Birchington-on-Sea
Encyclopedia
Birchington-on-Sea is a village in northeast Kent
, England
, with a population of around 9,800. It is part of the Thanet district
and forms the civil parish
of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary
, between the seaside resorts of Herne Bay
and Margate
.
As a seaside resort
, the village is a notable tourist and retirement destination. The village's Minnis Bay is a family beach with attractions such as sailing, windsurfing, a paddling pool and coastal walking routes. Its three smaller beaches are surrounded by chalk cliffs, cliff stacks
and caves.
The village was first recorded in 1240. Its parish church, All Saints, dates to the 13th century and its churchyard is the burial place of the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
. Quex Park, a local 19th century manor house, is home to the Powell Cotton Museum and a twelve-bell tower built for change ringing
. The museum contains a large collection of stuffed exotic animals collected by Major Powell-Cotton on his travels in Africa, and also houses artifacts unearthed in and around Birchington by his daughter, Antoinette Powell-Cotton, a keen archeologist.
trees grow. Archaeological evidence has shown the area was inhabited before the existence of the village: Roman and prehistoric artefacts have been discovered in the area, and Minnis Bay was once the site of an Iron Age
settlement.
Archives show the village's All Saints Church dates to around 1350. In the early 15th century, Quex Park manor house
—named after the park's second owner, John Quek—was built just south of the village. The ownership of the manor passed to various families until 1770 when it was acquired by the present owners, the Powell family. In the late 17th century, the house was visited by King William III
. In 1565, a report on the coast of Thanet by the commissioners of Queen Elizabeth I stated that Birchington had 42 houses and did not have an active port. Before the 19th century, the village coastline was frequented by smugglers, leading to skirmishes between them and excise officers. Several of the older houses in the village contain cellars and bricked up tunnels, once used for storing contraband.
The 1801 census recorded the village's population as 537. In the early 19th century, the Tudor
Quex House had to be demolished and a replacement manor house was built in its place. In 1818, the Waterloo Tower was built on the grounds of Quex Park. It is a bell tower built by the owner of Quex Park, John Powell Powell, who had an interest in change ringing. Waterloo Tower was the first twelve-bell tower in Kent. The village was a farming community until the late 19th century, when it began to develop into a coastal resort. Birchington railway station was opened in 1863 and the Railway Hotel, now the Sea View Hotel pub, was opened in 1865. Station Road was subsequently built to serve as Birchington's main shopping street. Coast Guard cottages were built at Minnis Bay in the 1870s and the first shops appeared by the bay in 1903.
In 1896, Major P. H. G. Powell-Cotton founded the Powell Cotton Museum at Quex Park to display his collection of mammals and artefacts acquired on his expeditions to Africa and Asia. The animals were mounted by the noted taxidermist Rowland Ward
. During World War I, Quex House became an Auxiliary Military Hospital run by the Birchington Voluntary Aid Detachment. In 1923, the Memorial Ground was donated to the village by Mr H. A. Erlebach for sport and recreational use. Mr Erlebach owned the village's now defunct Woodfood House School and purchased land from the Quex House estate for the school. He gave the southern part of the land to the people of Birchington and dedicated it in memory of his three sons who had been killed in World War I. The land is now owned by Thanet District Council
.
Birchington-on-Sea is located at 51°22′37"N 1°18′18"E (51.377, 1.305) in northeast Kent, on the coast of the Thames Estuary. The village is 14 kilometres (9 mi) to the east of Herne Bay and 6 kilometres (4 mi) to the west of Margate. The small town of Westgate-on-Sea
lies between Birchington and Margate. The village/civil parish of Acol
is 2 kilometres (1 mi) to the south and the villages/civil parishes of St Nicholas at Wade
and Sarre
are 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the southwest.
The village is built beside four sandy bays; Minnis Bay to the west, Grenham Bay and Beresford Gap towards the centre and Epple Bay to the east. The village is situated on the Isle of Thanet
, which was a separate island from mainland Kent until around two hundred years ago, when the channel in between became silted up. The area to the west of the village, between Birchington and Herne Bay, was once part of the channel and is now low-lying marshland. In the east of the village the land rises, forming chalk cliffs and cliff stacks around the beaches at Grenham Bay, Beresford Gap and Epple Bay. A sea wall stretches along the foot of the cliffs to prevent further erosion. The geology of Thanet consists mainly of chalk, deposited when the area was below the sea. Isle of Thanet became exposed above sea-level once the English Channel
broke through between Kent and France, causing the sea-level to fall. The whole of the northeast Kent coast has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
The drinking water in the village is classed as being 'very hard
', having just over 120 mg of calcium
per litre. The hardness is due to water being obtained from underground chalk sources by the water company Southern Water
. Waste water is discharged into the sea after being treated at a sewage works in Margate.
These are average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office
weather station in Wye, around 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Birchington:
Birchington-on-Sea railway station
is on the Chatham Main Line
which runs between Ramsgate
in East Kent and London Victoria. Other stations on this line include Broadstairs, Margate, Herne Bay, Faversham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Bromley South. Birchington is around 1 hour and 45 minutes from London by fast-service train. A National Express
coach service also runs between London Victoria and Ramsgate via Birchington-on-Sea. A selection of trains run to London's Cannon Street station
, primarily for business commuting.
There are Stagecoach
bus services running to Westgate-on-Sea, Margate, Broadstairs, Canterbury and Herne Bay. The A28 road
runs between Hastings
and Margate via Ashford
, Canterbury, Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea. 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Birchington-on-Sea, the A28 crosses the A299 road
which leads along North Kent towards London, becoming the M2 motorway at Faversham.
As of the 2001 UK census
, the village had 9,827 residents. It is claimed to be "Kent's largest village
", although this is unofficial as there is no common definition in the UK of a village.
The village had 4,742 households, of which 47.9% were married couples living together, 5.3% were cohabiting
couples and 6.8% were lone parents. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 26.9% had someone living alone at pensionable age. 18.0% of households included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education.
The ethnicity of the village was predominately white with over 95% of its residents being born in the United Kingdom and 2% in other Western Europe countries. About 80% of residents claimed to be Christian, 0.6% Muslim, and less than 1% either Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu or an alternative religion, while 7% did not state their religion, and 11% claimed no religious affiliation.
For every 100 females, there were 80.2 males. The age distribution was 4% aged 0–4 years, 10% aged 5–15 years, 3% aged 16–19 years, 21% aged 20–44 years, 26% aged 45–64 years and 36% aged 65 years and over. The village had a very high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16%. As a seaside resort, Birchington-on-Sea is a popular retirement destination.
qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide. According to Office for National Statistics
estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households in the Birchington-on-Sea electoral wards was £460 (£23,986 per year).
The industry of employment of residents was 16% retail, 14% health and social work, 11% manufacturing, 11% education, 10% real estate, 9% construction, 7% transport and communications, 6% public administration, 5% hotels and restaurants, 3% finance, 2% agriculture, 1% energy and water supply, and 5% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, the village had a relatively high number of workers in the construction and health/social care industries and a relatively low number in finance and manufacturing. Many residents commute to work outside the town; as of the 2001 census, the town had 3,370 employed residents, but only 1,711 jobs.
As a seaside resort, the village has an economy based around tourism, with several hotels, caravan parks and leisure attractions. The village shopping centre attracts walk-in trade from tourists. One of the largest retailers is the Somerfield
supermarket. The elderly population of the village has generated health and social care jobs at local care homes and at the Birchington Medical Centre. As of the 2001 census, 1.4% of the village's population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared to the national average of only 0.8%.
Minnis Bay is a popular family beach with attractions such as sailing, windsurfing, cafes, beach huts, public houses, restaurants, a paddling pool and coastal walking/cycling routes. The beach has gained a European Blue Flag Award
for its cleanliness and safety. The village has three other smaller beaches, which are surrounded by chalk cliffs and cliff stacks. The Thanet Coast Project runs trips out of the bay in July and August to observe the wildlife of the Thames Estuary including seal
s, velvet swimming crab
s and the migrant Turnstone
.
To the south of the village is Quex House, a 200 year-old manor house situated in 250 acres (1 km²) of parkland and gardens. Several rooms, decorated with oriental and English period furniture, are open to visitors, and guided tours are provided. The Powell Cotton Museum houses three galleries of stuffed animal displays, depicting more than 500 African and Asian animals against their natural habitats. Further galleries display a vast collection of African artefacts, European firearms, European and Asian cutting weapons, European and Chinese porcelain, and important archaeological finds from Thanet and East Kent.
Paintings by local artists are displayed at the Burley Gallery in Birchington Library. Community activities take place at the Birchington Village Centre, including adult education classes, drama productions by the Birchington Guild of Players and concerts by the Birchington Silver Band. In 1989, Birchington-on-Sea was twinned with the town of La Chapelle d`Armentieres, near Lille
in northern France; Birchington Twinning Association arranges events between the two communities, such as school trips, concerts and war remembrance services. Since 1932, Birchington has held a street carnival each summer.
As a seaside resort, the village has several clubs for watersports. Minnis Bay Sailing Club, founded in 1950, is a dinghy
and catamaran
club where members can sail for fun, but competitions are also held most weekends. Speed boats
, jet ski
s and water skis
can be hired for use near the beach at Beresford Gap by members of Beresford Wakeboard and Water Ski Club, which was established in 2004 to help alleviate anti-social behaviour in the area. Anglers are catered for by Birchington Sea Angling Society.
Several teams compete in local leagues: the Birchington United Services Club runs a football team in the Thanet Sunday Football League Premier Division and a netball team in the Thanet and District Netball League, while Birchington Chess Club competes in the Thanet League. Westgate and Birchington Golf Club has an 18-hole 4889 yards (4,470.5 m) course on the cliff tops between Westgate and Birchington. Birchington Bridge Club meets twice a week at the Our Lady and St Benedict's Church Hall. A football pitch is provided at the council owned Birchington Recreation Ground.
There are four local weekly newspapers providing news on the Thanet district area. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra and Thanet Adscene are free newspapers, while Isle of Thanet Gazette and Thanet Times are paid-for. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra is owned by the KM Group
, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Thanet Adscene and Thanet Times are owned by Trinity Mirror
. There are two local newsmagazines produced for the people of Birchington: The Birchington Roundabout, which began publishing in April 2003, and The Birchington Forum. KMFM Thanet
is a radio station on frequency 107.2FM, owned by the KM Group. Community radio
station Academy FM (Thanet)
launched in 2010 on 107.8FM.
Notable residents have included the British screenwriter Tudor Gates
, who wrote a number of female vampire stories for Hammer Studios in the early 1970s. Gates died in the village in January 2007. In early 1882, Pre-Raphaelite artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti
rented a bungalow in the village, in an attempt to recuperate from ill-health. However, he died in April the same year and was buried in the churchyard of All Saints, under a tombstone designed by fellow artist, Ford Madox Brown
.
, covering northern Thanet
and Herne Bay, has been the Conservative
Roger Gale
. At the 2005 general election
, in North Thanet the Conservatives won a majority of 7,634 and 49.6% of the vote. Labour
won 32.2% of the vote, Liberal Democrats
14.4% and United Kingdom Independence Party
3.9%. Birchington-on-Sea is in the Thanet
local government district. The village's electoral wards of Birchington North and Birchington South have five of the fifty six seats on the Thanet District Council
. As of the 2007 local elections
, all five of those seats were held by the Conservative Party. The village has its own civil parish
, the lowest unit of local government. Birchington Parish Council has ten members and deals with issues specifically affecting Birchington.
visual arts
school. In 2005, 15 percent of its pupils gained at least five GCSEs at grades A*–C including English and maths, ranking it 103rd out of 120 Kent secondary schools. The school failed the 30% GCSE target. Many secondary students living in Birchington-on-Sea commute to schools in nearby towns, especially to the grammar schools in Ramsgate and Broadstairs. The village's primary school is Birchington Church of England Primary School, which is a state school owned by the Church of England
but run by Kent County Council
. In 2006, the school's Key Stage 2
performances ranked 340th out of 386 Kent state primary schools.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, with a population of around 9,800. It is part of the Thanet district
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
and forms the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
, between the seaside resorts of Herne Bay
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
and Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
.
As a seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
, the village is a notable tourist and retirement destination. The village's Minnis Bay is a family beach with attractions such as sailing, windsurfing, a paddling pool and coastal walking routes. Its three smaller beaches are surrounded by chalk cliffs, cliff stacks
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
and caves.
The village was first recorded in 1240. Its parish church, All Saints, dates to the 13th century and its churchyard is the burial place of the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
. Quex Park, a local 19th century manor house, is home to the Powell Cotton Museum and a twelve-bell tower built for change ringing
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
. The museum contains a large collection of stuffed exotic animals collected by Major Powell-Cotton on his travels in Africa, and also houses artifacts unearthed in and around Birchington by his daughter, Antoinette Powell-Cotton, a keen archeologist.
History
Birchington was first recorded in 1240 as Birchenton, a name derived from the Old English words 'bircen tun', meaning a farm where birchBirch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
trees grow. Archaeological evidence has shown the area was inhabited before the existence of the village: Roman and prehistoric artefacts have been discovered in the area, and Minnis Bay was once the site of an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlement.
Archives show the village's All Saints Church dates to around 1350. In the early 15th century, Quex Park manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
—named after the park's second owner, John Quek—was built just south of the village. The ownership of the manor passed to various families until 1770 when it was acquired by the present owners, the Powell family. In the late 17th century, the house was visited by King William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. In 1565, a report on the coast of Thanet by the commissioners of Queen Elizabeth I stated that Birchington had 42 houses and did not have an active port. Before the 19th century, the village coastline was frequented by smugglers, leading to skirmishes between them and excise officers. Several of the older houses in the village contain cellars and bricked up tunnels, once used for storing contraband.
The 1801 census recorded the village's population as 537. In the early 19th century, the Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
Quex House had to be demolished and a replacement manor house was built in its place. In 1818, the Waterloo Tower was built on the grounds of Quex Park. It is a bell tower built by the owner of Quex Park, John Powell Powell, who had an interest in change ringing. Waterloo Tower was the first twelve-bell tower in Kent. The village was a farming community until the late 19th century, when it began to develop into a coastal resort. Birchington railway station was opened in 1863 and the Railway Hotel, now the Sea View Hotel pub, was opened in 1865. Station Road was subsequently built to serve as Birchington's main shopping street. Coast Guard cottages were built at Minnis Bay in the 1870s and the first shops appeared by the bay in 1903.
Rowland Ward
Rowland Ward was a British taxidermist and founder of the taxidermy firm Rowland Ward Ltd. of Piccadilly. The company specialized in, and was renowned for, their work on big game trophies, but their output covered all aspects of taxidermy...
. During World War I, Quex House became an Auxiliary Military Hospital run by the Birchington Voluntary Aid Detachment. In 1923, the Memorial Ground was donated to the village by Mr H. A. Erlebach for sport and recreational use. Mr Erlebach owned the village's now defunct Woodfood House School and purchased land from the Quex House estate for the school. He gave the southern part of the land to the people of Birchington and dedicated it in memory of his three sons who had been killed in World War I. The land is now owned by Thanet District Council
Thanet District Council
Thanet District Council is the local government body for the Thanet district. Its administrative centre is Margate. It is one of the district councils in Kent...
.
Geography
Westgate-on-Sea
Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town in northeast Kent, England, with a population of 6,600. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate...
lies between Birchington and Margate. The village/civil parish of Acol
Acol, Kent
Acol is a hamlet and civil parish about south of Birchington in Kent, England. It is one of the smallest communities in Kent, and over the years large parts of the parish have been transferred to other neighbouring communities...
is 2 kilometres (1 mi) to the south and the villages/civil parishes of St Nicholas at Wade
St Nicholas at Wade
St Nicholas-at-Wade is a both a village and a civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. The parish had a recorded population of 782 at the 2001 Census...
and Sarre
Sarre, Kent
Sarre is a village and civil parish in Thanet District in Kent, England. The village is a part of St. Nicholas-at-Wade ecclesiastical parish, after having lost the local church of St. Giles in Elizabethan times; the ecclesiastical parishes were subsequently combined. In its own right Sarre is an...
are 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the southwest.
The village is built beside four sandy bays; Minnis Bay to the west, Grenham Bay and Beresford Gap towards the centre and Epple Bay to the east. The village is situated on the Isle of Thanet
Isle of Thanet
The Isle of Thanet lies at the most easterly point of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the nearly -wide River Wantsum, it is no longer an island ....
, which was a separate island from mainland Kent until around two hundred years ago, when the channel in between became silted up. The area to the west of the village, between Birchington and Herne Bay, was once part of the channel and is now low-lying marshland. In the east of the village the land rises, forming chalk cliffs and cliff stacks around the beaches at Grenham Bay, Beresford Gap and Epple Bay. A sea wall stretches along the foot of the cliffs to prevent further erosion. The geology of Thanet consists mainly of chalk, deposited when the area was below the sea. Isle of Thanet became exposed above sea-level once the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
broke through between Kent and France, causing the sea-level to fall. The whole of the northeast Kent coast has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
The drinking water in the village is classed as being 'very hard
Hard water
Hard water is water that has high mineral content . Hard water has high concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. Hard water is generally not harmful to one's health but can pose serious problems in industrial settings, where water hardness is monitored to avoid costly breakdowns in boilers, cooling...
', having just over 120 mg of calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
per litre. The hardness is due to water being obtained from underground chalk sources by the water company Southern Water
Southern Water
Southern Water is the utility responsible for wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for water supply and distribution in the approximately half of this area...
. Waste water is discharged into the sea after being treated at a sewage works in Margate.
Climate
In East Kent, the warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average around 21 °C (70 °F). The coolest time of the year is January and February, when minimum temperatures average around 1 °C (34 °F). East Kent's average maximum and minimum temperatures are around 1/2 °C higher than the national average. East Kent's average annual rainfall is about 728 millimetres (29 in), with October to January being the wettest months. The national average annual rainfall is about 838 millimetres (33 in).These are average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
weather station in Wye, around 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Birchington:
Transport links
Birchington-on-Sea railway station
Birchington-on-Sea railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in north Kent, and serves the town of Birchington-on-Sea. Train services are provided by Southeastern.The station is located at one end of the High Street about 800m from the Village Square...
is on the Chatham Main Line
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...
which runs between Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
in East Kent and London Victoria. Other stations on this line include Broadstairs, Margate, Herne Bay, Faversham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Bromley South. Birchington is around 1 hour and 45 minutes from London by fast-service train. A National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
coach service also runs between London Victoria and Ramsgate via Birchington-on-Sea. A selection of trains run to London's Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League...
, primarily for business commuting.
There are Stagecoach
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
bus services running to Westgate-on-Sea, Margate, Broadstairs, Canterbury and Herne Bay. The A28 road
A28 road
The A28 is a trunk road in southern England. It runs south-west from the seaside resort of Margate in Kent via Westgate and Birchington, reaching open countryside at Sarre. The road continues via Upstreet and Hersden to Sturry, and on to the cathedral city of Canterbury...
runs between Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
and Margate via Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
, Canterbury, Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea. 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Birchington-on-Sea, the A28 crosses the A299 road
A299 road
The A299, better known as the Thanet Way, is a major road in the county of Kent, England, and runs from Brenley Corner near Faversham to Ramsgate via Whitstable and Herne Bay. It is predominantly used for freight traffic to Ramsgate Harbour and local traffic to Thanet.Most of the A299 was...
which leads along North Kent towards London, becoming the M2 motorway at Faversham.
Demography
| Birchington-on-Sea Compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK census United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.... |
Birchington | Thanet | England |
| Total population | 9,827 | 126,702 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 4.5% | 5.1% | 9.2% |
| White | 98% | 98% | 91% |
| Asian | 0.7% | 0.6% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 80% | 74% | 72% |
| Muslim | 0.6% | 0.5% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 11% | 16% | 15% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 15% | 13% | 20% |
| Over 65 years old | 36% | 22% | 16% |
| Unemployed | 2.5% | 4.4% | 3.3% |
As of the 2001 UK census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the village had 9,827 residents. It is claimed to be "Kent's largest village
Largest village in England
Several places claim to be the largest village in England. This title is disputed as there is no standard definition of a village and size might be determined by population or area....
", although this is unofficial as there is no common definition in the UK of a village.
The village had 4,742 households, of which 47.9% were married couples living together, 5.3% were cohabiting
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
couples and 6.8% were lone parents. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 26.9% had someone living alone at pensionable age. 18.0% of households included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education.
The ethnicity of the village was predominately white with over 95% of its residents being born in the United Kingdom and 2% in other Western Europe countries. About 80% of residents claimed to be Christian, 0.6% Muslim, and less than 1% either Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu or an alternative religion, while 7% did not state their religion, and 11% claimed no religious affiliation.
For every 100 females, there were 80.2 males. The age distribution was 4% aged 0–4 years, 10% aged 5–15 years, 3% aged 16–19 years, 21% aged 20–44 years, 26% aged 45–64 years and 36% aged 65 years and over. The village had a very high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16%. As a seaside resort, Birchington-on-Sea is a popular retirement destination.
Economy
As of the 2001 UK census, the economic activity of residents in the village aged 16–74 was 30.3% in full-time employment, 10.9% in part-time employment, 8.8% self-employed, 2.5% unemployed, 1.6% students with jobs, 2.5% students without jobs, 29.4% retired, 6.1% looking after home or family, 5.5% permanently sick or disabled and 2.3% economically inactive for other reasons. The percentage of retired people was significantly higher than the national figure of 14%. 15% of the village's residents aged 16–74 had a higher educationHigher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide. According to Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households in the Birchington-on-Sea electoral wards was £460 (£23,986 per year).
The industry of employment of residents was 16% retail, 14% health and social work, 11% manufacturing, 11% education, 10% real estate, 9% construction, 7% transport and communications, 6% public administration, 5% hotels and restaurants, 3% finance, 2% agriculture, 1% energy and water supply, and 5% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, the village had a relatively high number of workers in the construction and health/social care industries and a relatively low number in finance and manufacturing. Many residents commute to work outside the town; as of the 2001 census, the town had 3,370 employed residents, but only 1,711 jobs.
As a seaside resort, the village has an economy based around tourism, with several hotels, caravan parks and leisure attractions. The village shopping centre attracts walk-in trade from tourists. One of the largest retailers is the Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
supermarket. The elderly population of the village has generated health and social care jobs at local care homes and at the Birchington Medical Centre. As of the 2001 census, 1.4% of the village's population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared to the national average of only 0.8%.
Culture
Blue Flag beach
The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach or marina meets its stringent standards.The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries in Europe,...
for its cleanliness and safety. The village has three other smaller beaches, which are surrounded by chalk cliffs and cliff stacks. The Thanet Coast Project runs trips out of the bay in July and August to observe the wildlife of the Thames Estuary including seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s, velvet swimming crab
Velvet crab
The velvet crab , Necora puber, is a species of crab. It is the largest swimming crab found in British coastal waters, with a carapace width of up to , and the only species in the genus Necora. The body is coated with short hairs, giving the animal a velvety texture, hence the common name...
s and the migrant Turnstone
Turnstone
Turnstones are the bird species in the genus Arenaria in the family Scolopacidae. They are closely related to calidrid sandpipers and might be considered members of the tribe Calidriini....
.
To the south of the village is Quex House, a 200 year-old manor house situated in 250 acres (1 km²) of parkland and gardens. Several rooms, decorated with oriental and English period furniture, are open to visitors, and guided tours are provided. The Powell Cotton Museum houses three galleries of stuffed animal displays, depicting more than 500 African and Asian animals against their natural habitats. Further galleries display a vast collection of African artefacts, European firearms, European and Asian cutting weapons, European and Chinese porcelain, and important archaeological finds from Thanet and East Kent.
Paintings by local artists are displayed at the Burley Gallery in Birchington Library. Community activities take place at the Birchington Village Centre, including adult education classes, drama productions by the Birchington Guild of Players and concerts by the Birchington Silver Band. In 1989, Birchington-on-Sea was twinned with the town of La Chapelle d`Armentieres, near Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
in northern France; Birchington Twinning Association arranges events between the two communities, such as school trips, concerts and war remembrance services. Since 1932, Birchington has held a street carnival each summer.
As a seaside resort, the village has several clubs for watersports. Minnis Bay Sailing Club, founded in 1950, is a dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
and catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
club where members can sail for fun, but competitions are also held most weekends. Speed boats
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
, jet ski
Jet ski
Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name is sometimes mistakenly used by those unfamiliar with the personal watercraft industry to refer to any type of personal watercraft; however, the name is a valid trademark registered with the...
s and water skis
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
can be hired for use near the beach at Beresford Gap by members of Beresford Wakeboard and Water Ski Club, which was established in 2004 to help alleviate anti-social behaviour in the area. Anglers are catered for by Birchington Sea Angling Society.
Several teams compete in local leagues: the Birchington United Services Club runs a football team in the Thanet Sunday Football League Premier Division and a netball team in the Thanet and District Netball League, while Birchington Chess Club competes in the Thanet League. Westgate and Birchington Golf Club has an 18-hole 4889 yards (4,470.5 m) course on the cliff tops between Westgate and Birchington. Birchington Bridge Club meets twice a week at the Our Lady and St Benedict's Church Hall. A football pitch is provided at the council owned Birchington Recreation Ground.
There are four local weekly newspapers providing news on the Thanet district area. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra and Thanet Adscene are free newspapers, while Isle of Thanet Gazette and Thanet Times are paid-for. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra is owned by the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Thanet Adscene and Thanet Times are owned by Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in...
. There are two local newsmagazines produced for the people of Birchington: The Birchington Roundabout, which began publishing in April 2003, and The Birchington Forum. KMFM Thanet
KMFM Thanet
KMFM Thanet is an Independent Local Radio serving the Isle of Thanet and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
is a radio station on frequency 107.2FM, owned by the KM Group. Community radio
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
station Academy FM (Thanet)
Academy FM (Thanet)
107.8 Academy FM is a non commercial community 24 hour local radio station based in Ramsgate, Kent and serving the Isle of Thanet. It launched on 5 April 2010, Easter Monday.107.8 Academy FM is based within The Marlowe Academy,Ramsgate...
launched in 2010 on 107.8FM.
Notable residents have included the British screenwriter Tudor Gates
Tudor Gates
Tudor Gates was an English screenwriter and trade unionist.-Biography:Gates was involved in stage management by the early 1950s and began scriptwriting in his spare time. After The Guv'nor was broadcast on television in 1956, he took to writing full time...
, who wrote a number of female vampire stories for Hammer Studios in the early 1970s. Gates died in the village in January 2007. In early 1882, Pre-Raphaelite artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
rented a bungalow in the village, in an attempt to recuperate from ill-health. However, he died in April the same year and was buried in the churchyard of All Saints, under a tombstone designed by fellow artist, Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
.
Politics
Since 1983, the Member of Parliament for North ThanetNorth Thanet
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Notes and references:...
, covering northern Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
and Herne Bay, has been the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Roger Gale
Roger Gale
Roger James Gale is a British politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for North Thanet in Kent.-Early life:...
. At the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, in North Thanet the Conservatives won a majority of 7,634 and 49.6% of the vote. Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
won 32.2% of the vote, Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
14.4% and United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
3.9%. Birchington-on-Sea is in the Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
local government district. The village's electoral wards of Birchington North and Birchington South have five of the fifty six seats on the Thanet District Council
Thanet District Council
Thanet District Council is the local government body for the Thanet district. Its administrative centre is Margate. It is one of the district councils in Kent...
. As of the 2007 local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2007
The 2007 UK local government elections were held on 3 May 2007. These elections took place in most of England and all of Scotland. There were no local government elections in Wales though the Welsh Assembly had a general election on the same day. There were no local government elections in Northern...
, all five of those seats were held by the Conservative Party. The village has its own civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
, the lowest unit of local government. Birchington Parish Council has ten members and deals with issues specifically affecting Birchington.
Education
Birchington-on-Sea's secondary school is the secondary modern King Ethelbert School. As of 2006, it had around 750 pupils and was seeking government support to become a specialistSpecialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
school. In 2005, 15 percent of its pupils gained at least five GCSEs at grades A*–C including English and maths, ranking it 103rd out of 120 Kent secondary schools. The school failed the 30% GCSE target. Many secondary students living in Birchington-on-Sea commute to schools in nearby towns, especially to the grammar schools in Ramsgate and Broadstairs. The village's primary school is Birchington Church of England Primary School, which is a state school owned by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
but run by Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
. In 2006, the school's Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when pupils are aged between 7 and 11. The term is applied differently in Northern Ireland where it refers to pupils in Year 5, Year 6 and...
performances ranked 340th out of 386 Kent state primary schools.