Abbey or priory · near Alkham · Kent

Swingfield Preceptory

You will find Swingfield Preceptory, an abbey or priory, 2.2 km northwest of Alkham. Officially, it is a Grade II* listed building. Close by, Dover Castle is 9.6 km away, one of 40 within 15 km.

Photo: Swingfield Preceptory, Ron Strutt (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Where

2.2 km

northwest of Alkham

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 23%

#1,932 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Sep

highs of 19–22°C

In brief

Abbey or priory near Alkham

Just outside Alkham

Swingfield Preceptory is 2.2 km northwest of Alkham. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Grade II* listed building

On the official list of protected heritage; Alkham has 20 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

The climate through the year

The warmest stretch in Alkham is June to September, at 19–22°C in the afternoon.

Jan7° / 2°85 mm

Feb7° / 2°70 mm

Mar10° / 3°52 mm

Apr13° / 5°52 mm

May16° / 8°58 mm

Jun19° / 11°57 mm

Jul21° / 13°57 mm

Aug22° / 13°67 mm

Sep19° / 11°70 mm

Oct15° / 8°110 mm

Nov11° / 5°106 mm

Dec8° / 2°106 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Alkham, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Alkham. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Alkham’s full climate →

About

Swingfield Preceptory

Its care is managed by English Heritage. 2 Wikipedia editions have an article on it.

Alkham’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Abbey or priory
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Grade II* listed building
Wikipedias: Covered in 2 languages
Town: 2.2 km northwest of Alkham
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-johns-commandery

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Locating Swingfield Preceptory

Swingfield Preceptory sits at the orange dot; the numbered ones are listed below.

Towns near it

Towns around Swingfield Preceptory, by distance

In size, Dover comes first of the 8, with 36,349 people. All of these towns include it on their pages.

1 · 2.2 km southeast of it

Alkham

322 people · 6 places to visit

2 · 2.6 km southwest of it

Densole

888 people · 5 places to visit

3 · 3 km east of it

Lydden

687 people · 3 places to visit

4 · 3.3 km southwest of it

Hawkinge

8,499 people · 7 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Swingfield Preceptory is	People	Places to visit
Alkham	2.2 km southeast of it	322	6
Densole	2.6 km southwest of it	888	5
Lydden	3 km east of it	687	3
Hawkinge	3.3 km southwest of it	8,499	7
Sibertswold	4.5 km northeast of it	1,619	3
Capel-le-Ferne	4.7 km south of it	1,962	8
Dover	4.8 km east of it	36,349	28
Whitfield	7.3 km east of it	6,509	24

Make a day of it

Also near Swingfield Preceptory

Of the 40 within 15 km, look for 4 castles, 3 museums and a fort.

Castle · English HeritageDover Castle9.6 km away 2

CastleSaltwood Castle11 km away 3

MuseumDover Bronze Age Boat9.2 km away 4

CastleSandgate Castle 15399.2 km away 5

CastleLympne Castle15 km away 6

MuseumThe Wing6 km away 7

Fort · English HeritageDover Western Heights8.5 km away 8

MuseumKent Battle of Britain Museum5.1 km away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Quick answers on Swingfield Preceptory

Where is Swingfield Preceptory?

Swingfield Preceptory is 2.2 km northwest of Alkham, Kent.

What is Swingfield Preceptory?

Abbey or priory.

Who runs Swingfield Preceptory?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Swingfield Preceptory?

June to September are the warmest months in Alkham, with afternoon highs of 19–22°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Swingfield Preceptory a listed building?

Yes: Grade II* listed building.

What else is there to see near Swingfield Preceptory?

Within 15 km: Dover Castle (9.6 km), Saltwood Castle (11 km), Dover Bronze Age Boat (9.2 km) and Sandgate Castle 1539 (9.2 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (9)

Swingfield Preceptory: Ron Strutt, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dover Castle: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Saltwood Castle: Edgepedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dover Bronze Age Boat: mari from tokyo, japan, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sandgate Castle 1539: The original uploader was Jamesedits at English Wikipedia., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Lympne Castle: Robin Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Wing: Tim Heaton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dover Western Heights: Paul Wells, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kent Battle of Britain Museum: Ron Hann, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.