Eastling: A Village Guide Near Faversham

More about Eastling

Tucked away four and a half miles south-west of Faversham, Eastling is a small, well-wooded village on the dip slope of the North Downs, sitting at around 95 metres above sea level within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It's a quietly rural place, made up largely of detached houses set among Kent countryside, where the pace slows the moment you turn off the main roads.

The village has a long and well-documented history. Part of the Faversham hundred, in the rural deanery of Ospringe, Eastling's parish registers record baptisms, marriages and burials from 1558 right through to 1885 — a reminder that this has been a settled community for centuries. Its Conservation Area holds some fine buildings and gardens, including Eastling Manor House and a detached 17th-century Grade II listed house.

At the heart of it all stands St Mary's Church, set back from the road southeast of the main street and half-hidden among mature yew trees, one of which is said to be more than 2,000 years old — only the spire shows above them. The church is a patchwork of the centuries: the base of the tower dates from the 11th century, the nave from the 12th, the chancel from the 13th, and the sanctuary and St Katherine Chapel from the 14th. Grade II* listed, it contains one of the finest 14th-century tomb recesses in the county.

No village guide to Eastling would be complete without the Carpenters Arms, a landmark in its own right. This 14th-century pub, with its two huge inglenook fireplaces and a patio, serves home-cooked meals and Shepherd Neame beers on handpump. Often described as the hub of the village and one of the prettiest pubs in Kent, it's the natural gathering point for locals and walkers alike. Alongside it, Eastling Village Hall provides a space for community life, and for visitors wanting to stay a while, Huntingfield House offers bed and breakfast in the surrounding countryside.

The village is also home to a handful of businesses that quietly keep things ticking over. Chop and Change Tree Surgery tends the trees that give this well-wooded parish its character, while local professional services such as Alice Friday Marketing Consultant and Bourne and Bred graphic design agency show that plenty of skilled work happens from these rural addresses. For a little closer-to-home pampering, Astarte Aesthetics offers hair and beauty services within the community.

Eastling Primary School serves the village's families, and the number 660 bus links Eastling to Faversham every day except Sundays, so town conveniences are never far away. For the most part, though, this is a place for walking, for enjoying the Downs, and for the kind of peace that has kept the village much as it has always been.