Temple Ewell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Temple Ewell
Statistics
Population:	2378 (2001)
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	TR287443
Administration
District:	Dover
Shire county:	Kent
Region:	South East England
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Kent
Historic county:	Kent
Services
Police force:	Kent Police
Fire and rescue:	{{{Fire}}}
Ambulance:	South East Coast
Post office and telephone
Post town:	DOVER
Postal district:	CT16
Dialling code:	01304
Politics
UK Parliament:	Dover
European Parliament:	South East England

Temple Ewell's village sign, depicting a Templar cross surrounded by the church, watermill and wildlife.

Temple Ewell is an historic village and civil parish in the county of Kent, England. The village is part of the Dover district of Kent, and is located three miles North West of the town of Dover.

Situated in the Dour valley, Temple Ewell is surrounded by nature reserves and conservation areas. The village has a parish church, a village hall and a primary school. It also has a local shop and post office, and an 18th Century public house.

Temple Ewell is served by Kearsney railway station, which is situated between the villages of Temple Ewell, Kearsney and River.

The 2001 census records a combined population of 2378 for the ward of Temple Ewell and neighboring village of Lydden. The current population of Temple Ewell alone is estimated to be around 1700.

[edit] History

The village of Ewell was founded sometime before the 8th Century. The name 'Ewell' is from the Old English word 'ǣwielm', meaning 'river source', and is so called because one of the sources of the River Dour rises on the village outskirts at a place called Watersend and flows through the village towards Dover.

The village is first mentioned by name in a charter of c.772 as Æwille. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is named Ewelle or Etwelle, and is recorded as having a manor house, five watermills, and about fifty dwellings around a small wooden Saxon church. At this time, the village was owned by Bishop Odo, the half-brother of William the Conquerer.

In 1163, the Knights Templar was granted the manor of Ewell by the crown in recognition of their role in the Crusades, and the word 'Temple' became prefixed to the village name. The Templars founded a Preceptory in the village, and around 1170 built the Norman church of St.Peter and St.Paul.

In 1213 King John surrendered the crown to the Pope, and it is thought that this may have taken place either at the Preceptory in Temple Ewell, or possibly in Dover.

Following the Templars' dissolution in 1312, Temple Ewell passed out of their possession in 1314. The village was then given to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, and was retained by them until King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1540.

During the 18th and 19th Centuries, Temple Ewell had two of several watermills along the stretch of the River Dour. The two mills (which still stand today as private residences) produced flour, and supplied the English troops at Dover during the Napoleonic wars.

The railway station at Kearsney was built in 1861, linking Temple Ewell with Dover and London, and leading to an increase in population and prosperity. Temple Ewell C.E. Primary School, a parochial primary school, was established next to the church in 1871, and the Victorian schoolhouse building was completed in 1872. Major renovation work was carried out on the church in the 1870's, and a village hall was constructed in 1909.

[edit] External links

• Temple Ewell Parish Council
• Temple Ewell C.E. Primary School
• The Knights Templar at Temple Ewell
• Temple Ewell War Memorial