Transport
Schools
Church
History
Memories of Ulcombe

Transport

Main line railway stations at Harrietsham (3 miles) and Headcorn (5 miles) provide fast train services to London. A regular bus service runs Monday to Saturday to the nearby town of Maidstone

Schools

In 1850 Ulcombe had one of the first village schools in Kent, at a time when only about a dozen of the county's villages could boast such a thing.

Ulcombe Church of England Primary school for 4-11 year olds, has an excellent pupil to staff ratio. The smaller than average class sizes contribute to the very special ethos around the school. The school has excellent outside facilities, fortunate to have a large field, which is used for a range of sporting activities such as football, cricket, tag rugby, athletics and rounders. The most recent OfSTED report recognised that the school offers outstanding provision for extra-curricular activities. Visitors help to enhance the curriculum and offer opportunites to develop interests and knowledge of the world around us

Church

All Saints Church

The church at Ulcombe is on a site that dates back to Norman times, and the current structure embraces part of the original.

In the churchyard are yews that are estimated variously from 1,000 to 3,000 years old.

Between 1213 and 1215, a college of priests was established at Ulcombe on the petition of Ralph St. Leger.

St. Leger Chapel in All Saints Church

The north chapel known as the St. Leger Chapel, was built in the Tudor period and contains a St. Leger memorial window. The brasses which are to be found in the chapel are very fine. One is of Rudolph St. Leger and his wife and is dated 1470; another is believed to be John St. Leger, who died in 1442.

Earlier this century the remains of hundreds of human bones were discovered at Ulcombe church and it is reported that a loud crash of thunder and a flash of lightning followed by heavy rain broke at the moment when the shovel hit the first bone.

History

A small wealden village with a fascinating Norman history and one of the most interesting churches in the area. (please click here for more details)

It was usually pronounced Uckham, and is variously spelt in ancient records; in Domesday it is written Olecumbe, in others Wulcombe, and of late Ulcombe.

THE PARISH of Ulcombe is about three miles from north to south, and two miles in width.

The district of the Weald begins at the summit of the quarry hill, whence this parish extends over a low flat country southward, It is watered by several small streamlets, which rise on the side of the hill, one of which turns a mill at Chegworth, hence they flow through the lower part of this parish, and join the larger stream of the Medway, a little above Hockenbury-bridge.

Memories of Ulcombe

A detailed description of the village and it's inhabitants at the late 19th and early 20th century is provided by the recollections of Friend Chapman (born 1849). The details were recorded in 1930 and it is a fascinating record of village life. (please click here for the full record).