High Halden

"HIGH HALDEN, (or Halden), a parish in the hundred of Blackbourne, lathe of Scray, county Kent, 3 miles N. of Tenterden. It is situated on the river Tarn, which flows through the parish to the Medway, and is also intersected by a stream called the River, a feeder of the Rother. The surface is hilly, and about two-thirds of the land arable and pasture, the remaining third being woodland. The soil is chiefly a strong clay, but very productive. A mineral, locally called "crow-stone," consisting of the oxide of iron, clay, and manganese, is found in considerable quantities; also a fine clay suited for the manufacture of earthenware and pottery. There is a thin layer of grey marble, which is partially worked, and a fine stone for making hones, resembling those of Turkey. The village is neatly built, and chiefly agricultural. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £450. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, value £325, in the patronage of the archbishop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a large edifice with a singular steeple, built in the reign of Henry VI. The charities produce about £30 per annum, of which £25 is the endowment of Tylden's free school."

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