Frith Farm House at Otterden, Kent
Edward Hasted says, [published c 1797]
“Otterden lies the next parish northward from Lenham, being written in the survey of Domesday, Otringedene, in ancient deeds, Otteringden, and in later ones Ottringden, alias Otterden”
With the Norman Conquest, Otterden formed part of the estates given to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, the half brother of William the Conqueror, who fought with William at Hastings. This land was used as a hunting estate.
Upon the disgrace of Odo of Bayeux, the property was confiscated by the crown and the manor fell into the hands of a family which assumed its name.
The dwellings at Frith
Domesday records several dwellings on a site at Frith. [Anglo Saxon for wooded] These would have been farm workers dwellings and it is from such that the wool was spun and the panels were woven that formed the Bayeux Tapestry.
From the 1800s the local farmers made good profits from the wool trade and as a result they built for themselves brick houses as an upgrade to the timber-framed cottages.
Frith Farm House is such an example of this period. Completed c1820, the House as it stands today, sits astride cellars of an earlier dwelling, c1600. It had been the :farmer’s house: until the 1960s, when, the then owner, sold the bulk of the land. The property today enjoys 8 acres of mixed orchard, woodland and garden.
Purchased by the present owners in 1985, it has been a recognised bed and breakfast for almost 20 years and since 2004, Frith now specialises self-catering units. These together with the indoor heated swimming pool, make it an attractive and popular choice for holidays and short breaks.
