Harbledown

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Harbledown
latitude= 51.2805
longitude= 1.0529
population = 2,800 (2005) [cite web | title = 2005 Ward Level Population Estimates | publisher = Kent County Council | url = http://www.kent.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E503169D-C06B-498F-BD0A-678EE22B4D37/6841/sae108.pdf |month=September | year=2006| accessdate = 2007-08-20 |format=PDF]
civil_parish=
shire_district= City of Canterbury
shire_county= Kent
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Canterbury
post_town= CANTERBURY
postcode_district = CT2
postcode_area= CT
dial_code= 01227
os_grid_reference= TR130579

Harbledown is a village to the west of Canterbury, Kent, now contiguous with the city and in effect a suburb. The High Street is a conservation area with many fascinating colloquial buildings either side of a sharp climb towards the city. There is also a good Georgian terrace on the south side.

The Parish Church of St. Michael and All Angels is compact and attractive but more significant is the Hospital of St. Nicholas: this is now an Almshouse with a range of cottages for elderly people. Formerly, it was a leper hospital whose inmates supported themselves by displaying a slipper that had been worn by St. Thomas Becket; passing pilgrims would leave a donation for the privilege of seeing it. As you enter the Hospital of St. Nicholas a plaque reads:

"This ancient Hospital of St. Nicholas Harbledown was founded by Archbishop Lanfranc c. 1084 for the relief of Lepers. On the disappearance of Leprosy from England Lanfranc's foundation gradually developed into the Almshouses of today. The main door of the church is kept locked for security reasons but the interior of the building can be seen by appointment with the Sub Prior. Visitors are invited to walk in the grounds of the Hospital."

The much despised Richard Culmer was once minister of the parish.

Etymology

It is said that Henry II of England walked barefoot through Harbledown on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral, in repentance for his mistaken involvement in the murder of Thomas Becket. Thus the area was dubbed 'hobble down', becoming 'Harbledown'.

However, the name 'Harbledown' is more likely to be the medieval village of 'Bobbe-up-and-doun', which is where Chaucer and his pilgrims rested on the way to Canterbury. It was so-called because the road was of poor quality and would 'bob up and down'. Later this became Harbledown.

Demography

As of the 2001 UK census, the Harbledown electoral ward had a population of 2,593. The ethnicity was 94.3% white, 1.2% mixed race, 2.8% Asian, 0.8% black and 0.9% other.The place of birth of residents was 88.1% United Kingdom, 0.8% Republic of Ireland, 3.1% other Western European countries, and 8% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 73.3% Christian, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 0.2% Sikh, 0.2% Jewish and 0.6% Muslim. 15.7% were recorded as having no religion, 0.7% had an alternative religion and 8.5% did not state their religion.cite web | title = Neighbourhood Statistics | publisher = Statistics.gov.uk | url = http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.do?a=3&b=5945401&c=Harbledown&d=14&g=457212&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1203642840296&enc=1&domainId=16 | accessdate = 2008-02-21 ]

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 35.9% in full-time employment, 12.7% in part-time employment, 11.3% self-employed, 1.5% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 8.3% students without jobs, 17.9% retired, 4.9% looking after home or family, 3.3% permanently sick or disabled and 1.9% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 15.1% retail, 8.2% manufacturing, 5.8% construction, 12% real estate, 10.8% health and social work, 24.1% education, 4.6% transport and communications, 6.7% public administration, 2.7% hotels and restaurants, 2.9% finance, 2.6% agriculture and 4.5% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in education and agriculture. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, hotels and restaurants, and transport and communications. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 31.3% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.

ee also

*Upper Harbledown

References

External links

* [http://www.hillside.co.uk/articles/canterbury.html Canterbury - A Tourist's Guide]