Hartley Bottom Road
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Hartley Bottom Road is the ancient highway which links Longfield, Hartley and Ridley along a dry valley, and thence to Wrotham. As it enters the parish at Hartley Bottom Farm it follows the bottom of the valley, but then climbs to run well above the valley floor (see photos below).
Its early existence can be assumed from the many old houses along the road. In 1554 when the rebels against Queen Mary fled the field of battle at Wrotham to Hartley Wood, presumably along Hartley Bottom Road. One early traveller along this road was John Sampson in 1746 who lost his pocket book while travelling this way betwen Trosley and London (London Evening Post 31.7.1746).
Hartley Bottom Road - looking south to Hartley Bottom Farm
Hartley Bottom Road is still very much the country lane as it wends its way through the rural part of Hartley. But the area has an industrial past too. In Ash Parish behind the farm shop is Westers Chalk Quarry, while by the railway is the former Borough of Southwark Rubbish Tip, now grassed over. Since 1996 the road has a weight limit for lorries of 7.5 tonnes laden weight. Before then the railway bridge had a 22 ton weight limit imposed in 1967. Recent concerns about the structure of the bridge have further reduced this to 3 tonnes.
Hartley Bottom Farm, Hartley's only farm of any size, is located at the junction of Hartley Hill and Hartley Bottom Road. The farm has a tack shop, and on 16 December 1998 the farm opened a butcher's shop to sell meat from the farm. The business is very successful with a very wide area of customers, well beyond the confines of Hartley. In 2014 the Kent Messenger (23.4.2014) reported they supplied 20 local schools. Strictly though the shop is in Ash Parish, Hartley's large neighbour to the south.
Historically only 3 houses fell in the parish of Hartley - Goldsmiths Cottage, Skips Cottage and Hartley Bottom Farm. However boundary changes in 1987 which made the railway the boundary between Hartley and Longfield have added another half a dozen, including the ancient Red Cow Farm (formerly called Middleton Farm).
Hartley Bottom Road, view across valley from Grange Lane
Hartley Bottom was the venue for the earliest known cricket match to be played in Hartley between Gravesend and a Hartley/Meopham team:
"This day was a cricketing match at Hartley Bottom, between Gravesend and Meopham and Hartley: Gravesend beat. There was also a donkey race." (Diary of Thomas Pocock 31.7.1812).
The minutes of the Dartford Rural district council mention the road on a number of occasions:
- 1899 - Dangerous overhaning hedges between Red Cow Farm and Longfield Hill.
- 1923 - Road damaged by construction traffic for new A20 road
- 1923 - Five passing places 2 yards x 10 yards to be built between Longfield Hill and Idleigh Court Road.
- 1924 - Road said to be in poor state by Red Cow Farm.
- 1924 - Road to be repaired with flint and ragstone.
- 1928 - Road tarred as far as Berry's Maple.
- 1928 - Poor state of road at Hartley Hill junction
- 1930 - Council apply for restrictions on traffic betwen Berry's Maple and Longfield Hill.
- 1933 - Fire hydrant added while mains were being laid on road.
- 1938 - Council accepts Hartley Water Committee's offer of land for widening.
- 1945 - Accidents on road lead to hedges and trees on dangerous corners being lopped.
Hartley Bottom Road - leading up to railway bridge
Statistics about the road
| Subject | Details |
| Length of road | 1.11 miles (1,778m) |
| Classification | C290 (Classed C single carriageway) - adopted |
| Area | 147.49 acres (59.69 ha) Area assessed by Google Maps Area Calculator Tool. Difficult to assign fields to road, all fields on west side included and also Southwark owned part of Hartley Wood. Fields on east side counted as part of Manor Road. |
| Houses | 8 |
| Housing Density | 0.01 houses per acre (0.01 houses / ha) |
| Population (2011) | 58 (postcodes overlap with properties in Ash parish, figure includes 9 properties in Hartley and 8 in Ash) |
Information about the houses
Explanation:
1. Date of Construction is sometimes approximate.
2. Plot histories include the ancient farms and fields with the earliest known date, also the name of the smallholding sold by Smallowners Limited at the beginning of the 20th century.
3. Planning Permissions include the reference number, so more details can be seen at Sevenoaks Council.
4. Before Council Tax the tax on residential property was called the rates. The registers for 1956, 1963 and 1972 are held at Sevenoaks Council. The rateable value given is the gross estimated rental value of the property, that is how much the Valuation Office thought people would pay to rent it for a year, the rates were actually calculated on a lower value after certain statutory allowances were made. For some reason the 1956 register contains the rateable value for the properties as it would have been in 1939.
5. Council tax is based on what the Valuation Office thought the property would have sold for in 1993. It is divided into 8 value bands.
6. House price data 1995 to date produced by Land Registry © Crown copyright and database right 2019. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. To report an error, go to Change a sales record form.
Orange Hill Cottage, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LB (unknown)
Detached house (5 bed)
1975 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1975/334 Single storey lobby/cloakroom, morning room extension at rear, porch extension at side (formerly Middleton Farm)
1984 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1984/406 Electricity Supply
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
1993 Council Tax Banding: G (£160-320K)
2004 Sale Price: £495000 (01 Oct 2004)
2005 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2005/254 1st floor side extension
2009 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2009/1466 Reconductor existing low voltage overhead lines with aerial bundled conductor
2010 Advertised Price: £690000 (14 Jul 2010)
2014 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 2014/58 Single storey side extension (Building Work Complete)
2014 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 2014/6188 Install one or more new circuits (Building Work Complete)
2014 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 2014/97 External wall insulation. (Not Available)
2014 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2014/1741 Change of use of dwelling house to mixed use as private residential dwelling house and Bed & Breakfast accommodation. Creation of new hardstanding to facilitate new parking.
2014 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2014/657 Use of outbuilding as granny annexe
2014 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2014/657 Use of outbuilding as granny annexe
2014 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2014/666 Single storey side extension
2014 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2014/666 Single storey side extension
2015 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 2015/1663 Installed Hunter: Hawk 4 Double/Double (Building Work Complete)
2015 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 2015/2390 Circuit alteration or addition in a special location Install one or more new circuits Partial rewire (Building Work Complete)
Hartley Bottom Road - Orange Hill Cottage
Orange Hill Cottage, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LB (unknown)
Detached granny annexe (1 bed) (converted outbuilding)
unknown First Built
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
2005 First Built
1 Middleton Cottages, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LB (unknown)
Semi-detached house
unknown First Built
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
1993 Council Tax Banding: C (£52-68K)
2 Middleton Cottages, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LB (unknown)
Semi-detached house
unknown First Built
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
1993 Council Tax Banding: C (£52-68K)
Red Cow Farm, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LB (unknown)
Detached house
unknown First Built
1967 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1967/203 HV Overhead Cables (Seeboard)
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
1993 Council Tax Banding: H (£over 320K)
2009 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2009/1452 Reconductor existing low voltage overhead lines with aerial bundled conductor
2016 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 2016/10498 Installed Charnwood: Charnwood Island III with competency Install a biomass dry fuel room heater stove or cooker Installed Liner: Liner (Building Work Complete)
Hartley Bottom Road - Red Cow Farm
Bridge House, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LA (unknown)
Detached house (5 bed)
unknown First Built
1976 Planning Application: (REFUSED) 1976/1223 Use Of Approximately One Acre Of Land As A Permanent Gypsy Site
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
1993 Council Tax Banding: G (£160-320K)
Martindown, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LA (unknown)
Detached bungalow
unknown First Built
1975 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1975/379 Erection Of Detached Garage
1987 Plot mentioned as being Transferred from Longfield to Hartley parish
1993 Council Tax Banding: G (£160-320K)
2017 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) 18/00944 Install replacement windows in a dwelling ; Building Work Complete
Goldsmith Cottage, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LF (1573)
Detached house
1573 First Built (First mention)
1576 Plot mentioned as being Part of Goldsmiths Cottage holding
1956 Gross Rateable Value: £20
1963 Gross Rateable Value: £30
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £101
1993 Council Tax Banding: F (£120-160K)
1993 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1993/1422 Continued stationing of a mobile home to provide accommodation for elderly parents
2019 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2019/1467 Use of the land for the stationing of a residential caravan.
2019 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2019/2365 Stationing of one caravan for ancillary residential purposes.
Hartley Bottom Road - Goldsmiths Cottage (in foreground) and The Cottage
The Cottage, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LF (1609)
Detached house (3 bed)
1576 Plot mentioned as being Part of Goldsmiths Cottage holding
1609 First Built (First mention)
1931 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1931/Meeting 1931-05-05 Additions to bungalow
1939 Change of name from Skips Cottage (1609-1939) to The Cottage
1956 Gross Rateable Value: £32
1963 Gross Rateable Value: £86
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £206
1993 Council Tax Banding: F (£120-160K)
2005 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2005/734 Two storey rear extension and other alterations
2005 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2005/734 Two storey rear extension and other alterations
2005 Planning Application: (REFUSED) 2005/93 2 storey rear extension
2005 Sale Price: £410000 (04 Feb 2005)
2012 Sale Price: £575000 (05 Apr 2012)
2018 Planning Application: (BUILDING REGS APP) COMP/18/08913 Install replacement windows in a dwelling Install replacement door in a dwelling Building Work Complete
Waterworks, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LF (1944)
Commercial premises
1944 First Built
1963 Gross Rateable Value: £3891
2019 Plot mentioned as being Part of Goldsmiths Cottage holding
Hartley Bottom Road - Hartley Pumping Station
Hartley Bottom Farm, Hartley Bottom Road DA3 8LJ (1650)
Detached house
1576 First Built (First mention)
1576 Plot mentioned as being Possible first mention as farm and 6 acre holding
1670 Plot mentioned as being Part of 6 acre Hartley Bottom Farm holding
1744 Plot mentioned as being Known as the King's Arms pub (lost iicence in 1872)
1947 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1947/4346 Cow shed
1950 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1950/329 Bedroom & bathrm
1956 Gross Rateable Value: £26
1963 Gross Rateable Value: £63
1965 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 1965/262 Continued use of land for residential caravan
1968 Planning Application: (REFUSED) 1968/255 Agricultural worker's bungalow
1972 Gross Rateable Value: £204
2012 Planning Application: () 2012/2251 Replacement of hay and straw store
2012 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2012/3103 Replacement Agricultural Barn
2012 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2012/3103 Replacement Agricultural Barn
2012 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2012/906 Erect grain store
2012 Planning Application: (GRANTED) 2012/906 Erect grain store
2013 Planning Application: () 2013/534 Details (materials) v 12/3103