Kent & Sussex Village name Derivation For the villages and towns that VillageNet covers in Kent and East Sussex these pages shows the origination or derivation of the place names.
This is an Anglo Saxon settlement originally known as Gaelding or Haelling, with the prefix Gaeld(meaning debt) or Haell(meaning Hall) and the suffix ing meaning fort or stronghold. Therefore the "Debt fort probably taken as payment of a debt or Hall fort meaning chieftains fort.
The place names ending in ing,inge or ings were usually found on higher ground, or in places which control strategic points, and appear to surround areas first settled by the Saxons.
