Westwell, Kent

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Westwell
latitude= 51.1910
longitude= 0.8475
civil_parish= Westwell
population = 740 [ [http://www.ashford.gov.uk/about_the_borough/towns_and_villages/westwell.aspx Ashford Borough Council] Census 2001]
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= TQ989474

Westwell is a village and civil parish with a population of 740, located convert|4|mi|km|0 north of Ashford in Kent, South East England.

The Pilgrims' Way runs close to the village on the Downs and was travelled by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury and now the M20 motorway and High Speed 1 pass through the parish.

History

Westwell is a rural village in the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the foot of the Westwell Downs, the highest part of which is called the Beacon after the chain of beacons erected to signal the approach of the Spanish Armada. The village was first mentioned in 858 in a Saxon document and was included in the Domesday Book. A weekly market was held here under a licence granted by Edward I, there was a park during Edward II's time and later a vineyard tended by monks (recalled by one of the cottages in the village named "Vineyards").

The centre of the village is a conservation area with many mature trees and listed buildings, including "Court Lodge", "Swinford Cottage, Periton Court" and "The Mill House" (with its water wheel still in working order). Among many other buildings of interest in the parish are "Ripple Court" (where it is alleged that Jack Cade was captured and used to house the local dungeons) and "The Haven" (pronounced 'harven') a Tudor residence where Elizabeth I is believed to have spent one night. [ [http://www.ashford.gov.uk/about_the_borough/towns_and_villages/westwell.aspx Ashford Borough Council] ]

References