| Temple Ewell | |
|---|---|
 Temple Ewell Parish Hall | |
  Temple Ewell Location withinKent | |
| Population | 1,669 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TR287443 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DOVER |
| Postcode district | CT16 |
| Dialling code | 01304 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°09′09″N1°16′10″E / 51.1526°N 1.2695°E /51.1526; 1.2695 | |
Temple Ewelllistenⓘ is acivil parish and historic village in the county ofKent, England. The village is part of theDover district of Kent, and forms part of the Dover urban area. It is situated three miles North West of the town ofDover.
Situated in theDour valley, Temple Ewell is surrounded bynature 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-centurypublic house.
Temple Ewell is served byKearsney railway station, which is situated between the villages of Temple Ewell,Kearsney andRiver.
The2001 census records a population includingKearsney, of 1,696 for Temple Ewell,[2] falling to 1,669 at the 2011 census.[1]
The nameEwell is derived from theOld English wordǣwielm, meaningriver source orspring, and is so called because one of the sources of theRiver Dour rises on the village outskirts at a place calledWatersend and flows through the village towards Dover. The prefixTemple indicates that at one time the village was owned by theKnights Templar.
The village of Temple Ewell (not to be confused withEwell 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 asÆwille. In theDomesday Book of 1086, it is namedEwelle orEtwelle, and is recorded as having a manor house, five watermills, and about fifty dwellings around a small woodenSaxon church. At this time, the village was owned byBishop Odo, the half-brother ofWilliam the Conqueror.
In 1163, the Knights Templar was granted themanor of Ewell by the crown in recognition of their role in theHoly Land, and the wordTemple became prefixed to the village name. The Templars founded aPreceptory in the village, and around 1170 built theNorman church of St.Peter and St.Paul.
In 1213King John surrendered the crown to thePope, and it is thought that this may have taken place either at the Preceptory in Temple Ewell, or possibly in Dover.[3]
Following the Templars' dissolution in 1312, Temple Ewell passed out of their possession in 1314. The village was then given to theKnights of St John of Jerusalem, and was retained by them untilKing Henry VIIIdissolved the monasteries in 1540.
During the 18th and 19th and on into the 20th century (until the 1960s), Temple Ewell had two of severalwatermills 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 theNapoleonic Wars.
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, aparochialprimary school, was established next to the church in 1871, and theVictorian schoolhouse building was completed in 1872. Major renovation work was carried out on the church in the 1870s, and aparish hall was constructed in 1909.
Between 1940 and 1944, Temple Ewell was victim to several stray shells, which were fired at the Dover area across theEnglish Channel from France during theSecond World War. One of these destroyed the church's mainstained glass window when it landed outside the school.
TheLydden and Temple Ewell Downs are aNational Nature Reserve which borders Temple Ewell on one side, stretching up to the neighbouring village ofLydden. The reserve consists of an area of chalk downland which is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.
TENews Is a monthly village newsletter delivered free to every household.[1]
Media related toTemple Ewell at Wikimedia Commons
