Iden Green
Coordinates: 51°06′26″N 0°33′48″E / 51.1073°N 0.5634°E
Iden Green is a small village, near Benenden, in the county of Kent. It belongs to the civil parish of Benenden and the Tunbridge Wells Borough District of Kent, in the South East of England.[1]
The village is located amongst chalk hills, known as The Weald, situated between the North and the South Downs and rests within the eastern district of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[2][3]
In Old English 'Iden' refers to a ‘pasture by the yew trees’ (from ig ‘yew’ + denn ‘pasture’). Hence the village's name means 'a pasture of green by the yew trees'.[4]
Geography
Iden Green is situated between four small towns; Staplehurst to the north, Tenterden to the east, Hawkhurst to the south and the nearest town of Cranbrook to the west.[5]
History
Iden Green's main street, Mill Street, was a Roman Road and for over four centuries the village has been a farming village servicing the nearby towns of Cranbrook, Tenterden and Hawkhurst.[6]
A paved ford, built in Roman times, still exists in Iden Green, having been discovered during excavations in 1935. It was common around AD43 for the Romans to pave fords in Britain to allow easy access by pedestrians, horses and carts. The Paved Ford in Iden Green is protected by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as being of national and historic importance.[7]
The first Ordnance Survey map of the area, surveyed 1870-1871 and published in 1887, details that the village centred around 4 main farms; Eaglesden manor, its oast, and its farm, in the south of the village, Iden Green Farm in the east (along Weavers Lane), Yew Tree Farm which occupied the center of the current village and Framefarm in the northern area. Other houses mentioned are Thorne Charity House (near the site of the current tennis club), Smithey (near the site of the monument on the corner of Standen Street) and Albion Cottage (opposite Mr Noah's Nursery).[8][9]
Transport Links
The nearest railway stations are Staplehurst to the north, and Etchingham to the south west. The A229 road lies 5km to the West and runs North / South between Maidstone and Hurst Green. Further West (10km approximately) the A21 runs North / South and stretches between London and Hastings.
Population
The 1986 Census of the United Kingdom detailed that Iden Green had a population of 380; it being largely a village of young families; 132 children under 18, 160 adults and 88 elderly residents.[10]
Schools
Pre-School & Nursery
Primary Schools
- Benenden Primary School[13]
- Sissinghurst CofE Primary School[14]
Prep Schools
- Dulwich Prep School Cranbook - DCPS
- Marlborough House School
- St. Ronan's School
- Sutton Valence School
Secondary Schools
- Benenden School for Girls
- Cranbrook Grammar School
- High Weald Academy
- Highworth Grammar School for Girls
- Maidstone Grammar School
- Maidstone Grammar School for Girls
- Norton Knatchbull School
- Sutton Valence School
- Tonbridge School
Village Amenities
- For amenities in and around the town of Cranbrook, see Cranbrook, Kent.
Iden Green Congregational Church
Iden Green Congregational Church is an evangelical church, built in the 1960s.[15]
Iden Green Tennis Club
To the rear of the village green is the Iden Green Tennis Club, which contains two outdoor courts and a clubhouse.[16]
Mr Noah's Nursery School
Mr Noah's is a nursery school in Iden Green that focus's on foundation stage children. The nursery is linked to Iden Green Congregational Church.[17]
Iden Green Pavilion
The Iden Green Pavilion serves as a village hall for the local village community, with a capacity of 70.[18]
Iden Green Recreational Green
The Iden Green recreational park contains a young children's playground and is used for village activities, such as fetes with live music and games of rounders.[19]
Pubs & Restaurants
- The Woodcock Inn, is the only pub in Iden Green itself and is a 17th Century traditional public house with an enclosed beer garden, located off Standen Street.[20]
- The Bull at Benenden was originally a 19th Century family home and now a converted public house.[21]
- The Milk House, in Sissinghurst, (originally the Bull at Sissinghurst) is a gastric pub and restaurant.[22]
- The West House, housed in a 16th Century weaver’s cottage in the village of Biddenden is the Michelin-starred restaurant of chef/patron Graham Garrett.[23]
- Chapel Down, restaurant and 'champagne' vineyards are located in nearby Tenterden.[24]
Media Interest
On 6th March 2016, HRH Princess Anne The Princess Royal, visited Iden Green to open 6 new homes on Standen Street as part of Kent's affordable housing scheme. This is in addition to the six houses built in 1994. The land had been gifted to the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council by Viscount Rothermere.[25]
Notable People
People of note who have lived in Iden Green include:[26][27] [28]
- William Robert Fountains Addison VC, (1883–1962), recipient of the Victoria Cross in the First World War.
- Boyd Alexander, (1873-1910), British Army officer, explorer and ornithologist.
- Amanda Cole, (1966-), marketeer. Best known for her work with Historic Royal Palaces and the Warner Bros Harry Potter studio tours.
- Giles Cooper, (1968-), entertainment producer & promoter. Best known as Chairman of the annual Royal Variety Performance.
- Louise Dean, (1971-), novelist.
- William Huntington S.S., (1745–1813), preacher and eccentric.
- Peter G Michell, (1962-), preacher and founder of Mr Noah's nursery.
- Brian Moore, (1932-2001), football commentator. Best known as a BBC TV presenter.
- Arthur Tooth, (1839–1931), Church of England priest imprisoned under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874.
- Thomas Webster, (1800-1886), painter of genre scenes of school and village life.
References
- ↑ Martin, W Stanley (1896). A Glimpse at Cranbrook - The Town of the Weald. Cranbrook: E. J. Holmes. p. 78.
- ↑ "The Weald - geography and natural management".
- ↑ "High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".
- ↑ "Ancestry and ancient language of place names".
- ↑ "Cranbrook official site - maps and geography".
- ↑ The Kent Village Book Alan Bignell, 1986, Countryside Books ISBN 1-85306-571-4
- ↑ "Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 Iden Green's Paved Roman Ford".
- ↑ "The Weald - geography and natural management".
- ↑ "Map of Iden Green".
- ↑ "BBC population records".
- ↑ "Mr Noah's Nursery School".
- ↑ "Benenden Pre-School Nursery".
- ↑ "Benenden Primary School".
- ↑ "Sissinghurst Primary School".
- ↑ "Benenden Parish".
- ↑ "Benenden Iden Green tennis tournaments".
- ↑ "Mr Noah's Nursery School".
- ↑ "Iden Green Pavilion".
- ↑ "Iden Green Pavilion".
- ↑ "The Woodcock Pub Iden Green".
- ↑ "The Bull, Benenden".
- ↑ "The Milk House, Sissinghurst".
- ↑ "The West House".
- ↑ "Chapel Down".
- ↑ "Princess Anne visits Iden Green".
- ↑ The Kent Village Book Alan Bignell, 1986, Countryside Books ISBN 1-85306-571-4
- ↑ "Benenden Parish".
- ↑ "Cranbrook - a history".
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benenden. |
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Goudhurst | Benenden | Tenterden | |
| Cranbrook, Kent |  |
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| Hawkhurst | Sandhurst, Kent | Bodiam |
