Strolling along the Darent Valley one encounters archaeological sites from the earliest human occupation of the British Isles through to the Cold War, reflecting the long history of settlement in this area. Amongst the earliest evidence of humans in Britain is the renowned Swanscombe skull, which probably belonged to a Palaeolithic woman living c.400, 000 years ago. Although the pieces of skull were actually found in a gravel pit in Swanscombe, Palaeolithic flint tools are frequently found in similar gravel deposits all around Dartford At this time elephants, cave bears and rhinoceros shared this plain with the early humans and even left their footprints fossilised in the riverside mud for archaeologists to find.

The Darent Valley creates a natural routeway leading from the Thames estuary through the Kent Downs and conveniently intersects the ancient, possibly even prehistoric, trackway known as the Pilgrim’s Way which follows the east-west scarp of the Downs. The valley is littered with the cropmarks of ring ditches marking the probable remains of early Bronze Age burial mounds, one of which survives as a tumulus above Otford. Later in the Bronze Age the beginnings of the intensification of agriculture were probably taking place in this fertile landscape, while during the Iron Age small farmsteads seem to have been one of the most frequent types of settlement.

The Roman appreciation of the advantages of the Darent Valley is clear from the sheer numbers of villa sites which have been found all along the riverbanks. There are at least seven villa or agricultural estate sites along the Darenth, many of which have other associated buildings such as granaries, mills and bath houses, not to mention all the workers’ housing which presumably also existed. The villa at Lullingstone with its fine mosaics and early Christian shrine is open to the public and well worth a detour.

The period after the end of Roman rule is less well known but there is intriguing evidence that early Saxon settlers utilised the abandoned Roman buildings and added their own post-built hall and sunken floored houses.

Later Saxon life in the Darent Valley may not always have been very peaceful. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records a battle between King Offa of Mercia and the men of Kent and Sussex which took place in Otford in 775. The locals were victorious in this rebellion against Mercian rule, and managed to hold on to their independence for another ten years. Nearly two and a half centuries later in 1016 battle raged again in Otford when Edmund Ironside, the son of King Ethelred the Unready, fought Canute for the throne of England.

After the Battle of Hastings the Normans rapidly imposed control over the countryside. Eynsford Castle, built in 1088, is one of the earliest castles built by the Normans for this purpose. Excavations in the early 1970’s suggest that this was already a high status site, possibly belonging to the local Saxon lord. In 1312 the castle was raided and sacked during local disturbances and gradually fell into decay. By the mid 18th century it was being used as kennels for hunting dogs and it was not until the late 19th century that attempts were first made to repair and stabilise the ruins, which are now owned by English Heritage and open to the public.

The Church was a major landowner and Otford had been the site of one of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s many residencies since as early as the ninth century. The Palace built by Archbishop Warham in around 1518 was said to rival Hampton Court in size and splendour but Henry VIII forced Archbishop Cranmer to relinquish it and eventually it was abandoned in the late 16th century. All that now remains of this fine building are part of the northern gatehouse and the lower part of a massive tower.

The first iron-slitting mill (to cut bars of iron) in England was built in Dartford, probably using iron from the furnaces of the Weald. Dartford was also a centre of early papermaking on a riverside site at Powdermill Lane, Eynsford. Paper continued to be made here into the 18th century when the site was converted for the production of gunpowder. A number of other powdermills were built nearby to help meet the demand for gunpowder and gun cotton which was created in the defence of home and Empire.

In the late 19th century the perceived threat of invasion by France and, later, Germany led to the construction of a ring of defences around London. Fort Farningham was one of the elements making up the southern stretch of defences along the North Downs from Guildford and up the Darenth Valley. Although called a fort, it was more like a fortified store for munitions and equipment to be used by troops defending the neighbouring area. The fort was abandoned soon after it was built but its role in the defence of Britain was not yet over. As recently as the 1960 part of the site was converted into a Royal Observer Corp underground monitoring post, which would have been used to record blast strengths and radiation levels in the event of a nuclear attack.

Further information on any of these sites can be obtained from Stuart Cakebread, 01622 221541.

A new leaflet is available to help you explore the fascinating Darent Valley, for a copy please contact the AONB Unit.