Charing
Village in Kent, England
title: "Charing" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-kent", "villages-in-the-borough-of-ashford", "civil-parishes-in-ashford,-kent"] description: "Village in Kent, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-kent" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Village in Kent, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| country | England |
| static_image_name | High Street, Charing, Kent, c1905.jpg |
| static_image_caption | Charing High Street, c. 1905 |
| official_name | Charing |
| coordinates | |
| population | 2766 |
| area_total_km2 | 24.9 |
| population_ref | (Civil Parish 2011) |
| shire_district | Ashford |
| shire_county | Kent |
| region | South East England |
| constituency_westminster | Weald of Kent |
| post_town | Ashford |
| postcode_district | TN27 |
| postcode_area | TN |
| dial_code | 01233 |
| os_grid_reference | TQ953494 |
| :: |
|country = England |static_image_name = High Street, Charing, Kent, c1905.jpg |static_image_caption = Charing High Street, c. 1905 |official_name = Charing |coordinates = |population = 2766 |area_total_km2 = 24.9 |population_ref = (Civil Parish 2011) |shire_district = Ashford |shire_county = Kent |region = South East England |constituency_westminster = Weald of Kent |post_town = Ashford |postcode_district = TN27 |postcode_area = TN |dial_code = 01233 |os_grid_reference = TQ953494
Charing () is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and Westwell Leacon. It is located at the foot of the North Downs and reaches up to the escarpment. In 2011 the parish had a population of 2,766.
The Pilgrims' Way, the M20 motorway and Charing railway station (between London Victoria and Ashford International via Maidstone) serve the parish.
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.
The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Charing, the parish church of Charing, is situated next to the remains of the Archbishop's Palace, just off the High Street. The church's west tower was built in the 14th century, though most of the rest of the building was reconstructed following a catastrophic fire in the 16th century. The church contains a number of memorials to the Dering family, a branch of the Dering family of Surrenden Dering, Pluckley, Kent.
Mills
Charing has had four mills over the centuries, serving the needs of the villagers. There were two watermills on the Upper Great Stour and two windmills.
;Watermills
- Burnt Mill, a corn mill working until the 1950s, now derelict.
- Field Mill, a corn mill, the building of which survives retaining its waterwheel.
;Windmills
- Charing Mill, also known as Field Mill on the Downs above the village is a smock mill which was built in the early nineteenth century and last worked in 1891. It stands today as a house conversion.
- Charing Heath Mill was a smock mill
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, who took it for himself. 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.
Amenities
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/St_Peter's_Church,_Market_Place,_Charing,Kent-geograph.org.uk-_1393920.jpg" caption="Church of St Peter and St Paul]], a [[grade I listed building"] ::
These include:
- C of E Primary School
- Library
- Doctors' surgery
- Independent shops/franchises
- Kentish Tea Room
- Two mid-to-large sized pubs, most of which are listed buildings:
- The Bowl
- The Wagon & Horses
- The Kent County Crematorium. At which were cremated 60 Commonwealth service personnel of World War II and the author Charles Hamilton, who as Frank Richards created Billy Bunter. Here also were cremated Archbishops William Temple and Cosmo Gordon Lang.
Community
Housing development since the 1960s has also led to a significant proportion of people employed in London or business parks on the motorway corridors. Groups of residents organise frequent club-based or charity events and fairs. Charing has in the same period revived its Youth Club and cricket team/facilities. There is also a bowls club. A skate park has been added. A Community Warden assists the youths.
Demography
::data[format=table]
| Charing compared |
|---|
| 2001 UK Census |
| Population |
| Foreign born |
| White |
| Asian |
| Black |
| Christian |
| Muslim |
| Hindu |
| No religion |
| Unemployed |
| Retired |
| :: |
At the 2001 UK census, the Charing electoral ward had a population of 2,284. The ethnicity was 98% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.4% other. The place of birth of residents was 95.7% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.2% other Western European countries, and 2.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.4% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist and 0.2% Jewish, 0.4% Muslim. 12.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 8.8% did not state their religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 32% in full-time employment, 11.9% in part-time employment, 14.3% self-employed, 2.2% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 2.1% students without jobs, 20.5% retired, 7.1% looking after home or family, 4.6% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 17.8% retail, 12.9% manufacturing, 8.2% construction, 14.7% real estate, 10.2% health and social work, 7.4% education, 5% transport and communications, 4.1% public administration, 5.1% hotels and restaurants, 4.4% finance, 4.4% agriculture and 5.8% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and construction. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 18.4% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.
Transport
Transport links provided by the A20 London to Dover road, and direct train services to Ashford International and London Victoria via Maidstone East.
There are two bus stops in Charing, with the only bus services running through being the 10X and 124, which runs exclusively as a school bus.
Charing railway station was opened on 1 July 1884,{{cite web | url = https://www.kentrail.org.uk/charing.htm | title = Kent Rail | access-date = 20 July 2008 | page = 1
Notable people
- Arthur Ashwell (1908–1985), cricketer
- Frederick Coppins (1889–1963), Canadian soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Cecil Headlam (1872–1934), cricketer
- Robert Honywood (1601–1686), Member of Parliament
- Jim Moir (born 1959), comedian, artist
- Nancy Sorrell (born 1974), model, actress, television presenter
- Ronald Stuart (1886–1954), Royal Navy Captain, recipient of the Victoria Cross
In popular culture
Scenes from the 2020 film Ammonite were filmed here.
References
References
- [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density] {{Webarchive. link. (11 February 2003 [[United Kingdom Census 2011]] ''[[Office for National Statistics]]'' Retrieved 10 May 2014)
- "Location of Weald of Kent".
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=4UcuAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22william+levet%22+king+dering&pg=PA119 The Monuments and Painted Glass of Upwards of One Hundred Churches, Philip Parsons, Printed by Simmons, Kirkby and Jones, Canterbury, 1794]
- West, Jenny. (1973). "The Windmills of Kent". Charles Skilton Ltd..
- Coles Finch, William. (1933). "Watermills and Windmills". C W Daniel Company.
- "Directory of Kent Mill People". The Mills Archive Trust.
- "CWGC Cemetery Record, Charing Crematorium".
- "Neighbourhood Statistics". Statistics.gov.uk.
- (19 March 2021). "Ammonite (2020)".
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