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Sevenoaks is a town and civil parish in Kent, England. Situated south-east of Charing Cross, Sevenoaks is served by the South Eastern Main Line commuter railway into London. It is the principal town of the Sevenoaks district, followed by Swanley and Edenbridge. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 21,167, while the larger built-up area had a population of 26,475.
A settlement was recorded in the 13th century, when a market was established. Construction of Knole House in the 15th century helped develop the village. Sevenoaks became part of the modern communications network when one of the early toll road was opened in the 18th century; the railway was relatively late in reaching it. In the 21st century, it has a large Commuter town. The nearby Fort Halstead defence installation was formerly a major local employer. Located to the south-east of the town is Knole Park, within which lies Knole House.
Educational establishments in the town include Trinity School, Knole Academy, and the independent Sevenoaks School.
Alternatively, Baedeker of 1887 states that Sevenoaks "is said to be a corruption of Chevenix".
Sevenoaks School, at the south end of High Street, is one of the oldest lay foundations in England. It was founded by William Sevenoke in 1432. Sevenoke, a foundling, had been brought up in the town. In later life he became a merchant and served as alderman, sheriff and Mayor of London. Founding the school and adjacent almshouses was his thanks to the town. In 1560 the school was granted letters patent by Queen Elizabeth I and became known as Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School.
In 1456, Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, purchased the Knole estate and built Knole House. The mansion dominates the town.
The eponymous oak trees in Knole Park have been replaced several times over the centuries. In 1902, seven oaks were planted on the north side of Sevenoaks Vine cricket ground to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII.One of the mature trees was left, so there were eight trees. During the Great Storm of 1987, six of those trees were blown down. Their replacements, planted in a ceremony involving well-known people from television shows such as Blue Peter and locals such as Gloria Hunniford and Caron Keating, were vandalised, leaving the one mature tree standing. The trees have been replaced and eight oak trees of varying ages line The Vine.
A serious railway accident occurred nearby on 24 August 1927. Southern Railway K class passenger tank engine No. A800 River Cray was derailed hauling a Cannon Street to Deal express, knocking a road bridge and killing 13 passengers. The locomotive crew survived. The entire K class was subsequently rebuilt to prevent such an event from occurring again. The accident called into question the quality of track laying in the area.Southern E-Group (2003) For an account of the Sevenoaks Railway Accident . Retrieved 11 May 2009
The valley to the north is that of the River Darent; that river turns to the north to cut through the North Downs. Several lakes are located along the course of the river here, the result of the extraction of sand and gravel in the past.
The built-up area of the town has developed primarily along the main roads. The settlement of Riverhead to the north-west is the largest; other parts of the town (in clockwise order from the north) include Greatness;Owned by Lord Greatness until the 1920s, when it was given to the town council Wildernesse; St John's; Hollybush; Sevenoaks Common; and Kippington.
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At the 2011 census, the Office for National Statistics defined a "Sevenoaks urban area" with a population of 24,987. In 2013, it defined a "Sevenoaks built-up area" – including Chipstead, Dunton Green, Godden Green, Riverhead, and Seal – with a population of 29,506. Following the 2021 census, it defined a new "Sevenoaks built-up area" – including Chipstead, Dunton Green and Riverhead, but not Seal or Godden Green – with a population of 26,475.
The main industrial area is located north of the town, alongside the A225. Sevenoaks Quarry is on Bat and Ball Road, also to the north.
The shopping area in High Street includes the new Bligh's development. It is a typical small town centre, with one M&S department store having opened in 2014.
Bligh's shopping development opened in phases in 2002. The site was originally a meadow, before becoming a bus station and car park. Access can be gained from several directions including the High Street and London Road. Much of the architecture is based on slightly earlier periods but with a contemporary edge.
Music string manufacturer RotoSound is based in Sevenoaks. The company's strings have been used by Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, and Pete Townshend. In the US, the company is associated with the British Invasion sound of the 1960s and 1970s. "Rotosound" , The Music Trades, October 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
Riverhill House and gardens are located directly to the south of Knole Park, on the southern edge of Sevenoaks. The house and gardens, which were first built in the 16th century, are privately owned by Jane Margaret Rogers but are periodically open to the public.
There are some eight other denominations represented in the town. These include Hope Church (Charismatic); Christ Church Sevenoaks, a constituent church of the United Reformed Church; St John’s Hill United Reformed Church; the Drive Methodist Church, the Vine Evangelical Church (non-denominational); and also the Vine Baptist church.
Lady Boswell's C of E Primary School on Plymouth Drive dates back to 1675 and is one of the oldest state primary schools in England. Lady Margaret Boswell left a bequest to educate 12 poor scholars of the town. The first school building was erected on London Road in 1818: it is a Grade II Listed building with a neo-Classical frontage, now called Lady Boswell House. The school moved to its current site in 1972. The school have an association with St Nicholas’s Church and the Rector of St Nicholas is a Foundation Governor.
A Christian Free School called Trinity School, opened in the 2010s on the Seal Hollow Road on the north-eastern edge of town, and Seal Hollow Road is also the site of the controversial first new UK Grammar school, an annex of Weald of Kent Grammar School for girls in Tonbridge, in over 50 years. A further annex grammar school, of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, was due to open on the same site in September 2021.
Among the high number of independent schools are Sevenoaks School, a co-educational boarding and day school; The Granville School, a girls’ prep school 3–11 (with boys in pre-school); and Walthamstow Hall, an all-girls day school. There are several preparatory schools, including Solefield School, New Beacon School and Sevenoaks Preparatory School.
Sevenoaks is located at the junction of two ancient roads heading south from London and Dartford to the Weald. In 1710, part of one of the roads – from Sevenoaks through Tonbridge and Pembury to Tunbridge Wells – was the first in Kent to be Toll road; others followed within the century. It became the A21 road in the 1920s; the road now bypasses the town, and also takes traffic to the M25 London Orbital motorway at junction 5. The Dartford road is now the A225. The cross-country A25 road passes through the north of the town along the Vale of Holmesdale.
Bus routes in and around Sevenoaks are provided by Go-Coach and Arriva Southern Counties.
Sevenoaks Scouts is the active Scouting organisation in the town.
Sevenoaks Information provides a comprehensive What's On events diary for the town and surrounding area.
Sevenoaks Community Forum is an active discussion forum for news and events within Sevenoaks and surrounding areas.
Sevenoaks District Community Directory provides information on local leisure facilities, plus details of clubs, societies and organisations covering all activities across the Sevenoaks area.
The Sevenoaks Vine is one of the oldest cricket venues in England. It was given to the town of Sevenoaks in 1773 by John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745–1799) and owner of Knole House. The land was thought to have previously been used as a vineyard for the Archbishops of Canterbury.
Sevenoaks Suns is a women's basketball team that plays in the top flight of UK women's basketball, the WBBL. In 2017, the team won the WBBL Trophy, defeating the Leicester Riders 82–67 in the final in Glasgow.
Sevenoaks Hockey Club is a large club with a clubhouse at The Vine Pavilion. HC Knole Park is also based in Sevenoaks.
Sevenoaks has two leisure centres; many sports and other activities are available.
Sevenoaks Padel Club has three outdoor Padel courts at Polhill Garden Centre.
The demonym for a person from Sevenoaks is Sennockian. The demonym Old Sennockian is used by alumni of Sevenoaks School.
Sevenoaks is served by county wide stations BBC Radio Kent, Heart South, Smooth Radio and many London stations.
Television signals are received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter because of its proximity to London, placing Sevenoaks in the BBC London and ITV London areas. However, the town can also receive the Bluebell Hill TV transmitter which broadcast BBC South East & ITV Meridian and also through satellite television such as Freesat.
The local paper is the Sevenoaks Chronicle, which is published every Thursday by the Courier Media Group.
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