Westerham
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Westerham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located below the North Downs, west of Sevenoaks town. It covers 5800 acres (2320ha) and has a population of approximately 5000 persons.
Westerham is a scenic village which is now almost a town. It lies about ten miles west of Sevenoaks in Kent, England. It has been recorded at least as early as the ninth century and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a Norman form, Oistreham (compare Ouistreham in Normandy). Ham is an Old English word meaning a village or homestead, and so Westerham is literally a westerly homestead.
History
View of Westerham, Kent ca. 1831, from W. H. Ireland's History of Kent.
There is much evidence that the area around Westerham has been settled for thousands of years: finds such as a Celtic fortification (c 2000 BC) and a Roman road are close by. The manor was originally run by Godwin, Earl of Kent and later by his son Harold the last Saxon King of England.
By 1227 Henry III granted Westerham a market charter, making the new village a major player in the buying and selling of cattle in Kent, a tradition that survived right up to 1961 when the last cattle market was held. Over the centuries new families moved into the village, including the Warde family, who have lived at Squerryes Court since 1731. The Wardes still live there today: and their home is a tourist attraction.
General James Wolfe was born here, and there is a statue to him in the main square of the village: many streets and buildings are also named after him.
St Mary's church is thought to date from the 13th century, although much altered in Victorian times.
Chartwell
In 1922 Winston Churchill MP purchased Chartwell Manor on the outskirts of Westerham, which, apart from the time he spent at 10 Downing Street, was his home for the rest of his life. Chartwell is now in the hands of the National Trust.
There is a statue of Sir Winston Churchill on the village green at Westerham. It was executed by Oscar Nemon and stands on a base of Yugoslavian stone, the gift of Marshal Tito.
Communications
Both the M25 motorway and the A25 road run through the parish.The South Eastern Railway opened the 4.25 mile branch line from Dunton Green to Westerham station on 7 July 1881; all services were withdrawn from the branch on 30 October 1961. The trackbed of the railway is to a large extent beneath the line of the M25 which runs to the north of the village.
Gallery
External links
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