Visit Eddington, Kent Places

Welcome to Visit Eddington, Kent Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Eddington, Kent

  

Eddington, Kent Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Eddington, Kent

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Eddington, Kent history

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Eddington Conservation Appraisal of 2009. Much of the history of the layout and buildings is described in the 2009 assessment of the site.

Archaeology

A polished stone axe found near the present Thanet Way was found in 1998. A late Bronze Age enclosure was found near a possibly earlier monument with a ring ditch. The Romans and Romano-British then laid out a field system and made cremation burials. There is some evidence of local habitation occurring at the end of the Roman occupation.

Later history

Eddington, of which ton means a small settlement or farmstead, is first mentioned in 1466 CE. Between the 16th and 19th centuries it was a hamlet set among fields, with farms, tracks and roads. By 1800 it had become a junction between roads to Sea Street, Underdown, Greenhill, Blacksole, Beltinge Fostal and Herne Bay. Terraced housing was built on Canterbury Road in the 1890s, and Parsonage and Badcock farmsteads were demolished around 1900.

Landmarks

Herne Bay Court Evangelical Centre, known locally as Herne Bay Court, was a Herne Bay local landmark from around 1900 to around 2008, situated near Talmead. Around 1900, James Thurman MA bought part of Parsonage Farm at Eddington from Joseph Gore who had leased 165 acres between Herne and the sea at the end of the 19th century. Gore kept the 15-acre field which still exists at the end of Parsonage Road, and kept a herd to supply The Creameries in Herne Bay, but sold up in 1914. Meanwhile, on the site of the old farmstead Thurman built New College, known locally as Eddington College, as a school in competition with Herne Bay College which at that time occupied numbers 6–8 St George’s Terrace, Herne Bay and was run by Captain Eustace Turner. Both schools were evacuated in World War I and were requisitioned by the military. Thurman retired and after the war Eddington College was taken over by Captain Turner who ran it as Herne Bay College until 1939. The college specialised in engineering, and in the 1930s “the College possessed one of the largest and best-equipped school engineering workshops in England, and was remarkable for its many engineering examination successes.” However the building and its engineering equipment were requisitioned for the World War II war effort. After the loss of the engineering equipment, the school could not reopen after the war and the building was sold. It reopened in 1949 as Herne Bay Court: a Christian conference centre. By 2006 it had closed and was standing empty for several years, with the council discussing development plans. Between 2007 and 2010 there was a local movement to save or reopen Herne Bay Court. This building is locally listed in respect of its use as army headquarters in World War II. The trees at Herne Bay court are subject to a tree preservation order. Eddington Farm was on Eddington Lane and next to Plenty Brook. It originally occupied the site of the present Herne Bay sorting office and business park. It was recorded as a 40−acre farm in 1661, stretching as far as Parsonage Farm, along what is now Canterbury Road and Mill Lane. Past owners and tenants included Richard Constant, Jarvis Dadd, John and Mary Sole and Richard Reynolds. By 1841 it was an arable and pasture farm owned by Edward Collard. This was at Pigeon Lane, later named Priory Lane. This road joined with Canterbury Road and Underdown Lane, and at the junction there was a hamlet including a smithy, letterbox and guidepost. A ladies’ seminary occupied Pear Tree House from the 1830s to 1880s, run by Mrs Sladden and then by sisters Jane and Mary Baskerville. During this period the building was called Pear Tree House until around 1887 when the school closed and it was occupied by Charles Lethbridge and was renamed The Priory. It was a care home for some years, then became a residence. As of 2011 it is a bed and breakfast establishment. This Georgian house of around 1790 was built as a country residence in spacious grounds on the site now occupied by the Beaumanor housing estate, on the corner between Canterbury Road and Eddington Lane. In the early 20th century it became the preparatory school for Herne Bay College, being renamed Eddington College. It continued as a prep school, changing its name to Bramdean in 1957 and then Beaumanor in the 1960s. It was demolished in 1968 by developers, and the subsequent housing estate was given the name of Beaumanor. All the nationally listed buildings in this area are Grade II or II*. Some of these are listed as groups: Among locally listed World War II monuments are the Warden’s Post at Eddington House Junior School, Canterbury Road, and the Army occupation of Avonleigh, Parsonage Road. Also relating to World War II is the pillbox near the former crossroads of the Thanet Way and Canterbury Road. Dating from the 19th century or earlier is the Maltings at Eddington Farm. Herne Bay cemetery lies at the southern end of Eddington and is controlled by Canterbury City Council. The earliest burials date from 1871. In 1880 interments were officially ended at Herne church and other local graveyards. Edmund Reid, the head of CID who investigated the Whitechapel murders in 1888, is buried in plot J62. Scattered among the plots there are war graves from World Wars I and II. The cemetery contains an elaborate monument to Lydia Cecilia Hill, known as Cissie Hill, a cabaret dancer and close friend of Ibrahim, Sultan of Johor who funded the building of Mayfair Court and the associated servants’ quarters in Grand Drive, Herne Bay for her. In 1938 there were rumours of an engagement between the “glamour girl” Sissy and the 64-year-old divorcee sultan, whom she had met in Ceylon in 1934, but the sultan promptly denied this. Sissy was killed in a daylight bombing raid aged 27 while shopping in Canterbury on 11 October 1940, and was identified by her jewellery, said to be a gift from the sultan.

Eddington, Kent geography / climate

Eddington was a village and is now a suburb in the south of Herne Bay. It is on what is now the Canterbury Road or A291. It forms part of the Herne and Broomfield parish.

Geology and topography

Eddington is approximately 13 metres above sea level, lying above mainly London Clay with some head Brickearth next to Plenty Brook. Its northern boundary is the railway line, and its southern edge includes the Thanet Way and Herne Bay cemetery.

You can visit Eddington, Kent places with Walkfo Eddington, Kent to hear history at Eddington, Kent’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Eddington, Kent has 26 places to visit in our interactive Eddington, Kent map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Eddington, Kent, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Eddington, Kent places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Eddington, Kent & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 26 audio facts unique to Eddington, Kent places in an interactive Eddington, Kent map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Eddington, Kent Places Map
26 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Eddington, Kent historic spots	Eddington, Kent tourist destinations	Eddington, Kent plaques	Eddington, Kent geographic features
Walkfo Eddington, Kent tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Eddington, Kent

  

Best Eddington, Kent places to visit

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Eddington, Kent has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Eddington, Kent’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Eddington, Kent’s information audio spots:

Herne Windmill Herne Windmill is a Grade I listed smock mill in Herne, Kent, England, that was built in 1789. It is located on the outskirts of Herne and is Grade II listed on the Kent coast.

Visit Eddington, Kent plaques