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Bekesbourne is a village near Canterbury in Kent, South East England.

Bekesbourne
The Old Palace
Bekesbourne Location within Kent
Area	8.47 km2 (3.27 sq mi)
Population	925 (Civil Parish 2011)[1]
• Density	109/km2 (280/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TR191559
Civil parish	Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne
District	Canterbury
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
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	Canterbury
List of places UK England Kent 51.2576°N 1.1443°E / 51.2576; 1.1443

The village is centred 2.9 miles (4.7 km) ESE of the city's cathedral and its centre stretches less than 1 km from its railway station to the A2 road to the south.

Amenities

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and has a Norman doorway, a 13th-century chancel and the first recorded example of brick mathematical tiles.[2]

Howletts Wild Animal Park is in Bekesbourne, the home of many endangered species and the world's largest breeding gorilla colony in captivity.[3]

Transport

Bekesbourne railway station serves the area, on the line between Canterbury East and Dover Priory railway stations.

The A2 is a route bordering the south of the village's formal area.

History

Bekesbourne was the site of an aerodrome, built during World War I, and which thrived as the home of the Kent Flying Club until World War II, when it was closed. One large hangar remained. It was severely damaged by and rebuilt after the Great Storm of 1987. Developed reuse took place in 1997 to build 10 detached houses on a new road, De Havillands.[n 1]

Famous residents

• Bekesbourne was the birthplace of the film director Michael Powell and of Stephen Hales, the physiologist, chemist and inventor.
• Ian Fleming author of the James Bond books lived at the Old Palace in Bekesbourne.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Media related to Bekesbourne at Wikimedia Commons

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