East Malling is a village in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling, Kent, in the part of 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 ...

of East Malling and Larkfield lying south of the A20 road. In 2019 the ward had an estimated population of 5,478.

History

The earliest recorded reference to East Malling is "in a Charter of King

Edmund I Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great. Af ...

(reigned 939 – 946 AD) which refers to ‘East Mealing’, describing a gallows." East Malling 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 ...

of 1086 as ''Mellingete''. Farming was common in the area until the 1960s especially of hops and fruit orchards, and some of this activity remains today including the East Malling Research Station. After World War II, Malling Rural District Council developed the Step Stile and Clare Park housing estates.

Amenities

The ragstone church is dedicated to St James the Great, and forms part of a Conservation Area on the High Street. It boasts of a clerestoried

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

dating from the 14th century. Within the church lies Sir Thomas Twisden, a high court judge who presided at the trials of the regicides of Charles I. St James is the primary school, and the main secondary school for the area is The Malling School.

Transport

There is a railway station at East Malling with services to Maidstone, Ashford & London.

Media

Much of the location filming for the 1960s

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy programme "Mr Pastry" took place in the countryside around East Malling. Richard Hearne who starred had lived in a neighbouring village, St Mary Platt, and knew the area well.

Notable people

* Paxton Whitehead (1937–2023), actor and theatre director, born in East Malling * Sir Thomas Twisden, 1st Baronet (1602–1683), owner of Bradbourne House from 1656.

Climate

Nearest settlements

References

External links

East Malling and Larkfield Parish CouncilEast Malling churchVillage website
* {{Authority control Villages in Kent Tonbridge and Malling