Shipbourne
[2] It is located in an undulating landscape traversed by the small streams of the River Bourne, set in a clay vale at the foot of the wooded Sevenoaks Greensand Ridge.The dominant characteristics of the historical landscape are thick woodland with smaller, broadleaf coppices with small to medium-sized fields enclosed by traditional boundaries of hedges or chestnut fencing.Earlier removal of some hedgerows has resulted in some larger arable fields; these are often separated by small woodland belts or shaws.Before the last war Hoad Common was an attractive lightly treed open space popular with visitors but is now neglected and is rapidly deteriorating into scrubby woodland.In 1880, Edward Cazalet built the church, dedicated to St Giles, plus a public house, originally named "The New Inn" and later renamed The Chaser, and several of the cottages which surround The Common.St Giles' Church continues to serve as a place of worship, but nowadays also doubles up, every Thursday morning, as the venue for the local farmers' market.Following the end of the Second World War, Peter Cazalet asked his gallops manager and Shipbourne Cricket Captain Joe Hills to identify a new home for the Club.