Copyright Kent Past 2010
Kent Past
The History of Kent
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History of Hartley nr Longfield
Hartley comes from the Old English word ‘heorot’ meaning a 'hart, stag' with ‘lēah’
as a 'forest, wood, glade, clearing'; therefore, a 'wood/clearing frequented by harts'. The
Domesday Book records Hartley -
Hartley parish church is a Grade: I listed building, dedicated to All Saints. The
Normans built it in the 12th century and rebuilt the chancel 200 years later. In
the latter half of the 15th century, an unknown founder cast and hung a treble bell,
with Pack and Chapman adding another in 1771. In 1797, Edward Hasted described All
Saints as a ‘small building, consisting of one isle and a chancel, having a pointed
steeple at the west end, in which are two bells’. The Victorians fully restored the
church between 1860 and 1863 and rebuilt the bell turret in 1892.