Leeds, Kent
| Leeds | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
 Leeds, Kent | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 51°14’47"N, 0°36’24"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,500 (2005) |
| Post town: | Maidstone |
| Postcode: | ME17 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Maidstone |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Faversham and Mid Kent |
Leeds is a village in Kent, five miles to the east of Maidstone, little known in itself but the magnificent castle beside the village, Leeds Castle, is famed for its stately bearing and beauteous setting within a lake.
The village appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, in which its name is recorded as Esledes, from an old English word hliþ, meaning slope or hillside: it was so named because the village is on the hillside above the River Len, a tributary of the River Medway. An alternative explanation for the name is that it derived its name from one Ledian, who built the first wooden fortress here in 978.[1][2]
Parish church
St Nicholas's Church has the second largest Norman tower in Britain.
Leeds Priory once stood here too, until dissolved in 1539. The church is a Grade I listed building and the site of the priory is a scheduled monument.
About the village
To the east of the village is Leeds Castle, a magnificent example of mediaeval castle-building. It is Grade I listed.
To the west and between Otham and Leeds the area of Caring is located. Caring has a number of modern farmhouses, in the style of an Oast house. Another attraction is the old Vineyard, a free tourist feature.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Leeds, Kent) |
References
- ↑ From: 'Leck - Leeds', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 46-55
- ↑ [http://www.britishcastle.co.uk/index.php?pageId=England_Kent British Castles: Kent