Hamstreet

infobox UK place
country = England
static_

static_image_caption=
official_name= Hamstreet
latitude= 51.0656
longitude= 0.8626
civil_parish= Orlestone and Warehorne
population = 2000
shire_district= Ashford
shire_county= Kent
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Ashford
post_town= TONBRIDGE
postcode_district = TN26
postcode_area= TN
dial_code= 01233
os_grid_reference= TR005335

Hamstreet is a village in Kent, in south-east England.

The village is located some six miles south of Ashford on the A2070, the main road between Ashford and Hastings. The majority of the village is in the parish of Orlestone, named after a much older hamlet located one mile north of Hamstreet on the ridge of hills; however, part of the village falls within the parish of Warehorne, giving it a population of approximately 2,000 and a loose claim to having three pubs.

The parish church, dedicated to The Good Shephard [http://www.kurc.org.uk/circuit/hamstreet.htm] , is now a shared Anglican/Methodist building, and the parish churches of Orlestone, Snave (now a redundant church), Ruckinge, Warehorne and Kenardington are all within the same benefice.

History

Parts of the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Orlestone date back to the 11th century.Until the coming of the railway in 1853, Hamstreet was just a hamlet known as 'Ham' based around the weatherboard village centre. The village expanded rapidly during the 20th century and had its moment of fame in 1991, when maps of the Hamstreet at various stages in history were used on a series of postage stamps to mark 200 years of the Ordnance Survey – this chance arose because the Hamstreet area was the first to be mapped in this way. An episode of BBC TV's 'Countryfile' was also devoted to the occasion.The village also featured in a mountaineering spoof in Blue Peter to raise money for charity.

Countryside

Two large areas of public woodland surround the village, namely Ham Street Woods and Orlestone Forest, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Both are remnants of the ancient forest that once covered the whole of the Weald of Kent.The Royal Military Canal, the UK's third longest defensive structure, passes by half a mile to the south. Three long distance footpaths also run through the parish:
*The Saxon Shore Way
*Greensand Way (which begins at the main crossroads and runs for convert|110|mi|km|0 to Haslemere, Surrey)
*The Royal Military Canal Path

The area is also popular with cyclists, as Romney Marsh to the south is completely flat!

Amenities

Hamstreet has:
*A railway station on the Marshlink Line
*Post office/general store
*Various shops (including hardware stores/cycle shop/antiques)
*A doctor's surgery
*A dentist
*A village primary school
*A hairdresser
*A garage
*A restaurant
*A garden centre
*A pub at the village crossroads called the Duke's Head
*The home of Kent's own independent bottled gas company, Novagas.

The village has a country fayre and transport festival every June and is twinned with Therouanne in Northern France.