Great Chart

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Great Chart
Great Chart Village Sign - geograph.org.uk - 529945.jpg
Great Chart village sign
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Great Chart
Location within Kent
Area13.31 km2 (5.14 sq mi)
Population6,801 (Civil Parish) [1]
•  Density 511/km2 (1,320/sq mi)
OS grid reference TQ983422
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Ashford
Postcode district TN23
Dialling code 01233
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°08′27″N0°50′14″E / 51.1409°N 0.8372°E / 51.1409; 0.8372 Coordinates: 51°08′27″N0°50′14″E / 51.1409°N 0.8372°E / 51.1409; 0.8372

Great Chart is a village in the civil 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. [2]

Contents

History

Great Chart is first mentioned in 762 as Seleberhtes Cert, a Jutish name. It is also known that at this year, the village was operating a mechanical water mill, the first water mill to be recorded in Britain. A charter first mentions Seleberhtes Cert when recording that King Ethelberht II (of Kent) exchanged half the use of the successfully operating mill for some pasture in the Weald.

In 776 Great Chart's manor, the village, its lands and much of its produce were sold by King Egbert (Ethelberht's successor) to Archbishop Jænberht of Canterbury to raise finances for a Kentish army - to rebel against King Offa of Mercia. In that year there was a great battle between Mercians and Kentish men at Otford as, apparently, a red cross appeared in the sky.

For nine years after this battle Egbert held Kent, but ultimately Offa took control and retrieved Great Chart and its lands from Canterbury dividing them up among his followers. After Offa died in 796 his successor Coenwulf of Mercia decided to reinstate properties, including Great Chart, back to the ownership of Canterbury. This ownership continued for hundreds of years through the Norman Conquest - the Domesday Book entry for Certh (Great Chart) makes clear that it was still in the possession of the Archbishop of Canterbury and had two mills, a salt-pit, feeding ground for a hundred hogs, and a population of fifty-two - up to the advent of Henry VIII when between 1536 and 1539 he dissolved all monasteries. He confiscated Great Chart and its lands from the priory but soon reinstated them to his new Protestant Dean and Chapter in whose administration they remained until Victorian times (though in a map of the area from 1621 the lands are still attributed to 'Christ Churche', referring to Christ Church in Canterbury). On a map made of the Chart and Longbridge Hundred in 1559, the village was named Charte Magna. [3]

The civil parish of "Great Chard" was abolished on 1 April 1987 and became part of the parishes "Great Chart with Singleton", Hothfield, and Kingsnorth and the unparished area of Ashford. [4]

On 10 March 2021 police found human remains in a wood near the village. [5] [6] On 12 March 2021 they were confirmed to be those of Sarah Everard. [7]

Description

Great Chart is a largely agricultural village with the farms in the area producing cereals and grass for cattle and sheep. The north-east quarter contains most of the housing in alike construction 20th and 21st century neighbourhoods. A cluster of listed buildings is in the old centre of Great Chart, along the main road in the village (the Street). [8] The area drains via many streams and underwater drainage to the West Stour along the northern boundary before its merger into the Great Stour in Ashford. [9]

The Street in Great Chart The Street, Great Chart - geograph.org.uk - 1271931.jpg
The Street in Great Chart

Amenities

Great Chart has two pubs: A food led pub, The Swan and Dog and The Hoodener's Horse which serves a great pint.

A football club Pilgrims Football Club with age groups from U7s to seniors are resident at the playing field.

A cricket club with competing elevens (XIs), including colts sides have a ground and pavilion in the village.

The medieval parish church is of an ecclesiastical parish on the same boundaries and is dedicated to St Mary; its community in Singleton is larger than that in the church at meetings in the village hall.

Cross-village sports clubs, gardening clubs and social circles cover the area.

Former residents

Victoria Cross recipient Major William Leet died in Great Chart.

Transport

The village is located near the A28 road, which connects it to junction 9 of the M20 motorway in Ashford. The bus route 2 operated by Stagecoach in East Kent connects the village with Ashford town centre and Ashford International railway station.

Related Research Articles

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Jænberht was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point confiscated lands from the archbishopric. By 787, some of the bishoprics under Canterbury's supervision were transferred to the control of the newly created Archbishopric of Lichfield, although it is not clear if Jænberht ever recognised its legitimacy. Besides the issue with Lichfield, Jænberht also presided over church councils in England. He died in 792 and was considered a saint after his death.

Chartham Village and civil parish in Kent, England

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Great Chart with Singleton Human settlement in England

Great Chart with Singleton is a civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The parish population is mostly concentrated in the ancient village of Great Chart and the modern Singleton housing development, both located in the eastern part of the parish, near the town of Ashford. Singleton accounts for about 80% population of the entire parish and is directly adjacent to Ashford. The village of Great Chart is located to the west of Singleton, about two miles (3.2 km) from the centre of Ashford. The remaining area of the parish is largely agricultural, with several farms. Chilmington Green is also included in the civil parish.

Little Chart Civil parish and small village in Ashford in Kent, England

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Wye with Hinxhill Human settlement in England

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Woodchurch, Kent Human settlement in England

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References

  1. ↑ "Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density". United Kingdom Census 2011 . Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Population statistics Great Chart AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "The Great Chart Millennium Sign and the Early History of the Village". Prof David Hall. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ashford Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (10 March 2021). "Met Police officer arrested on suspicion of Sarah Everard murder". The Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Dodd, Vikram (10 March 2021). "Human remains found in the search for missing London woman Sarah Everard". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Dodd, Vikram (12 March 2021). "Sarah Everard: body found in Kent woodland is that of missing woman". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "A village design statement for Great Chart". Ashford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  9. ↑ OS Map with Listed Buildings and Parks marked Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
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