Charing

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Charing
Coordinates: 51.2107° N 0.7949° E
Population	2,750
OS grid reference	TQ953494
District	Ashford
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Ashford
Postcode district	TN27
Dial code	01233
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Ashford
European Parliament	South East England
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..

Contents 1 History 2 Places of interest 3 Village life 4 External links

[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] 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

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. It is also known by its dominance of "youth chavs", where kids rebel against their upper/middle class upbringing

[edit] External links

• Charing village web site
• Description of the Archbishop's Palace, The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. CIII, Part II, 1833

view • talk • edit  The town of Ashford in Kent, South East England with the surrounding suburbs, villages, towns and parishes:
Aldington • Appledore • Bethersden • Biddenden • Bilsington • Bilting • Bonnington • Boughton Aluph • Boughton Aluph and Eastwell • Boughton Lees • Brabourne • Brabourne Lees • Brook • Challock • Charing • Cheeseman's Green • Chilham • Chilmington Green • Crundale • Eastwell • Ebony • Egerton • Evegate • Godinton • Godmersham • Great Chart • Great Chart with Singleton • Hamstreet • Hastingleigh • High Halden • Hinxhill • Hothfield • Isle of Oxney • Kenardington • Kennington • Kingsnorth • Little Chart • Mersham • Molash • Newenden • Newtown • Orlestone • Park Farm • Pluckley • Rolvenden • Rolvenden Layne • Ruckinge • Sellindge • Sevington • Shadoxhurst • Singleton • Smarden • Smeeth • Stanhope • Stonebridge Green • Stone-cum-Ebony • Stone in Oxney • Snave • Tenterden • Warehorne • Westwell • Willesborough • Wittersham • Woodchurch • Wye • Wye with Hinxhill
The borough of Ashford List of places in Kent