There is evidence that the area around Westerham has been settled for thousands of years: finds such as a
Celtic fortification (c 2000 BC) and a
Roman road are close by, along with the remains of a Roman encampment just past the ruins of a
tower south of the town at the summit of Tower Woods. The tower dates back to the 18th century, and was originally constructed by the owners of
Squerryes Court as a
folly for their children's amusement. The
manor was originally run by
Godwin, Earl of Wessex and later by his son
Harold Godwinson the last
Saxon King of England. The first Norman lord of Westerham was
Eustace II of Boulogne, and the town appears in the
Domesday Book as Oistreham. By 1227
Henry III granted Westerham a market charter, making the new village a major player in the buying and selling of cattle in Kent, a tradition that survived to 1961 when the last cattle market was held. St Mary's Church is thought to date from the 13th century, although it was much altered in
Victorian times. In 1503 the
Protestant martyr
John Frith was born in the town. The church is unusual in that it displays the only known representation of a
royal arms of King
Edward VI (reigned 1547–1553) in a church. There is little doubt that it is the king's arms as the supporters are a lion and a dragon, and there is a curious
Latin phrase beside the arms: "VIVAT REX CURAT LEX" (Long live the King, custodian of the law). England did not have another male monarch until the
Union of the Crowns in 1603. In 1596, there was a peculiar subsidence of a hill measuring 80 by 28
perches, which was transformed into a dale.
James Wolfe was born in the town in 1727 at what is now known as the Old Vicarage due to a terrible storm on the night he was born. He lived in Quebec House—many streets and buildings are named after him and St Mary's contains not only the font in which he was baptised but also a memorial window to him by
Edward Burne-Jones. The town square contains statues to both Wolfe and
Churchill. Interior and exterior scenes for the 2009
BBC mini-series
Emma were shot at
Squerryes Court with the house appearing as Emma Woodhouse's home Hartfield, while exterior scenes were shot at
Chilham, Kent.
Alice Liddell, cited as the inspiration for
Lewis Carroll's children's book
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland lived in the Vicarage for a brief period. Alice rented 'The Breaches' just before she died and then when she became very ill she went to stay with her sister Rhoda at Hoseyrigge in Westerham. She was born at Westminster and when she died aged 82 a memorial service was held for her at St Mary's Church. She was not buried in Westerham. Record producer
Brian Higgins, whose
Xenomania production team produced hit singles and albums for artists such as
Girls Aloud,
Kylie Minogue,
Sugababes,
Pet Shop Boys,
Texas and
Franz Ferdinand, now occupy what used to be known as the Old Vicarage. BBC Children's TV founders
Freda Lingstrom and
Maria Bird lived together in Westerham and named their production company Westerham Arts which was commissioned by the BBC to create
The Woodentops,
Andy Pandy and the
Flower Pot Men. During a January 1967 visit to
Knole Park in
Sevenoaks to shoot a promotional film for
Strawberry Fields Forever and
Penny Lane,
John Lennon stopped at a Westerham antiques shop and purchased a poster for
Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal, which later inspired the song, "
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" As well as the parish church (a Grade II*-
listed building), there is a Grade II-listed chapel associated with the
Congregational Federation and a
Roman Catholic church. Westerham Evangelical Congregational Church dates from 1839 ==Economy==