Early History
In the autumn of 1066, one of the most remarkable marches in English history brought King Harold and his army southwards towards the field we now call the Battle of Hastings — though in its own day it was known as the Battle of Senlae. Harold, remembered as one of the greatest of Saxon rulers, was both a capable soldier and a gifted administrator, and he had just proved his military worth by defeating a hostile force at Stamford Bridge, close to York. From there he turned south, and it is quite possible that his route brought him through the parish of Leigh itself.
The most likely path ran down the Darenth Valley to Sevenoaks, with the crossing of the Medway probably made at Tonbridge. Before the Normans arrived, the river there was not the single stream we know today but five small channels, each spanned by nothing more elaborate than simple log bridges. Only after the conquest, when the Normans raised Tonbridge Castle, was the Medway gathered into one main channel below the fortress. From Tonbridge, Harold's men would have pressed on through Hildenborough, Southborough and Tunbridge Wells, then by way of Eridge and down to Battle. Another possibility is a route through Pembury leading towards Rye.
Local research adds colour to this story. Mrs E Rogers, whose family lived at Riverhill House for many generations, investigated the Riverhill stretch of the journey. A track runs through the grounds of the house from the direction of Sevenoaks, and on medieval maps it is marked as The King's Highway. Within the family it was always known as Harold's Road, and the writer Arthur Mee recorded this tale. It is even suggested that Harold crossed the river at the ford where Ensfield Bridge now stands.
The place-names themselves carry echoes of the landscape. Hildenborough appears in the medieval Textus Roffensis under the name 'Ritherden', and 'rither' simply means hill — the 'borough' element was a later addition. Nearby, 'Underriver' means under the hill and 'Riverhill' means on the hill, yet curiously neither place has a river anywhere near it.
There are further traces of the story at Bidborough. A field there bears the name Camp Field, and tradition holds that Harold's army camped there on 12 October 1066. Two ancient yew trees in the churchyard are likewise associated with that visit.
Whether or not the king's boots truly trod these lanes, the possibility is a treasured part of our local heritage — a reminder that in that fateful year, the fate of England may well have hung on a march through the countryside we call home.