Lower Hardres
| Lower Hardres | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
 Lower Hardres War Memorial | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TR150530 |
| Location: | 51°14’10"N, 1°4’48"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 570 (2011) |
| Post town: | Canterbury |
| Postcode: | CT4 |
| Dialling code: | 01227 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Canterbury |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Canterbury |
Lower Hardres is a village in Kent. It consists of a branch of roads that stem mainly from Canterbury: the city itself stands some three miles to the north.
The populated areas of Lower Hardres are situated on minor roads. The parish church, St Mary's stands at the east edge of the village.
The parish is engulfed in the countryside with fields bordering the area.
Name
The name 'Hardres' is pronounced 'Hards': Lower Hardres and nearby Upper Hardres, take their name from the Hardres family, who owned the manor for some 700 years from the Norman Conquest.
History
A legal record in 1381 mentions William Sely, parson of "parva Ardres", & may indicate that a bell at Lower Hardres church was being made or repaired by John Buckingham. A debt of 45 marks is mentioned.[1]
John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Lower Hardres as:
A parish in Bridge district, Kent; on Stane-street, 3 miles ESE of Chartham r. station, and 3¼ S of Canterbury.[2]
Society and leisure
The village hall at the centre of the village is known as the John Baker White Memorial Hall. It was built in 1995. It hosts a variety of local clubs and activities.[3]
The village pub is The Granville.
The Lower Hardres & Nackington Gardeners' Society holds and annual show.[4]
Parish church
The parish church is St Mary's, located at the eastern edge of the village. The church was built around 1831-2 replacing an earlier church, and was built in the 'early English' style.[5] The churchyard pre-dates the current edifice and contains older headstones, as well as a small collection of chest tombs and oval bodystones.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lower Hardres) |
References
- ↑ National Archives; CP 40/483; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT6/R2/CP40no483/483_0080.htm, second entry; John Buckingham, is a "clarioner"; year 1381
- ↑ Wilson, John Marius: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (A. Fullerton & Co., 1870) – History of Lower Hardres, in Canterbury and Kent - Map and description – A Vision of Britain
- ↑ Lower Hardres Village Hall
- ↑ Charity Stall at Lower Hardres and Nackington Gardeners Society's Autumn Show - Kent MS Therapy Centre
- ↑ St Mary’s, Lower Hardres - Canterbury DFAS
