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   Woodchurch stands on gentle slope and contains many lovely old houses, some of which face onto the large green, which forms the heart of the vilage. The first mention of the village is a record of the church in the domesday Monochorum, where it is recorded that Wudecyrcre paid dues of 28d per year. This is possibbly the wooden church where the village derives it's name from, or maybe the is derived from the oak shingles used on the later stone building to roof the spire.

Nearby Public Footpaths for those who like walking, local sights include the historical windmill and museum of Woodchurch village. The windmill is to be found along a short public footpath which starts between the Bonny Cravat and Six Bells public house's. Also the nearby Rare Breeds Centre is a very popular attraction, situated at Highlands farm on the Woodchurch to Hamstreet Road, it is open daily and has more than 65 species of rare farm animals in 90 acres of beautiful countryside..  The local Shirkoak farm offers a 2.5 acre lake for coarse fishing

woodchurch village sign
Woodchurch from the Green

WOODCHURCH

 

Woodchurch is a village lying between Ashford and Tenterden on the edge of the Low Weald of Kent The parish extends 6 miles north to south and 4 miles east to west, one of Kent's largest. It is a closely knit settlement on land which gently slopes to the south. To the north lies undulating scenery, and to the south-west is the flat expanse of Shirley Moor leading to Romney Marsh (photo on this Home page looking towards Woodchurch across Shirley Moor planted with yellow rape). The low wooded hills overlooking Appledore and the Marsh are to the south-east. The surrounding area is designated as a 'Kent Special Landscape Area'..

Woodchurch's 13th century church
Henden Place, a fine Wealden hall house on the Green
From a distance, the settlement is seen to be situated on a wooded slope with the skyline being dominated by two buildings - its church and its windmill (photos on this Home page)
The layout of Woodchurch is based on an elongated diamond pattern of roads with a north-south axis. The Green is the core of the Conservation Area.
The village became firmly established in the 13th century with the erection of a large church (All Saints) made of Kentish ragstone (photo . Although it was extensively restored between 1840 and 1850, it still boasts a 13th-century chancel and a famous brass of the 14th century, depicting a floriated cross design. It has an unusual four-faced clock and a spire which is 18 inches out of the vertical at the top.

 
Initially, the main concentration of houses was around the church and Green. From the end of the 18th century, ribbons of development spread first along Front Road and later along Lower Road, largely filling the southern part of the diamond. In the last 50 years, spurs of development have extended the settlement northwards and to the south, beyond the basic shape. A few further developments have taken some land from within the diamond. The green heart of the northern part of the diamond comprises the Green itself and the adjacent open fields.
Woodchurch has a wealth of listed buildings concentrated mainly around the Green and the church; there are still a dozen early Wealden Hall houses in the parish. Two notable examples situated on the eastern edge of the Green are Henden Place (photo of this half-timbered house on this Home page) and Place Farm. The oldest house is Diamond Farm built in the 1380s

 
The Windmill at Woodchurch

Woodchurch currently boasts three public houses, two of which are located close to the church. Both were built in the 17th century; the larger Bonny Cravat has since seen many changes both inside and out, whilst the Six Bells retains an older Kentish look. The third is the Stonebridge Inn situated at the southern tip of the village
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The village primary school is situated near the church and was a National School. The first building was erected in 1844 and the school has since been sympathetically enlarged on three occasions, namely, in 1872, 1896 and most recently in 1998.
Woodchurch Primary School
   
 View Across Shirley Moor with Woodchurch in the far distance
In 2001, Woodchurch had about 1500 adult inhabitants in more than 780 dwellings, of which around 70% are in the village centre.

 
The Windmill at Woodchurch