Otham, Kent

Description
Otham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the river Len, 2 miles from Bearsted station on the L.C. & D.R., and 2 1/2 ESE of Maidstone. It has a post and money order office under Maidstone; telegraph office, Bearsted. Acreage of parish, 955; population, 361. There is a parish council of five members and a chairman. The manor and much of the land belong to the Earl of Romney. Hops and fruit are largely grown. The river Len bounds the parish on the N. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £370 with residence. Patron, Magdalen College, Oxford. The church includes traces of Early English and possibly Norman work; consists of nave, N aisle, and chancel, with tower and small spire; has been well restored; and contains the mural monuments of Lewen Ruffkin and wife, and tablets in memory of the families of Fludd, Hendley, and Home. Bishop Home was a native, and his father was rector.