Charing
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| Charing | |
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  Charing shown within Kent |
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| Population | 2,750 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Ashford |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Ashford |
| Postcode district | TN27 |
| Dialling code | 01233 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Ashford |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Charing is a small village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, in south-east England. The parish population is 2,750 (Hobbs Parker web site, 2000); it includes the settlement of Charing Heath. It is situated at the foot of the North Downs. The Pilgrims' Way and the M20 motorway both cross the parish, whilst Charing railway station is located on the line between Maidstone and Ashford..
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[edit] History
The name Charing first appears in 799 as Ciorrincg. The name probably comes from the Anglo-Saxon word cerring, which means a bend in the road, or it may be from Ceorra-ingas, which is Anglo-Saxon, meaning people of Ceorra. The village is sited on the Pilgrims' Way from London to Canterbury, and is one day's walk from Canterbury. There are a number of old manors located around the village, such as Newlands (now a horse stud) and Pett Place. The village had a market recorded in 1285, and a fair recorded in the fifteenth century.
[edit] Mills
Charing has had four mills over the centuries, serving the needs of the villagers. There were two watermills on the Upper Great Stour and two windmills.
- Watermills
- Burnt Mill, a corn mill working until the 1950s, now derelict.
- Field Mill, a corn mill, the building of which survives retaining its waterwheel.
- Windmills.
- Charing Mill, also known as Field Mill on the Downs above the village is a smock mill which was built in the early nineteenth century and last worked in 1891. It stands today as a house conversion.[1][2]
- Charing Heath Mill was a smock mill[2] that was demolished c.1878. Millers include William Missing in 1845 and Robert Millgate 1862 - 1878[3]
[edit] Places of interest
Its most famous building is the Archbishop's Palace, which lies by the church and was an ancient possession of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The palace was an important building in the diocese of Canterbury, and counted amongst its guests King Henry VIII. It has been a farmhouse for the last 300 years. In 2004, the palace was an unsuccessful contestant in the BBC television programme Restoration, where a number of potential restoration projects throughout the UK competed for funds. The church is said to contain the stone on which John the Baptist was beheaded.
[edit] Village life
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The village has a Church of England Primary School; a library; a doctors' surgery and a number of traditional shops. It also has several pubs and restaurants. The village is still surrounded by farmland, but the good transport links and housing development since the 1960s have also led to the area becoming a popular commuter village for people employed in London. The village has a strong community life, and the inhabitants organise regular community and charity events such as box-cart races and fairs. As in most rural communities in the UK, and Europe as a whole, the young often feel 'left out' of the community and complain of having little to 'do'. There is a recently revived Youth Club, again a recently re-started Cricket Team, the sports facilities, well used for many years, fell into decline, but is now being re-started and improved. The addition of a set of skate-board ramps is just a start. A Community Warden, a recent addition to many rural areas of Kent, is having the effect of connecting an active Parish Council to the young of the area. This connection, it is hoped, will grow and improve the facilies that are made available to the young, and that in turn will bring the community closer together, as the Parish grows, with new housing developments, and increased nearby industry. In the last ten years the rapid growth of the movement of the 'City' wealthy into rural communities, has caused the house prices to soar far beyond the means of the locally employed, and those who have grown up in the Countryside. Because of that wide financial gap, the Parish Council is actively looking to build 'affordable' community housing that 'locals' can buy, or rent, so help stop the drain of young people away from their roots. Every year, the youth locals vote for the latest "Fresh Prince". The current one is Simon Labahn and he has created many new policies including support for the ever-growing population.
[edit] Demography
| Charing compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Charing | Ashford district | England |
| Population | 2,284 | 102,661 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 4.3% | 5.5% | 9.2% |
| White | 98% | 97.6% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 0.6% | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 77.4% | 76.5% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.4% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0% | 0.3% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 12.6% | 14.6% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 2.2% | 2.4% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 20.5% | 13.8% | 13.5% |
As of the 2001 UK census, the Charing electoral ward had a population of 2,284. The ethnicity was 98% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.4% other. The place of birth of residents was 95.7% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.2% other Western European countries, and 2.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.4% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist, 0% Hindu, 0% Sikh and 0.2% Jewish, 0.4% Muslim. 12.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 8.8% did not state their religion.[4]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 32% in full-time employment, 11.9% in part-time employment, 14.3% self-employed, 2.2% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 2.1% students without jobs, 20.5% retired, 7.1% looking after home or family, 4.6% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 17.8% retail, 12.9% manufacturing, 8.2% construction, 14.7% real estate, 10.2% health and social work, 7.4% education, 5% transport and communications, 4.1% public administration, 5.1% hotels and restaurants, 4.4% finance, 4.4% agriculture and 5.8% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and construction. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 18.4% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ West, Jenny (1973). The Windmills of Kent. London: Charles Skilton Ltd., p28-30. SBN 284-98534-1.
- ^ a b Coles Finch, William (1933). Watermills and Windmills. London: C W Daniel Company, p177.
- ^ Directory of Kent Mill People. The Mills Archive Trust. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
- ^ a b Neighbourhood Statistics. Statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
[edit] External links
- Charing village web site
- Description of the Archbishop's Palace, The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. CIII, Part II, 1833
- Another Charing Website
