Seal is a village and

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 ...

in the

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

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. The parish is located in the valley between the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

and the

Greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and co ...

ridge, and to the north-east of the town of

West Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Recent excavations and radiometric dating at a Lower Palaeolithic site at the West Gravel Pit, Fordwich, near Canterbury confirmed the ...

History

In early documents the name of the village is often given as 'Sele', 'Sale', 'Zela' or 'La Sela'. Until recently it was thought to come from the French word 'salle' meaning a hall but there is no evidence to support this. Etymologists suggest that the name of the village could have come from the Anglo-Saxon word 'sole' or 'sol' meaning a 'muddy slough, wallowing place' or a 'muddy pond that overflows'. Seal still has a pond at the fork at the bottom of Park Lane which tends to overflow at the present day. Another possibility is Anglo-Saxon ''sēale'' = "group of

sallow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

trees". Seal's church, the oldest parts of which date from the 13th Century, is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul and is a grade I listed building. The ecclesiastical parish only became separate from

Kemsing Kemsing is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish lies on the scarp face of the North Downs, 20 miles south east of Central London and north east of ...

in 1874, although there may well have been a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

church on the site of the present building. Visitors to the church, which is normally open during the day, can pick up a free guide leaflet pointing out features of interest. There are more details on the church website, and a page for family historians with some records of burials and baptisms at the church (not complete) and information about where to find others. Today, the ecclesiastical parish boundary meanders north of the village along the Guzzlebrook stream and extends south through the village, bounded on the eastern side by Watery Lane, Seal Chart, and Ash Platt Road to the west. It follows the course of Park Lane, Chance Wood, Grove Road, through Godden Green, bounded at the south by the junction of Bitchet Green Road at Fawke Common. Seal was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086.

Geography

The main village lies on the

A25 road The A25 road is an east–west main road in the South-East of England. Its carries traffic east from Guildford, Surrey, eastward through Surrey and into mid-west Kent, to the town of Sevenoaks, and then on to Wrotham Heath where it connects wi ...

and has merged with the built-up area of Sevenoaks. The parish includes the separate smaller settlements of

Underriver Underriver is a village about south-east of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is in the civil parish of Seal. The name "Underriver", standardised from ''Underevere'', is derived from the Old English ''Sub le Ryver'' which translates into modern English as " ...

, Stone Street, Godden Green and Bitchet Green.

Village facilities

Seal retains a village library which is operated by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

; the library offers

telecottage ''Telecottage'' is usually a community based facility that is there to assist learning, access to technology, access to work etc. for its local community. The Telecottages movement started in Sweden and the idea has been taken up quite widely, not ...

services. There are three community halls in the village; Seal Pavilion, Seal Village Hall, and Seal Church Hall. Along the High Street there are a variety of shops, businesses, and restaurants. There is only one pub now in Seal. "The Five Bells" in Church Street is managed by Shepherd Neame Brewery and is open every day. The name for the pub comes from the fact that there were originally five bells installed in the belltower at St Peter & St Paul's Church, given its close proximity to the church (there are now six bells installed in the belltower). Seal Recreation Ground (locally known as the Rec) lies to the west of the village and offers public amenity space for sports and leisure activities. During the summer months various events are held on the Rec, such as the SealFest Music Festival day and Big Lunch events. Seal Village has a stretch of land running alongside the Rec which was left in trust to the villagers for allotment gardens that are also used by surrounding villagers.

Public transport

There are several bus routes that connect Seal with surrounding villages and towns. The

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

308 bus connects the village with Sevenoaks station, Bat & Ball,

Borough Green Borough Green is a civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The central area is situated on the A25 road between Maidstone and Sevenoaks, with the M26 motorway running through the centre dividing Wrotham and Borough ...

Meopham Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Gravesham, Borough of Gravesham in north-west Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it had a popula ...

and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

. The

452 bus connects the village with

, Sevenoaks station, and

Dunton Green Dunton Green is a small village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies in the valley of the River Darent, north of the town of Sevenoaks. Dunton Green is designated as being part of the Kent Downs area of outstandi ...

. An extended service of this route is operated by Go Coach on Saturdays. There are also some infrequent bus services, such as the Go Coach 404, connecting Seal to

Shipbourne Shipbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in the English county of Kent. In 2020 it was named as the most expensive village in Kent. It is locate ...

Plaxtol Plaxtol is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The village is located around north of Tonbridge and the same distance east of Sevenoaks. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1,117. ...

, Ivy Hatch (for Ightham Mote), Stone Street, Kippington,

Ide Hill Ide Hill is a village within the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Sundridge with Ide Hill, in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It stands on one of the highest points of the Greensand Ridge about three mi ...

, and Edenbridge. There are currently no buses serving Seal on Sundays or public holidays, also there are no direct buses to

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist C ...

. The closest railway stations to the village are at Bat & Ball and

Notable people

Emma Corrin Emma-Louise Corrin (born 13 December 1995) is an English actor. They portrayed Diana, Princess of Wales in the fourth season of the Netflix historical drama ''The Crown'' (2020), for which they won a Golden Globe and were nominated for a Prim ...

(born 1995), actor who portrayed

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

in ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' * David Fursdon (born 1952), cricketer and the current Lord-Lieutenant of Devon * Dorothy Hewer (1888–1948) opened her herb farm here where she developed "Seal" Lavender. The farm was later (1948) taken over by Margaret Brownlow (1916–1968).

Nearest settlements

References

External links

*
Seal parish council

St Peter and St Paul's church, Seal
{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent