Larkfield
Skylark
Larkfield has been in existence for many hundreds of years. It has not always been a big as it is now. Seen against the background of England's rich and ancient history, the parish of Larkfield is still wet behind the ears. Yet, paradoxically, the village itself has roots that stretch back well into Saxon times. The name has been spelt variously as Lauercefeld (1160), Lauerkefeld (1175), and Laukefeld (1240). The oldest reference to date is Laurochesfel, in 1086. The name is a descriptive one, coming from the Old English words for larks, and. field. Prior to the house-building programme in the 1960s, the arable fields between Lunsford Lane and New Hythe Lane were indeed notable for the large number of skylarks to be found there and in the skies above.
The history of the area in general goes back even further than this in time. Roman remains have been found in several places, including central Larkfield. The most notable discovery was that of a Romano-British cemetery, found in 1892. The exact site is difficult to pinpoint, but it would seem to have been in the northern portion of the birds' estate. Thirteen graves containing bones in urns, and some pottery, were unearthed whilst some fruit trees were being planted.
Larkfield’s principal claim to historical importance is that it gave its name to one of the administrative units of the county. Kent was divided into five Lathes, which were subdivided into sixty-three Hundreds. Larkfield was one of the Hundreds in the Lathe of Aylesford, and had its own constable, court, and jurors.
The court house used to stand at the eastern end of Larkfield Green, which extended from New Hythe Lane to New Road, with the main road dividing to run down either side of the Green. It was here that the court met to elect the constables for the Hundred of Larkfield, and to conduct its business. Larkfield was once much more important strategically than it is today.
The road from East Mailing, Wateringbury, and Paddock Wood, used to join the London Road immediately opposite New Hythe Lane, which then took the traveller down to the port of New Hythe. The road was diverted to its present position, away from Bradboume House, so that it joined the London Road at a point some hundred yards to the west of its original junction. It was at this time that it received its present name of New Road. The original junction, the position of which can still be seen between the fine timbered Wealden Hall house and the Inn House, has had, at various times, a distinct air of commerce.
The Inn House - the long building, with a shallow lay-by, standing on the south-western side of the old cross-roads - used to be The Bull coaching inn. In 1939 the business was moved to Larkfield House - on a site earlier called Pond Field - opposite New Road. The name of the inn has changed several times over the recent years, and what was The Bull became The Hunting Lodge, then The Larkfield Hotel, and is currently called The Larkfield Priory. A forge and blacksmith's shop once stood on the north-eastern corner of the cross-roads, and this very imposing building may be seen in the foreground of the sketch of Larkfield High Street.
A turnpike was situated close to the north-western corner of the cross-roads. The turnpike itself was removed in 1875, but the cottage remained until about 1950. The row of old buildings extending westwards, on the southern side of the junction, once housed a wheelwright's shop, and a rope-maker's workshop. So it is easy to visualise a scene of some activity at Larkfield over the centuries, particularly when it is remembered how important New Hythe used to be, and how much traffic made its way to and from this little port. In 1254 it was called La Newethe, taking its name from the Old English word 'hyo', meaning a landing or loading place. If there had ever been a Hythe, or Old Hythe, there is no indication of where it was situated. Although not large, as other ports go, 15% of the boats passing through Rochester in the seventeenth-century had been loaded at New Hythe, Mill Hall, or Aylesford.
An important feature of New Hythe was that the traveller could cross the river here, via a ferry or, in earlier times, by a ford perhaps. The ferry operated until the 1950s, and lent its name to the Ferry Inn standing right on the river frontage literally at the very end of New Hythe Lane. The modern sightseer, standing at the lane's termination at the river, could be forgiven for wondering why anyone should ever have wanted a ferry here anyway, when the far bank consists of nothing but mud banks, reed beds, and scrub. However, about a century ago, thriving brick and cement industries stood on this bank, in the parishes of Eccles and Burham.
The region is rich in Roman, Saxon, and prehistoric remains, with the best-known examples being the Roman villa at Eccles, and the Kits Coty burial mound entrance at Aylesford. All of this indicates an established need for transport across the river in this vicinity. River crossings were not undertaken with impurity, even as late as mediaeval times, and plenty of bridges - even stone ones - were constructed with chapels integrated into their fabric. It was in these that prayers and thanksgivings could be offered by the traveller. A chapel, dedicated to St. John, used to stand very close to the end of New Hythe Lane. It was built in the thirteenth century, and this suggests that the popularity of the crossing dates back to at least this time. There is no evidence that a bridge ever spanned the river at this point, so the provision of the chapel must have related to the operation of a ferry, or a ford. Both were probably equally hazardous on this powerful tidal waterway, so an appointed spot for prayer would have been a great spiritual and moral comfort.
Larkfield grew into a village with cottages, a church and school for the children, the church and school being built around mid eighteen hundreds.
Holy Trinity Church Larkfield Larkfield Church School
The old school closed in the 1966 due to its limited size, being replaced by a more modern school building, Brookfield, in order to cope with the in flux of people from the new housing estate that was being built at that time. The old school buildings remained empty for some time and have since been converted into several individual homes.
Click on above for more details of the Tonbridge & Malling Area and East Malling & Larkfield Parish Council
Having grown it boasts a Television Studio (ITV Meridian) serving the South East of England and the Head Quarters and printing base for the Kent Messenger Group, the local paper for the whole of the county of Kent. The paper making still survives in the area, but not under the old "Reeds" name, which was famous world wide. The papermill site itself has been sub divided into smaller units, with a varied range of different types of industry now being carried out.
Larkfield in the 1970's, there were just a few shops, a sub-post office, one school and a relatively small housing estate. Since then it now have two super markets, one D.I.Y. super store, a leisure centre, two restaurants, a hotel, four take-away food outlets (one Indian, two Chinese, and one fish & chips), two schools and a housing area which has tripled in size. It is still growing today, with around another 500 houses being built to the north of the village next some now disused gravel pits. These gravel pits, which are basically now lakes are to be developed into a wild life and county park by the developer as part of the planning permission to build the houses.
M20 heading towards London
The reason why it has grown so much, is that a motorway was built in the mid 1970s connecting to London. Latterly the motorway has been extended down to the Channel Tunnel, and Larkfield is now only 45 minutes from London or the Channel Tunnel, that is on a good day when the traffic is not to heavy. Making it very popular with London commuters.
Click on above for a map of the area
