Barfrestone

{{Short description|Village in Kent, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox UK place

|country = England

|static_image_name = St Nicholas' Church, Barfrestone.jpg

|static_image_caption=St Nicholas' Church, Barfrestone

|official_name= Barfrestone

|coordinates = {{coord|51.2058|1.2361|display=inline,title}}

|label_position= top

|population =

|civil_parish = Eythorne

|shire_district= Dover

|shire_county = Kent

|region= South East England

|constituency_westminster= Dover

|post_town= DOVER

|postcode_district = CT15

|postcode_area= CT

|dial_code= 01304

|os_grid_reference= TR261501

}}

Barfrestone is a village and (as Barfreston) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Eythorne, in the Dover district, in east Kent, England. It is between Shepherdswell, Eythorne and Nonington, close to the former pit villages of Elvington and Snowdown. In 1931 the parish had a population of 91.{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10192535/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Barfreston CP/AP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=10 June 2023}} On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Eythorne.{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10192535|title=Relationships and changes Barfreston CP/AP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=10 June 2023}}

Alternative spellings are Barfreston and Barfreystone. The old pronunciation was "Barson" (before 1800) and the ancient name, "Barfriston".{{cite journal |last=Hasted |first=Edward |year=1800 |title=Parishes |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62986 |journal=The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |volume=10 |pages=71–78 |accessdate=11 February 2014}}

At the time of the Domesday Book, when the name was written 'Berfrestone',Mills, Anthony David (2003); A Dictionary of British Place Names, Oxford University Press, revised edition (2011), p. 41. {{ISBN|019960908X}} the manor was owned by Odo, Earl of Kent (as the Bishop of Bayeux). But after his trial (for fraud) in 1076, his assets were re-apportioned, including Barfrestone. The lands were then granted to Hugh de Port (an English feudal barony) for the defence of Dover Castle. The lands passed through the hands of many other owners including Sir Thomas Browne (during the reign of Henry VI of England).

Landmarks include the Grade I listed Norman church,{{cite web |url =http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-177872-church-of-st-nicholas-eythorne-kent |title =Church of St Nicholas, Eythorne |website =www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |accessdate=4 December 2013 }}{{National Heritage List for England| num=1070306 |desc=Church of St Nicholas |grade=I |accessdate=17 September 2016}} which contains significant carvings of human and animal figures on both the exterior and interior of the church, as well as a very early post-Roman example of the Greek key motif carved on the inside coving. Also of note is the church bell set in a yew tree adjacent to the church and "Little Ewell", a converted rectory which, until 2013, was the location of the centre (house, offices and workshops) of the L'Arche Kent Community which has since moved to Canterbury,{{cite web |url=http://www.larchekent.org.uk |title=L'Arche |accessdate=17 September 2016}} though a L'Arche house remains in the nearby village of Eythorne.

Another listed building in the village is Grade II listed Barfrestone Court,{{cite web |url =http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-177873-barfrestone-court-eythorne-kent |title =Barfrestone Court, Eythorne |website =www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |accessdate=4 December 2013 }}{{National Heritage List for England| num=1122002 |desc=Barfrestone Court |grade=II |accessdate=17 September 2016}}

The village is on the Miner's Way Trail which links the coalfield parishes of East Kent.{{cite web|url=http://www.dover.gov.uk/kentcoal/minerstrail/history.asp|title=The History of the Coalfield Parishes|first=|last=|work=www.dover.gov.uk|date=|accessdate=20 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113144539/http://www.dover.gov.uk/kentcoal/minerstrail/history.asp|archive-date=2014-01-13|url-status = dead}}