insideKENT Magazine Issue 88 - July 2019 | Page 37

TOWNSPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT ON
WESTERHAM
WESTERHAM MIGHT BE A RELATIVELY SMALL TOWN WITH A POPULATION OF AROUND
5,000 OR SO, BUT ITS ENVIABLE LOCATION CLOSE TO THE M25, PICTURESQUE,
QUINTESSENTIALLY KENTISH SURROUNDINGS, PICTURE-POSTCARD LOOKS AND VAST
RANGE OF FACILITIES AND AMENITIES MAKE IT A MUST-VISIT TOWN.
History in Brief
The town has always been an important location
for settlers due to its location right along the River
Darent, and evidence exists to show that some form
of early village was created here as early as 2,000BC.
Westerham is even mentioned in the Domesday
Book and at that time it was known as Oistreham,
which translates as ‘westerly village’.
In 1227 the town really came into its own, however.
This is when Henry III granted Westerham a market
charter, meaning that it became a place where cattle
could be bought and sold. As with any market town,
inns and hostelries began to spring up along the
main road and the footprints of these early buildings
have in some cases been used to create the buildings
we can see today.
Many notable people have chosen Westerham as
their home over the years. The most famous bring
Sir Winston Churchill and General James Wolfe,
the former living in Chartwell, just outside of the
town itself, and the latter living at Quebec House.
Other famous inhabitants include Freda Lingstrom
and Maria Bird who created BBC Children’s
TV – they even called their production company
Westerham Arts; Alice Liddell who was the
inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
(she lived at The Breaches for a short time just
before she died); and record producer Brian Higgins
who was responsible for albums produced by
luminaries such as Texas, Kylie Minogue and the
Pet Shop Boys.
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