There are two village signs in Fawkham: one at Baldwin’s Green and the other on the village green.
The Baldwin’s Green site was erected first, to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and the restoration of Baldwin’s Green as Common Land by the Parish of Fawkham in 1977-1978.
The second sign was installed at the village green in 1992, with a grant from Sevenoaks District Council.
The legend on the sign has the following meanings:
- The head scroll bears in paint and gold leaf the word Fawkham, supported on the left by oak leaves and on the right by seven acorns, indicating our inclusion in the District of Sevenoaks.
- On the left panel is the de Faukeham coat of arms, as depicted in a stained glass window which existed in St Mary’s church until Victorian times. A drawing of this window was made for Thorpe’s Custumale Roffense in 1788, in which details of the coat of arms can be seen. The de Faukehams were the family who were granted the manor after the Norman conquest, and adopted the name of the village. The drawing can be seen here: Church window.
- The right hand panel shows the White Horse of Kent on a red background, to indicate our inclusion in the County of Kent.
- The two panels are divided by a vertical tree line hatched in white. This represents the Green Belt.
- The blue wavy line on a silver background below the white horse is a visual pun on the watercourse which flows down Valley Road on a regular basis!
- The Latin inscription Regnat Populus means “Let the People Rule”.
Further details of the construction, in the form of a drawing by Mr W. Hawkins, Chair of the Parish Council in 1977, can be found here: Fawkham sign