West Farleigh

"WEST FARLEIGH, a parish in the hundred of Twyford, lathe of Aylesford, county Kent, 3 miles S.W. of Maidstone, its post town. It is situated on the river Medway, which is here crossed by three bridges. The Maidstone branch of the South-Eastern railway passes through the parish, and has a station at East Farleigh, 1½ mile N.E. of the village. Hops are extensively grown, and the manufacture of oil carried on. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury, value £459, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is dedicated to All Saints, and contains monuments of the Lawrences and other families. The register commences in 1558. In the churchyard are some of the finest yew trees in England. The parochial charities produce about £25 per annum. There is a National school for boys and girls. Thomas H. Jackson, Esq., is lord of the manor. Farleigh House and Tutsham Hall are the principal residences."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]