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Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,314.[1]

Farningham
Village sign
Farningham Location within Kent
Population	1,319 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ5466
Civil parish	Farningham
District	Sevenoaks
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Dartford
Postcode district	DA4
Dialling code	01322
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Sevenoaks
List of places UK England Kent 51.38°N 0.22°E / 51.38; 0.22

History

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.^{[citation needed]} Three farmhouses and three villas have been unearthed. Charles Dickens was a visitor during his time for the trout fishing that the Darent provided.^{[citation needed]}

The Domesday Book records that before the Norman conquest, Farningham was owned by an Anglo Saxon thane called Alstan.[2]

In the nineteenth century Farningham was adopted as the assumed surname of Marianne Farningham, a religious writer and editor, who was born here.[3]

Used only for WW1 there used to be an airfield used by the RAF for emergency landings.^{[citation needed]}

The parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.

The parish was part of Axstane Hundred and later Dartford Rural District.

Transport

Roads

Farningham is situated upon the historic route of the A20, Kent's second major road between the capital and the channel ports. The village itself, with its narrow bridge over the River Darenth, and its narrow streets, was bypassed to the north east in the 1930s. The A225 runs along the Darenth valley and intersects the A20 at the village. The construction of the first sections of the M25 motorway and M20 motorway in the late 1970s bypassed the village again.

Rail

Farningham is not served by any railway stations directly; however, two stations are located within walking distance. These are:

• Farningham Road on the Chatham Main Line, with services to London Victoria, Bromley South, The Medway Towns, Canterbury East and Dover Priory
• Eynsford on the Maidstone line, with services to London Blackfriars, Bromley South and Sevenoaks

Despite Farningham Road station being named after the village, Eynsford station is in fact the nearer of the two.

Buses

• 2 to Swanley and to Sevenoaks (Limited Monday to Saturday off peak journeys)
• 429 to Dartford via Swanley and to West Kingsdown (Sunday journeys continue past Dartford to Bluewater)

Mills

Farningham had a watermill, powered by the River Darent, the building of which survives. There was a windmill at Chimham's Farm, which was moved in 1880 to West Kingsdown, where it still stands.

Fort Farningham

One of fifteen small polygonal forts, known as the London Mobilisation Centres, which were built around London in the 1890s as part of the London Defence Positions scheme. It is sited overlooking the River Darent, around 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Farningham. A ditch surrounding the fort was filled-in during the second half of the 20th century. The site was protected by three projecting caponiers and a rampart and parapet which could be used by infantry. The interior has a central row of three casemates and a magazine. During the 1960s, a monitoring post for the Royal Observer Corps was constructed in the moat, part of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation and intended for the reporting of nuclear explosions during the Cold War. The fort became a scheduled monument in 2000,[4] and is in private ownership.[5]

Sport

Home to Farningham Cricket Club along Horton Way the club has been in existence since 1857 providing cricketing facilities for the local community.^{[citation needed]} Currently fielding two senior league Saturday teams and one Sunday friendly team along with a thriving junior section.

References

External links

• Views of Farningham
• History of Farningham in detail

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