Wingham, Kent

Historical Description

Wingham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2½ miles NNE of Adisham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 E by S of Canterbury, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover. It was the meeting-place, in the 23rd year of Edward I., of the clergy for sending members to Parliament; was once a market-town, gives the title of Baron to Earl Cowper, is a seat of petty sessions, and has a good inn. The parish comprises 2637 acres; population, 1246. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belongs to the Oxenden family. A palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury stood here, and was visited by Edward I., Edward II., and Edward III. Some remains of a Roman villa were discovered in 1881 whilst excavating in a meadow near the bridge. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £162 with residence. The church is Decorated and Later English, has a tower and spire, and was once collegiate. There is a Congregational chapel. Bishop Henry de Wengeham was a native.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Wingham from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Wingham (St. Mary))

Maps

Online maps of Wingham are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:

• Kent & Sussex Courier
• Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
• Dover Express
• Kentish Gazette
• Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
• Kentish Chronicle
• Maidstone Telegraph

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.