Godmersham

Last updated

Godmersham
St Lawrence Godmersham 2.jpg
St Lawrence's Church, Godmersham
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Godmersham
Location within Kent
Area15.7 km2 (6.1 sq mi)
Population376 (Civil Parish 2011) [1]
•  Density 24/km2 (62/sq mi)
OS grid reference TR066506
Civil parish
  • Godmersham
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CANTERBURY
Postcode district CT4
Dialling code 01227
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°13′05″N0°57′26″E / 51.2180°N 0.9571°E / 51.2180; 0.9571

Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village straddles the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs and its land is approximately one third woodland, all in the far east and west on the escarpment of the North Downs. It is six miles north-east of Ashford on the A28 road midway between Ashford and Canterbury in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the North Downs Way and Pilgrims' Way traversing the parish.

Contents

The village is divided in two by the floodplain of the Stour. The parish civil includes Godmersham village itself, and Bilting. It shares many of its activities with the neighbouring parish of Crundale, a smaller parish to the east.

History

The first known record of Godmersham was AD824 when Beornwulf, King of Mercia, gave it as a whole to Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury. The village also is recorded in the Domesday Book. Bilting is thought to be older. [2]

Although a significant number of residents work on the land, most of the community has adopted economically a status whereby its people work in Ashford, Canterbury and further afield. Many commute to London by train from Wye station. The village school in The Street closed in 1946 and the shop/post office in 1982. It is many years since there was a public house in the village, which describes a minority of civil parishes today. [2]

Saint Lawrence Church

The ancient parish church is dedicated to St Lawrence the Martyr, it is part Saxon, part 12th-century (Norman), and was restored in 1864, it contains a carving considered to be one of the earliest representations of Thomas Becket. [3]

Godmersham Park

Godmersham Park House was built in 1732 and eventually became the property of Edward Austen Knight, brother of Jane Austen who was known to have visited often. Her novel Mansfield Park depicts similar characters and scenes as those visible at the start of the 19th century, and in the case of architecture still present. [4] [5] The house is currently the home of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians College. [6] A drawing of Godmersham Park is also set to appear as the background for the £10 note due to enter circulation in 2017, which will predominantly feature the portrait of Austen allegedly drawn by her sister Cassandra.

Notable residents

Author Russell Hoban repurposes Godmersham as "Good Mercy" in his 1980, post apocalyptic novel Riddley Walker . [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Stour, Kent</span> River in England

The River Stour is a river in Kent, England that flows into the North Sea at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes known as the Upper Great Stour or West Stour. In the tidal lower reaches, the artificial Stonar Cut short cuts a large loop in the natural river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wye, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Wye is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wye with Hinxhill, in the Ashford district, in Kent, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Ashford and 12 miles (19 km) from Canterbury. It is the main settlement in the parish of Wye with Hinxhill. Hop varieties including Wye Challenger were bred at Wye College and named for the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A28 road</span> Trunk road in Kent and East Sussex

The A28 is a trunk road in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in south east England, connecting Margate, Canterbury, Ashford and Hastings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willesborough</span> Human settlement in England

Willesborough is a village, now in effect a residential suburb, on the eastern side of Ashford, in the county of Kent, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chartham</span> Village and civil parish in Kent, England

Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 2.3 mi (4 km) south west of Canterbury, England. The Great Stour Way path passes through the village. A paper mill in the village that had specialised in the production of tracing paper since 1938 has in 2022 closed down. There are numerous arable farms and orchards in the parish. The village has an unstaffed station, Chartham, and has recently upgraded its staffed level crossing to an automatic barrier. It has an outlying locality sharing in many of the community resources, Chartham Hatch. Its current

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilham</span> Human settlement in England

Chilham is a mostly agricultural village and parish in the English county of Kent with a clustered settlement, Chilham village centre, in the northeast, and a smaller linear settlement, Shottenden. Well-preserved roads and mostly residential listed buildings in its centre have led to its use as a location in television and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badlesmere, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Badlesmere is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about five miles south of Faversham and eight miles north of Ashford on the A251.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barham, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. Barham village is approximately 6 miles (10 km) south-east from Canterbury and 8 miles (13 km) north from Folkestone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brook, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Brook is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England, centred 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east-northeast of the town of Ashford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabourne</span> Human settlement in England

Brabourne is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The village centre is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Ashford town centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stour Valley Walk</span> Recreational walking route in England

The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the Low Weald and Kent Downs, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crundale, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Crundale is a mostly rural village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent in southeast England. The village covers a section of one of the dual escarpments of the North Downs at this point, about halfway between Ashford and Canterbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Chart</span> Human settlement in England

Great Chart is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great Chart with Singleton, in the Ashford borough of Kent, England. The parish is split between the ancient village of Great Chart and the modern Singleton neighbourhood on the western outskirts of Ashford. The village centre of Great Chart is 2 miles (3.2 km) from the town centre. In 1961 the parish had a population of 969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Chart</span> Civil parish and small village in Ashford in Kent, England

Little Chart is a village and civil parish, situated 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Ashford in Kent, South East England. The parish lies south of the M20 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molash</span> Human settlement in England

Molash is a civil parish and village in Kent, South East England. It contains a small part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - the North Downs - and is on the A252 road between Canterbury, Ashford and Faversham. Each of these is centred 7 miles (11 km) away.

Sellindge is a civil parish and village on the A20 road between Ashford and Folkestone in Kent, South East England. Sellindge is part of North Downs West Ward of Folkestone and Hythe District Council but part of the Elham ward of Kent County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wye with Hinxhill</span> Human settlement in England

Wye with Hinxhill is a hillside civil parish in the borough of Ashford northeast of Ashford, Kent itself, centred 3.7 miles NNE of the town centre. The North Downs range of hills has a high escarpment on the east and west borders of the village, flanking a gap caused by the River Great Stour in the centre of the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wittersham</span> Human settlement in England

Wittersham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It is part of the Isle of Oxney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olantigh</span> Country house in Wye with Hinxhill, Kent, England, UK

Olantigh is an English house 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Wye in the civil parish of Wye with Hinxhill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godmersham Park</span> House in Kent, United Kingdom

Godmersham Park is a Grade I listed house in Godmersham in the English county of Kent. The house is on the edge of the North Downs between Ashford and Canterbury. It has associations with the writer Jane Austen, and is depicted on the new Bank of England £10 note issued in 2017. It is now home to the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.

References

  1. ↑ Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density Archived 11 February 2003 at the Wayback Machine United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 10 May 2014
  2. 1 2 "Parish Council website". Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2006.
  3. ↑ Kent Churches
  4. ↑ "Kent Downs". Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Pastscape - Godmersham Park House
  6. ↑ ABDO Archived 2010-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Samuel Pegge the Elder in Dictionary of National Biography accessed online 25 September 2007
  8. ↑ "Places - Riddley Walker Annotations". Errorbar. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.