Davington is a suburb of

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

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. Davington Priory is a local government ward within the

Town Council and

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

Borough Council areas. Until the civic boundary changes were brought into effect in 2004, the electoral ward had broadly mirrored the ecclesiastical parish of Davington.

Geography

It forms the western section of the town, including Bysing Wood and Bysing Wood fishing lakes. But the ward of Davington also encompasses Luddenham and Oare and other nearby rural areas. The parish's most striking geographical feature is the sharply defined ridge, up which Davington Hill, Brent Hill and Dark Hill travel, with the parish church sitting at its top. The ridge runs south-west to north-east, losing height as it approaches the marshes and sea. Its topography is similar to the ridge upon which Bysing Wood stands further to the west of the area, near Oare. The ecclesiastical parish has large areas of post-war housing developments, as well as industrial estates and complexes along the Oare Road and the Western Link Road. These include Brett's (quarry firm), GIST (business logistics company) and

Shepherd Neame Brewery Shepherd Neame is an English independent brewery which has been based in the market town of Faversham, Kent, for over 300 years. While 1698 is the brewery's official established date, town records show that commercial brewing has occurred on the ...

also has a warehouse, as well as in the town centre of Faversham.

History

Davington was an ancient parish. The parish was fairly rural and essentially was a cluster of houses around the parish church and school, as well as a few widely distributed farm houses and cottages around. It became a

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 1866, but the civil parish was abolished in 1935. Most of the parish became part of Faversham, but smaller areas were added to the civil parishes of Luddenham and Oare.Vision of Britain website
/ref> Post-war residential development connected the parish to the centre of Faversham.

Notable buildings

Davington church is a prominent and much-loved local feature, which stands on top of a ridge above Stonebridge Pond. The

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 ...

Priory Church is dedicated to

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

and

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

and is the oldest existing building in the Faversham area. Most of its building construction dates from the second half of the twelfth century. Beside it, is a

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

house. This is largely the remains of

Davington Priory Davington Priory was a priory on the north Kent coast of England. It sits on Davington Hill, now a northern suburb of Faversham but then an isolated rural location. History A Benedictine nunnery was built at Davington in 1153. It managed to av ...

, which was founded in 1153 for a prioress and her 26

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nuns. It is well known for being the home of

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

. Other important buildings in the parish include Davington Farmhouse and Davington Manor.

Amenities

Davington also had its own light railway, the Davington Light Railway. Built in 1916, the three mile track was mainly used for passenger traffic. It was also very short-lived and closed in 1919. It linked Davington with the high explosives factories of the Cotton Powder Company and Explosives Loading Company between Uplees and Harty Ferry near Oare. The parish also has two pubs, Albion Tavern (Shepherd Neame) and Brents Tavern. It also has the popular Davington Primary School. Also included within the parish is the Faversham Angling Club Lakes and nearby Oare Gunpowder Works (now a country park).

References

External links