To anyone that comes from this area in Kent, the name of Chartham will principally mean two things, the paper mill and St. Augustine's Hospital which was the "mental hospital" or asylum. (I'm sorry but I do not know what is the politically correct name for this type of institution these days, I find it impossible to keep up with everything that becomes politically correct. All I know is that as a schoolboy in Canterbury it was common for any compatriate that had done or said anything a little strange to be told, "you ought to be in Chartham, you should!". Children can be so forthright. At the present time along with so many other important parts of the NHS, Chartham Hospital is being demolished to make way for a new housing estate).
It is actually questionable as to whether the Hospital belongs to Chartham or to the adjoining village of Shalmsford Street. The road through Chartham and the road through Shalmsford Street run at a slight angle to each other and are no more than a few hundred yards apart. They then join near the Hospital to then continue across The Chartham Downs towards Street End. At one time, not only was the Hospital used as a mental institution but also, if memory serves me correctly, as a "fever hospital' or sanatorium to isolate individuals with highly contagious diseases such as 'scarlett fever'.
The paper mill, an important source of work in the area, is now run by Wiggins Teape. The mill was rebuilt and opened up again in 1949 although there has been a mill on the site for around 600 years. The original reason for this is the supply of water drawn from the Greater Stour which actually divides in two as it passes through Chartham. Right at the end of the 18th Century, the mill was bought by the Weatherly family and it was this family that first introduced the technology to include straw into the process of paper making.
Another important but probably less well-known aspect of Chartham is the village church, yet another St. Mary the Virgin.