West Malling

Coordinates: 51°17′30″N 0°24′55″E / 51.29170°N 0.41521°E / 51.29170; 0.41521

West Malling (historically Town Malling) is a historic market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of about 3,000 to 5,000.

Landmarks

West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Norman keep built by Bishop Gundulf c.1080. He also built the White Tower of the Tower of London, the castles of Rochester and Colchester, and the Priory and Cathedral of Rochester. In c.1090 Gundulf founded St. Mary's Abbey in West Malling for Benedictine nuns. This historic site contains significant buildings from the Norman, medieval, Tudor and Georgian eras. There is also a Grade II* Listed 1966 abbey church which is used by the Anglican Benedictine nuns who have made Malling Abbey their home since 1916.

Other buildings of interest in West Malling include the Prior's House, once a residence for those with leprosy; Ford House, over 600 years old; a mainly Georgian High Street; the Swan Hotel, an 18th-century coaching inn (Grade II listed), and Went House, built c.1720 and noted for its elegant brickwork. Manor Park Country Park is just to the south of the town, close to St Leonard's Tower and Douce's Manor, whose grounds the park once comprised.