Stodmarsh is a small village 5 miles to the east of Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

 in east Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, overlooking the valley of the River Stour

River Stour, Kent

The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...

.

Stodmarsh is now part of the parish of Wickhambreaux

Wickhambreaux

Wickhambreaux is a village, just off the A257 Sandwich Road, five miles from Canterbury in the county of Kent, England, United Kingdom.-History:Wickhambreaux manor was the home of Joan of Kent, wife to Edward Plantagenet, and mother of Richard II...

. The parish had a 2001 population of 479.

The name Stodmarsh is derived from the Saxon words "stode", meaning mare, and "merse", a marsh, demonstrating its former use of pasture for cattle among the marshes.

History

Stodmarsh has been occupied since at least Saxon times, and Saxon burial tumuli have been found near Stodmarsh Court, the 17th century former manor house.

In 686 king Eadric of Kent

Eadric of Kent

Eadric was a King of Kent . He was the son of Ecgberht I.Eadric was for a time co-ruler alongside his uncle Hlothhere, and a code of laws issued in both their names has survived. However, Eadric eventually revolted and defeated Hlothhere with the aid of the South Saxons...

 gave the manor, consisting of three ploughlands in the marsh called "Stodmersh", to the monastery of St Augustine in Canterbury. In 1270 Henry III

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

 extended this by granting free-warren in all their demesne lands of "Stodmarsch" to the abbot.

When the monastery was dissolved in 1537 by Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 the manor fell into the hands of the king, before being granted to John Master of East Langdon

East Langdon

East Langdon is a village in the Dover district of Kent, England, five miles NE of Dover town.East Langdon was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The word Langdon goes back to Old English, meaning long hill...

 six years later who moved to Stodmarsh Court.

Stodmarsh was originally a separate civil parish but was added to Wickhambreaux parish in 1934. It falls into the deanery of Bridge within the diocese of Canterbury.

Church

The church, dedicated to St Mary is small and consists of a single aisle and chancel. It has a low pointed turret at the western end containing two bells.

This church was originally part of the possessions of the abbey at Canterbury, and remained so until 1243, when the abbot Robert, at the instance of archdeacon Simon de Langton, granted it to the hospital of poor priests in Canterbury, together with four acres of Stodmarsh, on the condition that they should not demand in future any tithes from the abbey. When the hospital was dissolved in 1575 Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 gave all its possessions to the city of Canterbury. Stodmarsh church seems not to have been passed to the city but instead fell to the archdeaconry of Canterbury where it still remains.

The church was first built in the 12th and 13th centuries and modernised around 1880. The porch contains notable carvings known as "Crusaders' Crosses". The X-shaped brace that supports the bell turret is believed to be unique in Kent.

Village life

The village has one public house, the Red Lion. Originally built in the fifteenth century, it was rebuilt in 1801 after a fire.

Nature Reserve

The Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve

Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve

Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve lies in the valley of the Great Stour river, between Westbere and Grove Ferry, in the county of Kent, and forms part of the extensive Stodmarsh SSSI...

 lies immediately to the north and the Stour Valley Walk

Stour Valley Walk

The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the Low Weald and Kent Downs, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay....

passes through the village. Covering an area of 241 hectares of wetlands, the reserve is known for the diversity of birds that have been sighted there, with over 200 species recorded.