Little Manor Farm, Church Road, Coldred
Very little history has been found for Little Manor Farm to date. It stands opposite Coldred Manor and it may be that at one time what is now Little Manor Farm comprised the farm buildings for what is now Coldred Manor (not to be confused with Coldred Court Farm, which was the original manor of Coldred).
In maps of 1900, Coldred Manor was called Coldred Farm and the 1939 Register names the building as Coldred Farm House. Certainly, there appears to be no dwelling at Little Manor Farm before this. Coldred Farm was part of the Waldershare Estate, belonging to the Earl of Guilford.
The known occupiers of Coldred Farm included Mr Bromley from at least the early 1930s until at least the late 1940s, after which AJ Friend took it over, giving up in 1954 because of old age (his family still own some of the land which is currently grazed by livestock from Chilli Farm).
The land appears to have been farmed then by the Broadleys who had Newsole Farm. It is believed that a Mr Files lived in the farmhouse. An auction in 1991 sold off 84 acres of the farm in 4 Lots, with Lot 1 comprising 3.15 acres and buildings. This appears to be part of what is now known as Little Manor Farm.
The current owners brought Little Manor Farm at this auction, obtaining planning permission towards the end of 1993 for the existing flint barn to be converted to a dwelling. The owners relocated their nursery business from St Margaret’s to Coldred, other outbuildings were converted for use, and planning permission gained for a change of vehicular access and greenhouse erection.
It ran as a small family business, selling a range of seasonal bedding and basket plants, hardy perennials, shrubs and climbers and was known as Gardeners Corner. The owners ran flower arranging workshops and contributed greatly to the appearance of the village, helping to provide plants and help which resulted in the village winning both the Best Kept Village in Kent award in 1996 and the Transmanche in Bloom contest in 1997.
