Adisham

Adisham (formerly Adesham) is a village and civil parish^[2] in the English county of Kent. It is twinned with Campagne-lès-Hesdin in France.

Adisham
Holy Innocents Church, Adisham
Adisham Location within Kent
Area	11.82 km2 (4.56 sq mi)
Population	657 (recent estimation of june 2025)[1]
• Density	56/km2 (150/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TR226540
Civil parish	Adisham
District	City of Canterbury
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CANTERBURY
Postcode district	CT3
Dialling code	01304
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Canterbury
List of places UK England Kent 51.243°N 1.191°E / 51.243; 1.191

Geography

The village centre, six miles south-east from the city of Canterbury is on the B2046 road between Wingham and Barham. It was known as Edesham in the Domesday Book.^[3]

A clustered village, the cluster is within 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) from the central cluster of Aylesham.

The village lies on one of the routes that formed part of the Pilgrims' Way immortalised by Geoffrey Chaucer in his book The Canterbury Tales. In 2010, this was the subject of a villagers' protest when local landowner and former banker to the Queen, Timothy Steel, tried to ban walkers from part of the route.^[4] After a public enquiry, public rights of way were Council-designated on paths on his land including the path of the former Pilgrims Way.

Amenities

Adisham Primary School

Adisham village hall and recreation ground

The village church is dedicated to Holy Innocents, and dates to around the late 12th century.^[5]

The village hall^[6], built in 1908^[7], is still used for public events, including parish council meetings^[8], boot fairs and Big Breakfast on the first Saturday of most months.^[9]

Adisham Church of England Primary School is next to the village hall.^[10]

The recreation ground behind the village hall opened to the public in 1921,^[11].

The village shop closed in 2004 and the Bull's Head pub around 2010.^{[citation needed]}

The Woodlands Road water tower was built in 1903 and is a Grade II listed building.^[12][13]

Transport

Adisham railway station opened on 22 July 1861. It is on the Chatham Main Line - Dover Branch. There is also a daily bus service to Canterbury.

Notable residents

The Rector of Adisham in the archdiocese of Canterbury, Master John "The Martyr" Bland. Bland was a Protestant minister during the reign of Queen Mary I, who had him burned at the stake on 12 July 1555, being found guilty of heresy.^[14]

Agricultural pioneer John Reynolds, who introduced the Swedish turnip, or swede, into England, lived in Adisham.^[15]