Luddesdown
Coordinates: 51°22′23″N 0°24′00″E / 51.373°N 0.400°E
| Luddesdown | |
 Luddesdown
Luddesdown shown within Kent |
|
| OS grid reference | TQ675665 |
|---|---|
| District | Gravesham |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Gravesend |
| Postcode district | DA12 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Gravesham |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Luddesdown is a civil parish in the Gravesham District of Kent, England. This very rural parish, forming part of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is located in a dry valley to the south of Gravesend and is named after a scattered group of houses and farms around Luddesdown Court and its church.
The civil parish also contains the hamlets of Great Buckland and Boughurst Street.[1] Luddesdown was a parish in Strood Rural District prior to 1974.
Luddesdown is first recorded in 975 as Hludes duna (Hlud's hill); in 1186 it was Ludesdon and in 1610 Luddesdowne. It is pronounced Ludsdun. In 939 there was a mound nearby called Hludes beorh - suggesting that Hlud was a prominent citizen.[2]
The church, originally belonging to the local manor, is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul;[3] it is part of the ecclesiastical parish of Cobham to the north. The church school now operates as a village hall.
The small Norman Chapel of Dode, now just inside Snodland parish, was also associated with Luddesdown. Dode village was ravaged by the Black Death in 1349; it never recovered and has been erased from the map.[1] The Chapel was restored in the 1990s and is an approved premise to conduct civil ceremonies such as weddings.[4]
The parish also contains a picturesque cricket club, with a very flat batting track, Luddesdown CC.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Matthews, Brian (1971) The History of Strood Rural District, Strood Rural District Council
- ^ Glover, Judith (1976) The Place Names of Kent London: B.T. Batsford Ltd., ISBN 0905270 614
- ^ Luddesdown church
- ^ The Lost Village Of Dode
[edit] External links
Media related to Luddesdown at Wikimedia Commons
|
|||||||||||
 |
This Kent location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
