Bekesbourne railway station

Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne is a civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is located 4 miles south-east of Canterbury.According to the 2001 census it had a population of 868, increasing to 925 at the 2011 Census. The parish consists of Bekesbourne and Patrixbourne. It is most famous for being the home location of Howletts Wild Animal Park, but it is also renowned for the growing of hops and sunflowers.It has one church and has a medieval historical connection with Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who was responsible for the reform of the Church of England under Henry VIII. The archiepiscopal palace was built around 1552 for Cranmer using buildings belonging to Christchurch, Canterbury. It was destroyed in the Civil War and only the gatehouse, now a cottage, survives. The gatehouse consists of two storeys of red brick laid in English bond and a hipped slate roof. In the west wall is a four-centred stone doorway with a stone over it inscribed "T C 1552" and a cartouche of the arms of Archbishop Parker of Canterbury.

Patrixbourne is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, in the Canterbury district in Kent, England. It is 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Canterbury. It is mostly taken up by agricultural hills and along with almost contiguous Bekesbourne. In 1931 the parish had a population of 245.

Patrixbourne Priory was a priory in Kent, England.

Bekesbourne is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, in the Canterbury district, in Kent, South-East England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 538.The village centre is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) east-south-east of Canterbury Cathedral and stretches less than 1 km from Bekesbourne railway station to the A2 road to the south.

Howletts Wild Animal Park (formerly known as Howletts Zoo) in the parish of Bekesbourne, near Canterbury in Kent, was established as a private zoo in 1957 by John Aspinall. In 1962, the House known as Howletts was being restored. A small cottage was inhabited by an employee. The animal collection was opened to the public in 1975. To give more room for the animals another estate at Port Lympne near Hythe in Kent was purchased in 1973, and opened to the public as Port Lympne Zoo in 1976. The collection is known for being unorthodox, for the encouragement of close personal relationships between staff and animals, and for the breeding of rare and endangered species. Steve Irwin visited the park in 2004 and described the zoo's gorillas as "the finest in the world".Since 1984, both parks have been owned by the John Aspinall Foundation, a charity. Following his death, John Aspinall was buried in front of the Howletts House and a memorial was built next to the grave near the bison. A later extension to Howletts was an open-topped enclosure for black and white colobus, just behind the entrance.

Bridge is a village and civil parish near Canterbury in Kent, South East England. Bridge village is in the Nailbourne valley in a rural setting on the old Roman road, Watling Street, formerly the main road between London and Dover. The village itself is centred 2.5 miles south-east of the city of Canterbury.

Bekesbourne Aerodrome was an airport located at the southeast edge of the village of Bekesbourne, southeast of Canterbury, Kent. It operated from 1916 until 1940, and had both military and civil roles.

Higham Park is a Grade II* listed neoclassical style house and gardens, located at Bridge, Kent, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Canterbury.

Bourne Paddock was a cricket ground at Bourne Park House, the seat of Sir Horatio Mann, at Bishopsbourne around 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Canterbury in the English county of Kent. It was a venue for first-class cricket matches from 1766 to 1790. The ground was within the grounds of Bourne Park House. Archaeological surveys have shown that it was built on an area which was settled during the Iron Age and Roman periods. A modern cricket pavilion and a large iron roller used to roll the cricket pitch remain at the site, but the ground is no longer in use.

Bourne Park House is a Queen Anne style country house on Bourne Park Road, between Bishopsbourne and Bridge near Canterbury in Kent. Built in 1701, it has been listed Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England since 1954. An 18th century red brick ice house and a bridge that spans the Nailbourne that feeds the lake in the grounds of Bourne Park are both Grade II listed.Originally known as Bourne Place, the present house was commissioned by Elizabeth Aucher, the widow of Sir Anthony Aucher. Built in place of an existing building belonging to the Bourne family, it is large red brick rectangular mansion of two storeys with attic and basement and a hipped tile roof. There is a 13 bay frontage, of which the central 5 bays project surmounted by a pediment containing a Venetian window. The interior, altered in 1848, contains a good 18th-century staircase, panelling and ceilings. The house is surrounded by parkland of which all but the adjacent 3.6 hectares (9 acres) are now separately owned. Notable features of the gardens are the 18th-century lime avenue, the yew walk and fine examples of Wellingtonia and cork oak. Some trees were lost in the storm of October 1987. There is also a private cricket ground, known historically as Bourne Paddock.Bourne Park is a site for ongoing archaeological research by the University of Cambridge. Several reports have been published to describe findings which include both archaeological features and artefacts. The evidence suggests usage of the area dating from the Bronze Age. The earliest artefact found is an Iron Age silver coin and there have been numerous findings associated with Roman Britain.

Bridge was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1889 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.

Bishopsbourne is a mostly rural and wooded village and civil parish in Kent, England. It has two short developed sections of streets at the foot of the Nailbourne valley 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Canterbury and centred 9 miles (14 km) from Dover. The settlement of Pett Bottom is included in the civil parish.