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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, 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 the ...

, in the Dover 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. In 1961 the parish had a population of 164. The village is northwest from the channel port of Dover, and east-southeast from the county town of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

. 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, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

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", 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