A settlement at Wingham has existed since the Stone Age but only became established as a village in Roman times. The Domesday book tells us that during Saxon times Wingham manor was in possession by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Wingham was the administrative centre of the hundred of Wingham which included Fleet. In 1286, Archbishop Peckham founded a college in Wingham; many other buildings in Wingham date back to this time, including the Grade II listed 'The Dog Inn' and 'The Eight Bells'. St Mary the Virgin, the present Grade I listed church of Wingham, dates from the early 13th century with fabric dating from the Norman to Victorian eras. The East Kent Light Railway was built between 1911 and 1917 to serve the new coal mines which were being opened up in the area. The site of the former Wingham Colliery station forming what is now the Grain Harvester's site. Three stations were opened; Wingham Colliery, Wingham Town and Wingham Canterbury Road . Wingham Colliery never opened into production and the line failed and completely closed to passengers in 1948 with the section north of Eythorne closed to freight in 1951. Plans and some advanced earthworks had been commenced in the 1920s to extend the line from Wingham Canterbury Road Station to Canterbury via Stodmarsh. The village is also on the Miner's Way Trail. The trail links up the coalfield parishes of East Kent.
Community
Wingham is a village serving some light industry but is mostly a dormitory town for Sandwich and Canterbury. There are shops, a post office, cafe, an Indian restaurant, and The Anchor, The Red Lion and The Dog Inn public houses. Recent village developments include Miller Close, a small number of houses built by The Rural Housing Trust, opened officially by Princess Anne in December 2007. There had been proposals to expand the close by building another 20 houses on the field adjacent to the existing homes but has since been rejected by the localcounty council and the plans have been withdrawn by the organisation proposing the plans. Wingham has a functional fire station which serves the village and surrounding areas. The station itself was originally located in the High Street next to the Red Lion but has since moved to Staple Road. The station is maintained by Kent Fire and Rescue Service and comprises a retained fire crew. Due to the minimal incident activity of the station, there have been suggestions that the station is not required and should be decommissioned to reduce the services operational costs. A recent investment in the station provided a new, improved, fire appliance made by Iveco. This investment has been seen by other retained fire stations operated by Kent Fire and Rescue, such as neighbouring village Aylesham and the town of Sandwich. Wingham Wildlife Park is a zoo northeast from the village which houses animals such as tigers, snakes, penguins, lemurs, crocodiles, meerkats, tapirs, monkeys, flamingos, reindeer, and wolves. Bus services run between Sandwich and Canterbury, and to Plucks Gutter and Broadstairs. The nearest National Rail Stations are at Adisham and Aylesham on the Dover-Faversham-London Victoria line.
