Wingham, Kent

Wingham /ˈwɪŋəm/ is a village and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village lies along the ancient coastal road, now the A257, from Richborough to London, and is close to Canterbury.

Wingham

St Mary's Church, Wingham
Wingham
Location within Kent
Population1,775 (2011) [1]
OS grid referenceTR244575
Civil parish
  • Wingham
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCANTERBURY
Postcode districtCT3
Dialling code01227
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

History

A settlement at Wingham 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 centre 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]

Community

Wingham is a village serving some light industry but is mostly a dormitory town for Sandwich and Canterbury. There are shops, a post office, cafe, an Indian restaurant, and The Anchor, The Red Lion and The Dog Inn public houses.

Recent village developments include Miller Close, a small number of houses built 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.

Wingham has a 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. 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 recent investment in the station provided a new, improved, fire appliance made by Iveco. This investment has been seen by other retained fire stations operated by Kent Fire and Rescue, such as neighbouring village Aylesham and the town of Sandwich.[10]

The town of Wingham, New South Wales settled in 1841, was named after Wingham in Kent and was originally laid out in a similar way. [11]

Wingham Wildlife Park is a zoo northeast from the village which houses animals such as tigers, snakes, penguins, lemurs, crocodiles, meerkats, tapirs, monkeys, flamingos, reindeer, and wolves.

Bus services run between Sandwich and Canterbury, and to Plucks Gutter and Broadstairs. The nearest National Rail Stations are at Adisham and Aylesham on the Dover-Faversham-London Victoria line.

Surrounding area

Twin cities/towns

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. http://opendomesday.org/place/TR2457/wingham/ Open Domesday Map: Wingham
  3. http://opendomesday.org/hundred/wingham/ Open Domesday Map: Wingham Hundred
  4. 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.
  5. "The Dog Inn, Wingham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  6. "The Eight Bells, Wingham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  7. "Church of St Mary, Wingham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  8. "The History of the Coalfield Parishes". www.dover.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  9. "Credit crunch hits affordable housing trust". www.kentonline.co.uk. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  10. "KFRS welcomes new additions to its fleet". kent.fire-uk.org. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  11. "Wingham Memorial Town Hall". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01967. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
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