Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for KEMSING

KEMSING, a village and a parish in Sevenoaks district, Kent. The village stands 2½ miles NE of Sevenoaks r. station; was once a market town; and has a postoffice under Sevenoaks. The parish comprises 1,867 acres. Real property, £2, 505; of which £20 are in quarries. Pop., 366. Houses, 79. A castle was here before the time of Henry II., but has disappeared. A line of chalk hills extends E and W, a little N of the village; and is traversed by the ancient trackway, called the Pilgrims' Road. A spring, designated St. Edith's well, is near the centre of the village; an effigies of St. Edith is in the churchyard; and both the well and the effigies were long held in superstitions veneration. St. Edith is said to have been a native. Hops are largely grown. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £400. Patron, Countess Delawarr. The church comprises nave and chancel, with shingle tower; and has a very patched character. The p. curacy of Seal is a separate benefice. There is a national school.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Kemsing CP/AP       Sevenoaks RegD/PLU       Kent AncC
Place: Kemsing

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