Overview of Cobham

Cobham is a village and civil parish in the Gravesham District of Kent, England. It is located south of Watling Street, the old road from Dover to London, six miles south-east of Gravesend. The hamlet of Sole Street lies within the parish, which covers an area of 1,240 ha and has a population of 1,328. (2001 census). The village is in a Conservation Area and as such remains relatively unspoilt. The parish church is 13th century and is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, and has brasses which are reputedly the finest in England. The church in Luddesdown, part of the ecclesiastical parish, is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. Next to the church in the village is Cobham College, a one-time home for secular priests, and now acting as almshouses. Cobham Hall was the former 17th-century home of the Earls of Darnley: its gardens were designed by Humphry Repton and the surrounding woods contain the Darnley Mausoleum, a Grade I listed building now undergoing restoration. Since 1957, the Hall has been a public school for girls; it opens to the public on some occasions in the year. There are two areas of open space in the parish: Cobham Park, which includes extensive woodlands; and Jeskyns, a one-time farm of 360 acres (147 ha), which has been turned into a greenspace area by the Forestry Commission. Cobham has strong links with Charles Dickens, who used to walk out to the village: he set part of The Pickwick Papers there. Other personalities connected with Cobham include Sir Joseph Williamson, and the insane artist Richard Dadd, who murdered his father near here in 1843. The Hon Ivo Bligh, who became the 8th Earl of Darnley, was the first English cricket captain to attempt to recover The Ashes from Australia in the late 19th century. Comedian Joe Pasquale lives in the area and owns land adjoining the estate of Cobham Hall. The village was also linked to its namesake HMS Cobham, a Ham class minesweeper which was an active Royal Navy vessel between 1953 and 1966.