Eastry

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Eastry


Church of St Mary the Virgin, Eastry
Eastry (Kent)
Eastry

Eastry shown within Kent
Population 2168[1] (Parish)
OS grid reference TR332458
District Dover
Shire county Kent
Region South East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Dover
Postcode district CT13
Dialling code 01304
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
European Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Dover
List of places: UK • England • Kent

Coordinates: 51°14′43″N 1°18′12″E / 51.2452, 1.3034

Eastry is a civil parish and remote, yet historically significant village four kilometres SW of Sandwich, in Kent, that was voted "Kent Village of the Year 2005".

Contents

[edit] Etymology

Its name is derived from East and y meaning province (cp Surrey: southern province) .

[edit] Historical legends

It was here that a royal palace of the Saxon kings of Kent stood. One of Kent's oldest legends concerns King Ecgberht of Kent and the murder of his cousins within the palace walls. According to the legend, the royal residence was passed to the priory of Christchurch in Canterbury as penance for the crime. The site of this ancient palace is believed to now be occupied by Eastry Court, close besides the church.

Another traditional story is that Thomas Becket hid in Eastry's caves whilst escaping from England in 1164. Those same caves are associated with other stories that may or may not be true.

[edit] Parish church

Eastry parish church is dedicated to St Mary. Within the church is a brass standard bushel measure given in 1792.

[edit] East Kent Light Railway

The East Kent Light Railway was opened to freight traffic in 1911 and passenger traffic in 1916; its purpose was to serve the new coal mines which were being opened up in the area. Among the stations opened were Eastry and Eastry South. Both the colliery and the line failed and the section north of Eythorne completely closed by 1951.

[edit] Mills

Eastry windmill
Eastry windmill

Eastry has had a number of windmills over the centuries. There were four mills marked on the 1819 - 1843 Ordnance Survey map, one of which, the Upper Mill, has been converted into a house.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Statistics Census 2001
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