GPX File HERE
On Thursday the 13th of April 2023 Pete and I drove to Eynsford and parked up for a short 2.75 mile walk between two beautiful Kent villages with a castle thrown in for good measure.
We park in the Village Hall Car Park after asking if its okay, only to find there is a free car park further on down the road.
We walk along High Street passing the Five Bells Pub, far too early for any pub to be open.
The Five Bells is first noted in a title deed of 1745. The Malt Shovel appears first in a will of 1743, described as a messuage and malt house. The first mention of the Plough was found in a notice of an auction sale of 1818.
Eynsford is first mentioned in writing in 864, as "Egenes homme". The derivation is unclear, but one possibility is that it represents "Ægen's river-meadow", from the Old English hamm "river-meadow, enclosure".
We pass the War Memorial and Village Sign.
The church is dedicated to St Martin. In about 1163, Thomas Becket is reputed to have excommunicated William de Eynsford, the owner of Eynsford castle. The excommunication was cancelled by King Henry II and the issue became part of the quarrel that led to Becket's murder in 1170.
The church at Eynsford is an exceptional early Norman church that was no doubt built by one of the Archbishop's principal knights, William, son of Ralph, son of Unspac, in the years around 1100.
John Wesley is thought to have preached here: he was a friend of the then vicar of Shoreham, the next village along the valley. The Wesley Stone by the bridge commemorates the spot.
Sadly the church is locked so we leave to walk over to the Ford.
We walk over to the Ford that the River Darent flows over.
Just before the bridge is the Riverside Tea Room is a friendly tea room next to Eynsford's ford offering a selection of freshly made food and great coffee. It offers breakfasts, light lunches and a range of drinks and cakes.
The river is in full flood, a lot higher than I've seen in the past.
We cross the bridge and stop to take in the view back to the Parish Church.
We pass more roadside parking here on Riverside, pass The Plough Inn and walk on up the road.
Further up the road we turn right onto Sparepenny Lane.
After a bit of road walking we take a footpath that runs alongside the Lane.
We have views down to Eynsford Castle and the Village Hall.
Sparepenny Lane has more than a few pennies, the lane is full of expensive looking properties.
We reach the end of the Lane and turn right into High Street at Farningham.
Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools have been discovered and can be found in the Dartford Museum. The Romans occupied the general area after their invasion in the 1st century AD and, along with large evidence of habitation down the road in Lullingstone, there is also evidence of Roman habitation in Farningham. Three farmhouses and three villas have been unearthed. Charles Dickens was a visitor during his time for the trout fishing that the Darent provided.
The Domesday Book records that before the Norman conquest, Farningham was owned by an Anglo Saxon thane called Alstan.
In the nineteenth century Farningham was adopted as the assumed surname of Marianne Farningham, a religious writer and editor, who was born here.
Used only for WW1 there used to be an airfield used by the RAF for emergency landings.
We turn to look at The Mill here in Farningham.
On the left is Bridge Cottage, built in Gothic style in the late 19thC, and Mill Cottages dating from the seventeen hundreds. Ahead of you stands Farningham Mill, "a corn mill built on a most expensive mechanical construction" by the Colyers in the 18th century to replace Anthony Roper's mill of 1610. The Domesday Book noted a water mill in the Manor of "Femingehame" in 1087. In 2013 the mill was restored with some new-build houses on the left.
Across the road is The Lion Hotel.
The Lion has been a popular spot in Farningham since the 16th Century when it was the entertainment centre of the village. Even in the 18th Century the then named Black Lyon, was the venue for all the important village meetings. Such status in the village meant that The Lion was once paid a visit by Charles Dickens whilst on a trout fishing trip.
This magnificent structure at the heart of Farningham Village sits opposite the historic Lion Hotel. It is thought to have been built between 1740 and 1770 although an exact date is not known.
The structure is unique and its purpose has been puzzled over. Once thought to be a folly or the remains of the north side of a medieval bridge, the structure is in fact a cattle screen, built to prevent cattle from wandering downstream whilst crossing the ford.
The Farningham Cattle Screen is the only one in the country to have been constructed in such an ornate way and would probably have been built whilst the Hanger family owned Farningham Manor.
Most cattle screens are constructed in a simple manner with a wooden beam and hanging gates which allow for debris or high water levels to pass through easily but prevent cattle from travelling up or downstream.
Whilst the structure in Farningham contains the hanging gates, the flamboyant nature would suggest that the screen was built to show how wealthy William Hanger was to all who travelled through Farningham.
We walk on further up the road to reach St Peters and St Pauls Church.
The Church of St. Peter & St. Paul which lies in the heart of the Village was built between 1225 and 1245, on the site of where there is thought to have been an early Saxon church. The chancel was probably the original church with the nave being built some 100 years later - and subsequently the tower that dates from the 15th century was further heightened and crenelated in 1830.
Sadly this church was also locked up and was closed.
Walking on we pass The Pied Bull Pub.
The pub was originally built in 1612 as a coaching inn on the main road between London and Dover. Over the years the pub has changed and in its current form has much to offer.
We take a footpath that takes us into Oliver Crescent and then onto Eynsford Road and a footpath that runs alongside.
We could see back up to Sparepenny Lane and the route we took earlier.
We arrive back at the car, passing we walk down to Eynsford Castle, which was sadly closed due to some unsafe conditions they are working on. So I took the best photo I could from where I was.
Eynsford Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in Eynsford, Kent. Built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon stone burh, the castle was constructed by William de Enysford, probably between 1085 and 1087, to protect the lands of Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, from Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux. It comprised an inner and an outer bailey, the former protected by a stone curtain wall. In 1130 the defences were improved, and a large stone hall built in the inner bailey. The de Enysford family held the castle until their male line died out in 1261, when it was divided equally between the Heringaud and de Criol families. A royal judge, William Inge, purchased half of the castle in 1307, and arguments ensued between him and his co-owner, Nicholas de Criol, who ransacked Eynsford in 1312. The castle was never reoccupied and fell into ruins, and in the 18th century it was used to hold hunting kennels and stables. The ruins began to be restored after 1897, work intensifying after 1948 when the Ministry of Works took over the running of the castle. In the 21st century, Eynsford Castle is managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors.
A short 2.75 mile walk but pleasant in the Spring sun!
