Swanley, Kent

Historical Description

Swanley, an ecclesiastical parish, with a village, in Sutton-at-Hone parish, Kent, with a junction station on the L.C. & D.R., 18 miles from London, and 4 S by W of Dartford. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Population, 1713. Hextable House, about a mile distant from the village, was a mansion in the Gothic style, and is now a horticultural college, with accommodation for 100 students for the promotion of scientific horticulture. The Homes for Orphan Boys, in connection with the Farningham Homes for Little Boys, are situated in this parish, and have sufficient room for boarding and educating 200 boys. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £280 with residence. The church was built in 1862, and is in the Early Decorated style. There are Wesleyan and Congregational chapels and a convalescent home.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Swanley from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Swanley)

Maps

Online maps of Swanley are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:

• Kent & Sussex Courier
• Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
• Dover Express
• Kentish Gazette
• Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
• Kentish Chronicle
• Maidstone Telegraph

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.