Langley 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

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

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 on the

A274 road The A274 is a major road running through mid Kent. The northern end of the road is in Maidstone, at the Wheatsheaf public house where it leaves the A229. The road then follows a south easterly route to Langley, where it changes to a south south ...

leading south from

Headcorn Headcorn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone. The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidst ...

History

Langley is a common English place-name, from the Old English ''lang leah'' or ‘long field or woodland’. This village first appears in the records in 814 as Longanleag. The village church is dedicated to St Mary. Behind this church is a lake, which is possible place for the medieval judicial practice of trial by cold water. When a jury couldn't decide on a person's innocence, it was left to God to decide. If the accused floated they were guilty because the water rejected them. If they sank, the water accepted them and thus were innocent. As is often thought it is not if they drowned, but the result was drowning in some cases. It had to be close to the church because the water would be holy.

Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery Maidstone Museum is a local authority-run museum located in Maidstone, Kent, England, featuring internationally important collections including fine art, natural history, and human history. The museum is one of three operated by Maidstone Boro ...

exhibits articles excavated from a site in Langley believed to have been a walled Roman cemetery.

Geography

The village is three miles (5km) from the county town.

Culture and Community

The village has two

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 ...

s, The Potting Shed, and The Plough. Its

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

has been closed for over 10 years. There is also 'Langley Heath' and by it is a wood called Abbey Wood. There is a village hall, on it is a playing field with room for 2 football pitches, and a small play area, and a basketball net.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent