Riverhead comes from the Old English ‘hrider’ meaning an ‘ox, cattle’ with ‘hyd’
as a ‘landing place on a river, an inland port’; therefore a ‘landing place for cattle.
Riverhead parish church is a Grade: II listed building, dedicated to Saint Mary the
Virgin. In 1831, Decimus Burton - prolific English architect and protégé of John
Nash - built the church in an early English style, as a Chapel-of-Ease to St Nicholas,
Sevenoaks. In 1864, Riverhead became an ecclesiastical parish. In 1882, Sir Arthur
William Blomfield added the chancel and chapels. In the 19th century, Charles and
George Mears cast and hung a bell.
