Bekesbourne

Bekesbourne
Bekesbourne
 Bekesbourne shown within Kent
Area  8.47 km2 (3.27 sq mi)
Population 925 (Civil Parish)[1]
    density  109/km2 (280/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTR191559
Civil parishBekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne
DistrictCanterbury
Shire countyKent
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town CANTERBURY
Postcode district CT4
Dialling code 01227
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentCanterbury
List of places
UK
England
Kent

Coordinates: 51°15′27″N 1°08′39″E / 51.2576°N 1.1443°E / 51.2576; 1.1443

Bekesbourne is a village near Canterbury in Kent, South East England.

The village is centred 2.9 miles (4.7 km) ESE of the city's cathedral and its centre stretches less than 1 km from its railway station to the A2 road to the south.

Amenities

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and has a Norman doorway, a 13th-century chancel and the first recorded example of brick mathematical tiles.[2]

Howletts Wild Animal Park is in Bekesbourne, the home of many endangered species and the world's largest breeding gorilla colony in captivity.[3]

Transport

Bekesbourne railway station serves the area, on the line between Canterbury East and Dover Priory railway stations.

The A2 is a route bordering the south of the village's formal area.

History

Bekesbourne was the site of an aerodrome, built during World War I, and which thrived as the home of the Kent Flying Club until World War II, when it was closed. One large hangar remained. It was severely damaged by and rebuilt after the Great Storm of 1987. Developed reuse took place in 1997 to build 10 detached houses on a new road, De Havillands.[n 1]

Famous residents

Bekesbourne was the birthplace of the film director Michael Powell and of Stephen Hales, the physiologist, chemist and inventor.

Notes and references

Notes
  1. De Havilland was a make of aircraft, important in early British aviation.
References

External links

Media related to Bekesbourne at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.