In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cosy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all (cf. vicarage or hermitage). In the United Kingdom the term cottage also tends to denote rural dwellings of traditional build, although it can also be applied to dwellings of modern construction which are designed to resemble traditional ones ("mock cottages")
In certain places (e.g. Eastern Canada, Scandinavia and Russia) the term "cottage" (in Finnish mökki; in Estonian suvila; in Swedish stuga; in Norwegian hytte [from the German word Hütte], in Russian дача (dacha)) can refer to a vacation/summer home, often located near a body of water. However, in the USA generally this is more commonly called a "cabin", "chalet", or even "camp".
Smarden is a civil parish and village, west of Ashford in Kent, South East England.
The village has The Church of St. Michael which because of its high scissor beam roof is sometimes known as "The Barn of Kent".
Smarden borders the villages of Pluckley and Egerton to the North, Bethersden to the East, Headcorn to the West and Biddenden to the South. Smarden has a thriving village 'Post Office and Stores', Butcher's shop, an Art Gallery and three Public houses; The Flying Horse, The Bell and The Chequers.