Stowting 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

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

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 ...

. It is east of Ashford, north-west of

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

and south of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

History

The place name Stowting is Anglo-Saxon, meaning a 'place characterized by a mound.' It was known in the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as ''Stotinges'' and ''Estotinges,'' and in later records it was called ''Stutinges'' and ''Stowling''. The Manor of Stowting was given by Egelric Bigge, to Christ Church, in Canterbury in the year 1044. The parish church is 13th century with many later additions and alterations. It is dedicated to St Mary and is built from flint with stone dressings with a flint tower. 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 ...

. To the west of the church are the remains of a castle mound which are considered to be a particularly fine example of a Norman

Motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

. In 1947, a Douglas C-47A crashed on the hillside above the village, killing eight of the 16 people on board.

The modern village

The scattered village stands at the southern foot of a chalk hill, part of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...

and is located beside a chalk spring. To the north of the village centre the hamlets of Stowting Common and Lymbridge Green are both part of the parish. The Roman Road of Stone Street runs to the east of the village whilst the

Pilgrim's Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of comparatively recent coinage ...

and

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ...

footpath runs through the village itself. Stowting has a Church of England primary school adjacent to the church. It has one pub, currently named The Tiger Inn, which dates to the 1600s and that displays a Mackesons Hythe Ales front fascia sign, depicting its earlier brewery ownership. Stowting Cricket Club was established in 1895 and plays at Dawes Field near the school and church.

Photo gallery

File:Stowting school - geograph.org.uk - 340412.jpg, Stowting, old school building. File:Stowting church and new school - geograph.org.uk - 340851.jpg, Stowting, new school building with church tower beyond. File:Stowting Hill, looking NW - geograph.org.uk - 340409.jpg, Stowting hill, looking north west. File:Stowting Hill, looking NE - geograph.org.uk - 340841.jpg, Stowting Hill, looking north east. File:House and pond at the bottom of Stowting Hill - geograph.org.uk - 340844.jpg, Stowting, cottage. File:The old part of Stowting school - geograph.org.uk - 340853.jpg, Old school building entrance.

References

External links

Villages in Kent Borough of Ashford Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England {{Kent-geo-stub