Birchington-on-Sea

Birchington-on-Sea
Minnis Bay
Birchington-on-Sea is located in Kent
Birchington-on-Sea
Birchington-on-Sea
Location within Kent
Population9,961 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceTR298694
Civil parish
  • Birchington
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBIRCHINGTON
Postcode districtCT7
Dialling code01843
PoliceKent
FireKent
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Kent

51°22′37″N 1°18′18″E / 51.377°N 1.3050°E / 51.377; 1.3050

Map

Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961.

The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between the seaside resorts of Herne Bay and Margate. As a seaside resort, the village is a tourist and retirement destination. The village's Minnis Bay is a family beach with attractions such as sailing, windsurfing, a paddling pool and coastal walking routes. Its three smaller beaches are surrounded by chalk cliffs, cliff stacks and caves.

The village was first recorded in 1240. Its parish church, All Saints', dates to the 13th century and its churchyard is the burial place of the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Quex Park, a local 19th century manor house, is home to the Powell-Cotton Museum and a twelve-bell tower built for change ringing.

The museum contains a large collection of stuffed exotic animals collected by Major Percy Powell-Cotton on his travels in Africa, and also houses artefacts unearthed in and around Birchington by his daughter, Antoinette Powell-Cotton, a keen archaeologist.