Offham

"OFFHAM, a parish in the hundred of Larkfield, lathe of Aylesford, county Kent, 7 miles W. of Maidstone, its post town, 3 E. by S. of Wrotham, and 1 mile W. of Mailing. The village, which is of small extent, is situated about half a mile S. of the Maidstone road, and is wholly agricultural. There is an ancient "quintain" on the green. One-third of the land is used for the cultivation of hops, and the remainder is chiefly common. The great Roman military way from the Weald to London crosses the parish. There are quarries of Kentish ragstone, which is very abundant. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, value £218. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, has a tower steeple on the N. side, between the nave and chancel. The register dates from the middle of the 17th century. There is a village school. Pepinstraw, in this parish, is the birth-place of Jack Straw, the rebel in the reign of Richard II. Sir Richard Tufton, Bart., is lord of the manor and principal landowner."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]