we have a wealth of
history
to share!
Were you aware of any of these reasons why we consider our "patch" to be so special?....
- The main Roman road to Richborough is thought to have run through Wickhambreaux with watermills along our river, the little Stour.
- Many of the fields around Ickham were given to the Church by King Offa in AD791.
- Seaton Mill was once used to make rubber tobacco pouches.
- The little Stour was canalised and used to take barges down to Pluck’s Gutter.
- The Barn at Littlebourne was owned by St Augustine’s Abbey and is probably over 700 years old. Our current resident is Torrent, the old giant pictured below!Â
- Vines were grown in Littlebourne in the middle ages and it became a centre for basket making in Victorian times using the willows from the riverside.
- Joan, Countess of Kent (1328-85) owned estates at Wickhambreaux and was ‘the most beautiful woman in all the realm of England, and the most loving’. She was later called ‘The Fair Maid of Kent’.
- Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve takes its name from the Anglo Saxon word for a mare, a ‘stode’.
Questions or Suggestions
Whether you’re curious about our local history or have any new insights or information to offer, please get in touch and we will do our best to reflect this here! We welcome photos that reflect our villages’ history – so please let us know if you would like to contribute any to the Gallery pageÂ