Willesborough Cemetery

In 1184 Pope Lucius III wrote to the abbot of St. Augustine, Canterbury, suggesting that the parson of Willesborough retired and passed the benefice to his son who could then be free to pursue his studies. Boys Hall was built by Thomas Boys in 1616. Its grounds are part of Ashford Green Corridor while the manor house is now an hotel. The town is known for its 1869 windmill near Hythe Road, and St Mary's Church on Church Road, which has one of the oldest ringing bells in Kent. Former English international cricketers Mark Ealham and Richard Ellison were born in Willesborough. In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 4979. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Ashford,…

The South Willesborough Dykes area, on the west bank of the River East Stour, is an area of sheep fields drained by dykes. The area is designated as the South Willesborough Dykes Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI). The dykes continue on the east side of the River East Stour and among the residential areas, and a tributary stream (Aylesford Stream) runs between Newtown and South Willesborough and into the East Stour. The smallest ditches dry up completely in summer. The South Willesborough Dykes are important in terms of the geology of the area, being in the river floodplain and in supporting neutral, wet grassland species, along with Willesborough's Aylesford Green and Boys Hall…