Editing Charing

{{Short description|Village in Kent, England}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country                  = England
|static_image_name        = High Street, Charing, Kent, c1905.jpg 
|static_image_caption     = Charing High Street, c. 1905
|official_name            = Charing 
|coordinates              = {{coord|51.2107|0.7949|display=inline,title}}
|population               = 2766	
|area_total_km2           = 24.9			
|population_ref           = (Civil Parish 2011)<ref name=ons>[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |date=11 February 2003 }} [[United Kingdom Census 2011]] ''[[Office for National Statistics]]'' Retrieved 10 May 2014</ref>
|shire_district           = [[Ashford (borough)|Ashford]]
|shire_county             = [[Kent]]
|region                   = South East England
|constituency_westminster = [[Weald of Kent (UK Parliament constituency)|Weald of Kent]]<ref>{{cite web|title= Location of Weald of Kent |url= https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4385/location |website=parliament.uk|access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>
|post_town                = [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]]
|postcode_district        = TN27
|postcode_area            = TN
|dial_code                = 01233
|os_grid_reference        = TQ953494
}}

'''Charing''' ({{audio|Charing.oga|listen}}) is a village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[Ashford (borough)|Ashford]] district of [[Kent]], in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and [[Westwell Leacon]]. It is located at the foot of the [[North Downs]] and reaches up to the [[escarpment]]. In 2011 the parish had a population of 2,766.

The [[Pilgrims' Way]], the [[M20 motorway]] and [[Charing railway station]] (between London Victoria and Ashford International via [[Maidstone]]) serve the parish.

==History==
The name '''Charing''' first appears in 799 as ''Ciorrincg''. The name probably comes from the [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]] word ''cerring'', which means a bend in the road, or it may be from ''Ceorra-ingas'', which is Anglo-Saxon, meaning ''people of Ceorra''. The village is sited on the [[Pilgrims' Way]] from London to [[Canterbury]], and is one day's walk from [[Canterbury]]. There are a number of old manors located around the village, such as Newlands (now a horse stud) and Pett Place. The village had a market recorded in 1285, and a fair recorded in the fifteenth century.

The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Charing, the parish church of Charing, is situated next to the remains of the [[Archbishop's Palace, Charing|Archbishop's Palace]], just off the High Street. The church's west tower was built in the 14th century, though most of the rest of the building was reconstructed following a catastrophic fire in the 16th century. The church contains a number of memorials to the Dering family, a branch of the [[Dering baronets|Dering family]] of Surrenden Dering, [[Pluckley]], Kent.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4UcuAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22william+levet%22+king+dering&pg=PA119 The Monuments and Painted Glass of Upwards of One Hundred Churches, Philip Parsons, Printed by Simmons, Kirkby and Jones, Canterbury, 1794]</ref>

==Mills==
Charing has had four mills over the centuries, serving the needs of the villagers. There were two [[watermill]]s on the [[Stour watermills|Upper Great Stour]] and two [[windmill]]s.

;Watermills
*''Burnt Mill'', a corn mill working until the 1950s, now derelict.
*''Field Mill'', a corn mill, the building of which survives retaining its waterwheel.

;Windmills
*''[[Charing Windmill|Charing Mill]]'', also known as ''Field Mill'' on the Downs above the village is a [[smock mill]] which was built in the early nineteenth century and last worked in 1891. It stands today as a house conversion.<ref name=West>{{cite book | first = Jenny| last = West| year = 1973| title = The Windmills of Kent| pages = 28–30| publisher = Charles Skilton Ltd.| location = London| isbn = 0284-98534-1}}</ref><ref name=Finch>{{cite book | first = William| last = Coles Finch| authorlink=William Coles Finch| year = 1933| title = Watermills and Windmills| publisher = C W Daniel Company| location = London| page = 177}}</ref>
*''Charing Heath Mill'' was a smock mill<ref name=Finch/> that was demolished c.1878. Millers include William Missing in 1845 and Robert Millgate 1862 – 1878<ref name=Arch>{{cite web| url= http://www.millarchive.com/kent/millpeople/Kent%20Mill%20People.htm| publisher= The Mills Archive Trust| title= Directory of Kent Mill People| access-date= 14 April 2008| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090416174906/http://www.millarchive.com/kent/millpeople/Kent%20Mill%20People.htm| archive-date= 16 April 2009| df= dmy-all}}</ref>

==Places of interest==
Its most famous building is the [[Archbishop's Palace, Charing|Archbishop's Palace]], which lies by the church and was an ancient possession of the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. The palace was an important building in the [[diocese]] of Canterbury, and counted amongst its guests [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]], who took it for himself.  It has been a farmhouse for the last 300&nbsp;years. In 2004, the palace was an unsuccessful contestant in the [[BBC]] television programme ''[[Restoration (TV series)|Restoration]]'', where a number of potential restoration projects throughout the UK competed for funds. 
The church is said to contain the stone on which [[John the Baptist]] was beheaded.

==Amenities==
[[File:St Peter's Church, Market Place, Charing, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 1393920.jpg|thumb|[[Church of St Peter and St Paul, Charing|Church of St Peter and St Paul]], a [[grade I listed building]]]]

These include: 
*[[Church of England|C of E]] Primary School
*Library
*Doctors' surgery
*Independent shops/franchises
*Kentish [[Tea Room]]
*Two mid-to-large sized pubs, most of which are [[listed building]]s: 
**''The Bowl''
**''The Wagon & Horses''
*The Kent County [[Crematorium]]. At which were cremated 60 Commonwealth service personnel of [[World War II]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2087551/CHARING%20(KENT%20COUNTY)%20CREMATORIUM|title= CWGC Cemetery Record, Charing Crematorium|website=cwgc.org}}</ref> and the author [[Charles Hamilton (writer)|Charles Hamilton]], who as Frank Richards created [[Billy Bunter]]. Here also were cremated Archbishops [[William Temple (bishop)|William Temple]] and [[Cosmo Gordon Lang]].

==Community==
Housing development since the 1960s has also led to a significant proportion of people employed in London or business parks on the motorway corridors. Groups of residents organise frequent club-based or charity events and fairs. Charing has in the same period revived its [[Youth Club]] and [[cricket]] team/facilities. There is also a bowls club. A skate park has been added. A Community Warden assists the youths.

== Demography ==

{| class="wikitable" id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 2em; width: 40%; font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="3"
!colspan="4"|'''Charing compared'''
|-
|'''2001 UK Census'''||'''Charing'''||'''Ashford district'''||'''England'''
|-
|Population||2,284||102,661||49,138,831
|-
|Foreign born||4.3%||5.5%||9.2%
|-
|White||98%||97.6%||90.9%
|-
|Asian||0.6%||0.9%||4.6%
|-
|Black||0.3%||0.4%||2.3%
|-
|Christian||77.4%||76.5%||71.7%
|-
|Muslim||0.4%||0.6%||3.1%
|-
|Hindu||0%||0.3%||1.1%
|-
|No religion||12.6%||14.6%||14.6%
|-
|Unemployed||2.2%||2.4%||3.3%
|-
|Retired||20.5%||13.8%||13.5%
|}
At the 2001 UK census, the Charing [[electoral ward]] had a population of 2,284. The ethnicity was 98% white, 0.7% mixed race, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.4% other. The place of birth of residents was 95.7% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.2% other Western European countries, and 2.6% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.4% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist and 0.2% Jewish, 0.4% Muslim. 12.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 8.8% did not state their religion.<ref name=Stat>{{cite web  | title = Neighbourhood Statistics  | publisher = Statistics.gov.uk | url = http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.do?a=3&b=5945437&c=Charing&d=14&g=456800&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1203676077713&enc=1&domainId=16  | access-date = 22 February 2008 }}</ref>

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 32% in full-time employment, 11.9% in part-time employment, 14.3% self-employed, 2.2% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 2.1% students without jobs, 20.5% retired, 7.1% looking after home or family, 4.6% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 17.8% retail, 12.9% manufacturing, 8.2% construction, 14.7% real estate, 10.2% health and social work, 7.4% education, 5% transport and communications, 4.1% public administration, 5.1% hotels and restaurants, 4.4% finance, 4.4% agriculture and 5.8% other.
Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in agriculture and construction. There were a relatively low proportion in public administration, transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 18.4% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.<ref name=Stat/>

==Transport==
Transport links provided by the A20 London to Dover road, and direct train services to Ashford International and London Victoria via Maidstone East.

There are two bus stops in Charing, with the only bus services running through being the 10X and 124, which runs exclusively as a school bus.

[[Charing railway station]] was opened on 1 July 1884,<ref name=charing>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.kentrail.org.uk/charing.htm
 | title = Kent Rail
 | access-date = 20 July 2008
 | page = 1
}}</ref> as part of the [[London, Chatham and Dover Railway]] (LCDR) extension to {{rws|Ashford West}} of the 1874 [[Maidstone East Line|line]] to Maidstone, which itself was a branch off the LCDR's Sevenoaks branch of 1862, which joined the LCDR [[Chatham Main Line|mainline]] of 1840 at Swanley.<ref name=charing/> In the wake of 1955 [[British Rail]] Modernisation plan, the "Kent Coast Electrification" scheme saw the suburban electrification of the previous [[Southern Railway (Great Britain)|Southern Railway]] extended from Maidstone East through to Ashford. Train services are currently operated by [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]], with one train in each direction throughout the middle of the day, and an enhanced service during peak periods.

== Notable People ==
* [[Arthur Ashwell (cricketer, born 1908)|Arthur Ashwell]] (1908–1985), cricketer
* [[Frederick Coppins]] (1889–1963), Canadian soldier, recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]]
* [[Cecil Headlam]] (1872–1934), cricketer
* [[Robert Honywood (New Romney MP)|Robert Honywood]] (1601–1686), Member of Parliament
* [[Jim Moir]] (born 1959), comedian, artist
* [[Nancy Sorrell]] (born 1974), model, actress, television presenter
* [[Ronald Stuart]] (1886–1954), Royal Navy Captain, recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Charing}}
*[https://www.charingkent.org/ Current parish council website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100130033350/http://www.charingkent.co.uk/ Charing village web site (2010 archive copy)]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=JaUMAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22william+levet%22+charles+i&pg=PA1216 The Beauties of England and Wales, John Britton, Joseph Nightingale, James Norris, 1808]

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Kent]]
[[Category:Villages in the Borough of Ashford]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Ashford, Kent]]