Sevington is a historic village which has become a suburb of Ashford, Kent in

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History

The geographically small village of Sevington is first recorded in 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 manus ...

of 1086, where it appears as ''Seivetone''. It appears as ''Seyueton'' in the '' Feet of Fines'' for 1314. The name means "the town or settlement of Sægifu", Sægifu being a woman's name. In 1872, the village had a population of about 113. St Mary's Church is the village's

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 A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. It is a Grade I listed building dating from the 12th century, and has been altered at several times, first around 1200 and a second time in the 14th century, and underwent restoration in 1877 and 1936. The church is cut off from the village by the building of the Southern Orbital road.KentParishes.gov.uk
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Geography and economy

Much of Sevington's small tract of land is covered by Ashford business park areas which are connected with Ashford by

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

status and by its road network, linking them closely with Ashford. At the start of the 21st century many changes took place in Sevington due to the building of the Orbital Business Park including the Ashford

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

. The village/suburb of

Willesborough Willesborough is a village, now in effect a residential suburb, on the eastern side of Ashford, Kent, England. The area The South Willesborough Dykes area, on the west bank of the River East Stour, is an area of sheep fields drained by dykes. ...

bounds Sevington (along its long north-west border), while the new Finberry neighbourhood is to the south in

Mersham Mersham is a mostly agricultural large village and civil parish near Ashford in Kent, England. The population of the civil parish includes the area of Cheesman's Green now known as Finberry. History In the mid 19th century, John Marius Wilson' ...

but with its own amenities. High Speed 1, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link which adjoins the ordinary railway, passes through the parish.

Customs clearance facility

In 2019, a tract of former farmland at Sevington was put up for sale for property development. Located close to Junction 10A of the M20 motorway, it was marketed as MOJO, an acronym for M20, Junction 10a), In July 2020, the

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announced that it had acquired the MOJO site to develop it as a

customs clearance Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

facility for inbound freight and a holding area for outbound freight, in preparation for the

withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

. The site was selected due to its proximity to the Port of Dover. The facility has been nicknamed in the media as "the Farage Garage", in reference to the politician

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...

, who has been one of the leading campaigners for Brexit. Commentators in the media have noted that the 13th-century Church of St Mary will be surrounded by the planned lorry park. As at mid-December 2020, it is forecast to be finished by late February 2021. Although originally intended to be finished by 1 January 2021, heavy rain delayed construction; as a result, the site will temporarily only be used as a holding area, with customs checks being performed in Waterbrook Park nearby. As of January 2022, the facility is complete but not in any significant use. The Government has repeatedly postponed introduction of import controls, with no firm plans to begin such.

References

External links

Statistical civil parish overview - map
{{authority control Villages in Kent Villages in the Borough of Ashford Civil parishes in Ashford, Kent