Kennington | |
---|---|
Kennington Memorial Gate and Shelter | |
Location within Kent | |
Population | 2,400 (2005) [1] 4,076 (2011) [2] |
OS grid reference | TR021449 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ASHFORD |
Postcode district | TN24, TN25 |
Dialling code | 01233 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Kennington is a suburb of Ashford and civil parish in Kent, England. It is about a mile northeast of the town centre and north of the M20 motorway, and contains the 12th-century church, St Mary's. The main A28 Canterbury Road and A2042 Faversham Road run through the village, and the A251 Trinity Road skirts the western edge. In recent years the village has expanded with the building of new housing estates in Little Burton, Trinity Road, Conningbrook Lakes, and planned for Conningbrook Park and Eureka Park.
The Great Stour river and the Kennington stream run through the area.
From The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 7, (Edward Hasted, originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1798):
"KENNINGTON IS the adjoining parish, northward from Ashford, and was so called, most probably, from its having antiently belonged to some of the Saxon kings during the heptarchy. Kennington, or as it was written in Saxon, Cining-tune, signifying in that language, the king's town; and there is at this time a small street of houses northward of the village of Kennington, called King-street.
THE PARISH is situated in a healthy country, being for the most part a gravelly, though not an unfertile soil, not much more than a mile from Ashford, close to the west side of the high road from Canterbury, which is joined by that from Faversham, which runs along the opposite side of the parish, and joins the former a little beyond Burton. It is watered by two small streams which rise northward of it, the one at Sandyhurst, the other near Eastwell park; the former running by Bybrooke, where it is called Bacon's water, and the other at the opposite part of the parish, by Clipmill and Frogbrook, near Wilsborough lees, into the river Stour, which flows along the eastern side of the parish. The village is situated on rising ground, at a small distance from the Canterbury road, with the church at the further end of it, close to the edge of the lees, or heath, called Kennington lees. [...]
There is a fair held here for pedlary, toys, &c. on the 5th of July yearly" [3]
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol7/pp545-557
Kennington was an ancient parish, and designated a civil parish under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866, able to set its own Poor Rate. This was reformed under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1934 the civil parish was abolished and absorbed into Ashford Urban District Council (later Ashford Borough Council). [4] [5]
Following a Community Governance Review, new Borough ward boundaries took effect from May 2019. [6] Kennington gained representation through a new civil parish council formed on 1 April 2019, with the title Kennington Community Council. [7] The new Borough and Community Council wards are as follows:
Borough Ward | Councillor | Party | Community Council Ward | Number of Community Councillor Seats |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bockhanger | Diccon Spain | Labour | Grosvenor Hall | 4 |
Kennington | Nathan Iliffe | Conservative | Kennington | 4 |
Bybrook | Alan Dean | Labour | Bybrook | 4 |
Conningbrook and Little Burton Farm | Katy Pauley | Ashford Independent | Little Burton Farm | 3 |
Goat Lees (part) | Winston Michael | Ashford Independent | Kennington North | 1 |
Elections to Kennington Community Council are held every four years, on the same date as elections to Ashford Borough Council. The next election is on 6 May 2027.
There is one secondary school in the village, the Towers School, with a local junior school, Kennington CE Academy, and an infants school, Downs View Infants School. Since the county still operates a grammar school system, those who pass the Kent Test (which replaced the 11+) are given the opportunity to attend the grammar school in Ashford, the Norton Knatchbull School or Highworth Grammar School. [8]
Kennington is home to 1st Kennington Scout group, a long running scout group that includes all factions of the Scouting association; Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers (also known as 'Big Cubs'), and a highly successful branch of Network, dubbed 'The Roosters', featuring local minor celebrity 'Little' John Sheret.
Kennington has four pubs, "The Old Mill" (formerly The Golden Ball), "The Conningbrook Hotel" (formerly The Pilgrims Rest), "The Rose Inn", "The Pheasant" and "The Kennington Carvery".
Kennington Summer Fayre is held annually, usually on the last Saturday in June. It is a not-for-profit event, raising money for local causes.
Two areas of Kennington were designated as Conservation Areas in 1996, covering parts of Ball Lane, The Street, Ulley Road, Upper Vicarage Road, and Faversham Road.
At the 2021 UK census, [9] Kennington had a population of 10,900 (59,597,500 people in England and Wales), of which Female 52.1% and Male 47.9%. The age distribution across Kennington was: 0–19 years 25.1%, 20–39 years 21.9%, 40–59 years 26.4%, 60–79 years 20.6%, 80 years and over 16.1%.
Kent is a ceremonial county in the South East England region, the closest county to continental Europe. It borders Essex across the estuary of the River Thames to the north; the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover to the south-east; East Sussex to the south-west; Surrey to the west and Greater London to the northwest. The county town is Maidstone.
Ashford is a town in the Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Great Stour at the southern or scarp edge of the North Downs, about 61 miles (98 km) southeast of central London and 15.3 miles (24.6 km) northwest of Folkestone by road. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,405. The name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It has been a market town since the Middle Ages, and a regular market continues to be held.
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.
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.
Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, 8 miles (13 km) from Sittingbourne, 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".
The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It borders five other Kent districts, as well as East Sussex to the south-west. Ashford Borough Council's main offices are in the town of Ashford. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, by the merger of the then Borough of Tenterden with Ashford urban district as well as the Rural Districts of East Ashford, West Ashford and Tenterden. Covering 58,000 hectares, it is the largest district by area in Kent.
The A28 is a trunk road in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in south east England, connecting Margate, Canterbury, Ashford and Hastings.
Dunkirk is a village and civil parish between Faversham and Canterbury in southeast England. It lies on the Canterbury Road between Boughton under Blean and Harbledown. This was the main Roman road from the Kentish ports to London, also known as Watling Street.
Ebbsfleet International railway station is in Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, 10 miles east of London, England, near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. The station, part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration project, is on the High Speed 1 rail line, 400 metres south-west of Northfleet railway station, off the A2 trunk road, 5 mi (8.0 km) from its junction with the M25 motorway. It served as a primary park-and-rail service for the London 2012 Olympics.
Hothfield is a village and civil parish in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England and is 3 miles north-west of Ashford on the A20. It is completely split in two by Hothfield Common.
Preston or Preston-next-Wingham is a civil parish and village in the valley of the Little Stour in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village is on the B2076 secondary road. The parish includes the hamlet of Elmstone. The main river through the area is a tributary of the River Stour. The suffix 'next-Wingham' distinguishes the area from Preston-next-Faversham.
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.
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.
Brabourne Lees is a village in the civil parish of Brabourne, within the Ashford borough of Kent, England. The village (centre) is just under 5 miles (8 km) east of Ashford town centre itself geographically. By road this is a journey of about 6 miles (10 km). In 2021 it had a population of 1480.
Sheldwich is a village and civil parish in the far south of the Borough of Swale in Kent, England.
Leaveland is a hamlet and civil parish located in the Swale borough of Kent, South East England. In terms of topography, it is described as a "village surrounded by inhabited countryside", and is situated mostly on high ground. It is located 5 miles South of Faversham, West of Badlesmere, and on or close to the A251.The closest railway station to the area is Selling, which is just over three miles away, although Faversham station is more accessible and offers better services. The closest estuary is The Swale which separates the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent, and flows to the north of Faversham Creek.. Leaveland itself covers an area of 1.5 km2 and lies entirely within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Elmsted is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe District of Kent, England. It is located west of Stone Street, the Roman road which today takes traffic between Canterbury and Lympne. Within the parish are the settlements of Bodsham, North Leigh and Evington. There are six elected members of the Parish Council.
Norton, Buckland and Stone is a small rural civil parish 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Teynham and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the centre of Faversham in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. It is bypassed by the M2 to the south and traverses the historic A2, on the route of the Roman road of Watling Street.