Wouldham

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Wouldham is a village on the River Medway in Kent, England. It had about 1,500 people in 2011 and has grown since 2017 thanks to new housing to the south.

Amenities include an 11th‑century church, two schools (a primary school and a school for those with special educational needs), and two pubs: The Medway Inn and The Waterman’s Arms.

History and interesting finds:
- At Peters Pit, mammoth tusk and teeth were found, and in 1982 the skull of an 18‑year‑old from around 1500 BC was uncovered.
- The area shows signs of Roman activity, including a ford across the Medway, and old maps mention a temple to Mithras.
- Starkey House (Starkey Castle) is a medieval manor on Wouldham Marshes, built in 1483.
- In the churchyard lies the grave of Walter Burke, who served on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and helped Nelson as he died. Wouldham Primary School marks Trafalgar in various ways.
- A narwhal washed ashore in the 1940s and is noted in the Natural History Museum.

Transport and trade:
- There was a ferry across the Medway to Halling until 1963.
- For about a century, Wouldham was known for cement. Wouldham Court Cement Works opened in 1847, grew with many kilns and a tramway to the quarry, and closed in the mid‑1920s.

Peters Village development:
- Since 2014, Peters Village has been built to the south of the village on the former cement works and Peters Pit. It will include about 1,000 homes, a new primary school, a community centre, playing fields, a cycle path, a riverside esplanade, and a new road bridge (Peters Bridge) across the Medway.
- The site is near a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
- Construction started in 2014, with the first homes occupied in 2017, thanks to government funding. Peters Bridge opened in September 2016, and the project is planned to finish around 2024.