English Heritage sites near Cowden Parish
BAYHAM OLD ABBEY
12 miles from Cowden Parish
Bayham Abbey makes a fascinating day out on the Kent Sussex border. The impressive ruins include much of the 13th to 15th-century church, the chapter house, and a picturesque 14th-century gatehouse.
OLD SOAR MANOR
13 miles from Cowden Parish
A small but complete portion of a stone manor house built about 1290. The first floor 'solar' private chamber, with attendant chapel and garderobe, stands over a vaulted undercroft.
HOME OF CHARLES DARWIN - DOWN HOUSE
13 miles from Cowden Parish
Down House is a site of outstanding international significance. Here the famous scientist Charles Darwin lived with his family for forty years and worked on his revolutionary theories.
LULLINGSTONE ROMAN VILLA
15 miles from Cowden Parish
Among the most outstanding Roman villa survivals in Britain, Lullingstone provides a unique all weather family day out. See fascinating Roman artifacts and enjoy a specially commissioned light show.
EYNSFORD CASTLE
16 miles from Cowden Parish
The substantial stone walls of a very early Norman 'enclosure castle', begun c.1085-7 and unusually little altered by later building works. This rare survival stands in an attractive village setting.
ST LEONARD'S TOWER
16 miles from Cowden Parish
An early and well-preserved example of a small free-standing Norman tower keep, surviving almost to its original height.
Churches in Cowden Parish
St Mary Magdalene
Church Street
Cowden
Edenbridge
01342 851495
http://www.acny.org.uk/venue.php?V=4857
The Church
Motto: Knowing Christ and Making Christ Known
Mission Statement: Empowered by the Holy Spirit we seek to achieve the best in our worship and service of God and love one another as Christ loves us. We encourage the use of our spirirtual gifts and natural talents to build up Christ's Church and to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed.
About us:
We are a small friendly fellowship with Services of Worship every Sunday at 11am to which all are warmly invited. We have a children's area with toys and activities.
A Home Group meets regularly to share fellowship together as we discuss how the Bible speaks into our lives. We also pray together in our Home Group and we often laugh a lot too and sometimes we cry. All are welcome to join the Home Group.
We run a monthly "Community Drop-In" in the village hall. It is a good way to make friends and keep in touch. We serve refreshments and have toys and squash for our younger attenders. To date our youngest has been but a few days old and our oldest 93, so ALL are welcome.
Please see the Calendar for other activities.
The Building
St Mary Magdalene is geographically in Kent but in the Diocese of Chichester. It dates from the 13th Century and possesses some fine windows of the Decorated Period. The stained glass commemorating the preservation of the village during the years from 1939-45 was designed by H. Warren Wilson.
Our shingled steeple is supported by massive oaks posts, which were described by Arthur Mee as "One of the impressive sights in Kent." The spire is noticeably out of perpendicular.
We have five "green men": three being carved on bosses in the sanctuary ceiling, one above the choir and the others on the font - one of which is upside down. Opinions differ as to the age of the font: some experts considering it to be medieval others think it that it is a copy of an older font. We have a Jacobean pulpit dated to the 17th Century. The building is open daily and we have many visitors.
The churchyard contains the Commonwealth War Grave of Thomas Rootes Henley 1879-1919.
There is a A4 laminated short guided tour and a more detailed Guide Book and list of graves available to our visitors.
Pubs in Cowden Parish
Fountain
30 High Street, Cowden, TN8 7JG
(01342) 850528
harveys.org.uk/pub/fountain
Queens Arms
Hartfield Road, Cowden Pound, TN8 5NP
07854 626004
instagram.com/queensarmscowdenofficial/