SETTLEMENT FORM, CHARACTER and BUILDING DESIGN within

Transcription

SETTLEMENT FORM, CHARACTER and BUILDING DESIGN
within the PARISH of ROLVENDEN, KENT
SETTLEMENT FORM,
CHARACTER
and BUILDING DESIGN
within the
PARISH of ROLVENDEN, KENT
PART 1 — MAIN REPORT
July 2013
Oldakre Associates
supported by a grant from the sustainability fund
FORWARD
Our heritage is a highly valued aspect of our cultural identity as well as being of immense significance to the
specialness of the places in which we live, work, and frequent as visitors. It is now reckoned that more people
engage with heritage in their leisure time than any other area of activity and there is general support for the
preservation and conservation of our precious historical inheritance.
However, local communities in rural areas can often feel that what they value about their own local historical
environment is under threat from new development. They can feel less well equipped than they would like to be
when it comes to engaging with the process of deciding the future of the rural settlements that are their home.
Empowering local communities to discover more and contribute meaningfully to deciding what future
development should take place is now an important part of public policy.
The Rolvenden settlement study is an example of what can be done when members of a local community work
with specialists to record their local settlement and put it within its historical context. This study looks at how
settlement is formed in a High Weald parish, what lies behind its local distinctive character, and the style and
design of its buildings in a way that should help local people to better enjoy and promote its specialness and
unique sense of place. Used in conjunction with the Rolvenden Neighbourhood Development Plan that the parish
has now embarked upon, the results of this detailed study will further empower the community.
English Heritage and the High Weald Area Joint Advisory Committee are now working with Oldakre Associates,
exploring how this approach can be developed in other parishes. This work complements and adds a new level of
detail to the broad national advice that English Heritage has developed with Knowing your Place. It also contributes
to the aspiration within the AONB Management Plan to protect the distinctive character of settlement in the High
Weald.
Jeremy Lake
Sally Marsh
Landscape and Resources Analyst
Co-Director
Historic Environment Intelligence Team
High Weald Joint Advisory Committee
English Heritage
July 2013
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CONTENTS
PART 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
4
1: INTRODUCTION to the PARISH SURVEY
5
2: BACKGROUND to the PARISH of ROLVENDEN
8
3: DEVELOPMENT of WEALDEN SETTLEMENT FORM
12
4: ANALYSIS of ROLVENDEN’S SETTLEMENT FORM
16
5: SUMMARY of FINDINGS
20
6: CONCLUSIONS and NEXT STEPS
30
APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY of TERMS
36
APPENDIX B: SOURCES and BIBLIOGRAPHY
41
APPENDIX C: BUILDINGS and SITES on the NATIONAL HERITAGE LIST
45
APPENDIX D: PARISH PLANS of the BUILT ENVIRONMENT
50
This report has been prepared by Dr Brendan Chester-Kadwell of Oldakre Associates for Rolvenden Farmers’ Line.
Contact details: b.chester-kadwell@oldakre.org.uk / telephone number: 01603 260307
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project has been made possible through the enthusiasm of members of the community in Rolvenden. Thanks
are due in particular to Sue Saggers of Rolvenden Farmers’ Line, who has organised the local volunteers, led them
in the survey work and also written up the results of their endeavours — a labour of love and dedication to
Rolvenden’s historic settlement. A core survey team of about seven dedicated souls has ably supported Sue and
their hard work has been an essential factor in the success of the project. Special thanks go to Peter Austen, who
has generously shared his extensive local knowledge with the project team.
We would also like to thank the support shown by other organisations in Rolvenden. Thanks go to Rolvenden
Primary School for their original contribution to the project. We are grateful to Anita Rivers, the Headteacher, and
her staff — but especially to Esme Thomas and Willow Class for producing such inspiring work with such
enthusiasm! Thanks also go to Jackie King, the secretary of the Rolvenden — The Future committee (Rolvenden’s
community plan initiative). Judy Vinson, editor of the Rolvenden Parish Magazine, and Tony Venning, of Rolvenden
Update, have kindly helped us to advertise this initiative within the parish, which we appreciate.
Rolvenden Parish Council are in the process of producing a local neighbourhood development plan and have shown
an interest in this work, for which we are grateful. A number of parish councillors have also offered their individual
support, including Denise Curtain (previously also a committee member of Rolvenden — The Future), Lynn CurtisWoodcock, Michael Hook, and Duncan Murray. Thanks are also due to the parish clerk, Jacky Serra.
We would also like to acknowledge the support and encouragement shown by individuals and organisations
beyond the parish of Rolvenden. This includes Alison Cummings, conservation officer at Ashford Borough Council;
Alison Thompson of the English Rural Housing Association; and Jeremy Lake, English Heritage. Last, but not least,
thanks go to Sally Marsh, Samantha Nicholas and Ruth Childs — of the High Weald AONB Unit, Flimwell, who have
supported the project wholeheartedly in many ways. Thanks are also due to the Committee of the High Weald
AONB Sustainability Fund, which has provided a grant without which this project could not have been undertaken.
Acknowledgement of copyright:
The copyright of all illustrative material is owned by the author except where otherwise notified in the text.
Modern Ordnance Survey map material is used under licence from the High Weald AONB Unit, Flimwell, unless
otherwise stated. Other map material is Open Source from the Ordnance Survey.
Reports provided by Oldakre Associates are for the sole use of their clients for the purposes for which they are
prepared and provided. No person, other than the client, may copy (in whole or in part) use or rely on the contents
of such a document without the prior written consent of the managing consultant of Oldakre Associates. Any
advice, opinions, or recommendations within such a document should be read and relied upon in the context of the
document as a whole.
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1: INTRODUCTION to the PARISH PROJECT
Rolvenden, like many High Weald parishes, is under increased pressure to accept more development, especially
housing. This is not necessarily unwelcome: there is a genuine need for affordable housing and further
employment opportunities in Rolvenden, as in many Wealden communities. However, the form and scale of new
development needs to be both appropriate and sustainable for local conditions. This means, in part, that what is
built should complement and enhance the existing historic settlement form. Good design in sensitive historical
areas like the High Weald requires a knowledge and understanding of traditional settlement form, the local
building styles and the materials that fit best with it. With changes to the National Development Policy Framework
now published, there is an increased need for this kind of research.
Project Aims and Objectives
Aim:
The principle aim of the project was to analyse and record settlement form and character in the Parish of
Rolvenden, to use this analysis to enable the local community to better understand how the local settlement
pattern has developed historically, and to help the community evaluate and influence future development in a
sustainable way.
Project objectives:
1.
To identify elements of parish settlement and their geographical distribution;
2.
To analyse these elements in terms if their age, spatial layout, architectural style, building materials and
techniques, and uses;
3.
To provide the information base for a parish design code (if required);
4.
To help empower the local community to contribute to local development decisions by providing technical
information based on the survey material;
5.
To provide a learning opportunity for local people, including local school children and students attached to
Rolvenden’s Farmers’ Line.
The Purpose of this Document
The purpose of this document is to provide an analysis of local settlement form and building design for Rolvenden
for the benefit of the local community. Future outputs arising from this project could include a parish design
statement, the adoption of a management plan for the existing conservation areas, as well as contributing to a
local neighbourhood development plan. Furthermore, any of these options could well fit in with the future
activities of Rolvenden — The Future.
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The Community Survey
Members of the parish community undertook a survey of settlement within Rolvenden in order to record how the
contemporary settlement pattern is experienced today. This was conducted over a three-month period using an
agreed method. It was augmented by local knowledge within the memory span of the community concerning the
history of local development and the persons key to that development, as well as reasons for change where known.
This was considered an important element within the project.
The survey was conducted using field observations of each element of settlement. Observations were conducted
from the public highway or rights of way — except where owners gave their permission to enter private land.
Detailed notes were taken and the results later written up with illustration and plans where appropriate. This
survey document (including observations from local memory) has formed a foundational resource in the writing of
this document, alongside other sources such as historic maps and Google maps/street view (see list of sources
below).
Structure of the Document
The document has two main parts:
Part 1: A Report on the Rolvenden Settlement Survey
The first part is the main body of the report on the Rolvenden settlement survey (this document). This contains an
overview of the parish of Rolvenden in its landscape context, which includes a brief account of the history of
settlement form in the High Weald and a Statement of Significance for Rolvenden.
Part 1 also provides a description of how the analysis of the settlement pattern was conducted and gives a
summary of results. Issues around the design of future development, the planning system, and the role of the local
community are also explored here. At the end of Part 1 future action is identified and conclusions drawn.
Part 1 concludes with four Appendices: A (Glossary of Terms); B (Sources and Bibliography); C (Buildings and Sites
on the National List); D (Parish Plans of the Built Environment).
Part 2: The Annex (bound separately and due to be published towards the end of 2013)
The second part of the report is the Annex that lays out the results of the survey in three sections, as follows:
Section 1: Analysis of Dispersed Settlement Form and Character
Section 2: Analysis of Nucleated Settlement Form and Character
Section 3: Elements of Built Design
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A Note on the Style and Terminology used in this Document
The approach adopted in the writing of this document has been to keep footnotes and references to the minimum
— it is not intended to be in an academic format. However, the subject matter has been thoroughly researched and
the background research fully referenced. A reader requiring further technical information is invited to contact the
author of the report. A full list of principal sources is included at the end of the report.
For the sake of clarity and to distinguish a description of the settlement from that of the parish, the name of
‘Rolvenden’ is reserved for the parish, whilst the settlement around the Parish Church is called Rolvenden Street
throughout (a revival of previous usage). The name of the settlement at Rolvenden Layne, of course, remains
unchanged. Other technical terms and definitions are to be found in the glossary that follows the main text.
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2: BACKGROUND to the PARISH OF ROLVENDEN
Rolvenden is a Civil Parish in the District of Ashford Borough Council, in the County of Kent. Its distance from
Ashford (as the crow flies) is 20 km, and 29.5 km from Tonbridge. The parish has an area of 2,329 hectares (5,755
acres) and a population of 1,414 people in 2011 (in 1841 the population was 1,411 but by 1901 had fallen to 1,065).
Plan R1: location map
Topography, Geology, and Soils
Topography
Rolvenden occupies a ridge of higher land orientated northwest to southeast that forms the watershed between
the Hexton and Newmill channels (tributaries of the River Rother). The Wealden town of Cranbrook marks the
western end of the ridge, and where it enters Rolvenden parish the ridgeline stands at over 70 metres at the site of
the windmill — the highest point in the parish. From here it drops incrementally (as it passes through Rolvenden
Street and Rolvenden Layne) to the five-metre contour near to the bridge at Potman’s Hoath, in the vicinity of the
county boundary with Sussex. The road that traverses the ridge upon which Rolvenden stands (the modern B2086)
is one of a series of medieval long distance routes from Tonbridge leading towards Rye and Winchelsea (Sussex). At
Rolvenden Street, at least from post-medieval times, the main highway left the ridge (approximately along the line
of the modern A28) to meet an alternative route that followed the Sandhurst ridge (A268) and from thence to the
bridge over the Rother at Newenden. The present course of the A28 is that of a mid-eighteenth-century turnpike
(Sanders 2004).
A number of streams feed the Newmill and Hexden channels, these have heavily incised the main ridge upon which
Rolvenden sits and have created lateral ridges. The deep-sided valleys carved out by these streams are called ghylls
and their sides are typically heavily wooded.
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Plan R2: Topography of Rolvenden in its High Weald setting
The valleys of the Rother and its tributaries were, until the early modern period, navigable up-stream of
Newenden. The wide valleys of the Rother, the Hexden Channel and Newmill channel are now areas of reclaimed
marshland, but until about the fifteenth century were lands prone to inundation and tidal streams up to the fivemetre mark. They are still regularly flooded in winter, despite modern flood defence work. This significant change
in the post-medieval topography of the study area needs to be born in mind when interpreting medieval
settlement form.
Geology
In Rolvenden parish the local bedrock consists of Tunbridge Wells Sand overlaying Wadhurst Clay over Ashdown
Beds, with superficial deposits of river and marine alluvium in the valley bottoms. It would be expected, therefore,
that within such a heavily dissected landscape the sequence would result in Tunbridge Wells Sand on the hilltops,
Wadhurst Clay on the valley sides and Ashdown sands in the valley floors. This sequence does regularly occur, but
as these beds are heavily folded and faulted all three lithologies can outcrop in complex juxtapositions. This is
particularly evident along the Benenden anticline, where a fault line has thrown up Ashdown beds alongside
Tunbridge Wells Sand (Shepherd-Thorn et al 1966, 12-77).
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Plan R3: Geology of Rolvenden in its High Weald setting
Soils and Land Use
Soils within the parish are varied and soil types are widely dispersed. Soil composition is strongly influenced by the
geology of the area and, broadly, soil types correspond with the outcrops of the main geological strata. The soils of
the valley sides formed over Wadhurst Clay are predominantly clayey, slowly permeable, moisture retentive soils
with impeded drainage and seasonal surface wetness. Those overlying either Ashdown Beds (frequently in the
gently sloping valley bottoms) or Tunbridge Wells Sands (usually on the gently rounded hill tops) are silty with
dense, slowly permeable subsoils, the slightly impeded drainage causing seasonal surface wetness. In the valley
bottoms where the soil is clayey or silty alluvium (locally associated with peaty soils in basins) they are seasonally,
or permanently, affected by high groundwater (with slow or variable permeability) and locally with short-term
flooding in some years. In actuality, the soils come in complex and often unpredictable arrangements, with several
soil series commonly present in the same field. Thick drifts greatly diversify soil type in most districts. Many
occurrences of different soils are too small to be recorded on current maps.
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The great variety of soils favours mixed farming, although currently pasture predominates outside those areas
where the terrain is flat enough to allow modern arable management to work efficiently. Needs change over time,
but in the past dairying, sheep and raising beef cattle have been important. Cereals have been widely grown, and
fruit and hop growing have all found favour. Some of the poorer soil over outcrops of Tunbridge Wells Sand has
traditionally been given over to forestry or parkland (Shephard-Thorn et al 1966, 105).
Landscape and Heritage designations
Recognition has been given in law to the significance of certain historical features within the parish, designed to
protect them for future generations. The legal status conferred on these assets means that the planning system has
to take this into account when considering new development. The key areas of significance for the historical
environmental are as follows:
1.
The Parish of Rolvenden is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
2.
There are two designated Conservation Areas within the parish, namely Rolvenden (Street) and Rolvenden
Layne. Neither currently have a character assessment or management plan.
3.
There are 117 buildings or groups of buildings within the parish on the National List. Of these, the parish
Church of St Mary the Virgin is listed as Grade I, with five others being listed as Grade II*: see Appendix D for
a full list of individual buildings.
4.
There is one Scheduled Monument in the parish, namely the Moat at Lowden Manor.
5.
Great Maytham Hall Gardens and Hole Park Gardens are both on the Register of Parks and Gardens, Grade
II.
There are an unspecified number of individual and group Tree Preservation Orders within the parish. Hedges that
conform to a certain standard are also protected, as are all qualifying trees within the conservation areas.
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3. DEVELOPMENT of WEALDEN SETTLEMENT FORM
The settled Wealden landscape of today is the result of change brought about by many generations of people
interacting with their environment, and this dynamic process is still continuing today. However, there are ancient
elements still discernable in the modern landscape and more recent changes that combine to define the character
of the High Weald.
In very general terms, the rural landscapes of lowland England have their origins in the development of medieval
settlement. These landscapes fall roughly into two types, one being ‘champion’ or ‘planned’ countryside
characterized by big villages, few but busy roads, and the thin hawthorn hedges of eighteenth and nineteenthcentury enclosure. The other is ‘ancient’ countryside characterised by more dispersed settlement patterns,
irregular or enclosed field systems, and a fairly dense mesh of footpaths, bridleways, lanes and roads (Rackham
2000, 4&5).
The High Weald is quintessentially ‘ancient countryside’ or, perhaps more accurately, one particular version of
ancient countryside. This is the countryside of isolated farms or small hamlets, where villages are for the most part
a late imposition on the landscape. Fields tended to be small, hedged and irregular in shape, interspersed with thin
strips of woodland called shaws — a very typical wood-pasture landscape. Most farmland in the Weald has always
been owned and exploited as private property, and these circumstances ensured (of necessity) a particularly dense
network of roadways as farmsteads and privately owned fields needed to be reached without taking stock across
the land of other proprietors. The modern landscape owes much to the early settlement pattern created by the
first English settlers, but also to how later generations exploited the land, coped with rising populations, and
introduced new farming methods and industrial and commercial activities.
Early Settlement
The development of settlement within the Wealden landscape has a long history, but the principal elements found
today have their origins in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of the area following the departure of the Romans in the
fifth century. The age of the first of these settlements is unknown, and currently there is little archaeological
evidence to help determine what this may be. However, the names of Wealden settlements begin to occur in
charters from the seventh century onwards. As with the rest of the Kentish High Weald, Rolvenden had an unusual
tenurial arrangement during the early part of the Middle Ages whereby land rights belonged to estates in the north
and the east of the county. These estates came to control a series of wood pastures, carved out of the Wealden
commons. Their names came from the Early English term for wood pasture (denn) and those place names ending in
‘den’ reflect this. By the thirteenth century, however, local settlements in the Weald had largely shaken off their
dependence on these distant estates and the names of many of the farmsteads and places still to be found in the
parish today are recorded in documents of that time.
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In Rolvenden, the location of many of the earliest dens can still be identified: for example, the den of Rolvenden,
which is situated around Rolvenden Street. However, some of what may be the earliest settled areas did not have
‘den’ names. Many of those along the Hexden and Newmill channels have hamm endings, denoting lands hemmed
in by marshes, or possibly meadows bounded by streams, both of which would fit the local topography (Gelling &
Cole 200, 49-51). Examples in the parish include Kensham, Forsham, Maytham, and Freezingham or Frensham. The
lands of some of these ‘ham’ names became further subdivided in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to create
farmsteads such as Devenden, Thornden, and Lowden.
Greens
Greens are a frequent occurrence in this part of the High Weald, and they are the remnants of larger commons that
existed earlier in Anglo-Saxon times (Witney 1976, 75-77). By the time of Domesday, the broad settlement pattern
of the High Weald seems to have been established and greens had developed as part of this process (Sawyer 1976,
1-2; Gardiner 1995, 94). Greens emerged as Wealden dens developed over time into ‘private’ space, further
enclosing the wastes and commons. Consequently, the remaining common — especially the roadside greens —
became particularly important for as long as there were large movements of animals in the area.
Normally, greens are situated either along the main drove routes on the ridge tops, or at the principal cross-routes
connecting the ridge-top drove ways. They occur on level areas of ground and at the junctions of through routes
with local lanes, where they would have the double utility of providing over-night stopping off points for livestock
passing through, as well as collection and dispersal points for the flocks and herds connected to local farmsteads.
Green locations often also had the poorer soils that did not favour arable production.
Nowadays Wealden greens are small and most have been almost entirely enclosed and built upon. Many greens
have lost their epithet ‘green’ over time – for example, Hasted records rather more on his maps of the Kentish
hundreds than appear on the modern map (Hasted 1798, see hundred maps). In Kent, especially, there were a
surprisingly large number of them, but their distribution was uneven.
Routeways
There is a broad relationship between the character of settlement and the character of the road system, in that the
more dispersed the pattern of settlement the greater the density of public rights of way normally become. Through
-routes in the High Weald tend to follow the principle ridges, but at some point each has to descend to the valleys
to cross one or other of the principle watercourses. These cross-routes are complemented by a multiplicity of local
lanes whose purpose is to connect centres of habitation and allow access to their associated farmland. This does
not, however, mean that the lanes simply ‘connected up’ the scattered farms. Rather, the lanes were what was left
after each farm, during the course of the Middle Ages, had cut out its own block of privately owned fields from the
‘wastes and commons’. The lanes represent, in most cases, narrow strips of common land — often although not
always coincident with a pre-existing track — which have been left as successive portions of land were enclosed
and farmed. A high density of lanes, in other words, is directly related to the gradual development, over time, of
numerous privately owned holdings, each individually farmed.
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Hamlets
Hamlets in this part of the High Weald are a particular phenomenon, which have been rather taken for granted in
the past. The development of hamlets seems to have been facilitated by the occurrence of pre-existing functional
elements such as road junctions, river crossings, the siting of parish churches or significant manorial sites. Greens,
which were closely associated with road junctions and were often also chosen for church sites, tended to be prime
spots for hamlet development, of which Rolvenden Street is a good example.
The earliest hamlets were typically clusters of three or more farmsteads, but as time went by — especially where
there was an area of common land (such as a green) additional dwellings became established: as for example at
Rolvenden Layne. Hamlets had often become, by the time of the tithe surveys (c 1838-1840), a collection of
tenements typically occupied by small tradesmen. These could be quite large, as at Rolvenden Street, and were
becoming more like villages. However, such large centres of habitation may have been unknown before the postmedieval period outside the few Wealden towns and planned villages (e.g. Robertsbridge in East Sussex). For a long
time rural habitation in this area was likely to have been represented almost exclusively by the (usually isolated)
farmstead. It is legitimate, therefore, to ask the question to what extent hamlets (prior to their growth in the
eighteenth century) were parts of the earlier settlement pattern.
Woodlands
The High Weald is often characterised as a heavily wooded landscape, and the assumption is that it was even more
so in the past; however, the nature and distribution of woodland over time is uncertain. Today, the deeply incised
and mostly wooded valleys of the many tributary streams (called ‘ghylls’ or ‘gills’), stands of ancient woodlands on
the higher slopes, the small Wealden fields with their multi-species hedges, and the narrow strips of woodland
called ‘shaws’ can produce the impression that the woodland in the hilly Wealden landform is nearly continuous.
From an historical perspective, however, the question is whether the distribution of woodland has always been as
it is now? This is a difficult question to answer because there is a genuine lack of information prior to the Early
Modern Period, by which time the distribution of woodland appears from sources such as map evidence to be
recognisably modern. Domesday indicates that the Weald was heavily wooded in the eleventh century, but can do
so only indirectly because of the way that it recorded land holdings (Rackham 2003, 125). However, there is no way
to know in any detail from this how the woods were distributed, nor really what form they took, as neither is
recorded. Woodland was still being cleared in many parts of the Weald in the thirteenth century, which supports
the notion that there was more at the time of Domesday, but the record is partial (Brandon 2003, 91-96).
Building Styles
Building styles in the Weald reflect the socio-economic history of its settlement. High status buildings, such as the
country houses of the gentry, the larger religious foundations and parish churches, reflected the polite architecture
of their day. Such buildings tended to favour classical ideals of design, employ top craftsmen — frequently hired
from outside the area, and use expensive materials that need to be imported from elsewhere. However, in the
Weald as elsewhere, a local distinctive style of building had also emerged during the course of the Middle Ages,
based on local designs that developed using the local materials available and executed by local craftsmen. This
vernacular style of architecture is closely associated with the timber-framed farmhouses that are still to be found in
the landscape today and which have given their name to a whole class of timber-framed buildings — the Wealden
house.
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In Rolvenden, the medieval tradition of timber-framed construction persevered into the seventeenth century,
although later houses tended to be more varied in design. However, by the eighteenth century, new materials
became available (such as imported Baltic pine and Welsh slate), brick and tile became more affordable, and as the
population grew the need for new buildings increased. Building techniques adapted to these circumstances and the
distinctive vernacular style of the Weald evolved from the medieval tradition of timber-framed buildings
constructed from oak, thatch, and wattle and daub, to the traditional building styles employing these newer
materials and (significantly) incorporating design elements borrowed from polite architecture. The result has been
the creation of the traditional building style that is now so characteristic of the Kent and Sussex Weald.
Post-medieval traditional Wealden buildings are characterised by lighter timber framing (often of Baltic pine) which
was clad either with clay tiles (including mathematical tiles that simulated brickwork) or weatherboarding (which
also sometimes was made to simulate ashlar masonry). Most roofs were of clay tiles, although Welsh slate was also
sometimes used from the eighteenth century. Brick became increasingly common, but was often restricted to the
ground floor exterior walls and chimneys. Tiles and bricks were manufactured locally and were commonly of
orange/red in hue, which gives many Wealden buildings a special visual quality.
Traditional building styles tend to change in their detail, but slowly, and it is possible to recognise how different
ages have interpreted it. Contemporary interpretations of traditional styles also occur — although modern
construction techniques mean that a building’s external style may be only skin deep!
Overview
At the time of the tithe surveys, the habitation elements of settlement were comprised of a few, scattered hamlets
of varying sizes (with some more like small villages by then); individual farmsteads set within their fields; a number
of scattered homesteads; or associated with occasional country houses that were the centres of greater estates.
This settlement pattern, which is to a large extent still preserved today, is discernable from at least the twelfth
century and in its essentials from much earlier.
However, Rolvenden Street and Rolvenden Layne (both hamlets by the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, at the
latest) have over the past two hundred years expanded in stages until, during the course of the twentieth century,
they have grown into village size settlements. Dispersed settlement, on the other hand, persists more generally in
the rural landscape beyond their limits. The development pressures that have caused the expansion of the hamlets
into villages, are now also affecting areas of dispersed settlement beyond them; this raises issues about how to
manage this landscape into the twenty-first century. The analysis used in this study attempts to deal with some of
these issues for both the nucleated and dispersed forms of settlement pattern.
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4: ANALYSIS of ROLVENDEN’S SETTLEMENT FORM
The pattern and form of settlement in Rolvenden is classified according to the density of the built environment in
any particular location throughout the parish. In other words, how dispersed or nucleated settlement may be
experienced. In practice, the principal centres of settlement (Rolvenden Street and Rolvenden Layne) are
considered to be highly nucleated, whilst the surrounding parts of the parish are considered to be highly
dispersed. The analysis, therefore, falls into two sections; the first considers the dispersed elements, and the
second the two centres of nucleation. The results of this twin analysis appear in Part 2, The Annex Section 1:
Dispersed Settlement Form and Character and Section 2: Nucleated Settlement Form and Character.
In reality, the analysis of settlement form and its character as currently undertaken for the requirements of the
planning system, have almost entirely been done in relation to nucleated settlement. The reason for this is that the
existing protection regime (in regard to settlement form) has largely been concerned with conservation areas.
Conservation area status was originally designed to protect the core historical integrity of our ancient cities, towns,
and villages — predominantly nucleated settlement. Regulation, practice and advice have mostly been targeted
towards such settlements. In areas like Rolvenden, which are historically areas of dispersed settlement,
conservation areas have been restricted to its villages and hamlets — areas of nucleated settlement. Therefore,
the analysis of Rolvenden Street and Rolvenden Layne (see the Annex, section 2) has been comparatively
straightforward and makes use of an existing and well-tried method. The main features of this approach include
the identification of local character areas within the settlement (neighbourhoods), the general characteristics of an
area’s layout and the effect on individual streets of the size and disposition of its curtilages (grain and plot
analysis), as well as the visual impact of building form — essentially from a street level viewpoint. These
techniques rely upon the critical mass of the nucleated built environment.
The task of analysing settlement in the rest of the parish has been less straightforward. There is as yet no tried and
tested method of conducting such an analysis in areas of dispersed settlement, where there is a lower
concentration of buildings and the impact of the landscape setting on the character of the settlement is so much
greater. English Heritage’s Historic Landscape Characterisation for the parish has been informative, but insufficient
on its own to fulfil all the criteria needed to complete the analysis. Consequently, a newly devised approach to the
recording of settlement form and its characterisation, adapted from that adopted for areas of nucleation, has been
explored and developed.
16
The Analysis of Dispersed Settlement
Settlement Form
Although the disposition of the elements of dispersed settlement form (the farmsteads, homesteads and small
hamlets) may appear random, they do in fact conform to a set of identifiable relationships within the landscape.
These may be topographical; for example, the siting of farmsteads near a water supply or dwellings along a country
lane. They may also reflect socio-economic reasons, perhaps relating to tenure, such as the creation of a new
farmstead out of the lands of an established one nearby or, for example, the conversion of farm buildings to create
more dwellings. These processes tend to create loose clusters, or associations of settlement elements.
In practice the survey of dispersed elements within the parish identified clusters that seemed to relate to one
another: the local volunteer surveyors had no difficulty in establishing a landscape context for each cluster —
although there were no hard and fast boundaries between clusters. Subsequent research usually also identified a
socio-economic relationship as well.
The parish survey has identified eight areas containing distinctive clusters of dispersed settlement, and how
settlement elements are clustered together within the areas of dispersed settlements is shown on Plan R4: Survey
Areas. This scheme forms the basis of the analysis contained in the Annex, Section 1.
As with the nucleated settlement, the analysis of dispersed settlement starts with the contemporary landscape. In
terms of settlement form, the objective was to establish (in very broad terms) the historic sequence of settlement
development, but also the ratio of new development post 1945 to older elements still existing in the contemporary
landscape. The purpose was to record and appreciate the rate of development within the previous two hundred
years, particularly since the end of the Second World War.
1945 was chosen as a benchmark from which to record the changes in rural settlement for a number of reasons.
Until the post-war period the High Weald was relatively isolated and the local economy was still predominantly
rural (agriculture and its supporting services). However, major changes took place after 1945 in building techniques,
development methods, planning law, and architectural design. Furthermore, demographic changes (for example, a
rise in the general population, the growth of smaller households, and the proportionate increase in the number of
retired people) have had their effect. This, together with social changes brought on by universal car ownership,
changing work patterns (for example, working from home) and increased wealth for many people, have all
combined to make places like Rolvenden more accessible and attractive to incomers.
This study explores new ways to understand dispersed settlement form, adopting habitation elements as a
principal indicator for change (dwellings and related buildings and their curtilages). Although habitation is only one
element of settlement form, it has been chosen as the measure of change partly because it is relatively easy to
record over time, but also because it is also the most readily understandable by the majority of people. The main
focus has been to track changes over the past two hundred years, to some extent because this is of particular
relevance to current planning decisions, but also because it presents a simplified picture that can be clearly
recorded graphically.
17
Two broad approaches have been attempted. The first approach shows current habitation, recording both
dwellings and associated buildings existing before 1945 and those built after that date. The intention is to illustrate
how more recent development patterns are influencing settlement form, particularly changes in the character of
dispersed settlement in the parish. See Plan R5 Built Environment Pre and Post 1945 (Appendix D), and the
accompanying text in the Summary of Findings.
The second approach aims to show a profile of the existing ages of dwellings since the early nineteenth century.
The points in time chosen are:
1.
the tithe survey (1839);
2.
the 1st edition (revised) 6” OS maps (epoch 2 c1890);
3.
the period between the epoch 2 OS survey and 1945 (identified through various methods, including the
results of this survey); and finally,
4.
post 1945 dwellings (including farm building conversions).
Plan R6 Age of Dwellings (Appendix D) shows dwellings existing in the present-day landscape that were also
present at these specific points in the past, and their relationship is described in the Summary of Findings.
Settlement Character
Settlement character is how we experience a sense of place, and the principles of character analysis are similar for
both dispersed and nucleated settlement. Character derives from physical attributes such as the spatial
relationships between buildings and open spaces; architectural form; effect of the texture and colour of building
materials; views within, into and out of the settlement; and how green the environment happens to be. It also
draws on more subjective responses to less tangible experiences such as atmosphere; feelings of openness or
enclosure in the natural and built environment; how historic or modern elements effect the way we feel; degrees
of quietness; memory; and often our knowledge of past human actions that have taken place around the
settlement.
Character is captured and explained through the use of images to show visual qualities (for example, photographs
and old prints). Plans and maps are a good way to show spatial relationships, with the use of symbols on plans to
highlight significant features. Written descriptions help to record visual impressions, the experience of place, and
historically important factors. All of these devices are used in the characterisation of both nucleated and dispersed
settlement, but with slight modifications between them, which will become obvious within the character analysis
itself.
Building design and the architectural features associated with that are especially important for maintaining
settlement character. This can be a contested area when consideration is given to proposed new development.
Therefore, understanding how building form works is important, and for this reason it is dealt with in greater detail
in Section 3 of the Annex.
18
Plan R4 Survey Areas
19
5: SUMMARY of FINDINGS
This section identifies and discusses the broad findings arising from the survey. The volunteer survey team have
produced an extensive record of most of the buildings and their landscape setting within the parish, recording
many details of their design, age and occupation. This wealth of information underpins the analysis in the Annex to
this report. What follows is a summary of the findings at a parish wide level of analysis, drawing together the broad
themes that the detailed survey material has highlighted. This summary is organised into three commentaries
looking at settlement form, settlement character, and building design — three aspects of the same phenomenon.
Settlement Form
Settlement form within the parish is very diverse. As has been stated earlier, it may be separated into two broad
categories — nucleated and dispersed settlement form. Within each of these broad divisions there are different
types of settlement form reflecting periods within the growth of the settlements under consideration. The extent of
the areas of dispersed and nucleated settlement in the parish is shown on Plan R4 Survey Areas.
Areas of Dispersed Settlement (areas 1 – 8)
Local detail of dispersed settlement form is recorded in Section 1 of the Annex; what follows is an assessment of
characteristics relating to the form and pattern of dispersed settlement found throughout the parish. An
appreciation of how settlement has developed helps us to evaluate the significance of historical settlement
features, especially when considering the impact of future proposed development.
Impact of Recent Development on Historic Settlement Form
The buildings related to settlement within the parish are recorded in the survey either as dwellings or as having
other uses, normally as agricultural buildings. Not all outbuildings are recorded, only those which are either large
enough to be converted to other uses (for example, dwellings) or have a significant purpose, such as oasthouses,
threshing barns etc; thus, garden sheds, small barns and other less significant outbuildings are excluded. In order to
assess the impact of more recent development, these have been analysed according to whether they were built
before or after 1945.
Within the areas of dispersed settlement 241 sites were identified as having either dwellings or substantial
outbuildings built upon them (here, sites refers to the individual occurrence of a building type. This will normally
refer to an individual dwelling or farm-building, but on occasion there may be more as when semi-detached
dwellings are counted as one site — for example “Fairview Cottages” along the A28 to Newenden). Individual sites
are often adjacent, within the same curtilage. This analysis, therefore, describes sites for each class of building,
rather than for each individual building.
20
A visual comparison of sites of all types of buildings built before 1945 and subsequently are shown on Plan R5 Built
Environment Pre and Post 1945 (See Appendix D). Buildings erected before 1945 are shown in red, whilst those
after 1945 are coloured blue. Redundant historical farm buildings converted post 1945, as well as older dwellings
that have been substantially extended after that date are indicated by a red/blue combination. Post-1945 dwellings
built under the special ‘agricultural occupation condition’ regulations are shown separately, although they are
really part of the post-1945 cohort of dwellings. This plan also records the curtilages within which the buildings sit
(pink on the plan). These areas include the land associated with dwellings and outbuildings, such as gardens, yards
and outlands. The inclusion of curtilages gives a better understanding of settlement form than simply recording the
occurrence of buildings alone.
The first impression is that there is a roughly equal distribution of pre and post 1945 buildings in the parish,
although in fact those built after are greater. There are very few locations that have not had some intervention
since 1945. The second observation is that the habitation elements tend to cluster together into loose groupings,
but within particular clusters the ratio of pre and post 1945 buildings can vary considerably. The visual impact of
this variation as perceived by an observer on the ground will depend on the local topography (for example, how
intervisible the elements are) and the nature of the built form itself (for example, building materials and
architectural design). These issues are dealt with in greater detail in the sections on character and built design.
A closer look at the statistics show an interesting, and perhaps surprising relationship between the two classes of
buildings by date pre and post war. Modern (post-1945) buildings are in the ascendancy at 55%, if conversions and
significantly extended older dwellings are included (this figure also includes modern agricultural sheds (c 25% of
post-1945 buildings), many of which are now redundant) see Figure R1 Age of all Building in the Dispersed Areas.
Figure R1 Age of all Building in the Dispersed Areas
21
Dwellings make up 74% of the built environment of Rolvenden in dispersed areas. Of the total number of dwellings,
45% are purpose built dwellings dated to before 1945 (33% of all buildings). Of the remaining 55%, modern
purpose built dwellings make up about 27% (20% 0f all buildings), with the rest being either conversions of older
buildings (19%; 14% 0f all buildings) or substantially extended older properties (9%; 7% of all buildings). See Figure
R2 Buildings in the Dispersed Areas by Type.
Figure R2 Buildings in the Dispersed Areas by Type
Arguably, converted and extended older buildings could still be considered substantially historical structures, in
which case the ratio of modern to older dwellings drops. This would be fair in many ways, but would on the other
hand mask the real impact of more recent development. Whether in visual terms newer development has worked
well or not is more a matter of character assessment. However, its impact on settlement form has mainly been
through the increase in the number of households and in the types and sizes of post-1945 dwellings. These reflect
socio-economic trends that relate to how much rural areas are affected by a largely urbanised economy.
22
Assessing the Comparative Ages of Dwellings — according to four devised periods.
What will also be of interest is the relative age of purpose-built dwellings in the parish. In other words, how old are
parish houses and where have they survived? A representation of changes that have occurred since the early
nineteenth century is shown on Plan R6 Age of Dwellings in the Contemporary Landscape (See Appendix D). In
order to convey this in an easily understandable format, the recording of dwellings on the tithe map (1839) has
been adopted as a benchmark for all historical dwellings built by that date [green symbols on the plan]. Additions
to the stock of dwellings in the parish during the course of the nineteenth century are shown as recorded on the OS
map epoch 2 (c 1890) [magenta]; subsequent changes are shown according to the data collected by the parish
survey, being divided into those constructed before 1945 [light blue] and those following that date [dark blue]. The
latter include farm buildings converted to dwellings, but not those with substantial extensions that are recorded
under their date of origins.
Over half of the dwellings recorded in the survey were in existence by 1945. About half of these were extant at the
time of the tithe survey, with a further twelve percent being added by the time of the 1 st edition 6” OS map (epoch
2). The remainder were constructed, for the most part, during the first half of the twentieth century, the majority
being contained in the railway estate of 1910. Of the 46% of dwellings constructed since 1945, a little over 40%
were farm-building conversions (principally barns or oasthouses). See Figure R3 Comparative Age of Dwellings in
the Dispersed Areas.
Figure 3 Comparative Age of Dwellings in the Dispersed Areas
23
The dwellings recorded on the tithe map that still exist today include a wide range of ages and type of building.
Gauging the exact age profile is difficult because there is currently not enough information on individual buildings
to be certain of when many were originally constructed, more work needs to be done. However, little more than
10% are definitely ascribable to the seventeenth century, with about the same number being either fifteenth or
sixteenth-century. Possibly about a fifth of dwellings had been built within the previous thirty years before the tithe
survey, but the majority (maybe about 60%) were either built in the eighteenth century, or were older structures
that had been extensive remodelled at that time. A proportion of these buildings may well conceal within them
older structures, but on the face of it the great period of building or rebuilding was in the eighteenth century (it is
not known how many eighteenth-century buildings were simply replacements for older ones, but this must have
been the case at medieval farm sites). The eighteenth-century building programme would accord with an
estimated rise in population at that time, and the expansion (or maybe the creation) of many of the hamlets in this
part of the High Weald.
Finally, it also needs to born in mind that there were significantly more dwellings recorded in the tithe survey than
have survived into modern times within the areas of dispersed settlement (that is, ones that have disappeared not
simply been replaced). The majority of these were workers’ cottages, or additional farm homestalls, often set
within fields away from public highways. These buildings represent an element of the dispersed settlement pattern
that has largely been lost.
Areas of nucleated settlement (Areas A and B)
The detail of nucleated settlement form is recorded in Section 2 of the Annex. What follows is an assessment of
characteristics relating to the form and pattern of settlement found within the two major settlements within the
parish. As with dispersed settlement, an appreciation of how nucleated settlement has developed helps us to
evaluate the significance of historical settlement features, especially when considering the impact of future
proposed development.
Settlement Form of the Hamlets
The development of settlement form for hamlets in the High Weald has in general not been particularly well
documented. This is surprising as they represent the principal examples of nucleated settlement today in what has
been recognised historically as an otherwise highly dispersed settlement pattern. However, prior to the eighteenth
century there are few maps or plans that illustrate what the hamlet sites were like and it was not until the tithe
surveys that the settlement form at hamlet sites was consistently recorded. By this time hamlets were places
where small tradesmen, those involved in light industry and services to agriculture were frequently found, but for
how long they had been like that is unknown.
In their early form hamlets were likely to have been a collection of farmsteads located on the edges of small
commons, remembered now in the Wealden greens. An example of an early hamlet of this type has survived in
24
Rolvenden at Kensham Green. The green itself was fully enclosed sometime between 1828 and 1839, but most of
the associated farmsteads remain. Although the green at Kensham formed the focus for these farmsteads, they
were still located at a distance from each other (see the sites of Kensham, Little Kensham and Hexden farmsteads
today). However, by the eighteenth century Kensham Green was considered to be a hamlet, and there is some
landscape evidence for the existence of a few scattered workers’ cottages as well.
Rolvenden Street and Rolvenden Layne were probably very similar to Kensham at one time in the past, and at both
sites there are a number of significant late medieval timber-framed houses at their peripheries. Smaller and later
cottages dating from the seventeenth century onwards had filled in much of the central areas by the middle of the
nineteenth century. At Rolvenden Street this process seems to have been completed earlier, but at Rolvenden
Layne was still in progress at the time of the tithe survey. Both places were originally greens like Kensham, and
although the evidence for this is more circumstantial for the Street, map and documentary evidence for the Layne
is much stronger, and even as late as the eighteenth century was called Lain Green or sometimes Frensham Green.
The evolution of both of Rolvenden’s nucleated settlements, therefore, although sharing many features in common
is also different in some important respects. These issues are explored in greater depth in section 2 of the Annex,
but the over all pattern of their development is summarised below.
Rolvenden Street
Today, Rolvenden Street is a village, rather than the hamlet that it once was. By the time of the tithe survey it had
arguably reached a tipping point and during the course of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth it was
frequently referred to as a village by the local community — however, it was still a small settlement even by the
standards of the day. Since 1945 this settlement has expanded considerably, and there can now be no doubting its
village status.
The earliest settlement form can only be surmised, but it was most likely a small common or green with a number
of farmsteads at its edges. Substantial late medieval houses still exist at Kingspost, Saxbys, and Bull Farm, but there
were likely to have been others now gone (for example, near Chamberlaynes and Parsonage). The accessibility of
this site, lying as it does at the junction of important ridge top routeways and local lanes, made it an ideal place to
build the parish church. Fifteenth or sixteenth-century cottages still survive near the church and this may be the
site of the earliest hamlet dwellings independent of the farmsteads.
By the seventeenth century there were a cluster of dwellings at the junction of the road to Benenden with the
Tenterden to Hastings road. It was at this junction that the hamlet was further developed during the course of the
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Subsequently, there was little further development until the setting out
of the first phase of the council estate in 1947. This was because Rolvenden fared badly during the downturn in
agriculture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the population declined steadily between the
1830s and the 1920s. There has been a considerable amount of infilling along the High Street and the Tenterden
Road as well as more systematic development to the north and east of the parish church since the 1960s. See Plan
R7 Age of Listed Buildings and Periods of Expansion at Rolvenden Street (Appendix D).
25
The two major expansion phases for the settlement at Rolvenden Street, therefore, were during the eighteenth
century and the latter part of the twentieth. Both were in response to the increase in population and on both
occasions the expansion took place here because of the availability of land for building. Much of the land was
church land (rectorial or vicarial glebe) and in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century expansion, as well
as that occurring in the later part of the twentieth century and opening years of the twenty-first, the church
released land — in particular to house those in need.
Rolvenden Layne
Rolvenden Layne was until the eighteenth century an open green located along the Maytham Road at the junction
of Frogs Lane, Mounts Lane, Freezingham Lane and Thornden Lane. Its present name was not formally adopted by
the Post Office until 1926, although it had been called Rolvenden Layne since the late nineteenth-century.
Previously it was known variously as Lain, Leyne, or Lane Green and sometimes Frensham Green.
It is probable that, as at Rolvenden Street, there was a larger area of common land here in the early Middle Ages.
Encroachment seems to have taken place at intervals into the early modern period until the green was reduced in
size to that mapped by the first OS survey in 1792. Subsequently, the green had been continuously built upon until
by the end of the nineteenth century there was no open land left. An idea of how the settlement has developed
since the late Middle Ages can be gauged from Plan R8 The Age of Listed Buildings at Rolvenden Layne (Appendix
D).
Although there have been phases of infilling and rebuilding, there has not been the same systematic development
as at Rolvenden Street. However, the conversion of farm buildings at Thornden Farm and the erection of some new
dwellings off Thornden Lane have resulted in the development of a small satellite settlement to the southwest of
the Layne.
General Trends in Settlement Form
Within both the areas of nucleated and dispersed settlement form, there is a general trend towards increased
nucleation. This is most clearly seen in the two village centres where the built form is more tightly packed and
access to the built environment easier. In both places more complex morphologies have developed since 1945,
especially in Rolvenden Street. Here, small residential estates cluster around the older core, creating new
neighbourhoods. At Rolvenden Layne, there has been some rebuilding of older houses as well as a degree of
infilling of plots within the established street scene, rather than the creation of new areas of development on the
scale found at the Street. However, recent development along Thornden Lane and the conversion of Thornden
farm to accommodate more residences has created a new neighbourhood, closely associated with the Layne itself.
In areas of dispersed settlement, although there has been proportionally a similar increase in the relative number
of buildings, their numbers are fewer and their distribution more widespread. As a result, the visual impact of the
expansion of the built environment is less. However, most new building has been erected in proximity to existing
built elements, with the result that a number of locations are being slowly transformed into settlements more akin
26
to small hamlets than the collection of quite isolated elements that they once were. A major factor in this
transformation is the abandonment of older historical farmsteads, many of which have been superseded by newly
created ones more suited to modern agricultural methods. In the meantime older farmsteads have been converted
to accommodate more dwellings and in some cases completely new dwellings have been erected as well.
Settlement Character
Character, how settlement is experienced on the ground, is influenced by many factors. The development of form,
the scale and mass of new buildings, as well as the spatial relationship between open land, habitation, and planting
all influence the way that people perceive the sense of place. There are other more subjective elements, which are
dealt with in more detail in the Annex to this report. Broadly, the principal influences on nucleated and dispersed
settlement character in the parish of Rolvenden are summarised as follows.
Areas of Dispersed Settlement
In areas of dispersed settlement it is arguable that the historical character of rural Rolvenden has persevered into
the contemporary landscape. Changes have been greatest, perhaps, along the A28 and the B2086, but in a general
sense character is less changed than in the nucleated settlements. However, in these areas character is strongly
influenced by the state of cultivation, by the degree of tree cover and deciduous leaf cover. These variables change
with the seasons (and from one year to the next) and therefore character can be expected to reflect these
variations. For example, views into and out of settlement may be exposed or hidden periodically and feelings of
enclosure or openness influenced over a period.
There is probably a greater range of buildings present in the landscape than in even the recent past. For example,
the rather simple cottages with agriculture occupancy conditions attached are a fairly recent phenomenon, as are
the larger agricultural sheds used in modern farming. Even where an historic farmstead is still working as such, new
farming methods often sit uncomfortably within yards and outbuildings designed for a different age. Traditional
building styles developed for older farming practices are now more closely associated with domestic dwellings and
this has also had an effect on character. Small closes, once part of the farmers’ agricultural economy around the
curtilage of the farmstead have become domesticated by their new owners and are more likely to be used for
recreation — swimming pools, tennis courts and equestrian pursuits.
The conversion of smaller dwellings into larger ones, the screening of properties from their lanes (where they were
once open to view), as well as the proliferation of security gates (for example), have all subtly changed the
character of many rural landscapes.
27
Areas of Nucleated Settlement
In areas of nucleated settlement, character has been susceptible to the impact of increases in the volume of the
built environment. However, there are certain changes that have influenced character more than others. As the
competition for building land has increased, more infilling has occurred, which has reduced the size of traditional
curtilages and built over previously open areas. This has produced a busier and more closely grained effect.
Additionally, attempts to accommodate the motorcar, especially in areas of older dwellings built before car
ownership became ubiquitous, has led to the replacement of some front gardens with hard standings for cars, the
construction of more driveways, and on road parking. This has also sometimes led to the reduction of planting
within the village centres.
The greater volume of building has of itself, of course, also altered perceptions of character. This is especially true
in Rolvenden Street, where many of the post 1945 developments have departed from the more traditional styles
historically associated with the area, or has poorly articulated these styles. There are some notable examples of
well-designed dwellings more recently, which is good to see. However, it is often the spatial layout of these
developments that have eroded local design quality.
Building Design
Building design in the parish of Rolvenden has proved to be complex and reflects a wide range of influences, even
though there are some robust and typical traditional styles. Often it is the materials used, the resulting colour
palette, and the deployment of local detailing that harmonises what can be an eclectic range of building design
elements. The overall effect is to create a sense of a strong local traditional style — but in reality this can be hard to
tie down, particularly in the later periods.
The earliest domestic buildings in the parish to survive are the more robust timber-framed structures of the late
Middle Ages. Some are complete, others fragmentary, but they are all of the better kind, being the houses of the
wealthier farmers and landowners. The use of substantial timber framing in Rolvenden carried on into the
seventeenth century, although others are typically fifteenth or sixteenth-century. Lower status houses probably
used similar building techniques, but being less substantially built have not (on the whole) survived.
Wealden vernacular styles flourished in the Middle Ages and into the early modern period. The vernacular
buildings that have survived are typically timber-framed, usually using substantial oak timbers recovered from
Wealden woodlands. The spaces between the timbers were filled with wattle and daub panels and the facades
most likely lime washed (weatherboarding made from riven oak planks may also have been used to clad some
dwellings). Thatch was likely to be the ubiquitous roofing material for most domestic buildings (although clay tiles,
where available would be a more fire-resistant solution).
The favoured design would be an open hall, where the people dwelling there (masters and servants) would conduct
most of their domestic rituals. Halls were heated with an open fire initially, whilst cooking was done in a separate
28
kitchen built away from the house to lessen the danger of fire to the main dwelling. Typically, such dwellings would
also have a cross wing at one or both ends, either for storage or as private space for the householder. The Wealden
habit of constructing a single roof over the whole structure has given this class of building its name – the Wealden
house. A cross wing frequently had two stories and from the sixteenth century an additional floor was commonly
inserted into the upper space of the hall. Chimneys were also introduced into domestic buildings from about the
same date and inserted into older dwellings. Later vernacular buildings were designed with these features as they
were built.
The first distinctively designed gentleman’s house in the parish was Gatehouse (now Frensham Manor), which was
extensively extended sometime between 1630 and 1680. Although the new build was substantially timber-framed,
the façade of the front portion was constructed in Flemish brick in a polite style similar to other contemporary
brick buildings, for example those in north Kent. This was followed, in the early eighteenth century (although in a
variety of different styles) by Maytham Great Hall, Kingsgate House, and later Hole Park and Merrington Place.
Polite architecture for the principal houses had come to stay.
The great period of expansion in Rolvenden was the eighteenth century, when many of the parish’s surviving
historic houses were either rebuild, remodelled, or in many cases newly built. It is during this century that the
parish’s traditional style found its most distinctive expression. However, it is a form that relies heavily on design
ideas adopted from polite architecture. It is the predominant use of local materials and methods of construction
that aligns it with the vernacular.
Typically, it employed lightweight timber framing (often using imported Baltic pine), which was either tile-hung or
weather-boarded — unlike the earlier and heavier oak framing that was weatherproofed with wattle and daub.
The tiles were of a local orange-red hue and weatherboarding was most probably painted white, as it is today.
Sometimes the timber framing was from ground level (usually on a low brick foundation wall) or the ground floor
was brick with the timber framing above. However the design of window frames, doors and doorframes, and
porches were normally borrowed from polite forms of architecture. Some early nineteenth-century houses were
clad in wood that was made to look like ashlar masonry — these were probable painted a stone colour originally.
Many of these techniques were carried on into the twentieth century, and a form of timber framing is now making
a comeback with ‘sustainable’ designs.
These very distinctive traditional or vernacular styles are still reflected to a greater or lesser degree in
contemporary dwellings. The study clearly identified ways in which successive ages slightly adapted and modified
these designs to suit contemporary tastes. However, although the form was often repeated, construction methods
have changed and materials (more often than not imported from elsewhere) do not reflect the older colour
palette. Furthermore, details have often become debased. Some very recent examples have been copied so
slavishly from older examples that they have become pastiche. Much needs to be done to find a satisfactory twenty
first-century approach to building design form.
29
6: CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS
This section summarises the main points and arguments arising from the study that highlight substantive issues
that require policy consideration. It will go on to suggest how the document may be used to help the local
community to be proactive within the planning system. This could be through the production of a parish design
statement, the adoption of management plans for the existing conservation areas, and as an aid to support the
local neighbourhood development plan, which is currently being formulated.
Substantive Issues
The study has identified a number of issues that are likely to have an importance for the community when
considering what kind of settlement form, character, and building design would be desirable for Rolvenden in the
future. These issues have been grouped under broad headings, as follows:
Issues of Contemporary Development Form and Building design
Rolvenden, like other High Weald parishes, has a distinctive range of architectural styles that have emerged over
time out of a local building tradition. These are immensely important in helping to define local character and
distinctiveness. It is sometimes felt that modern buildings often struggle to maintain this tradition or, on occasion,
ignore it. However, there are many reasons for this besides wanton neglect.
Besides differences in style, materials, and colour palette that can occur between modern and older vernacular
styles, there are also real differences in form and design — especially spatial design. Car ownership, building
regulations, the availability and cost of materials, as well as different expectation concerning building density, all
have an impact on how modern development is conceived.
The effects of post-1945 development are most obvious in the centres of nucleated settlement, although it has
also impinged in a significant way on elements of dispersed settlement as well. This phenomenon needs to be
adequately described and explained, but a major concern must be that later development, which is not necessarily
in keeping with the historical settlement form, will be taken as the template for future development. For example,
the form of much recent development reflects the closes or cul-de-sacs typical of the suburban fringes of large
conurbations, rather than the linear forms usual for earlier Wealden settlement.
There are a number if specific issues relating to building form and design. These include the effects on character in
rural areas of large agricultural sheds, particularly within historic farmsteads; the nature of building extensions and
their potential impact on the mass and scale of elements of the built environment; the proliferation of nontraditional building styles, materials and detailing that dilute the pool of vernacular buildings; lack of scale and the
adoption of untypical settlement spatial form.
30
The Effects on Form of Increased Levels of Development in Areas of Dispersed
Settlement
Increased levels of development in areas of dispersed settlement was found in this study to occur in the vicinity of
existing settlement, reinforcing earlier settlement patterns. Typically, there is a process that begins when a
farmstead is transformed from being a working agricultural unit that leads to the development of a greater cluster
of habitation elements. This involves the alienation of the land previously attached to the historic farmstead,
followed by the development of more dwellings on or associated with the original site. This may involve the
conversion of historical farm buildings into dwellings (or work units), the construction of completely new dwellings,
or the substantial extension of existing ones. Frequently, new farmsteads may spring up in the vicinity of an older,
now defunct farmstead, absorbing some of the land previously worked by the historic farmstead. Where this
occurs to a number of neighbouring farmsteads, the effect can be a substantial growth in local populations and the
creation of what might be termed a proto-hamlet — effectively a newly created small nuclear settlement. It is
uncertain whether such proto-hamlets will be given new identifying names in the future.
In Rolvenden this has become a routine process over the last sixty years or so. The result has been to double the
volume of the built environment, without seriously damaging the dispersed nature of the general settlement
pattern. However, the way in which it has been allowed to happen has altered the character of settlement in the
dispersed areas and its piecemeal nature has meant that the results cannot be anticipated. It is possible that, with
careful management, further development could be incorporated into these areas — but there would need to be
very well thought through policies to achieve this.
It would be necessary to ensure that future development is sustainable — that is, of a good quality design that
meets the needs of the community, works with valued elements of the historic environment, and also looks
forward so as not to place foreseeable burdens on future generations. Some of the issues that would need to be
addressed include:
1.
Heterogeneous development that allows flexibility, balance, and variety within these expanded settlements,
which fosters a sense of community (for example, the opportunity for employment as well as residential
accommodation, and the building of dwellings that vary in size and affordability);
2.
Development that ensures a high quality of design and spatial layout, respecting and working with the
established settlement form and character;
3.
Development that promotes land-based businesses and supports the independent farming community;
4.
Imaginative solutions to issues of access, which respect the character and form of existing lanes and historic
routeways;
5.
A balanced system that favours walkers, riders and cyclists and allows imaginative approaches to providing
public or community transport for non-drivers.
31
Effect of Planning Consideration Relating to Agricultural and Other Enterprises
Sustainable rural communities require the establishment and maintenance of commercially viable enterprises. In
the past most economic activity in parishes such as Rolvenden was related either directly or indirectly to the land
and historical settlement form and character reflect this. However, changes in the scale, organisation, and
technology of the farming industry have meant that local employment in agriculture is now very much reduced and
new development is at variance with past forms. The survival of small-scale traditional farming and other landbased businesses that can utilise some of the older style of buildings cannot be taken for granted. At the same
time, other opportunities for employment need to be encouraged. All of these changes have an impact on
settlement form and character and if much valued landscape is to be protected special care needs to be taken in
future planning decisions.
The creation of new enterprises raises important issues in planning terms and although planning law needs to be
adhered to, imagination and foresight needs to be exercised if desirable outcomes are to be achieved. In the first
place, although it is supposed to be more difficult to obtain planning permission for houses not associated with
agricultural activity (outside the established service centres), this study shows that in Rolvenden three times as
many new dwellings have been built since 1945 than have been allowed under an agricultural occupancy condition
(AOC). Although about two-thirds of non-AOC new build has been on sites where houses stood before, this still
means that the remainder are as numerous as AOC dwellings. Some of those new dwellings have replaced AOC
dwellings where the condition has been removed — this is a contributing factor in the growth of new housing in
dispersed settlement areas.
Furthermore, the restrictions on the design and size of AOC dwellings has created a class of building that is out of
character with earlier building styles, is more restrictive than for other residences, and allows for less latitude for
expansion into alternative economic activity such as B&B usage. To put it bluntly, most AOC dwellings are for
smaller landowners, not just agricultural workers as probably originally intended, and many (perhaps most) of
these new farmhouses are architecturally very inferior to those of previous ages. It seems perverse that whereas
the community may wish to encourage traditional mixed farming practices and other land-based activities, that the
dwellings of those undertaking them can be made to conform to building forms that are not essentially in keeping
with the historical building traditions of the area.
Additionally, if an agriculturally related business proves unsustainable, it may be easier to get permission for a
change of use to something that would not normally be granted for that site. This is not necessarily a bad thing in
itself, except that because under past planning rules some agricultural buildings have been allowed that may not be
sanctioned today, this can perpetuate poor design that erodes local character. There are often environmental,
health and safety, and access issues associated with intensive agricultural units that need to be taken into
consideration before allowing change of use. However, it is often also issues such as signage and presentation that
can erode the quality of the historical built environment in rural areas of the parish.
32
Urbanisation of Rural Settlement Form and Character
Urbanisation is essentially a socio-economic phenomenon, but it also eventually influences the character of rural
areas. It originates with people moving into the area, but whose work is elsewhere (or those maintained by income
not derived from agriculture or its supporting services, such as those retiring to a rural area from outside); or those
who work in the area but in non-agricultural (or agriculturally related) businesses. What is meant in this context by
urbanisation is that buildings and other physical elements in the landscape that were originally there to support
and maintain a rural agricultural population become alienated from that purpose and are taken over by those who
maintain themselves through an urbanised economy. It will also include the creation of new building to cater for
the needs of people arising from urbanisation processes.
This process affects local character in a number of ways:
1.
Incomers on high incomes pushing up the price of dwellings making it more difficult for those on lower
incomes to compete in the housing market;
2.
Extending smaller dwellings or replacing them with larger properties, and combining semis into single
dwellings — thereby flattening the profile of dwelling types and sizes;
3.
Infrastructure problems associated with the provision of services such as sewage and water;
4.
The effect of these changes on character include the effects of screening and security arrangements (for
example, electronic security gates) on the way an area is perceived;
5.
The tendency towards ribbon development and architecturally suburbanised form.
Development, Planning, and the Community
This section explores how the local community might engage with the planning system and with those wishing to
initiate future development schemes to influence future development. It also identifies other relevant
organisations that might be of use in making the community more effective in this area.
Community Engagement with Future Development
Central to this study has been an exploration of contemporary settlement and how it has evolved historically, from
its origins through to the present day. Naturally, there has been particular interest in the changes that have
happened most recently, which have resulted in a doubling of the number of buildings within the parish and a
return to a level of population not seen since the 1830s. This is a challenging time for any community that wishes
to preserve the character of their settlements at the same time as ensuring that there is social and economic
sustainability. The aim of this study has been to provide a knowledge base to aid this to happen.
33
For the community to be effective it needs to engage in a positive way with the planning system. There is already a
well established process of public consultation within the planning regime, which has been in place for some years,
and local planning authorities are expected to be able to demonstrate a reasonable level of public support for most
planning decisions. However, the public have often felt that despite this, their views have not always been given
sufficient weight either by the planning authorities or developers. Recent changes in the way major projects are
expected to be handled now require developers to negotiate with the local community during the pre-planning
application stage for any proposed development.
In March 2012, the government issued its long awaited National Planning Policy Framework. This document sets
out the principles to be followed in the operation of the planning regime. It contained a number of sections either
dealing with the historic environment or relevant to it — this document is available on the government website. A
year earlier in May 2011, English Heritage launched its National Heritage Protection Plan for 2011-2015. This
document (available from the English Heritage website) sets out priorities and approaches that include, for
example, the assessment of character and significance of rural buildings and their settings, the protection of
significance and the management of change.
The parish council already has a good working relationship with Ashford Borough Council (their local planning
authority) and with the relevant departments of Kent County Council. The High Weald AONB Unit based at Flimwell
is already supporting the community at Rolvenden, but other organisations, such as the Kent Archaeological
Society, may also be of assistance.
Next Steps
The Localism Act (December 2011) gives local communities (usually through their Parish Council) the right to
formulate a Local Neighbourhood Development Plan, which once ratified would become material consideration in
planning matters. Rolvenden Parish Council is currently actively pursuing this policy and this is to be welcomed.
However, this is likely to be a long and complex process and until it is completed the parish will not be fully
protected from unsuitable development.
In the meantime, however, there are still ways that local people can influence and protect the historically
significant environment. For example, the results of this study may be used in a number of ways. The analysis of
the different settlement areas could form the basis for a character assessment and management plan for the
conservation areas at Rolvenden Street and Rolvenden Layne, and if appropriate used to underpin a boundary
review of these important conservation designations. It may be possible to devise a local design code to inform
those wishing to develop or build within the parish. It might also be worth considering having a recognised list of
locally important historical buildings, as well as trying to record other significant historical features to include in the
neighbourhood plan. These are issues that will need to be discussed with the local planning authority, which will be
able to advise how they might be taken forward and incorporated into relevant local policy documents.
34
Development within areas of dispersed settlement, outside the village areas designated for future expansion,
needs careful consideration and is generally discouraged within the current planning regime. However, as this
study has shown, there has been (in relative terms) a significant amount of development here since 1945 despite
this. Other studies have shown how important sustainable development can be to such areas and ideas for how
this might be managed already exist. Of particular importance is the work on Kent farmsteads to be published soon
by Kent County Council working with English Heritage. This series of publications will assist communities, owners,
developers, and planners to improve future development at farmstead sites, promoting sustainability in areas of
dispersed settlement.
The detailed results of this study on settlement form, character and built design are to be found in the PART 2, The
Annex, due to be published later in 2013. Those concerned with identifying and improving Rolvenden’s historical
environment will hopefully find these results and the accompanying analysis useful in the ways discussed above.
35
APPENDIX A: Glossary of Terms
This appendix explains some of the terms appearing in this report (or its annexes) that are either of a technical
nature or otherwise not self-explanatory.
Agricultural Occupancy Condition:
An agricultural occupancy condition (AOC) is a planning tool to restrict the building of new dwellings in rural areas
unless related to a defined agricultural occupation. The conditions imposed can include the size and type of the
dwelling as well as the need for at least one of the occupants to be engaged full time in a sustainable agricultural
undertaking.
Alienation of Land:
This refers to the right of an owner of a freehold to dispose of land to someone else without let or hindrance. In
Kent this was an ancient right under Kentish land law, allowing a landholder to alienate without the usual
permission required from a manorial court. Contemporarily, this often refers to the way that some historic
farmsteads are broken up when the farmhouse and its associated buildings are disposed of separately to its
farmland.
Character Assessment:
Character assessment refers to a formal process of recording the character of a settlement. Commonly, it applies to
one of the requirements for the documentation of a conservation area once the boundaries of the area and its
basic morphology have been determined.
Curtilage:
The term curtilage is applied to an area of land that is closely associated with a building (usually, but not necessarily
a homestead) and which forms an integral part of its function. It is an area that allows for the occupiers’ normal
enjoyment of the property and privacy. It is usually delineated by maintained boundaries, but this is not essential.
Design Code:
A design code is a guidance document setting out preferred standards and styles for future local development in a
particular settlement or parish. It is usually specifically related to building design.
Dispersed Settlement:
Dispersed settlement is the term applied to rural areas where farmsteads and homesteads are scattered over the
landscape rather than being gathered together in villages. In such areas there are few villages and only occasional
hamlets. Farmsteads were set within their own fields. The High Weald in its historical context is considered to be an
area of dispersed settlement (See also nucleated settlement).
36
Domesday:
Domesday is a term that has a number of connotations (depending on its context), but each relates to the
Domesday Survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1085 and carried out in 1086. The Domesday Book is
the earliest systematic survey of land ownership in England. Domesday, as a term used on its own, is often
employed as shorthand for meaning ‘at the time of the Domesday survey’, or period.
Early Modern Period:
Early Modern applies to the period immediately following the Middle Ages and is generally judged by
contemporary historians to have begun with the onset of the Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries
in about 1535. The Early Modern Period has no precise end date, but is considered by some to have come to an
end in about 1750 with the onset of Parliamentary Inclosure and the agricultural and Industrial Revolutions —
others, however, favour a later date such as the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
Glebe:
Glebe land is the name given to farmland previously set aside for the support of a parish priest, either to be farmed
by him or leased out. Where the priest was a rector he had the use of the whole glebe, unless he appointed a vicar
to act for him when the glebe would be divided into the rectorial glebe and the vicarial glebe (the former usually
the larger). Not uncommonly, the benefice of a parish church was given to a religious institution (for example, a
cathedral chapter), which would enjoy the income from the rectorial glebe, appointing a vicar for the cure of souls
who was dependent on the income to be derived from the vicarial glebe.
Homestall:
A homestall was a homestead, frequently associated with an existing farmstead with its own house and yard. The
term usually implied the curtilage as well as the house and outbuildings set within it.
Medieval Period:
The Medieval Period is generally considered to cover the time between the departure of the Roman legions in 410
and the dissolution of the monasteries in about 1535. The period up until the Norman Conquest (the time of the
Saxon kingdoms) is referred to as the Early Middle Ages and the time afterwards as the Late Middle Ages.
Neighbourhood Development Plan:
Under the Localism Act (2011) a parish council may produce a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) to augment
other local planning policies. The NDP can introduce appropriate local policies that aid development, but cannot be
in conflict with other policies of the local planning authority or national guidelines. There is a formal process for
agreeing the NDP, including independent scrutiny and a local referendum.
37
Nucleated Settlement:
Nucleated settlement is a term used to describe settlement form in rural areas where most farmsteads and
homesteads are gathered together within village settings. In the past, nucleated settlements usually managed their
agriculture communally through the open field system. Many people still think of village communities of this type
as being the quintessentially English experience of rural life, but in reality many rural areas (such as the High
Weald) were not historically landscapes of nucleated settlement.
Pastiche:
Pastiche is a term that has been used in music and other artistic fields to describe the bringing together of a
number of different elements or styles into one composition. Now used in architecture in relation to developments
that simulate older development styles by bringing together a jumble of different designs from various ages —
especially where it is intended to convey the feeling of organic growth to a contemporary development. Pastiche
has also come to mean the imitation of an older design in contemporary building, particularly where a new building
slavishly copies an older one without any originality or attempt to distinguish it, architecturally, from the building
upon which it is modelled.
Polite Architecture:
The term polite architecture is used to help identify architectural form and design employed in higher status
buildings that reflect the tastes of the wealthy and educated classes and usually designed by a professional
architect. Often grounded in classical form and ideas, polite architecture reflects national cultural fashion regarding
materials and building techniques and, as such, similar design concepts may be found in any region of the country.
Settlement Character:
Settlement character is the way that settlement form (see below) is perceived and experienced. The recording of
settlement character, which is essential in determining appropriate future development, is based upon observation
and the objective recording of physical attributes together with more subjective assessments of significance and
how an observer experiences settlement form. Recording settlement character, because of its complexity and
subjective elements, is difficult and there will always be some room for diverging views.
Settlement Form:
Settlement form is the spatial relationship between different elements within the landscape relating to the socioeconomic activities of those living and working within a particular settlement. These elements may include
habitation, agricultural and commercial or industrial buildings, together with their related curtilages. In rural areas,
these elements may also include closes related to economic activity and (in the past particularly) the fields and
managed woodlands attached to specific farmsteads. Therefore, settlement form covers the structure of a
settlement, but can only be fully understood in terms of its development history. This means knowing when and
why a settlement expanded or contracted, and the impact of this dynamic process on the contemporary landscape.
38
Shaw:
A shaw is a narrow strip of woodland normally along the edge of a field. Their origins are often obscure and it
seems likely that they can be formed in a number of ways. Some may be the remnant of woodlands cleared for
agriculture, but others could be the result of allowing a hedged boundary to expand to form an effective
windbreak or provide materials for use on the farm. Shaws sometimes follow the course of abandoned routeways
or form around pits previously used for mineral extraction.
Sustainable:
Sustainability has in recent times become an important element of development policy, and consequently the idea
of development and economic activity being sustainable has especial significance. Surprisingly, therefore, the term
does not have an agreed definition, but it normally signifies that activities related to contemporary economic
activity (including development) should not be knowingly detrimental to the needs of future generations. Many
commentators now believe that, in order to create sustainable settlements in areas of dispersed settlement,
existing planning policy regarding what kind of development should be allowed needs to be reviewed.
Tithes:
Tithes were a tax on the produce of land imposed for the support of parish priests, based on the biblical notion of
giving one tenth of the produce of the land for the work of God. In England, tithes had become mandatory by the
eighth century and (in one form or another) the legal requirement to pay tithes remained in force until 1936 after which they were fazed out, the final payment for the redemption of tithes being made by landowners in
1996. As with glebe land, tithes could be divided into rectorial and vicarial tithes. However, following the
Reformation rectorial tithes not infrequently came into the hands of laymen. This, and the resentment caused by
non-conformists having to pay tithes to the Church of England, eventually made the payment of tithes extremely
unpopular.
Tithe Survey:
Tithe surveys were the process by which the payment of tithes could be commuted by a money payment based on
the average cost of cereal crops, following the setting up of the Tithe Commission in 1836. The Commission had
been created as a response to the deep dissatisfaction over the operation of the payment of tithes, which had
reached a head by the early 1830s. The surveys consisted of a large-scale map with an accompanying
apportionment that listed all the owners and occupiers in the parish together with their landholding. Tithe surveys
are an important source document for parishes in the High Weald.
Urbanisation:
Until the early nineteenth century England’s wealth was largely based on land and the produce of land and
agriculture provided the livelihood for most people. Following the industrial revolution that began in the
eighteenth century, together with the growth in imperial trade over the same period, rural populations began to
migrate to the towns and emerging cities based on manufacture and commerce. Rural populations and the
39
economic importance of agriculture declined and the economy as well as social structures became centred on the
cities – by the end of the nineteenth century England had become an urbanised society. In the last half of the
twentieth century the decline in the population of rural areas was reversed, not because of increased employment
in agriculture (by 2010 the agricultural workforce had declined further to only 0.5% of the national workforce) but
by a counter migration of people out of the urban areas. This has had the effect of fundamentally changing the
nature of rural settlement both in its physical and its socio-economic structures.
Vernacular Architecture:
Vernacular architecture is the term employed to describe architectural form and design that has evolved within a
particular district or locality. This form of architecture is based on traditional techniques and designs employing
local materials to produce functional buildings made by local people without the aid of professionally trained
architects. In practice, particularly since the eighteenth century, there has been a cross-fertilisation of ideas
between polite and vernacular architecture within the parishes of the High Weald, and professional architects now
design many buildings constructed in the local vernacular style. It is probably more accurate, therefore, to speak
these days of ‘traditional building design’ rather than the vernacular.
40
APPENDIX B: Sources and Bibliography
Primary Sources
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, KEW
Tithe Files
IR18/3773
Rolvenden Tithe File
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL ARCHIVES
Tithe Surveys
DCb/To/R7A&B
Rolvenden Tithe Apportionments and Map
CENTRE FOR KENTISH STUDIES
Tithe Apportionments and Maps, Parish Surveys
P308/28/1:
Rolvenden Parish Survey 1828
P20/27/3:
Rolvenden Tithe Award 1839
Estate and other Maps
U78/P27:
Hempsted Estate Rolvenden properties 1779,
U455 P4:
Rolvenden: Marshland 1689
U282 P1-2:
Rolvenden: Marshland c1736
U.749/P1:
Rolvenden: Kingsgate 1740
U749/P2:
Rolvenden, Kingsgate Estate 1743
U409 P18:
Rolvenden: Gatehouse; Bull; Iden; Goford Place c1750
U409 P17:
Rolvenden: Iden Farm 1755
U86.P.19:
Rolvenden: Pookwell & Crabhams 1797
P339/27 pp106-16: Rolvenden: Maytham & Wittersham, by Adams, 1823
U409 P16:
Rolvenden: Gatehouse Farm c1830
S/Ro P1:
Wittersham includes Maytham House 1633
Highway Diversion and Stopping- up etc. (date order)
U.1665:0.2:
Tenterden Trust, Turnpike Act 1785
Q/R/Ut/39:
Rolvenden, turnpike papers 1822-1846
Q/RH2/468:
Rolvenden, footpath diversion near village 1872
41
OTHER SOURCES
Ordnance Survey Maps
County Series 1:10560 1846-1969
County Series 1:2500 1854-1949
1st edition 1 inch, sheet 88, Hastings 1813 (date of survey c. 1796)
Heritage Environment Records for Kent
The archaeological record of excavations and finds;
Listed Buildings and scheduled ancient monuments;
Historic Landscape Characterisation;
RAF 1945-49 Aerial Survey
Publications
Armstrong, R (1990) 'The Beginning and the End of the Timber Framed Buildings in the Weald', in Warren, J (ed),
Wealden Buildings: Studies in Kent, Sussex and Surrey, Horsham.
Bannister, N R (2007) The Cultural Heritage of Woodlands in the South East, South East AONB’s Woodland
Programme.
Barnwell P S, and Adams A T (1994) The House Within: interpreting medieval houses in Kent, London.
Bibby, P and Brindley, P 2008. Current Socio-Economic Context of Historic Farmsteads in the High Weald AONB.
Report prepared for High Weald AONB National Advisory Committee. Department of Town and Regional Planning,
University of Sheffield
Bowen, H T (1977; original pub: 1939) Rolvenden: a parish and Hundred in the Weald of Kent, Rolvenden.
Brandon, P (2003) The Kent and Sussex Weald, Chichester.
Brunskill, R W (1992) Traditional Buildings of Britain, London.
Brunskill, R W (1994) Timber Building in Britain, London.
Brunskill, R W (2000) Vernacular Architecture: An Illustrated Handbook, London.
Chester-Kadwell, B 2010. A Sense of Place in Rural Settlement: a locally orientated study of the Huntingdonshire
Ouse Valley and the eastern High Weald. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of East Anglia
Chester-Kadwell, B and Williamson, T 2011. The Cultural History of Communication Routes in the High Weald:
Historic Routeways Survey, Pilot Stage – December 2009 to December 2010. Report prepared for High Weald AONB
National Advisory Committee. University of East Anglia
42
Chester-Kadwell, B 2011. Single–Storey, Twentieth-Century Dwellings in the High Weald: a preliminary investigation
based on the eastern High Weald. Report prepared for High Weald AONB National Advisory Committee. Oldakre
Associates
Clifton-Taylor, A (1969) 'Building Materials', The Buildings of England: West Kent and The Weald, Harmondsworth.
Eddison, J (1985) 'Developments in the Lower Rother Valleys up to 1600', Archaeologia Cantiana, 102, 95-107.
Edwards, R and Lake, J 2007. Historic Farmsteads & landscape Character in the High Weald AONB. Report prepared
for the High Weald AONB National Advisory Committee. Forum Heritage Services.
English Heritage (2006a) Guidance on Conservation Area Appraisals, London.
English Heritage (2006b) Guidance on the Management of Conservation Areas, London.
English Heritage (2008) Conservation Principles: policies and guidance for the sustainable management of the
historic environment, London.
Everitt, A M (1986) Continuity and Colonization: The Evolution of Kentish Settlement, Leicester.
Fordham S J, and Green R D (1980) 'The Soils Of Kent', Soil Survey of Great Britain (England & Wales), Bulletin Issue
9.
Furley, R (1874) A History of the Weald of Kent: With an Outline of the Early History of the County, 3 vols, H
Igglesden: Ashford.
Gardiner, M (1995) Medieval Settlement and Society in the Eastern Sussex Weald, unpublished PhD thesis,
University of London.
Gelling M, and Cole A (2003; 2nd edn) The Landscape of Place-Names, Shaun Tyas: Stamford.
Harris, R (2003) The Making of the High Weald, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Unit: Flimwell.
Hasted, E (1797-1801; 2nd edn) The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Canterbury.
Holt, M (1990) Brick and tile in the Weald, Wealden Buildings: studies in Kent Sussex and Surrey, Horsham.
Martin D, and Martin B (2006) Farm Buildings of the Weald 1450-1750, Great Dunham.
Newman, J (1969) The Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald, Harmondsworth.
Owen, S and Herlin, IS (2007) The Sustainable Development of Dispersed Settlement in the High Weald AONB. Final
Report to the High Weald AONB National Advisory Committee and English Heritage. Countryside & Community
Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire and the University of the West of England.
43
Owen, S and Herlin, I S (2009) ‘A Sustainable Development Framework for a Landscape of Dispersed Historic
Settlement', Landscape Research, 34:1,33 — 54
Pearson, S (1994) The Medieval Houses of Kent: an Historical Analysis, London.
Pearson S, Barnwell P S and Adams A T (1994) A Gazeteer of Medieval Houses in Kent, London.
Rackham, O (2000; first published 1986 edn) The History of the Countryside, London.
Rackham, O (2003; 2nd edn) Ancient Woodland - its history, vegetation and uses in England, Castlepoint Press:
Dalbeatie.
Sanders, A (2004) Cranbrook’s Turnpike Roads 1759 – 1878, Cranbrook and District Local History Society.
Sawyer, P H (1976) 'Medieval Settlement: Continuity and Change', in Sawyer, P H (ed), English Medieval
Settlements, London, 1-7.
Shephard-Thorn E R, Smart J G O, Bisson G, Edmonds A R S M & E A et al, (1966) Geology of the Country Around
Tenterden, London.
Wallenberg, J K (1934) The Place-Names of Kent, Appelbergs boktrycheriaktiebolag: Uppsala.
Witney, K P (1976) The Jutish Forest: a study of the Weald of Kent from 450 to 1380 AD, London.
44
APPENDIX C:
Page 1
Buildings and Sites on the National Heritage List
Type
Location
Grade
Listing
Barge Cottage, Wittersham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
No name for this Entry
Listing
9 And 11, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
II
Listing
11-29, Windser Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
20-24, Frensham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
II
Listing
52 And 54, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
SOUTH EAST LODGE, HOLE PARK
Listing
South East Lodge To Hole Park, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
THE STAR PUBLIC HOUSE
Listing
The Star Public House, 30, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
MOUNT COTTAGE
Listing
Mount Cottage, Mounts Lane, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
STILLWATERS
Listing
Stillwaters, Tenterden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
FORGE COTTAGE
Listing
Forge Cottage, 64, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
RANGE OF BARNS HALDEN PLACE
Listing
L Shaped Range Of Barns To South West Of Halden Place, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
20, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
HALDEN PLACE
Listing
Halden Place, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
GREAT JOB'S CROSS
Listing
Great Job's Cross, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
LOWER MURGIE
Listing
Lower Murgie, Mounts Lane, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
FOUR WENT COTTAGE
Listing
No name for this Entry-----
Listing
THE FIRS
Listing
The Firs, 80, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
WOOLWICH FARMHOUSE
Listing
Woolwich Farmhouse, Pix's Lane, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
RANTERS HALL
Listing
Ranters Hall, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
BULL HOTEL
Listing
Bull Hotel, 1, Regent Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
1, Windser Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
MAYTHAM BUNGALOWS
Listing
Maytham Bungalows, 1-6, Frogs Lane, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
BARGE COTTAGE
Four Went Cottage, 2, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
3 And 7, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
45
II
II
SLADES COTTAGE
Listing
Slades Cottage, Frogs Lane, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
Listing
FREEZINGHAM COTTAGES
Listing
OASTHOUSE AT LOWER MURGIE
Listing
Listing
KENSHAM FARMHOUSE
Listing
Listing
STREYTE COTTAGE
Listing
Streyte Cottage, 10, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
CRESCENT COTTAGE
Listing
6, Regent Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
MERRINGTON PLACE
Listing
Bayard's Oast, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
CHERRY GARDEN FARMHOUSE
Listing
SOUTH EAST LODGE TO HOLE PARK
Listing
VILLAGE PUMP OPPOSITE NO 29
Listing
BULL FARMHOUSE
Listing
Listing
45-55, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
EAST HOUSE
Listing
II
TOMB of EDWARD WALTER FORBES
Listing
LOWDEN FARMHOUSE
Listing
Listing
WITHERDEN HOUSE
Listing
Listing
OUTBUILDING AT WOOLWICH FARM
Listing
STROOD HOUSE
Listing
Listing
OASTHOUSE/GRANARY AT LITTLE HALDEN
Listing
1, Thornden Lane, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
Freezingham Cottages, 1-4, Freezingham Lane, Rolvenden
Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Oasthouse At Lower Murgie To North Of House, Mounts
Lane, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
2, 4 And 6, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Kensham Farmhouse, Sandhurst Road, Kensham Green,
Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Kent
Cherry Garden Farmhouse, Hastings Road, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
South East Lodge To Hole Park, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Village Pump Opposite No 29, High Street, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
Bull Farmhouse, Maytham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
Tomb In Churchyard To Edward Walter Forbes, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Lowden Farmhouse, Wittersham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
9, Windser Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
Witherden House, West Cross, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Kent
Outbuilding At Woolwich Farm To East Of Farmhouse,
Pix's Lane, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Strood House, Tenterden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
36 And 38, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
Oasthouse And Granary At Little Halden, Tenterden Road,
Page 2
46
II
II
II
II*
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
Listing
2 And 4, Regent Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Alma Cottages, 12-18, Regent Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Devenden Farmhouse, Sandhurst Road, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
Barn At Lower Murgie To South Of House, Mounts Lane,
Great Maytham, Maytham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
II
ALMA COTTAGES
Listing
DEVENDEN FARMHOUSE
Listing
BARN AT LOWER MURGIE
Listing
GREAT MAYTHAM
Listing
CONVENEYS
Listing
Conveneys, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
CHAMBERLAYNES & TWEEDIES
Listing
Chamberlaynes, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
DISUSED FORGE ADJOINING NO 64
Listing
PUMP OPPOSITE NO 60
Listing
OASTHOUSES AT RAWLINSON FARM
Listing
Listing
II
Listing
II
Listing
II
Listing
II
HORTON COTTAGE
Listing
Horton Cottage, 28, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne,
II
KINGPOST
Listing
Kingpost, 77, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II*
Disused Forge Adjoining No 64 To The South, High
Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Pump Opposite No 60, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
Oasthouses At Rawlinson Farm, Hole Park, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
Thornden Farmhouse, Thornden Lane, Rolvenden
Pix's Cottages, 1, 2 And 3, Mounts Lane, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
Winser Farmhouse, Mounts Lane, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
II
II
II
II*
II
II
II
THORNDEN FARMHOUSE
Listing
PIX'S COTTAGES
Listing
WINSER FARMHOUSE
Listing
SAXBYS
Listing
Saxbys, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
CORN HILL
Listing
Corn Hill, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
THE GARDEN COTTAGE AT HOLE PARK
Listing
The Garden Cottage At Hole Park, Benenden Road,
II
PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY
Listing
Parish Church Of St Mary, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
I
Listing
II
Listing
Rolvenden Windmill, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II*
ROLVENDEN WINDMILL
Page 3
47
II
II
II
The Old Parsonage, 24, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Oasthouse And Granary At Forsham Farmhouse, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
K6 Telephone Kiosk (Cranbrook 241316), The Street,
Working Men's Club, Maytham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Hexden Farmhouse, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
THE OLD PARSONAGE
Listing
OASTHOUSE/GRANARY AT FORSHAM
Listing
K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK (CRAN241316)
Listing
WORKING MEN'S CLUB
Listing
HEXDEN FARMHOUSE
Listing
Listing
II
Listing
II
Listing
YEW TREE HOUSE
Listing
BARN AT KENSHAM FARM
Listing
LITTLE HALDEN
Listing
SCHOOL HOUSE
Listing
THE LIMES
Listing
RAWLINSON FARMHOUSE
Listing
MILL HOUSE
Listing
WESLEY HOUSE
Listing
Listing
LITTLE KENSHAM FARMHOUSE
Listing
Listing
HOLE PARK
Listing
GARAGE BLOCK TO CHAMBERLAYNES
Listing
Listing
MAYTHAM FARMHOUSE
Listing
WOODENCOTE
Listing
Woodencote, 76, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
Listing
Oasthouses At Bayard's Oast, Hastings Road, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
II
BAYARD'S OAST
48, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Yew Tree House, 16, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne,
Barn At Kensham Farm To North Of Farmhouse, Sandhurst Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Little Halden, Tenterden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
School House, 9, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
The Limes, 22 And 24, Maytham Road, Rolvenden
Rawlinson Farmhouse, Hole Park, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
Mill House, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Wesley House, 1, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne,
3-7, Windser Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Little Kensham Farmhouse, Sandhurst Road, Kensham
Green, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
16 And 18, Frensham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Hole Park, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Garage Block To Chamberlaynes And Tweedies To West
Of House, High Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
4-8, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
Maytham Farmhouse, Wittersham Road, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
Page 4
48
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II*
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
WAR MEMORIAL
Listing
War Memorial, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford,
Kent
II
Listing
13 And 15, Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
ICE HOUSE at HOLE PARK
Listing
Ice House In The Grounds Of Hole Park, Benenden
Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
COMMON GARDEN, GARDEN WALLS
Listing
Common Garden, Including Boundary And Garden
Walls, 2, Frensham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
GRANARY, OASTHOUSES, STABLE BLOCK
EAST OF HALDEN PLACE
Listing
Granary Oasthouses And Stable Block At Halden Place
Situated To The East Of The House, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
FORSHAM FARMHOUSE
Listing
Forsham Farmhouse, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
8-22, Hastings Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
WINDMILL FARM OAST
Listing
Windmill Farm Oast, Benenden Road, Rolvenden,
Ashford, Kent
II
KINGSGATE
Listing
Kingsgate, Maytham Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
KINGSGATE COTTAGE
Listing
Kingsgate Cottage, 40, Frensham Road, Rolvenden
II
OASTHOUSE NORTH EAST OF THORNDEN
FARMHOUSE
Listing
Oasthouse Approximately 20 Metres North East Of
Thornden Farmhouse, Thornden Lane, Rolvenden
II
LIME HOUSE
Listing
24, Regent Street, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Listing
II
Medieval moated site and adjacent hythe,
Lowden Farm
Scheduled
GREAT MAYTHAM
Park and Garden
Great Maytham Hall, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
Park and Garden
Hole Park, Benenden Road, Rolvenden, Ashford, Kent
II
HOLE PARK
Page 5
49
APPENDIX D: Parish Plans (in A3 format)
Plan R5 Built Environment Pre and Post 1945
Plan R6 Age of Dwellings in the Contemporary Landscape
Plan R7 Age of Listed Buildings and Periods of Expansion at Rolvenden Street
Plan R8 Age of Listed Buildings at Rolvenden Layne
50
Plan R5 Built Environment Pre and Post 1945
51
Plan R6 Age of Dwellings in the Contemporary Landscape
52
Plan R7 Age of Listed Buildings and Periods of Expansion at Rolvenden Street
53
53
Plan R8 Age of Listed Buildings at Rolvenden Layne
54

SETTLEMENT FORM, CHARACTER and BUILDING DESIGN within

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