentioned in Domesday Book
but place name evidence implies the name is derived from the Saxon 'Ehtaham'. 'Ehta' is a Jutish
personal name, while 'ham' means settlement. The source of the River Bourne is within the parish.
The parish church dates from the 12th century and in 1336 Edward II
granted a request for permission to hold an annual fair in the village.
Ightham was famous for growing Kentish cob nuts
. These seem to have been cultivated first by a James Usherwood who lived at Cob Tree Cottage. There was a public house nearby called the Cob Tree Inn but which has now reverted back to a private house. There are still a number of cob trees in and around the village, but the work of pruning them and picking the nuts is labour intensive and the industry has fallen into decline.
One of the great village characters was Benjamin Harrison, who lived from 1837 to 1921. He was a grocer by trade, but an archaeologist by inclination. He won international recognition as a pioneer in the subject. He found flints in the pre-glacial drift on the North Downs near Ash, which he contended were artefacts, thus vastly antedating the antiquity of man.
It was at Ightham Church, in 1570, that William Lambarde
, author of the first English county history, A Perambulation of Kent, married his first wife, Jane.
Lord Eversley (when Mr. George John Shaw-Lefevre)
, and his wife, Constance, lived at Oldbury Place in Ightham during the time he was Postmaster General
. He was responsible for carrying the Act of Parliament that established sixpenny telegrams. Although, in 1877, it had only been possible to send a telegram via Wrotham Telegraph Station, in 1884 the first sixpenny telegram was sent from the House of Commons, received by the Postmaster of Ightham, Joshua Durling, and dispatched to Oldbury Place.
Ightham also has its own football team, Ightham FC.
As of the 2001 UK census, the Ightham electoral ward had a population of 1,940. The ethnicity was 99.1% white, 0% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0% other. The place of birth of residents was 91.9% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 2% other Western European countries, and 5.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 82.4% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, and 0.2% Muslim. 11.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 4.7% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 38.2% in full-time employment, 11.6% in part-time employment, 14.7% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.5% students without jobs, 13.9% retired, 11.2% looking after home or family, 1.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.9% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 12.3% retail, 9.4% manufacturing, 7.2% construction, 18.3% real estate, 8.2% health and social work, 8.3% education, 4.3% transport and communications, 3.2% public administration, 4.3% hotels and restaurants, 17.9% finance, 1.3% agriculture and 5.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.7% had a higher education
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located approximately four miles east of Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
and six miles north of Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
. The parish includes the hamlet of Ivy Hatch.
It is most famous for the nearby medieval manor of Ightham Mote
Ightham Mote
Ightham Mote is a medieval moated manor house close to the village of Ightham, near Sevenoaks in Kent .The name "mote" derives from "moot", "meeting [place]", rather than referring to the body of water....
(National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
) although the village itself is of even greater antiquity. Ightham is not mentioned in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
but place name evidence implies the name is derived from the Saxon 'Ehtaham'. 'Ehta' is a Jutish
Jutes
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
personal name, while 'ham' means settlement. The source of the River Bourne is within the parish.
The parish church dates from the 12th century and in 1336 Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
granted a request for permission to hold an annual fair in the village.
Ightham was famous for growing Kentish cob nuts
Corylus avellana
Corylus avellana, the Common Hazel, is a species of hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Iberia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, north to central Scandinavia, and east to the central Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. It is an important component of...
. These seem to have been cultivated first by a James Usherwood who lived at Cob Tree Cottage. There was a public house nearby called the Cob Tree Inn but which has now reverted back to a private house. There are still a number of cob trees in and around the village, but the work of pruning them and picking the nuts is labour intensive and the industry has fallen into decline.
One of the great village characters was Benjamin Harrison, who lived from 1837 to 1921. He was a grocer by trade, but an archaeologist by inclination. He won international recognition as a pioneer in the subject. He found flints in the pre-glacial drift on the North Downs near Ash, which he contended were artefacts, thus vastly antedating the antiquity of man.
It was at Ightham Church, in 1570, that William Lambarde
William Lambarde
William Lambarde was an antiquarian and writer on legal subjects.-Life:Lambarde was born in London. His father was a draper , an alderman and a sheriff of London. In 1556, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn...
, author of the first English county history, A Perambulation of Kent, married his first wife, Jane.
Lord Eversley (when Mr. George John Shaw-Lefevre)
George Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Baron Eversley
George John Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Baron Eversley PC, DL was a British Liberal Party politician. In a ministerial career that spanned thirty years, he was twice First Commissioner of Works and also served as Postmaster General and President of the Local Government Board.-Background and...
, and his wife, Constance, lived at Oldbury Place in Ightham during the time he was Postmaster General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
. He was responsible for carrying the Act of Parliament that established sixpenny telegrams. Although, in 1877, it had only been possible to send a telegram via Wrotham Telegraph Station, in 1884 the first sixpenny telegram was sent from the House of Commons, received by the Postmaster of Ightham, Joshua Durling, and dispatched to Oldbury Place.
Ightham also has its own football team, Ightham FC.
Demography
| Ightham compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Ightham ward | Tonbridge and Malling borough | England |
| Population | 1,940 | 107,561 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 8.1% | 4.6% | 9.2% |
| White | 99.1% | 98.3% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.6% | 0.7% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.3% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 82.4% | 76.1% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 11.6% | 15% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.9% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 13.9% | 14.2% | 13.5% |
As of the 2001 UK census, the Ightham electoral ward had a population of 1,940. The ethnicity was 99.1% white, 0% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0% other. The place of birth of residents was 91.9% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 2% other Western European countries, and 5.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 82.4% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, and 0.2% Muslim. 11.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 4.7% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 38.2% in full-time employment, 11.6% in part-time employment, 14.7% self-employed, 1.9% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 3.5% students without jobs, 13.9% retired, 11.2% looking after home or family, 1.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.9% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 12.3% retail, 9.4% manufacturing, 7.2% construction, 18.3% real estate, 8.2% health and social work, 8.3% education, 4.3% transport and communications, 3.2% public administration, 4.3% hotels and restaurants, 17.9% finance, 1.3% agriculture and 5.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 35.7% had a higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.