Farningham

"FARNINGHAM, a parish in the hundred of Axton, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, county Kent, 4 miles S. of Dartford, its post town, and railway station on the North Kent line, and 9 N. of Sevenoaks. It is situated on the river Darent, over which is a bridge of four arches, and was formerly a market town. In Domesday Book it is written Ferninghame. Hops are cultivated, and many of the people are employed in the paper-mills. On the banks of the river are several flour-mills, and in the village is a commodious hotel. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury, value £260, in the patronage of the archbishop. The church is a large edifice, having at the W. end a handsome flint tower. It is dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, and contains several brasses dating from the middle of the 15th century, and an ancient carved font of an octangular form. The endowments for charitable purposes yield about £140 per annum, the most part of which is Roper's, divided between this and some other parishes. The Wesleyans have a chapel, and there is a National school for boys and girls. A cattle market is held on the third Wednesday in each month, and a horse fair on the 15th October."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]