Littlebourne

Littlebourne
Littlebourne
	An oast house in Littlebourne
	Littlebourne Location within Kent
Area	8.52 km2 (3.29 sq mi)
Population	1,529 (Civil Parish 2011)
• Density	179/km2 (460/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TR208574
Civil parish	Littlebourne;
District	City of Canterbury;
Shire county	Kent;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CANTERBURY
Postcode district	CT3
Dialling code	01227
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Canterbury;
	List of places UK England Kent 51°16′36″N 1°10′02″E / 51.2767°N 1.1672°E

Littlebourne is a village and civil parish 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Canterbury in Kent, South East England.

History

The significant Howletts Anglo-Saxon cemetery is in the parish. It is regarded as "Jutish"; finds are in the British Museum and elsewhere, and include two of the very rare quoit brooches.^[2]

The manor of Littlebourne belonged to St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury and the abbot maintained a vineyard there according to Canterbury MP and antiquarian John Twyne in his De Rebus Albionicis.^[3]

The viticultural theme is reflected in the parish church's unusual dedication to St Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of winemakers. The church is in all regards consistent to have been founded by the monks of St Augustine's, which oral history attests, in the 13th century and contains a medieval wall painting depicting Saint Christopher, patron saint of travellers.