Early origins: Anglo-Saxon Kent was one of the seven kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England and the first to convert to Christianity. The earliest settlements had been made in the northern areas including Thanet. Uninhabited forest lands in the south, called Anderida or Andreasweald (known today as The Weald) provided glades and clearings for annual excursions, when people from the north grazed their pigs on the abundant acorns and nuts. In an early charter of 724 AD Æthelberht (son of King Wihtred of Kent) granted land in the wooded area around Romney Marsh and present-day Tenterden to Mildrith (Mildred), the Abbess of Thanet. With tidal waters nearby, the salted winter meat supplies could be returned up the coast via an easy sea journey. Thus, the origin of the town's name is two-fold, deriving from the Old English
Tenetwara (the Men of Thanet) and the word
den (a clearing within a forest). The first known reference to Tenetwara is found in a Charter of 968; it records Heronden pastureland granted by a lady Aethelflaed to Aelfwold for the sum of 1450 pence. In Thanet abbey in the seventh century, Domne Æfa the royal abbess was succeeded by her daughter Mildred, whose life became legendary; she was beloved throughout Kent and beyond, and sanctified. Today Tenterden's Anglican church of St Mildred's is a Grade I heritage listed building standing majestically on high ground. It's likely that an early wooden Jutish church dedicated to her was situated on the same high spot. During the pre-Conquest period, the records for St Augustine's Abbey show Tenterden and other local villages paying the fee for the annual supply of holy oil to the church. By 1178/9 we have the first recorded use of the town's name as "Tentwardene" appearing in a Pipe Roll of Henry II. The earliest reference to a church in Tenterden is from the same date.
11th–12th centuries After 1027 the Thanet Minster estates were acquired by St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, which had also received from Minster the famed relics of St Mildred. There is no mention of the town in the Domesday Book because Tenterden being a 'den', its listing was in the lands of the parent Abbey. Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, having become the Second Earl of Kent, owned land in this area. From the mid-twelfth century the low lying land to the south of Tenterden, the Rother Levels and the Romney Marsh, were used for arable farming. With the arrival of the Black Death and loss of population, the collapse of labour intensive farming was matched by a growth in sheep farming on the rich marshy pastures. The production of raw wool brought prosperity to the town.
13th century From the time of the Jutes, Kent had been divided into areas of land known as Lathes, which in turn were subdivided into Hundreds. The first mention of Tenterden is within the
Lathe of Scray, which covered part of the parish of Ebony and Reading Street: this appeared in 1241 when the town was recorded as one of the seven Hundreds located in the Weald. In 1279 several illicitly erected butchers' shops near to the church (probably temporary structures or shammels) were recorded as causing an encroachment on to the King's Highway. Having been cleared by a jury, the shopkeepers were permitted to stay on annual payment of a rent of twelve horseshoes. A further seven shops were also required to pay a levy. Today numbers 28 to 40 in the High Street occupy this 'shambles' site, on the southern edge of the church. The first mention of a dwelling in the town dates from 1275 and occurs in a Hundred Roll of King Edward l, when a Thomas Pittlesden was recorded as living at the manor house. In subsequent years the Pittlesden family remained as core to Tenterden's development, with their arms still featuring on the town's Coat of Arms.
14th century In 1305, Edward I happened to be staying at Sissinghurst; he had banned from the Court his son Prince Edward (the future Edward II) for poor behaviour. The Prince brought his beloved (and notorious) companion Piers Gaveston with him to stay nearby in Pittlesden Manor. From here some of Edward's letters survive, in which he both complains to his father of boredom in the area and implores him for leniency. In the mid-fourteenth century King Edward III, in attempts to control smuggling, prohibited both the export of unwashed wool and the import of finished cloth. Consequently, Flemish weavers settled in the Weald. Tenterden and some of its neighbours became important centres of the broadcloth manufacturing industry, expanding and producing triple the amount of cloth as previously.
15th–17th centuries The 15th century was a golden age for Tenterden. The town was wealthy, prosperous, and strategically important. However, this was a time of religious turmoil. Following Henry Vlll's break in 1534 from the Catholic Church, the incidence of non-conformity grew significantly in the Tenterden area and indeed may have been substantial in earlier times. The town is considered one of the best English towns for a study of heterodox religion during this period. A desire for more freedom of worship saw great migrations to the New World early in the seventeenth century. Several prominent Tenterden families set sail for New England. In 1634 Nathaniel Tilden, once Mayor of Tenterden who had been baptised in St Mildred's, sailed on
The Hercules with his wife, children and servants and settled in Scituate, Massachusetts. A century later, after the English Civil War, a Unitarian congregation was established in the town and by 1746 a simple and dignified chapel had been erected on the Ashford Road. Similarly, a Baptist Chapel in Bells Lane had been built, reflecting further the religious non-conformity of many of the local populace. During the 16th century the tidal waters at Smallhythe slowly receded and the port community declined. In 1600 Queen Elizabeth l granted the town a new Charter, in which an updated role of mayor was installed to replace that of the medieval bailiff. Sadly In 1661 the medieval Court House (next to the present day White Lion) burnt down and many of the town's early official documents, including the original 1449 Cinque Ports Charter from Henry Vl, were destroyed.
18th century During this century a number of wealthy landowners built large houses both in the town and on its outskirts including Kench Hill, and Homewood, which today houses Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre; the town became more widely known. In 1756, Oliver Goldsmith the playwright, performed in 'Romeo and Juliet' in a theatre housed probably in Bell's Lane to "tolerable houses" (audiences), remarking that he would never think of Tenterden, "without tears of gratitude and respect". By 1794 another theatre would be established in the same area. Following the outbreak of Corn Riots in 1768 in the town and nearby Woodchurch, the Secretary at War ordered a detachment of soldiers to march to the aid of the magistrates if required. At the end of the century in 1798 with the threat of invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte, barracks were erected at Reading Street on high ground close to Barrack Farm. Since 1449 the Bailiff and Jurats of Tenterden had the authority if required to inflict the death penalty on offenders. New gallows had been set up in 1705 outside the town at Gallows Green, with the last recorded hanging taking place in 1785 before a crowd of some 1000 spectators. 1790 saw the building of a new Town Hall – since the fire of 1661, town meetings had taken place in the Woolpack Inn.
19th century A visit by William Cobbett in 1823, led him to record Tenterden, with a population of around 2000 and flourishing cattle markets, as "a small market town and a singularly bright spot". At this time the town could show continuing improvements which include the benefit of gas street lighting introduced in 1840, the trees being planted in 1871 to line the High Street and clean piped water delivered by the Cranbrook Water Company towards the end of the century. In 1890 the traditional May Day Fair, which had been an annual event in the High Street, was moved to the new Recreation Ground. However not all in Tenterden shared the nineteenth century prosperity. Britain's victory in the Napoleonic Wars meant that naval blockades around the country were ended; the price of wheat collapsed due to cheap imports from Ukraine and the USA. This resulted in especially hard times for Tenterden agricultural workers. In the 1840's a second significant phase of emigration occurred, with these families seeking destinations both in the USA and in Australia. A 'Soup Kitchen' was established to help poor and hungry families - the building survives today in Jackson's Lane behind the High Street, with its inscribed date of 1875.
20th century In 1903,
Tenterden Town railway station was opened, but later closed in 1954, but half of it reopened in 1974 as the
Kent and East Sussex Railway. The route starts at Tenterden Town Station and finishes at
Bodiam station, near
Bodiam Castle. The main line track is planned to be extended to
Robertsbridge (near
Hastings) in
East Sussex. After the First World War, the once stagnant population of the town began to increase. During the
Battle of Britain from July to October 1940, planes of the Luftwaffe whilst escaping the RAF following raids over London, would lighten their loads over Tenterden and the surrounding countryside causing widespread destruction. These bombs were a mixture of incendiary and high explosive bombs. By 1944, before the invasion of France, troops from Canada, US, Australia, plus the Welsh Fusiliers were stationed in Tenterden with all their weapons and munitions. Such was their importance that Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery addressed these troops on Tenterden's Recreation Ground. After D-Day, the town and local villages were hit by multiple
V-1 rockets, commonly referred to as Doodlebugs, which wrought considerable damage. In 1974 a national reorganisation of local government meant that both Tenterden Borough and Tenterden Rural Councils ceased to exist; a new Town Council came under the administration of the newly formed
Ashford Borough Council. The latter part of the twentieth century saw an expansion of the town through the building of a considerable number of housing developments which have resulted in a much enlarged population. Attractions such as the Kent & East Sussex Railway, Chapel Down Vineyard and Tenterden High Street itself bring thousands of visitors annually into the town.
21st century Tenterden Town Hall, a historic landmark in the High Street, is undergoing extensive renovation. The hall closed in early 2024, and the work is expected to take approximately two years. == Confederation of Cinque Ports ==