Capel-le-Ferne

Human settlement in England

Dover

Kent

Region

South East

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townFolkestonePostcode districtCT18Dialling code01303PoliceKentFire Kent Ambulance South East Coast UK Parliament

Dover

List of places: UK; England; Kent

51°06′13″N 1°12′06″E / 51.1037°N 1.2016°E / 51.1037; 1.2016

Capel-le-Ferne /ˌkeɪpəl lə ˈfɜːrn/ is a village on the White Cliffs of Dover, near Folkestone in Kent, England. Its name derives from a medieval French term meaning "chapel in the ferns". In 2011 the village had a population of 1,884.^[1] It is perched on top of the White Cliffs of Dover.

Its foremost attraction is the Battle of Britain Memorial, opened by the Queen Mother on 9 July 1993 and dedicated to those who fought in the battle. The Memorial is built upon part of a coastal battery (No. 2 and No. 3 guns) used during the Second World War (the other part of the battery site is privately owned and is under restoration).

The Channel Tunnel runs underneath the northernmost part of the village.^{[citation needed]}

The village is twinned with the commune of Oye-Plage, which is about seven miles (12 km) east of Calais, France.^{[citation needed]}

Transport

The New Dover Road, also known as the B2011, runs through the village. The A20 runs to the north, and is used by freight and ferry traffic heading for Dover.

Governance

The electoral ward of Capel-le-Ferne includes Hougham Without and at the 2011 census it had a population of 2,347.^[2]

In popular culture

Russell Hoban gave Capel-le-Fern the name "Crippel the Farn" in his post-apocalyptic novel Riddley Walker (1989).^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 3 October 2015.
^ "Places - Riddley Walker Annotations". Errorbar. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2022.