Remembrance Sunday Sevenoaks 2026: Vine Service at 10.50am

Remembrance Sunday in Sevenoaks is on Sunday 8 November 2026, with a service and parade at the Vine war memorial. People gather from 10.45am and the service begins at 10.50am. Sevenoaks Town Council lists it as running until about midday (Sevenoaks Town Council).

Three days later, on Armistice Day, the town holds a smaller service at Greatness Cemetery. Edenbridge, Westerham and Shoreham have also published their times. All of them are below.

The Sevenoaks dates at a glance

Times are from the town councils’ own event pages, the churches’ listings and the band’s concert list, checked on 4 November 2026.

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Remembrance Sunday on the Vine

The council’s listing reads simply: “Join us at Sevenoaks Vine War Memorial for a service and parade on Remembrance Sunday.” It gives a start of 10.45am and an end of 12pm, and names the town council as organiser. The council also arranges the service with the Royal British Legion (Sevenoaks Town Council).

The listing now has more detail (Sevenoaks Town Council):

• the service begins at 10.50am
• Revd Canon Angus MacLeay leads it, as he has every year since 2001
• there will be hymns and prayers
• loud maroons are fired to mark the start and end of the two-minute silence

The maroons are worth knowing about if you are bringing small children or a dog. They are meant to be heard across the town.

Last year’s service gives a fair idea of the rest. The Mayor at the time, Cllr Tony Clayton, wrote afterwards that in November 2025:

• Eynsford Concert Band played
• Rev Angus MacLeay led the service
• “hundreds of local people” attended
• the Mayor laid the first wreath after the two minutes’ silence, followed by 35 local representatives and organisations
• the MP and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent joined a march past

That account is on the town council’s website. Eynsford Concert Band returns this year. Its concert list has the Vine at 10.30am on Sunday 8 November, before the council’s 10.45am start, so come early if you want to hear the band. The council has not named the 2026 guests.

For questions about the day, the council’s contact details on the listing are 01732 459953 and council@sevenoakstown.gov.uk.

Armistice Day at Greatness Cemetery

On Wednesday 11 November the town marks Armistice Day at Greatness Cemetery on Seal Road, TN14 5AA, again from 10.45am. The Mayor of Sevenoaks will lay crosses on the war graves there, and prayers will be read (Sevenoaks Town Council).

This is a quieter occasion than the Sunday. In 2025, 50 people came to remember the 52 servicemen from both world wars who are buried at Greatness. Father Robin of St John the Baptist Church led the service, and a cross from the British Legion was placed on each grave. Cllr Clayton noted that many of those buried there served in the RAF, a reflection of Sevenoaks’ place under the Battle of Britain (Sevenoaks Town Council).

The memorial itself, newly restored

The Sevenoaks war memorial stands on the Vine, on Dartford Road. It is Grade II listed and was unveiled on 29 October 1920, to a design by A.G. Walker of Chelsea. A bronze soldier rests his hands on an upturned rifle above the pedestal (Sevenoaks Town Council).

Its four sides carry the names of 226 men who died in the First World War. Bronze reliefs of naval and air scenes sit on the north and south faces. A later extension records those who fell in the Second World War. A house-to-house collection raised over £5,000 to pay for it.

This year it should look different. On 10 September the council said corrosion on the bronze was staining the granite and obscuring some names. It hired the specialist Antique Bronze to:

• clean off dirt, grime and failed wax with a superheated water system
• thin the corrosion layer with gel cleaning
• repatinate the bronze to its original dark coin shade
• finish it with microcrystalline wax buffed to a satin sheen

The work was due to start in September and take around two weeks (Sevenoaks Town Council). On 20 October the council said most of the work was complete, with some repainting of the lettering still to finish; the before and after pictures are in our story on the restoration.

Road closures and parking in Sevenoaks

No road closure for the 2026 Sevenoaks parade has been published. We checked Kent County Council’s weekly temporary traffic notices for the district on the Public Notice Portal, on 4 November. The newest batch was still the one published on 29 October. None covers the Vine or Dartford Road on 8 November, and the town council’s listing does not mention one.

Last year, West Kent Radio’s listing said the roads immediately around the memorial closed from about 10am to 12pm (West Kent Radio). Treat that as a guide to the pattern, not a confirmed 2026 arrangement.

The practical advice follows from it:

• Arrive before 10am if you are driving anywhere near Dartford Road.
• Park in the town centre and walk up. Our parking in Sevenoaks page prices every car park, and free parking in Sevenoaks covers the Sunday rules.
• By train, Sevenoaks station is about a mile from the Vine. Sunday trains are less frequent, so check our Sevenoaks train times page first.

We will add the closure here if the councils publish one.

Edenbridge: parade, wreaths and a road closure

Edenbridge Town Council published its programme on 15 October (Edenbridge Town Council). On Sunday 8 November:

• 10.15am: arrive at Leathermarket car park to join the parade
• 10.30am: the Scouts lead the march to the old War Memorial Hospital
• 10.45am: opening prayers at the memorial
• 11am: Last Post, two-minute silence, wreath-laying and the National Anthem
• 11.20am: march back to Leathermarket car park
• 2.30pm: Service of Remembrance at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, with Edenbridge Town Band

The road closure runs from 10.15am to midday. It covers Church Street, High Street and Mill Hill to just past the hospital, including the Hever Road junction. There is no parking at the old hospital site. The council suggests parking in the town or at the Cricket Club pavilion parking area in Blossoms Park, arriving by 10.15am.

A Scouts minibus follows the parade, with limited seats for people who find walking difficult. You book it through a form on the council’s page.

On Wednesday 11 November at 11am, Edenbridge holds a two-minute silence at the Town Council flag pole, near the entrance to Edenbridge Primary School. The Last Post starts it and the flag stays at half-mast for the day.

Westerham, Shoreham and the other villages

Westerham. St Mary the Virgin on The Green, TN16 1AS, has published its plans (Westerham Parish Church):

• Traditional Communion at 8am
• the Remembrance service starts outside the church a little after 10.55am
• the Act of Remembrance, the reading of the Roll of Honour and the two-minute silence at 11am
• the service then finishes inside the church

The church’s monthly family service moves to the third Sunday in November to make room for Remembrance.

Shoreham. St Peter and St Paul’s on Church Street, TN14 7SA, says its usual 10am service on 8 November will be a Remembrance service (St Peter and St Paul’s, Shoreham). The listing gives no further detail.

Riverhead. The parish council says the village’s annual Remembrance Sunday service is held on the second Sunday in November at the First World War memorial in the Village Hall gardens. The memorial was moved so that people can stand in front of it (Riverhead Parish Council). This year the second Sunday is 8 November. No time has been published.

Swanley. Swanley Town Council lists a Remembrance Day parade and service at St Mary’s Church, but gave no time when we checked on 4 November (Swanley Town Council).

Otford. St Bartholomew’s usually holds its Sunday service at 10am (St Bartholomew’s), but the newest notice sheet on its website, dated 25 October, gives no Remembrance Sunday time. Ring the church office on 01959 523185, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to noon, before relying on that slot.

Kemsing. St Mary’s on Church Lane lists its regular 9.30am and 11am Sunday services, with no separate Remembrance entry when we checked on 4 November (St Mary’s, Kemsing). Those are the usual times, not confirmed Remembrance times.

Seal. We could not find any 2026 times. We will add them here if they appear.

Frequently asked questions

What time is the Remembrance service in Sevenoaks in 2026? Sunday 8 November at the Vine war memorial. The event starts at 10.45am, the service begins at 10.50am and it runs to about 12pm (Sevenoaks Town Council).

Is there a service on Armistice Day itself? Yes. Sevenoaks Town Council holds an Armistice Day service at Greatness Cemetery, Seal Road, at 10.45am on Wednesday 11 November, when the Mayor lays crosses on the war graves (Sevenoaks Town Council).

Where is the Sevenoaks war memorial? On the Vine, Dartford Road, Sevenoaks TN13 3TB (Sevenoaks Town Council).

Will roads close in Sevenoaks for the parade? No 2026 closure had been published when we checked on 4 November. In 2025 the roads immediately around the memorial closed from about 10am to 12pm, according to West Kent Radio’s listing.

What time is the Edenbridge Remembrance parade? It leaves Leathermarket car park at 10.30am for the old War Memorial Hospital, with wreaths at 11am. Roads close from 10.15am to midday (Edenbridge Town Council).

What time is the Westerham Remembrance service? It starts outside St Mary’s on The Green a little after 10.55am, with the silence at 11am, and finishes in church (Westerham Parish Church).

How many names are on the Sevenoaks memorial? 226 names from the First World War, with an extension recording the Second World War dead (Sevenoaks Town Council).

Sources

• Remembrance Service and Parade, 8 November 2026: Sevenoaks Town Council event listing
• Armistice Day Service, 11 November 2026: Sevenoaks Town Council event listing
• The 2025 services on the Vine and at Greatness: Sevenoaks Town Council, Remembering all those who gave their lives in war
• Memorial history, listing and names: Sevenoaks Town Council, War Memorial
• The September 2026 restoration: Sevenoaks Town Council, Vine Memorial Restoration
• Westerham service: Westerham Parish Church on A Church Near You
• Shoreham service: St Peter and St Paul’s, Shoreham, on A Church Near You
• Riverhead’s annual service and memorial: Riverhead Parish Council
• Eynsford Concert Band at the Vine: Eynsford Concert Band
• Otford services and notice sheet: St Bartholomew’s, Otford
• Kemsing services: St Mary’s, Kemsing, on A Church Near You
• Kent County Council temporary traffic notices for Sevenoaks district, 29 October batch: Public Notice Portal
• Edenbridge programme and road closure: Edenbridge Town Council, Edenbridge Remembers
• 2025 road closure pattern in Sevenoaks: West Kent Radio events guide

Last checked 4 November 2026 against the Sevenoaks and Edenbridge town councils’ own pages, the parish churches’ listings, Eynsford Concert Band’s concert list and Kent County Council’s published traffic notices. We could not find a Sevenoaks road closure or Remembrance times for Otford, Seal and Kemsing, and we will add them when they appear.

Image: “Sevenoaks war memorial, the Vine” by Nigel Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sevenoaks_war_memorial,the_Vine-geograph.org.uk-_856385.jpg).