Wingham, Kent
| Wingham | |
 St Mary's church, Wingham |
|
  Wingham |
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| Population | 1,775 (2011) [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TR244575 |
| Civil parish | Wingham Parish Council |
| District | Dover |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CANTERBURY |
| Postcode district | CT3 |
| Dialling code | 01227 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | South Thanet |
Coordinates: 51°16′21″N 1°13′02″E / 51.2724°N 1.2171°E
Wingham /ˈwɪŋəm/ is a civil parish and English Kent village situated along the ancient coastal road, now the A257, from Richborough to London and close to Canterbury.
Historic Wingham
It has existed since the Stone Age but only became established as a village in Roman times. The Domesday book tells us that during Saxon times Wingham manor was in possession by the Archbishop of Canterbury.[2] Wingham was the administrative center of the hundred of Wingham[3] which included Fleet.
In 1286, Archbishop Peckham founded a college in Wingham;[4] many other buildings in Wingham date back to this time, including the Grade II listed 'The Dog Inn'[5] and (also listed) 'The Eight Bells'.[6]
St Mary the Virgin, the present Grade I listed church of Wingham, dates from the early 13th century with fabric dating from the Norman to Victorian eras.[7]
The East Kent Light Railway was built between 1911 and 1917 to serve the new coal mines which were being opened up in the area. The site of the former Wingham Colliery station forming what is now the Grain Harvester's site. Three stations were opened; Wingham Colliery, Wingham Town (now occupied by garages and a scout hut) and Wingham Canterbury Road [adjacent to the Station Farm Shop].
Wingham Colliery never opened into production and the line failed and completely closed to passengers in 1948 with the section north of Eythorne closed to freight in 1951. Plans and some advanced earthworks had been commenced in the 1920s to extend the line from Wingham Canterbury Road Station to Canterbury via Stodmarsh.
The village is also on the Miner's Way Trail. The trail links up the coalfield parishes of East Kent.[8]
Wingham today
Today Wingham is an attractive village serving some light industry but mostly a dormitory town for Sandwich and Canterbury. There are a range of shops and pubs & restaurants (The Anchor, The Red Lion and The Dog Inn) serving both traditional British pub food and also other cuisines such as Indian, served at the Salma Restaurant. Wingham also contains a popular zoo, Wingham Wildlife Park, which houses many animals such as tigers, snakes, penguins, lemurs, crocodiles, meerkats, tapirs, monkeys, flamingos, reindeer, wolves and more.
Frequent bus services run between these two towns and a less frequent service to Plucks Gutter and Broadstairs. The nearest National Rail Station is Adisham or Aylesham [Hourly off peak service on Dover-Faversham-London Victoria line]. Taxis can be obtained locally or from Canterbury, Sandwich or Aylesham.
In the recent years, the village has seen the development of Miller Close, a small number of houses built around the close by The Rural Housing Trust, opened officially by Princess Anne in December 2007.[9] There had been proposals to expand the close by building another 20 houses on the field adjacent to the existing homes but has since been rejected by the local county council and the plans have been withdrawn by the organisation proposing the plans.
The village has a fully functional fire station which serves the village and surrounding areas. The station itself was originally located in the High Street next to the Red Lion but has since moved to Staple Road. The station is maintained by Kent Fire and Rescue Service and comprises a retained fire crew. The current fire appliance at the station is a Volvo Fl6 inter-cooler water tender, which is sometimes taken away for maintenance and replaced by a newer Volvo relief appliance. Due to the minimal incident activity of the station, there have been suggestions that the station is not required and should be decommissioned to reduce the services operational costs, a debate that continues to this day.
Surrounding area
 |
Wickhambreaux | Preston | Shatterling | |
| Ickham |  |
Ash | ||
| ||||
 | ||||
| Bramling | Adisham | Staple |
Gallery
The Old Watchmaker's Cottage complete with scarecrows
Twin cities/towns
References
- ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ↑ http://opendomesday.org/place/TR2457/wingham/ Open Domesday Map: Wingham
- ↑ http://opendomesday.org/hundred/wingham/ Open Domesday Map: Wingham Hundred
- ↑ Hasted, Edward (1800). "Parishes". The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Institute of Historical Research. 9: 251–262. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ↑ "The Dog Inn, Wingham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ "The Eight Bells, Wingham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ "Church of St Mary, Wingham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ "The History of the Coalfield Parishes". www.dover.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ "Credit crunch hits affordable housing trust". www.kentonline.co.uk. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
External links
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