Hamstreet

Last updated

Hamstreet
Hamstreet.jpg
Village sign of Orlestone and Hamstreet
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Hamstreet
Location within Kent
Population1,988  [1]
OS grid reference TR005335
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Ashford
Postcode district TN26
Dialling code 01233
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°03′56″N0°51′45″E / 51.0656°N 0.8626°E / 51.0656; 0.8626 Coordinates: 51°03′56″N0°51′45″E / 51.0656°N 0.8626°E / 51.0656; 0.8626

Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England.

Contents

The village is located 6 miles (10 km) south of Ashford on the A2070, the main road between Ashford and Hastings. The majority of the village is in the parish of Orlestone, named after a much older hamlet located 1 mile north of Hamstreet on the ridge of hills; however, part of the village falls within the parish of Warehorne, giving a total population of 1,988 and a former claim to having three pubs (the Duke's Head is located at the village centre and there were two rural pubs within Warehorne parish). One of the pubs in Warehorne parish (the Woolpack Inn) has been renovated by the owners of the Globe Inn in Rye..

The parish church, dedicated to the Good Shepherd , is now a shared Anglican/Methodist building, and the parish churches of Orlestone, Snave (now a redundant church), Ruckinge, Warehorne and Kenardington are all within the traditional benefice which was expanded to form the new Saxon Shore benefice along with Bilsington, Bonnington and Aldington.

History

Parts of the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Orlestone date back to the 11th century. Until the coming of the railway in 1851, Hamstreet was just a hamlet known as 'Ham' based around the village centre which contains many buildings in the traditional Kentish weatherboard style. The village expanded rapidly during the 20th century and had its moment of fame in 1991, when maps of Hamstreet at various stages in history were used on a series of postage stamps to mark 200 years of the Ordnance Survey – this chance arose because the Hamstreet area was the first to be mapped in this way. An episode of BBC TV's Countryfile was also devoted to the occasion. The village also featured in a mountaineering spoof in Blue Peter to raise money for charity.

Although from the 1970s onwards there has been a loss of some traditional village outlets, there are still a number of shops and places to eat and drink in the village, as well as a school, doctor's surgery, dental clinic and sports facilities. The village is twinned with the village of Thérouanne in northern France.

Countryside

Two large areas of public woodland surround the village, namely Ham Street Woods and Orlestone Forest, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Both are remnants of the ancient forest that once covered the whole of the Weald of Kent. The Royal Military Canal, the UK's third longest defensive structure, passes by ½ mile to the south. Three long distance footpaths also run through the parish:

The area is also popular with cyclists, as Romney Marsh to the south is completely flat.

Transport

Ham Street railway station opened in 1851. [2] It was designed by William Trees and is in an Italianate style built in red brick. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folkestone and Hythe District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Folkestone and Hythe is a local government district in Kent, England, in the south-east of the county. Its council is based in the town of Folkestone. The authority was renamed from Shepway in April 2018, and therefore has the same name as the Folkestone and Hythe parliamentary constituency, although a somewhat narrower area is covered by the district.

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

Bonnington is a dispersed village and civil parish on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh in Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located eight miles (13 km) to the south of the town of Ashford on the B2067.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ham Street railway station</span> Railway station in Kent, England

Ham Street railway station is a Grade II listed stop on the Marshlink line in the village of Hamstreet, Kent, between Ashford International and Hastings. Services are provided by Southern.

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

High Offley is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It lies 3 miles southwest of the small town of Eccleshall and about 1 mile west of the village of Woodseaves, both on the A519. Woodseaves is the largest settlement in the parish, which also includes the hamlet of Shebdon to the WSW of High Offley, as well as a number of scattered houses and small farms.

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

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.

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

Bilsington is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The village is about 5 miles (8 km) south of Ashford, on the B2067 road, Hamstreet to Hythe road north of the Royal Military Canal.

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

Elham is a village and civil parish in East Kent situated approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of Canterbury and 5 miles (8 km) north west of Folkestone in the Elham Valley. At the 2011 Census the population included the hamlet of Ottinge and village of Wingmore.

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

Warehorne is a village and civil parish in the south of the Ashford Borough of Kent, England. It is a scattered community centred on the Hamstreet to Tenterden road (B2067) around seven miles SSW of Ashford. The Royal Military Canal passes through the south of the civil parish.

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

Orlestone is a mid-sized civil parish in Ashford District, Kent, England, with a population of 1,407. The centre of the parish is Hamstreet village which falls almost entirely within it but has a small fraction in the parish of Warehorne. The civil parish here reflects the very longstanding dominance of Orlestreet as its ecclesiastical parish boundary and provides a third alternative to most residents of Hamstreet to their village name, other than 'Ham Street'. Hamstreet is bypassed by the A2070 road, six miles south of Ashford.

Ruckinge is a village and civil parish in south Kent centred 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south of Ashford on the B2067 Hamstreet to Hythe road, with two settled neighbourhoods. It is, broadly defined, a narrow, fairly large rural parish of land which is about one quarter woodland.

Kenardington is a small clustered village and the centre of a relatively small rural civil parish of the same name, in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is centred 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Ashford on the B2067 Hamstreet to Tenterden road.

<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">Rolvenden</span> Village in Kent, England

Rolvenden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is centred on the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Tenterden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolvenden Layne</span> Hamlet in Kent, England

Rolvenden Layne is a hamlet within the civil parish of Rolvenden in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It is located approximately one mile (1.6 km) south of Rolvenden, with a public house, the Ewe & Lamb.

The following is a list of recreational walks in Kent, England.

<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">Woodchurch, Kent</span> Human settlement in England

Woodchurch is a Kent village, the largest civil parish in the Borough of Ashford. It is centred 6 miles (9.7 km) from the market town of Ashford and 4 miles (6 km) from the Cinque Ports town of Tenterden, in Kent, South East England.

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

Snave is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brenzett, in the Folkestone and Hythe district, in the county of Kent, England. It is on Romney Marsh in Kent, England centred close to the A2070 road 8 miles (13 km) south of Ashford. Its buildings are a few houses, barns and store sheds and the church of St Augustine which holds one service per year at harvest festival. In spring, the churchyard is heavily clad in daffodils. The church falls under the ecclesiastical parish of Orlestone with Snave, in the Diocese of Canterbury. In 1931 the parish had a population of 70.

West Hythe is a hamlet near Palmarsh in Kent, England, and a few miles west of the cinque port town of Hythe.

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

Stowting is a village and civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Ashford, 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Folkestone and 10 miles (16 km) south of Canterbury.

References

  1. Nomis data census figures 2021 for the two parishes that Hamstreet falls within
  2. 1 2 Historic England. "Hamstreet and Orlestone Railway Station (1391381)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 August 2021.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Hamstreet at Wikimedia Commons