Nonington's History
For detailed history of Nonington visit Clive Webb's The Old Parish of Nonington.
Our Surroundings
The village is central to some excellent walks and heritage trails. Our own historic church was built over 900 years ago. Fredville, St Albans Court and Knowlton Court cover much of the land surrounding the village. The villages of Barfrestone, Goodnestone - where Jane Austen used to stay, Eastry where Lord Nelson was a guest at Heronden House and Broome Park, the home of Lord Kitchener, are just a few miles away.
Nonington School
Link To Nonington School Website
Welcome to Nonington
Nonington is a village situated halfway between the historic city of Canterbury and the channel port of Dover in the South East of England. Probably our most famous treasure is the Majesty Oak, the largest maiden oak in the UK and this can be found hidden away on the outskirts of the village.
The Name
One version relating to the derivation of the name, since there was no nunnery at St Albans is that it comes from a Saxon Chief called Nunna. The Anglo Saxon suffix 'ing' meant 'people of' and 'ton' (as noted above) meant 'place'. The whole name thus is 'The Place of Nunna's People'. Most village names are Saxon (5th to 11th centuries). When there is a landowner - name incorporated (e.g. Monks Horton); Wickhambreaux), as in Nuneaton (Warwickshire), it is usually later. There are 'Nunningtons' in North Yorkshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Somerset. St Albans was a simple manor or farm belonging to the monastery in Hertfordshire. 'Beauchamps' may be from a connection with the medieval De Beauchamp Earls of Warwick, one of whom held land here. The remains once in the ruins field, next to Beauchamps Wood, were of Eswell/Easole Manor, recently partly excavated.
Charles Caulson
Useful reference: English Place Names, Kenneth Cameron, Batsford 1961. P.133
Nonington NatureVisitors to our site
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