Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand Ridge overlooking the Vale of Kent and Weald. St Mary's Church is on the west side of the village on Chart Road, close to the junction of the High Street with the A274. Another landmark is Sutton Valence Castle on the east side of the village, of which only the ruins of the 12th-century keep remain, under the ownership of English Heritage.
Iron Age and Roman artefacts have been found in the area. The Roman road from Maidstone to Ashford and Lympne passed through the village.
The earliest mention of a settlement at Sutton Valence was in 814, when Coenwulf mentioned Suinothe in a charter. Before the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the manor was owned by Leofwine Godwinson, brother of Harold who was to become King of England in 1066 and be defeated by William the Conqueror.
In 1086 the village is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Sudtone (South Town, or Sutton), granted to Adam FitzHubert who held it from Odo Bishop of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror. Domesday also records a Church of St. Mary in Sudtone, which may have been built of wood in about 1070. The manor was then granted to the Count of Aumale, Baldwin of Bethune, who built a castle, the remains of its keep or tower can be seen on the east side of the village.
In 1212 Baldwin died and the manor passed to his daughter Alice. She married William Marshal the son of the Earl of Pembroke, the manor passing to him on her death in 1215 (the date of Magna Carta). At that time, William Marshal's father was perhaps the most important noble in the land after the King and on the death of King John, became Protector of the young king Henry III and Regent of the Realm.
In 1221 a Royal charter was granted by Henry III allowing the village to hold a fair annually. William Marshal's son William the second earl then married Eleanor, daughter of King John and sister of his son Henry III (Eleanor was a child bride, aged nine). After the death of the Second Earl, she married Simon de Montfort, who rebelled at the lax rule of Henry III, won the Battle of Lewes but was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, his estates being confiscated by the Crown.
In 1265 after the Battle of Evesham Henry III gave the manor and castle to his half-brother William de Valence, as a reward for his support during the de Montfort rebellion. The village of Sutton then became known as Sutton Valence after the town in France where William de Valence was born. Some of the de Valence Household Accounts have survived and show that the family often travelled between their estates. In 1296–7, Joan de Valence (William’s wife) stayed at eight different residences, including a month at Sutton Valence. In 1307 William's son, Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke inherited the manor and according to the Household Accounts, stayed at Sutton Valence in June 1315. In the mid-14th century the manor passed to the Hastings family and became known as Sutton Hastings.
St Mary's Church
Hub AI
Sutton Valence AI simulator
(@Sutton Valence_simulator)
Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand Ridge overlooking the Vale of Kent and Weald. St Mary's Church is on the west side of the village on Chart Road, close to the junction of the High Street with the A274. Another landmark is Sutton Valence Castle on the east side of the village, of which only the ruins of the 12th-century keep remain, under the ownership of English Heritage.
Iron Age and Roman artefacts have been found in the area. The Roman road from Maidstone to Ashford and Lympne passed through the village.
The earliest mention of a settlement at Sutton Valence was in 814, when Coenwulf mentioned Suinothe in a charter. Before the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the manor was owned by Leofwine Godwinson, brother of Harold who was to become King of England in 1066 and be defeated by William the Conqueror.
In 1086 the village is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Sudtone (South Town, or Sutton), granted to Adam FitzHubert who held it from Odo Bishop of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror. Domesday also records a Church of St. Mary in Sudtone, which may have been built of wood in about 1070. The manor was then granted to the Count of Aumale, Baldwin of Bethune, who built a castle, the remains of its keep or tower can be seen on the east side of the village.
In 1212 Baldwin died and the manor passed to his daughter Alice. She married William Marshal the son of the Earl of Pembroke, the manor passing to him on her death in 1215 (the date of Magna Carta). At that time, William Marshal's father was perhaps the most important noble in the land after the King and on the death of King John, became Protector of the young king Henry III and Regent of the Realm.
In 1221 a Royal charter was granted by Henry III allowing the village to hold a fair annually. William Marshal's son William the second earl then married Eleanor, daughter of King John and sister of his son Henry III (Eleanor was a child bride, aged nine). After the death of the Second Earl, she married Simon de Montfort, who rebelled at the lax rule of Henry III, won the Battle of Lewes but was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, his estates being confiscated by the Crown.
In 1265 after the Battle of Evesham Henry III gave the manor and castle to his half-brother William de Valence, as a reward for his support during the de Montfort rebellion. The village of Sutton then became known as Sutton Valence after the town in France where William de Valence was born. Some of the de Valence Household Accounts have survived and show that the family often travelled between their estates. In 1296–7, Joan de Valence (William’s wife) stayed at eight different residences, including a month at Sutton Valence. In 1307 William's son, Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke inherited the manor and according to the Household Accounts, stayed at Sutton Valence in June 1315. In the mid-14th century the manor passed to the Hastings family and became known as Sutton Hastings.
St Mary's Church