Brookland, Kent

Brookland
Church of St Augustine, Brookland
Brookland Brookland shown within Kent
Population	479 (2011)^[1]
OS grid reference	TQ990259
District	Shepway
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Romney Marsh
Postcode district	TN29
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Folkestone and Hythe
List of places UK England Kent

Coordinates: 50°59′56″N 0°50′13″E / 50.999°N 0.837°E / 50.999; 0.837Brookland is a village and civil parish in the Shepway district of Kent, England, about 5 miles (8 km) west of New Romney. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 453, increasing to 479 at the 2011 Census.^[1] It is located on the A259 road in Romney Marsh.

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 marrying such an unpleasant groom that it jumped off the church in shock. A more popular story is that one day a virgin 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 marshy 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.

In 1821 Brookland was the scene of the Battle of Brookland, between a band of smugglers known as the Aldington Gang, and Customs and Excise men; five were killed and many wounded.^[2]

Brookland is a pretty village but it suffers from the common problem of many rural English villages, of becoming a mere residential estate, despite being as far as 7 miles (11 km) from the nearest shopping centre (Rye). As late as 1970 there was a post office, 5 shops - including Coleman's, a butcher well known locally for his pork sausages - a tea room, a garage, blacksmith, abattoir, a vicar and 3 pubs. Only two of the pubs now remain, The Alliance having closed in the early 1980s and is now private house. Of the remaining pubs, the Royal Oak is situated in the village by the church, whilst the Woolpack Inn continues to operate 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the village. The nearest general stores are now at Appledore (5 miles (8 km)), Hamstreet (6 miles (10 km)) and New Romney (6 miles (10 km)).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brookland, Kent.

Notes

1 2 "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
↑ Smuggler's Britain: East Kent, retrieved Aug 7, 2013

Towns and villages in the Shepway district of Kent, England

	Acrise Arpinge Beachborough Bladbean Bodsham Breach Brenzett Brookland Burmarsh Cheriton Danton Pinch Densole Dymchurch Dungeness Elham Elmsted Etchinghill Folkestone Frogholt Greatstone-on-Sea Hawkinge Hythe Ivychurch Lade Littlestone-on-Sea Lydd Lydd-on-Sea Lyminge Lympne Monks Horton Newchurch Newingreen Newington New Romney Old Romney Paddlesworth Palmarsh Pedlinge Peene Postling Rhodes Minnis Saltwood Sandgate Sandling Sellindge Selsted Snargate Stanford Stelling Minnis St Mary in the Marsh St Mary's Bay Westenhanger West Hythe Wingmore

List of places in Kent

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.