CHIDDINGSTONE LIFE
From the Saxon period to the early Twentieth century Kentish society has been characterised by the presence of a rural middle class. In the middle ages this was a free peasantry, rather than the serfs or villeins in other parts of England. In more recent times this was a land owning yeomanry - numerous farmers of moderate substance- and a large group of gentry of small wealth. They were largely native in origin, linked closely by marriage and with an independance of spirit that was proverbial. This created a strong sense of community and an independent political force that expressed itself in rebellions (Jack Cade 1450) and regular petitions to parliament .The wellspring of this independant spirit was the 'gavelkind' partition of land, splitting farms equally between sons on the death of the father which was unique to Kent. Large estates were regularly broken up and wealth redistributed over time through a form of entrepreneurial darwinism.
Throughout the last 800 years different trades and industries have been born, flourished and died with wars both at home and abroad leaving their somber mark. Despite this turmoil the landscape has remained remarkably unchanged and inspired generations of artists.
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