Hildenborough
Coordinates: 51°12′50″N 0°14′31″E / 51.214°N 0.242°E
| Hildenborough | |
 Hildenborough
Hildenborough shown within Kent |
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| Population | 4,600 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TQ565485 |
| District | Tonbridge & Malling |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TONBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | TN11 |
| Dialling code | 01732 83 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Tonbridge & Malling |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Hildenborough is a village and rural parish in the District of Tonbridge and Malling, Kent. It is two miles (three kilometres) north-west of Tonbridge and five miles (eight kilometres) south-east of Sevenoaks. The village lies in the River Medway valley, near the North Downs in an area known as The Weald.
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[edit] Origin of name
Hildenborough was originally just Hilden – or, in its 13th-century form, Hyldenn. The elements here are Old English hyll ‘hill’ and denn ‘woodland pasture’, so the sense is of a ‘pasture on or by a hill’. By 1349 the name had become Hildenborough, having acquired the affix from burh ‘manor, borough’.
[edit] Wartime
In World War II a doodlebug (V1) fell near an oast house by Mill Lane and smashed its cowl.
In the fields along Stocks Green Road, by the old tea rooms, a German parachutist came down and a Captain from the Royal Artillery from Hildenborough had to take him to a POW camp. A woman in some neighbouring buildings offered the German a cup of tea. Mansers Farm and Fairview house in Nizels Lane were also houses where German soldiers landed.
[edit] Transport
Hildenborough stood on the first road in Kent to be turnpiked in 1710: the highway from Sevenoaks through Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells; carrying much traffic en route to “the Wells”. A number of inns sprang up to service this traffic, including the Hilden Manor and the Half Moon.
Today the village, along with Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, is by-passed by the modern A21 road.
The railway was late coming to Hildenborough: the South Eastern Railway did not open its direct line from London until 1 May 1868. The six-mile (ten-kilometre) gradient up to Sevenoaks takes its name from the village. The railway station was situated close to the existing houses at the time, which is now about one mile (one and a half kilometres) from the village centre.
[edit] Religion
By the 1840s, the Parish of Tonbridge was approximately 10 miles (16 km) long and 2½ miles (4 km) wide. A circular letter dated 26 September 1842 explained that, "as the Parish was so large, a great many people were unable to attend the church [in nearby Tonbridge]." It was proposed that, "a new church should be built for the people living in the Hildenborough district." Dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, the church was consecrated on 9 July 1844.[1]
In 1992 a "church plant" was established by St John's at Stocks Green School, to serve the southern part of the village, initially meeting monthly until 1994 when weekly services started. The congregation moved back to the Church Centre (hall) at St John's in 2008 http://www.stjohnshildenboro.co.uk
Hildenborough Gospel Hall, located in Mount Pleasant, was established some time around 1850. http://www.hildenboroughgospelhall.co.uk
[edit] Modern Hildenborough
Sackville School, Hildenborough, a private educational establishment, now occupies Foxbush House, built in 1866 for Charles Fitch Kemp, a London chartered accountant, who had an “ambition to be a country landowner”. The house was subsequently sold twice before the second World War, when it was occupied by the military. It was used by various educational establishments from 1949; Sackville School was established in 1987 and its grounds are a Registered Historic Park.
Apart from one large financial institution Fidelity Investments having set up its UK Headquarters in Hildenborough and a GlaxoSmithKline factory at nearby Powder Mills, commerce in the village is primarily based on small businesses. It is very much a commuter village with its good transport links with London.
One of the village's oldest buildings, the Hilden Manor restaurant owned by Beefeater, was burnt down by a fire caused by an electrical fault, and has now been restored and rebuilt by Oaklands. It was officially re-opened on 6 October 2006, along with a Premier Travel Inn newly built next to it.
The Raphael Medical Centre in Coldharbour Lane offers Speech Therapy, Art & Music Therapy to help patients regain mental and physical abilities lost through serious illness or accidents.
[edit] Schools
Hildenborough pays host to a number of schools. There is one private primary school, Fosse Bank, one private secondary, Sackville, and two state primaries, Stocks Green school and Hildenborough CEP school. Hildenborough primary was the first school in the village, and is over 150 years old.
[edit] Activities
There are several activities for children and teenagers, including those run by Hildenborough Church, and a Scout troop (8th Tonbridge). There are three football teams associated with the village Hildenborough Athletic FC, two being in the local Sevenoaks & District League and the first team playing football in the Kent County Division One league as of 2011-2012 season. Action Medical Research have a regular charity cycling event, the 'Castle 100' every year that runs through Riding Lane and Shipbourne http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/explore-kent/cycling/Tonbridge-Castle-charity-ride.htm
[edit] Entertainment and Dining
Hildenborough is home to several pubs and restaurants, including the refurbished Hilden Manor, the Flying Dutchman and the Cock Horse. In addition, the Half Moon pub on Tonbridge road is a frequent live music venue.
[edit] Local celebrities
Hildenborough is the family home of Olympic double-gold medallist Kelly Holmes. Other famous residents included the late Sir Henry Cooper.
Henry (Real Name Hyla) Stallard MBE (1901 -73) lived in Mill Lane, he was an athlete in the 1924 Paris Olympics and represented Great Britain in the 800 and 1500m. He hurt his foot in one of the races but he picked himself up and carried on running. An actor played him in Chariots of Fire. He became a pioneering eye surgeon at St Barts Hospital and Moorfields. He later moved with his wife Gywnneth to Forest Row in Sussex but used to spend Christmas in Hildenborough with his relatives. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1017335/?page=1
[edit] Demography
| Hildenborough compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Hildenborough ward | Tonbridge and Malling borough | England |
| Population | 4,588 | 107,561 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 5.7% | 4.6% | 9.2% |
| White | 98.7% | 98.3% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.4% | 0.7% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 78.8% | 76.1% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 12.6% | 15% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.5% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 17.1% | 14.2% | 13.5% |
As of the 2001 UK census, the Hildenborough electoral ward had a population of 4,588. The ethnicity was 98.7% white, 0.6% mixed race, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.3% United Kingdom, 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 1.7% other Western European countries, and 3.4% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 78.8% Christian, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.2% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.2% Muslim. 12.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 7.6% did not state their religion.[2]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.1% in full-time employment, 13.5% in part-time employment, 10.9% self-employed, 1.5% unemployed, 2.4% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 17.1% retired, 7.8% looking after home or family, 2.8% permanently sick or disabled and 1.7% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 13.4% retail, 9.3% manufacturing, 7.2% construction, 17.6% real estate, 9.2% health and social work, 10.2% education, 5.5% transport and communications, 3.9% public administration, 3.2% hotels and restaurants, 12.5% finance, 1.5% agriculture and 6.5% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in education, finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, public administration, hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 25.9% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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