By the late 1400`s, Chatham was a small agricultural and fishing town. To the south lay the manor houses of Snodhurst and Horsted while `buried deep in a wooded valley slumbered Walderslade Manor`. This was originally the Homestead surrounded by its farmland and nestling in the valley on what is now Princes Avenue. In the late 1800`s the land was sold as smallholdings, leading to the formation of a small rural village. In the 1920`s its growth was slow but steady until after the end of World War 2 when four large housing estates were completed. By the mid 1970`s more than 450 acres of building land was acquired at Walderslade leading to the comprehensive development we know today. The Author arrived in the Walderslade area in 1973 when he took up a teaching position at the local boys secondary school. Some years later on purchasing a bungalow on Dargets Road which was built in 1921 on a plot of land that belonged to the old Walderslade Farm his interest in local history began. Included in the deeds to the bungalo was a copy of the conveyance of the farm to Henry Brake and a map referring to the farm. Having spent the best part of 50 years in and around Walderslade it was a good reason to research its history. Hours were spent in Medway archives and talking to local people and this has culminated in the book that you see today.
This 210 page book has 20 colour plates and 70 b/w illustrations. This volume brings up to date the story of `Walderslade the Wooded Valley` that was compiled by Edwina Kissick and is still available from this website.
The book was published in November 2025 at a special initial price of £10.
