Adisham (formerly Adesham) is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the English county of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. It is twinned with

Campagne-lès-Hesdin Campagne-lès-Hesdin (, literally ''Campagne Lès, near Hesdin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. History In 1469 there were 64 households in Campagne. There was an o ...

in France.

Geography

The village centre, six miles south-east of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

is on the

B2046 road B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme In Great Britain, there is a numbering scheme used to Categorization, classify and identify all roads. Eac ...

between Wingham and Barham. It was known as ''Edesham'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. A clustered village, the cluster is within from the central cluster of

Aylesham Aylesham is a village and civil parish in the Dover district of Kent, England. The village is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south-east of the cathedral city of Canterbury, and 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north-west of the town and port of Dover. Ac ...

. The village lies on one of the routes that formed part of the

Pilgrims' Way A pilgrims' way or pilgrim way is a standard route that pilgrims take when they go on a pilgrimage in order to reach their destination – usually a holy site or place of worship. These sites may be towns or cities of special significance such a ...

immortalised by

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

in his book ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

''. In 2010, this was the subject of a villagers' protest when local landowner and former banker to the Queen, Timothy Steel, tried to ban walkers from part of the route. After a public enquiry, public

rights of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

were Council-designated on paths on his land including the path of the former Pilgrims Way.

Amenities

Adisham Church of England Primary School

Adisham village hall and recreation ground - geograph

The village church is dedicated to ''Holy Innocents'', and dates to around the late 12th century. A Church of England primary school also serves the village. The

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

was built in 1903 and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The village hall was built in 1908 and is still used regularly for public events, including parish council meetings and a Big Breakfast event held on the first Saturday of every month. Adisham Recreation Ground was opened to the public in 1921, and is situated behind the village hall. Adisham's village shop shut down in 2004 and the ''Bull's Head''

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

closed around 2010.

Transport

Adisham railway station Adisham railway station is a stop on the Dover Priory railway station, Dover branch of the Chatham Main Line; it serves the village of Adisham, Kent, England. It is down the line from , situated between and . The station and all trains that se ...

opened on 22 July 1861. It is on the Chatham Main Line - Dover Branch. There is also a daily bus service to Canterbury.

Notable residents

The Rector of Adisham in the archdiocese of Canterbury, Master John "The Martyr" Bland. Bland was a Protestant minister during the reign of Queen Mary I, who had him burned at the stake on 12 July 1555, being found guilty of heresy. The agricultural pioneer John Reynolds, who introduced the Swedish turnip, or swede, into England, lived at Adisham.

References

External links