village

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Biddenden is a picturesque English Village, set in the beautiful countryside of the “Weald of Kent” in the Southeast of England. Biddenden takes its name from the Kentish dialect of Old English, meaning "Bidda's woodland pasture". It is associated with a man called Bida, and was originally Biddingden (c993) Bida + ing + denn, eventually evolving into the current spelling. Biddenden is famous as the birthplace of the Biddenden Maids, conjoined twins called Marie and Eliza Chulkhurst. They were born in Biddenden in 1100 and lived here to the respectable age (for that era) of 34. The village High Street is lined with some extremely attractive half-timbered medieval and Jacobean buildings, aligned on either side of a cobbled pavement. Many of these are old weaver's cottages, as weaving was the core economic activity of this area of the Weald for many years. This clothing heritage is remembered in the impressive Cloth Hall, just north of the green.