Burham | |
---|---|
Burham | |
Location within Kent | |
Population | 1,195 (2011 Census) [1] |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Rochester |
Postcode district | ME1 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Burham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. [2] [3] According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,251, decreasing to 1,195 at the 2011 Census. [1] The village is near the Medway towns.
The history of Burham can be traced to Roman times. AD43 saw the Battle of the Medway at the crossing point on the River Medway, where Burham is now, when the invading Roman legions, advancing west across Kent, were confronted by a massed army of the ancient British tribes. The Roman victory altered the course of history in Britain, and the remains of Roman buildings have been found in Burham and the neighbouring village of Eccles.
There has been a Settlement in Burham since Saxon times, "ham" being the Saxon word for "settlement" — the "Bur" part of the name comes from "burgh", or borough, referring to the borough of Rochester. The name "Burham" means "the village near the borough".
In the 11th century Burham belonged to Leofwine Godwinson, brother of King Harold. He was killed along with his brother at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is listed as having six sulings (about 240 acres) of land. There were two major farms, 15 "villeins" each farming 30 acres (120,000 m2) and 20 "borderers" each farming about 5 acres (20,000 m2). There was a church and a mill with woodland sufficient to support 20 hogs. The medieval church of St Mary is now redundant and stands on the riverbank. It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust having been saved from dereliction by the Friends of Friendless Churches in the 1950s.
About 1830 Burham became a "cement village" on the Medway, after the discovery of the manufacturing technique for Portland cement (so called because of its resemblance to Portland stone).
By 1841 the village's population had grown to 380 and increased to a maximum of 1,725 in 1901. Today it is about 1,300.
On the 26 July 1998, the air ambulance, a Eurocopter AS355 Twin Squirrel, registration G-MASK, [4] crashed in good weather after colliding with power cables near Burham while returning to Rochester Airport following an aborted call to attend a road accident. [4] All three crew – the pilot, Graham Budden, and two paramedics, Tony Richardson and Mark Darby – were killed as the helicopter burst into flames on impact. [5]
Initial investigation established no cause for the crash, due to the fireball produced on impact. Initially the pilot's employers, Police Aviation Services, denied liability. On 19 February 2004, following a civil case brought by the pilot's widow to the High Court in Manchester, it was ruled that the crash was caused by mechanical failure not, as had been suggested, flying low for fun, and ordered compensation to be paid. [6] [7]
A memorial to the crew is located at the Blue Bell Hill picnic site, close to the scene of the crash. [8]
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, Essex to the north along the estuary of the River Thames, and the French department of Pas-de-Calais. The county town is Maidstone. It is the fifth most populous county in England, the most populous non-Metropolitan county and the most populous of the home counties.
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, 4 miles northwest of Maidstone.
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance of 70 miles (113 km). About 13 miles (21 km) of the river lies in Sussex, with the remainder being in Kent.
Snodland is a small town in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It lies on the River Medway, between Rochester and Maidstone, and approximately 27 miles (43 km) from central London. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 10,211.
Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Tonbridge is the largest settlement but the authority is based in the modern development of Kings Hill.
The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone, the county town of Kent.
Wouldham is a village on the bank of the River Medway in Kent, Great Britain. As of 2006 its population is approximately 1000 people, with the 11th-century church, one school, one village shop, and two public houses, The Medway Inn and The Waterman's Arms.
Marden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is approximately 8 miles (13 km) south of the town of Maidstone. As well as the village the civil parish includes the settlement of Chainhurst and the hamlet of Wanshurst Green.
Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation.
Hoo St Werburgh, commonly known as Hoo, is a large village and civil parish in the Medway district of Kent, England. It is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula to bear the name Hoo, a Saxon word believed to mean "spur of land" or to refer to the "distinct heel-shape of the ridge of hills" through the settlement. Hoo features in Domesday Book, and had a population of 7,356 at the 2001 census, rising to 8,945 at the 2011 census. The civil parish includes Chattenden to the west.
Borstal is a place in the Medway unitary authority of Kent in South East England. Originally a village near Rochester, it has become absorbed by the expansion of Rochester. The youth prison at Borstal gave its name to the Borstal reform school system.
Eccles is a village in the English county of Kent, part of the parish of Aylesford and in the valley of the River Medway.
Allhallows is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England. Situated in the northernmost part of Kent, and covering an area of 23.99 km², the parish is bounded on the north side by the River Thames, and in the east by the course of Yantlet creek, now silted up. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,649.
Golden Green is a village in the Medway valley near Tonbridge, Kent. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) from the larger village of Hadlow and 4 miles (6 km) from the town of Tonbridge.
East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring.
Ditton is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The village is 4.6 miles (7.4 km) west-northwest of Maidstone and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of West Malling. The parish, which is long and narrow, straddles the A20, with farmland to the south and industry to the north. It lies in the Medway Valley, on the northern edge of the Kent Weald, and adjoins the ancient parishes of Larkfield, Aylesford and Barming.
Frindsbury, sometimes called Frinsbury, is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rochester. Frindsbury refers to both a parish and a manor. Within the civil parish of Frindsbury Extra are the villages of Frindsbury, Wainscott, and Upnor. Frindsbury was also the name given to an electoral ward in the City of Rochester that straddled the parishes of Frindsbury and Strood.
The Kent Air Ambulance was an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of a helicopter air ambulance covering the county of Kent in South East England. The helicopter was funded by the Kent Air Ambulance Trust, which was a registered charity, raising money from public and private donations in excess of £4m every year between Kent, Sussex and Surrey. In June 2007, the service extended it areas of operation to Surrey and Sussex requiring an additional helicopter. It now operates as Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex.
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