Burham#cement
{{For|the Palestinian village|Burham, Ramallah}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name= Burham
|coordinates = {{coord|51.329710|0.483080|display=inline,title}}
|static_image_name =BlueBellHill0012.JPG
|static_image_width =285
|static_image_caption =Burham
|population = 1,195
|shire_district= Tonbridge and Malling
|shire_county = Kent
|region= South East England
|constituency_westminster= Chatham and Aylesford{{cite web|title= Location of Chatham and Aylesford |url= https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3972/location |website=parliament.uk |date=July 2024 |access-date=11 March 2025 }}
|post_town= Rochester
|postcode_district = ME1
|postcode_area= ME
|dial_code=
|os_grid_reference=
|website= [https://burhamparishcouncil.org.uk/ Burham Parish Council]
}}
Burham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England.{{cite map|title=Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 188 Maidstone & Royal Tunbridge Wells (Sevenoaks & Tonbridge)|ISBN= 9780319228814 |publisher=Ordnance Survey|date=2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendatadownload/products.html|title=Ordnance Survey: 1:50,000 Scale Gazetteer|format=csv (download)|date= 1 January 2016|publisher=Ordnance Survey|website=ordnancesurvey.co.uk|accessdate=30 January 2016}} According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,251, decreasing to 1,195 at the 2011 Census. The village is near the Medway towns.
The history of Burham can be traced to Roman times. AD43 saw the Battle of the Medway at the crossing point on the River Medway, where Burham is now, when the invading Roman legions, advancing west across Kent, were confronted by a massed army of the ancient British tribes. The Roman victory altered the course of history in Britain, and the remains of Roman buildings have been found in Burham and the neighbouring village of Eccles.
There has been a Settlement in Burham since Saxon times, "ham" being the Saxon word for "settlement" — the "Bur" part of the name comes from "burgh", or borough, referring to the borough of Rochester. The name "Burham" means "the village near the borough".
In the 11th century Burham belonged to Leofwine Godwinson, brother of King Harold. He was killed along with his brother at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is listed as having six sulings (about 240 acres) of land. There were two major farms, 15 "villeins" each farming {{Convert|30|acre|m2}} and 20 "borderers" each farming about {{Convert|5|acre|m2}}. There was a church and a mill with woodland sufficient to support 20 hogs. The medieval church of St Mary is now redundant and stands on the riverbank {{convert|1|km|mi|1}} to the west of the village. It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust having been saved from dereliction by the Friends of Friendless Churches in the 1950s.{{cite web|url= https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/church-listing/st-mary-burham.html |title = St Mary's Church, Burham, Kent|accessdate=11 March 2025| publisher = Churches Conservation Trust}}
{{anchor|cement}}About 1830 Burham became a "cement village" on the Medway with the establishment of the local cement industry, after the discovery of the manufacturing technique for Portland cement (so called because of its resemblance to Portland stone).
By 1841 the village's population had grown to 380 and increased to a maximum of 1,725 in 1901. By 2021 it was about 1,300.
Helicopter crash
File:Memorial at Blue Bell Hill - geograph.org.uk - 2023218.jpg On the 26 July 1998, the air ambulance, a Eurocopter AS355 Twin Squirrel, registration G-MASK, crashed in good weather after colliding with power cables near Burham while returning to Rochester Airport following an aborted call to attend a road accident.{{cite web|url=http://www.aaib.gov.uk/sites/aaib/cms_resources/dft_avsafety_pdf_500724.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317070926/http://www.aaib.gov.uk/sites/aaib/cms_resources/dft_avsafety_pdf_500724.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 March 2009|publisher=Air Accident Investigation Board|title=Bulletin No:2/2000 Aerospatiale AS355 F1 Ecureuil II G-MASK}} All three crew – the pilot, Graham Budden, and two paramedics, Tony Richardson and Mark Darby – were killed as the helicopter burst into flames on impact.{{cite news|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/139680.stm|date=27 July 1998|title=UK Helicopter crash kills three | accessdate=5 January 2010}}
Initial investigation established no cause for the crash, due to the fireball produced on impact. Initially the pilot's employers, Police Aviation Services, denied liability. On 19 February 2004, following a civil case brought by the pilot's widow to the High Court in Manchester, it was ruled that the crash was caused by mechanical failure not, as had been suggested, flying low for fun, and ordered compensation to be paid.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3504239.stm|title=Air ambulance crash pilot cleared|work=BBC News|date=19 February 2004 | accessdate=5 January 2010}}{{cite web|publisher=Aviation Watch |year=1998 |url=http://www.aviationwatch.co.uk/memoriam2.php?p=7 |title=Review of pilot death - Graham Budden |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111011814/http://aviationwatch.co.uk/memoriam2.php?p=7 |archivedate=11 November 2007 }}
A memorial to the crew is located at the Blue Bell Hill picnic site, close to the scene of the crash.{{cite web|url=http://www.burhamvillage.com/historykentairambulancememorial.htm|title=Burham Village Kent Air Ambulance crash page|publisher=Burham parish council}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Commons category|Burham, Kent}}
{{Tonbridge and Malling}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Civil parishes in Kent
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Kent
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England