Sevenoaks - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sevenoaks is a commuter town

Commuter town

A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

situated on the London fringe of west Kent

Kent

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

, England, some 20 miles (31.2 km) south-east of Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...

, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital. The town gives its name to the Sevenoaks district

Sevenoaks (district)

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

, of which it is the principal town, followed by Swanley

Swanley

Swanley is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located on the south-eastern outskirts of London, north of Sevenoaks town. The town boundaries encompass the settlements of Swanley itself, Hextable and Swanley Village...

and Edenbridge

Edenbridge, Kent

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

.

The presence of Knole House

Knole House

Knole is an English country house in the town of Sevenoaks in west Kent, surrounded by a deer park. One of England's largest houses, it is reputed to be a calendar house, having 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards...

, a large mansion, led to the earlier settlement becoming a village and in the 13th century a market was established. Sevenoaks became part of the modern communications network when one of the earlier turnpikes

Toll road

A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

was opened in the 18th century; the railway was relatively late in reaching it. It has a large commuting population although a nearby defence installation is a large employer of labour.

There are a number of independent educational establishments in the town, including the prestigious Sevenoaks School

Sevenoaks School

Sevenoaks School is an English coeducational independent school located in the town of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is the oldest lay school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432. Almost 1,000 day pupils and boarders attend, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. There are approximately equal numbers of...

. The town is one of the most affluent and expensive areas to reside in the country, and in 2011 the town was named as having the fifth highest number of "million pound property streets" in the UK.

Etymology

The town's name is derived from the Saxon

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

word "Seouenaca", the name given to a small chapel near seven oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

trees in Knole Park

Knole House

around AD 800.

History

There are few records earlier than the 13th century for the town, when it was given market status. In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

two hospitals were provided by religious orders for the care of old or sick people, especially those going on pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

.

Sevenoaks School

Sevenoaks School

, at the south end of High Street, is the oldest secular school in England. It was founded by Sir William Sennoke, a wealthy London merchant, in 1432. Sennoke, an orphan, had been brought up in the town. In later life he became a wealthy merchant and mayor. Founding the school and adjacent almshouses was his thanks to the town. In 1560 it was ordered by Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

that it should be called The Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth. It was "for the education of boys and youths in grammar and learning".

In 1456 Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

, purchased the Knole estate and built Knole House

Knole House

, which still dominates the town.

The eponymous oak trees in Knole Park have been replaced several times over the centuries. In 1902 seven oaks were planted on the north side of The Vine cricket ground to commemorate the coronation

Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...

of King Edward VII. During the Great Storm of 1987

Great Storm of 1987

The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...

, six of those trees were blown down. Their replacements, planted in a ceremony involving well-known people from television shows such as Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...

and including locals Gloria Hunniford

Gloria Hunniford

Gloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...

and Caron Keating

Caron Keating

Caron Louisa Keating was a Northern Irish television presenter on British and Northern Irish television.-Early life and education:...

, were vandalised, leaving only one standing. There are now nine trees on the site, of varying ages.

A serious railway accident

Sevenoaks railway accident

The Sevenoaks railway accident occurred on 24 August 1927 between Dunton Green railway station and Sevenoaks railway station. The Southern Railway's afternoon express from Cannon Street to Deal left London at 5pm, in charge of River Class tank engine No 800 River Cray. Several passengers later...

occurred nearby on 24 August 1927. Southern Railway K class passenger tank engine No. A800 River Cray was derailed hauling a Cannon Street to Deal express, knocking a road bridge and killing 13 passengers. The locomotive crew survived, although the entire K class was subsequently rebuilt to prevent such an event from occurring again. The accident also called into question the quality of track laying in the area.

Governance

Sevenoaks is governed by a town council. The town is divided into six wards, with sixteen councillors in total. The wards are named Kippington, Northern, St Johns, Town, Wildernesse and Eastern.

The offices of Sevenoaks District Council are located in the town.

Geography

The town is situated at the junction of two main routes from the north before traffic climbs over the Greensand

Greensand

Greensand or Green sand is either a sand or sandstone, which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment, that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called glauconies and consist of a mixture of mixed-layer clay...

Ridge which crosses Kent from west to east; that situation is similar to Maidstone

Maidstone

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...

and Ashford

Ashford, Kent

Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...

. That road was one of the earliest in the county to be turnpiked

Toll road

in 1709, because of the clay soils.

The valley to the north is that of the River Darent

River Darent

The River Darent or River Darenth is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames in England. Its name is believed to be from a Celtic word meaning 'river where oak-trees grow'...

and it is here that that river turns to the north to cut through its gap in the North Downs

North Downs

The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...

. There are several lakes along the course of the river here, the result of the extraction of sand and gravel in the past.

The built-up area of the town has mainly spread along the main roads. The settlement of Riverhead

Riverhead, Kent

Riverhead, a one-time small village and now a village part of the built-up area to the north of the town Sevenoaks, is also a civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish has a population of around 2500...

to the north-west is the largest; other parts of the town (in clockwise order from the north) include Greatness; Wildernesse; Sevenoaks Common; and Kippington.

Demography

The 2001 Census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

counts approximately 18,588 residents within the Sevenoaks civil parish authority, compared to the 1801 town population of 2,600. The built-up area of the town has a population of about 28,000.

Economy

Sevenoaks, like much of West Kent, is characterised by high levels of economic activity and a skilled resident workforce, together with a large proportion of that workforce commuting to their places of employment. Those factors, however, lead to high house prices and pressure on the local area to build yet more houses. Many of those houses attract high prices, making it difficult for lower wage-earners to live there: and a wide range of occupations are therefore in short supply. Industries such as finance and business services tend to predominate. Transport links are generally overloaded and town centre congestion is common. One description given is that the area in general is "cash rich but service poor".
The main industrial area is located north of the town, alongside the A225. Sevenoaks Quarry is on Bat and Ball Road, also to the north.

The shopping area in High Street includes the new Bligh's development. It is a typical small town centre, with no large department stores.

Bligh's Shopping Development opened in phases in 2002. The site originally belonged to a bus station and car park. Access can be gained from several areas from both High Streets. In 2008, a new third side of the development opened, housing a Costa Coffee, a Robert Dyas and Tommelise and Zapata: A Mexican restaurant. Much of the architecture is based on slightly earlier periods but with a contemporary edge.

Landmarks

Knole Park is a 1,000-acre (4 km²) park inhabited by deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

and several million trees. In its centre is Knole House

Knole House

, the home of the Sackville family (the Earls of Dorset) since it was given to them by Queen Elizabeth I in 1577. The estate is owned and maintained by the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

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

, although the Sackvilles

Baron Sackville

Baron Sackville, of Knole in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for the Honourable Mortimer Sackville-West, with remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his younger brothers the Hon. Lionel and the Hon. William Edward...

still live there. It is frequently visited by the school.

Riverhill House

Riverhill House

Riverhill House is a Grade II listed rag-stone Queen Anne manor house located on the southern edge of Sevenoaks in Kent, England. The house and estate, of , are located directly to the south of Knole Park, near to the villages of Sevenoaks Weald and Underriver...

and gardens are located directly to the south of Knole Park, on the southern edge of Sevenoaks. The house and gardens, which were first built in the 16th century, are privately owned by Jane Margaret Rogers

Jane Margaret Rogers

Jane Margaret Rogers of Riverhill, Sevenoaks was the High Sheriff of Kent from March 2009 to March 2010.-Background:Rogers' great grandfather, Henry Arthur Brassey, was High Sheriff of Kent in 1890. She grew up in Wiltshire, where her father was High Sheriff in 1959...

but are periodically open to the public.

Transport

Sevenoaks is located at the junction of two ancient roads heading south from London and Dartford

Dartford

Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....

to the Weald

Weald

The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...

. In 1710 part of one of the roads - from Sevenoaks through Tonbridge

Tonbridge

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

and Pembury

Pembury

Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of around 6,000. It lies just to the north-east of Tunbridge Wells.The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a conservation area.-History:...

to Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...

- was the first in Kent to be turnpiked

Toll road

, and others followed within the century: it became the A21 road in the 1920s; the road now bypass

Bypass (road)

A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....

es the town, and also takes traffic to the M25

M25 motorway

The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...

London Orbital motorway at Junction 5. The Dartford road is now the A225

A225 road

The A225 road runs in a north-south direction, connecting Dartford with Sevenoaks in Kent, England. For much of its journey it follows the valley of the River Darenth.-Overview:...

. The cross-country A25 road

A25 road

The A25 road is one of the three cross-country two-digit numbered roads in the southeast of England, the others being the A26 from Newhaven to Maidstone and the A27 along the south coast. It carries traffic from Guildford in Surrey through Dorking, and thence eastward along the southern edge of the...

passes through the north of the town.
There are two railway stations in Sevenoaks. The principal station

Sevenoaks railway station

Sevenoaks railway station serves the town of Sevenoaks in Kent. Train services are provided by Southeastern.Trains from the station run northbound to London Bridge, Cannon Street , Waterloo East and London Charing Cross via Orpington, to London Blackfriars via Swanley and Catford, and southbound to...

is located on the South Eastern Main Line and also acts as the terminus for the suburban stopping services to both London Charing Cross

Charing Cross railway station

Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...

and Blackfriars. The latter services follow the branch line via Swanley

Swanley railway station

Swanley railway station is on the Chatham Main Line, and serves the town of Swanley in north Kent, England. Train services are provided by Southeastern. Swanley Station is 17.4 miles from London Victoria....

, calling at the second of the stations, named Bat and Ball.

Religious sites

There are four churches belonging to the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

in Sevenoaks, dedicated to St Nicholas, St Luke, St Mary and St John the Baptist; and also St Mary's at Riverhead. The Roman Catholic church is dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury; and there are some eight other denominations represented in the town.

Education

There is one mixed state secondary school, the Knole Academy

Knole Academy

The Knole Academy is a secondary school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England that was opened in September 2010, as a result of the amalgamation of the Wildernesse School and the Bradbourne school .-External links:*...

, which was created in 2009 from an amalgamation of Wildernesse School

Wildernesse School

The Wildernesse School in Sevenoaks, Kent, England was a 11 to 19 single sex High School for boys. It had Specialist School status for Mathematics and Computing...

(for boys) and Bradbourne School (for girls), and four state primary schools, one of which is Church of England and another of which is Catholic.
Among the high number of independent schools is Sevenoaks School

Sevenoaks School

, a co-educational boarding and day school; and several Preparatory schools

Preparatory school (UK)

In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...

, including Solefield School, Walthamstow Hall

Walthamstow Hall

-History:Walthamstow Hall was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest all-girl independent schools in the country. It was found as an inter-denominational mission school and home for the daughters of Christian missionaries. It provides an 'all-through' education with a Junior School for girls aged...

, New Beacon Preparatory School and Sevenoaks Preparatory School.

Leisure

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve is the operating name of Sevenoaks Gravel Pits, a Site of Special Scientific Interest between the M26 motorway and the town of Sevenoaks in southeast England...

is to the north of the town centre, around one of the former gravel pits. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

, covering some 175 acres (71 ha).

Sevenoaks Scouts is an active youth organisation in the town.

Sevenoaks Information provides a comprehensive What's On events diary for the town and surrounding area.

Sports

The Vine Cricket Ground

Vine Cricket Ground

The Vine Cricket Ground is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset and owner of Knole House, where the ground is sited...

is one of the oldest cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

grounds in England, with the first recorded match having been played in 1734. It was given to the town in 1773 by John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset

John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset

John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset was the only son of Lord John Philip Sackville, second son of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset. He succeeded to the dukedom in 1769 on the death of his uncle, Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset...

, owner of Knole House at the time. It is notable for being the first place in England to play cricket with three stumps. In 1777 an "all-England" team played Hambledon

Hambledon, Hampshire

Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about north of Portsmouth.Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle of Cricket'. It is thought that Hambledon Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs known, was formed about 1750...

at the ground.

Sevenoaks has two leisure centres and many sports and other activities are available.

Culture

Television viewers can receive either London (north/west via Crystal Palace) or Kent & Sussex (aerial pointing eastwards via Blue Bell Hill

Blue Bell Hill

Blue Bell Hill is a chalk hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent. It overlooks the River Medway and is part of the North Downs. Settlements on the hill include Walderslade; and Blue Bell Hill and Kit's Coty villages...

) transmissions. Programmes including London Tonight

London Tonight

London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...

and BBC London

BBC London

BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London News and the weekly Politics Show on television, the BBC London 94.9 radio station and local coverage of the...

, or Meridian Tonight

Meridian Tonight

Meridian Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Meridian , serving the South and South East of England , and usually broadcast at 6pm and 10.30pm every weeknight. Other bulletins are branded as Meridian News...

& BBC South East Today

South East Today

BBC South East Today is the BBC South East regional television news programme, serving Kent, East Sussex and the eastern fringes of Surrey. Prior to its launch on 3 September 2001, most of the viewers in the region received Newsroom South East, though some had been receiving South Today.South East...

. Digital reception is available in the area with a better Freeview signal from Blue Bell Hill

Blue Bell Hill

or Heathfield in most places surrounding Sevenoaks, including Riverhead, Dunton Green and out towards Westerham.

The Stag Theatre and Cinema complex is located at the top of London Road. Recently re-opened as a community arts centre, supported by a strong network of volunteers and Sevenoaks Town Council. The multiplex cinema is open daily showing films.

Local media

Sevenoaks is served by county wide stations BBC Radio Kent

BBC Radio Kent

BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...

KMFM West Kent and Gold and many London stations.

The local paper is the Sevenoaks Chronicle, which is published every Thursday.

Notable people

The list of notable people who have been connected with the town includes John Donne

John Donne

John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...

, the poet, who was vicar of Sevenoaks in the 17th century, the 20th-century writer H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...

and the Welsh tramp-poet W. H. Davies

W. H. Davies

William Henry Davies or W. H. Davies was a Welsh poet and writer. Davies spent a significant part of his life as a tramp or vagabond in the United States and United Kingdom, but became known as one of the most popular poets of his time...

.

The brothers Phil Hartnoll and Paul Hartnoll

Paul Hartnoll

Paul Hartnoll is one of two brothers , who made up the electronic dance act Orbital.-History:...

, famous as the electronica duo Orbital

Orbital (band)

Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...

are from the town and took the name for the band from the nearby orbital motorway, the M25

M25 motorway

. Many actors and actresses have lived here, as have a number of sports personalities. Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

, went to West Heath School in Sevenoaks.

In January 1967, The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

made promotional films for "Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberry Fields Forever

"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...

" and "Penny Lane

Penny Lane

"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...

" in Knole Park. In a Westerham

Westerham

Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, in South East England with 5,000 people. The parish is south of the North Downs, ten miles west of Sevenoaks. It covers 5800 acres . It is recorded as early as the 9th century, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a...

antiques shop John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

bought a Victorian advertisement for Pablo Fanque

Pablo Fanque

Pablo Fanque was the first black circus proprietor in Britain. His circus, in which he himself was a performer, was the most popular circus in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus...

's Circus Royal, which provided the inspiration for "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song from the 1967 album by The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was composed by John Lennon...

", on the famous Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...

album released later that year.

The writer Basil Copper

Basil Copper

Basil Copper is a prolific English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. He became a fulltime writer in 1970.In addition to horror and detective fiction, Copper is perhaps best known for his series of Solar Pons stories continuing the character created as a tribute to Sherlock Holmes...

is a longterm resident of Sevenoaks.

Tony Hayward

Tony Hayward

Anthony Bryan "Tony" Hayward is a British businessman, the former chief executive of oil and energy company BP. He replaced John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley on 1 May 2007. His tenure ended on 1 October 2010 in large part due to the circumstances of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill...

, former CEO of BP

BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

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