Kingsdown (hamlet)

infobox UK place
country =England
official_name=Kingsdown
latitude=51.3
longitude=0.766667
population=
shire_district=Swale
shire_county=Kent
region=South East England
constituency_westminster=
post_town=Sittingbourne
postcode_district =ME9
postcode_area=ME
dial_code= 01795
os_grid_reference=TQ9057 otherplaces3|Kingsdown

Kingsdown is a small hamlet surrounded by the villages of Frinsted, Milstead, Doddington and Lynsted in Kent, England.

The hamlet is within the civil parish of Milstead and Kingsdown which spans the boundaries of the boroughs of Maidstone and Swale. The area around the hamlet includes the Torry Hill estate and forms part of the Barony of Kingsdown.

The hamlet was described by John Marius Wilson in his 1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as a settlement of no more than 18 houses incorporating a population of 96. [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/entry_page.jsp?text_id=746570&word=NULL Kingsdown's entry] at John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)]

Barony of Kingsdown

The Barony of Kingsdown was a hereditary peerage conferred on Thomas Pemberton Leigh around 1858. Lord Kingsdown never married, and his title therefore became extinct on his death in 1867. Lord Kingsdown's seat was at Torry Hill (see below) which stayed in the family, later to be known as the Leigh-Pembertons. The manor extended to the environs of the hamlet of Kingsdown and was recorded as such by Wilson in 1872.

The title was resurrected this time as a life peerage for Robin Leigh-Pemberton (from a related family line) becoming Baron Kingsdown in 1993. [ [http://www.burkes-peerage.net/familyhomepage.aspx?FID=0&FN=Leigh1-559 Robert Leigh Pemberton] 's entry at Burke's Peerage & Gentry]

Torry Hill

Torry Hill, approximately 3km due southwest of Kingsdown hamlet, is the family estate of the Leigh-Pemberton (formerly Pemberton Leigh) line and the administrative seat of the Barony of Kingsdown.

The estate typifies a style of environmental mangement encouraged by downland landed gentry. What was once simple enclosed farmland has been variously sculpted into ornamental parkland through a process of tree thinning, augmentation and managed grazing. The estate property includes eccentric country house follies such as a private cricket ground (which has been in use since the mid-19th century) and the only private Eton Fives court in the world. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/serialisations/article1056629.ece Golden age when game thrived on country life] by Christopher Douglas, from "The Times" 7 April 2004] [ [http://www.etonfives.co.uk/articles/torry.hill.html The Fives Court at Torry Hill] from EtonFives.co.uk] In addition a small miniature railway was constructed on the estate in the 1930s following earlier carriage drive routes. Although it is no longer in regular operation, a number of features of this railway remain including sections of track, bridges and turntables and parts of the railway are still opened on occasions. [ [http://cdmes.org/torryhill.htm Torry Hill Railway] at Canterbury and District Model Engineering Society] . In common with other big houses on the Kent Downs, Torry Hill poseses an icehouse, used in the nineteenth century to provide cold storage for provisions.Tuson, D. "The Kent Downs" (Tempus, 2007)] Other notable features include a well-preserved mounting block alongside a quiet crossroads.

Originally built in 1925, the main house was rebuilt to a Georgian design in the 1960s and only a Victorian gate-house remains on the estate. It is now a home to Robin Leigh-Pemberton, the current Lord Kingsdown.

The estate parkland has in recent years been used for other diverse pursuits such as as a campsite for the local District Scout organisations and a grasstrack motorcycle racing venue.

The rose garden and grounds are opened to the public on limited dates throughout the summer.

Estate management

The current owners are conscious of responsible estate management. It is a privately-owned working farm supporting grazing livestock, cherry orchards, and arable farming of crops like wheat. The Torry Hill cherry orchards in particular produce around 15 different varieties of cherry, a former staple product of the Kent countryside. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article687084.ece Food detective: British cherries] by Sheila Keating in "The Times", 15 July 2006] Measures have been put in place to increase the density of gamebirds such as the partridge, woodcock and pheasant. Predators such as squirrels, stoats, weasels, foxes, rats and corvids, are kept low.

The estate participates in conservation and countryside stewardship schemes, including the establishment of conservation strips around arable fields, creating ‘beetle banks’ (raised ridges in fields to encourage aphid-consuming carabids) and leaving crops to overwinter in fields which to benefit passerines. [ [http://www.kent.ac.uk/anthropology/dice/scb2002/index.html Kent Society for Conservation Biology] ]

Kingsdown church

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The maintenance of Kingsdown Church was funded by Lord Kingsdown. According to a booklet from the Redundant Churches Fund, the population of the surrounding parish numbered just 96 in 1865 meaning a benefactor was essential. [http://www.lynsted-society.co.uk/html/kingsdown_church.html Kingsdown Church] by the Lynsted and Kingsdown Society]

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The church is normally locked but a key can be obtained by arrangement. The church and a number of outlying buildings are now stranded on the north side of the M2 motorway and can be reached via a footbridge from the village of Kingsdown.

References

External links

* [http://countrywalks.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Module=CountryWalkDetails&Site=5468 Torry Hill park] a summary of a country palk walk at Defra.
* [http://www.bandofbrotherscc.com/index.html The Band of Brothers Cricket Club] , a cricket club playing out of Torry Hill.