Walderslade is a large suburb in Kent in Chatham split between the unitary authority of Medway and the boroughs of Maidstone and Tonbridge & Malling in South East England.
Walderslade was originally a farm nestled in the valleys of the North Downs, with the farmhouse still standing on what is now Princes Avenue.
The urban area developed rapidly after the Second World War, resulting in the current layout of several large estates surrounding the original farmhouse and village, which is the local centre of commerce.
Google Earth Historical Imagery option shows the extent of local woodland as it existed in the 1940s and 1960s.
Shawstead Farm (and probably others in the area) were associated with the clearance of local woodland to help supply Chatham Dockyard with oak for the building of wooden sailing ships.
Most of the larger and more valuable oak trees would have existed in the richer soil of the Valley bottoms and slopes (Walderslade, Shawstead etc.)
[6][verification needed] Settington Farm was located close to where Morrisons Supermarket now stands in Walderslade Valley and existed up until the 1950s.
The 16th century Walderslade manor farmhouse still exists as a Grade II listed property, known as The Homestead.
Walderslade is separated from the rest of the Medway towns by a green belt incorporating Rochester Airport, Horsted Farm and the Coney Banks to the north.
The centre of Walderslade village consists of St William's Church, a health centre including doctors' surgeries, a Co-op supermarket, a public house (The Oak), a number of estate agents and takeaway outlets (currently Indian, kebab, two Chinese and a fish and chip shop), a Dominoes, as well as an Indian restaurant, newsagent, off-licence, chemist, one florist, café, dry cleaners, hairdressers', post office, coffee shop, barber's shop, petrol station (containing a small supermarket), a public library, Demelza charity shop, and a nursery called Buttercups located above the florist.
On the outskirts of Walderslade village, a couple of minutes walk away, is Princes Park recreation ground.
It has a community hall, pub, newsagents, Indian Takeaway and a supermarket (currently Morrisons, formerly Safeway), petrol station, 2 primary schools (Maundene and Kingfisher) and a Church (Christ the King).
The original farm house, which is a mid 17th century, Grade II listed building, can still be seen by the observant on Princes Avenue itself closer to the centre of Walderslade village, on the corner of Dargets Road.
The Davis Estate has a community hall, a parade of shops including a post office, newsagents; several takeaways, the Tiger Moth pub and a garage.
The three valleys are Tunbury (most western), Cossington and Round Wood (most eastern), and these are all classified as ancient woodlands.
The whole area is now protected by having Village Green Status, and so cannot be developed by Kent County Council – the landowners.
Lordswood still retains a small number of large mature trees saved from the clearance of woodland for housing and other purposes.