The farm is situated on the outskirts of Hildenborough (near Tonbridge, Kent), Princess Christian’s Farm was first purchased in 1910 by Princess Christian, the third daughter of Queen Victoria, as a home for people with learning difficulties.
It was intended that the farm would be self-supporting – growing vegetables, keeping cattle and poultry. In the early days a milk round was started which was done initially on foot and then later by pony and milk float. This practice continued until around 1935.
In 1948, with the advent of the National Health Service, the farm became a subsidiary of Leybourne Grange. The Farm still served as a place where disabled people could work and contribute to the community. This continued until 1984, when the Health Authority made the decision that it was inappropriate for it to be running a farm. Following negotiations with Kent County Council Social Services, 25 acres (100,000 m2) of land and the farm buildings were taken over by KCC in 1987, the remaining land had grazing agreements in place. This additional land proved to be a great asset to the farm, enabling them to keep a range of livestock, make hay and build a nature trail which was accessible to all.
In 2009, Hadlow College took over the running of Princess Christian’s Farm to teach new skills and develop opportunities to move into employment, North Kent College took over in 2020 as part of a college re-structure and KASBAH are very proud to now have the pleasure of taking this great provision forward in 2021.
Painting of Princess Helena, later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein by Albert Gräfle (1807–1889)
