East Peckham
| East Peckham | |
|---|---|
 St Michael's Church: |
|
 East Peckham
|
|
| East Peckham shown within Kent | |
| Population | 3,306 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TQ662482 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Tonbridge |
| Postcode district | TN12 |
| Dialling code | 01622 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
East Peckham is a village in Kent, England, made up of nine hamlets and situated about 5 miles (8 km) east of Tonbridge on the River Medway. It was the centre for the hop growing industry in Kent and is still home to the Hop Farm which has the world's largest collection of Oast Houses.
The Domesday entry for East and West Peckham reads:-
Part of the manor of East Farleigh lay within what is now East Peckham.
There is a persistent myth that the village was originally sited a few miles away towards Mereworth although there is no evidence of this. Although Sheet 80 of the First Edition One-Inch Ordnance Survey map published on 1 January 1819 does indeed show the village as being two miles north east of its present location. St Michael's church stands on high ground two miles to the north of the village, and is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust and open daily. In the mid-nineteenth century the new parish church of the Holy Trinity was built in the village. The architects were Whichcord and Walker of Maidstone, and the foundation stone was laid on 24 October 1840.
The River Bourne flows through the parish, and formerly powered a watermill (Little Mill) before joining the River Medway. There was another watermill on the River Medway at Branbridges.In the past, East Peckham has been flooded many times. The East Peckham Flood Relief partnership was formed in 2003. A dam has been built on the Coult Stream at Bullen Farm. It is 160 metres (170 yd) long and 4 metres (13 ft) high and has the capacity to hold 80,000 cubic metres (18,000,000 imp gal) of floodwater. The scheme cost just over £1 million.
...
Wikipedia