Benenden
A vision of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
The picturesque village of Benenden is a delight at any time of year but especially in the autumn. The surrounding landscape falls gently around the village is ablaze with a stunning myriad of colours ranging from orange through to gold. It is a panorama of gentle valleys and undulating ridges intersected by narrow country lanes that have slowly evolved from tracks were worn by Roman foot soldiers followed some time later by the feet of pilgrims on their way to do penance at Canterbury Cathedral or even further afield in Jerusalem.
Lying at the centre of a golden triangle with Tunbridge Wells, Tenterden with Ashford forming the furthest point Benenden can be found straddling a ridge of sandstone within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It isn’t only the landscape that is protected from development; the village because of its historic interest is also protected by a conservation order. Not only is the village set within a protected landscape but the buildings within the village confines are also protected by a conservation order. The locality has influenced the use of building materials, clay has been used for bricks and tiles and imparts the characteristic orange red colour, timber for weatherboarding came from nearby woodland and sandstone reserved for churches was quarried nearby. As the buildings are made from local resources they tend to merge with the landscape and enhance it rather than detract!
This lovely peaceful Wealden village although full of historic buildings is no museum piece, the picturesque village green lined with attractive half-timbered houses is still the centre of village activities as it has been for centuries. It regularly reverberates to the sound of leather upon willow in the summer as cricket is still as popular as it once was for previous generations. Two pubs form the mainstay of evening entertainment just as they have always done and the peel of bells from parish church of St Georges is a timely reminder that the church is one of the oldest in the Weald. A cosmopolitan edge is given by the girl’s school found on the outskirts of the village; it has educated many of the female members of the royal family alongside many other privileged young girls from around the world.
Apart from the visual attractions of living in Benenden there are many others including the good road and rail networks which help to make the continent and London easily accessible. There are many people who live within this region who regularly commute into London but there are just as many that rely upon their own enterprise to earn a living within the village. The high standard of shopping within the locality must come as a pleasant surprise for the uninitiated, from farm shops supplying good quality fresh produce, with high streets an eclectic mix of shops both traditional privately owned alongside the retail outlets that can be spotted up and down the country. Everything can be catered for from bohemian boutiques to electrical goods you are not limited by location.
The village gained its name from the Old English words Bynning Den which literally means Bynna’s wooded pasture. As is common elsewhere the name slowly evolved over the centuries until 1610 when it became Benenden. It was also one of very few places within the Weald to be mentioned in the Domesday Book. The whole area was settled long before the Romans came, probably as far back as 3500 years. Recent archaeological finds have contradicted conventional wisdom that the Weald was an impenetrable forest that only the Romans were able to make a limited headway through. The Romans did indeed open up the forest because trees were needed as fuel for the smelting of iron ore which is found locally in the subsoil. This early form of manufacturing created clearings within the forest that enabled small settlements to develop and agriculture to gain a foothold. However this was a very slow process because the woodland was so dense, the one crop that thrived in this environment was the production of pigs left to forage for acorns on the forest floor.
The Romans eventually fled from these shores to be replaced by the Anglo Saxons, it was these invaders who recognised the potential of the land around Benenden and from a small settlement the village soon evolved. It was noted within the Domesday Book that Benindene as it was then known was one of only three other places within the Weald important enough to have a church.
Benenden continued to grow in importance, the iron industry which was originally started by the Romans flourished for a number of centuries alongside cloth making both of these manufacturing industries raised vast sums of money and it is the unusual number of Hall Houses which gives us some idea of how the money was spent! Both of these industries moved north where labour was far more plentiful depriving future generations of locals a share of the wealth. Farming for centuries has formed the financial backbone of the region, from the wool of the sheep grazing in the fields to the hops which provided beer for thirsty workers. Farming is still important as it once was not only for the production of food but also as a custodian for the environment
John Keats poem, To Autumn aptly describes this vision of “mists and mellow fruitfulness” that delights both visitors and residents alike. You don’t have to follow in the poets footsteps to discover just what inspired him; the charms of this village and surrounding landscape have changed little since Keats put his thoughts to paper!
copyright© Wendy Stevenson 2011
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