Ickham & Well Parish Plan

2010

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Acknowledgements Contents

The Parish Plan Committee thank everyone who has helped in The Parish Plan the preparation of this Plan, or assisted in the many events &  Introduction activities held in the Parish, including:  Geography & History  The Parish Church Ickham & Well Parish Council, Mr David Humphrey-Woodward, Saint John the Trevor Skelton of Action for Communities in Rural , Evangelist Amanda Sparkes of City Council, The Four Village  Parish Plan Store Committee & Mrs Alka Patel, Canterbury Cathedral Methodology Archives, Amanda Gage of Route Marketing, Angharad Taylor, Rosemary Batchelor, Parochial Church Council, Conservation Adult Questionnaires Society, Friends of Ickham, Leonard Coombs for his History, Analysis, Opinions & Village Hall Management Committee, Duke William Pub, Opportunities Haywain Inn – and, of course, the many parishioners who have  A: General Information contributed to the questionnaires, the success of events and  B: Transport & day-to-day activities within the Parish. Highways  C: Environment  D: Village Hall Brennan Dwyer, Megan Taylor, Jacqueline Grimsley, Alan Jones  E: St John‟s Church and also previous Committee Members, Roger Burnett and Emma  F: Crime & Safety Sargeant.  G: Housing & Local Development  H: Information & Copyright: Communication  J: The Future of Ickham Extracts from the Kent Tithe Map Project, showing the & Well Parish settlements of the Parish, are produced with kind permission from the Canterbury Cathedral Archives and the National Youth Questionaires Archives. Analysis, Opinions & Opportunities All photographs and images are Copyright and may not be  A: General Information reproduced in any form, or by any means, without the  B: Transport & Highways permission from the Copyright owner. All rights reserved. Some  C: Environment photographs are available for purchase as prints. Please  D: Village Hall contact Jacqueline Grimsley for further details:  E: St John‟s Church [email protected] or 01227 722713.  F: Crime & Safety  G: omitted from Youth Photographs & illustrations provided by Jacqueline Grimsley, Questionnaires Rosemary Batchelor, Megan Taylor & Alan Jones. Every effort  H: Information & has been made to contact any other copyright holder and where Communication appropriate permission to feature individual scenes has been  J: The Future of Ickham sought. In the event of an omission please contact the & Well Parish

Committee. Parish & Settlements

Ordnance Survey Map The Ickham & Well Parish Plan Website:

Action Plans The Paris Plan Website will be updated regularly to report on progress on the Plan itself and other related issues. Please visit: Resource Guide www.ickham-parish.org.uk

Parish Footpath Map If you would like to comment, become involved with any aspect of the Plan, or assist with Parish activities, please do not hesitate to contact a Committee Member or use the Contact Form on the Website.

2 Ickham & Well Parish Plan

Introduction

The Parish

The Parish of is blessed by its location, infrastructure and community. Lying in farmland, interspersed with woods and lakes, we have good access to Canterbury and various connections to London. To the south and east we have a wonderful coastline and a plethora of seaside towns, with all that they can offer.

Our Parish is rich in history and architecture - yet remains firmly focussed on the future. Bringing this all together is a strong sense of community, shown by parishioners organising and attending the many clubs, associations and events that structure our year. These range from Carols around the Christmas tree in Ickham, to the Cricket Club‟s busy summer programme, or the Beer Festival in the autumn.

As we can see from the Parish Plan Questionnaires the vast majority of residents appreciate how lucky they are to live in the Parish and are keen that it should remain as a rural community, nestled in farmland and green spaces. However, these same people also have some concerns, or ideals that they would like to see addressed.

The Parish Plan is a first step in providing our community with enhanced facilities to improve the quality of life of those who live here, and those who will come to live or work in the Parish. At the same time it recognises that nothing should be done which will spoil the nature of the Parish and its villages.

It was with this aim that the plan was created and it is towards this goal that it will move forward. The challenge facing the Committee has been to honestly represent the views of all parishioners (sometimes contradictory) and to produce balanced proposals for the future. Comments and, perhaps more importantly, wide involvement are welcomed.

Geography and History

The Parish of Ickham and Well is situated approximately five miles east of Canterbury in Kent, South East . The name Ickham appears to derive from two Saxon words Yeok – a measure of arable land, and Ham – a dwelling or enclosure. Yeokham was first corrupted to Yeoham and later to its modern form Ickham.

Ickham and Well Parish is an agricultural Parish of about 900ha (2,220 acres) and encompasses the village of Ickham; the hamlets of Seaton, Bramling, Duckpitts and Cherville House, Upper and Lower Garrington and Lee Priory; and the farms of Lee Priory Farm, Britton Farm and Appleton Farm. In 1841 the population of the Parish was 550; currently the population is about 420. The northwest boundary of the parish runs along the Nailbourne, Silver Dike and the to then along Blackhole Dike to the north east boundary, which goes along channels and dikes and around the Isle of Rhee. The south east boundary follows Port Rill past Britton Farm, goes around Bramling and along field boundaries past Appleton Farm to the railway line, which is the south west boundary of the Parish. The village of Well used to be within the Parish but is now in the Parish of and Quaives Farm, which is on the edge of Wickhambreaux, is actually in the Parish as the original Parish boundary followed the course of the river. At its lowest point, in the north east of the Parish near Britton Farm, the land is only 2m above sea level rising to about 50m in the SW near to the railway line. The A257 runs through the Parish separating the settlements of Bramling and Lee Priory, from Ickham.

The earliest mention of Ickham according to the “Villare Cantiarum” is in 781 when “Ickham…was given by King Offa to Christchurch and to the monks of that convent”. Despite this fact there is evidence for earlier settlements on, or near, the sites of the present villages. For example, we know that there were Roman watermills in the Ickham area. The Domesday Book, a survey of all England carried out in 1086 at the end of the reign of William the Conqueror, lists the villages of Ickham, Littlebourne and Wickhambreaux as manors and they were, together with Garrington, part of the „Downhamford‟ Hundred. Ickham was for many years the “treasury” for Canterbury Cathedral. This fact is still visible today in many street and house names, which include the words “treasury” and “rectory”.

The Parish Church of St John the Evangelist is located in Ickham, dates from the 13th century and is probably on the site of an earlier wooden Saxon church. The Church belonged to Christ Church Priory, as

3 did most of the land in the parish. Up to the 1750‟s there were 18 monks‟ stalls in the chancel of the church showing the number of monks who would come out to the Parish to inspect the farms of the district.

Ickham is centered around a single road, The Street, with many old and well preserved houses. Parts of the oldest house in the village, dating from the 13th century, are preserved in The Old Rectory, which was used as the Rectory up to 1955; it was then rented to students of the newly formed Kent University, before becoming a residence for elderly gentlefolk and nowadays a private home. Portions of a 13th century house are also preserved in New Place, which was the home for some time of Brigadier Jack Slade Powell, D.S.O. a noted character in the village, who has a plaque commemorating his life by the village pond.

Pubs in the Parish are The Duke William in Ickham and The Haywain Inn in Bramling. The Duke William was the first place in the parish to get a telephone, in 1905, when one was installed inside the back porch. The Haywain was originally called The Volunteer, when Bramling Downs were in regular use for manoeuvres by the volunteer army, but changed its name in 1976.

Ickham and Well Parish was traditionally a farming parish growing grain, root crops for cattle food and hops. Hop production declined after the 1920‟s and the majority of the Parish is now used for grain and vegetable production, with only a small area being used for cattle grazing. Over the years many shops and services have been lost from the Parish including a baker‟s, which became a sweet shop and then a house; a butcher‟s, which existed between 1850 and 1920; a shop and post office dating from the mid 18th century; a carpenter‟s shop, which existed for at least 300 years; grocers; dressmakers; blacksmiths, shoemakers and a school.

The first school was built in Ickham in 1838, in School Lane, and had up to 100 pupils but it was closed in 1872 when the second school was built further along School Lane. The first school was then converted into 2 houses but is now a single house. The second school closed in 1949 and is now 2 houses.

The only services that remain in Ickham now are the church, the pub and the village hall, which was built in 1912 by public subscription.

A notable event in Ickham and Well‟s history was a fire in 1875, which started in the stock-yard of Court Farm spread across to The Treasury and up the village destroying every house and building, except the Duke William, as far as the block opposite the Church.

Bramling lies astride the Sandwich road which was turnpiked and realigned in 1802. The fifth milestone survives beside Baker's Cottage opposite Bramling House. The present Bramling House was built by Stephen and Eliza Hilton in 1869. The Hilton family paid for the first Ickham School and they were largely instrumental in providing the shingled spire for Ickham Church.

Bramling, lying as it does on the main Sandwich to Canterbury road, must have witnessed the passage of most of the Kings and Queens of England to and from their continental journeys. There is a record of one such journey by Queen Elizabeth I who, on an August morning over 400 years ago, came down the hill into Bramling with a bodyguard of picked troopers, while the bells of Littlebourne peeled out and villagers from Ickham and Bramling lined the route.

On March 13th 1194, Richard I (The Lion-heart) passed through Bramling having landed at Sandwich after his long imprisonment in an Austrian dungeon when returning from fighting in the Holy Land. Likewise there are records of King John, Edward I, Edward IV and Henry VII passing through this small hamlet and latterly, Princess Diana on her visits to her friends at Goodnestone House (where there is also a connection with Jane Austin).

Lee Priory Mansion, which was of the Gothic Revival style, was probably built on the site of a monastic building and was itself demolished in 1952. A room from the old building is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Lee Priory is noted for a private press, the Lee Priory Printing Press, which existed between 1813 and 1817 and produced extremely high quality books which sold at very high prices. The Priory also welcomed a number of famous guests, including Horace Walpole, William Wordsworth and Gustav Holst, who worked on part of “The Planets”, in particular “Jupiter” whilst there.

Ickham was the feature of a BBC documentary about the village “Reflections on a Village”, which was filmed over three weeks, in August 1959. It was produced by Christopher Burstall and scripted by James Morris who was living at the time with his family at The Lodge.

4 Saint John the Evangelist Church

Near the entrance to the Church is a plan of the Church and a complete list of the Rectors who have ministered to its congregation since 1284

A Brief History of the Church

781 According to Villare Cantiarum the lands of Ickham were given to Christchurch Priory in Canterbury in 781 by the Saxon King Offa. The monks built a small wooden church on the site that is now occupied by the west end of the present nave.

1090 The wooden church was replaced by a small Norman Church with thick flint walls. The building extended from the west end of the present building to an apse near where the chancel steps are today.

1100-1400 The monks of Christchurch Priory extended the Church over a period of nearly three hundred years and some of their masons marks can still be seen on the walls. Towards the end of the twelfth century, the nave walls were pierced to form the present arcades and to enable the aisles to be added. The arches are pointed with the exception of the eastern most arch on the north side. The transepts were added some years later. This was followed by the removal of the apse and the building of the fine Early English chancel with its large span arch.

At the crossing there is an impression of spaciousness, height, light and architectural symmetry enhanced by the apparent austerity. The chancel does not align with that of the nave and is known as a „weeping chancel‟ since it is said to symbolise the inclination of Christ‟s head to the left as he hung on the cross. At the east end is a triple lancet window united, by a continuous hood moulding, to five windows which pierce each of the side walls. The westernmost window on each side consists of two lancets surmounted by a single quatrefoil. The moulded string course which encircles the walls on three levels gives a pleasing relief to the vertical emphasis of the rest of the design.

In the south wall is a deeply set Priest‟s Door and, within the sanctuary, a piscina with two basins beneath a moulded and boldly trefoiled arch. The chancel floor contains several memorial slabs over tombs; the oldest dates from 1306, while beneath the choir stalls are two slabs that date from the early fifteenth century. The tower seems to date from the end of the twelfth century and to have been built without buttresses or a stair turret. At one time, the tower had battlements and was surmounted by a very small spire. A well preserved simple Norman door is set into the west side.

The transepts were added in about 1350. The south transept is named the „Baa‟ or „Baye‟ Transept after a Norman family who owned the manor and house at the eastern end of the village. Today it is used as a chapel as it was in the fourteenth century, when it was dedicated to Saint Thomas. The north transept is known as the „Lee‟ Transept as for many years it belonged to the owners of Lee Priory. The ancient chest standing in the altar recess belonged to a Perpetual Chantry, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and to Saint Katherine. In the fourteenth century it contained the vestments of the priest and missals for the Mass.

1641 Although there had been earlier bells, the present four were cast in 1641 by John Palmar. The largest bell bears the inscription: “Lord Jesus Christ Reserve Each Sol For Home This Bell Shall Toll Amen John Fayerman and Michael Trapps Wardens 1641”. The bells had fallen into disrepair by 1850.

1870 The present shingled spire and clock were added to the tower. The clock mechanism is of a very rare type, made by the same clockmaker who supplied the mechanism of Big Ben.

1919 The Lych Gate, the Parish War Memorial, was dedicated at a service led by the Rector, Canon Crosse (who lost two of his sons in the War), and General Haig (the brother of Earl Haig); the names

5 of those from the Parish who lost their lives, in both Wars, are now recorded on panels on the Lych Gate and are being researched and updated by a Member of the Committee.

1977 The sundial, originally added in 1741, was re-erected to mark the Queen‟s Silver Jubilee.

1996-2000 An appeal, in memory of Colonel Bill Boucher, raised money to enable the four bells to be repaired and re-hung in time for the Millennium. The lowering of the bells, by local farmers, appeared on television. Enough money was left over from the appeal to install central heating.

Copies of „Ickham – The Friendly Village’, an excellent short history by Leonard Coombs, are available for purchase – please see the Website for details.

What is a Parish Plan?

In November 2000 a Rural White Paper entitled “Our Countryside - The Future” was published by the Government and initiated the concept of Parish Plans. The purpose of a Parish Plan is to: ‘Identify key facilities and services, set out the problems that need to be tackled, and demonstrate how distinctive character and features can be preserved.’ A Parish Plan is an holistic action plan prepared by people living and working in a . It identifies local needs, develops solutions and proposes a timetable for action. This should be supported by the Parish Council, but implemented by volunteers and other appropriate partners. Through inclusive consultation, throughout the Parish, a living document is produced which becomes a valuable, evidence-based, tool that can be used to influence Community Planning.

Why have a Parish Plan?

This Parish Plan has been produced to formally record the opinions and wishes of the residents, address the issues raised and influence the decision making and funding authorities. It is not a development plan, nor is it a modernisation plan, it is simply a reflection of parishioners‟ views taken in public meetings and from the questionnaires sent to every householder in late 2008. The plan is required as parishioners need to be able to voice their opinions. Every local authority is required to develop „Sustainable Community Strategies‟ so while change cannot be avoided it can be shaped.

A Parish Plan lets our voice be heard so that we manage the changes that will affect our future.

Results show that we all want to protect, enhance and preserve this lovely Parish. To help us with this the Parish Plan will:

 Establish demand across a range of areas  Prioritise activity and funding requirements  Encourage forward planning

Parish Plans guide change and give an opportunity for everybody in the community to make themselves heard. This voice provides clear evidence of community needs and gives priorities to Parish and City Councils for planning their resources and efforts. Plans can also increase community spirit, increase local voluntary action and drive forward local initiatives.

It is therefore a very powerful tool.

How the Parish Plan was Produced

The Ickham & Well Parish Plan Committee was formed in February 2008. The aim of the Committee is to gather Parish opinion, create a Parish Plan and to then implement the results.

There are 9 steps to a Parish Plan. These are:

Step 1 - Getting Started Interested parties start looking for a way to make local improvements. Ideas get sounded out and a desire for a Plan arises. With a little publicity interest grows. This was achieved in September 2008.

6 Step 2 - Establish your steering group A representative steering group starts. They get the ball rolling and make contact with the community and the Local Authority. This was achieved in October 2008.

Step 3 - Developing a project plan The steering committee puts together a strategy, budget and programme. They start the consultation process and begin looking for potential funders. This was done between October 2008 and February 2009.

Step 4 - Community Consultation Through consultation, often by open public meeting, the committee can gauge the level of community support, identify issues and recruit volunteers. Building on this a questionnaire is then sent to everybody in the Parish so that details can be gathered on all local issues. This will confirm what issues exist as well as considering the possible solutions. This was done between October 2008 and February 2009.

Step 5 - Prioritising and planning action Here issues are prioritised and focus groups are formed. More detail is found on what needs to be done, how it will be funded, who can help and what the time scales are. This has been ongoing since February 2009.

Step 6 - Drafting the plan A first draft of the plan is made and shown to the community. Does the plan meet all needs? This was done in October 2009.

Step 7 - Finalising the plan Through further consultation the community agree the plan and how to move forward. This was done in October 2009, resulting in this document.

Step 8 - Implementing the plan Through the focus groups, and with support from outside agencies, all actions are consolidated and plans implemented. This is ongoing.

Step 9 - Monitor and review Regular reviews and updates ensure that progress is made. This is where the meat goes onto the bones and results start to be seen. This is ongoing.

The importance of involving as many Parish residents as possible was obvious if a local consensus was to be achieved. Accordingly, several open meetings were held during the autumn of 2008 and much local interest was generated. This led to the committee creating a Questionnaire, which was circulated to every home in Ickham and Well Parish in December 2008 – January 2009. Some of the questions were of a factual nature, whilst others were seeking opinions on a range of issues. We received responses from 159 adults and 16 youngsters living in more than 90 households. This equates to a response rate of almost 40%, which is a remarkably high return for such surveys and this represents an excellent basis from which we were able to develop this Parish Plan. Our preliminary findings were announced at a public meeting in October 2009.

It is perhaps inevitable that, with hindsight, some anomalies have arisen due to the phrasing, or omission, of specific questions! If a burning issue remains unaddressed – please let the Committee know!

Stakeholders

The key stakeholders are all parishioners from the individual settlements in Bramling, Garrington, Ickham, Lee Priory, Seaton - or anywhere in between. There are many other groups and organizations, within or around, the Parish who also play an important role in determining the direction that Ickham and Well will take. The Parish Council is the key decision making body at local level and is supporting the Plan; while the Conservation Society, Village Hall Management Committee, Friends of Ickham and Parochial Church Council are also being informed and consulted.

7 Other influential groups are our village pubs, local businesses, the Primary School in Wickhambreaux and other interest groups. All have had the opportunity to communicate their feelings.

What has already been achieved?

The larger issues and recommendations brought up by the plan will take some time to be fully resolved. However, many smaller, or more aesthetic, actions can be dealt with a lot quicker. Several Actions have already been implemented, or work on them commenced, with the help and involvement of many throughout the Parish, these include:

Christmas Parish Free PC & Carols on the Quizzes Internet Green Access in the Duke William Village Lobbying for Photograph A257 Speed Restrictions Grants for Street Trees & Free Dog Litterbin Trees – for Waste in New Village Bins Bramling Green Parish Plan Notice Board Website Improvements Scottish & The Big Lunch English Lunch Club for Country Older Dancing Residents Researching Village Hall the Lych Blackout Gate Blinds Memorial Names

8 The Way Ahead

The Action Plan, beginning on Page 71, summarises the suggestions and proposed activities, detailed within the „Analysis of Questionnaires’ which follows. It is proposed that the Parish Plan Committee be re- structured to form three Action Groups to address Actions, and Issues, working with other Stakeholders (i.e. the Parish Council) and falling into three broad areas:

 Environment  Traffic  Events These groups will ideally each have a representative of the Parish Council as a member and would investigate options, campaign for action and implement solutions. Individuals are invited to volunteer to join, or be willing to assist, these Groups. Further comments on the Action Plan (or the Plan in general) are welcomed. Please contact the Parish Plan Committee direct, or via the Website.

Specific proposals and projects will, of course, be presented to parishioners, whenever appropriate. For example: the options for the proposal to transform the New Village Green (in Ickham) by creating an Orchard, with other facilities, will be presented to and debated with Villagers and the Parish Council - as well as other bodies, prior to any commitment.

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