Ide Hill

Ide Hill is a village within the civil parish of Sundridge with Ide Hill, in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It stands on one of the highest points of the sandstone ridge about five miles south-west of Sevenoaks. Its name first appears on record in 1250 as Edythehelle. It is an eponymic denoting 'Edith's hill', from the Old English hyll 'hill'.

The church is relatively modern. The village had a chapel in 1807, built by the then Bishop of London; St Mary's church was built in 1865 and "has the distinction of being the highest church in Kent" ["The Kent Village Book"] , as well as boasting a beautiful lychgate, crafted by local builder Cecil 'Dusty' Boakes. There are several old buildings round the sloping village green, including the 18th-century "Cock Inn" and the [http://www.212m.co.uk Ide Hill Village School] , built in 1856 it is the second home of the school which unusually for a church school predates the church building as the school was formed in 1809.

Two of Kent's places of interest are near Ide Hill: Bough Beech Reservoir and Emmetts Garden.

Bough Beech Reservoir was completed in 1969. A large area round it is leased to the "Kent Trust for Nature Conservation" as a nature reserve.

Emmetts Garden is in the care of the National Trust. It was laid out in the late 19th century. There is a stone seat near the village church to commemorate Octavia Hill, one of the Trust's founders.

External links

* [http://www.kentwildlife.org.uk/reserves/boughbeech.htm Bough Beech Reservoir]
* [http://www.idehill.diocese-rochester.org The Parish Churches and Community Information]
* [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scripts/nthandbook.dll?ACTION=PROPERTY&PROPERTYID=90 Emmetts Garden]
* [http://www.ide-hill.co.uk Ide Hill Village]
* [http://www.212m.co.uk Ide Hill Primary School]