| Thurnham | |
|---|---|
 Thurnham Friars | |
  Thurnham Location within Kent | |
| Population | 1,207 (2011) [1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ805579 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MAIDSTONE |
| Postcode district | ME14 |
| Dialling code | 01622 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Thurnham is a village and civil parish which lies at the foot of the North Downs 3 miles (4.8 km) north east of Maidstone in the Borough of Maidstone and ceremonial county of Kent in England. It had a population of 1,085 in 2001 including Weavering, [2] which increased to 1,205 following the 2011 Census. [1]
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Westerham Heights, at the northern edge of the North Downs, near Bromley, South London, is the highest point in London at an elevation of 245 m (804 ft). The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs. The North Downs Way National Trail runs along the North Downs from Farnham to Dover.
Maidstone is a town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. The town, part of the borough of Maidstone, had a population of 113,137 in 2011. There has been a shift in the town's economy since the Second World War away from heavy industry towards light industry and services.
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. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.
There have been several archaeological finds in the area: an Anglo-Saxon burial ground was discovered within the grounds of Thurnham Friars in 1913, a 7th-century gold cross was found in 1967 and the remains of a Roman house were excavated in 1933. The remains of Thurnham Castle are just north of the village. Two miles further north are the fragmentary remains of Binbury Castle, a medieval fortified manor house beside a medieval motte.
In Historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire until the fall of the western empire. The civilization began as an Italic settlement in the Italian Peninsula, conventionally founded in 753 BC, that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The Roman Empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, though still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants ) and covering 5.0 million square kilometres at its height in AD 117.
Thurnham Castle or Godard's Castle is situated to the north of the village of Thurnham which is 3 miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent.
St Mary's church (a Norman building) and Milgate House are Grade I listed buildings.
St Mary the Virgin is a small parish church in Thurnham, Kent. Begun in the 12th century, it is a Grade I listed building.
The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture. The Normans introduced large numbers of castles and fortifications including Norman keeps, and at the same time monasteries, abbeys, churches and cathedrals, in a style characterised by the usual Romanesque rounded arches and especially massive proportions compared to other regional variations of the style.
Milgate House, previously Milgate Park, is an English country house in Thurnham near Maidstone, Kent. The oldest parts of the house were constructed in the mid to late 16th century and alterations and additions were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The house is a Grade I listed building.
The railway station at Bearsted, opened on 1 July 1884, was originally named Bearsted and Thurnham. Residents of the village recently joined forces with the neighbouring village of Bearsted, in voicing their objections to the proposed Kent International Gateway development.
Bearsted is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre.
The Kent International Gateway was a proposed logistics hub and strategic rail-freight interchange (SRFI) next to the M20 motorway east of Maidstone. The project was controversial because it was a major development in a Special Landscape Area close to several historic villages. Following a public inquiry that ended in December 2009, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government rejected the proposal on 5 August 2010.
