| Chilham | |
|---|---|
 Chilham Square | |
  Chilham Location withinKent | |
| Area | 13.85 km2 (5.35 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,124 (Civil Parish 2011)[1] |
| • Density | 81/km2 (210/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TR065536 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CANTERBURY |
| Postcode district | CT4 |
| Dialling code | 01227 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°14′38″N0°57′40″E / 51.244°N 0.961°E /51.244; 0.961 | |
Chilham is a village andcivil parish in theBorough of Ashford inKent, England. It sits on the north bank of theGreat Stour around5+1⁄2 miles (9 kilometres) to the southwest ofCanterbury and seven miles (eleven kilometres) northeast ofAshford. It is a mostly agricultural parish, with settlement clustered around Chilham village centre, which is next to the Grade I-listedChilham Castle. Well-preserved roads and mostly residentiallisted buildings in the centre have led to its use as a location in television and film. Also lying within the civil parish is the smaller linear settlement of Shottenden, which is situated1+1⁄2 miles (2.5 kilometres) west of Chilham.
The village has a number of period houses such as the former vicarage, which dates from 1742.
The village is supposed to have been the first place in England to be bombed by the Germans duringWorld War II.[3]
The castle was owned by theViscounts Massereene and Ferrard until its sale in 1997. From 2013 it was owned byStuart Wheeler, founder of the spread-betting firmIG Index, until his death in July 2020.[4]
The village of Chilham is in the valley of theGreat Stour River and beside theA28 road six miles (ten kilometres) southwest ofCanterbury. It is centred on a market square, where a traditional annual May Day is celebrated.[5] At each end of the square are its major buildings:Chilham Castle and the 15th-century parish church, dedicated to St Mary. It has been claimed thatSt Thomas Becket was buried in the churchyard, despite his ornate tomb inCanterbury Cathedral, destroyed at theReformation. There are two other named localities in the civil parish: Shottenden and a much smaller neighbourhood, Old Wives Lees.
ThePilgrims Way passes through Chilham on the way toCanterbury, and therailway station is in a part of the village sometimes called Bagham on the line fromAshford to Canterbury.
There are two large public houses in Chilham, the Woolpack and the White Horse, which dates from the 16th century. Other amenities include a restaurant and tea shop, post office, gift shop, bus stop, tennis club, sports centre, children's playground and 15th-century village hall which originally was the tithe barn for the castle. Most shops are also along the main through road towards Canterbury just before the entry to the network of streets having the oldest buildings in the village.
TheNeolithic longbarrow ofJulliberrie's Grave is on the Julliberrie Downs east of the river.
Chilham and the surrounding area was one of the locations for much ofPowell and Pressburger's 1944 filmA Canterbury Tale. In 1965 it was used for part of the filming ofThe Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders starringKim Novak,Leo McKern andAngela Lansbury, and it was also used as a location for theBBC's 2009 adaptation of Jane Austen's novelEmma.[6] The village and the castle featured heavily in a fake snow-bound episode ofAgatha Christie's Poirot calledHercule Poirot's Christmas starringDavid Suchet. The village was made over to sunnier times forThe Moving Finger, a mystery featuring Agatha Christie's other famous sleuthMiss Jane Marple, portrayed byGeraldine McEwan, and appeared as Riseholme in the 1985LWT/Channel 4 adaptation ofE.F. Benson'sMapp and Lucia, which also starredGeraldine McEwan.[7]
