Launched 09/04/2011
Latest update
Elham beat off stiff competition for the title of Kent Village of the year 2011 organised by Action with Communities in Rural Kent.
Censuses for outlying communities in the parish will be rolled out gradually. Check out the stats page for interesting facts and
trivia about the village. We still need your help so please send us any information relating to Elham that may be of interest.
Elham resident Les Ames in action for England against the West Indies in 1939. He was one of the finer wicketkeeper - batsmen and played for Kent CCC.
The Abbot's Fireside is one of the older buildings in the village and probably dates back to the mid fifteenth century.
Audrey Hepburn (neé Rushton) lived in Orchard Cottage (Five Bells) for five years in her childhood (1935-1940) and attended the local village schools. She took ballet lessons and dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina. I wonder what became of her?
Dave Lee opens Elham's brand new playground with a sensory garden and a pretty flower meadow created by the Play for Elham charity. 21st November 2010
The machine breaking that led to the riots of August 1830 onwards started in the Elham Parish, writes our historian Derek Boughton, who has made a lifetime's study of the subject.
Elham residents were prominent in the gangs that sought out the new fangled threshing machines and destroyed them. Some of them cost the not inconsiderable sum for the day of £100. Full Story
The National School was given the present Voluntary Aided status under the provisions of the 1944 Education Act. It is officially known as Elham Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School. The school was founded and continues to be governed by the Church of England through its appointed Trustees. The State - through the Local Education Authority - (i.e. K.C.C.) finances the day-to-day running costs and maintains the interior - while the Diocesan Board manages capital projects and premises. The school is very much part of the church here in the village - and is committed to the teaching of the Christian faith. The pupils regularly take part in services - including Eucharist - and the vicar takes a weekly Assembly in the school. The Methodist Minister also attends on occasions. Elham Primary School
Vicar of Elham - obt.1773. He was likewise one of the six preachers of Canterbury cathedral. He went a missionary to Africa - but finding he could be of no service - with all the pains he took - he returned to England and was by the archbishop nominated to this vicarage.
A long, two-storeyed building, originally timber-framed and built in the 16th century. Most of it was refronted, and extended at the south end, where a datestone gives the date, 1740. This inn was used for many years for the Elham Petty Sessions, and the courtroom may still be viewed. Mortises and grooves in the beams show where a small room was set aside for the use of the magistrate, who visited here once a fortnight. Some of the original Tudor timber-framing may be seen at the north end. Inside the inn, some of the joists and beams of the centre bar are obviously re-used timbers, and upon closer examination are seen to have come from a 15th century hall house, which may have once stood on this site. This re-use of older timbers is not uncommon, and has often been wrongly described as re-used ships' timbers. Elham Study