Womenswold

Womenswold
The Street, Womenswold
Womenswold
Location within Kent
Area7.44 km2 (2.87 sq mi)
Population286 (Civil Parish 2011)
 Density38/km2 (98/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTR227508
Civil parish
  • Womenswold
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCanterbury
Postcode districtCT4
Dialling code01227
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

Womenswold is a village and civil parish centred 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Canterbury, Kent, England, 1 mile to the east of the A2 road. The parish consists of three hamlets: Womenswold, Woolage Village and Woolage Green.

Historically, Womenswold has been recorded with various spellings, including Wymynswold and Wimlingswold. A further one may be Wymelyngewolde

Originally "Wymelyngewolde", from the combination of the possible personal name of "Wimel" and the Old English "ingas" meaning the "people of" and "wald" as a "forest". Thus Womanswold, or 'Wymelyngewolde', means the "forest of the people of Wimel".

The church of St, Margaret of Antioch covers all three hamlets, in Womenswold proper rather than the woodland, cereal and pasture fields within its bounds. A small mediaeval building without any side aisles, it is part of the Barham Downs group of churches.