| Birchley |
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The
older part of this house once belonged to the Randolph family. Dated to
around 1562, it contains some fine paneling, and during restoration earlier,
some rare examples of Tudor wall painting were discovered. On one small
window pane the name 'Bernard Randolph 1610' is scratched. |
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| Three
Chimneys |
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This
old inn stands just outside the parish boundary. Traditionally the name
is a corruption of 'trois chemins', the junction of three roads marking
the limit allowed for French soldiers to walk, when imprisoned at Sissinghurst
Castle during the Seven Years' war. However the junction was so called long
before any prisoners tramped through the Wealden mud. |
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| Standen
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Turning
along the Smarden road one soon comes to the hamlet whose name (Stanetandene
in 858) meaning stony pasture, suggests that it stood on a very early track
through the Weald. The house, which has exceptionally fine decorative timbering
and chimney stacks, is reputed to have once been part of a religious hostelry
used by pilgrims or clergy on their way to or from Canterbury. The present
house has the date 1578 on the chimney-peice. |
