Luddesdown

Luddesdown (/ˈlʌdzdən/) is a village and civil parish in the Gravesham district of Kent, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 220.

Luddesdown
The Cock Inn, Henley Street, Luddesd'n
The Church of St Peter and St Paul
Luddesdown Location within Kent
Population	220 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ675665
Civil parish	Luddesdown
District	Gravesham
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Gravesend
Postcode district	DA13
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Gravesham
List of places UK England Kent 51.373°N 0.400°E / 51.373; 0.400

Geography

This very rural parish, forming part of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is located in a dry valley to the south of Gravesend and is named after a scattered group of houses and farms around Luddesdown Court and the parish church next to it.

The civil parish also contains separate hamlets of Henley Street to the north, and Great Buckland (though split down the side with Snodland having essentially the Church) and Boughurst Street to the south. The valley narrows quickly the south to Buckland at the top of the dry valley floor. In this steep valley, facing west, is a vineyard, Monk's Vineyard; east are these woods: College, Haydown, Brazenden, Scrubes, Wrenches, Goss Hilly and Red Wood to the north east. Apart from this eastern edge, there are Fowles/Brimp, Luxon, Molehill, Freezelands, Round, Tom Loft's, Longfield and Henley Woods. These are part of the now long and narrow Rochester Forest, much of which would have been used for the chandlery/shipbuilding of the Medway towns.^[2] Most afford access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. There are two country public houses within the area.

History

Luddesdown is first recorded in 975 as Hludes duna (Hlud's hill); in 1186 it was Ludesdon and in 1610 Luddesdowne. It is pronounced Ludsdun. In 939 there was a mound nearby called Hludes beorh - suggesting that Hlud was a prominent citizen.^[3]

The church, originally belonging to the local manor, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul has only II* listing status;^[4][5] it is part of the ecclesiastical parish of Cobham to the north. The former church school now operates as a village hall.

The small Norman Chapel of Dode, now just inside Snodland parish, was also associated with Luddesdown. Dode village was ravaged by the Black Death in 1349; it never recovered and was erased from the map. The Chapel was restored in the 1990s and is an approved premise to conduct civil ceremonies including civil weddings.^[6] It is on the west side of the minor road south of Great Buckland.

Luddesdown Court is early mediæval and was the residence of William the Conqueror’s half-brother until 1082. Some sources indicate that it may be "the oldest continually occupied house in the country".^[7] Other sources state that the oldest is actually Saltford Manor House in Saltford, Somerset, near Bath. The Court property is Grade I listed for its (inter alia) oak beam supported hall with 10 windows, five to each side, with flint and stone dressing of the whole building. It has wall paintings to the lower chamber and 16th and 19th century extensions. There is a 14th-century fireplace.^[8]

Luddesdown was a parish in Strood Rural District, though local tax levels were set and services were also provided by Kent County Council prior to 1974.

In the 1983 the Ministry of Defence bought 630 acres of farmland in the Luddesdown valley and sought permission to use it for infantry training. Local residents campaigned against the proposal and the local MP, Tim Brinton, successfully lobbied for a public inquiry. This decided against the proposal, and it was formally rejected by the Secretary of State for the Environment.^[9]

Sport and Leisure

The parish also contains a cricket club, founded in 1947, Luddesdowne CC.^[10]