Westerham
Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, located 5 miles (8 kilometres) west of Sevenoaks. It is recorded as early as the 9th century, as well as was pointed out in the Domesday Book in a Norman form, Oistreham (compare Ouistreham in Normandy, Oistreham in 1086). Ham is Old English for a village or homestead, and so Westerham suggests a western homestead. The River Darent moves through the community, as well as formerly powered three watermills. Westerham was home to the Black Eagle Brewery, which was taken over by Taylor Walker & Co in the 1950s, entering into Ind Coope in 1959 and closing in 1965. Yeast from the brewery was protected at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures and is currently used by the present day Westerham Brewery which was established in 2004 by Robert Wicks. The brewery produces a range of ales, consisting of Westerham British Bulldog. Westerham was residence to Crayford Engineering, a successful automobile conversion company, from 1962 to the 1980s, functioning from a workshop at Squerryes Mede.
