Preston | |
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St. Mildred's church, Preston |
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Preston shown within Kent | |
Population | 674 {2011} |
OS grid reference | TR249610 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CANTERBURY |
Postcode district | CT3 |
Dialling code | 01227 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Preston-next-Wingham is a civil parish and village in valley of the Little Stour in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village is on the B2076 secondary road. The parish includes the hamlet of Elmstone. The main river through the area is a tributary of the River Stour. The suffix 'next-Wingham' distinguishes the area from Preston-next-Faversham and the Domesday book chronicled Preston as 'Prestetune;
In the 1870s, Preston-next-Wingham was described as:
"A village and a parish in Eastry district, Kent. The village stands on a rising-ground, above the marshes of the Little Stour river, 1½mile S E of Grove-Ferry r. station, and 6¾ E N E of Canterbury; bears the name of Preston-street, and has apostal pillar-box under Wingham".
Preston-next-Wingham is located 10 miles east of Canterbury, and a mile south of the Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve. The village is fairly scattered, but it still retains a local pub, a farm shop and a butchers. The nursery there has also gained a nationwide reputation for quality and rather exotic range of plants it grows. It also holds an annual steam rally and ploughing matches at Preston Court, which attract people from all across the Kent area. The village has 2 neighbouring churches, St Mildred Church and Elmstone Church, which are both 0.7 miles away.
Archaeological digs date the parish back to the Bronze Age and Iron Age. In the Domesday book, Preston-next-Wingham is recorded as having about 60 households, which was quite a sizeable quantity in relation to the British Isles population at the time. The church of St Mildred was founded in 700 AD by Saint Mildred, and it still has evidence of stonework from the Saxon age, similarly to the church at Elmstone The St Mildred Church dates back to the early 13th century and was extended a year later. It was also restored in 1857 by a gothic revival architect called William White, where he put in dormer windows to replace the aisle ones. It holds a rare Parochial library which was assembled in 1710, and was furnished with 67 volumes recommended by Thomas Bray. These books were transported in a case of 'the best seasoned oak' with sturdy carrying handles. Normally, the cases were left unpainted after arrival, but the Preston case was painted white; nowadays however it looks more grey.