Farningham

Coordinates: 51°23′N 0°13′E / 51.38°N 0.22°E / 51.38; 0.22

Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It borders the Dartford Borough and is located on the River Darent, south west of Swanley. It has a population of 1,289. The M20 motorway and the A20 road both pass through the parish.

History

Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools have been discovered and can be found in the Dartford Museum. The Romans occupied the general area after their invasion in the 1st century and, along with large evidence of habitation down the road in Lullingstone, there is also evidence of Roman habitation in Farningham. Three farmhouses and three villas have been unearthed. Charles Dickens was a visitor during his time for the trout fishing that the Darent provided.

In the nineteenth century Farningham was adopted as the assumed surname of Marianne Farningham, a religious writer and editor, who was born here.

Used only for WW1 there used to be an airfield used by the RAF for emergency landings.