Cooling, Kent

Cooling
Cooling
 Cooling shown within Kent
Population 216 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ755760
Civil parishCooling
Unitary authorityMedway
Ceremonial countyKent
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town ROCHESTER
Postcode district ME3
Dialling code 01634
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentMedway to be replaced 2007 by Rochester and Strood
List of places
UK
England
Kent

Coordinates: 51°27′19″N 0°31′34″E / 51.4553°N 0.5262°E / 51.4553; 0.5262

St James' Church, Cooling.

Cooling is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula, overlooking the North Kent Marshes, 6 miles north northwest of Rochester, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 209,which increased to 216 at the 2011 Census.[1]

Cooling was recorded in the Domesday Book[2] when it was held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux (half-brother of William the Conqueror). The most notable surviving feature of the village is Cooling Castle, built on the edge of the marshes during the 12th century to defend the neighbouring port of Cliffe from the threat of French raiders.

Notable buildings

Main article: Cooling Castle

Cooling Castle, located at the west end of the village, was built by Sir John Cobham in the 1380s following a French raid on the Thames Estuary. It was attacked and badly damaged in a brief siege by Sir Thomas Wyatt in January 1554 during his unsuccessful rebellion against Queen Mary. The castle was subsequently abandoned. A farmhouse and outbuildings were constructed within the ruins. Today the outer gatehouse of the castle can be seen from the side of the road between Cooling and Cliffe.

The parish church of St James dates from the late 13th century.[3] Although it has long been classified 'redundant', and no longer used for regular worship, Jools Holland married Christabel (former Countess of Durham) there in August 2007. The church is maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust and is open to visitors daily. In the churchyard are a group of children's gravestones which are widely considered to have inspired Charles Dickens' description of the churchyard in the opening scene of the novel Great Expectations.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  2. "St James, Cooling". Churches Conservation Trust.
  3. Great Expectations, notes by Charlotte Mitchell in Penguin Classics 2003 edition, ISBN 978-0-14-143956-3

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