History - Page 1

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Leeds village in Kent cannot, of course, be compared with Leeds in Yorkshire which is probably the first 'hit' you get when searching for Leeds on the web.  We are a small community with fewer than 1000 inhabitants, nestling at the foot of the North Downs in the heart of the Kent countryside five miles south east of Maidstone.

The village may have taken its name from the stream known in early times was known as the Hlyde…… the loud or noisy one. We know the original settlement was called Hlydes – 'belonging to the noisy one' and is recorded as Esleades, 1086, Hlydea, Hledes c.1100 and Leeds 1610.

Sadly, the noisy one has now been muffled by being diverted through an underground conduit – the sound of merry water being replaced by the rumble of traffic.

If this is the true origin of the name, it would pinpoint the location of the original settlement as being in the hollow where now stands the George Inn and the cluster of delightful period homes.

Of course, much of Leeds fame is due to its proximity to Leeds Castle. Nowadays a Mecca for tourists but up to 1974 it was privately owned, keeping many people in Leeds and nearby Broomfield employed both in the castle and on the surrounding farmland.