Blean 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
Canterbury district 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 ...
, England. The civil parish is large and is mostly woodland, much of which is
ancient woodland
In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...
. The
developed village within the parish is scattered along the road between Canterbury and
Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent, England, at the convergence of the The Swale, Swale and the Greater Thames Estuary, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay, Kent, Herne Bay.
The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Se ...
, in the middle of the Forest of Blean. The parish of St Cosmus and St Damian in the Blean was renamed "Blean" on 1 April 2019.
History
According to
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 ...
's 1800 county study, the village was once part of the king's ancient forest of Blean in the
hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101.
In mathematics
100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of
Westgate.
The name Blean is the
dative
In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...
form of the Old English word ‘blea’ which means rough ground.
Therefore the full name of the parish meant "the church of
Saints Cosmas and Damian
Cosmas and Damian ( – or AD) were two Arabs, Arab physicians and early Christian martyrs. They practised their profession in the seaport of Yumurtalık, Aegeae, then in the Roman province of Cilicia (Roman province), Cilicia.
Cosmas and ...
(sic) in the rough ground."
In 1835, the Blean Union
Workhouse
In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...
, designed by William Edmunds, was built on four acres south of Herne Common. The design was based on
Sir Francis Bond Head's ''Plan of a Rural Workhouse for 500 Persons'', a publication of the
Poor Law Commission
The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administer poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The commission was made up of three commissioners who became known as "The Bashaws of Somerset House", their secretary ...
. To keep costs down, no outside drains were added, and the building was windowless. Discipline was severe. A nine-year-old girl was once punished for a small offence by being forced to remain overnight in the
mortuary
A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...
with a corpse; however, the Master and Matron were dismissed as a result.
Amenities
The village has a druid woodland sculpture park, noted for its large sleeping dragon. The east of the village has a hall and recreation ground used for sports.
The parish church is about half a mile from the village centre. It is dedicated to
St Cosmus and St Damian and emphasising some kind of descriptor of the land itself, has always been suffixed 'in the Blean'. It is a 13th-century building and
Grade II* listed
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, H ...
, the second highest designation in the national grading scheme.
The village contains two pubs, a cafe, an archery store and a corner store.
Governance
Blean is part of the
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
of Blean Forest. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 6,176.
Its current Lord Mayor is Neil Barry Todd
Economy
Blean's economy is closely tied to
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 ...
and to a lesser extent, Whitstable. In television entertainment
Smallfilms operates here the production company that created the animated series ''
Ivor the Engine
''Ivor the Engine'' is a British cutout animation television series created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin's Smallfilms company. It follows the adventures of a small green steam locomotive who lives in the "top left-hand corner of Wales ...
'', ''
Bagpuss
''Bagpuss'' is a British animated children's television series which was made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate through their company Smallfilms. The series of thirteen episodes was first broadcast from 12 February to 7 May 1974. The title c ...
'' and the ''
Clangers
''Clangers'' (usually referred to as ''The Clangers'') is a British stop motion, stop-motion Animated series, animated children's television series, consisting of short films about a family of mouse, mouse-like creatures who live on, and inside ...
'', at
Peter Firmin
Peter Arthur Firmin (11 December 1928 – 1 July 2018) was an English artist and puppet maker. He was the founder of Smallfilms, along with Oliver Postgate. Between them they created a number of popular children's TV programmes, '' The Saga of ...
's barn on the Blean farm. The bay window of Firmin's house was featured in the opening sequence of ''
Bagpuss
''Bagpuss'' is a British animated children's television series which was made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate through their company Smallfilms. The series of thirteen episodes was first broadcast from 12 February to 7 May 1974. The title c ...
''.
Eponyms
The
Hunt-class destroyer
The Hunt class was a class of escort destroyer of the Royal Navy. The first vessels were ordered early in 1939, and the class saw extensive service in the Second World War, particularly on the British east coast and Mediterranean convoys. Th ...
HMS ''Blean'' was named after the village's Blean Beagles hunt.
References
External links
Parish Church of St Cosmus & St Damian in the Blean
Villages in Kent
Civil parishes in Kent
City of Canterbury
{{Kent-geo-stub