hastingleigh - Brian Berrys Book - Hastingleigh.com

force the tribe of the Hæstingi, while as late as 1011 the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle related that the Danes had confronted “all the Centingas and
the South Saxons and the Hæstingas .…” Reaney concluded that a
“people whose individuality could be remembered for some 500 years and who,
at the end of that period, could be mentioned in a national chronicle side by side
with the people of Kent and the South Saxons, must have been more than a mere
fragment of a larger kingdom … did the territory of Hæstingas extend as far east
as Hastingleigh, near Wye? At first sight it appears unlikely. But we must look
at the countryside as it was at the end of the 5 th century. Neither archaeology
nor place-names provide any evidence for early settlement south of the North
Downs. The heavy clay of the Weald was well wooded and avoided by early
settlers. The area of Romney Marsh from Hythe to Guldeford Level was even
less attractive for different reasons. Both areas were thinly populated, even at
the time of Domesday, and about AD500 the whole was probably a no man’s
land, the effective occupation of south-east Kent ending along the North Downs
from Folkestone to Wye and that of Sussex at the Rother and the mouth of the
Brade. The modern Hastingleigh may be a relic of the once extensive wood
near the boundaries of the Hæstingers … a similar case may be made for
Westenhanger near Folkestone racecourse which may, perhaps also refer to men
of Sussex … i.e. these areas are where Kent met Sussex … the enclosure at
Canter Wood in Elham is a further possible indication of this border … perhaps
it was for defence against the Hæstingers of Hastingleigh, and the Westeringas
of Westenhanger.”
Early History
Little is known of Hastingleigh’s early history, although there are hints in
the environs. There are earthworks and a tumulus near Wye Crown, atop
what was called Fanscombe Down. A long barrow in Shrub’s Wood is
one of a number of sites of archaeological interest in Elmsted.
Archaeologia Cantiana 86 (1972) 238 reports that “flint artifacts,
including an unpolished Neolithic axe, were collected on Smeed Farm,
Hastingleigh” and in AC 88 (1974) 219 we learn that “Ploughing by
Messrs Powell, of Kingsmill Down Farm, Hastingleigh disclosed a dark
patch of soil containing Belgic and Romano-British coarse pottery.” A
field midway between Combe Farm and Hassell Street is called “Many
Wethers,” descriptive of the stones lying there and possible evidence of a
stone circle or cromlech.