Stourmouth
Encyclopedia
Stourmouth is a civil parish
in the Dover
local government district
of Kent
, England
.
Its name comes from the fact that, before the Wantsum Channel
was cut off from the sea, the village was at the mouth of the River Stour
.
East Stourmouth is the main population centre, stretched out along the B2048 road that bridges the River Stour at Plucks Gutter
a mile to the north. It is referred to simply as "Stourmouth" on road signs. It has no church, nor indeed any public buildings, so the Rising Sun pub is used as the local polling station on election days. The Rising Sun was built in 1372 as a bakery. Until the 1970s there was also a village Post Office and Bakery.
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...
in the Dover
Dover (district)
Dover is a local government district in Kent, England. Dover is its administrative centre. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the boroughs of Deal, Dover, and Sandwich along with Dover Rural District and most of Eastry Rural District...
local government district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of 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...
.
Its name comes from the fact that, before the Wantsum Channel
Wantsum Channel
The Wantsum Channel is the name given to a now silted-up watercourse separating the Isle of Thanet and what was the mainland of the English county of Kent...
was cut off from the sea, the village was at the mouth of the River Stour
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...
.
Geography
The parish contains two settlements, East and West Stourmouth. West Stourmouth is the site of the church which originated in Saxon times, but other than the imposing vicarage West Stourmouth consists of just a few scattered farms.East Stourmouth is the main population centre, stretched out along the B2048 road that bridges the River Stour at Plucks Gutter
Plucks Gutter
Plucks Gutter is a small hamlet in Kent, England where the Little Stour and Great Stour rivers meet. During the Middle Ages, the two rivers met the Wantsum Channel at Stourmouth, but the combined rivers now flow onward to the sea via Sandwich to Pegwell Bay near Ramsgate, leaving Plucks Gutter...
a mile to the north. It is referred to simply as "Stourmouth" on road signs. It has no church, nor indeed any public buildings, so the Rising Sun pub is used as the local polling station on election days. The Rising Sun was built in 1372 as a bakery. Until the 1970s there was also a village Post Office and Bakery.