Broomfield, Maidstone

Broomfield
Farmhouse in Broomfield
Broomfield Location within Kent
District	Maidstone
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Maidstone
Postcode district	ME17 1
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Faversham and Mid Kent

Broomfield is a village in the Maidstone District of Kent, England, and forms part of the civil parish of Broomfield and Kingswood. It lies 6 miles (10 km) to the east of Maidstone. The village is located just upstream of Leeds Castle on the River Len, one of the tributaries of the River Medway.

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret. In the 16th and 17th centuries Broomfield was home to the first two generations of the Hatch family of bellfounders, who lived in the farmhouse at Roses Farm.^[1] Their output included the bell known as "Bell Harry", after which the central tower of Canterbury Cathedral is known.^[2]

There is also a Broomfield, in East Kent, in the parish of Herne and Broomfield, on the outskirts of Herne Bay.

References

1. Goodsall 1970, p. 31; Stahlschmidt 1887, p. 80.
2. Stahlschmidt 1887, pp. xiii, 74, 192, 195; Goodsall 1970, pp. 20–38.

Bibliography

• Goodsall, R.H. (1970), A Third Kentish Patchwork, Stedehill, ISBN 978-0-950-01511-8
• Stahlschmidt, J.C.L. (1887), The Church Bells of Kent: Their Inscriptions, Founders, Uses and Traditions, Stock, OCLC 12772194