The parish of
Teynham lies between The Swale and the A2 some 3 miles west of Faversham. It includes the picturesque creekside hamlet of
Conyer. The main settlement is along the A2 and is signposted Teynham, though the south side of it is in the parish of
Lynsted. The name of this stretch of the A2 is now London Road but was formerly
Greenstreet.
The name Teynham [Teneham 798, Therham 1086 (Domesday Book), Taenham, Taeneham, Tenham, Teneham c 1100 (Domesday Monachorum). Possibly 'homestead of a man called Tena'' or 'homestead near the stream called Tene'.
Greenstreet became the name for the part of the ancient Roman road (Watling Street), now the A2, which forms the southern boundary of the parish.
Conyer is a typical North Kent marshland village situated at the head of
Conyer Creek.
St Mary's Church, Teynham
Miss Teynham 2006
Conyer Creek |
Shops and Services
For a list of shops and services available in Teynham and Conyer, please click on the appropraite link: Teynham; Conyer.
Teynham Community
Parish Council
Parish Clerk : Mrs C M McIlroy, 51 Honeyball Walk
01795 522699 (10.00am to 5.00pm weekdays only)
chris.mcilroy@tesco.net
Elected Members: Chairman: B P Sharman, 78 Honeyball Walk. Vice Chairman: W F J Lewis, 'Stone Chimney', Conyer Road. Councillors: L R Bowen, S G Butt, B A Holton, P Lilliott, E W Spears, R C Thorpe, J A Warren, W S Wood & D C Woods.
Teynham Halls
Teynham Community Hall Newly refurbished, Teynham Community Hall (formerly the Labour Hall) is a well established and much loved hall that has served the village for over 40 years. It is suitable for all types of functions for up to 100 persons with tables and for dancing or 150 persons standing or close seated.
The Main Hall is approximately 25' (7.5m) wide x 58' (17.5m) long with a good maple wood sprung floor suitable for dancing. Chairs and tables are provided. There is a 25' (7.5m) wide x 12' (3.7m) deep raised stage suitable for theatrical functions and shows. Dressing room facilities may be obtained by curtaining off a side section of the hall adjacent to the stage. There is a piano for use and a public address system.
Serving and bar areas are available along with a kitchen having refrigerators, a cooker, microwave and water boilers. The Hall can provide cups, saucers for around 70 persons and limited cutlery. Plates, crockery, cutlery for larger functions need to be hired from caterers as required. A licensed Bar may be arranged through the Designated Premises Supervisor.
If you are planning to book the Community Hall for your club, group or society meeting, reception, evening party or special celebration, such as anniversaries and birthdays, please do it well ahead to avoid disappointment. The Hall has a full Premises Licence and a Performing Rights Licence. Bookings and enquiries may be made through the Parish Clerk, Chris McIlroy
01795 522699
chris.mcilroy@tesco.net or online at
www.teynham.org.
Teynham Village Hall
Teynham Village Hall has a large Main Hall, suitable for all types of functions and a smaller room, designated as a Committee Room, which is suitable for meetings and small functions of around 15 - 20 persons.
The Main Hall is approximately 39' (13m) wide x 66' 9 (22m) long and is licensed for maximum number of persons, including entertainers and staff, of 200. It is well appointed and has a fine polished sprung maple wood floor suitable for dancing.
Immediately adjacent to the Main Hall there is a large kitchen area with a sizable serving hatch into the hall. The kitchen has 3 fridges, a 4-burner gas hob and electric fan oven, and a plumbed-in hot water boiler. Outside caterers often have freezer cabinets available, additional cooking facilities and hot cupboards which may readily be accommodated in the space available.
If you are planning to book the Teynham Village Hall for your reception or evening party, please do it well ahead to avoid disappointment. This also applies for special celebrations such as anniversaries and birthdays. If you would like details of charges, hall availability or would like to view the Hall prior to considering booking, please contact the Booking Secretary Evelyn Winzar 01795 522291.
Teynham News Magazine
Teynham Parish Council's Magazine, now entering its 25th, Silver Jubilee, year of publication, keeps parishioners in touch with all the latest news and events in Teynham. There are 4 issues of the magazine each year which are delivered 'free' to all residences in the parish.
Business advertisements are accepted, subject to space being available, and there is also a subscription scheme for ex-parishioners who now live elsewhere.
If you live in the UK and would like to keep in touch and become a regular subscriber, or live in the vicinity of Teynham and would like to advertise your business, please contact the Parish Clerk for information 01795 522699 (10.00am to 5.00pm weekdays only)
chris.mcilroy@tesco.net.
Greenstreet
Greenstreet became the name for the part of the ancient Roman road (Watling Street), now the A2, which forms the southern boundary of the parish, presumably because after its intensive use and regular maintenance in Roman times its metalling was neglected in Anglo-Saxon and medieval times to the extent that it became literally green, with moss and grass. The name is first recorded in 1278.
Since the premises on the south side of the road were in Lynsted parish and those on the north in Teynham, as they still are, the substantial settlement which developed alongside it became known as Greenstreet.
Greenstreet c 1910 |
So it remained till the early 20th century, and early picture postcards of it, like the one reproduced here, bear this name. Both its post office and Methodist chapel also used this name.
There are no other settlements called Greenstreet in the UK, but in the later 20th century this did not deter some officious and unimaginative bureaucrat from giving this stretch of road the prosaic name it now bears - London Road - which of course is repeated countless times within a 100-mile radius of London.
Road signs at the A2 entrances to the settlement read 'Teynham', though they should really read either 'Lynsted & Teynham' or 'Greenstreet'. In fact Teynham Street, the village street of Teynham, lies about a mile to the north.
However the settlement's Methodist chapel (also used by local Roman Catholics) still uses the name, and it is also perpetuated in the family name Greenstreeet. This is first recorded in 1494, with the death of John Greenstreet, who lived at Claxfield, at the far west end of Greenstreet, in the parish of Lynsted.
The name became well-established locally to the extent that in the Faversham area and indeed in East Kent generally it became almost as common as Smith and far more common than Robinson. For many people, particularly fans of "Casablanca" and other films of the 1940s and 1950s, the best-known bearer of the name is Sydney Greenstreet, born the son of a Sandwich tanner in 1879. Seldom a lead player, and usually cast in sinister supporting roles, he was an inveterate scene-stealer whose name on a cinema poster was a recommendation in itself.