Swattenden


Swattenden is a small settlement in the parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, near Cranbrook, Kent, in the Tunbridge Wells district, in the county of Kent, England. It is situated on the B2086 about a mile from Hartley, where the A229 crosses the settlement. At Swattenden, one can find an agricultural/country shop, a fruit farm, fishing centre, and the Swattenden Centre.

Swattenden House

Swattenden House is a mansion built in 1860. It was the site of Swattenden Secondary School for Boys which moved to Angley School in 1972. It then became the "Swattenden Centre", a Kent County Council residential education centre, in 1976.

Toponymy

The suffix -enden is found in many place names in the Kentish Weald, meaning the pasture or clearing in the forest belonging to the people of a named person. Here the person was called Swaeðel. In 1240, the Old English Swaeðeling denn, was written as Swetlingdenn, in 1260 it was spelled Swetlyngdenne and in 1305 Swethyngden.