Towns and Villages
Alkham Valley and East Kent Downlands
The Alkham Valley is in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty and a haven of peace and quiet nestling between the busy
port towns of Dover and Folkestone. The Valley also boasts number
of other designations, having Special Landscape Areas, Sites of
Special Scientific Interest, Conservation areas and 17 Grade II
listed buildings.
Situated at the northern end of the Alkham
Valley, just three miles from Dover and within St. Radigund’s Abbey
Farm, are the remains of St. Radigund’s Abbey. The
Abbey was built in 1191 and occupied by monks from Premontre in
France. Today, the remains include the gatehouse (or tower), the
nave, transept, chapter house, cellarer’s buildings and refectory
which can be seen from the local footpath.
Alkham
St. Anthony’s Church, overlooking the village green in
Alkham, is Grade I listed and the surrounding
churchyard which is a wildlife site, has 15 Grade 1 listed
headstones. It was once linked to St. Radigund’s Abbey and inside
the church is a coffin lid bearing one of the oldest inscriptions
in Kent.
The village has a number of excellent places to stay and
eat.
Things to do in
Alkham>>
Temple Ewell
Temple Ewell was the local commandary of the Knights Templar.
Founded sometime before the 8th century, Temple Ewell
was at one time owned by Bishop Odo, half brother of William the
Conqueror. It is situated in the Dour Valley which stretches to the
sea. Temple Ewell is served
by Kearsney railway station.
Capel Le Ferne
Above the southern end of the Valley on the cliff tops’
overlooking the English Channel is the village of Capel le Ferne,
home to the Battle of Britain Memorial.
Things to do in Capel
>>
East Kent Downlands
The North Downs slope gently eastwards
towards the English Channel between the White Cliffs at Dover and
the Isle of Thanet.
This landscape supports a range of
important habitats and wildlife such as areas of herb-rich chalk
grassland, bluebell and wild flower rich ancient woodlands. Hedges
are another special feature, dividing arable fields and linking
many of the areas of woodland together.
This area also forms part of the former
East Kent Coalfield. Developed during the 20th century,
the grand vision was never quite realised but the remains of the
collieries, the colliery villages and the East Kent Railway still
stand.
The Miner’s Way winds its way through much of this part of East
Kent, linking together pretty villages, small farmsteads, grand
country estates and parklands and the remains of this area’s
industrial heritage. These country estates include
Fredville Park, famed for its grand parkland trees
and in particular the Majesty Oak, Goodnestone
Park where Jane Austen was a regular visitor, and
Knowlton Court, set in 300 acres of parkland and
once home to Sir Thomas Peyton, one of the Royalist commanders
during the English Civil War
Goodnestone
Goodnestone Parish comprises the villages of
Goodnestone, Chillenden, Rowling, Knowlton and
Tickenhurst. Goodnestone, locally pronounced
‘Gunston’, is the largest of the villages and was once part of the
Kentish estate of the Saxon Lord Godwin, father of King Harold,
which subsequently passed to William I. Since 1765 it has belonged
to the Fitzwalters and still has the appearance of an estate
village, with its distinctive architecture, red brick houses with
lead paned arched windows
Things to do in
Goodnestone >>
Shepherdswell
Shepherdswell has the unusual distinction of having two names,
also known as Sibertswold, both indicating that this was once an
area of ‘weald’ or forest. Shepherdswell Green is the oldest part
of the village and the two fine old yew trees in the churchyard are
supposedly around 1000 years old.
Coldred
Voted Kent's best-kept village,
Coldred is one of the highest places in East Kent
at nearly 400 feet above sea level. The oldest buildings around the village green
are those belonging to Chilli Farm. The farm's name dates from the
1500’s, but its meaning remains unknown. The church, dating from
the 8th century, is one of the few in England dedicated
to St. Pancras. The village pond, opposite the Carpenter’s Arms,
was used in the 17th century for trying witches.
Barfrestone
The tiny village of Barfrestone’s most famous
landmark is St. Nicholas’ Church, known worldwide for its wonderful
stone carvings around the doors and windows. Another unique feature
is its bell which hangs in the branches of a massive yew tree in
the church yard, rung by means of a rope from within the
church.
Lower Stour Valley
The Lower Stour Valley lies south east of
Canterbury, following the River Stour from Fordwich on its final
journey to the sea where it enters the Strait of Dover between
Shellness, beyond Sandwich, and Pegwell Bay.
This is an open, low and gently undulating landscape with
extensive areas of nationally and internationally protected marsh
and wetlands, the Sandwich Bay beaches and Special Protection Areas
for wildlife. Important agriculturally, inland you will find
shelter belts of poplars or alders enclosing orchards, soft fruits
and horticultural crops, reinforcing Kent’s reputation as the
‘Garden of England’.
Sandwich
Sandwich is one of the most historic places in
England and one of
the original Cinque Ports. It is also the best preserved mediaeval
town and has more mediaeval buildings than anywhere in England.Once
a major port, second in size only to London, it is now 1.5 miles
from the sea, its historic centre preserved. Wander its atmospheric
streets and you’ll come across the highest density of listed
buildings of any town in England.
Nowadays Sandwich is perhaps best known
for its Royal St. Georges and Princes golf courses, but the area is
rich in attractions and offers a wide range of activities for
visitors to the area.
Along the coast, there is a long
barrier of sand dunes which lie between the marshes and the sea.
About 40 species of grass have been found in the sandy coastal
grassland, and other rare plants such as the lizard orchid. The
coastal mudflats of Pegwell and Sandwich Bay are designated within
the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which covers the
Hacklinge marshes and the sand dunes, and carry a number of other
national and international designations. They are also
internationally important for bird life, providing a landfall for
migrating birds and breeding grounds for a range of rare summer and
winter bird populations.
Eastry
Eastry is close to Sandwich and once boasted a Royal Palace for
the Kings of Kent, as early as 660 AD. The Church of St. Mary
the Virgin, dating from around 1230, was built lavishly by the
monks of Christ Church Abbey, Canterbury who owned the Eastry Manor
at that time. This Norman church certainly replaced a Saxon
building. Of special interest are the medieval frescoes known as
"St. Mary's Medallions" – rows of
seven "medallion" wall paintings.
Wingham
Wingham is a busy village that retains many of its shops and
services. Important historically, its houses reflect many periods,
from timbered Tudor to modern, with certain Flemish influences
peculiar to East Kent. A College of Secular Canons was founded here
in 1286 and although none of the College Buildings remain, some of
the canons’ houses (in particular on Canon’s Row) are still here.
St. Mary the Virgin dates from the early 1200s. In the
12th century a local brewer ran off with the rebuilding
funds for the Nave; hence there are now wooden columns instead of
stone. Wingham has four Wealden Hall Houses that contribute to its
historic atmosphere and once boasted three railway stations
Things to do in Wingham
>>
Ash
Ash, also known as
Ash-Next-Sandwich, is on the Roman road from
Sandwich to Canterbury. It retains 11 of its 12 original manor
houses and the Church of St. Nicholas is a significant
landmark, having a very tall tower and needle-like spire. St.
Nicholas is known for its number of monumental brasses and
effigies.The Ash Level extends to
the River Stour crossed only by old drove ways and it is here that
you will find the isolated village of
Westmarsh. The River Stour divides the Ash Level
from the Minster Level and it on this section of the river that the
Saxon Shore Way passes.
Worth
Worth has an interesting historic conservation area with several
fine houses, such as Barton House by the duck pond. The village
church of St. Peter and St. Paul is of Norman origins and has
unusual wooden shingles on the tower and a roof reminiscent of an
upturned boat. The oldest and largest Quercus Ilex (Holm Oak) in
the area can be viewed from the footpath adjacent to Ilex Cottage
behind the churchyard. Village cricket games are popular with many
overseas visitors wanting a glimpse of traditional English life.
The RSPB has recently acquired new nature reserves in the
parish.
Staple
In Staple, the
Church of St. James is dedicated to St. James The Great,
Apostle and Martyr, the patron saint of all travellers and
pilgrims. See the stunning
21st century designed three light stained glass window in the south
wall of the Nave, called the Pilgrimage Window. Staple was on the
old East Kent Light Railway and had a busy station serving both
Staple and Ash. Its main traffic was the outward flow of flowers,
fruit and vegetables