Riverhead, Kent

The origin of the name of the village may lie in the Saxon word 'rither' meaning hill or deriving from the word meaning 'cattle landing place'. Riverhead was an early settlement, part of the Codsheath Hundred. The settlement grew in size during Saxon times as traffic on the pilgrim routes between Canterbury and Winchester increased. The prosperity of the village during Georgian times is indicated by the high proportion of households that had to pay Hearth Tax on their properties, and although the village was of modest size, it was surrounded by several major country estates such as Chipstead Place, Bradbourne and Montreal. Riverhead had a variety of country industries typical of the area,…

Every year there is the Village Fete and Carnival on the little common, surrounded by residential roads in the west of the village, held by the 3rd Sevenoaks scout group. There is one pub in Riverhead, The Bullfinch (McMullen & Sons). The village has a butchers on The Square, Batchelors, a small, family-run business, providing its own spicy sausage from a South African recipe called 'Boerewors'. Shops on the White Hart Parade and London Road include a couple of boutiques, a small art gallery, restaurants, a dry cleaners, barber, and hairdressers. The parade gets its name from a pub that was once there. The village Library offers telecottage services and is open on specific week days. On…