Bekesbourne

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.

Bekesbourne railway station is on the Dover branch of the Chatham Main Line in England, and serves the villages of Bekesbourne and Patrixbourne, Kent. It is 64 miles 58 chains (104.2 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Canterbury East and Adisham. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. The station and the line it serves were built by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway and opened on 22 July 1861. The platforms are linked by a footbridge. The country-bound platform is accessible by public footpath. Nearby is a viaduct over the Nailbourne Stream, a tributary of the River Stour.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Adisham Water Tower is a Grade II listed building located in the parish of Adisham, Kent. The structure was built in 1903 in an Edwardian Italianate Revival style for the Margate Corporation District Waterworks. It is a rectangular tower built in red brick and terracotta with a water tank made of iron. A range of architectural features are described in its site listing and include “pilasters with banded rustication, open arcading with round arches with stone keystones and terracotta decoration above with stone panel bearing date and name of waterworks. One arch to shorter sides, three to longer. Moulded stringcourse between stages. Upper stage is similar but without the rustication and has deep eaves cornice on brackets supporting walkway (with decorative iron railings) around panelled iron tank." The iron water tank is inscribed “Erected by Newton Chambers and Co, Thorncliffe Ironworks Sheffield 1903."

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.

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.

Littlebourne is a village and civil parish 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Canterbury in Kent, South East England.