Sevington

Sevington is a contiguous suburb of Ashford, Kent in England. It is mostly business/market use and was once a very small rural village so keeps a community civil parish council for its few suburban streets.

This article is about the village in Kent. For the hamlet in Wiltshire, see Grittleton.

Sevington

St Mary's Church, Sevington
Sevington
Location within Kent
Area0.76 km2 (0.29 sq mi)
Population310 (Civil Parish 2011)[1]
• Density408/km2 (1,060/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTR0340
Civil parish
  • Sevington
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAshford
Postcode districtTN24
Dialling code01233
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

History

The geographically small village of Sevington is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Seivetone. It appears as Seyueton in the Feet of Fines for 1314. The name means "the town or settlement of Sægifu", Sægifu being a woman's name.[2]

In 1872, the village had a population of about 113.[3]

St Mary's Church is the village's Norman parish church. It is a Grade I listed building dating from the 12th century, and has been altered at several times, first around 1200 and a second time in the 14th century, and underwent restoration in 1877 and 1936. The church is cut off from the village by the building of the Southern Orbital road.[4][5]

Geography and economy
Sevington on the Southeastern Main Line.

Much of Sevington's small tract of land is covered by Ashford business park areas which are connected with Ashford by post town status and by its road network, linking them closely with Ashford.

At the start of the 21st century many changes took place in Sevington due to the building of the Orbital Business Park including the Ashford livestock market.

The village/suburb of Willesborough bounds Sevington (along its long north-west border), while the new Finberry neighbourhood is to the south in Mersham but with its own amenities. High Speed 1, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link which adjoins the ordinary railway, passes through the parish.

Customs clearance facility

In 2019, a 11-hectare (27-acre) tract of former farmland at Sevington was put up for sale for property development. Located close to Junction 10A of the M20 motorway, it was marketed as MOJO, an acronym for M20, Junction 10a),[6] In July 2020, the UK Government announced that it had acquired the MOJO site to develop it as a customs clearance facility for inbound freight and a holding area for outbound freight, in preparation for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The site was selected due to its proximity to the Port of Dover.[7][8] The facility has been nicknamed in the media as "the Farage Garage", in reference to the politician Nigel Farage, who has been one of the leading campaigners for Brexit.[9] Commentators in the media have noted that the 13th-century Church of St Mary will be surrounded by the planned lorry park.[10]

As at mid-December 2020, it is forecast to be finished by late February 2021. Although originally intended to be finished by 1 January 2021, heavy rain delayed construction; as a result, the site will temporarily only be used as a holding area, with customs checks being performed in Waterbrook Park nearby.[11]

References
  1. Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 10 May 2014
  2. Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.413.
  3. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, John Marius Wilson (1872).
  4. Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Sevington (1233902)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  5. KentParishes.gov.uk
  6. "Up to 1.2m SQ FT Development opportunity | Mojo Kent". Mojo. Aviva Investors. July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  7. Lisa O'Carroll (10 July 2020). "Vast Brexit customs clearance centre to be built in Kent". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  8. Lisa O'Carroll (16 July 2020). "Kent customs facility will also be used as lorry park, minister confirms". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  9. "Near U.K.'s Busiest Port, Brexit Hopes Are Layered in Asphalt". New York Times. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  10. "The 13th-century church set to be surrounded by a 27-acre Brexit lorry park". Metro. 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  11. https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/brexit-lorry-park-wont-be-complete-until-february-239212/

Media related to Sevington at Wikimedia Commons

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