Nestled just southwest of the nearby town of Maidstone, sits the village and civil parish of East Farleigh, Kent. Known for its history stretching back thousands of years and its contemporary quaint village identity; East Farleigh is a popular locale for London’s commuter population - with the direct train journey running from Maidstone to London taking just over an hour! As such, many of the houses are detached builds with significant square footage and acerage with prices of over £1.2 million!

East Farleigh is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book for William the Conquerer as ‘Ferlega’, and included nearby West Farleigh and Coxheath. East Farleigh, even as far back as the Saxon period, was a well established and prominent settlement in Kent - and by 1086 had over 120 households in the area! The name ‘Ferlega’ is often translated from the Saxon as ‘the way of the passage (over the river)’ - owing to its nestling of the River Medway. One of the most important structures in East Farleigh is the East Farleigh bridge, a Grade I listed and scheduled monument bridge built in the 14th century! This bridge would prove to be pivotal in the history of East Farleigh.

For East Farleigh became an important site of conflict during the English Civil War (1642-1651) - particularly the East Farleigh Bridge. In 1648, as the Parliamentarian New Model Army were marching through Kent outflanked the Royalist brigade by crossing the scarcely defending East Farleigh bridge. This was following the infamous Battle of Maidstone, and is understood as a crucial element in the Parliamentary win which concluded the Civil War in 1651.

East Farleigh, even with its close proximity to Maidstone, is still a relatively rural community. As such, large-scale development in this area is often slow and stagnant. Owing to the proliferation of listed properties throughout the village, this further impedes development as it is limited to specific areas of the locale. Especially with the East Farleigh Bridge - as a 14th century structure, the bridge is not equppied to maintain the pressures of contemporary traffic. This is why in 2020 the construction of 140 new homes in East Farleigh was scrapped by Maidstone Borough Council. However, in the 2024 adopted local plan for Maidstone Borough Council, provisions for over 50 new dwellings have been allocated to East Farleigh, meaning development is coming!