WEST Kingsdown has its roots in farming, but rapidly expanded in the 1920s as landowners reaped the benefits of selling off their estates field by field.

The rural village saw a population explosion, from 150 inhabitants in the 17th century to around 6,000 today.

West Kingsdown's steep growth started between the two world wars, sparked by the sale of Hever Farm for housing in the 1920s.

Other farmers followed suit, and soon clusters of cafes, houses, garages and shops had sprung up.

Shacks, old railway carriages and caravans popped up on some of the plots of land, while others built their homes at weekends or enlisted the help of builders.

Many of the West Kingsdown's older buildings were demolished to make way for a wider road, including three 18th century weather-boarded cottages opposite the Game Cock Inn.

But many older structures are still dotted around the village, including a Saxon church and an 18th century windmill.

The windmill originally stood in Farningham, before it was dismantled and moved to West Kingsdown next to a post mill.

The post mill burnt down in 1909, but the windmill still stands today.

The village's famous racing circuit started out at a slower pace, as Brands Hatch Farm.

In 1929, bicycling enthusiasts raced around two fields at the farm.

And a few years later, motorcyclists took to the track and the racing circuit was born.

In the 1930s, a holiday camp and tea rooms also opened in the 350 acres of woodland, called Brands Hatch Pleasure Park.

Early West Kingsdown settlers included Romans and Saxons, and the latter named the village Kingsdown, meaning "King's hill pasture".

It only became West Kingsdown in 1948 to distinguish it from another Kentish village of the same name.