[3] At the time of the Domesday Book, when the name was written 'Berfrestone',[4] the manor was owned by Odo, Earl of Kent (as the Bishop of Bayeux).

The lands were then granted to Hugh de Port (an English feudal barony) for the defence of Dover Castle.

The lands passed through the hands of many other owners including Sir Thomas Browne (during the reign of Henry VI of England).

Also of note is the church bell set in a yew tree adjacent to the church and "Little Ewell", a converted rectory which, until 2013, was the location of the centre (house, offices and workshops) of the L'Arche Kent Community which has since moved to Canterbury,[7] though a L'Arche house remains in the nearby village of Eythorne.

[10] A 'Barfrestone annulment' is local slang for constructing a piece of flat-pack furniture without reference to the instruction leaflet and, in some cases, without incorporating all of the components.