(Includes extracts from the 1998 Newnham Village Appraisal Report )
Village Home | Newnham Buildings | Newnham Bygone Pictures | Newnham History | History Blogg | Memories | Research Resources
On the summit of the Hilly Field, behind The George, a tribe of early Britons constructed a camp which is shown today on the OS map as a motte & bailey. The site was encircled by a wide ditch fifteen feet deep. This commanding position made it ideal to keep their cattle and other possessions safe against hostile tribes.
In the Valley below, the village of Newnham eventually developed. During the reign of Henry I (1110-1135) Hugh de Newnham was Lord of the manor. He is believed to have built the original Manor House, later to be known as Champion Court, following the marriage of his granddaughter to Robert de Campania (or Champion). It is thought that he also commenced the building of the village church.
Thomas Elvey and his family lived at Champion Court for over a hundred years as tenants of Faunce de Laune until John Edward Prentis purchased the property. He died in 1963 and following the death of his wife in 1968, Champion Court was purchased by Mr Hugh Boucher, who is still resident (as of 1998 the date of the village appraisal).
Lower Champion Court on the valley road is a 14th Century hall house which was used in the 17th Century as a dower-house to the manor.
The Valley road from the A2 to Wychling was a highway in Norman times and until the end of the 18th Century was almost impassable in Winter. In those days Newnham was largely self-sufficient, with eggs, milk, butter and meat sold or bartered. What could not be produced was carried home from Faversham or bought from visiting packmen or pedlars, who were a source of news of the outside world. (The first popular newspaper did not appear unitl 1855.)
The earliest record of Newnham referring to population was 1569 when there were 24 householders.
The first National Census (1801) records a population of 262
1821 : 356 living in 67 houses.
1841 :451 living in 88 houses.
Probably the highest level of population in Newnham, as villagers unable to make a living moved to the towns
1931: census the population was 258 living in 92 houses.
1961: census 291 people
By 1998 approx 350 people living in 145 houses.
2001 Census Newnham population 354 and 148 households
In 1844 a chimney fire destroyed 14 houses but without any loss of life. However 70 people were homeless. The army was clearing wooden barracks at Sheerness and sections were brought to Newnham and formed part of a new row of cottages, replacing those lost to the fire. These cottages are still known today as 'Barrack Row'.
Little building work seems to have been carried out between 1860s and 1930s by which time housing was scarce in Newnham and 'The Elms' was built by the Council for 4 families .
In 1949 a further 14 houses were built by the Council at Wineycock which was part of the old glebe lands of the parish, and in 1954 a further 4 houses added.
Some private houses have been built and some speculative building undertaken since the 1960s.
As the road improved carriers with horse and cart visited 3 times a week and allowed shops to open. It is likely that the first shop opened in 1840 at 50 The Street as a grocer & drapers. Around 1893, a grocer's shop was built on what is now the front garden of Penham House (built 1828). The shop was pulled down in 1955.
Newnham Stores was established in 1880 next to The George Inn and operated for over 100 years until closing and reverting to a normal residence . A Bakers business ran for many years from 72 The Street and later 90 The Street.
There is a record of a Charity school in Newnham in 1782 maintained by an annual subscription of £18. The precise site of the school is unknown though Ordnance Survey Pre-war County Series maps carry the words National School (Boys and Girls) on the opposite side of the road to the George Inn. In Bradshaw's Directory of Kent 1847 there is reference to a school for boys and girls which may also be the same institution.The earliest school with known location was a boarding school for young ladies in 1860. This was held in two cottages now known as 128 and 130 The Street. Non-boarders were admitted at 9d per week (less than 4p). Around 1865 a Church day school was opened but continued only until 1877 when Doddington Board School was opened. The cost was 3d (just over 1p) per week per child. In common with many country schools, attendance plummeted during the harvest periods when children helped to boost the family income by picking cherries, hops and lifting potatoes. The Newnham school became a Sunday School and the building now serves as the Village Hall.
 |
James Pimm (1798-1866) was born in Newnham, 5th son of James Norris Pimm and his wife Susanna. James moved away to live and work in London and during the 1820s he opened his first restaurant - the Pimm's Oyster Bar, supplying food, drink, oysters and lobsters to the city. Within 10 years, he had a chain of five Pimm's restaurants serving clientele from the Bank of England, Lloyds of London and the Stock Exchange. His special product, of course, was the Pimm's Cup, invented by James, the recipe for which remains a secret to this day, known only to a handful of top people in the company.
We do not know precisely which house in Newnham was the birthplace and childhood home of James Pimms, but there are indications that the family was neither very rich nor poor. Perhaps one day some evidence will come to light in manor court rolls or rent rolls of local landowners.
In the meantime, we can celebrate the fact that James was born here, the family lived here, certainly used the George Inn and the Church and probably lived in one of the houses close to the centre of the village.
And we can celebrate the fact that you can often visit The George Inn, one of the landmarks of this part of Kent, and see a display of pennants advertising the famous Pimm's drink. When young James was drinking his pint of beer in The George Inn or when he set off to open an oyster bar in faraway London, he could hardly have foreseen that a couple of hundred years later his name would be known across the world and adorning the pub so close to the family home.
And as a drink for the summer, what better time to celebrate his bequest to the world than on or near the date of his death, namely a summer's day, every year, on or near the anniversary of his death, 16th August? And what better place than The George Inn?