Saltwood, Kent

Saltwood is a village in Kent, situated just north of Hythe on high ground overlooking the Romney Marsh. The parish includes the hamlets of Pedlinge and Sandling, the latter featuring a railway station on the South Eastern Main Line. Surrounding the village is predominantly farming land, with the notable Sandling Park estate extending around Saltwood and reaching Pedlinge. The estate’s gardens open to the public during summer months.

A key historical landmark is Saltwood Castle, once owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury since a deed signed in 1026 by King Canute and Earl Godwin. The castle gained infamy as the resting place of the knights who murdered Thomas Becket. More recently, it was home to Kenneth Clark, Lord Clark of Saltwood, and his son Alan Clark MP. The castle lies about a mile north of Hythe, close to the town centre.

The Norman parish church, dedicated to St Peter & St Paul, serves the village alongside an Anglican chapel of ease at Pedlinge, traditionally attended by residents and estate workers of Sandling Park. Saltwood also hosts Brockhill Country Park, offering green space and leisure opportunities.

Saltwood once featured the Saltwood Miniature Railway, the world’s oldest miniature railway until its closure in 1987. The village green is home to the Castle Hotel, a public house with a history dating back to at least 1890, and possibly earlier. Saltwood supports a cricket team competing in the Kent Village League, with a ground located at Kiln Corner on Tanners Hill.