Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Brenchley is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.7
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Brenchley comes in at 66%. Census day 2021: 423 residents and 178 households locally. One-person households account for 21%. The village has more households in detached houses than 98% of UK towns, at 64%.
35% of residents are 65 or over, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 14% of residents, 2.9 times the share across England’s towns. In Brenchley, 6.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Brenchley, 2.9% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 5.7%, against 11% across England’s towns. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
Brenchley households average 2.4 people, larger than in 79% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Kent’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Brenchley. The share of households with dependent children stands at 25%.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 96% of UK towns, at 6.9%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, just over one in ten households live in a terraced house here. Here, 3.4% of households live in a flat or apartment. Every 15th household or so has no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK: 8%, a higher share than 64% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in Africa (3.6%) and in EU countries (2.4%). At 98%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 64% of UK towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
63% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 97% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 92% of Brenchley · Kent’s towns 82% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Brenchley comes in at 31%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (4.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and African (0.7%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 92%, fewer than in 53% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Below 99% of UK towns: 19% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
5 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 5.6%, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. On average, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
50% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Brenchley, 50%, and 9.8% have none, against 18%.
Brenchley is older than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brenchley | 423 | — | 52.7 | 35% | 25% |
| Horsmonden | 1,580 | 1.7 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 30% |
| Paddock Wood | 7,616 | 1.9 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Five Oak Green | 1,436 | 3 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 31% |
| Pembury | 5,783 | 3.2 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 28% |
| Goudhurst | 1,104 | 3.7 mi | 46.3 | 19% | 31% |
| Marden | 3,489 | 4.2 mi | 38.5 | 18% | 32% |
| East Peckham | 2,144 | 4.2 mi | 47.7 | 26% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Kent’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Kent (or England), summed the same way as Brenchley’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Brenchley’s residents
What is the population of Brenchley?
The 2021 Census counted 423 people in Brenchley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Brenchley?
The median age was 52.7 at the 2021 Census. 6.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Brenchley?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 82% across Kent’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Brenchley?
31% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Brenchley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Brenchley’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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.