Hunton, Kent

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Hunton
Kent
St Mary, Hunton, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 326630.jpg
St Mary's Church
Location
Location: 51°13’0"N, 0°28’0"E
Data
Population: 702  (2011[1])
Post town: Maidstone
Postcode: ME15
Local Government
Council: Maidstone

Hunton is a village and parish in Kent, near the town of Maidstone.

History

In the 1870s, Hunton was described like this:

The village stands near the river Beult, 3 miles E by S of Yalding r. station, and 4½ SW by S of Maidstone; was once a market town; and has a post office under Staplehurst. The parish comprises 2,061 acres.[2]

The village's first recorded name was Huntindone in the eleventh century. Its name comes from Old English hunta 'huntsman' and dun 'hill' - 'Hill of the Huntsman'. The parish was frequently referred to in ancient deeds as Huntington. The name change to Hunton suggests tun meaning "village".[3]

The Village

Within the parish there are two schools. Hunton Church of England Primary School, which was built in 1963 and located at Bishops Lane,[4] is small and rural and was rated Good by Ofsted in 2016. It is an 'Outstanding' Church of England school. The other is Hunton & Linton Pre-School, in the Village Hall.[5][6] There is also a Language Service based in Hunton, 'Kent Language Services' which provides tuition for business or tourism.[7]

Businesses include a building company, grocers, a gardening company and a pub; 'The White House'.[8] There are more shops and pubs in nearby villages.

The village has a ‘Pop Up’ shop, selling produce either grown or made by Hunton residents. The shop consists of a small stall, which is mobile and can change venue, although it tends to be held in the Village Club. The shop opens for a few hours on different dates along with the Pop Up Cafe. There are a few farms in the area that sell fresh produce and monthly markets are held in Yalding and East Farleigh. Milebush Farm Pick Your Own is in the area just West of Hunton which has a fruit and vegetable shop.[9]

There is no longer a post office in Hunton but there is in the surrounding villages of Yalding, Marden and Coxheath, the village does have three post boxes.[10]

Historic buildings

Buston Manor

There are 71 listed buildings in the Parish of Hunton. Four buildings are grade listed II*; Stonewall Farmhouse Mounting Block and Garden Wall to East, Buston Manor, Buston Manor Barn and Granary.[11]

St Mary's Church is a Grade-I listed building, there is also St Mary's Cemetery there.[12] Grade II listed Hunton Court was the country home of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister from 1905–08.[13]

The Hunton Village Club building dates back to the 1800s, originally believed to be a meeting house and school for young ladies and was once owned by the Hunton Court Estate. Today, the club is run by volunteers to hold events for the village and serves drinks.[14]

Hunton Village Hall was built in 1926 and retains many of its original features. The building is used for events such as weddings and parties today.[15] Around 1986 it was reported to be named a "working-men's" club.[4]

Transport

Transport in Hunton consists of a bus route through the village, to either Maidstone or Goudhurst.[16] There is the 28 bus which goes from Marden along East Street.[17]

There is no railway station in Hunton but there are two nearby: Paddock Wood and Marden station.[10]

Geography

The River Beult

The River Beult runs along the south and west border of Hunton and splits into the River Medway at Yalding.

The physical environment of Hunton is mainly green space and is very rural.[18] There are many farms across the Parish, including Milebush, Bramling Oast Amsbury, Hammonds Cheveney, Willamette Oast Amsbury, Barn Hill and North Park. Many of these farms have Oast Houses, which are common in Kent.

References

  1. "Civil Parish Population 2011". http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11124915&c=Hunton&d=16&e=62&g=6437519&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474021949203&enc=1. Retrieved 16 September 2016. 
  2. Wilson, John Marius (1870–1872). Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4487. 
  3. "Kent place names" (in en). http://kentpoi.co.uk/historic/placenames/index.html. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Hunton Village BBC". http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-568000-147000/page/7. Retrieved 2017-03-27. 
  5. "Hunton Primary School". http://www.huntoncepschool.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  6. "Hunton & Linton Pre-School Nursery Maidstone Kent" (in en). http://www.hunton-linton-preschool.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  7. Everard, Mike. "Kent Language Services, European Language Tuition". http://jnet.co.uk/kentlang. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  8. "The White House" (in en-GB). http://www.maidstone.co.uk/info/3580. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  9. "Milebush Farm - Pick Your Own - Maidstone" (in en-GB). https://heyshops.co.uk/04141497/Milebush_Farm_-_Pick_Your_Own_-_Maidstone. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Hunton". http://www.hunton.org.uk/docs/welcomepack.pdf. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  11. Stuff, Good. "Listed Buildings in Hunton, Maidstone, Kent". http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/hunton-maidstone-kent#.WNfKHfkrLIV. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  12. National Heritage List 1250030: Church of St Mary
  13. National Heritage List 1250127: Hunton Court
  14. "Home". http://huntonvillageclub.co.uk/index.html. Retrieved 2017-03-25. 
  15. "Welcome to Hunton Village Hall". http://www.huntonvillagehall.co.uk/index.html. Retrieved 2017-03-25. 
  16. "Buses 13-65" (in en). http://www.nu-venture.co.uk/page4.html. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  17. "Hunton". http://www.hunton.org.uk/transport.htm. Retrieved 2017-03-26. 
  18. Sillitoe, Neighbourhood Statistics - Neil (2008-04-14). "Detect browser settings". http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11124915&c=hunton&d=16&e=8&g=6437519&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1490471101808&enc=1. Retrieved 2017-03-25. 

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