Chestfield is a village (and civil parish and with Swalecliffe a district council ward) in the Canterbury District of Kent, England. The parish is centred 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the sea on the north coast of Kent, between the towns of Whitstable and Herne Bay. It is approximately five miles (8 km) north of Canterbury. Over a third of the parish, all of which is the south of its ambit, is woodland. The north-west consists of a business park and superstore.

Chestfield
Chestfield Barn
Chestfield is located in Kent
Chestfield
Chestfield
Location within Kent
Area7.94 km2 (3.07 sq mi)
Population3,214 (Civil Parish 2011)[1]
• Density405/km2 (1,050/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTR132657
Civil parish
  • Chestfield
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWHITSTABLE
Postcode districtCT5
Dialling code01227
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent
51°21′18″N 1°03′50″E / 51.355°N 1.064°E / 51.355; 1.064

Geography

edit

Chestfield & Swalecliffe railway station is on the Chatham Main Line a straight two-track line which marks the northern boundary of the parish.

A footpath and a road each lead to Radfall which is a woodland locality of a few houses on two streets in the wooded hills to the south - more than one third of the parish is woodland, and almost all of it was woodland in the Middle Ages, when it contributed greatly to the Forest of Blean.

The north-east of the parish is non-residential, having a superstore spanning two buildings and the John Wilson business park.

History

edit

The Chestfield Barn originated as part of the Chestfield Manor in the 14th century, it was held as tenant-in-chief by the half-brother of William the Conqueror, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. It is believed that the Manor dates back to as early as 1084, although not directly mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In the early part of the 20th century the barn was converted into a golf house by George Reeves,to service the 700-acre (2.8 km2) golf course constructed in 1924 by George Reeves and designed by Abe Mitchell and James Braid.

Governance

edit

Chestfield forms part of the electoral ward called Chestfield and Swalecliffe. This ward had a population of 8,398 at the 2011 Census.[2]

Transport

edit

Thanet Way provides a goods and long-distance commuter alternative to the railway station. However, much of the rest of the parish is better served by footpaths and country lanes suitable for cycling.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density Archived 11 February 2003 at the Wayback Machine United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 21 November 2013
  2. ^ "Chestfield and Swalecliffe ward population 2011". Retrieved 2 October 2015.
edit