Bredgar

A hoard of 34 Roman gold aurei was discovered in the parish in 1957. It is thought to be related to the Claudian invasion, possibly buried by a soldier before the Battle of the Medway. In the reign of King Henry III (12th century), Robert de Bredgar, resided here and his name appears in an ancient roll of the benefactors to the monastery of Davington (in Faversham). The village was then named after this family.

The parish includes several Grade II listed buildings. These include Swanton Court, a 16th-century house, and the 15th century Mann's Place. Bredgar House is in the centre of the village, and was constructed in the 18th century. A war memorial was constructed in the village centre by the pond in 1920, to commemorate soldiers fallen in World War I, and later updated for World War II. It was Grade II listed in 2007. The parish also has its own church, St John The Baptist Church, which is in the diocese of Canterbury, and the deanery of Sittingbourne. King Henry III gave out alms from this church to the leprous women of the hospital of St. James, (alias St. Jacob), near Thanington, near…