Sheldwich is a village and civil parish in the Borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 of Swale

Swale

Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its council is based in Sittingbourne. The borough is named after the narrow channel called The Swale, a channel that separates the mainland of Kent from the Isle of Sheppey, and which occupies the central part of the...

 in Kent

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...

.

Geography

It is situated 3 miles south of the market town of Faversham

Faversham

Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...

, and 10 miles north of 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...

. It is fragmented into four, with North Street

North Street, Kent

North Street is a hamlet two miles south of Faversham in Kent, England. The hamlet lies on the A251 road immediately south of its crossing of the M2 motorway....

 a distinct settlement bordering the A251, Sheldwich (including the Church and school) scattered further south on or close to the main road, Sheldwich Lees, a small village in its own right lying a third of a mile from the junction of Lees Court Road and the Ashford Road (A251), and the hamlet of Gosmere. Other than North Street and part of Gosmere, Sheldwich and Sheldwich Lees are included in the Kent Downs

Kent Downs

Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Kent, England . They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover...

, (the eastern part of the North Downs

North Downs

The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...

), a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

.

History

The village church, parts of which are eleventh century, is dedicated to St. James. It was extended and extensively restored

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 in 1888.
Because of the small scattered population (approximately 500 according to the 2001 census) the civil parish has now wards of the smaller neighbouring villages of Badlesmere

Badlesmere

Badlesmere may refer to:*Badlesmere, Kent*Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Lord Badlesmere...

 and Leaveland

Leaveland

Leaveland is a hamlet and civil parish 5 miles south of Faversham in Kent, England....

.