Farningham

Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It borders the Dartford Borough and is located on the River Darent, 3 miles south east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,289, increasing to 1,319 at the 2011 Census. The M20 motorway and the A20 road both pass through the parish.

History
Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools have been discovered and can be found in the Dartford Museum. The Romans occupied the general area after their invasion in the 1st century and, along with large evidence of habitation down the road in Lullingstone, there is also evidence of Roman habitation in Farningham. Three farmhouses and three villas have been unearthed. Charles Dickens was a visitor during his time for the trout fishing that the Darent provided.

In the nineteenth century Farningham was adopted as the assumed surname of Marianne Farningham, a religious writer and editor, who was born here.

Used only for WW1 there used to be an airfield used by the RAF for emergency landings.

The parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.

The parish was part of Axstane Hundred and later Dartford Rural District.

Transport
Farningham is served by several Kent bus services linking it with areas including Swanley, Dartford, West Kingsdown Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells. The nearest rail link to the village is Eynsford approximately 1.3 miles distance to the south west.

Farningham is situated upon the historic route of the A20, Kent's second major road between the capital and the channel ports. The village itself, with its narrow bridge over the River Darenth, and its narrow streets, was bypassed to the north east in the 1930s. The A225 runs along the Darenth valley and intersects the A20 at the village. The construction of the first sections of the M25 motorway and M20 motorway in the late 1970s bypassed the village again.

Mills
Farningham had a watermill, powered by the River Darent, the building of which survives. There was a windmill at Chimham's Farm, which was moved in 1880 to West Kingsdown, where it still stands.

Sport
Home to Farningham Cricket Club along Horton Way the club has been in existence since 1857 providing cricketing facilities for the local community. Currently fielding two senior league Saturday teams and one Sunday friendly team along with a thriving junior section.