Kemsing
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009) |
Coordinates: 51°18′26″N 0°13′31″E / 51.307120°N 0.225180°E
| Kemsing | |
 Church of St Mary |
|
 Kemsing
Kemsing shown within Kent |
|
| Population | 4,014 (2001)[1] |
|---|---|
| District | Sevenoaks |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Sevenoaks |
| Dialling code | 01732 and 01959 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Kemsing is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish lies on the scarp face of the North Downs, 20 miles south east of Central London, 4 miles (6 km) north east of Sevenoaks. Also in the parish are the hamlets of Heaverham, 1 mile (2 km) to the east, and Noah's Ark 0.5 miles (1 km) to the south. The population of the civil parish in 2001 was 4014 persons.
Contents |
[edit] History
Kemsing was the birthplace, in AD961, of Saint Edith of Wilton, an illegitimate daughter of the Saxon King Edgar I. The well at the centre of the village is dedicated to her, a plaque on the wall recording the local legend that her saintly presence has given the water healing properties. The historic village centre area around the well includes the war memorial, a cluster of picturesque cottages and St. Edith's Hall, the front of which is adorned with a statue of the saint and a clock which chimes the hours and bears the inscription:
'Tis mine
Each passing hour to tell.
'Tis thine
To use it ill or well.
Given the village connection with St. Edith it is perhaps surprising that the parish church, Saxon in origin, is however dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Another local legend states that the knights who murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket rode through Kemsing on their way to seek him out at Canterbury. Following his canonisation Kemsing became a stop-off place on the Pilgrims' Way, along which pilgrims travelled to visit the saint's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral. The Women's Institute organisation opened its first institute in Kent in Kemsing in December 1915. During the first world war St Edith Hall was used as a hospital and manned by the Kent Voluntary Aid Detachment. Wounded soldiers from the western front were returned to England and the hall at Kemsing was one of many facilities in the south east of England used during the war.[2]
[edit] Local infrastructure
The main roads in the village are West End, Dynes Road and Childsbridge Lane. Along West End can be found a mechanic, a general stores, a chemist, a post office, a veterinary surgery and St. Edith's Social Club. At the end of Dynes Road there is a newsagent, a convenience store, three takeaway restaurants and a post office, which are all collectively known as Dynes Parade.
West End is the location of the two village centre public houses, the Bell and the Wheatsheaf. The Wheatsheaf was recently very badly damaged by a fire; while there were no casualties, the building's roof was lost and the public house is currently a shell. Further to the east at Heaverham is the Chequers.[3]
One mile (2 km) south-east of the village lies Kemsing railway station. The M26 motorway passes through the parish. It is also a key stopping-off point on the North Downs Way which runs north of the village along the ridge of the Downs.
[edit] Local environment
The village lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and Kemsing Down Reserve, managed by Kemsing Parish Council and Sevenoaks District Council, lies above the village on the North Downs. It is reached from Childsbridge Lane, and is an area of chalk grassland.
[edit] Sports facilities
To the east of the village is the large open space known as The Common Field, used for cricket and football, and the Sir Mark Collet Sports Pavilion, with tennis and squash courts.
[edit] Crime prevention
Kemsing has its own Police Community Support Officer and Neighbourhood Officers as well as being covered by regular police patrols. Neighbourhood Officers hold frequent consultations with residents and Kent Police.[4] Crime in the Kemsing fell by 31 percent in the period 2010-2011.[5]
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kemsing, Kent |
- Kemsing Parish Council
- An article on the village
- St Mary's church
- Kemsing Down Reserve Heitage Centre
- Kemsing Sports Association
[edit] References
- ^ "Kemsing CP". Neighbourhood Statistics. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=795533&c=Kemsing&d=16&e=15&g=459119&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=781. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ VAD Hospital
- ^ Chequers
- ^ Kent Police
- ^ http://maps.police.uk/view/?q=Kemsing&url=kent%2Fwest-kent%2Fsevenoaks%2Fkemsing%2F
- The Story of Kemsing in Kent V.E.Bowden, 1994, Kemsing Historical and Art Society, ISBN 0-9504703-2-5
