Yalding
Encyclopedia
Yalding is a village and part of Yalding civil parish in the Maidstone
District of Kent
, England
.
The village is situated six miles south-west of Maidstone
at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult
join the River Medway
.
There are three bridges in the village; the Twyford Bridge (meaning twin ford, where there was originally a double crossing of the two rivers) is one of the finest medieval bridges in the south-east of England. Yalding was one of the principal shipment points on the River Medway for cannon, from villages of the Wealden iron industry
. One iron master was John Browne from Horsmonden
.
The wharf was later used for transporting fruit from the many orchards in the area. Garden Organic
, the UK's leading organic growing charity, created a demonstration garden
located near the village. This was closed in 2007 but leased and reopened by the local business Maro Foods, in 2008. The gardens are now known as The Yalding Gardens.
village was called Twyford and was close to the bridge. But the name was recorded in the Domesday Book
as the Saxon manor of Hallinges owned by Aldret, though it was known as Ge-aeldinge (the old village). By 1642 this had mutated to Yaldinge.
The medieval records from Yalding are so complete that it was used in a History Case Study for Secondary Schools, called the The Yalding Project.
During the English Civil War
in 1643, a battle took place at Town Bridge between the Roundheads and Cavaliers. The Cavaliers had advanced from Aylesford
towards Tonbridge
, but the Parliamentarian soldiers had marched to block their movements, bombarded them and forced their surrender, with the result that 300 were captured and 300 escaped.
Yalding was a favourite of Edith Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, who wrote in the 1920s: "The Medway just above the Anchor (at Yalding, Kent) is a river of dreams...If you go to Yalding you may stay at the George and be comfortable in a little village that owns a haunted churchyard, a fine church, and one of the most beautiful bridges in Europe."
.It is built from ragstone, and is judged to be from the 13th century. The tower turret has a weather vane dated 1734.
. It is just downstream of the automatic sluice where the river drops from +11.2m to +7.41m above mean sea level, the navigation bears left through the Hampstead Rd Canal, and the Hampstead Lock, the main stream drops over the weir and sluice and is joined here by the River Teise (Lesser Teise) and both pass under Twyford Bridge. The river then flows in a loop towards the village where it is joined by the River Beult which has passed under Town Bridge. However the main stream of the River Teise flowed into the Beult near Benover, 3 km upstream of Town Bridge. Twyford Bridge is not navigable. Twyford bridge is 16 km from Allington, where the Medway becomes tidal. The medieval Town Bridge is built of ragstone in the 15th century, it has seven arches and spans the Beult and the marshy ground each side. It is reputed to be the longest existing medieval bridge in Kent being 150m in length.
The riverside properties are prone to flooding. Yalding was severely flooded eight times in the winter of 2000/1. Another memorable flood was on Christmas Day in 1927.
lies on the Medway Valley Line
. On Weekdays trains run every hour to either Paddock Wood
in one direction or Strood
(via Maidstone West) in the other. On Sundays trains are every hour, running to Maidstone West in one direction or Three Bridges (via Tonbridge and Gatwick Airport) in the other.
club, Yalding Cricket Club, that has existed since 1798 (first recorded game). The cricket pitch was once beside the River Medway on the Lees (Village Common).
They currently play on the Kintons ground.
The Greensand Way
long-distance footpath crosses the Medway at Twyford Bridge, and follows up the High Street, passes through Blunden Lane, and leaves the village by an ancient byway
by Bustom Farm Cottages. The Medway Valley Walk
follows the river from Tonbridge
to the sluice on the east bank, then the Hampstead Lane Canal, and the river to Maidstone on the west bank.
Yalding Organic Garden
has a display of fourteen individual gardens, demonstrating gardening through the last 800 years. The plants have been carefully chosen to make sure that they are accurate to their historical period.
The Yalding and District Beekeepers Association was formed in January 2011, by a group of local beekeepers, and meets monthly in The Chequers Inn, Laddingford.
There is a strong football club- Yalding and Laddingford FC based at the Kintons ground with 2 teams in the West Kent Sunday League. Formed in 2011 the Club are well supported throughout the Parish and look to foster links throughout the village.
Maidstone (borough)
Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone which is also the County town of Kent...
District of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The village is situated six miles south-west of 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...
at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult
Rivers of Kent
There are four rivers draining the county of Kent, England.- River Medway :This is the main river, whose catchment area covers almost 25% of the county...
join the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
.
Wealden iron industry
The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used ironstone from various clay...
. One iron master was John Browne from Horsmonden
Horsmonden
Horsmonden is a village in Kent, on the Weald. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railway station is Paddock Wood, Horsmonden railway station having closed in 1961.- History :It was an important centre of the medieval...
.
The wharf was later used for transporting fruit from the many orchards in the area. Garden Organic
Garden Organic
Garden Organic, formerly known as the Henry Doubleday Research Association , is the UK's leading organic growing charity dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food.-History:...
, the UK's leading organic growing charity, created a demonstration garden
Yalding Organic Gardens
Yalding Gardens are demonstration gardens open to the public near Yalding, Kent.Originally established by the organic gardening charity HDRA , the gardens were established to show a range of more than 10 different organically maintained kitchen gardens and other garden types throughout history.In...
located near the village. This was closed in 2007 but leased and reopened by the local business Maro Foods, in 2008. The gardens are now known as The Yalding Gardens.
History
The SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
village was called Twyford and was close to the bridge. But the name was recorded in the 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...
as the Saxon manor of Hallinges owned by Aldret, though it was known as Ge-aeldinge (the old village). By 1642 this had mutated to Yaldinge.
The medieval records from Yalding are so complete that it was used in a History Case Study for Secondary Schools, called the The Yalding Project.
During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in 1643, a battle took place at Town Bridge between the Roundheads and Cavaliers. The Cavaliers had advanced from Aylesford
Aylesford
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, 4 miles NW of Maidstone in England.Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. One pub, a Post Office and four small independent shops remain...
towards 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...
, but the Parliamentarian soldiers had marched to block their movements, bombarded them and forced their surrender, with the result that 300 were captured and 300 escaped.
Yalding was a favourite of Edith Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, who wrote in the 1920s: "The Medway just above the Anchor (at Yalding, Kent) is a river of dreams...If you go to Yalding you may stay at the George and be comfortable in a little village that owns a haunted churchyard, a fine church, and one of the most beautiful bridges in Europe."
Buildings
The parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St PaulPaul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
.It is built from ragstone, and is judged to be from the 13th century. The tower turret has a weather vane dated 1734.
Rivers
Twyford Bridge crosses the River MedwayRiver Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
. It is just downstream of the automatic sluice where the river drops from +11.2m to +7.41m above mean sea level, the navigation bears left through the Hampstead Rd Canal, and the Hampstead Lock, the main stream drops over the weir and sluice and is joined here by the River Teise (Lesser Teise) and both pass under Twyford Bridge. The river then flows in a loop towards the village where it is joined by the River Beult which has passed under Town Bridge. However the main stream of the River Teise flowed into the Beult near Benover, 3 km upstream of Town Bridge. Twyford Bridge is not navigable. Twyford bridge is 16 km from Allington, where the Medway becomes tidal. The medieval Town Bridge is built of ragstone in the 15th century, it has seven arches and spans the Beult and the marshy ground each side. It is reputed to be the longest existing medieval bridge in Kent being 150m in length.
Transport
The village railway stationYalding railway station
Yalding railway station is on the Medway Valley Line in Kent, and serves Yalding. Train services are provided by Southeastern. The station is 6 km east of Paddock Wood....
lies on the Medway Valley Line
Medway Valley Line
The Medway Valley Line is the name given to the railway line linking and the Medway Towns with and onward to , and London St Pancras International...
. On Weekdays trains run every hour to either Paddock Wood
Paddock Wood
Paddock Wood is a small town and civil parish in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells and county of Kent in England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 8,263, and is the centre for hop growing in Kent.-History:...
in one direction or Strood
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
(via Maidstone West) in the other. On Sundays trains are every hour, running to Maidstone West in one direction or Three Bridges (via Tonbridge and Gatwick Airport) in the other.
Education
The village primary school is St Peter's and St Paul's Church of England Primary School. At secondary level, the school is in the Mascalls Comprehensive catchment area.Leisure
Yalding has a cricketCricket
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...
club, Yalding Cricket Club, that has existed since 1798 (first recorded game). The cricket pitch was once beside the River Medway on the Lees (Village Common).
They currently play on the Kintons ground.
The Greensand Way
Greensand Way
The Greensand Way is long distance walk of in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and alongside fruit orchards and hop farms in Kent and links...
long-distance footpath crosses the Medway at Twyford Bridge, and follows up the High Street, passes through Blunden Lane, and leaves the village by an ancient byway
Byway (road)
A byway in the United Kingdom is a minor secondary or tertiary road. In 2000 the legal term 'restricted byway' was introduced to cover roads on which it is possible to travel by any mode but not using 'mechanically propelled vehicles'.-Byway Open to All Traffic :In England & Wales, a Byway Open to...
by Bustom Farm Cottages. The Medway Valley Walk
Medway Valley Walk
The Medway Valley Walk follows the River Medway from Rochester to Tonbridge. Above Allington, it follows the bank of the Medway Navigation. It starts on the Saxon Shore Way at Rochester. The North Downs Way crosses the Medway Valley Walk at the eastern end of the Medway Viaduct or motorway bridge....
follows the river from 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...
to the sluice on the east bank, then the Hampstead Lane Canal, and the river to Maidstone on the west bank.
Yalding Organic Garden
Yalding Organic Gardens
Yalding Gardens are demonstration gardens open to the public near Yalding, Kent.Originally established by the organic gardening charity HDRA , the gardens were established to show a range of more than 10 different organically maintained kitchen gardens and other garden types throughout history.In...
has a display of fourteen individual gardens, demonstrating gardening through the last 800 years. The plants have been carefully chosen to make sure that they are accurate to their historical period.
The Yalding and District Beekeepers Association was formed in January 2011, by a group of local beekeepers, and meets monthly in The Chequers Inn, Laddingford.
There is a strong football club- Yalding and Laddingford FC based at the Kintons ground with 2 teams in the West Kent Sunday League. Formed in 2011 the Club are well supported throughout the Parish and look to foster links throughout the village.
Notable people
- Andrea ParkerAndrea Parker (DJ)Andrea Parker is a British electronic music producer, record label proprietor and DJ from Yalding, Kent. Despite having a background in cello playing, Parker was heavily influenced by electronic pioneers such as Art Of Noise and Jean Michel Jarre...
, record producer. - David Sadler, (b 1946), football player, was born in Yalding.