Otford
| Otford | |
|---|---|
 A view along Otford high street, just along from the central pond | |
| Population | 3,528 (2001 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TQ525590 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Sevenoaks |
| Postcode district | TN14 |
| Dialling code | 01959 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent. It is located north of the town Sevenoaks and on the River Darent, flowing north down its valley from its source on the North Downs. At its centre is a church, village pond and multiple pubs and shops. The idyllic traffic island in the village of Otford, is also the only circular junction in the UK to have been granted listed status.[1]
History
The name is a contraction of Otterford, possibly derived from Offa, the King of Mercia who fought a battle at Otford against the Kentish Saxons in 776 at the Battle of Otford. Notable landmarks are the Archbishop's Palace, the duck-pond roundabout and the scale model of the solar system which claims to be one of the largest scale modes of the solar system in the world. The Anglican parish church of Otford is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. Otford Methodist Church, Otford Evangelical Free Church and the Roman Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity also serve the village;[2] the buildings were registered for marriages in 1936,[3] 1959[4] and 1981[5] respectively.
From circa 650 to 750, during the Early Medieval period, Polhill Anglo-Saxon cemetery was used as a place of burial. The archaeologist Brian Philp suggested that the community who buried their dead at Polhill likely lived at Otford, noting that from the centre of the village, the cemetery was visible.[6]
Railway
Otford station is located in the village and has services northbound to central London via Bromley South and southbound to Ashford International via Maidstone East and to Sevenoaks.
Communications
- Road
Otford lies on the A225, a main road between Dartford and Sevenoaks. The presence of the site of a Roman villa, in addition to the remains of an ancient trackway, suggests that this road has a long history. The M26 motorway uses the valley here as part of its route.
- Footpaths
The village is a key stopping-off point on the North Downs Way which runs through the village as it crosses the Darent Valley, intersecting the Darent Valley Path.
- Pilgrims' Way
Passing through Otford is the Pilgrims' Way, the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
See also
References
- ^ "Otford a Country Paradise". 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Places of Worship". Sevenoaks District Council. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "No. 34314". The London Gazette. 14 August 1936.
- ^ "No. 41697". The London Gazette. 1 May 1959.
- ^ "No. 48556". The London Gazette. 18 March 1981.
- ^ Philp, Brian (2002). The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Polhill near Sevenoaks, Kent 1964–1986. Kent: Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit. p. 33. ISBN 0-947831-223.
External links
