Barham, Kent

Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated close to the A2 road between Canterbury and Dover, 7 miles south-east of Canterbury and 7 miles north of Folkestone.

According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,187.

The name Barham was spelt Bioraham in 799, from Biora (derived from Beora, a Saxon chief) and Ham ("settlement" or "homestead").

In 1942, Eleanor Roosevelt visited the village as part of a tour of Kent.

The Nailbourne, a tributary of the Little Stour, flows only occasionally on its way to the English Channel. Just outside Barham stood the Black Mill, a windmill which was accidentally burnt down in 1970. Barham Downs lie to the north of the village.

The parish church of St. John the Baptist sits on the hill, with an impressive green copper spire. Built in the 14th century, it has been partially remodelled inside to make it more appropriate for modern worship.

Famous inhabitants

 * David Starkey (1945–), historian
 * Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Field Marshal, diplomat, and statesman, lived the last few years of his life at Broome Park.
 * Reginald Fitz Urse – Knight to Henry II of England and one of four assassins of Thomas Becket.