Nonington (variously, Nonnington, Nunyngton, Nonnyngton and Nunnington), is a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
and village in the southeast corner of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, situated halfway between the historic city of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
and the
channel port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
town of
Dover. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Easole Street, to which it is conjoined and
Frogham.
History
In 1800
Edward Hasted
Edward Hasted (20 December 1732 OS (31 December 1732 NS) – 14 January 1812) was an English antiquarian and pioneering historian of his ancestral home county of Kent. As such, he was the author of a major county history, ''The History and T ...
noted that the church of Nonington was antient (an old spelling of ancient), a chapel of ease to that of
Wingham and was on the foundation of the college there by
Archbishop Peckham in 1286. Then the church was given to the college. In 1558
Queen Mary granted it, among others, to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The parish of Nonington was once made up of the now separate parishes of Nonington and
Aylesham
Aylesham is a village and civil parish in the Dover district of Kent, England. The village is located around 6.5 miles (10.5 km) southeast of the cathedral city of Canterbury, and around 8.5 miles (13.7 km) northwest of the town an ...
. The parish is served by the
Grade I listed 'Church of St Mary'.
It also has a Baptist chapel, linked to
Eythorne
Eythorne is a civil parish and small village located 7.3 miles north-northwest of Dover in Kent, with a combined population of approximately 2,500 residents including nearby villages Barfrestone and Elvington. Although not classed as one of the ...
Baptist Church.
It is home to a community of the
Bruderhof who use the old Nonington College of Physical Education, previously the (
Grade I listed) St. Alban's Court, the home of the Hammond family from the Reformation until the late 1930s. The Bruderhof currently use St Alban's Court as a boarding school.
Amenities
Nonington has its own primary school; Nonington CE Primary School. The school has recently been federated with Goodnestone Primary school. Nonington has a long history and has been operating as a school since the reign of Queen Victoria. The school has a number of historical artefacts that have been retained since this period including the school log book. There is a large tree in the centre of the playground which was supposedly planted by a pupil at the school.
The school has undergone a number of renovations and has a variety of additions to the main building. There is a story relating to a ghost that is said to roam the school when the school is empty; at weekends and at night. An entry in the school logbook from 1923 recounts how footprints were found in a recently laid floor that could not be explained as the school had been confirmed to be empty at the time. The origin of this spectre is said to predate the school buildings.
Nonington was noted in the ''
Guinness Book of World Records'' for its 'Majesty Oak' in Fredville Park, the largest maiden oak tree in the UK.
The village is also on the
Miner's Way Trail
The Miner's Way Trail is a long-distance circular footpath in England, starting at Sholden, Kent. Linking up the coalfield parishes of East Kent.
Including; the parishes of Deal, Ash, Aylesham, Chillenden, Eastry, Eythorne, Elvington, Goodnes ...
. The trail links up the coalfield parishes of East Kent.
References
External links
*
nonington.org
{{authority control
Villages in Kent
Hutterite communities
Civil parishes in Kent