Wootton is a village and former

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of

Denton with Wootton Denton with Wootton is a civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, England. The parish contains the settlements of Denton and Wootton, apart. In 2011 it had a population of 372. Denton with Wootton is approximately east-southeast from th ...

, in the

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

district of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 164. The village is northwest from the channel port of

, and east-southeast from the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

. The major A2 London to Dover road is to the northeast. Denton, the other parish village, is 1 mile to the northwest.

History

Wootton was the birthplace of the mathematician and surveyor Leonard Digges, who some claim invented a functioning

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

some time between 1540 and 1559. It once had a Baptist chapel, linked to the

Eythorne Baptist Church Eythorne Baptist Church originated in the meetings of early 16th century Baptists who had crossed the English Channel from the Low Countries to Kent to escape persecution. Nineteenth-century Baptist writer J. J. Goadby named Eythorne as one o ...

group. The worldwide known

Lydden Hill Race Circuit Lydden Hill Race Circuit (formerly known as Lydden Circuit) is a motorsport venue in Denton with Wootton, about half-way between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, England. The mile-long circuit is mainly used for Rallycross, Drift, Saloon and Spo ...

, the so-called "Home of

Rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

", is located near Wootton village. On 1 April 1963 the parish was abolished and merged with Denton to form "Denton with Wootton".

References

External links

Villages in Kent Former civil parishes in Kent Dover District {{Kent-geo-stub