Bat & Ball railway station

Sevenoaks Town F.C. is a football club based in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. They were established in 1883 and are currently members of the Isthmian League South East Division.

Greatness Brickworks is a 7.8-hectare (19-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Sevenoaks in Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.This Cretaceous site is highly fossiliferous, with many ammonites. It is described by Natural England as "of vital importance in biostratigraphic research on the Gault of the Weald".The site is private land with no public access.

The Knole Academy is a secondary school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England that was opened in September 2010, as a result of the amalgamation of the Wildernesse School (for boys) and Bradbourne School (for girls).

Walthamstow Hall is an independent day school for girls in the centre of Sevenoaks, Kent, England.

Sevenoaks Gravel Pits is a 73.7-hectare (182-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Sevenoaks in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust as the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve and Jeffery Harrison Visitor Centre.

Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is 21 miles (34 km) from Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London. It is the principal town of the Sevenoaks district, followed by Swanley and Edenbridge. A settlement was recorded in the 13th century, when a market was established. Construction of Knole House in the 15th century helped develop the village. Sevenoaks became part of the modern communications network when one of the early turnpikes was opened in the 18th century; the railway was relatively late in reaching it. In the 21st century, it has a large commuting population. The nearby Fort Halstead defence installation was formerly a major local employer. Located to the south-east of the town is Knole Park, within which lies Knole House. Educational establishments in the town include the independent Sevenoaks School and Knole Academy.

The Vine Cricket Ground, also known as Sevenoaks Vine, is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in Kent in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745–1799) and owner of nearby Knole House. The land is thought to have possibly been used as a vineyard for the Archbishops of Canterbury.Seven oak trees were planted on the northern edge of the ground in 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. Six were blown down in the Great Storm of 1987. In December 1987, seven new oaks were planted to replace those lost in the storm.

Sevenoaks railway station is a railway station on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the town of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is 22 miles 9 chains (35.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Dunton Green and Hildenborough stations. Trains calling at the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. Trains from the station run northbound to London Bridge, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and Charing Cross via Orpington, or to Blackfriars via Swanley and Catford; and southbound to Ashford International and Ramsgate via Dover Priory, or Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

Sevenoaks is a local government district in west Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Sevenoaks Urban District, Sevenoaks Rural District and part of Dartford Rural District.

Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, 3 miles (5 km) north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist Church, the Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, and the Otford Evangelical Church. By the village pond, also a roundabout, there are pubs, cafes and shops. The village has three schools, Otford Primary School, St Michael's Prep School, and Russell House.

Otford Palace, also known as the Archbishop's Palace, is in Otford, an English village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent. The village is located on the River Darent, flowing north down its valley from its source on the North Downs. The King of Mercia, Offa, fought the Kentish Saxons in 776 at the Battle of Otford. In 791 (or possibly in the preceding year) Offa gave lands at Otford to Christ Church Canterbury (the ‘vill by the name of Otford’). This was a very significant gift. It meant that the Monastery of Christ Church Canterbury and subsequently the Archbishops of Canterbury became the Lords of the Manor of Otford. The size of this piece of land was not recorded but further gifts of land were made in 820 and 821. The first, by Coenwulf, the Mercian King and son of Offa and in the following year by Ceolwulf, his brother and successor, who donated to Otford lands bordering the East bank of the River Darent between Shoreham and today's Bat and Ball. The second charter, in which Ceolwulf gives Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, five plough lands consisting of two groups, one lying north-west of Kemsing and the other to the south-west, can be found in the British Museum. A large moated manor house was built here and enlarged over the next 600 years by 52 subsequent archbishops. Until 1543, the palace was one of the chain of houses belonging to the archbishops of Canterbury. In 1500, the Court Roll stated that Otford was, “one of the grandest houses in England” In 1514, Archbishop Warham frustrated by the City Fathers at Canterbury to allow him to build a new palace there, added the North, East and West Ranges around a great courtyard. The enlarged Palace predated that of Cardinal Wolsey at Hampton Court and was little larger in its extent. Visitors to the Palace included Erasmus (a good friend of William Warham), Holbein, Cardinal Campaggio and King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon en route to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. A survey (c1537) recorded that over the bridge is the forebay or forefront of the Galerye well edified and bilded of free stone with large oute caste of baywondows after an uniforme plan by all the Northe Part of the said mote, verye pleasunte to the prospects and view of the said sighte. The hall was invironed aboute with Galeries and Towers and Turrette of Stone and the Chappell embatiled and parte covered with leade. However, in 1543 Henry VIII forced Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to surrender the palace to the Crown. Archbishop Cranmer's secretary Ralph Morrice was present in c 1543 when King Henry VIII visited Cranmer at Knole. ‘I was by when Otteford and Knole was given him. My Lord Cranmer mynding to have retained Knole unto himself, saied, that it is too small a house for his Majestie. “Marye” (saied the King), “I had rather to have it than this house (meaning Otteford), for it standith of a better soile. This house standith lowe and is rewmatike like unto Croydon where I colde never be without sykeness. And as for Knole it standith on a sounde parfait holsome grounde. And if I should make myne abode here as I do suerlie minde to do nowe and then, I myself will lye at Knole and most of my house shall lye at Otteford.” And so my this means bothe these houses were delivered upp unto the Kings hands, and as for Otteford, it is a notable greate and ample house, whose reparations yerlie stode my Lordew in more that wolde thinke. After Henry's death, Elizabeth I showed relatively little interest in the Palace and eventually sold it to the Sidney Family who converted the Western side of the North Range into their private quarters. However, the decline continued and, when the area was dis-parked in 17th century the buildings were used as part of Castle Farm. In 1761, the North East Tower of the Palace was demolished and the stonework carried to Knole, Sevenoaks, where it was used to build Knole Folly which lies to the South-East of Knole House. The principal surviving remains are the North-West Tower, the lower gallery, now converted to cottages, and a part of the Great Gatehouse. There are further remains on private land, and a section of the boundary wall can be seen in Bubblestone Road. The entire site, of about 4 acres (1.6 ha) is designated as an ancient monument. There are many related buildings in the village, including a wall in St Bartholomew's Church dating from c. 1050. Otford Palace is of exceptional significance for • The evidence which it provides for the form and architectural character of what was one of the outstanding buildings of early 16th century England. • Its archaeological potential to yield much more information about that building, particularly on the moat island, and its medieval predecessors. Otford Palace is of considerable significance for • The evidential value of the adaptation of the north-west range by the Sidney family. • Its ability to illustrate the form and scale of a late medieval archiepiscopal palace, despite its fragmentary survival. • The aesthetic qualities, designed and fortuitous, of the north range building in its open space setting. • The contribution it makes to the character and appearance of Otford Conservation Area. • The insight it provides into the character and ambition of Archbishop Warham. Otford Palace is of some significance for • As an illustration, especially with the archive material, of the struggle for the conservation of historic places during the 20th century. • Its contribution to the identity of Otford and its community today. The Palace is now under the care of the Archbishop's Palace Conservation Trust.

The Sevenoaks railway accident occurred on 24 August 1927 between Dunton Green railway station and Sevenoaks railway station. The Southern Railway's afternoon express from Cannon Street to Deal left London at 5 pm, hauled by River Class tank engine No 800 River Cray. Several passengers later recounted that from time to time the train seemed to roll excessively on fast curves. As it passed through Pollhill Tunnel at 60 mph the rocking became violent and the train derailed past Dunton Green railway station, where the line is in a cutting which is spanned by a bridge carrying Shoreham Lane. The cab of the locomotive struck the bridge and the engine was turned on its side across the cutting. The leading coaches piled up against it, killing 13 and injuring many more. Railway engineer Brigadier-General Archibald Jack was a survivor of the crash. John Wallace Pringle, Chief Inspecting Officer of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate conducted the inquiry in person. Following the accident, the Southern Railway withdrew all the remaining 'River' class tank engines, which caused a public sensation at the time. Other drivers testified about the instability of the class and it emerged that one locomotive had previously derailed at speed, though it had re-railed itself. The engines' high centre of gravity, their hard springing, and the tendency for the water in the side tanks to surge, all caused the engines to roll dangerously at speed, so much so that in this accident the nearside wheels had lifted. Trials carried out after the accident showed that the design behaved well when running at 85 mph on the Great Northern main line out of King's Cross, indicating that an indifferent permanent way was partly responsible for the instability of the locomotives. However, before the results of the trials had been published, all River class engines had been rebuilt, becoming the first 20 of the SR U class 2-6-0 tender engine design.