Visitors since June 2007
Welcome to Loose
Our Society does not confine its interest to Loose Parish but tries to cover matters of historical interest in surrounding areas which have not a society at present. Please see links at the bottom of this page
About Loose Village
Loose is well known, at least locally, for its pretty stream and church, and tumble of old cottages, all set in an attractive valley. If it has suffered from the effects of being a virtual suburb of Maidstone, and from a certain amount of modern development, it has, since the beginning of the century at least, covered itself ever more deeply in a blanket of trees and greenery, as though trying to hold on to its individuality and ancient past.
The history of the village goes back to Saxon times when in the 9th century the manor of Loose was given by Ethelwulf, son of King Egbert, to a widow Sueta and her daughter who in turn donated it to the monks of Christchurch Priory Canterbury. They, apparently, put the manorial revenue 'towards the expense of their cloathing'. (Hasted: History of Kent.)
The name of Loose, (pronounced Looz), is, according to the experts, Old English for pig-sty, which is presumably a reference not to the state of the village in Saxon times but to the chief concern of its peasant population. By the Norman conquest the status of the village had evidently risen little, for in the Domesday Survey, Loose was lumped in with East Farleigh.
Its survival, however, was probably guaranteed by one thing, the Loose stream, whose clear fast-flowing waters ran a whole chain of mills down as far as Tovil. By the 19th century several of these were producing fine-quality paper, helping to make the Maidstone area famous for its paper industry. One of the old mills - Hayle Mill still partly remains, and is currently being converted into residential accomodation.
Today there must be few Loose residents who are connected with paper-making, or for that matter with any of the other activities of which the village could once boast: tanning, fulling, quarrying, hop-farming and brewing, and corn-grinding. Virtually all that is left to us is fruit and sheep farming. But this makes it all the more intriguing, playing the detective and seeking out from amongst the stones and timbers, and the folk memories, evidence for the story of a pretty village.
