Bekesbourne

Bekesbourne is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, in the Canterbury district, in Kent, South-East England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 538.^[2]

Bekesbourne
The Old Palace
Bekesbourne Location within Kent
Area	8.47 km2 (3.27 sq mi)
Population	925 (Civil Parish 2011)[1]
• Density	109/km2 (280/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TR191559
Civil parish	Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne
District	Canterbury
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CANTERBURY
Postcode district	CT4
Dialling code	01227
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Canterbury
List of places UK England Kent 51.2576°N 1.1443°E / 51.2576; 1.1443

The village centre is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) east-south-east of Canterbury Cathedral and stretches less than 1 km from Bekesbourne railway station to the A2 road to the south.

Amenities

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and has a Norman doorway, a 13th-century chancel and the first recorded example of brick mathematical tiles.^[3]

Howletts Wild Animal Park is in Bekesbourne, the home of many endangered species and the world's largest breeding gorilla colony in captivity.^[4]

Transport

Bekesbourne railway station serves the area, on the line between Canterbury East and Dover Priory railway stations.

The A2 road borders the south of the village's formal area.

History

Bekesbourne was the site of Bekesbourne Aerodrome, which was established during World War I and thrived as the home of the Kent Flying Club until World War II, when it was closed. One large hangar remained. It was severely damaged by the Great Storm of 1987, but soon rebuilt. It was demolished in 1997, and replaced by 10 detached houses on a new road, De Havillands.^{[n 1]}

On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished to form "Bekesbourne with Patrixbourne", part also went to Adisham and the unparished area of Canterbury.^[5]

Famous residents

• Bekesbourne was the birthplace of the film director Michael Powell and of Stephen Hales, the physiologist, chemist and inventor.
• Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books, lived at the Old Palace in Bekesbourne.

References

1. De Havilland was a make of aircraft, important in early British aviation.

Sources

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. "Population statistics Bekesbourne CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
3. Canterbury City Council
4. "Howletts". Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
5. "Canterbury Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

External links

Media related to Bekesbourne at Wikimedia Commons