Editing Wouldham

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| official_name = Wouldham
| coordinates = {{coord|51.349640|0.458360|display=inline,title}}
| population = 1,497
| population_ref = (2011 Census)<ref name=census>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130990&c=Wouldham&d=16&e=62&g=6439417&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474711021498&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
| shire_district = [[Tonbridge and Malling]]
| shire_county = [[Kent]]
| region = South East England
| constituency_westminster = [[Chatham and Aylesford (UK Parliament constituency)|Chatham and Aylesford]]
| post_town = [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]
| postcode_district = ME1
| postcode_area = ME
| dial_code = 
| os_grid_reference = 
| static_image = High Street, Wouldham - geograph.org.uk - 4469369.jpg
| static_image_caption = High Street
}}
'''Wouldham''' is a village on the bank of the [[River Medway]] in [[Kent]], England. In 2011 its population was approximately 1500,<ref name=census/> which has increased since 2017, with substantial housing development to the south of the village. It has an 11th-century church, two schools – a [[primary school]] and one for those with [[special educational needs]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.medwaygreenschool.co.uk/|title=Medway Green School|access-date=20 October 2023}}</ref> and two [[public house]]s, The Medway Inn and The Waterman's Arms. 

==History==
The tusk and teeth of a mammoth were excavated in Peters Pit and displayed in [[Rochester Guildhall]] Museum. In 1982, the skull of an 18-year-old teenager was excavated, dated as 1500 BC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wouldham - Bronze Age Man|url=http://www.wouldhamvillage.com/bronzeageman.html|website=www.wouldhamvillage.com|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> Oral history suggests that the village was occupied when the Romans arrived, and that they constructed a ford across the Medway. The site of a temple dedicated to Mithras has been excavated and occurs on old maps. 
On the Wouldham Marshes is ''Starkey House'' built in 1483: a now restored [[Grade I listed]] medieval manor house called Starkey Castle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-179417-starkey-castle-wouldham-kent |title=Starkey Castle, Wouldham |publisher=www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |date=1 August 1952 |access-date=October 21, 2013}}</ref>

In the churchyard, is the grave of [[Walter Burke (Purser)|Walter Burke]], who was present on board {{HMS|Victory}} at the [[battle of Trafalgar]] and the man who held [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]] in his arms as he died. 
Wouldham primary school celebrates this connection in several ways, with its four sports teams being named after ships at the Battle of Trafalgar (''Victory'', {{HMS|Ajax|1798|2}}, [[HMS Royal Sovereign (1786)|''Sovereign'']], {{HMS|Britannia|1762|2}}), students being assigned into a house named after one of four famous figures at Trafalgar, and by holding an annual event at the nearby church to commemorate Walter Burke.

A [[narwhal]] was discovered in the 1940s washed up on the bank of the river,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kentmessenger.newsprints.co.uk/view/10647374/pd1364334_narwhal%20whale_%201949_jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919035636/http://kentmessenger.newsprints.co.uk/view/10647374/pd1364334_narwhal%20whale_%201949_jpg|url-status=dead |archive-date=19 September 2016 |title=Images of Medway Book - pd1364334 |website=kentmessenger.newsprints.co.uk}}
{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919035636/http://kentmessenger.newsprints.co.uk/view/10647374/pd1364334_narwhal%20whale_%201949_jpg|accessdate=19 October 2023}}</ref> and is documented in the [[British Natural History Museum|Natural History Museum, London]].

Until 1963 there was a [[ferry]] crossing over the Medway to [[Halling, Kent|Halling]] on the opposite bank.
<gallery center="">
File:Wouldham5520.JPG|{{center|Entrance to Wouldham}}
File:Wouldham5526.JPG|{{center|Approach to Wouldham Church}}
File:Wouldham5525.JPG|{{center|Wouldham Church}}
File:Starkey Castle from Footpath - geograph.org.uk - 1062154.jpg|{{center|Starkey Castle}}
</gallery>

==Industry==
For a hundred years, Wouldham was synonymous with [[cement kiln|cement]]. The Wouldham Court Cement Works was the earliest cement works, opening in 1847. The works were based on the riverside in the centre of the village. In 1855, the first owners of the cement works, Thomas Freen and Co, became bankrupt and in 1856 it passed to the Wouldham Patent Portland Cement Co. They built a tramway to connect the works with the quarry, 1,380&nbsp;ft away.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wouldham - Wouldham Court Cement Works|url=http://www.wouldhamvillage.com/wouldhamcourt.html|website=www.wouldhamvillage.com|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>

The Wouldham Hall Cement Works also fronted the river, and took in some land in [[Burham]]. William Peters started making [[hydraulic lime]] on the site between 1857 and 1866. He had 18 lime kilns.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wouldham - Peters/Wouldham Hall Cement Works|url=http://www.wouldhamvillage.com/peterswouldhamhall.html|website=www.wouldhamvillage.com|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> The first wet process cement kilns were installed by the Peters Brothers in 1877.<ref name="Moore">{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=Dylan|title=Cement Kilns: Peters|url=http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/cement_kiln_peters.html|website=www.cementkilns.co.uk|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>

The cement started with [[bottle kiln]]s, with 24 in 1879, making 720 tons a week. The raw materials, were obtained on site and the finished product was taken to London in [[Thames sailing barges]]. The Peters operation owned 80 barges, and employed 1000 men. In the 1880s the kilns were replaced by [[Batchelor chamber kiln]]s (each with a capacity of 30 tons per week), and further were added to bring up the production to 990 tons per week. In 1898 seventeen more were added, and in 1903 thee [[Schneider kiln]]s (at 330 tons) giving a total capacity of 1850.<ref name="Moore"/> Two [[Hoffmann kiln]]s were installed, and then two [[rotary kiln]]s. The first chamber kiln block was demolished, and the remaining chamber kilns were only used up to 1915, though six remained in commission until the sites closure.

The site was obtained by [[Blue Circle Industries|BPCM]] (Blue Circle) in 1911, who combined operations with the nearby West Kent works. The works closed in 1925/26 for good. There was no railway on this side of the river, so getting to the railway at Snodland involved taking the cement by barge across the river and then hauling it by horse and cart. This was uneconomical compared to the works across the river at [[Snodland]], and [[Halling, Kent|Cuxton and Halling]], with its rail connection on the [[Medway Valley line]]<ref name="WVpeters">{{cite web|last1=Wouldham|title=Wouldham - Peters/Wouldham Hall Cement Works|url=http://www.wouldhamvillage.com/peterswouldhamhall.html|website=www.wouldhamvillage.com|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>

==Peters Village==
[[File:Peters Village sculpture 8435.jpg|thumb]]
Before 1999, a large area of allotments were situated between the school and the recreation ground. Despite the opposition of many villagers,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Alan|title=Huge majority say No to Wouldham allotment developments, reveals MP Tracey Crouch|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/village-decides-on-allotments-scheme-13997/|access-date=11 August 2017|work=kentonline.couk|date=11 March 2014}}</ref> a housing estate was built over them, which increased the village's population by a large percentage.

Peters Village is a new area of housing being constructed since 2014 to the south of the existing village on the former Peters Wouldham Hall Cement Works and in Peters Pit. It consists of 1000 houses grouped in three sectors: the Village Centre, Lower Peters Village and Upper Peters Village. It includes a new [[primary school]], [[community centre]], playing fields cycle way and riverside esplanade together with a new road bridge across the River Medway. The site is sensitive as it lies adjoining a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] and the [[North Downs]] [[AONB]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Peters Village - Projects {{!}} Vincent & Gorbing|url=https://www.vincent-gorbing.co.uk/town-planning/peters-village|website=www.vincent-gorbing.co.uk|access-date=3 April 2018|language=en}}</ref> The plans were approved in 2006 but postponed due to the economic downturn. Construction started on the infrastructure in 2014. The first apartments and houses were occupied in late 2017. The project, which received £19.5m from the government, is due to be completed by 2024.<ref>{{cite news|title=Peters Village and Medway bridge work to start|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-27371752|access-date=20 October 2023|work=BBC News|date=12 May 2014}}</ref> The new crossing over the River Medway to link with the [[A228 road]], the Peters Bridge, opened in September 2016.<ref name="WVpeters"/>
[[File:Peters Bridge 8404.jpg|thumb|The Medway crossing: Peters Bridge 2018]]

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

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.historic-kent.co.uk/vill_w.htm#villw14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615120442/http://www.historic-kent.co.uk/vill_w.htm|url-status=dead |archive-date=15 June 2007 |title=Village notes |website=(www.historic-kent.co.uk)}}
*[https://wouldhampc.com/ Parish Council website]
*{{mmukscaled|TQ714643|100|Location map}}

{{Tonbridge and Malling}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Kent]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Kent]]
[[Category:Lime kilns in the United Kingdom]]