Borden, Kent

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.316666|longitude= 0.700000|official_name= Borden
population =
shire_district= Swale
shire_county = Kent
region= South East England
constituency_westminster=
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference=

Borden is a village situated immediately south west of Sittingbourne, Kent, from which it is separated by a small area of rural land. The history of the name is questioned. It may be derived from "bor" (hill) and then either from "denu" (valley) or "denn" (woodland pasture). It may also derive from "boar" "den", as it was known that the wild animals were found in the surrounding areas. Borden was first recorded in the twelfth century as "Bordena". It may also stem from the settlement there of the de Bourdon (now Borden) family which came from Bourdannay, in Normandy, France with William the Conqueror in 1066. A similar contention surrounds the origin of the surname, so perhaps there lies the connection.

The village centre is clustered around the church, which is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and is at least eight hundred years old. The Church of England primary school and the local inn (The Maypole) are also in the centre. The primary school is considered one of the best in the county, after improving its reputation and teaching standards substantially over the last ten years.Fact|date=April 2007

Within the parish are several hamlets, including Heart's Delight, Chestnut Street and Oad Street. Farming in the area is the main industry, although this has been in decline for many years due to the "scrubbing" of most of the cherry and other fruit orchards. Borden also has a bell makers and small ironmongers.

Today Borden is growing with new houses and has greater ties with Sittingbourne. Many residents now commute to major towns or London to work.

Demography

As of the 2001 UK census, the Borden electoral ward had a population of 2,154. The ethnicity was 99.1% white, 0.3% mixed race, 0.5% Asian, 0% black and 0.1% other. The place of birth of residents was 96.9% United Kingdom, 0.4% Republic of Ireland, 0.7% other Western European countries, and 2% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 79.9% Christian, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.3% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.4% Muslim. 13.4% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 5.5% 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=5945253&c=Borden&d=14&g=459654&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1204058259093&enc=1&domainId=16 | accessdate = 2008-02-26]

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 43.7% in full-time employment, 11.5% in part-time employment, 12.2% self-employed, 2.5% unemployed, 2.3% students with jobs, 2.6% students without jobs, 13.4% retired, 7% looking after home or family, 2.7% permanently sick or disabled and 2.1% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 17.1% retail, 16.3% manufacturing, 10.1% construction, 13.3% real estate, 7.7% health and social work, 6.8% education, 6.3% transport and communications, 5.1% public administration, 3.6% hotels and restaurants, 5.2% finance, 2.9% agriculture and 5.6% 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 health and social work, hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 16.7% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.

People

*Robert Plot

References

External Link(s)

[http://bg.webree.co.uk/site/bgs/portal Borden Primary School]