Brookland is a village and

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 ...

in the Folkestone and Hythe 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, about west of New Romney. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 453, increasing to 479 at the 2011 Census. It is located on the A259 road in

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 the ...

and become popular with visitors heading to the Laughing Frog Teas Rooms.

History

St Augustine's Church

The parish Church of St Augustine has the unusual, if not unique, feature of an entirely wooden spire being separate from the body of the church. Popular myth is that the steeple looked down at a wedding service to see such a beautiful

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed. When marrying, if the bride's future spouse is a man, he is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, ...

marrying such an unpleasant

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...

that it jumped off the church in shock. A more popular story is that one day a

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

presented herself to be married and the church spire fell off at the unusual occurrence. In fact, it is separate as the weight can not be supported by the

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

y ground. Inside the church there is a round lead font dating from the 12th century. Around its circumference are panels with reliefs showing the 12 Zodiac signs and the typical labours of each month.

Battle of Brookland

In 1816, when the conclusion of the wars with France made it possible to take steps to deal with smuggling on Romney Marsh, a Coast Blockade was established along the coast of Kent; the smugglers in response organized themselves into armed gangs, and became increasingly audacious. On the night of 11 February 1821 members of the Aldington Gang, landing goods at Camber, were spotted by the Blockade Sentinel, and were pursued across the marsh by the Blockaders. An officer was killed, a mile from Brookland, and two assistants wounded; four smugglers were killed and sixteen wounded. The event became known as the ''Battle of Brookland''. There was a trial at the Old Bailey, which aroused great interest, and the smugglers' leader Cephas Quested was executed.Anne Roper. ''The Church of Saint Augustine, Brookland''. 25th edition, 1979. Page 28–29.

Amenities

As late as 1970 the village had a post office, five shops - including Coleman's, a butcher well known locally for his pork sausages - a tea room, a garage,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, abattoir, a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

and three pubs. The Alliance and Royal Oak pubs have closed; the Woolpack Inn continues to operate south of the village. The nearest general stores are now at Appledore (), Hamstreet () and New Romney ().

Notes

External links

Photos and description of the panels on the medieval lead font in St Augustine’s church
{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent Folkestone and Hythe District