Place:


Penshurst  Kent

 

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Penshurst like this:

PENSHURST, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Sevenoaks district, Kent. The village stands at the confluence of the rivers Eden and Medway, 1½ mile S of the Southeastern railway, and 4½ S W of Tunbridge; was anciently called Penchester; is a pretty place; and has a station with telegraph on the railway, a post-office‡ under Tunbridge, and a fair on 26 June. ...


The parish contains also the hamlet of FordcombeGreen. Acres, 4, 526. Real property, £9, 176. Pop., 1, 698. Houses, 325. The manor belonged, at the Norman conquest, to the Penchesters; passed to the Poultneys, the Louvaines, the St. Cleres, the Bohuns, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, and the Fanes; was given, by Edward VI., to Sir W. Sidney; and, with Penshurst Castle, belongs now to Lord de L' Isle. The castle was mainly rebuilt in 1570-85; figures in some graphic lines by Ben Jonson; is aquadrangular structure, in florid Tudor architecture, with a spacious court. includes a portion, called the King's Tower, restored in 1862; contains a grand hall, datingfrom 1349, in which James I. was entertained; contains also an apartment, called Queen Elizabeth's room, withfurniture said to have been presented by Elizabeth herself; contains likewise a splendid collection of paintings and old armour; was the birthplace of Sir Philip Sidney, of " Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother, " of Algernon Sidney, and of Dorothy Sidney, Waller's " Sacharissa; "and stands in beautiful grounds, formerly of vast extent, and still containing beautiful gardens, Sidney's oak, Sacharissa's walk, and Sancup well. South Park is the seat of Viscount Hardinge; Red Leaf, of A. Glendinning, Esq.; and Culver Hill, of J. Nasmyth, Esq. There are a large cricket ball and bat manufactory, and a largepaper-mill. The living is a rectory, united with the chapelry of Fordcombe, in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £756.* Patron, Lord de L' Isle. The churchadjoins P. Castle; was recently restored; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with pinnacled tower; and contains an effigies of a Penchester, and brasses and monuments of the Sidneys. Fordcombe chapel was built in 1847, as a memorial to the Gen. Viscount Hardinge; and is in the early English style. There are a Baptist chapel, a national school, a parochial school, and alms-houses.—The sub-district contains also five other parishes. Acres, 28,025. Pop., 7, 288. Houses, 1, 361.

Penshurst through time

Penshurst is now part of Sevenoaks district. Click here for graphs and data of how Sevenoaks has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Penshurst itself, go to Units and Statistics.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Penshurst, in Sevenoaks and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6315

Date accessed: 29th March 2024


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