Rolvenden Layne is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Rolvenden Rolvenden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is centred on the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, south-west of Tenterden. The settlement of Rolvenden Layne, south of Rolvenden, is also part of th ...

in the Ashford District of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. It is located approximately one mile (1.6 km) south of Rolvenden, with a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, the ''Ewe & Lamb''. Rolvenden village originally consisted of the Streyte, located along what is now the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, which was almost entirely burned down in 1665, during the

Great Plague The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. The disease is c ...

(except for the church, pub and some farms). This caused the villagers to abandon the Streyte and move a mile down the hill to the common land of the Layne during the 1660s.

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

preached in the 18th century in a Tudor house that is now called Wesley House. Later the villages returned to the Streyte. Rolvenden is approximately ten square miles in area, consisting largely of farming and rural activities. Rolvenden Layne is within the

High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The High Weald National Landscape is in south-east England. Covering an area of , it takes up parts of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, and West Sussex. It is the fourth largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England and Wales. It ha ...

, the South Kent development area and is also a conservation area.

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...

rented

Great Maytham Hall Great Maytham Hall, near Rolvenden, Kent, England, is a Grade II* listed country house. The gardens are famous for providing the inspiration for ''The Secret Garden'' by Frances Hodgson Burnett. House The original name of the Manor here was G ...

, located between

and Rolvenden Layne, in 1898. After her departure in 1907 the mansion was rebuilt by

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

. The actor

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

lived in Rolvenden Layne. File:Maytham Road, Rolvenden Layne - geograph.org.uk - 1756311.jpg, View over Rolvenden Layne File:Sheep in road, Rolvenden Layne - geograph.org.uk - 890843.jpg, Rush hour in Rolvenden Layne File:Playing fields Rolvenden Layne - geograph.org.uk - 891971.jpg, Playing fields File:Oast House, Frogs Lane, Rolvenden Layne, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 1544297.jpg, Oast House, Frogs Lane File:The Ewe and Lamb Pub, Rolvenden Layne - geograph.org.uk - 1711195.jpg, The Ewe and Lamb Pub

References

External links

British Listed Buildings - Wesley House

'Parishes: Rolvenden', ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 7'' (1798), pp. 183-200.
{{Ashford, Kent Borough of Ashford Hamlets in Kent