:''There is another Woodchurch in

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 ...

, a hamlet in the Manston

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 ...

within the

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

district.'' Woodchurch is a

village, the largest

in the

Borough of Ashford The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It borders five other Kent districts, as well as East Sussex to the south-west. Ashford Borough Council's main offices are in the town of Ashford. The bor ...

. It is centred from the

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 ...

town of Ashford and from the Cinque Ports town of

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is not ...

, in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

. The

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

that overlooks the village from the north commands extensive views over the ''Walland marshes'' to the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

coast. It is a fine example of a Kentish

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This typ ...

and was originally one of a pair of windmills standing on this site, known locally as ''The Twins''. The mill is open throughout the summer and is accessible via a footpath that passes between the village pubs. The village is on the edge of the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

of Kent, whilst the parish extends north to south and east to west, one of Kent's largest. Within the village are the settlements of Brattle and Townland Green. To the south-west is the flat expanse of ''Shirley Moor'' leading to

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until th ...

and the low wooded hills overlooking

Appledore Appledore may refer to: Places England * Appledore, Kent ** Appledore (Kent) railway station * Appledore, Mid Devon, near Tiverton * Appledore, Torridge, North Devon, near Bideford U.S.A. * Appledore Island, off the coast of Maine In fiction * App ...

and the Marsh are to the south-east. The surrounding area is designated as a ''Kent Special Landscape Area''.Woodchurch Parish Council
/ref>

Institutions & village life

The village became firmly established in the 13th century with the erection of the large All Saints church made of Kentish ragstone. Although it was extensively restored in the 1840s, it still boasts a 13th-century

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and a famous

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

of the 14th century, depicting a floriated cross design. It has an unusual four-faced clock and a spire which is out of the vertical at the top. The church has a peal of 6 bells, with its tenor bell weighing 3/4 ton. Several of the bells were cast at the Whitechapel foundry in London. The bells are rung from an oak framed platform at the tower end. The ringing can be seen from the main church through a large glazed partition. The tower is unusual as it houses four clock faces, an expensive addition at the time of installation, allowing the clock to be seen throughout the village. Much early history of Woodchurch is described by the historian

Edward Hasted Edward Hasted (20 December 1732 OS (31 December 1732 NS) – 14 January 1812) was an English antiquarian and pioneering historian of his ancestral home county of Kent. As such, he was the author of a major county history, ''The History and T ...

in his ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent''. The village primary school is situated near the church and was a National school. The first building was erected in 1844 and the school has since been enlarged on four occasions, namely, in 1872, 1896, 1990 and most recently in 1998. Originally the main old building was significantly smaller than today and was later extended. The main hall was added in the early nineties, under headmaster Alan Green. Temporary "mobile complexes" were added, removed and replaced with permanent structures over the years to accommodate the school's increasing roll. The village green in the centre of the village is a focal point for the community. It is home to the village football and cricket clubs; which have use of a permanent pavilion on the greenside; as well as a modern children's playground. Alongside the green is the Village Memorial Hall and Annexe, as well as Tennis courts. Plans are currently being considered and funds raised for a replacement Hall. The Hall has a fully functional proscenium theatre space, which is home to the village's PlayersWoodchurch Players
/ref> organisation, who put on three productions every year. The village also has a community centre on Lower Road. This centre was originally built to replace the original Scout hall on George's Hill which was dilapidated and dangerous. It is now home to

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

Guides A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

and other community organisation, as well as being for hire. Woodchurch also boasts the Woodchurch Village Life Museum located on Susan's Hill and the

South of England Rare Breeds Centre South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

is located a mile out of the village on the

Hamstreet Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in South East England. The village is located 6 miles (10 km) south of Ashford (borough), Ashford on the A2070 road, A2070, the main road between Ashford, Kent, Ashford and Hastings. The majority of the villa ...

road (B2067). The village also has its own Morris dancing side, Woodchurch Morris Men, who started dancing together in 1990 to perpetuate the ancient tradition and have many stands throughout the year. Historically the village has been home to three public houses. The Bonny Cravat and Six Bells opposite the church in the main village, and The Stonebridge Inn serving the Brattle area at the other end of the village. The Bonny Cravat is a managed

Shepherd Neame Shepherd Neame is an English independent brewery which has been based in the market town of Faversham, Kent, for over 300 years. While 1698 is the brewery's official established date, town records show that commercial brewing has occurred on the ...

pub and The Six Bells is a free house. The Stonebridge Inn closed in the early 2000s and has now been demolished to make way for a large newbuild carehome.

References

External links

Woodchurch Local and Family History Web Site

Woodchurch Community Website

Woodchurch Players

Woodchurch Film Society

Woodchurch Tennis Club

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