Newington, Swale

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Newington
A2 High Street, Newington - geograph.org.uk - 1728243.jpg
A2 High Street
Kent UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Newington
Location within Kent
Population2,551 (2011 Census) [1]
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SITTINGBOURNE
Postcode district ME9
Dialling code 01795
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°21′07″N0°40′04″E / 51.352°N 0.6679°E / 51.352; 0.6679 Coordinates: 51°21′07″N0°40′04″E / 51.352°N 0.6679°E / 51.352; 0.6679

Newington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish is located beside the A2 road (originally a Roman road) between Rainham to the west and Sittingbourne to the east. The population of the parish in 2011 was 2,551. [1]

Contents

The village has its own railway station which is situated on the Chatham Main Line between Sittingbourne and Rainham. [3]

The parish church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, is a grade I listed building. [4] It was built between 1163 and 1177 by Richard de Lucy, with additions being made in the 13th and 14th century. The church was to eventually become the property of Henry VIII who gave it to the Provost and Fellows of Eton College in 1531. The patron today is the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is a stone in the church car park known as the Devil's Stone, which is said to bear the Devil's footprint. [5]

Newington village sign was provided by Mrs. S Huxtable in 2007. It holds a memorial plate in memory of Mr. P Huxtable. (Husband of Mrs S. Huxtable)

Newington holds the national collection of Witch Hazel which is kept at the Witch Hazel Nursery [6] in Calloways Lane

Newington Manor, now a conservation area, [7] is to the south of the village.

The Newington Pill Boxes: Newington has at least four World War I pill boxes (or bunkers) at various locations.

History

Newington acquired its name (Newetone) in Saxon times meaning 'New Town' built on an old one.

The Roman Watling Street runs through the village.

The ancient settlement was rediscovered in 2019 and is the site of late Iron Age remains dating from 30BC and a Roman town. An archaeological dig covering 18 acres and carried out by SWAT Archaeology has found, among others, iron furnaces and pottery kilns as part of a manufacturing site, a Roman temple (Watling Temple), a seven metre wide Roman road and thousands of pottery remains. [8] The newly discovered road predates Watling Street and takes an alternative route. [9] The wealth of objects uncovered means analysis is ongoing (June 2021).

It was also possibly the site of the lost Roman station Durolevum. [10] The remains of a Roman villa were discovered at Boxted Farm, Newington in 1882. [11]

One of the earliest references to Newington comes from a charter c1131 regarding Sheppey Monastery. It refers to Aveline, the mother of Richard de Lucy of Newington, Kent. [12]

Amateur historians belonging to Newington History Group work to research, record and protect the village history and heritage. Their annual Heritage Open Days event draws villagers and visitors from across north Kent and their history and nature walks aim to introduce Newington's attractions to a wide audience.

People

Sporting teams

Newington has a very successful and popular cricket club. Members of the Medway Sunday League, they field two Sunday XI's that play home games at either Bobbing Court (just off Rook Lane) or at Upchurch Cricket Club. Read about their latest triumphs via the club website.

Entertainment

Being a small village, entertainment is at a premium in Newington. However, there are Chinese and Indian takeaways, and one pub, The Bull, which is the village's sole remaining pub. [13] In the past several other pubs existed in Newington and many of those buildings still stand: the White Hart (now an office and was a general store), the Wheatsheaf (letting agents) and the George (houses) are all on the High Street.

Related Research Articles

Borough of Swale Non-metropolitan district in England

Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England and is bounded by Medway to the west, Canterbury to the east, Ashford to the south and Maidstone to the south west. Its council is based in Sittingbourne. The district is named after the narrow channel called The Swale, that separates the mainland of Kent from the Isle of Sheppey, and which occupies the central part of the district.

Faversham Human settlement in England

Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, 48 miles (77 km) from London and 10 miles (16 km) from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, and known as Watling Street. The name is of Old English origin, meaning "the metal-worker's village".

Sittingbourne Human settlement in England

Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, 17 miles (27 km) from Canterbury and 45 miles (72 km) from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey. The town became prominent after the death of Thomas Becket in 1170, since it provided a convenient resting point on the road from London to Canterbury and Dover.

Upchurch Human settlement in England

Upchurch is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. It is situated just off the A2 road, between Rainham and Sittingbourne.

Hartlip Human settlement in England

Hartlip is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale, in the county of Kent, England.

Bapchild Village in Kent, England

Bapchild is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about two miles inside of Sittingbourne. It lies on the old Roman road now the A2, and according to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,068, including Tonge, increasing to 1,141 at the 2011 Census.

Iwade Human settlement in England

Iwade is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of Sittingbourne in the English county of Kent.

A249 road

The A249 is a road in Kent, England, running from Maidstone to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. It mainly functions as a link between the M2 and M20 motorways, and for goods vehicle traffic to the port at Sheerness.

Newnham, Kent Human settlement in England

Newnham is a village and civil parish in the Syndale valley in Kent, England, in the administrative borough of Swale near the medieval market town of Faversham.

Lynsted Human settlement in England

Lynsted is a village in Lynsted with Kingsdown civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The village is situated south of the A2 road between Faversham and Sittingbourne and the nearest M2 junction is Faversham three miles east. Lynsted is in many respects an archetypal old English village with church, churchyard with an ancient yew, pub and a duck pond. The village is locally referred to as Lovely, Lovely Lynsted and various songs have been written about it.

Lower Halstow Human settlement in England

Lower Halstow is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. The village is northwest of Sittingbourne on the banks of the Medway Estuary. It lies north of Newington on the A2 Roman road.

Teynham Human settlement in England

Teynham is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish lies between the towns of Sittingbourne and Faversham, immediately north of the A2 road, and includes the hamlet of Conyer on an inlet of the Swale, the channel that separates mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey. Other hamlets include Deerton Street, Frognal, and Teynham Street. Teynham also has a carnival court. There is selections every year when girls from 14-18 can audition to be Miss Teynham or a Teynham princess.

Milton Regis Human settlement in England

Milton Regis is a village in the district of Swale in Kent, England. Former names include Milton-next-Sittingbourne, Milton Royal, Middleton, Midletun and Middletune. It has a population of about 5,000. Today it is a suburb of Sittingbourne although this has not always been the case, Milton Regis has the older and richer history. Until around 1800 Sittingbourne was a smaller hamlet and under the control of the Manor of Milton Regis.

Bredgar Human settlement in England

Bredgar is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England.

Murston Human settlement in England

Murston is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is about 1 mile north-east of central Sittingbourne, on the east bank of the Milton Creek.

Kemsley is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England.

Keycol is a village near Sittingbourne in Kent, England. At the 2011 Census the population of the village was recorded in the civil parish of Bobbing.

Watling Temple

Watling Temple is the name given to the temple within a Roman town next to the modern A2 road in Newington, near Sittingbourne in Kent, England.

References

  1. 1 2 "2011 Census Parish population" (PDF). Kent Gov UK. Office for National Statistics. 2011. p. 13. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Newington (NGT)". National Rail Enquires. National Rail . Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  4. "Church of St Mary - Newington". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  5. "History of Newington - Kent Past". Kent Past. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  6. Witch Hazel Nursery
  7. Swale Borough Council Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Stephenson, Ellis (23 May 2019). "Roman remains discovered near A2 in Newington, near Sittingbourne". Kentonline.co.uk.
  9. A Roman Small Town". Newington History Group. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  10. "History of Newington, in Swale and Kent". A Vision of Britain. University of Portsmouth . Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  11. "Monumont No. 418307". Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved 21 September 2015. Site of a Roman villa east of Boxted Farm excavated in 1882.
  12. The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Edward Hasted
  13. The Bull, Newington