129-629: 51°22′37″N 1°18′18″E / 51.377°N 1.3050°E / 51.377; 1.3050 Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent , England, with a population of 9,961. The village forms part of 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
258-503: A "masjid" ( mosque ) or " surau " , paddy fields and Malay houses on stilts . Malay and Indonesian villagers practice the culture of helping one another as a community, which is better known as "joint bearing of burdens" ( gotong royong ). They are family-oriented (especially the concept of respecting one's family [particularly the parents and elders]), courtesy and practice belief in God ( "Tuhan" ) as paramount to everything else. It
387-497: A sea wall and groynes to prevent coastal flooding . Chalk cliffs are present in between the bays and either side of the bays. The whole of the northeast Kent coast has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest . The town lies on the Isle of Thanet , a separate island from mainland Kent until around two hundred years ago, when the channel in between silted up. The geology of Thanet consists mainly of chalk, deposited when
516-409: A seaside resort , the village is a 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
645-439: A European Blue Flag Award is shared between them due to their cleanliness and safety. The town centre has several Victorian canopied shops, a library and the three-screen Carlton Cinema. The Westgate Pavilion was formerly a venue for theatre, discos, yoga, indoor bowls and dance classes.It has been boarded up for several years Formed in 1896, Westgate and Birchington Golf Club has an 18-hole 4,889-yard (4,471 m) course on
774-683: A bungalow in the village, in an attempt to recuperate from ill-health. 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 . Composer Rosalind Ellicott , who lived in Seasalter , is buried near her parents (her father was Charles Ellicott , the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol) in Birchington-on-Sea churchyard. Village#United Kingdom A village
903-491: A children's playground, 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. Wildlife that can be observed in the Thames Estuary includes seals , velvet swimming crabs and the migrant turnstone . Paintings by local artists are displayed at
1032-534: A city ( ciudad ), typically located in a rural environment. While commonly it is the smallest administrative unit ( municipio ), it is possible for a village to be legally composed of smaller population units in its territory. There is not a clear-cut distinction between villages, towns and cities in Spain, since they had been traditionally categorized according to their religious importance and their relationship with surrounding population units. Villages are more usual in
1161-586: A few pupils or closed within a few years. The largest of the schools were Streete Court School, Wellington House Preparatory School and St Michael's School. An early experiment with electric lighting took place in December 1878. Six Yablochkoff lamps – a type of arc light – were installed, they were powered by a Garrett engine and were lit for 96 hours. The running costs proved to be uneconomic: they cost £40 9s 5d compared to £16 15s 2d for gas lighting, and there were technical problems. A school, Westgate College
1290-507: A few thousand residents, were usually larger than a typical selo in central Russia. In Ukraine , a village, ( Ukrainian : село , romanized : selo , IPA: [selo] ), is considered the lowest administrative unit. Villages are under the jurisdiction of a hromada administration. There is another smaller type of rural settlement which is designated in Ukrainian as a selyshche ( селище ). This type of community
1419-664: A free skatepark at the Lymington Road recreation ground. Designed by local young people, the park caters for skateboarders and in line skaters of all ages and skill levels. There are four local weekly newspapers providing news on the Thanet district area. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra is owned by the KM Group , and the Isle of Thanet Gazette , Thanet Adscene and Thanet Times are owned by Trinity Mirror . Isle Of Thanet KM Extra and Thanet Adscene are free newspapers, whereas
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#17327907152531548-480: A keen archaeologist . Birchington was first recorded in 1240 as Birchenton, a name derived from the Old English words ' bircen tun ', meaning a farm where birch 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
1677-506: A mixture of different groups for the young people and children of the village. Brownies, Girl Guides and Scouts have a large membership. There is mention of a youth club in Birchington since the 1960s; simply referred to as 'Birchington Youth Club'. After many changes, the youth club name was changed to 'Target Youth Hub' in 2017. It is run by a local group and headed up by Youth Worker, Melanie Megson, who has been involved since 2007. To
1806-414: A part of a municipality are called frazione , whereas the village that hosts the municipal seat is called paese (town) or capoluogo . A non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest named I Borghi più belli d'Italia (English: The most beautiful Villages of Italy ) and affiliated to the international association The Most Beautiful Villages in
1935-467: A person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. There was a high percentage of households made up of individuals, compared with the percentage for the whole of England. The average household size was 2.7. The town has a low proportion of non-white people compared to national figures; the ethnicity recorded in the 2001 census was 97.4% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other Asian, 0.3% black and 0.3% other. The number of foreign-born residents
2064-422: 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
2193-427: A selection of trains run to London's Cannon Street station , primarily for business commuting. There is a Stagecoach bus service running to neighbouring Birchington and Margate, and a service running between Broadstairs and Canterbury via Westgate-on-Sea. The A28 road runs between Hastings and Margate via Ashford , Canterbury, Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea. 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Westgate-on-Sea,
2322-500: A small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and factories; the concentration of people caused many villages to grow into towns and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts and the development of many trades. The trend of urbanization continues but not always in connection with industrialization. Historically, homes were situated together for sociability and defence, and land surrounding
2451-607: 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. The total number of artefacts has not been counted, though the ethnography items alone total approximately 18,000. Percy Powell-Cotton was born in 1866, and was a Major in the Northumberland Fusiliers . His expeditions were conducted for scientific research, and would sometimes take 18 months. In 1896, Major Powell-Cotton founded
2580-405: A village around the lord's manor, a Cossack family often lived on its own farm, called khutor . A number of such khutors plus a central village made up the administrative unit with a center in a stanitsa ( Russian : станица , romanized : stanitsa ; Ukrainian : станиця , romanized : stanytsya , lit. 'stanytsia'). Such stanitsas , often with
2709-620: A village is ves ( Polish : wieś, wioska ; Czech : ves, vesnice ; Slovak : ves ; Slovene : vas ; Russian : весь , romanized : ves ). In Slovenia , the word selo is used for very small villages (fewer than 100 people) and in dialects; the Slovene word vas is used all over Slovenia . In Russia and Bulgaria , the word ves is archaic, but remains in idioms and locality names, such as Vesyegonsk and Belevehchevo . The most commonly used word for village in Slovak
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#17327907152532838-451: Is Il fascino dell'Italia nascosta ("The charm of hidden Italy"). As of November 2023, 361 villages in Italy have been listed in "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy". In Spain, a village ( pueblo ) refers to a small population unit, smaller than a town ( villa [an archaic term that survives only in official uses, such as the official name of Spain's capital, "la Villa de Madrid"]) and
2967-399: Is Ursuline College , a specialist Sports College and Roman Catholic aided comprehensive school, with nearly 800 pupils and facilities for boarding students. In 2005, 32% of its pupils gained at least five GCSEs at grades A*–C including English and maths, ranking it 71st out of Kent's 120 secondary schools. Many secondary students commute to schools in other nearby towns, especially to
3096-651: Is dedina (dialectical also dzedzina ). The word's etymology may be (or may not be) rooted in the verb dediť ("to inherit"), referencing the inheriting of whole villages or properties within villages by noblemen or wealthy landowners. Another etymology could be related to the Sanskrit word deśá ( देश ) similar to the Afghan deh , Bengal desh and Indonesian desa . The term ves appears in settlement names (mostly villages, but also some towns that evolved over time from villages). The dialect term for village in east Slovakia
3225-422: Is 11%. It also stated that the state of the environment in the small towns and villages is good apart from the low level of infrastructure. In Bulgaria, it is popular to visit villages for the atmosphere, culture, crafts, hospitality of the people and the surrounding nature. This is called selski turizam ( Bulgarian : селски туризъм ), meaning "village tourism". In Russia, as of the 2010 Census , 26.3% of
3354-711: 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. 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
3483-505: Is Yiddish, derived from the word shtot (town) with the suffix -l , a diminutive . Shtetlekh first began to appear in the 13th century, and were characteristic aspects of Jewish life in central and Eastern Europe until the 1940s. The shtetl occupies an important place in Jewish collective memory (particularly the history of Ashkenazi Jews) and has been depicted extensively in literature, visual art, theatre, and film, including such examples as
3612-458: Is a dinghy and catamaran club where members can sail for fun, but competitions are also held most weekends. Speed boats , jet skis and water skis can be launched 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. There are two local weekly newspapers providing news on
3741-408: Is a clustered human settlement or community , larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas , the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighborhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings ; however, transient villages can occur. Further,
3870-484: 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. More recently, Birchington Together CIC starting publishing a monthly magazine/newsletter, Birchington Buzz. In February 2017, Local journalist Kathy Bailes, set up The Isle of Thanet News - covering news across the whole of the Isle of Thanet . For a lot of years, there has been
3999-461: Is a topic of local controversy. Westgate-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, Rochester and Bromley South. Westgate-on-Sea is around 1 hour and 45 minutes to London by fast-service train. A National Express coach service runs between London Victoria and Ramsgate, and
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4128-420: Is administered according to traditions and customary law ( adat ), while a kelurahan is administered along more "modern" principles. Desa are generally located in rural areas while kelurahan are generally urban subdivisions. A village head is respectively called kepala desa or lurah . Both are elected by the local community. A desa or kelurahan is the subdivision of a kecamatan (district), in turn
4257-464: Is also valal (or valala ). Dedina is unrelated to the rarer east Slavic term derevna , which refers to a village with wooden ( derevo ) housing. In Bulgaria , the different types of sela vary from a small selo of 5 to 30 families to one of several thousand people. According to a 2002 census, in that year there were 2,385,000 Bulgarian citizens living in settlements classified as villages . A 2004 Human Settlement Profile on Bulgaria conducted by
4386-684: Is around 1 hour and 40 minutes from London by Mainline train. A National Express coach service also runs between London Victoria Coach Station and Ramsgate via Birchington-on-Sea. A selection of early morning and evening trains run on weekdays to London's Cannon Street station and high speed services to St Pancras International , primarily for business commuting. There are Stagecoach South East 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,
4515-406: Is built beside four partly 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
4644-595: Is common for Vietnamese villagers to prefer to be buried in their village upon death. Selo ( Cyrillic : село; Polish : sioło ) is a Slavic word meaning "village" in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , North Macedonia , Russia , Serbia , and Ukraine . For example, there are numerous sela (села; plural of selo ) called Novo Selo (Ново Село, "New Village") in Bulgaria , Croatia , Montenegro , Serbia , and North Macedonia . Another Slavic word for
4773-667: Is common to see a cemetery near the mosque. In Sarawak and East Kalimantan , some villages are called 'long', primarily inhabited by the Orang Ulu . Malaysian kampung were once aplenty in Singapore but there are almost no remaining kampung villages; the very few to have survived until today are mostly on outlying islands surrounding mainland Singapore, such as Pulau Ubin . Mainland Singapore used to have many kampung villages but modern developments and rapid urbanisation works have seen them bulldozed away; Kampong Lorong Buangkok
4902-493: Is compulsory for the Muslim pupils in the country, a mosque, and a community centre ( Malay : balai raya or dewan kemasyarakatan ). In Indonesia , depending on the principles they are administered, villages are called kampung or desa (or kelurahan for those with urban functions). A desa (a term that derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "country" that is found in the name " Bangladesh "= bangla and desh/desha )
5031-521: Is locally known by the Malay word kampung (also spelt as kampong ). They may be villages in the traditional or anthropological sense but may also comprise delineated residential settlements, both rural and urban. The community of a village is headed by a village head ( Malay : ketua kampung ). Communal infrastructure for the villagers may include a primary school, a religious school providing ugama or Islamic religious primary education which
5160-425: Is located at 51°22′37″N 1°18′18″E / 51.37694°N 1.30500°E / 51.37694; 1.30500 (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
5289-653: Is marked by kinship and exchange relations. Auyl ( Kazakh : Ауыл ) is a Kazakh word meaning "village" in Kazakhstan . According to the 2009 census of Kazakhstan, 42.7% of Kazakhstani citizens (7.5 million people) live in 8172 different villages. To refer to this concept along with the word "auyl" often used the Slavic word "selo" in Northern Kazakhstan. In mainland China , villages 村 are divisions under township Zh:乡 or town Zh:镇 . In
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5418-579: Is often referred to in English as a "settlement". In the new law about populated places in Ukraine the term "selyshche", has a specific meaning. In the past the word "selyshche" was more ambiguous and there were distinction between rural selyshche and selyshche miskoho typu ( urban-type settlement ), abbreviated smt in Ukrainian. There we also dacha , fisherman, etc. selyshches The khutir ( хутір ) and stanytsia ( станиця ) are not part of
5547-559: Is owned by the church but run by Kent County Council . Chartfield School is an independent primary school, educating children from 3 to 11 years. The town has sandy beaches at both St Mildred's Bay and West Bay. The larger of the beaches is at St Mildred's Bay, where it is possible to hire beach huts, deck chairs and jet-skis . The beach is a short distance from tennis courts and a golf putting course. At West Bay, there are many small rock pools , which are popular with children. Each beach has nearby cafés, restaurants and public houses, and
5676-527: Is relatively low, with the place of birth of residents in 2001 being 94.5% United Kingdom, 1.0% Republic of Ireland, 0.5% Germany, 0.6% other Western Europe countries, 0.3% Eastern Europe, 0.8% Far East, 0.6% North America, 0.5% Africa, 0.4% South Asia, 0.2% Middle East and 0.2% Oceania. Religion was recorded as 75.8% Christian, 0.5% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, 0.1% Buddhist and 0.3% Jewish. 14.4% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 8.3% did not state their religion. The age distribution
5805-589: 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 Percy Powell-Cotton on his travels in Africa, and also houses artefacts unearthed in and around Birchington by his daughter, Antoinette Powell-Cotton,
5934-593: Is the last surviving village on the country's mainland. The term "kampung", sometimes spelled "kampong", is one of many Malay words to have entered common usage in Malaysia and Singapore. Locally, the term is frequently used to refer to either one's hometown or a rural village, depending on the intended context. In urban areas of the Philippines , the term "village" most commonly refers to private subdivisions, especially gated communities . These villages emerged in
6063-485: Is very common for villagers to produce their own food. As prosperous urbanites purchase village houses for their second homes, Russian villages sometimes are transformed into dacha settlements, used mostly for seasonal residence. The historically Cossack regions of Southern Russia and parts of Ukraine , with their fertile soil and absence of serfdom , had a rather different pattern of settlement from central and northern Russia. While peasants of central Russia lived in
6192-428: Is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate . Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular tourist attraction since the town's development in the 1860s from a small farming community. The town had a population of 7,517 at the 2021 Census. The town is notable for once being the location of a Royal Naval Air Service seaplane base at St Mildred's Bay, which defended
6321-498: Is worshiped, a common well, "đồng lúa" ( rice field), "chùa" (temple) and houses of all families in the village. All the people in Vietnam's villages usually have a blood relationship. They are farmers who grow rice and have the same traditional handicraft . Vietnam's villages have an important role in society (Vietnamese saying: "Custom rules the law" -"Phép vua thua lệ làng" [literally: the king's law yields to village customs]). It
6450-590: The 1997 general election , the Conservative majority in North Thanet was reduced to 2,766, with the Conservatives on 44.1% of the vote and Labour on 38.4%. The voter turnout during the past three general elections has been between 59.3% and 68.8%. The town is in the Thanet local government district . It is within the electoral ward of Westgate-on-Sea, which has three of the fifty-six seats on
6579-490: The Conservative Roger Gale . At the 2005 general election , the Conservatives won a majority of 7,634 and 49.6% of the vote in North Thanet. Labour won 32.2% of the vote, Liberal Democrats 14.4% and UK Independence Party 3.9%. At the 2001 general election , the Conservatives had a higher share of the vote with 50.3% but a lower majority of 6,650. During Labour's landslide victory at national level at
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#17327907152536708-641: The Conservative Roger Gale . At the 2015 general election , in North Thanet the Conservatives won a majority of 10,948 and 49.0% of the vote. The UK Independence Party won 25.7% of the vote, Labour 17.9%, the Green Party 3.7%, the Liberal Democrats 3.5% and the Party for a United Thanet 0.3%. Birchington-on-Sea is in the Thanet local government district . The village's electoral wards of Birchington North and Birchington South have five of
6837-508: 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 . In East Kent,
6966-463: The English language ) for "a Malay hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country". In Malaysia, a kampung is determined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village came under the leadership of a penghulu (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village (see Courts of Malaysia for more details). A Malay village typically contains
7095-562: The Lincolnshire Wolds , the villages are often found along the spring line halfway down the hillsides, and originate as spring line settlements , with the original open field systems around the village. In northern Scotland , most villages are planned to a grid pattern located on or close to major roads, whereas in areas such as the Forest of Arden , woodland clearances produced small hamlets around village greens. Because of
7224-637: The Met Office weather station in Wye , around 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Westgate-on-Sea: Due to its climate and high grade agricultural soil, a range of cereal and vegetables can be grown in Westgate. In the past E. S Linington mainly grew cauliflower and raised dairy cattle. Quex Park in neighbouring Birchington now grows wheat, potatoes, maize and beans. Whether housing should be built on such high grade agricultural land in both Westgate and Birchington
7353-465: The Republic of China ( Taiwan ), villages are divisions under townships or county-administered cities . The village is called a tsuen or cūn (村) under a rural township (鄉) and a li (里) under an urban township (鎮) or a county-controlled city. See also Li (unit) . In Brunei , villages are officially the third- and lowest-level subdivisions of Brunei below districts and mukims . A village
7482-608: The Russian Empire , a volost , or its Soviet or modern Russian successor, a selsoviet , was typically headquartered in a selo and embraced a few neighboring villages. In the 1960s–1970s, the depopulation of the smaller villages was driven by the central planners' drive in order to get the farm workers out of smaller, " prospectless " hamlets and into the collective or state farms ' main villages or even larger towns and cities , with more amenities. Most Russian rural residents are involved in agricultural work, and it
7611-535: The Thames Estuary coastal towns during World War I . The town is the subject of Sir John Betjeman 's poem, "Westgate-on-Sea". Residents have included the 19th-century surgeon Sir Erasmus Wilson and former archbishop of Canterbury William Temple . The artist Sir William Quiller Orchardson painted several of his best-known pictures whilst living in Westgate-on-Sea. The British artist Louis Wain and his family. The British composer Arnold Cooke attended
7740-815: The Thanet District Council . At the 2007 local elections , two of those seats were won by the Conservative Party and one by an independent candidate. Conservative candidates in the ward won 45.8% of the vote, independent candidates won 27.0%, Labour Party candidates 17.6% and a Grey Party candidate 4.6%. The turnout was 34.5%. In 2015 Thanet Council set up a parish council for the Westgate-on-Sea ward. The new council took office at its first meeting in May 2015 as Westgate-on-Sea Town Council. It used to meet in Westgate-on-Sea's Town Hall, but has now moved twice since then. The town's secondary school
7869-484: The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated that: The most intensive is the migration "city – city". Approximately 46% of all migrated people have changed their residence from one city to another. The share of the migration processes "village – city" is significantly less – 23% and "city – village" – 20%. The migration "village – village" in 2002
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#17327907152537998-628: The administrative division any longer, primarily due to collectivization . Khutirs were very small rural localities consisting of just few housing units and were sort of individual farms. They became really popular during the Stolypin reform in the early 20th century. During the collectivization, however, residents of such settlements were usually declared to be kulaks and had all their property confiscated and distributed to others ( nationalized ) without any compensation. The stanitsa likewise has not survived as an administrative term. The stanitsa
8127-725: The grammar schools in Ramsgate and Broadstairs. The Westgate College For Deaf People for students aged 16 and over closed on 11 December 2015. An inspection the previous month by the Care Quality Commission uncovered what the inspectors called "shocking examples of institutionalised failings and abuse" and the trust running the schools subsequently went into administration. The London House School of English provides English language courses for foreign students. The primary state schools are St Crispin's Infant School and St Saviour's Church of England Primary School, which
8256-479: The northern and central regions , Azores Islands and in the Alentejo . Most of them have a church and a "Casa do Povo" (people's house), where the village's summer romarias or religious festivities are usually held. Summer is also when many villages are host to a range of folk festivals and fairs, taking advantage of the fact that many of the locals who reside abroad tend to come back to their native village for
8385-554: The 2001 UK census, 6.9% of the population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared with the national average of only 0.8%. At the 2001 census, the economic activity of residents in the Westgate-on-Sea electoral ward was 32.9% in full-time employment, 12.3% in part-time employment, 7.8% self-employed, 4.3% unemployed, 2.1% students with jobs, 4.3% students without jobs, 18.1% retired, 6.2% looking after home or family, 9.5% permanently sick or disabled and 2.3% economically inactive for other reasons. The percentage of retired people
8514-404: The 2011 UK census, the economic activity of residents in the village aged 16–74 was 31.7% in full-time employment, 14.4% in part-time employment, 10.1% self-employed, 5.7% unemployed, 3.0% students with jobs, 4.3% students without jobs, 18.2% retired, 4.9% looking after home or family, 5.5% permanently sick or disabled and 2.1% economically inactive for other reasons. The percentage of retired people
8643-712: The A28 crosses the A299 road which leads along North Kent towards London, becoming the M2 motorway at Faversham. Residents of Birchington-on-Sea have included the British screenwriter Tudor Gates , who wrote a number of stories about female vampires for Hammer Studios in the early 1970s. Gates died in the village in January 2007. On Easter Sunday, 1882, Pre-Raphaelite illustrator, painter, translator and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti rented
8772-497: The A28 crosses the A299 road , which leads along North Kent towards London, becoming the M2 motorway at Faversham . At the 2001 UK census , the Westgate-on-Sea electoral ward had 6,594 residents and 2,845 households. Of those households, 38.0% were married couples, 8.4% were cohabiting couples and 9.4% were lone parents. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone at pensionable age. 23.6% of households included children aged under 16, or
8901-737: The David Burley Gallery in Birchington Library. Community activities take place at The Centre Birchington (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
9030-651: The Mayor of Margate and veterans' organisations on 27 April 2009 at the war memorial overlooking the crash site. In 1975, five historic church bells were transferred to St Saviour's Church from the Holy Cross Church in Canterbury, which had closed in 1972. Three of the bells date back to the early 17th century and one was cast in the 14th century. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the Westgate Pavilion
9159-611: The Netherlands. A village in the UK is a compact settlement of houses, smaller in size than a town, and generally based on agriculture or, in some areas, mining (such as Ouston, County Durham ), quarrying or sea fishing. They are very similar to those in Ireland. The major factors in the type of settlement are: location of water sources, organization of agriculture and landholding, and likelihood of flooding. For example, in areas such as
9288-681: 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
9417-561: The Thanet League. Westgate and Birchington Golf Club has an 18-hole 4,877-yard (4,460 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. As a seaside resort, the village has several clubs for watersports. Minnis Bay Sailing Club, founded in 1950,
9546-409: The Thanet district area. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra is a free newspaper, while Isle of Thanet Gazette is paid-for. Isle Of Thanet KM Extra is owned by the KM Group , Isle of Thanet Gazette is 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
9675-608: The Ursuline Convent School, which in 1995 was re-established as Ursuline College . In 1910, a Swiss-Gothic styled town hall was built. However, it was soon decided that the building could be put to better use, and in 1912, it was transformed into the Town Hall Cinema . In 1932, it was renamed the Carlton Cinema. On 1 August 1914, after the outbreak of World War I , a Royal Navy seaplane base
9804-704: The World , was created in 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities with the aim of preserving and maintaining villages of quality heritage. Founded to contribute to safeguarding, conserving and revitalizing small villages and municipalities, but sometimes even individual hamlets, which, being outside the main tourist circuits, they risk, despite their great value, being forgotten with consequent degradation, depopulation and abandonment. Its motto
9933-466: The area was below the sea. The Isle of Thanet was formed when the English Channel was formed by the sea breaking through, an island of chalk being left on the east side of the county. It was separated from the rest of Kent by the Wantsum Channel. 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
10062-501: The beginning of 20th century. According to the 2011 census of India , 69% of Indians (around 833 million people) live in villages. As per 2011 census of India, there are a total of 649,481 villages in India .The size of these villages varies considerably. 236,004 Indian villages have a population of fewer than 500, while 3,976 villages have a population of 10,000+. Most of the villages have their own temple, mosque, or church, depending on
10191-408: 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
10320-600: The cliff tops between Westgate and Birchington. Based at Hawtreys Field, Westgate-on-Sea Cricket Club runs two Saturday teams and two Sunday teams. In the 2007 season, both Saturday teams played in the Kent Cricket Feeder League East; the Saturday 1st XI team in Division 1C and the Saturday 2nd XI in Division 2C. The Sunday teams do not play in competitive matches. In 2006, Thanet Council opened
10449-436: The construction and health/social care industries and a relatively low number in manufacturing. Many residents commute to work outside the village; at the 2001 census, the village 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
10578-416: The country's population lives in rural localities ; down from 26.7% recorded in the 2002 Census . Multiple types of rural localities exist, but the two most common are derevnya ( деревня ) and selo ( село ). Historically, the formal indication of status was religious: a city ( gorod , город ) had a cathedral , a selo had a church, while a derevnya had neither. The lowest administrative unit of
10707-403: The crew that surrounded it. These were located beside the coast at St Mildred's Bay, named after Mildrith , Thanet's patron saint and a one-time Abbess of Minster . During the late 1860s, businessmen developed the area into a seaside resort for the upper to middle-classes. A stretch of sea wall, with promenade on top, was constructed around the beaches at St Mildred's Bay and West Bay, and
10836-436: The dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement . In the past, villages were a usual form of community for societies that practice subsistence agriculture and also for some non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain , a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church . In many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only
10965-404: The economy is mainly based around tourism; there are several hotels and guest houses near the seafront, to accommodate the influx of visitors during the summer. Many visitors often enjoy the coast, fields and shops. The High Street has a variety of shops and services, and there are a small number of factories. The elderly population has led to many health and social care jobs at local care homes. At
11094-521: The fifty six seats on the Thanet District Council . At 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. Birchington-on-Sea's secondary school is the secondary modern King Ethelbert School . In 2006, it had around 750 pupils and
11223-512: The histories of Jewish communities destroyed during the Holocaust. The Insee classifies French communes into four groups according to population density: A commune in Group 3 or 4 is considered as a village ( commune rurale ). An independent association named Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (affiliated to the international association The Most Beautiful Villages in the World ),
11352-425: The holidays. In the flood-prone districts of the Netherlands, particularly in the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen, villages were traditionally built on low man-made hills called terpen before the introduction of regional dyke-systems. In modern days, the term dorp (lit. "village") is usually applied to settlements no larger than 20,000, though there's no official law regarding status of settlements in
11481-462: The land divided into plots to be sold for what would become an exclusive development by the sea for wealthy metropolitan families within a gated community, rather than for occasional tourists. The opening of a railway station, in 1871, led to the rapid expansion of the population, which reached 2,738 by 1901. The demands of the increasing population led to the building of the parish churches of St. James in 1872 and St. Saviour in 1884. St. Saviour's
11610-619: The largest retailers is the Co-Op (formerly 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. At 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,
11739-456: The living quarters was farmed. Traditional fishing villages were based on artisan fishing and located adjacent to fishing grounds. In toponomastic terminology, the names of individual villages are called Comonyms (from Ancient Greek κώμη / village and ὄνυμα / name, [cf. ὄνομα]). From Middle English village , from Old French village , from Latin villāticus , ultimately from Latin villa (English villa ). In Afghanistan,
11868-663: The local religious following. The majority of Pakistanis live in rural areas. According to the 2017 census , about 64% of the Pakistani population lives in rural areas. Most rural areas in Pakistan tend to be near cities, and are peri-urban areas. This is due to the definition of a rural area in Pakistan being an area that does not fall within an urban boundary. A village is called deh or gaaon in Urdu . Pakistani village life
11997-412: The mid-20th century and were initially the domain of elite urban dwellers. Those are common in major cities in the country and their residents have a wide range of income levels. Such villages may or may not correspond to a barangay (the country's basic unit of government, also glossed as village), or be privately administered. Barangays correspond more to precolonial villages; the chairman (formerly
12126-721: The name like " Srinagar "= sri and nagar/nagari ). In some areas such as Tanah Toraja, elders take turns watching over the village at a command post. As a general rule, desa and kelurahan are groupings of hamlets ( kampung in Indonesian, dusun in Javanese , banjar in Bali). a kampung is defined today as a village in Brunei and Indonesia . Kampung is a term used in Malaysia , (sometimes spelling kampong or kompong in
12255-552: The other two are paid-for. Kent on Sunday published newspapers covering this area until 2017. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Dover TV transmitter and the Margate relay transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Kent on 104.2 FM, Heart South on 95.9 FM and KMFM Thanet is a radio station on frequency 107.2FM, owned by
12384-492: The period of April 2001 to March 2002, the average gross weekly income of households was £430 (£22,421 per year). The industry of employment of residents, at the 2001 census, was 16% retail, 16% health and social work, 13% manufacturing, 9% construction, 9% real estate, 9% education, 7% transport and communications, 5% public administration, 5% hotels and restaurants, 3% finance, 1% agriculture and 6% other community, social or personal services. Compared with national figures, there
12513-481: The region and the settlement's market rights. Smaller villages usually do not have their own government. Instead, they are part ( Ortsteil ) of the municipality of a nearby town. In Italy, villages are spread throughout the country. No legal definition of village exists in Italian law; nonetheless, a settlement inhabited by less than 2000 people is usually described as "village". More often, Italian villages that are
12642-588: The sand at low tide. In later years Roman villa in the field surrounding Westgate has also been found with strong archaeological evidence of Roman activity between Quex Park East Side in Birchington and the Dent de Lion medieval gatehouse at Garlinge . Before the 1860s, Westgate consisted of only a farm, a coastguard station (built 1791 and still standing in Old Boundary Road) and a few cottages for
12771-437: The south of the village is Quex House, a 200‑year‑old manor house situated in 250 acres (1.0 km) 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
12900-703: The subdivision of a kabupaten (regency) or kota (city). The same general concept applies all over Indonesia. However, there is some variation among the vast numbers of Austronesian ethnic groups. For instance, in Bali villages have been created by grouping traditional hamlets or banjar , which constitute the basis of Balinese social life. In the Minangkabau area in West Sumatra province, traditional villages are called nagari (a term deriving from another Sanskrit word meaning "city", which can be found in
13029-551: The topography of the Clent Hills the north Worcestershire village of Clent is an example of a village with no centre but instead consists of series of hamlets scattered on and around the Hills. Westgate-on-Sea 51°22′53″N 01°20′17″E / 51.38139°N 1.33806°E / 51.38139; 1.33806 Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent , England. It
13158-515: The town's Streete Preparatory School in the early 20th century, and Eton headmaster Anthony Chenevix-Trench spent the earliest few years of his education in the town. The town inherited its name from the Westgate Manor, which was located in the area in medieval times. In the early 20th century, the remains of a Roman villa were discovered in what is now Beach Road, where a stream once used to flow. Fresh water can still be seen rising from
13287-600: The two communities, such as school trips, concerts and war remembrance services. Since 1932, Birchington has held a street carnival each summer. 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
13416-513: The village datu ) now settles administrative, intrapersonal, and political matters or polices the area though with much less authority and respect than in Indonesia or Malaysia. Village, or "làng", is a basis of Vietnam society. Vietnam's village is the typical symbol of Asian agricultural production. Vietnam's village typically contains: a village gate, "lũy tre" (bamboo hedges), "đình làng" (communal house) where "thành hoàng" ( tutelary god )
13545-454: 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,
13674-588: 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 . Since 1983, the Member of Parliament for North Thanet , covering northern Thanet and Herne Bay, has been
13803-586: 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
13932-637: The village, or deh ( Dari / Pashto : ده) is the mid-size settlement type in Afghan society, trumping the United States hamlet or qala ( Dari : قلعه, Pashto : کلي), though smaller than the town, or shār ( Dari : شهر, Pashto : ښار). In contrast to the qala , the deh is generally a bigger settlement which includes a commercial area, while the yet larger shār includes governmental buildings and services such as schools of higher education, basic health care, police stations etc. "The soul of India lives in its villages," declared Mahatma Gandhi at
14061-474: 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
14190-404: The wettest months. The national average annual rainfall is about 838 millimetres (33 in) . At the 2011 census , the village had 9,961 residents. There were 4,944 households, of which 43.6% were married couples living together, 13.0% were cohabiting couples; 43.4% of all households were made up of lone individuals. For every 100 females, there were 86.2 males. The age distribution
14319-706: The writing of Mendele Mocher Sforim , Isaac Bashevis Singer , and Sholem Aleichem . Sholem Aleichem's Tevye the Dairyman stories, set in the fictional shtetl of Anatevka, were eventually adapted into the Fiddler on the Roof stage play (which itself was later adapted for film). During the Holocaust , most shtetlekh were depopulated of their Jewish communities through mass deportations or liquidations. Many are memorialized in yizkor books , written testimonies that describe
14448-484: The year is January and February, when minimum temperatures average around 1 °C (34 °F). The average of 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, compared with the national average of 838 millimetres (33 in). These are average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at
14577-429: Was 16.1% retail, 17.2% health and social work, 5.8% manufacturing, 12.3% education, 1.3% real estate, 9.6% construction, 4.9% transport and storage, 2.2% communications, 6.7% public administration, 4.3% hotels and restaurants, 3.1% finance, 0.8% agriculture, 1.1% energy and water supply, and 5.2% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, the village had a relatively high number of workers in
14706-416: Was 5% aged 0–4 years, 13% aged 5–15 years, 5% aged 16–19 years, 28% aged 20–44 years, 22% aged 45–64 years and 27% aged 65 years and over. There was a high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16%, mainly due to seaside towns being popular retirement destinations. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. As a seaside resort and border rural,
14835-728: Was 6% aged 0–4 years, 13.1% aged 5–15 years, 5.1% aged 16–19 years, 28.2% aged 20–44 years, 26.4% aged 45–64 years and 21.2% aged 65 years and over. The village had a high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16.4%. The ethnicity of the village was predominately white, with over 95% of its residents being born in the United Kingdom and other Western European countries. About 61% of residents claimed to be Christian, with less than 1% claiming to be Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu or an alternative religion, while 7.4% did not state their religion, and 28.6% claimed no religious affiliation. At
14964-467: Was a bingo hall, after which it closed and became derelict. In 2001, a group of volunteers formed a charitable trust to repair the pavilion and it was eventually reopened as a theatre. Westgate-on-Sea is located in northeast Kent, on the coast of the Thames Estuary. It is bordered by the town of Margate to the east and the village of Birchington-on-Sea to the west. The town is built beside the two sandy bays of St Mildred's Bay and West Bay, which both have
15093-562: 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. Birchington-on-Sea
15222-426: Was a relatively high number of workers in the construction and health and social care industries and a relatively low number in finance and real estate. Many residents commute to work outside the town; at the 2001 census, the town had 2,388 employed residents, but only 1,464 jobs. Since the constituency was created in 1983, the Member of Parliament for North Thanet , covering northern Thanet and Herne Bay, has been
15351-483: Was a type of a collective community that could include one or more settlements such as villages, khutirs , and others. Today, stanitsa -type formations have only survived in Kuban ( Russian Federation ) where Ukrainians were resettled during the time of the Russian Empire . A shtetl (plural shtetlekh ) was a small market town or village with a majority Jewish population in central and eastern Europe. The word shtetl
15480-466: Was captured after being shot down and crash landing in a field adjacent to Linksfield Rd, just south of the town. On 27 April 1944 a Liberator aircraft from the 392nd USAAF bombing group based in East Anglia near Wendling, Norfolk, crashed off the beach, adjacent to the Westgate Pavilion, with five of the crew killed and four injured in the crash. A special memorial service was held for the crew by
15609-507: Was converted into sleeping quarters for use by the Royal West Kent Regiment. In 1925, the bandstand was refurbished and reopened as the 600-seat Westgate Pavilion theatre. By 1931, the town's population had reached 4,554. During World War II , several schools were evacuated to inland areas, with some, such as Streete Court School, leaving the town permanently. On 24 August 1942, a German fighter pilot, Herbert Bischoff,
15738-454: Was created in 1982 to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. As of July 2023, 172 villages in France have been listed in "The Most Beautiful Villages of France". In Germany a Dorf (village) usually consists of at least a few houses but can have up to a few thousand inhabitants. Larger villages can also be referred to as a Flecken or Markt depending on
15867-419: Was designed by the architect C.N. Beazley . In 1884 it was reported that Essex , on the other side of the Thames Estuary, was hit by a tremor so large that it caused the bells of St. James' Church to ring. In 1884, ownership of most of the resort passed to Coutts Bank, after the previous proprietors had gone bankrupt. Around twenty schools were opened during the late 19th century, although many had only
15996-519: Was established in 1877 by William Bullock. It was renamed Ringslow College in 1879 and closed in 1885. Two clergymen, the Bull brothers, opened Wellington House school in the same building in 1886. It closed in 1970 and was demolished in 1972. Old boys included Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee and cabinet minister John Profumo , known for his involvement in the Profumo affair . Streete Court School
16125-583: Was opened by the coast to defend the Thames Estuary naval towns against attack. It was at first used for both seaplanes and landplanes, but due to landing problems, a separate landplane base was opened in Manston in 1916. After the war, the seaplane base was decommissioned, and the landplane base in Manston eventually became Kent International Airport . During the war, the Coronation Bandstand
16254-469: Was opened in 1894 by John Vine Milne, the father of the author A. A. Milne . In the 1890s, the school was attended by St John Philby, the father of the spy Kim Philby . The Coronation Bandstand was built by the cliff edge in 1903, at a cost of £350, to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII . The following year, a group of French Ursuline nuns, who were banned from teaching in France, fled with some of their pupils to Westgate-on-Sea and established
16383-459: Was seeking government support to become a specialist visual arts school. In 2005, 15 per cent 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
16512-443: Was significantly higher than the national figure of 13.7%. 20.6% of the village's residents aged 16–74 had Level 4 qualification or higher, compared to 27.3% 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 in 2011
16641-422: Was significantly higher than the national figure of 14% and the percentage of unemployed people was high compared with the national rate of 3.4%. The number of permanently sick or disabled people was much higher than the national figure of 5.3%. 12% of residents aged 16–74 had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 20% nationwide. The Office for National Statistics estimated that during
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