Strangely the name translates as fat or grease pasture! What it actually means is rich pastureland, resulting in a good supply of milk and butter.
Smarden is one of those little villages which abound in Kent and Sussex. They benefit from being slightly off the beaten track, on roads that go from nowhere to nowhere of any importance.
It's very much a village now, but in 1332 Edward II granted Smarden the right to hold a market; a right that was reaffirmed by Elizabeth I when she granted the right to hold a five-day fair. In between those events, Smarden saw high historical drama when 66 local men took part in Jack Cade's ill-fated 1450 rebellion against high taxes and prices.
It has a large accumulation of half-timbered, ancient houses clustered around a very pretty church. More than 100 of them are listed buildings. It has suffered little from being heavily featured in 'The Darling Buds Of May' TV series with David Jason et al. Although the houses vary greatly in size and design, the appearance of the village is unified by the roofs almost invariably being of the same rich red 'Kent Peg' tiles.
The main entrance to the churchyard, is through the corner of this house, forming a sort of lych-gate, leading from a small paved square open to the main village street.
The church of St, Michael The Archangel has a great deal to recommend it, but as it lays back off of very narrow lanes with sharp bends, you need to hunt about a bit for somewhere safe to park. I 'borrowed' a tiny corner of the pub car park - one of the benefits of being on my little 125cc motorcycle today, rather than the 650.
The parish church of Smarden is known as 'the Barn of Kent', a tribute to the width of its aisleless nave. The nave is 36 feet in width and is supported by a scissor-beam roof system of intersecting timbers.
It has many other interesting features, including some beautiful glass and wall paintings. There is an annual bequest of John Handen, who left 6s 5d (32p) for the purchase of new bell ropes.
(above) beyond the sedilla (wall seats) to the right of the alter, is a rare wafer oven
These 20th century wall paintings, which replace lost medieval ones, use villagers as their models.
The churchyard is well-kept, and the war memorial is actually incorporated into the end wall, rather than being a free-standing monument.
Shepherd Neame, as well as being the oldest family-run brewery in the UK, are also amongst the best at ensuring that their public houses retain their age-related character and their wonderful inn signs. The Flying Horse is no exception, and retaining its' character is essential when the pub stands in the middle of a truly ancient village
The Flying Horse was built in around 1790 on a section of St Michael's Churchyard; this part of Smarden was called Nub’s Green.The pub was formerly known as the Hog & Donkey, but may have changed its' name due to the racecourse that used to be opposite.
There is more information on the Flying Horse to be found on the Dover Kent Archive, here:
It’s first recorded landlord was Richard Giles around 1841 on a village map of the time. Richard was born in 1790, he was a local dealer and trader and he would travel to Canterbury market for pigs as well as Rye’s market for Fish.
The then famous racecourse attracted huge crowds and the countries top jockeys during the 1800s. Smarden Raceday was held on the 3rd Monday in July. The pub would have profited very well out from this yearly event. The last race was in 1852 after a professional rider named Paget was thrown from his horse and injured.
The pub once a had forge which took care of horses that had been swapped over at the Nules Green exchange point found at Smarden town bridge. At the time coaches between Ashford and Headcorn were run by Calehill Hundred.In the 1890’s the mail was brought into Smarden from Cranbrook in a trap by a man named Osbourne. He would leave his horse in good care at The Flyer while he sorted out all the incoming and outgoing mail. In the afternoon he would return to Cranbrook with all of Smarden’s letters.
During 1958 - 1960, the pub was owned by husband and wife Bryan and Margaret Hills-Johnes. At that time, what is now the car park that sits opposite the pub, was a vegetable garden that supplied The Flying Horse with fresh veg.
This was also around the time floods of Londoners from the East end would descend on Smarden to help harvest the hops. Farmers would setup hop huts for the hop pickers, mainly women and children during the week and joined by the men at the weekend. This was their holiday. A chance to get out of smokey, sooty London and enjoy some fresh country air. The Flying horse was the hop farmers choice of drinking establishment as well as the hop pickers!
The Flying Horse proudly hangs hops from the rafters of the pub to embrace the long history of hops grown within the local area. Hops are sold to the local brewery Shepherd Neame in Faversham which go into the beer that is served in the pub.
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