Wrotham, Kent

Description
Wrotham, a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands at the foot of chalk hills, 8 miles ENE of Sevenoaks, with a station on the L.C, & D.R., 24 miles from London. It has a post, mosey order, and telegraph office. Acreage of the civil parish, 8883; population, 3437; of the ecclesiastical, 1450. For parish council purposes Wrotham, Platt, and Plaxtole were formed into an urban district council, Wrotham having six, Platt three, and Plaxtole four members. Wrotham was known at Domesday as Broteham, is supposed to date from the time of the ancient Britons, was given by Athelstane to Christchurch, Canterbury, had a palace of the Archbishops, now represented by only a few offices, suffered devastation by the Isleys and their party in Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion, and was formerly a market-town. It has a well-laid-out recreation ground. Wrotham Hill, near the town, commands a superb view. The Isleys and their party were routed at Blacksole Field. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £775 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is in various styles of architecture, and contains memorials of the Peek-ham family and others. Old British coins and fragments of brass armour have been discovered in the neighbourhood. There are almshouses for four poor parishioners.