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

and historic village in the 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 ...

, England. The village is part of the Dover district of Kent, and forms part of the Dover urban area. It is situated three miles North West of the town of

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. Situated in the Dour valley, Temple Ewell is surrounded by nature reserves and conservation areas. The village has a parish church, a village hall and a primary school. It also has a local shop and post office, and an 18th-century

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

. Temple Ewell is served by Kearsney railway station, which is situated between the villages of Temple Ewell, Kearsney and

River A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

. The 2001 census records a population including Kearsney, of 1,696 for Temple Ewell, falling to 1,669 at the 2011 census.

Toponymy

The name ''Ewell'' is derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word ''ǣwielm'', meaning ''river source'' or ''spring'', and is so called because one of the sources of the River Dour rises on the village outskirts at a place called Watersend and flows through the village towards Dover. The prefix ''Temple'' indicates that at one time the village was owned by the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

History

The village of Temple Ewell (not to be confused with

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

village in Surrey, which has the same meaning) was founded sometime before the 8th century, and is first mentioned by name in a charter of c.772 as ''Æwille''. 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 ...

of 1086, it is named ''Ewelle'' or ''Etwelle'', and is recorded as having a manor house, five watermills, and about fifty dwellings around a small wooden

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

church. At this time, the village was owned by Bishop Odo, the half-brother of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. In 1163, the Knights Templar was granted the manor of Ewell by the crown in recognition of their role in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, and the word ''Temple'' became prefixed to the village name. The Templars founded a Preceptory in the village, and around 1170 built the Norman church of St.Peter and St.Paul. In 1213 King John surrendered the crown to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, and it is thought that this may have taken place either at the Preceptory in Temple Ewell, or possibly in Dover. Following the Templars' dissolution in 1312, Temple Ewell passed out of their possession in 1314. The village was then given to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, and was retained by them until

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

dissolved the monasteries in 1540. During the 18th and 19th and on into the 20th century (until the 1960s), Temple Ewell had two of several

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s along the stretch of the River Dour. The two mills (which still stand today as private residences) produced flour, and supplied the English troops at Dover during the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. The railway station at Kearsney was built in 1861, linking Temple Ewell with Dover and London, and leading to an increase in population and prosperity. Temple Ewell C.E. Primary School, a

parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a ...

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, was established next to the church in 1871, and the Victorian schoolhouse building was completed in 1872. Major renovation work was carried out on the church in the 1870s, and a

parish hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church architecture, church, generally for community and Charitable organization, charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the ...

was constructed in 1909. Between 1940 and 1944, Temple Ewell was victim to several stray shells, which were fired at the Dover area across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

from France during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. One of these destroyed the church's main

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

when it landed outside the school.

Nature Reserve

The Lydden and Temple Ewell Downs are a National Nature Reserve which borders Temple Ewell on one side, stretching up to the neighbouring village of Lydden. The reserve consists of an area of chalk downland which is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.

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References

External links

TENews - Temple Ewell Newsletter

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent Dover District