The Chestnuts

Nearest town:
Maidstone (11km E)
OS reference:
TQ653592
OS sheets:
178, 188
Latitude:
51° 18' 26.46 N
Longitude:
0° 22' 18.48 E

Images

Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by DaveG

Back in the early 90s when the site was accessible by the landowner and would lend you dowsing rods. As demonstrated by a mate.

D
DaveG Oct 23, 2024
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by GLADMAN

Now just imagine... in some nightmarish, dystopian future... that ‘private’ sites such as The Chestnuts were ‘owned’, not by wondrous, elderly women (or men) committed to sharing the community’s heritage with itself.... but by individuals with no grasp of the responsibility they possess? Just imagine.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jul 10, 2010
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by Zeb

Rock gardens don’t get much better than this. The Chestnuts as seen on 29 October 2006 CE.

Zeb
Zeb Nov 13, 2006
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by Moth

I’ve got a bench a bit like that. Mine’s on the patio though....

Image credit: Tim Clark
Moth
Moth Sep 2, 2003
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by Moth

Bit of a mess really...but nice!

Image credit: Tim Clark
Moth
Moth Sep 2, 2003
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by Kammer

Taken 26th July 2002: The Chestnuts is in a garden belonging to Mrs Bygrave, but it’s not been incorporated into a patio or anything horrible like that. The land that it stands on is kept relatively untouched, with the grass cut only for footpaths and access to the stones.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Aug 28, 2002
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by Kammer

Taken 26th July 2002: As with all the big megaliths, William found the Chestnuts very exciting. He really liked Mrs Bygrave and kept asking us when we were going to go into her house and have a drink!

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Aug 28, 2002
Image of The Chestnuts (Long Barrow) by Joolio Geordio

The road leading to the Chestnuts at Addington disects a longbarrow. It is still partly visible in the field opposite the Chestnuts although the entrance as you can see is fairly well ruined. Some similarities with Tregiffian although the entrance to Tregiffian is better preserved.

Joolio Geordio
Joolio Geordio Feb 9, 2002

Articles

The Chestnuts

The Chestnuts – Phone No. Ammended 03/01/04

moey
moey Oct 10, 2001

Due to the increased number of visitors, the Chestnuts are now only available to visit by appointment.

Price £1 (under 16’s free)

Contact: Joan Bygrave, Rose Alba, Park Road, Addington, West Malling, Kent, ME19 5BQ

Phone: 01732 840220

Please don’t think you can sneak in, they’re in her back garden.

Thanks to Jane for the update on the Phone No.

The Chestnuts

Jane
Jane Dec 31, 2003

This great monument of enormous megaliths comprises what is left of a whopping burial chamber, aligned, Joan thought, on the winter solstice. Carefully selected, shaped sarsens stand in a line 10 to 15 metres across making up the portal stones and main interior chamber which is all that is left now, but these are incredibly impressive. It remined me of Pentre Ifan, but without the cuttlefish topping. I liked the glistening of them in the drizzly rain and the way the peppermint-green lichens shone out of the surface of the stones. The idly strewn capstones, which must weigh 15 tons or more each lie at the back of the stones which still stand. What a fabulous thing to have in your back garden! What a huge responsibility! Fortunately for us all, they’re in the safe hands of Joan Bygrave. Learn from her, ploughmen.

The Chestnuts

ocifant
ocifant Jan 2, 2003

Visited on New Year’s Day, purely on the off-chance. Luckily, the friendly woman who owns the house was taking her dog for a walk, and kindly offered to let me see the stones.

I thought it was funny that she had to pop in and get her crib sheet, but the potted talk she gave was very interesting and informative. I couldn’t ‘see’ the formation until it was explained, then all became clear.

I did the dowsing bit, but wished I hadn’t once I got home, as the card in my digital camera had been corrupted, and my pictures of the day’s visit (including the Cotys) were irretrievable. Ah well, I’ll just have to go down again at some point :-) Must remember to make an appointment next time...

The Chestnuts

P
Paul C Mar 29, 2002

The Chestnuts are well worth the visit, we spent a very interesting hour being shown around the site by the woman who lives at the house. The dowsing was fun, having never done anything like it before I really enjoyed it. If you have time ask to see the womans collection of stone and flint tools, it made such a difference being able to hold them, rather than just having to be content with looking at them through glass in a museum. For those who don’t know, the site visit is by appointment only, we didn’t know this before hand, but were lucky that the woman was free to show us around, so it may be best to check before going.

The Chestnuts

J
Jim Heath Feb 5, 2001

My girlfriend and I visited our local pre-historic site last autumn after reading about it in The Modern Antiquarian. It was a great experience and felt as if we were entering a new world; according to my school, Britain’s history only began in ‘AD’ 43.
The tour of The Chestnuts was extremely interesting and informative – the dowsing rods provided by the owner certainly had minds of their own and were continually drawn to the same stone. We felt bad only paying 50p for admission to the woman’s back garden to see The Chestnuts although she assured that this was plenty to pay for her lawnmower’s petrol consumption. A minor point for the update of the tome: the lady living there told us that she is not suing the Department of Transport as that matter was resolved in the 1960s.
All in all, a truly eye-opening experience. 2 down, 298 to go.

Topics

No Access 6
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AncestryFocus
May 2023
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furrytrousers
Aug 2001

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