Woolage Green

Woolage Green

Woolage Green is one of the 3 villages that make up the Parish of Womenswold. It consists of around 36 dwellings plus the only pub in the Parish The Two Sawyers.

The village is situated about 8 miles south-east of Canterbury and 1 mile to the east of the A2. It consists of three lanes through the village with most of the houses situated around the Village Green.

The name Woolage Green originally meant “wolf heath” or “heathland where wolves roam” which was recorded in this form in 1254. Obviously the wolves have now gone! Historical maps and records also show the village named as Woollage Green and also Woolwich Green.

Originally the village was a farming community and currently consists of some 37 dwellings including one pub, The Two Sawyers, built in 1751. The Two Sawyers changed its name from the Rose and Crown in the 1820’s, possibly due to its notoriety as a poachers haunt. However, the connection is more likely to be associated with the other major occupational activity of the area of wood-cutting. In the 19th and early 20th century Woolwich Wood covered a huge expanse of over 380 acres and was heavily wooded until it’s destruction in the 1960’s to make way for farmland.

Whilst the main Parish church is situated in Womenswold, historically there were two buildings in Woolage Green used for religious services, Sunday schools, harvest festivals and the like – Chapel Cottage which is now a holiday cottage and Church House, with the church room now forming part of a residential property.

The village is in a Conservation Area and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

There are several period properties within the village, several of which are listed. They display a variety of traditional architectural features such as flint walls, thatched roofs, Kent peg tile roofs and timber cladding. There is one remaining working farm, Woolage Farm, on the outskirts of the village.

The North Downs Way runs along the edge of the village past Woolage Green Farm. This area contains the Three Barrows Down

which are three ancient Roman tumuli or burial grounds. There are also several other public rights of way, which allow for interesting walks through the surrounding countryside.

There is no public transport serving the village, although Snowdown and Shepherdswell Stations are both about 2 miles away, with regular services to London, Canterbury and Dover. Buses to the surrounding towns are accessible from the nearby villages of Aylesham, Shepherdswell and Barham.

The village is mid-way between Canterbury and Dover, approximately 8 miles from each and they offer a wide range of educational, recreational and leisure facilities, Dover being the “gateway to Europe”. The nearby villages of Aylesham, Bridge, Shepherdwell and Barham provide very good day to day amenities, including village shops, Post Office, Health Centre and dentist.