Guess the Place

[MartinR]

There is an Eastwood along Eastwood Road, near where the road to Knowle Hill comes in.  Again it is just a scattering of houses.  The question therefore is whether "Eastwood Common"  is the same or different to Eastwood itself.  If the latter then possibly Broadstone might be the location.  The 1892-1914 25" OS map labels Eastwood, Broadstone and Grafty Green just as at present.

Another thought on Grafty Green, if it was written with a long "S" it would be Graſsley Green.  Given the lack of standardisation in spelling, Graſly might be a variant and it is quite possible that a late 19thC hand might misread this as Grafty Green.  Who knows?

[johnfilmer]

About 15years ago a couple of local worthies compiled a book of the village history. They gave every house a copy, which I found excellent reading.

Unfortunately when we moved after 31years, I generously left it at the house for the new owners, along with two aerial photos, one from the 60s (pale blue Standard Vanguard phase3 outside), and another from about 2005, with our debris in evidence (vans, horsebox, Land Rover, employees cars etc) in the yard that we created where the old pig pens had been.

We were in the hamlet of Broadstone, to which Hasted may be referring, as the lane close by is Eastwood Road.

[John Walker]

Thanks MartinR.  That name always made me wonder where it came from.

Next GTP arriving very soon.

[MartinR]

From Hasted's Kent (1798)¹:

From the church [St. Nicholas', Boughton Malherbe] southward the hill declines, and not far from the bottom of it is the village, or to say more properly, the hamlet of Grassley-green, and not far from it Eastwood common, with another smaller hamlet of houses on the lower side of it.

So "Grafty Green" was originally "Grassley-green", presumably on account of the relatively poor land in much of the rest of the parish of Broughton Malherbe.

¹https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol5/pp397-415

[John Walker]

Before we move on, does anyone on here know the origin of the name of Grafty Green ?

[MartinR]

Location information:

• Nat Grid:                    TQ 87258 48924
• Nearest Post Code:   ME17 2AZ
• Co-ords (WGS84):     51°12'32"N,000°40'46"E or 51.20882,0.67944

FYI, if you look back at the previous dates for GSV you can see it as a PO in March 2009, as a shop without the PO in Mar 2021 and how it is now in Mar 2023.  The wall mounted letterbox was in still in use in 2021, but in 2023 was blocked off and a new one erected opposite.

[johnfilmer]

As an aside, a previous Post Master kept koi carp. We had a very active heron (I lived about half a mile away and saw it frequently). He netted the pond, heron walked on the net, then struck through it.

So Bernard got a fibreglass heron to put next to the pond, so that the real one would avoid trespassing on another’s patch. When he looked a couple of days later, there was the heron using his fibreglass replica as a convenient perch to plan his attack. The heron eventually ate all the carp and moved on.

[johnfilmer]

It certainly is JW. It was battling against the flow for many years, but in the 1980s it still thrived as a village centre. If you wanted to know who or what was going on, this was the place to go.

The combination of the village shop/post office and the pub were the community hubs of the day. What replaces them?

The times, they are a changing….

Back to you JW

[John Walker]

Found it at last - Grafty Green ?

[johnfilmer]

Sits at the bottom of a hill. The aforementioned church is at the top of the hill on one of the two roads that lead from the green up over the hills.

[johnfilmer]

Back on topic, across the road is small village green, which historically is part of the pub garden.

[johnfilmer]

You have to renew aged 70, (no matter when previously renewed…) and every 3 years after that, and yes I also had to send a photo by post as my passport has long since expired.

My wife’s licence is less than a year old, but she will have to renew later this year. Don’t you just love bureaucracy 

[MartinR]

Grr, don't mention driving licences.  I've just had to renew mine because it was 10 years old, and pay the Post Office rates because my passport has expired, yet it is only valid for 2¾ years.  I think I should only have paid 25%. 

[johnfilmer]

JW, I’m not that far behind you, just renewed my driving licence again…

Anyway back to the east a bit(ish).

 Village has a pub, but no church, that is in the next hamlet.

[John Walker]

Greetings, power has just returned, off from 11.30 last night to 17.10 today.

JW you are many miles to the East, just scrolling across Google Maps it really does look almost dead E-W.

I meant to put Coxheath - I hadn't heard of Coxhill so no idea why I put that.  ( I am nearly 80 don't you know )