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Penenden Heath is a suburb in the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. As the name suggests it is nucleated around a former heath (now park land). ==History== Before the expansion of Maidstone, the heath was often used as a venue for a site for shire moots (or assemblies) during the Middle Ages. The most famous of these occurred shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and involved a dispute between Odo bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror and Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury (see below).〔(A Report on the Penenden Trial ) by W. Levison, The English Historical Review, Vol. 27, No. 108 (Oct., 1912), pp. 717-720〕 The Domesday Book of 1086 subsequently recorded ''Pinnedenna'' as the place for the landowners of Kent to gather to receive notice in matters of administration at the Shire Court (and, if they did not attend, they should pay forfeiture of "one hundred shillings" to the King).〔(Consuetudines Kanciae: A History of Gavelkind, and Other Remarkable Customs ) by Charles Sandys at page 304 (Google Books)〕〔(England's Topographer Or A New and Complete History of the County of Kent ) by William Henry Ireland〕 The heath was used for local administrative meetings and executions for several hundred years as well as a site for large gatherings of the populace. Wat Tyler led a mob gathered at Penenden Heath to Union Street in Maidstone in an early skirmish in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.〔(A Short History of the County of Kent ) Kent Online Parish Clerks〕 The heath continued to be used as a gathering place in the 16th century to voice popular opinion or to amass the public, in particular during Wyatt's rebellion,〔(Wyatt's Rebellion ) at TudorPlace.com.ar〕 and early references to the heath as such were made in Alfred Tennyson's 1875 drama ''Queen Mary'' about the 1554 Rebellion.〔(Act II scene I ) of ''Queen Mary'' by Alfred Tennyson〕 George Goring, Earl of Norwich and leader of the Kent Royalists during the Second English Civil War gathered an army of 7,000 men on Penenden Heath in May 1648 in his unsuccessful defence of the town of Maidstone from the Roundhead army of Lord Fairfax.〔(1648: The Second Civil War:Kent and Essex, British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website ) by David Plant 2001-2007〕 Executions took place at the site from the Anglo-Saxon period through to the 19th century and suspected witches are believed to have been tried and hanged on the heath between the 12th and 17th centuries.〔(The Witch-Cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology ) by Margaret Alice Murray (Oxford) Clarendon Press 1921〕〔(Maidstone Witches ) part of a "HiddenMedway" blog entry dated 17 June 2007 describing the execution of 7 witches in 1652〕 It is reported that, in 1652 at Penenden Heath: "Anne Ashby, alias Cobler, Anne Martyn, Mary Browne, Anne Wilson, and Mildred Wright of Cranbrook, and Mary Read, of Lenham, being legally convicted, were according to the Laws of this Nation, adjudged to be hanged, at the common place of Execution. Some there were that wished rather, they might be burnt to Ashes; alledging that it was a received opinion among many, that the body of a witch being burnt, her bloud is prevented thereby from becomming hereditary to her Progeny in the same evill."〔 In 1798 Edward Hasted described the heath as follows: "()hat noted plain Pinnenden, now usually called Pickenden heath, a place made famous in early times; the western part is in Maidstone parish, the remainder in this of Boxley. From its situation almost in the middle of the county or shire of Kent, this heath has been time out of mind used for all county meetings, and for the general business of it, the county house for this purpose, a poor low shed, is situated on the north side of it, where the sheriff continues to hold his county court monthly, and where he takes the poll for the members of the county, and for the coroners, the former of which, after a few suffrages is usually adjourned to Maidstone; on a conspicuous hill on the opposite side of the heath, though in Maidstone parish, is the gallows, for the public execution of criminals condemned at the assizes."〔(Parishes: Boxley ) ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent'' , Volume 4 by Edward Hasted (1798), pp. 324–353. Date accessed: 6 December 2007〕 During the 18th and 19th centuries the heath remained a common site for the execution of criminals (by hanging).〔(The early days of Policing in Kent ) by Roy Ingleton〕 The last public execution on the heath took place in 1830 where John Dyke from the nearby village of Bearsted was hanged for burning a rick, although it later emerged he was innocent.〔(John Dyke described at Bearsted village notes ) from Historic-Kent.co.uk〕〔(Photograph of John Dyke's grave )〕 New gallows were subsequently built outside Maidstone Prison.〔(The Lonely Planet: Guide to Maidstone )〕 In 1828 the heath was again recorded as the site of a large gathering to debate the issue of "Protestant Ascendancy" before the passing of the Catholic Relief Act of 1829. A detailed report of the assembly on 24 October 1828 by Richard Lalor Sheil describes the heath as a "gently sloping amphitheatrical declivity" and still, in the 19th century, the principal venue in the area for massing the populace.〔''(Sketches of the Irish Bar )'' by Richard Lalor Sheil and Robert Shelton Mackenzie at Google Books〕 However during this time the heath was also used for recreation and was the venue for at least two early examples of county level cricket matches. Between 31 August and 2 September 1795, a team from Kent played England on the heath with England winning by five wickets.〔(Scorecard ) at CricketArchive.co.uk〕 Later, on 20 July 1807, "All England" again played Kent at Penenden, with the county winning by 162 runs.〔(Cricketana ) from the New York Times 25 July 1880〕 During the 19th century the heath was slowly enveloped by the growth of the town of Maidstone, becoming a residential area at the junction of the main routes to Sittingbourne and Boxley. Following landscaping, the heath was presented to the people of Maidstone by the Earl of Romney in 1882 for use as a recreation ground.〔(Penenden Recreation Ground ) at GardenHistory.org.uk〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Penenden Heath」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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