Shipbourne

Shipbourne
St. Giles' Church, Shipbourne
Shipbourne  Shipbourne shown within Kent
Population	470 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ595525
District	Tonbridge and Malling
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Tonbridge
Postcode district	TN11
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Tonbridge and Malling
List of places UK England Kent

Coordinates: 51°14′58″N 0°17′02″E / 51.24937°N 0.28402°E

Shipbourne (pronounced ⁱ/ˈʃɪbən/, SHIB-bun) lies in the English county of Kent, in an undulating landscape traversed by the small streams of the River Bourne, set in a clay vale at the foot of the wooded Sevenoaks Greensand Ridge.

Shipbourne is situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling. The landscape is agricultural with dispersed groups of buildings that are almost entirely residential or used for farming purposes.

The dominant characteristics of the historical landscape are thick woodland with smaller, broadleaf coppices with small to medium-sized fields enclosed by traditional boundaries of hedges or chestnut fencing. Earlier removal of some hedgerows has resulted in some larger arable fields; these are often separated by small woodland belts or shaws. The most distinctive landscape feature is The Common, also known as The Green, which is a large, open and dominant space in the centre of the village.

To the south of the village, on each side of the A227 is Hoad Common. Before the last war Hoad Common was an attractive lightly treed open space popular with visitors but is now neglected and is rapidly deteriorating into scrubby woodland.

The parish is situated in the Metropolitan Green Belt and is an area designated as a Special Landscape Area. The central village, including the pub, the church, the village school and The Common, is within a Conservation Area. Much of the village lies within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

St. Giles Church continues to serve as a place of worship, but nowadays also doubles up, every Thursday morning, as the venue for the local farmers' market. ^[2]

The Fairlawne Estate

The Fairlawne Estate is a 1,000 acre landed-estate which stretches from Shipbourne into neighbouring Plaxtol. It is currently owned by the Saudi Arabian horse-breeder, Prince Khalid Abdullah.^[3]

Vane Family: In Stuart times, the estate was the property of Sir Henry Vane the Elder, Secretary of State to Charles I. Sir Henry was created Lord-Lieutenant of Durham and the family later became one of the leading families in that county too. Sir Henry's eldest son, also called Harry and also knighted, became Governor of Massachusetts in 1635. Sir Henry Vane the Younger made valiant attempts to remain on the winning side during the difficult period of the English Civil War, but is probably noted for his inept handling of the aspiration: he had been a Royalist but then became a Roundhead, before switching back to being a Royalist under Charles I. He was executed in London after being reported as being 'too dangerous to live'. His body lies in the Vane family vault area of the crypt of Shipbourne church in an anthropoid (body shaped) lead shell coffin with many members of the Vane family. His ghost is said to wander the village.

Cazalet Family: The Vane family were followed by the Cazalets. In 1880, Edward Cazalet built the church, dedicated to St Giles, plus a public house, named The Chaser, and several of the cottages which surround The Common. Major Peter Cazalet was the trainer of horses owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Many members of the Cazalet family are commemorated in the church.

The son of one employee of the Vane family on the estate wrote a 700 verse blank poem about hop-growing. The poet Christopher Smart was born in 1722 at Fairlawne, where his father was steward.^[4]

References

1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
2. Conservation Bulletin, the English Heritage publication: issue 61, Summer 2009.
3. Britten, Nick. "'Little village bumpkins’ defeat Saudi prince in fight for Shipbourne footpath rights", The Daily Telegraph, 26 November 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
4. Eagle, Dorothy and Carnell, Hilary (editors), (1987) The Oxford Literary Guide to Great Britain & Ireland, p. 237. London: Spring Books, ISBN 0-600-55407-4

External links

• The Shipbourne village website. Parish Council and local services, news and information.