26. The 18th Century in the village
The Mill at the bottom of Mill Bank was rebuilt in stone.
Harley House Farm was rebuilt in brick.
Also built in this period were,
Domas Farm,
1 and 2, Domas Cottages, (now a single house)
The Crow’s Nest.
Church Cottage on the northern edge of the church site.
The Old Smithy now named The Cottage.
Harley Court (formerly Harley Towers) incorporated three adjoining cottages and on the site of the windmill. One of which was the Miller’s House
Windmill Cottage.
Harley Tower Cottage which until the 60’s incorporated the Village Shop.
There were two Ale Houses in the Village in 1616. The Unicorn onthe Wigwig road,and close to the churchyard, was closed shortly after 1863.
The second Ale House was The Feathers later named The Plume of Feathers. This was first recorded in 1842. It was a stone house which was converted into an inn in the early 19th Century.
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The Hunting Park
In the 18th Century there was a hunting park which extended from Cressage to just within the northerly extent of Harley parish. The remains of the Hunting Lodge still exist in the form of substantial stone foundations and the lower part of the walls of the stone built structure.
The building is shown on the Tithe Map of 1842 and is located to the north of the Kenley Road and west of the current Village Hall from where the Map shows a road or track almost reaching the Lodge. The area is marked ‘The Park’ in a field named ‘Meadow below House’ and Wood Pile Leasow. Two nearby fields are named Higher Park Ground and Lower Park ground
The rise of Deer Parks from at least the 13th century arose from the need to protect woodland from land hungry farmers.