Sevenoaks
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The town's name is derived from the Saxon word "Seouenaca", the name given to a small chapel near seven oak trees in Knole Park around 800 A.D.. Contrary to popular myth, the town is not named after the seven oak trees that lined the boundary of the Vine Cricket Ground, six of which were destroyed in the Great Storm of 1987. Those trees were one of several sets of seven oaks around the town and date from 1902 when they were planted to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII.
History
Medieval
- Sevenoaks was not mentioned in the Domesday Book, although neighbouring Otford was
- A market was first established in the town in the 13th century
- In 1456 Archbishop Bourchier of Canterbury purchased the Knole estate and built Knole House.
Early schools
Sevenoaks School, at the south end of the High Street and whose grounds penetrate into Knole, is the oldest secular school in England. It was founded by Sir William Sevenoke, a wealthy London merchant, in 1432. Sevenoke an orphan had been brought up in the town In later life he became a wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor. Founding the school and adjacent almshouses was his thanks to the town. In 1560 it was ordered by Queen Elizabeth I that it should be called The Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth. It was "for the education of boys and youths in grammar and learning".By the early 19th century there were no fewer than seven grammar schools in the town.
Communications
Roads
Sevenoaks is located at the junction of two ancient roads heading south from London and Dartford to the Weald.In 1710 part of one of the roads - from Sevenoaks through Tonbridge and Pembury to Tunbridge Wells- was the first in Kent to be turnpiked, and others followed within the century.
The town is now by-passed by the A21 dual carriageway road, and is connected to the M25 London Orbital motorway at Junction 5.
Railways
Railways were relatively late arriving at Sevenoaks. The previous main line of the South Eastern Railway (SER) had been through Redhill and it was in the nature of a "cutoff" to reduce the length of that journey that the line between Lewisham and Tonbridge was built. The line had huge construction difficulties, including two tunnels (it took three years to complete the final dozen miles): the Sevenoaks Tunnel is the longest in the south of England at 3156 metres (about 2 miles) long.The main station - Sevenoaks (formerly known as "Tub's Hill", after the adjacent area) - was opened on 2 March 1868. There is a second station, on the branch to Swanley Junction, serving the north end of the town, opened earlier (2 June 1862). It is named after the local inn (now closed) - Bat & Ball.
Sevenoaks was the scene of a horrific railway accident on 24 August 1927, when a passenger train derailed because the "River" Class locomotive hauling the train became unstable at high speed. Thirteen people were killed. The accident led to the entire "River" class of locomotives being rebuilt.
The line to Sevenoaks was electrified in 1935. It was the first station in Britain to be re-built with the later well-known British Rail red, white and blue colouring.
Sevenoaks is part of the rail franchise which, post-privatisation, was served by Connex South Eastern. Subsequent to their 'sacking' in 2003 due to poor performance, services have been operated by South Eastern Trains (SET) - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). This arrangement will only continue until 1 April 2006, when Govia will take over the Integrated Kent Franchise for 8 years.
Knole
To the east of the town is Knole Park, a 1000 acre (4 km²) park inhabited by deer and several million trees. In its centre is Knole House, the home of the Sackville family (the Dukes of Dorset) since it was given to them by Queen Elizabeth I in 1577. The estate is owned and maintained by the National Trust, although the Sackvilles still live there.Cricket
The Vine Cricket Ground is one of the oldest cricket grounds in England, with the first recorded match having been played in 1734. It was given to the town in 1773 by John, 3rd 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 at the Ground.Population
The 2001 Census counts approximately 18,588 residents within the Sevenoaks civil parish authority, compared to the 1801 town population of 2,600.Modern Sevenoaks
Given its proximity to London a large proportion of residents are commuters. The town centre contains a reasonable number of small and medium sized shops including a theatre, and a recently enlarged outdoor shopping centre.During the Great Storm of 1987, six of the seven oak trees around The Vine were blown down. Following this, a further seven small oak trees were planted in a local ceremony involving celebrities from television shows such as Blue Peter, including locals Gloria Hunniford and Caron Keating.
Sadly the trees were located right outside the pub named after the cricket ground, "The Vine", and six of the seven saplings were vandalised one night. This left one of the original trees, and one of the new ones. Sevenoaks District Council decided that a more rugged set of replacements were required, and hence seven further, more mature trees were planted, leaving the vine with a total of nine trees in a row.
References
- Kent History Illustrated Frank W Jessup (KCC, 1966)
- Railways of the Southern Region Geoffrey Body (PSL Field Guide 1989)
External links
- [Information for Sevenoaks, including interactive Calendar]
- [The town website]
- [The Parish Churches and Community Information for West Sevenoaks district]
- [Emmetts Garden]
- [Images of Sevenoaks]
- [Heart of Kent - Tourist Guide to Sevenoaks]
- [Scouting in Sevenoaks]
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