Wingham, Kent

Wingham
St Mary's church, Wingham
Wingham  Wingham shown within Kent
Population	1,618  (Parish)
OS grid reference	TR244575
Civil parish	Wingham Parish Council
District	Dover
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CANTERBURY
Postcode district	CT3
Dialling code	01227
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	South Thanet
List of places: UK • England • Kent

Wingham ( /ˈwɪŋəm/) is a civil parish and English Kent village situated along the ancient coastal road, now the A257, from Richborough to London and close to Canterbury. It has existed since the Stone Age but only became established as a village in Roman times. The Domesday book tells us that during Saxon times Wingham manor was in possession by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1286, Archbishop Peckham founded a college in Wingham; many other buildings in Wingham date back to this time, including the Red Lion Inn. St Mary the Virgin, the present church of Wingham, dates from the early 13th century with fabric dating from the Norman to Victorian eras.

Twin cities/towns

• – Vert-Le-Grand, France

Modern Wingham

The East Kent Light Railway was built between 1911 and 1917 to serve the new coal mines which were being opened up in the area. The site of the former Wingham Colliery station forming what is now the Grain Harvester's site. Three stations were opened; Wingham Colliery, Wingham Town (now occupied by garages and a scout hut) and Wingham Canterbury Road [adjacent to the Station Farm Shop].

Wingham Colliery never opened into production and the line failed and completely closed to passengers in 1948 with the section north of Eythorne closed to freight in 1951. Plans and some advanced earthworks had been commenced in the 1920s to extend the line from Wingham Canterbury Road Station to Canterbury via Stodmarsh.

Today Wingham is an attractive village serving some light industry but mostly a dormitory town for Sandwich and Canterbury. There are three pubs, The Anchor, The Dog and The Red Lion.

Frequent bus services run between these two towns and a less frequent service to Aylesham and Plucks Gutter. The nearest National Rail Station is Adisham or Aylesham [Hourly off peak service on Dover-Faversham-London Victoria line]. Taxis can be obtained locally or from Canterbury, Sandwich or Aylesham.

Wingham was also the birthplace of the poet Herbert Kingsford.

Fire Station

The current fire station which serves Wingham and other surrounding villages when needed is located at the end of Staple Road and is maintained by Kent Fire and Rescue Service, In front of Miller Close, A recent housing development created by the Southern Housing Group. The previous fire station was located next door to The Red Lion. The crew is retained and the current fire appliance at the station is a Volvo Fl6 inter-cooler water tender.

External links

• The town's official website
• Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS)