Chronology 20th Century

Two World Wars Return to Chronology Index
1900	Breach Mill	Destroyed by fire.
1911	Lord Kitchener	Broome Park was sold, by Sir Charles Oxenden, to Lord Kitchener who used money donated as a reward for his work in the Sudan and Egypt for its purchase.
1913	Barham Down	23rd Signal Company billited for training exercises before departing for "The Great War".
1914	Lord Kitchener	Opened Barham Fête. £179 was collected for purchase of a church organ.
1914	Barham Court	Improvements by Lutyen made to Barham Court
1914	Jack Heathfield	One of Barham's most loved characters moved to No3 Railway Cottages, working at Barham station. (By his retirement Jack added to the station facilities by introducing his allotment and a "Lord Derby" apple tree to the Up Platform. Chickens and turkeys were kept in the goods yard as well as ducks which swam in a small pond specially dug for them. Even pigs were located at the top of the railway land. At Christmas fowls and vegetables were distributed to each family household.) see - Elham Valley Railway
Start of World War I
1914	Parish Council	Thursday 13th August meeting voted by 23 electors to 9 that the Lighting and Watching Act 1833 should not be adopted by the parish on the basis of cost. (This was reversed in 1936.)
1916	Barham Church	The organ was rebuilt in the North Transept using as much of the original organ as was practical.
1917	Parish Council	The minutes for 11th January record a letter being received from Kent County Council offering to supply seed potatoes to parishioners at cost price.
End of World War I
1919	Parish Council	The minutes for 14th March record a letter being received from Kent County Council regarding the settlement of returned soldiers on the land. Brickfield Lane was also recorded as being dangerous.
1921	No 17 bus service	The bus service started with two journeys per day provided by char-a-banc with individual seats.
1924	High Rates	There was an assembly held at the school on 2nd December to consider the high cost of rates which had reached between 12/- and 13/- in the £1. The meeting resolved to protest to Kent County Council and encourage other villages to do the same. A sub-committee of the Parish Council was formed at the following Parish Council meeting to inspect the accounts of Bridge District Council.
1925	High Rates	The Parish Council meeting of 16th June received the results of the investigation made by the sub committee started in 1924. It effectively found that the "Heads" of accounts were few and it was difficult to see how Bridge District Council were able to provide effective controls. The council resolved to write to the Prime Minister, Leaders of Opposition, Minister of Health and Members for the Division regarding the effect on rural communities of the Rating and Valuation Bill that was passed into law.
1929	Village Hall	Erected and now plays a central role in village life.
1929	Mains Water	Work to supply Denton and Wootton started on 15th April and a request made to supply Shelvin Lane.
1930	Parish Boundaries	The Parish Council meeting on 24th March greed the transfer of Wooton to the Dover area and Lodge Lees should be transferred from Dover to Barham.
c1930	Cricket Pitch	Mr Groombridge donated the land, on which the cricket pitch was located, to the village.
1931	Valley Road	The road between Barham Street and Station Approach was said to be too narrow for the safety of pedestrians and a footpath should be provided.
1932	Mammoth Skeletons	Men grubbing for Mr Arter found, on the football ground, two skeletons with teeth of 11lbs and curved tusks which disintegrated when exposed to the air.
1933	Roman Camp	An early bronze age beaker was found by a Mr Todd. It was made of course red paste, 6¼ inches (15.85cm) in height and decorated with lines and thonging.
1935	King's Silver Jubilee	Celebration of the event was discussed at the Parish Council meeting on 26th March. It was decided that a special 1½d should be levied. Costs were £49-10s-0d costs and this left £6-17s-8d unspent which was donated to the school, girl guides and Village Hall.
1936	Bus Service	The Parish Council decided at their meeting on 31st March that road congestion opposite the Post Office required the East Kent Road Car Co bus stop to be moved to Derringstone as petitioned by 162 residents. The return fare at that time was 1s-3d.
1936	Street Lighting	Electric lighting was installed in the autumn using 75 watt lamps. The cost was £3-15s-0d each.
1937	Air Raid Precautions	The Parish Council meeting of 15th March received a lecture by Captain Pitlock the Air Raids Precautions Officer. The British Legion was asked to provide a Chief Warden, 6 Air Raid Wardens, 3 Fire Wardens, Dispatch Riders and necessary men to undertake work. The Women's Institute was asked to provide First Aid Posts.
1938	Coronation Celebrations	This was held on 1st April.
1938	Barham Church	4 bells in steeple retuned and re-hung in a new timber frame for 5 bells by Mears & Stainbank.
Start of World War II
1940	War Effort	TheParish Council meeting on 26th March discussed the setting up of Waste Paper Salvage, National Savings and Allotments.
1941	H.M.S. Barham	The Parish Council meeting on 24th March sent a telegram to the Admiralty on the subject of the Battle of Cape Mattapan: - "Kindly convey to Capt. Cook, Affairs & men of H.M.S. Barham congratulations & thanks for splended work in recent action from the inhabitants of Barham Village East Kent"
1941	Elham Valley Railway	The railway was closed in April for the rest of World War 2 and taken over by the army which used it to move rail mounted guns to suitable firing positions.
1941	Winston Churchill	Winston Churchill inspected the Boche Buster rail gun on 20th June see - World War II.
1942	Eleanor Roosevelt	Said to have visited the Village Hall in the autumn during her visit to Britain to meet US troops stationed her. It is also said Clementine Churchill accompanied her - as she did for most of Eleanor's itinerary. It has been noted by villagers that anti-aircraft guns were stationed around the village during the visit.
End of World War II
1946	Peace Celebration	This took place on Saturday 8th June - paid for by a 2d rate on properties. Residents of Kingston were also invited.
1946	Welcome Home Fund	The Parish Council meeting of 23rd October decided that there should be a memorial to commemorate the loss of 8 men during the war. Messrs Arter donated land to provide the chosen memorial of a football pitch and playing field.
1947	Barham Church	41" Tenor bell by Mears and Stainbank was added to the existing 4 bells to complete the current 5 set of bells housed in the steeple.
1947	Elham Valley Railway	Barham railway station closed on 1st October 1947 along with the rest of the railway line. (Two posts from the station still hold the road sign at Heathfield Way - named after Jack Heathfield.) see - Elham Valley Railway
1948	Olympic Games	The Olympic Torch destined for London received a change of runners at Out Elmstead Lane on the Dover Road.
1948	Beating of the Bounds	The village covered 4,536 acres and on 28th December the 15 miles of boundary of the present village were walked in one day (15 miles). Many of the original boundary stones from the old "boroughs" of Out Elmstead, Derringstone, Breach and Shelving & Burton were found.
1951	Festival of Britain	A Grand Fete with Carnival was held on 30th June.
1955	"Raising a Riot"	The comedy film staring Kenneth Moore was released in the UK. Centre to the story was the Black Mill on Barham Downs which provided a holiday home for Moore and his three children.
1956	House Numbering	The Parish Council meeting on 20 March rejected a proposal to number houses in the village by 1 in favour to 20+ against.
1957	Village Green	Presented to the village by Mr and Mrs L. Groombridge to be used as playing fields for the children in perpetuity. Mr and Mrs Ross provided seats and trees. It was opened on Saturday 12th May.
1960	Seismology Station	Opened in June on Barham Down - see Seismology Station.
1960	Barham Station	Sold by British Railways for £850 for housing development see - Elham Valley Railway
1961	Census	Population estimated at 1,108 inhabitants. There are about 375 rateable houses.
1962	Roman Coin find	Mr Dennis Holt found two Roman coins whilst walking on Barham Downs. One was of Constantine the Great (AD306 - 337) minted in London and the other of Licinius (AD 307 - 337), minted in Trier, Germany.
1963	Barham Church	New curved oak screen added at the entrance to the North Transept.
1965	Breach Down	12 year old John Arter was looking over newly ploughed fields on Breach Down and discovered two colts or bronze axeheads dating from the mid bronze age BC 1600 - 1000.
1969	Barham Down	"The Black Mill" burned down on 3rd March by sparks from an unattended bonfire during restoration work.
1971	Census	Official count - 1,252
1974	Mains Drainage	Main street works had been completed and connections started.
1974	Local Government	Barham was no longer part of Bridge District Council and became part of the City of Canterbury.
1976	Mains Drainage	All works completed and Barham was now fully connected.
1977	Methodist Chapel	In a break with tradition, the pulpit and pews were removed to enable secular use of the hall during the week. The Chapel, however, acquired a fine set of oak furniture, from the Oversland Chapel, for its primary function - Methodist Chapel
1987	The Great Storm	On the night of 15th/16th October Barham, with the rest of Southern England, was hit by the worst storm since 1703. Considerable damage was caused including the clock being blown out of the church and on to a neighbouring house and the loss of the 800 year old yew tree on Railway Hill (its original position now marked by a memorial).
1987	Barham Cross Roads	Completion of the new A2 flyover at Barham Cross Roads was celebrated by a car motorcade and barbeque at the Duke of Cumberland.
1991	Census	Barham Downs Ward (which includes Womenswold and Adisham) - 2,553
1991	Planning Application	A presentation was made to the 4th July meeting of the Parish Council by promoters of a proposed housing development on the site of the village school. The plan envisaged converting the school building into 3 homes and 30 new low cost houses plus 25 other houses. A new school would be built on land adjacent to Valley Road together with further houses. It was the subject of a planning enquiry that eventually rejected the plan.
1991	Seismology Station	Said by the M.O.D. to have been closed in September - but it may still actually be working! - see Seismology Station
1996	Elham Valley Twinning Association	Barham joined other villages in the formation of the association which aimed to twin the valley with a similar valley - Valleé de la Course - in France.
1997	Parish Assets	At the end of March the assets held in trust were itemised as being 1.3 acres of land, the Village Green donated by Mr and Mrs L. Groombridge in 1957, the triangle of land opposite the Red House purchased from Kent County Council in 1947, the "Cricket Pitch" (with later pavilion) purchased in 1947, 9.09 acres of land adjacent between Gravel Castle and Rabbit Hole purchased in 1946 and the two bus shelters.
1997	Planning Application	A possible housing development at the Piggery was discussed. Canterbury City Council made it clear that it was unlikely to succeed after the previous application had been rejected in 1991. The Parish Council at the meeting on 4th September agreed to advise "all concerned" that it was not in favour of of the scheme - which has not progressed further.