Saltwood is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe District of Kent, England. Within the parish are the small hamlets of Pedlinge and Sandling.

Geography

Saltwood is located immediately to the north of

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 ...

on the high land looking over the Romney Marsh. It is served by

Sandling railway station Sandling railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Sandling and the town of Hythe, Kent. It is down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeaster ...

on the South Eastern Main Line. It is surrounded by farming land. The parish includes the hamlet of Sandling which has a railway station. It is the location of

Sandling Park Sandling may refer to: Places * Sandling, Austria, in Altaussee * Sandling, Folkestone, Folkestone and Hythe, Kent, England ** Sandling railway station * Sandling, Maidstone, Kent, England * Sandlings, Suffolk, England Other * Sandling (Dungeon ...

, a large estate and house, which stretches around the village of Saltwood and ends at Saltwood's other satellite hamlet, Pedlinge. The gardens of the Park are often open during the summer months.

Castle

Saltwood Castle, once a possession of the

Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, is located here, having been assigned to them by a deed of 1026 (now in the British Museum) signed by such leading figures as King Canute and

Earl Godwin Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in Kingdom of England, England under the Denmark, Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his succ ...

. The castle was the overnight resting place of four knights ( Reginald fitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy, and Richard le Breton) on their journey to Canterbury to murder Thomas Becket. More recently this castle (now privately owned) has been home to Lord Clark of Saltwood and then his son Alan Clark MP. It is located about a mile to the north of the cinque port of

, although the parish boundaries of Saltwood come very much closer to Hythe town centre.

Religious buildings

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 ...

parish church is dedicated to St Peter & St Paul. There is also an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

at Pedlinge. The residents of Sandling Park, the

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

and their estate employees traditionally worship at the latter, which is served by the parish priest (

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

) of Saltwood.

Schools

There are two primary schools, Saltwood CEP, and St Augustine's RCP, as well as a major secondary comprehensive school,

Brockhill Park Performing Arts College Brockhill Park Performing Arts College (BPPAC) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Saltwood, Kent near the coastal town of Hythe. The school is located next to Brockhill Country Park and includes a farm. Brockhill is ...

, located in the parish.

Leisure

Brockhill Country Park is located here. Saltwood also has a

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

team which plays in the Kent Village League's Second Division, and has a ground and pavilion in the village at Kiln Corner, on the top of Tanners Hill. Until 1987 Saltwood attracted visitors to a historical point of interest, the

Saltwood Miniature Railway Saltwood Miniature Railway was a gauge miniature railway which first opened in Sheffield, but subsequently relocated to Saltwood in Kent, England. It closed in 1987. At one point, the Saltwood Miniature Railway was the oldest extant miniature ...

, which was the oldest miniature railway in the world, still extant. However, in 1987 the railway closed. The locomotives and rolling stock were sold, and some time later the track was lifted. For about ten years it remained possible to follow the course of the line, but the entire site has now been redeveloped with new houses. An inn of some antiquity trades on the village green. The Castle Hotel was first licensed as a public house in 1890 by the local

Mackeson's Brewery Mackeson Stout is a milk stout first brewed in 1907. It contains lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Milk stout Milk stout (also called sweet stout, mellow stout or cream stout) is a stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Lactose ...

, although there is evidence that beer was sold on the site for some time before that date.History
of the Castle Hotel, Saltwood.

References

External links

www.saltwoodkent.co.uk
for Saltwood War Memorial information and Saltwood Odds, Notes and Curiosities {{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent