Bilsington is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Ashford district of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England. The village is about south of
Ashford Ashford may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Ashford, New South Wales
*Ashford, South Australia
*Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia
Ireland
*Ashford, County Wicklow
*Ashford Castle, County Galway
United Kingdom
* Ashford, Kent, a town
** ...
, on the B2067 road,
Hamstreet
Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England.
The village is located 6 miles (10 km) south of Ashford on the A2070, the main road between Ashford and Hastings. The majority of the village is in the parish of Orlestone, named aft ...
to
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
road north of the
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh, which was constructed as a defence against the possible invasion of England du ...
.
About of a quarter of the parish is wooded, along most of the northern slopes leading up to the escarpment of the High Weald. The
2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 284.
History
Parish church
The
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of
Saints Peter and Paul Peter and Paul may refer to:
* Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle considered together
** Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 29 June in the Catholic liturgical calendar
** St. Peter and St. Paul's Church (disambiguation)
* ''Peter and Paul'' (film), 1 ...
was built in the 12th century. Above the west door to the tower is some 12th-century stonework. One blocked
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
window survives over the south door.
The other windows were replaced in the 14th century and include some fragments of original Medieval glass. The west tower was added in the 16th century. Above the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
hangs the
Royal
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
, dated 1774. The church was
restored
''Restored'' is the fourth
studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard ...
in 1883 to designs by
Joseph Clarke. It is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
Priory
![The Augustinian Priory, Bilsington, Kent - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/The_Augustinian_Priory%2C_Bilsington%2C_Kent_-_geograph.org.uk_-_12909.jpg)
The
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
Priory of St Mary was founded in 1253 and suppressed in the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. Its surviving buildings are about north of the village.
The Aldington Gang
Aldington was the stronghold of The Aldington Gang, a band of smugglers roaming the Romney Marshes and shores of Kent. The gang's leaders, made the local inn, ''The Walnut Tree Inn'', their headquarters and drop for their contraband. The Inn was o ...
is said to have used the Priory in some of its smuggling exploits of the 1820s. In 1906 the surviving buildings were restored to designs by
JT Micklethwaite. They are
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The Priory is now a wedding and conference venue.
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal passes through the parish just south of the village. It was begun in 1804 and completed in 1809.
Cosway monument
Just west of the village is an
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
high. It is a monument erected in 1835 to the memory of Member of Parliament and local landowner Sir William Cosway, who was killed in a coaching accident in 1834.
Amenities
Bilsington has a pub, the White Horse, and a Cricket Club.
Welcome to Bilsington Cricket Club
/ref>
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Bilsington Parish Council
{{authority control
Civil parishes in Ashford, Kent
Villages in Kent
Villages in the Borough of Ashford