Kent Parishes

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1894-5

Kent Parishes - A

  • A1 Acol
  • Acol or Wood, a ville in Thanet, Kent, 8 miles SW of Margate, and 1 mile from Birchington station on the L.C. & D.R. A mission church was erected hero in 1876, and there is also a Wesleyan chapel. The money order and telegraph office is at Birchington. Acreage, 1434; population, 866.

  • A2 Acrise
  • Acrise, a parish in Kent, 6 miles NNW of Folkestone station on the S.E.R. Post town, Folkestone; money order and telegraph office, Elham. Population, 195. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £240. Acrise Place, a fine brick mansion situated in an extensive park, is in the vicinity.

  • A3 Addington
  • Addington, a parish in Kent, 2 miles from Malling station on the L.C. & D.R., and 7 WNW of Maidstone. It has a post office under Maidstone; money order and telegraph office, West Mailing. Acreage, 1119; population of the civil parish, 273; of the ecclesiastical, 236. Two ancient stone circles occur in the grounds of Addington Park, and seem to have had connection with other neighbouring Druidical monuments. A nailbourne spring in the parish breaks out at intervals of seven or eight years, and sends off its waters to the Leyborne rivulet. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £230. The church is ancient and is in good condition. It contains several brasses, and stands on a finely picturesque wooded eminence. It was restored in 1856, and an organ was erected by subscription in 1883.

  • A4 Adisham
  • Adisham or Adaham, a parish in Kent, on the L.C.& D.R., 68 miles from London, and 6 SE of Canterbury. It has a station on the railway, and its post town is Dover; money order and telegraph office, Coingham. Acreage, 2082; population, 441. The manor was given in 616 to Christ Church, Canterbury, and is now held by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, and till 1864 was united with the perpetual curacy of Staple; net value, £735. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is cruciform, and Early English, with a central tower, and was restored in 1870. There is a Baptist chapel.

  • A5 Aldington
  • Aldington, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the quarry hills above the Grand Military Canal, 1 /2 mile S of Smeeth station on the S.E.R., and 6 miles SE of Ashford, with a post and money order office under Hythe; telegraph office, Mersham. Acreage of parish, 3445; population, 658. Aldington Knoll was a Roman beacon; between it and the church is the site of a Roman town or station. The Roman road from Lymne to Pevensey went through the parish. Court-at-Street, on the line of that road, about a mile E of the village, was the scene of the imposture of Elizabeth Barton, the nun of Kent, who made so great a figure in the political party of Queen Catherine. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £720. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English, with a tower in Late Perpendicular, and formerly had a brass of 1475. There is a Friends' Christian Mission Room at Clap Hill. The celebrated Erasmus of Rotterdam, and Richard Master, who suffered death for aiding the imposture of Elizabeth Barton, were rectors of Aldington ; as was Thomas Linacre, physician, also rector of Mersham.

  • A6 Alkham
  • Alkham, a parish in Kent, 2 miles from Kearnsey station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 W of Dover, under which it has a post office. A nailbourne here breaks out occasionally with such “store of water as would carry a vessel of considerable burden." The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Capel-le-Ferne, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, .£280. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is partly Norman, partly Early English, and in very good condition. Part of Poulton and St Redigund's Abbey, contiguous to Alkham, are extra-parochial. Acreage, 3213; population of the civil parish, 593; of the ecclesiastical, with Capel-le-Ferne, 825.

  • Allhallows or Hoo-Allhallows
  • a parish in the hundred of Hoo, Kent, on the Thames, 4 1/2 miles from Sharnal Street station on the S.E.R. Post town, Rochester; money order office, Stoke; telegraph office, Sharnal Street. Acreage, 2407; population, 388. The coastguard station of Yantlet Creek is on the shore, and Slough Fort, one of the defences of the Thames, is in the parish. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £180. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is ancient, partly Saxon and partly Norman work; and the chancel was restored in 1891. This is one of the few instances in which the name of the hundred as distinctive of the various parishes therein has survived; hence Hoo-St-Werburgh, Hoo-Allhallows, Hoo-St-Mary's, meaning St Werburgh's parish in the hundred of Hoo, &c.

  • A7 Allington
  • Allington, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway, 2 miles from Aylesford station on the S.E.R., and 1 1/2 mile from Maidstone, which is the post town. Acreage, 608; population, 157. The manor was granted to William de Warrene at the Conquest; passed to the family of Allington, to Sir Stephen de Penchester, to the Cobhams, the Brents, and the Wyatts; was the birthplace of Sir Thomas Wyatt the poet, and of his son, Sir Thomas, who headed the insurrection against Queen Mary; was given, at the confiscation of manors, to Sir John Astley; and passed in 1720 to the Earl of Romney. A castle was built on it by Warrene, rebuilt by Penchester, extended by the Wyatts, and abandoned to ruin by Astley. A considerable part of the structure still stands, and presents interesting features. The exterior is a long parallelogram, with projecting circular towers, and the interior is divided by a range of low buildings, with archway, into two distinct courts. A wide moat, fed from the Medway, nearly encircles the pile, and a farmhouse, of picturesque character, built out of fallen parts of the castle, stands adjacent. Gentle hills, mostly covered with wood, rise in the vicinity, and irregular mounds, which probably were ornamental features in the once-noble park, lie between the castle and the river. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £154. Patron, the Earl of Romney. The church is Decorated English, in very good condition.

  • A8 Appledore
  • Appledore, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the Military Canal, on a branch of the river Rother, on the W border of Romney Marsh, 1 1/2 mile W of a station of its own name on the S.E.R., 64 miles from London. It formerly had a weekly market, and still has a fair on the fourth Monday in June. It was once a seaport, on the quondam estuary of the Rother, and was assailed by the Danes in the time of King Alfred, and by the French in 1380. The parish comprises 3007 acres; population of the civil parish, 595; of the ecclesiastical, with Ebony, 769. Much of the land is rich meadowy pasture. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £260. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Ebony is a distinct parish and living, but joined to Appledore. The church has a singular projection from the N side of the nave, and is a strange mixture of Norman, Early English, and Decorated. It was restored in 1890. There is a Wesleyan chapel, and a post, money order, and telegraph office.

  • A9 Ash
  • Ash, or Ash-next-Bidley, a parish in Kent, 4 miles from Fawkham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 7 SSE of Dartford. It includes the hamlets of Hodsol Street and West York, and part of Culverstone-Green ; and has a post office under Sevenoaks. Acreage, 3074; population, 619. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; value, £619. The church is good, and there is a Baptist chapel. The telegraph office is at Wrotham.

  • A10 Ashford
  • Ashford, a town and a parish in Kent. The town stands on the Esshe or Esshet river, the western branch of the Stour, and has a station on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., 54 miles from London. It was anciently called Esshetford, from its situation on the river, and it belonged to Hugo de Montfort, and passed to successively the Asshetfords, the Criols, the Leybornes, the Anchors, the Smyths, and the Footes. The original town is situated on an eminence, on the N bank of the river, and has a High Street of considerable width, about half a mile long. A new town, called Alfred or Newtown-Ashford, was built by the railway company, adjacent to the station, and includes extensive workshops, constructed at a cost of upwards of £100,000, and about 200 dwellings and a school, used as a church. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £456. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The parish church, in the old town, is a spacious structure, in fine Perpendicular English, built or restored by Sir John Fogge in the time of Edward IV., comprises nave, transept, and three chancels, with a lofty tower, resembling the Bell Harry Tower of Canterbury Cathedral, and contains a figured font, the tomb of Sir John Fogge, a brass of the Countess of Athole of 1375, and some fine monuments of the Smyths of Westenhanger, one of whom was the Saccharissa of Waller. An ecclesiastical college was founded by Sir John Fogge as a pendant to the church, but was dissolved in the time of Henry VII. A church, in the Second Pointed style, was built in the new town in 1867. There are chapels for five dissenting bodies and Roman Catholics; police station, the headquarters of Ashford Division Kent County Constabulary; mechanics' institute, assembly rooms, and reading-room; four-arched bridge, market-house, corn-exchange, and a head post office. There is also a neat cemetery, with two chapels. A fine swimming bath was built in 1867, which has an area of nearly one acre of water. Ashford Cottage Hospital, a red brick building, was erected in 1887 by W. Pomfret Pomfret, Esq., of Godinton House. Whitfield Hall, now taken by the Ashford Institute, was erected to the memory of Mr Henry Whitfield in 1874, and is used for public meetings. New sewerage works were completed in 1888 at a cost of £14,000. A great stock market is held every Tuesday, and fairs on 17 May, 9 Sept., and 12, 13, and 24 Oct. There are two banks, and two weekly newspapers are published. Wallis the mathematician, Glover the antiquary, and Milles the herald, were natives. The ‘headstrong Kentish man' of Shakespeare, also, is ' John Cade of Ashford.’ The Osborne family, Dukes of Leeds, are said to have originated here; and the Keppels, Earls of Albemarle, take from the place the title of Baron. Area of parish, 2850 acres; population, 10,728.
  • Ashford Parliamentary Division, or Southern Kent, was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 67,820. The division includes the following:— Ashford—Appledore (part of),Ashford, Bethersden, Bilsington (part of), Bircholt, Bonnington (part of), Boughton Aluph, Brabourne, Brenzett (part of), Brook, Brookland (part of), Challock, Charing, Chart (Great), Chart (Little), Chilham, Crnndale, Eastwell, Ebony (part of), Egerton, Fairfield, Godmersham, Hastingleigh, Hinxbill, Hothfield, Ivychurch (part of), Kennardington (part of), Kennington, Kingsnorth, Mersham, Midley, Molash, Orlestone (part of), Pluckley, Romney, (New, the part in the county), Romney (Old, part of), Ruckinge (part of), Sevington, Shadoxhurst, Smarden,Smeeth, Snargate (part of), Stone-in-Oxney, Warehorne (part of), Westwell, Willesborough Wittersham, Woodchurch, Wye; Granbrook—Benenden, Biddenden, Cranbrook, Frittenden, Goudhurst, Halden, Hawkhurst, Horsmonden, Marden, Newenden, Rolvenden, Sandhurst, Staplehurst; Tenterden, municipal borough; New Romney, corporate town; Romney Marsh (such part as is not included in the St Augustine's division).

  • Ash-next-Sandwich
  • so called to distinguish it from Ash near Sevenoaks, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on a rising-ground, by the side of Wingham brook, a tributary of the Stour, 3 miles W of Sandwich station on the S.E.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish comprises 7021 acres; population, 2242. Richborough Castle, the Roman Rutupise, is on the E border, about a mile N of Sandwich. [See RICHBOROUGH. ] One of the earliest settlements of the Saxons was in the parish, and many relics of the earliest Saxon times have been found. Hops are grown, and pale ale is extensively brewed. There are two livings, St Nicholas and Trinity, and both are vicarages in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £307 and £250. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. St Nicholas Church is cruciform, Early English, and very fine; is surmounted by a spired central tower, which serves as a landmark; has undergone some good recent restorations, and contains an altar-tomb, two tombs with effigies of crusaders, and several brasses, one to the daughter of Sir John Oldcastle (Lord Cobham), the Lollard martyr. A small iron church in connection with the parish church was erected in 1888. The Church of Trinity stands at Westmarsh, 2 miles distant, and there is a neat Congregational chapel. Ashurst, a parish in Kent, on the verge of the county, at the river Medway, on the L.B. & S.C.R., 32 miles from London. Post town, Langton-Green under Tunbridge Wells. Acreage, 900; population, 181. Ashurst Park, the seat of the Field family, is in the neighbourhood. Sir George Stirling, Bart., is lord of the manor. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £105. Patron, Lord Sackville.

  • A11 Aylesford
  • Aylesford, a small town, a parish, and a lathe in Kent. The town stands at the foot of a hill, on the right bank of the Medway, on the S.E.R., 38 miles from London, and 3 NNW of Maidstone. It dates from the times of the Saxons, and was then called Eglesford. A battle was fought at it, in 455, between the British king Vortimer and the Saxon chiefs Hengist and Horsa, and terminated in favour of the Britons. The alleged grave of Horsa is shown, in a heap of flint stones, at Horsted, 2 miles to the N, but is claimed also at Horsham and Horsted in Sussex. Victorious battles against the Danes also were fought in the vicinity, in 893 by Alfred, and in 1016 by Edmund Ironside. The town consists of one long street. A six-arched bridge, of considerable antiquity, is adjacent on the river. A Carmelite priory was founded at it, in 1240, by Richard Lord Grey of Codnor; passed, at the dissolution, to Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington; went, in the time of Elizabeth, to John Sedley of Southfleet; was sold, in the time of Charles I., to Sir Peter Rycaut; and came eventually to Heneage Finch, who was created Earl of Aylesford in 1714, and whose representatives still possess it. The existing edifice retains much of the ancient buildings, but includes additions and alterations, from the 17th century downward, by its successive occupants. The parish church crowns an abrupt rising-ground at the end of the town; is principally Norman, 14th century, except west tower, which is Early Norman up to the string course, and largely increased in 1892 in memory of H. A. Brassey; and contains a brass of 1426, monuments of the Colepeppers, the Sedleys, and the Rycauts, and a costly one to Sir John Banks, who died in 1699. The church was restored in 1878, and the tower in 1885. There are a neat Wesleyan chapel, a literary institution, an almshouse-hospital, restored in 1841. An extensive stoneware pottery and a large paper-mill are on the river a short way to the E. A remarkable Druidical monument, called KIT'S-COTTY-HOUSE, is on the hill-side, above the town. Cosenton, the seat of a family of its own name, from the time of King John till that of Henry VIII., but now a farmhouse, is on the same hill-side. Sir Charles Sedley, the poet, and Sir Paul Rycaut, the oriental traveller, were natives of Aylesford. The parish comprises 4057 acres; population of the civil parish, 2947; of the ecclesiastical, 2979. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £425 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - B

  • B1 Badlesmere
  • Badlesmere (usually corrupted into Basmere), a parish in Kent, 4 1/2 miles S of Faversham station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office under Faversham. Acreage, 781; population of the civil parish, 134; of the ecclesiastical, 232. The manor belonged, in the times of Edward I. and Edward II., to the potent family of De Badlesmere; was forfeited by the attainder and execution of John Earl of Oxford and Baron Badlesmere ; and passed into the possession of the family of Sondes, now represented by Lord Sondes. A house of regular canons was founded in the 13th year of Edward II. by Bartholomew de Badlesmere. The living is a rectory, united to the rectory of Leaveland, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £323 with residence. Patron, Lord Sondes. The church is a small, plain, Saxon structure in good condition.

  • B2 Bapchild
  • Bapchilda village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the L.C. & D.R., 1 mile ESE of Sittingbourne, under which it has a post office. It probably was the Saxon Bachancild, where Wihtred, king of Kent, in 694, held his great council for the repairing of churches. The parish comprises an area of 1081 acres; population, 347. The manor belonged to the Crown in the time of King John, and was then given to Chichester Cathedral. A small oratory stood by the wayside, as a resting-place for pilgrims en route to Canterbury, but has disappeared. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £200 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Chichester. The church consists of nave, north aisle, two chancels, and a square tower, is principally Norman, but contains many parts in various dates of English, and is in good condition.

  • B3 Barfreston
  • Barfreston or Barston, a parish in Kent, near Shepherd's Well station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 1/2 miles NW of Dover. Acreage, 497; population, 104. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, Shepherd's Well. The manor belonged early to the see of Canterbury, and passed in 1081 to Hugh de Port, constable of Dover. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £152 with residence. Patron, St John's College, Oxford. The church consists of nave and chancel, separated by a circular arch; is one of the most remarkable structures of its class in England; and exhibits rich exterior decorations, in corbels, wreaths, and other sculptures.

  • B4 Barham
  • Barham, a village, a parish, and downs in Kent. The village stands in a valley, under the downs, about 3 1/2 miles SW of Adisham, on the S.E.R., 6 SE of Canterbury, and 76 from London. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office under Canterbury. The parish comprises 4698 acres; population, 1014. The subsoil is chiefly chalk. The manor belonged early to the see of Canterbury, and was held by Reginald Fitzurse, one of Thomas a Becket's murderers, and afterwards by Fitzurse's descendants till the time of James I. The principal residences are Broome Park, the seat of the Oxenden family, and Barham Court, the seat of the Dering family. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £750 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early Decorated English, and has a lofty spire and some neat monuments. It was well restored in 1886. Digges the mathematician had connection with the parish, and Admiral Sir T. Thomson was a native. The downs extend from SE to NW along the line of Wathng Street, and are about 3 miles long. Numerous barrows are on them, of times from early British to later Saxon, showing them to have been scenes of many ancient public events. King John with his army of 60,000 men encamped on them in 1213, prior to resigning the crown; Simon de Montford assembled his troops on them in the time of Henry III., to oppose the landing of Queen Eleanor; Queen Henrietta Maria, after her landing at Dover in 1625, was met on them by the flower of the English nobility; lastly, several regiments lay posted on them in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, to oppose his threatened invasion from Boulogne. Traces of the camp of these regiments, and also a small square ancient camp, still exist.

  • Barming
  • or East Barming, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway, 2 1/2 miles WSW of Maidstone, and 38 from London. Railway stations, Barming, on the L.C. & D.R., 2 miles distant; East Farleigh, on the S.E.R., in the parish, It has a post and money order office of the name of Barming under Maidstone; telegraph office, East Farleigh station. Acreage, 760; population, 677. Hops and fruit are richly cultivated, and Kentish rag is quarried. Roman remains have been found near the church. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £330 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church, dating from the Norman period, and containing some remarkable oak stalls, is picturesquely situated by some fine elms, above the river. It was restored in 1850 and 1872. Mark Noble the antiquary was rector, and Christopher Smart the poet was a resident.

  • B5 Bearsted
  • Bearsted or Bersted, a parish in Kent, on a tributary of the Medway river, and on the L.C. & D.R., 45 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 573; population of the civil parish, 645 ; of the ecclesiastical, 665. Some lands here were held by the Bertie family before the reign of Henry II. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £162 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is Perpendicular English, and has a tower with three stone figures£a lion, an ox, and an eagle£on the battlements. A Witenagemote was held here in 696 under Bertwald, " high bishop of Britain," with Gebmund of Rochester. Among the "Dooms" then enacted were several affecting the church.

  • B6 Bekesbourne
  • Beaksbourne or Bekesbourne a parish in Kent, on the L.C. & D.R., 65 miles from London, and 2 1/2 SE of Canterbury. It is a member of the Cinque port liberty of Hastings, and has a station on the railway and a post office under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Bridge. Acreage, 1113; population, 370. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £145 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Norman and Early English. It was restored in 1881-89. There is an old palace, formerly belonging to Archbishop Cranmer, and occupied by him, though little of the original house remains.

  • B7 Benenden
  • Benenden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 miles SE of Cranbrook, and 8 S of Staplehurst station on the S.E.R., and has a post office under Staplehurst. It is a place of great antiquity, contains several good old houses, and presents a pleasant appearance. It once was noted for cloth manufacture, and it has a fair on 15 May. The parish comprises 6693 acres; population, 1596. Ponds and springs abound. A beacon stood near the village during the civil wars, forming part of a line of communication between Tenterden and London. The St George's Club was erected in 1881 by Viscount Cranbrook, and contains reading rooms and library. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £207 with residence. Patron, Viscount Cranbrook. The church was restored in 1862 at a cost of £6000. There are a school-church, a Baptist chapel, and some charities. Hemsted Park, the seat of Viscount Cranbrook, is in the vicinity.

  • B8 Bethersden
  • Bethersden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles S of Pluckley station on the S.E.R., and 6 WSW of Ashford. It has a post and money order office under Ashford; telegraph office, Pluckley railway station. The parish comprises 6376 acres; population, 1030. A marble here, now little worked, and consisting almost wholly of minute fresh-water shells, was formerly in great request for monumental sculptures and the decoration of cathedrals. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £192 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of Tudor date, and in good condition. It was restored in 1873. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels.

  • B9 Betteshanger
  • Betteshanger or Betshanger, a parish in Kent, 3 1/2 miles SSW of Sandwich station on the S.E.R., and 5 W of Deal. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, Eastry. Acreage, 395; population of the civil parish, 71; of the ecclesiastical, with Ham, 133. Bettesbanger Park belonged formerly to the Boys family, and belongs now to Lord Northbourne. The living, with Ham, is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £114 with residence. Patron, Lord Northbourne. The church is Norman, and has been restored.

  • Bickley
  • an ecclesiastical parish, with a station on the L.C. & D.R., 12 miles from London, in Bromley parish, Kent, 1 1/2 mile E of Bromley. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Population, 929. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £500 with residence. The church was built, in 1865. There are many fine villas.

  • B10 Bicknor
  • Bicknor (anciently Bykenore), a parish in Kent, 3 1/2 miles SSW of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and 7 ENE of Maidstone. Acreage, 633; population of the civil parish, 53 ; of the ecclesiastical, 203. Post town, Sittingbourne ; money order office, Bredgar; telegraph office, Hollingbourne. The living is a vicarage, with Huckinge, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £210 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is small, and very Early Norman. It was thoroughly restored in 1860-61.

  • Bidborough,
  • a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 miles NW by N of Tunbridge station on the S.E.R. It has a post office under Tunbridge-Wells; money order and telegraph office, South-borough. Acreage, 2106 ; population of civil parish, 359 ; of ecclesiastical, 267. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £276. The church has a Norman porch, and is in good condition. It was restored in 1877.

  • B11 Biddenden
  • Biddenden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 4 miles S of Headcorn station on the S.E.R., and 5 1/2 NE of Cranbrook; it has a fair on 8 November. The parish comprises 7191 acres; population, 1362. It has a post and money order office under Staplehurst; telegraph office, Smarden. The manor belonged in the time of Edward III. to Sir Walter Manney, and passed to the Hendens. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £150 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church has features from Early English to Late Perpendicular, and was restored in 1857. A curious charity furnishes a distribution of stamped cakes to all comers on Easter Sunday, as well as other charities. A Baptist chapel was erected in 1879.

  • B12 Bilsington
  • Bilsington, a parish in Kent, on the Military Canal, and partly in Romney Marsh, 3 miles ENE of Ham Street station on the S.E.R., and 6 SSE of Ashford, under which it has a post office; money order and telegraph office, Ham Street. Acreage, 2844; population, 367. The manor of Bilsington-Inferior was given to the Earls of Arundel, in the time of Edward III., on the tenure of serving the king as butler at Whitsunday, and belongs now to the Hallidays. A priory of Augustinian canons was founded on Bilsington-Superior about 1253, by John Mansell, provost of Beverley, and the manor connected with it was held by a tenure similar to that of Bilsington-Inferior. Remains of the priory still stand, partly appropriated into a farmhouse, on high ground, commanding a good view over the marsh. The living is a vicarage, consolidated with the rectory of Bonnington, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £182. The church is good, and was well restored in 1883.

  • B13 Birchington
  • Birchington, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 1/2 miles W by S of Margate, and has a station on the L C. & D.R., 71 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. It occupies a gentle declivity, with extensive prospects by sea and land, and is about a mile long. The parish is within the Cinque-Ports liberty of Dover, and comprises 1679 acres of land and 448 of foreshore and water; population of the civil parish, 1822; of the ecclesiastical, with Acol, 2050. The manor belonged from the beginning of the 15th century to the family of Quex, and passed by marriage in the time of Henry VII. to the Crispes. One of its owners, a distinguished Puritan, in 1657 was carried off from it to the Continent by the Royalist captain, Golding, and long kept prisoner at Ostend and Bruges. William III. frequently rested at the manor house on his excursions to Holland. The present mansion is modern, and bears the name of Great Quex. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the chapelry of Acol, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £232 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with tower and spire, and on the north side of it is a chapel of the manor, containing some firie monuments and ancient brasses. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels.

  • Bircholt
  • or Birchall, a parish and a franchise in Kent. The parish is in East Ashford district, and lies 2 1/2 miles N of Smeeth station on the S.C.R., and 4 1/2 E by S of Ashford. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £49, in the gift of Lord Brabourne. There is a mission room, but no church nor rectory. Acreage, 300, population, 36.

  • B14 Birling
  • Birling or Byrling, a parish in Kent, adjacent to the river Medway, 2 1/2 miles WSW of Snodland station on the S.E.R., and 6 NW of Maidstone, under which it has a post office; money order and telegraph office, Snodland (S.O.) Acreage, 1918; population, 1384. The manor belonged formerly to the Mainmots, the Says, and the Nevilles; it is now the property of the Earl of Abergavenny. Comfort, now a farmhouse, and Birling Place, represented only by a fragment, were seats of the Nevilles. A range of chalk heights, called Birling Hills, occupies the W. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £340 with residence. Patron, the Marquis of Abergavenny. The church is Perpendicular English, in good condition, and contains the remains, but no monuments, of some of the Nevilles.

  • B15 Bishopsbourne
  • Bishopsbourne, a parish in Kent, with a station on the Elham Valley railway, 4 miles SE by S of Canterbury, under which it has a post and telegraph office ; money order office, Bridge. Acreage, 2024; population, 316. The manor belonged once to the Archbishops of Canterbury, and afterwards to the Colepeppers and the Auchers. Bourne Park is a seat in the neighbourhood. Some Saxon barrows on the higher ground were opened in 1844. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £600 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Perpendicular English, was restored in 1843, and again in 1872; has a modern east window of five lights to the memory of Richard Hooker. Hooker was rector from 1595 till his death in 1600, and the parsonage, though greatly modernized, retains parts which probably were in it in his time.

  • B16 Blackmanstone
  • Blackmanstone, a parish in Kent, 5 miles ESE of Ham Street station on the S.E.R. Post town, Folkestone; money order and telegraph office, Dymchurch. Acreage, 300; population of the civil parish, 11; of the ecclesiastical, with Dymchurch and Eastbridge, 629. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £44. Patron, the Archbishop.

  • B17 Blean
  • Blean, a parish and an ancient forest in Kent. The parish is called also St Cosmus and St Damian-in-the-Blean, 2 1/2 miles NW by N of Canterbury, on the Whitstable branch of the S.E.R., and has a post office under Canterbury, which is the money order and telegraph office. Acreage, 2334; population, 662. Much of the land in the north is under coppice. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury ; net value, £217 with residence. The church is small. The forest belonged anciently to the Crown, extended from the vicinity of Herne to that of Chatham, was given away piecemeal, both before and after the Conquest, till nearly all was alienated, and gradually lost the character of a forest, till it became known simply as the Blean. Wild boars abounded in portions of it so late as the Reformation, and the yellow pine marten is still occasionally found.

  • B18 Bobbing
  • Bobbing, a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile W by N of Milton,. and 2 miles NW of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Sittingbourne. Acreage, 1068; population, 435. The manor belonged to the Savages, and afterwards to the Cliffords. Bobbing Court, the seat of the Savages, is now a ruin. Bobbing Street, about a mile NE of the church, is on a branch of Watling Street. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £106. The church is ancient and good, has a tower and spire, and contains a piscina and monuments of the Savages and the Tuftons. Titus Gates was vicar. On Klycol Hill are the Sittingbourne Water-works. The Sittingbourne and Milton Joint Hospital for infectious diseases was erected on Klycol Hill at a cost of £5000.

  • B19 Bonnington
  • Bonnington, a parish in East Kent, on the Military Canal, partly in Romney Marsh, 2 miles SSW of Smeeth station on the S.E.R., and 6 1/2 SE by S of Ashford. Hythe is the post town; money order office, Aldington; telegraph office, Mersham. Acreage, 1113 ; population of the civil parish, 163; of the ecclesiastical, including Bilsington, 530. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, consolidated since 1878 with the vicarage of Bilsington ; net value, £210 with residence. The church, dedicated to St Eumwold, is small, in the Early English style; it was partially restored in 1886, and the churchyard was enlarged in 1890.

  • B20 Borden
  • Borden, a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile W of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sittingbourne. Acreage, 2145 ; population, 1351. Many Roman coins, and foundations of two Roman buildings, were discovered at Sutton-Barn here in 1846. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £210 with residence. The church has a Norman west door and a Norman tower, and includes some Roman bricks in its walls. It was well restored in 1865. An endowed middle-class school has been established. The charities are large. There are Wesleyan and Methodist chapels. Dr Plot, the author of the county histories of Oxford and Stafford, was born at Sutton-Barn, and a mural monument to him is in the church.

  • B21 Boughton Aluph

  • B22 Boughton Aluph

  • B23 Boughton Malherbe
  • Boughton-Malherbe, a parish in Kent, on the verge of the Weald, 2 miles from Lenham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 10 ESE of Maidstone. Post town, Lenham, under Maidstone. Acreage, 2710; population, 431. The manor belonged in the time of Henry III. to the Malherbe family, passed to the Wottons, of whom was Sir Henry Wotton,. whose life was written by Isaac Walton, passed again to Sir Horace Mann, the correspondent of Walpole, and belongs now to the Wykeham-Cornwallis family. The manor-house bears the name of Boughton Place, was built by Sir Edward Wotton in the time of Henry VIII., and visited by Queen Elizabeth, and is now a farmhouse, retaining some of the ancient rooms. The materials of it are said to have been Colbridge Castle, the baronial fortalice of the Peyferers, some traces of which still exist near the church. Chilston Park is a seat in the neighbourhood. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £238 withe residence. The church is Decorated English, in good condition.

  • B24 Boughton Monchelsea
  • Boughton-Monchelsea, a parish in Kent, near the Weald, 4 miles S by E of Maidstone station on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R. It has a post office; money order office ; Maidstone; telegraph office, Linton. The parish comprises 2383 acres; population of the civil parish, 1116; of the ecclesiastical, 1117. The manor belonged anciently to the Monchelseas of Swanscombe. Kentish rag is extensively worked. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £306 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is very good; it was enlarged and restored in 1874.

  • B25 Boughton Under Blean
  • Boughton-under-Blean, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the edge of Blean Forest, 2 miles from Selling station on the L.C. & D.R., and has a post, money order, and telegraph office of the name of Boughton, under Faversham. The parish comprises 2115 acres; population of the civil parish, 1739 ; of the ecclesiastical, 1748. Nasa Court, then held by the Hawkinses, who were Roman Catholics, was demolished by a mob in 1715, and rebuilt in 1766. Boughton Hill, adjacent to the village, commands an extensive and brilliant view. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £280 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church comprises nave, two aisles, a south transept, three chancels, and a tower. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels. The charities exceed £100 a year.

  • B26 Boxley
  • Boxley, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands at the foot of a barren range of chalk hills, 2 miles NE by N of Maidstone station on the L.C. &.D.R. and S.E.R., has a post office under Maidstone, which is the money order and telegraph office, and was once a market-town. The parish includes part of Penenden Heath, and comprises 5787 acres; population of the civil parish, 1562 ; of the ecclesiastical, 1428. The manor was given by Richard I. to Boxley Abbey, passed at the dissolution to Sir Thomas Wyatt, and belongs now to the Earl of Romney. The abbey was founded in 1146 by William d'Ypres, Earl of Kent, stood 1 1/2 mile WSW of the village, was Cistercian, mitred, and well endowed, had an image of St Eumbald and an automaton crucifix which attracted crowds of pilgrims and were publicly burnt at the Reformation, and is now all effaced except the foundations. A deep thick vein of fuller's-earth occurs at Grove, and was worked so early as 1630. Fulling-mills stood on the neighbouring rivulets, and have been succeeded by paper-mills. A Roman urn and several other Roman relics have been found in the neighbourhood of Grove. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £534 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is Decorated English, and contains the remains of the poet Sandys, and tombs of the Wyatts and others. It was restored in 1876.

  • B27 Brabourne
  • Brabourne, two villages and a parish in Kent. The villages are East Brabourne and Brabourne-Lees. East Brabourne stands 3 miles NNE of Smeeth station on the S.E.R , and 6 E of Ashford, under which it has a post office, and was once a market-town. Brabourne-Lees is a mile to the west, and also has a post and money order office under Ashford; telegraph office, Smeeth. The parish comprises 3528 acres; population of the civil parish, 765; of the ecclesiastical, including Monks-Horton, 889. The manor belonged to Aymer de Valence, and passed to the Scotts and the Honeywoods. Much of the land is cold wet clay. Large barracks at one time stood near Brabourne-Lees. The living is a vicarage, united with the rectory of Monks-Horton, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £194 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English, contains monuments of the Scotts, and is in good condition. A yew stood in the churchyard in Evelyn's time, 59 feet in girth. There are two Baptist chapels.

  • Brasted,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Darenth, 4 miles WNW of Sevenoaks, and has a station on the S.E.R., 22 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish comprises 4449 acres; population of the civil parish, 1327 ; of the ecclesiastical, 1129. Brasted Park is the seat of the Tipping family, and was once the retreat of Louis Napoleon. The land lies on the edge of the Weald, and has fine views. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £552 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church, interiorly, is chiefly Early English, exteriorly, of various characters. It was almost entirely rebuilt in 1880, and in 1882 the tower was repaired and the bells recast. There are Mission rooms and a Baptist chapel.

  • B28 Bredgar
  • Bredgar, a parish in Kent, among the chalk hills, 3 miles SSW of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post and money order office under Sittingbourne; telegraph office, Borden. Acreage, 1762; population, 570. Bredgar House is a chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £139 with residence. The church is Perpendicular English, with a curious Norman doorway under the tower, has Roman bricks in its walls, contains a brass of 1508, and is in good condition. A chantry or small college was founded in it in the time of Richard II. by Robert de Bredgar. There is a Wesleyan chapel, built in 1868.

  • B29 Bredhurst
  • Bredhurst, a parish in Kent, 3 miles SSW of Rainham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 from Maidstone. It has a post office under Chatham; money order and telegraph office, Rainham. Acreage, 602; population of the civil parish, 121; of the ecclesiastical, 307. In 1884 the hamlet of Lidsing, in the civil parish of Gillingham, was ecclesiastically annexed to this parish. The living is a vicarage, with Lidsing, in the diocese of Canterbury ; net value, £261 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is old but good.

  • B30 Brenchley
  • Brenchley, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles S by E of Paddock-Wood station on the S.E.R., and 7 ENE of Tunbridge Wells. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office (S.O.) Some good old timbered houses are in it, and a clump of trees on high ground near it figures conspicuously over many miles. The parish includes also the hamlets of Colts-Hill, Mascalls-Pound, Henlys, Piersons-Green, and Pettridge. Acreage, 7804; population of the civil parish, 3822 ; of the ecclesiastical, 1624. There are mineral waters similar to those of Tunbridge. A holiday home in connection with the Ragged School Union was opened here in 1886. Hops and fruit are extensively grown. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £560 with residence. The church is old, cruciform, and good, and has a lofty tower. Paddock-Wood and Matfield are separate benefices. There are a Baptist chapel, a Wesleyan chapel, and small charities.

  • B31 Brenzett
  • Brenzett, a parish in Kent, 3/4 of a mile from Brookland station on the S.E.R., and 4 1/2 miles WNW of New Romney. It has a post office (S.O.) under New Romney, which is the money order office; telegraph office, Brookland (R.S.) Acreage, 1819 ; population, 284. the living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £92 with residence. The church belonged anciently to Guisnes Abbey in Artois, has some Norman portions, and is in good condition.

  • B32 Bridge
  • Bridge, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on Watling Street and on the Little Stour river, with a station on the S.E.R., 66 miles from London, 3 miles SE of Canterbury, under which it has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish comprises 1170 acres; population of the civil parish, 850; of the ecclesiastical with Patrixbourne, 1114. The manor belonged to an ancient abbey on the ground now occupied by the church, and passed to the Dutch family of the Braeams. Bridge-Hill House was the seat and death-place of Baron de Montesquieu, grandson of the famous president. The living is a vicarage annexed to the vicarage of Patrixbourne in the diocese of Canterbury. The church, which was rebuilt in 1859, contains some well-preserved remains of Norman architecture, a remarkable monumental effigy supposed to be of a steward of the ancient abbey, and some singular carvings representing the creation and fall of man. There is a spacious room called the "Reading Room," which is the property of the Marquis Conyngham, and is lent by him to the vicar and churchwardens for parochial purposes. The artist Jansen resided much in Bridge, and painted here his portrait of the lady popularly called the "Star in the East."

  • Bromley
  • a market-town and a parish in Kent. The town has stations on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., is 10 miles from London, and stands on high ground, rising from the Ravensbourne river. It commands good views to the W, SW, and S, and has many fine residences. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The town hall is a brick structure in the Elizabethan style, erected in 1865. There are Conservative and Liberal clubs, a drill hall and gymnasium, a recreation ground, a school of science .and art, a cottage hospital, a literary institute, and a bank. The town is governed by a local board of 12 members. The church has traces both of Norman and Decorated work, but was mainly rebuilt in 1829, and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles. It has at the west end an ancient embattled tower, surmounted by a cupola, and contains a Norman font, a brass of 1356, a monument of Dr Hawkesworth, the chief writer of the "Adventurer," and the graves of Bishop Pearce, Bishop Yonge, and the wife of Dr Johnson. It was enlarged in 1873, and again in 1884, and now has 1200 sittings. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, .£500 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Worcester. The Church of St John is a stone building in the Perpendicular style. The living is a vicarage; net value, £325 with residence. Christ Church was erected in 1887, and is a brick structure in the Early English style. There are Congregational, Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, and Swedenborgian chapels, and a cemetery of 5 acres. Bromley College is a large brick structure, founded in 1666 by Bishop Warner, and repaired in 1765; gives residences and support to 40 widows. In 1875 the Gothic chapel in connection with this college was rebuilt. The civil parish comprises 4706 acres; population, 21,684; population of the ecclesiastical parishes of Holy Trinity, Bromley Common, 927; of St John the Evangelist, 2849; of St Luke, Bromley Common, 4135; and of St Peter and St Paul, 8505. The manor was given in the 8th century by Ethelbert, King of Kent, to the bishops of Rochester, continued with some slight interruptions to be held by them till a few years ago. A palace was built on it by one of the bishops soon after the Conquest, underwent improvements by successive bishops, was visited by Walpole and Pope, and gave place in 1776 to a new palace, a plain brick mansion, now the residence of the Child family. A chalybeate spring is in the palace-grounds, and another spring was formerly there called St Blaize's Well, which had anciently a small oratory, and was a resort of pilgrims in the Romish times at Whitsuntide. An old moated mansion, at the southern extremity of the town, belonged successively to the Bangnels, the Clarks, and the Simpsons. Plaistow Lodge, Bickley Park, and Sundridge are in the neighbourhood.

  • B33 Brook
  • Brook, a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 miles SE of Wye station on the S.E.R., and 4 NE of Ashford, under which it has a post office; money order and telegraph office, Willesborough. Acreage, 588 ; population, 143. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £176. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury and Sir C. Honeywood, alternately.

  • B34 Brookland
  • Brookland, a parish in Kent, with a station on the S.E.R., 68 miles from London. It has a post office under New Romney (S.O.), which is the money order and telegraph office. Acreage, 1892 ; population of the civil parish, 395 ; of the ecclesiastical, with Fairfield, 465. The living is a vicarage, with Fairfield, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £300 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is Early English, and has a leaden-figured Norman font, and the bell-tower stands detached, and is constructed of timber. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • B35 Broomfield

  • B36 Broomhill
  • Broomhill, a parish in Kent and Sussex, on the coast, near the Ashford and Hastings railway, 4 miles E by S of Rye, which is the post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 2495, of which 182 are water; population, 118. It is a member of the Cinque Port of New Romney, and has no church.

  • B37 Buckland
  • Buckland, a parish in Kent, near the river Swale and 1 1/2 mile from Leynham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 3 miles NW by W of Faversham, which is the post town. Acreage, 336; population, 73. The living is a sinecure rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £120. The church has long been in ruins.

  • B38 Buckland (Dover)

  • B39 Burnham
  • Burham, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway, near Snodland station on the S.E.R., 4 1/2 miles NNW of Maidstone. It has a post and money order office under Rochester; telegraph office, Wouldham. Acreage, 1635 ; population of the civil parish, 1667; of the ecclesiastical, 1680. Lime works here send large supplies to London, and there are extensive pottery and cement works. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £280 with residence, in the gift of the Cubitt family. The old church, after having been closed for some years, except for funerals, was restored and reopened in 1891. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • B40 Burmarsh
  • Burmarsh, a parish in Kent, on the coast, adjacent to the Military Canal, 3 miles SSW of Westerhanger station on the S.E.R., and 4 SW by W of Hythe. Post town, Folkestone ; money order and telegraph office, Dymchurch. In 1888 a part of the parish of West Hythe was annexed to this parish. Acreage, 2176 ; population of the civil parish, 243; population of the ecclesiastical parish, 139. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £200 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church has been restored.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - C

  • C1 Canterbury
  • Canterbury, a parliamentary and municipal borough, and a county borough in Kent. It is also a county in itself. It is the metropolitan see of all England, the capital of the county, an important market-town, a principal station on the L.C. & D.R., and also on the Ashford and Margate branch of the S.E.R., is 55 miles from London by road and 62 by railway, 14 from Margate, 16 from Dover, and 7 from Whitstable. Its site is a valley surrounded by hills, its appearance as seen from any point is highly picturesque, and its environs are diversified and very pleasant. Canterbury returned two members to Parliament until the Redistribution of Seats Act in 1885, when it was deprived of one. Area of the parliamentary borough, 3834 acres; population, 22,710; area of the county and municipal borough, 3971 acres; population, 23,062.

    History

  • Canterbury rose prior to the era of authentic history, and comes into view as a British town under the name of Dwrhwern. The Romans made it one of their principal stations, rebuilt and strengthened it over nearly the whole area occupied by the modern town, and called it Durovernum. The Saxons made it the capital of the kingdom of Kent, and called it Cantwarabyrig, "the stronghold of the men of Kent." The arrival of Augustine in 597, followed by the conversion of Ethelbert, gave it consequence as the source of Christianity to England, and as the cradle of the metropolitical see. The Danes took it in 843, 852, 918, and 1011, but were repelled successively by Elfleda and Canute. It had a castle before the Conquest, and was called Civitas Cantuariae at Domesday. It had begun at the fall of the heptarchy to be eclipsed by Winchester and London, and it continued for ages to decrease in comparative importance, but at the murder of Thomas £ Becket in its cathedral in 1170 it burst into celebrity as one of the most notable towns in Europe. Pilgrims of all ranks from all parts of Christendom crowded to its gates, and the romancers placed it side by side with Cologne and Compostella.
  • Walls and Streets. Walls most probably were built around the town by the Romans, walls certainly stood around it in the time of the Saxons, new walls and a ditch were formed in the time of Richard I., and these were renovated in 1374-81 by Archbishop Simon of Sudbury. The area within them has been found to contain many Roman bricks, pavements, vases, lachrymatories, and personal ornaments at about 6 or 9 feet beneath the surface, and therefore was occupied by Roman houses. The walls were 6 feet thick, composed of large masses of chalk cemented with a strong mortar and lined and faced with flint, were surmounted by twenty-one turrets at equal distances, and had six gates. Portions of the walls, with two or three of the turrets, still stand in Broad Street, and on the south side of Dane John. The west gate also still stands contiguous to the river, and is a noble embattled structure flanked by two lofty round towers. The ditch around the walls was originally 150 feet wide, but most of it is now built upon or converted into gardens, the chief of which is the picturesque Dane John. Part of the present town is without the walls, and much is modern, handsome, and substantial, but most of it within the walls is ancient. The High Street presents gabled ends and projecting fronts. Alleys and lanes toward the cathedral and its precincts look antiquely picturesque. Mercery Lane, leading on the High Street, was named from the mercery-stalls at which pilgrims bought memorials of their visit, and contains some window arches of the "Checquers of the Hope," noted by the lively and laughter-loving Chaucer, and the first opening west of this lane shows part of the court into which the pilgrims rode. An inn still standing, called the Red Lion, entertained the ambassadors of Charles V. in 1520, and another ancient bat modernised inn, called the Star, in the suburb of St Dunstan, on the way from the railway station to the centre of the city, was a hostel for pilgrims who arrived after the shutting of the gates at nightfall.
  • Public Buildings.£The guildhall, situated in High Street, was built in 1439 and rebuilt in 1697, has been exteriorly modernised, and contains pieces of ancient armour and some curious portraits. In 1880 the whole of the interior was rearranged and redecorated. The court or sessions-house is a modern structure in the suburb of St Augustine. The prison, a red brick building, adjoins the court-house in the suburb of St Augustine, is an erection of 1808 on the radiating plan, with the keeper's house and chapel in the centre. The music hall is in St Margaret Street. The theatre is in Guildhall Street, was built in 1861, and will hold 800 persons. The royal cavalry barracks were built in 1794, form three sides of a square, and present a striking appearance. The old infantry barracks were built in 1798, with accommodation for 2000 men, formed for some time a station for the horse and foot artillery, and are now used for depots of cavalry. The present infantry barracks were built in 1811. The military hospital is situated behind the barracks. The keep of the ancient castle stands in Castle Street, adjacent to the site of one of the city gates, measures 88 feet by 80, and is now occupied by the Gas and Water Works Company. The castle was taken without resistance in the time of King John by Louis of France, became afterwards a prison, and was notable for the incarceration of the Jews. The mound on which the donjon stood (now called the Dane John), has, along with part of the city walls, been converted into a city-mall 1130 feet long, laid out in spiral walks and shrubberies, and commands a grand view of the cathedral. An adjacent field outside the walls was the scene of the martyrdoms in the reign of Mary, and bears the name of the Martyrs' Field. The Archbishop's palace, founded in the time of the Saxons, rebuilt by Lanfranc and extended by Hubert Walter and Stephen Langton, stood in Palace Street, and its remains are now used partly as the junior department of the King's School, and partly as the house of the surveyor of the chapter. This was the scene of the death of the Black Prince, of the prelude of the murder of Thomas £ Becket, of the bridal feast of Edward I., and of banquets to Henry VIII., Charles V., and Elizabeth. The Canterbury Museum and Free Library, in Guildhall Street, was founded in 1826. The library has over 5000 volumes. The museum contains many curiosities and Roman antiquities. There is a school of art in connection with the Art Department, South Kensington. A swimming bath in Whitehall Boad was built in 1876. The Agricultural Hall, a very fine building just outside the city wall, is much used for cattle and flower shows. The Masonic Temple, situated in St Peter's Street, is a fine building. The town has an excellent system of sewage; the works are situated on the Stun'y Road. The cattle market is a large one; the markets are held fortnightly on Mondays. Other markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday in each week.

    The Cathedral

  • A church was built by St Augustine on the site of the cathedral, greatly injured by the Danes in 938, restored by Archbishop Ido in 940-60, damaged again by the Danes in 1011, and almost destroyed by fire in 1067; it contained the bodies of St Blaize, St Wilfred, St Dunstan, St Alphege, and St Andoen, the heads of St Swithin and St Furseus, and the arm of St Bartholomew. The present edifice was commenced in 1070-86 by Archbishop Lanfranc, extended, altered, and restored by successive prelates till 1495, and has undergone great and costly renovations. It exhibits, in its various parts, all the styles of architecture, from Early Norman to Perpendicular, makes grand displays of them, both in then respective features and in their junctions with one another, and is especially rich and large in Transition Norman and Perpendicular English. It has a crypt with vaulted roof 14 feet high, supported on massive pillars, and the whole building stands aloft on a height of base and with a force of character unsurpassed in any other cathedral, dominating over the city around it like an abrupt, isolated, spiry hill over some miles of plain. It consists of a south porch; a nave of nine bays, with aisles; a central transept, with two chapels; a choir of six bays, with aisles; a choir-transept, with two apsidal chapels in each wing; a presbytery of two bays, with aisles, and with northern and southern apsidal chapels; an eastern ambulatory, with aisles; a main apsidal chapel of four bays, with magnificent procession-path and aisles; and a circular structure to the east of this, called Becket's Crown; and it has a central tower and two western towers. The dimensions of the cathedral are£nave, 220 feet long and 72 in breadth; choir, 180 feet in length and 40 in width; great transept, 124 feet long; choir transept, 154 feet long; cloisters, 144 feet square; Trinity chapel, 71 feet long and 69 in breadth; external length, 530 feet; internal length, 514 feet; western towers, 157 feet in height; central or Bell Harry Tower, 235 feet; including its pinnacles, 249 feet. The nave has no triforium; the main transept has no aisles; the choir is approached by noble flights of stairs, and offers the earliest instance of the pointed arch in England; the screen is of the 15th century, with niched imagery of founders and saints, and was recently restored; the throne was carved by Flemish workmen, and cost £E1200; the pulpit is of stone, by Butterfield, and was put np in 1846; the main apsidal chapel is approached by broad nights of stairs, contained the gorgeous shrine of St Thomas a Becket, and has a curious mosaic pavement, with the signs of the zodiac; the central tower is of two stages, with octagonal turrets at the angles, and has been called the glory of all towers; and the western towers are each of six stages and much beauty, one of them rebuilt in 1840 at a cost of £25,000. Effigies, altar-tombs, and other monuments, in great variety, are dispersed through the various parts of the pile to the memory of the archbishops and many other notable persons, including Henry IV., Queen Joan of Navarre, Edward the Black Prince (whose surcoat, gauntlets, and shield hang above his tomb), a Lady Mohun, a Countess of Athole, Admiral Sir G. Rooke, Sir John Boys, Hadrian Saravia, Orlando Gibbons, W. Shuck-ford, Odo Coligny, a Marquis of Dorset, and a Duke of Clarence.
  • The edifice served, throughout Roman Catholic times, both as a cathedral and as a conventual church. A Benedictine priory stood connected with it, and was known as the convent of Christ's Church. A massive wall surrounded the precincts, and served at once for defence and for seclusion. The passage from the priory led to the choir-transept through a circular chamber, now used as a baptistery. The old library, on the site of the prior's chapel, contains many valuable books and manuscripts belonging to the late venerable Benjamin Harrison, M.A., archdeacon of Maidstone. The Cathedral library contains a large collection of Greek and Roman coins and old Bibles. The Chapter House, approached from the east walk, is a fine building with an exquisitely carved roof of Irish oak; its dimensions are£90 feet long, 37 broad, and 54 high. The cloisters are on the north side of the nave, measure 144 feet by 144, and have eight bays on every side. The space southward of the choir formed the cemetery, or God's acre, sown with the seed of the resurrection. ' The Oaks' was the convent garden; the Norman doorway is in the precinct gate eastward of the choir. The ancient stone house on the left side turning round the Becket's Crown formed the Honours, the guest-hall (a nave and aisles 150 feet by 40 feet), for the reception of visitors. Considerable remains of the infirmary are observable, the chapel and common-hall, of flint, with three tall pointed windows, built in 1342. Near it was St Thomas' well. At this point occurs ' the Dark Entry,' a Norman cloister built by Prior Wibert about 1167, with a curious bell-shaped tower, which served as the monks' conduit; above it is now the baptistery. On one side is the gate of the great cloisters. The arch and ruins towards the Green Court are those of La Gloriette, the prior's rooms built by Prior Hathbrand in 1379. Passing the chapter, once the prior's chapel library, the Prior's or Court Gate leads into the Green Court. In the Green Court is the Deanery, a fine house, containing the portraits of many former deans of Canterbury. It was built by Dean Godwin in 1570, after a fire on the site of the Prior's lodgings. In it Hooper welcomed Queen Mary. At the north-east corner a large gateway opens into the fellings or foreigns, the space beyond the conventual jurisdiction. On the north side were the ancient dean's great hall, water-house, granary, refectory, frater-house, brew-house, bake-house, and domestic buildings, among which great part of the dormitory remains, with a gateway and steps. At the north-west angle is the Norman precinct gate of the priory, which stood on the south side of the court; the back entrance to it or Larder Gate still remains. At the south-west angle is the arched door which led to the palace. The strangers' hall was on the west side. In the north-west angle is likewise the Norman staircase, with an open arcade which led into the north hall, 150 feet by 40 feet, allotted to the stewards of the prior court; the arches on which it was supported alone remain; above them the King's School was built by Mr Austen in 1855. They form a passage into the Mint yard. It is the only staircase of the period known to be in existence. In the King's School were educated Harvey the physician, Lord Thurlow, and Lord Tenterden. Within the ancient almonry, on the northwest of the Green Court, stood the chantry of St Thomas £ Becket, which Henry VIII. converted into a mint, and Cardinal Pole made the King's school. In the high wall, probably a portion of Lanfranc's building, leading to the northwest entrance of the cathedral, are the remains of the covered way to the cloisters, by which the primates entered, but their ordinary approach was through a large gateway with a square tower of flint and ashlar.

    Ancient Monasteries
  • An abbey was founded by St Augustine outside the walls in the eastern suburb of Long-port. It was designed by him mainly as a mausoleum for bishops and kings; it became the burial-place of himself and his successors, and of Ethelbert and his successors; it possessed much grandeur as an edifice, and great wealth and consequence as a monastery; it was always regarded as more sacred and important than the cathedral, till the latter outshone it by means of the glory of Becket's shrine, and it competed to the last with the convent of Christ Church in the splendours and fetes of its guest-hall. The buildings of it were greatly injured at the Reformation, were, some time after, partly converted into a royal palace, were subsequently given to Lord Woton, were several times damaged by fire and by flood, were eventually degraded to the uses of a brewery, and were purchased in 1844 by Mr Beresford Hope, and the Augustine Missionary College was erected on the site.

    C2 Canterbury St. Dunstan
    C3 Canterbury St. Martin
    C4 Canterbury St. Mary Bredin
    C5 Canterbury St. Mary Northgate
    C6 Canterbury St. Paul

  • C7 Capel
  • Capel, or Caple, a parish in Kent, 3 miles SE of Tunbridge. In 1885 it was amalgamated for all but ecclesiastical purposes with that of Tudeley. There are some mineral springs. The hospital of the Tunbridge Rural Sanitary Authority, erected in 1887, stands in the parish. It has a post office at Five Oak Green; money order and telegraph office, Paddock Wood. Acreage, 3057; population of the civil parish, 1128; of the ecclesiastical, 1133. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £180. The church is small. There is also an ancient church at Tudley, and a new chapel of ease at Five Oak Green.

  • C8 Caple Le Ferne
  • Capel-le-Ferne, a parish in Kent, on the coast, and on the Dover and Folkestone railway, 3 miles NE of Folkestone, which is the post town; money order and telegraph office, Folkestone. Acreage, 1582; population of the civil parish, 232; of the ecclesiastical, 825. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Alkham, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £350, and a vicarial residence at Alkham. The church consists of nave and chancel, with a western tower, shows interesting internal features of Early English, and contains a piscina, a sedilia, and a brass of 1526.

  • C9 Chalk
  • Chalk, a parish in Kent, on the river Thames and the North Kent railway, 2 1/2 miles SE by E of Gravesend, under which it has a post office. Acreage, 1846 ; population, 428. The surface is variously marshy and chalky. Gun flints of prime quality were at one time manufactured, and much fruit is sent to the London market. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; value, £150. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is of flint, very ancient, and has been restored. It has two grotesque figures on the porch, and contains curious monuments and sedilia.

  • C10 Challock
  • Challock, a parish in Kent, adjacent to the river Stour and to the Ashford and Canterbury railway, 2 1/2 miles NW by W of Wye railway station, and 5 N by E of Ashford, under which it has a post office. Acreage, 2827; population of civil parish, 317; of the ecclesiastical, 378. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £250 with residence. The church is ancient.

  • C11 Charing
  • Charing, a village and a parish in Kent, on the L.C. & D.R., 53 miles from London. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. Acreage, 4681; population of the civil parish, 1314; of the ecclesiastical, 1019. The village stands on the ancient road called the Pilgrims' Way, near the source of the Len. It is an ancient place, known in Domesday as Cheringes. The manor belonged early to the see of Canterbury; was held some time by the Saxon kings; reverted to the archbishops; was given up by Cranmer to Henry VIII., and passed to the Whelers of Otterden. A palace of the archbishops stood here, was rebuilt in the 14th century, and gave entertainment to Henry VII. and Henry VIII. The edifice was in the Early Decorated style, and badly executed, and considerable ruins of it still exist. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £221 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. The church was chiefly rebuilt after a destruction of it by fire in 1590, but retains portions in Early English and Perpendicular, and it contains monuments of the Brents, the Sayers, the Honeywoods, and Mrs Ludwell. It was restored, and a peal of six bells added in 1877-79. A charity, bequeathed by Mrs Ludwell, who died in 1765, has £88 a year from endowment, and two exhibitions at Oriel College. This ch£irity is divided among ten poor householders and the national schools of Charing and Charing Heath, and the apprenticing of boys educated in these schools. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • C12 Charlton
  • Charlton, a parish in Kent, 9 miles from Charing CroSiS railway station, with a station of its own on the North Kent railway. The village lies among the low hills between Black-heath and Woolwich, near the river Thames, 8 miles E by S of London Bridge. It is within the parliamentary borough of Greenwich. It is supplied with water from works situated at Crayford and Lewisham. The assembly-rooms, erected in 1881, form a handsome building of red brick, and are used for lectures and concerts. The parish has grown into a fine suburb. It has a head post, money order, and telegraph office. The manor was given by William Rufus to Bermond-sey Abbey; went at the dissolution to the Newtons; passed to the Langhornes, the Ducies, and the Maryons. Charlton House was built about 1612 by Sir Adam Newton; forms a, fine specimen of the architecture of its age; contains a good portrait of Henry, Prince of Wales, to whom Sir Adam Newton acted as tutor; was the death-place, in 1679, of Lord Doune. It is the seat of the Wilson family. The grounds connected with it have some very old cypresses ; the 'l Hanging Wood," adjoining it, affords a charming walk, and some sand-pits in the vicinity present great attractions to geologists. A farmhouse in the parish, called Cherry Garden, is said to have been erected by Inigo Jones for his own residence. Several handsome villas have recently been built. Acreage of parish, 1236; population, 11,742. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £287 with. residence. The church is a plain brick edifice of 1640. The rectories of St Thomas and St Paul, and the chapelries of Blackheath Park and St Germans-Blackheath, are separate charges; value of St Thomas, £300 ; of St Paul, £174. St Thomas' Church stands at New Charlton, is a handsome structure, and was built in 1850, at a cost of over £5000'. St Paul's Church was built in 1867, is in the Second Pointed style, cruciform, and highly ornate, and has a SW tower and spire. There are a Wesleyan chapel, the cottages on Woolwich Common, Morden College for decayed merchants, and Langhorne's school and almshouses.

  • C13 Chart Sutton
  • Chart-next-Sutton-Valence or Chart-Sutton, a parish in Kent, on the verge of the Weald, 4 1/4 miles from Staple-hurst on the S.E.R., and 6 from Maidstone. It has a post office under Staplehurst; money order and telegraph office, Sutton-Valence. Acreage, 2188; population, 673. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £175 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church, dedicated to St Michael, was partially destroyed by lightning in 1779 and lost its spire, but has been rebuilt. It has no chancel. The burial ground contains the remains of a former Lord Mayor of London, Robert Peckham, of Maidstone, interred in 1814.

  • C14 Chartham
  • Chartham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour and S.E.R., 66 miles from London, and 3 1/4 SW of Canterbury, under which it has a post, money order, and telegraph office. It was known at Domesday as Certeham ; it occupies a low site round a green, and it contains a house built by Dr Delangle, a French refugee who became rector here, and marked by a bust of Charles II. The parish includes Hortou, the hamlets of Chartham-Hatch and Shalmsford Street. Acreage, 4569 ; population, 2641. The manor was given in 1871 to Christ Church, Canterbury, belongs now to the Chapter there, and is still called the Deanery. Chartham Downs, above the village, have remains of a number of tumuli, called Danes' Banks, and are marked by lines of ancient entrenchments. One of the earliest discoveries of great fossil bones, giving rise to the modern science of palaeontology, was made in 1668 at Chartham, in the sinking of a well. The East Kent Lunatic Asylum was erected in 1875 on Chartham Downs, and will hold 900' patients. A large paper mill is at the back of the village. The living is a rectory, with the chapelry of Horton annexed, in the diocese of Canterbury ; net value, o£501 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is cruciform, variously Early and Decorated English, has rare and very beautiful tracery in the windows, and an embattled tower at the west end, and contains brasses, monumental slabs, a monument of Dr Delangle, and an elaborate monument by Eysbrack of Sir William Young. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.

  • C15 Chatham
  • Chatham, a municipal and parliamentary borough and a par sh on the river Medway, in Kent, with stations on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., 33 miles from London. The town was incorporated in 1890. The parliamentary borough comprises parts of the parishes of Chatham and Gillingham, and returns one member. Population of the municipal borough, 31,657; of the parliamentary, 59,210. Chatham has furnished numerous Roman remains, and was known to the Saxons as Coeddeham, and at Domesday as Ceteham. The manor belonged in the time of Edward the Confessor to Earl Godwin, was given by the Conqueror to Hamon de Crevecoeur, and passed to the Badlesmeres, the Despensers, the Wentworths, and others. A royal dockyard was formed here in the time of Elizabeth; was greatly enlarged by Charles I.; was the scene of a disastrous attack by a Dutch fleet in 1667 ; was materially improved by Charles II.; has been further enlarged from time to time; and is now one of the most important establishments of its kind in the kingdom. Many sovereigns have visited it, and Queen Victoria made a special visit in 1855, when she inspected the wounded soldiers from the Crimea.
  • The town forms a continuous line of buildings with Rochester, consists chiefly of a bustling street nearly 2 miles in length and several narrow streets, and presents the aspects of all large seaports. A steep lane, called Hamon Hill, leads to an elevated spot, commanding a fine view of the town and. the environs. Many of the houses are old, and one with a carved front in High Street is pointed out as having been the residence of certain famous shipbuilders of the 16th and 17th centuries.
  • The chief public buildings are churches, chapels, hospitals, the dockyard, barracks, and the fortifications. St Mary's or the parish church was rebuilt in 1788; incorporates a doorway and three arches of a previous old Norman edifice; is Itself an ungainly structure; and contains several monuments preserved from the previous church, one of them a brass of Stephen Borough, the discoverer of the NW passage to Russia in 1553. In 1887 the chancel and side chapel were rebuilt. St John's Church was built in 1821 by the Parliamentary Commissioners at a cost of nearly £15,000, and was extensively altered in 1869. St Paul's Church was built in 1854, and is in the Norman style. There are Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Baptist, Bible Christian, and Congregational chapels. Hawkins' Hospital for decayed seamen and shipwrights has an income of £663. Paine's charity for widows has £324: a year. The Marine Hospital was built in 1828, and has accommodation for 340 patients. The artillery hospital is attached to the barracks, and has wards for 100 patients. There are a mechanics' institute and some other institutions. The Reform Club was opened in 1888. It is of red brick and stone in the Classic style, and cost over £5000. There is also a Conservative Club.
  • The dockyard is more than a mile long, walled round and fortified, and contains wet docks with capacity for the largest vessels. New works on marsh ground of about 320 acres to the NE of the dockyard were constructed from 1867 to 1871 at a cost of nearly £1,500,000, and include a repairing basin, sew docks, and extensive buildings. The greater part of these works was done by convicts, there being a large convict prison adjoining, though now unoccupied. The storehouses and workshops are admirably arranged, and can equip a first-rate man-of-war in a few days. The mast-house is 240 feet long and 120 wide; the rope-house is 1110 feet long and 50 wide; the smith's shop contains 50 forges; and the sawmills have ten saw frames, with capacity for 300 saws, and two circular-saw benches, with windlasses and capstans for supplying them with wood. The gun-wharf, adjoining the dockyard, is more a great storehouse than an arsenal, and contains a large park of artillery. The principal barracks extend along the Medway, and contain accommodation for upwards of 6000 men. Fort Pitt, on a hill overlooking the town, contains other barracks, a military hospital, and a military museum, and was constructed at the end of the 18th century. The fortifications, called the Chatham lines, enclose the dockyard and the principal barracks; include Brompton village, partly in Gillingham parish; run down to the Medway at the extremities of Chatham and Brompton; were commenced in 1758 and completed about 1807; and have since undergone extensive alterations and improvements. The fortress defending the dockyard ranks as one of the finest in England. There is a chain of very powerful forts around the town, to prevent any possibility of an enemy approaching the dockyard from land. Grand reviews and great military field operations take place about the lines, and attract great crowds to Chatham. There is a gymnasium for troops near the Brompton barracks. The Soldiers' and Seamen's Home and Institute was opened in 1887, and contains baths, recreation rooms, a large refreshment room, and a good library. The officers of the garrison have a good recreation and cricket ground.
  • The town has a head post office and two banks. A weekly market is held on Saturday. The town is supplied with water from large reservoirs on Chatham Hill. The chief trade arises from the dockyard and from shipbuilding. A pier was erected in 1886, and steamers touch at it several times a day on their way to Sheerness and Southend. The town gave the title of Earl to the family of Pitt.
  • The parish includes Chatham-Intra within the city of Rochester, the hamlet of Luton, and part of the village of Brompton. Acreage, 4444; population, 31,901. The livings of St Mary and St John are rectories, and that of St Paul a vicarage, in the diocese of Rochester; value of St Mary, £220 with residence; of St John, £320 with residence; and of St Paul, £176 with residence.

  • C16 Cheriton
  • Cheriton, a parish in Kent, on the coast, 1 mile from Shorncliffe station on the S.E.R., and 2 1/2 miles W by N of Folkestone. It includes part of Sandgate village. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sandgate. The area is 1436 acres of land and 21 of tidal water and foreshore; population of the civil parish, 5957; of the ecclesiastical, 4798. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, and till 1867 was united with Newington; net value, -£273 with residence. The church is ancient, but was restored in 1873 and again in 1877. There are a Congregational chapel, cottage homes erected in 1888, and a village hall, with reading-room.

  • Chevening,
  • a parish in Kent, on the river Darenth, 3 1/4miles NW of Sevenoaks, and 3 from Dunton Green station on the S.E.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office at Chipstead, under Sevenoaks. Acreage, 3893 ; population, 1050. There are two manors. The one belonged to the See of Canterbury till the Reformation, and then passed to the Crown. The other belonged early to the family of De Chevening, passed to the Lennards, afterwards Lords Dacre, was purchased in 1717 by General Stanhope, created Earl Stanhope. The mansion here was built in 1630 by Lord Dacre after designs by Inigo Jones, but has been greatly altered, both externally and internally, and it contains some interesting portraits. The grounds are crossed by the ancient British Way, called the Pilgrim's Road, include a fine lake and maze, and a mass of Roman monumental stones and altars, brought from abroad by the first Lord Stanhope, and command from their highest point a brilliant view. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £450 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church has some Early English masonry, but is chiefly Perpendicular, and it contains altar tombs of the Dacres and monuments of the Stanhopes. The church has commodious mission buildings at Chipstead. There are also three dissenting chapels. Bessels Green and Chipstead are two hamlets in this parish.

  • C17 Chilham
  • Chilham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the river Stour, 6 1/4 miles SW by S of Canterbury; is the Cilleham of the Saxons; was once a market-town; has a station on the S.E.R., 64 miles from London; and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Canterbury. The parish comprises 4398 acres; population, 1377. The manor belonged to the Saxon kings of Kent; was given by the Conqueror to Fulbert, who assumed the name of De Dover; passed to the Badlesmeres and others ; went in the time of Edward VI. to Sir Thomas Cheney; went again at the beginning of the 17th century to Sir Dudley Digges; passed to the Colebrooks, the Herons, and the Wildmans; and was bought in 1862 by the Hardy family. A Roman castrum was here, and is said to have been the residence of Lucius the Brito-Roman king; a castle of the Saxon kings succeeded the castrum, was renovated after the Conquest, and underwent demolition by Sir Thomas Cheney; and a mansion in lien of this was built by Sir W. Digges, is still standing, and forms a fine specimen of Jacobean architecture. The castle was surrounded by a deep fosse enclosing about 8 acres, and the remains of it include a Late Norman octagonal three-storey keep. Many Roman relics of various kinds have been found here, and a great barrow or artificial mound, popularly called Julaber's Grave, the subject of much dispute among antiquaries, is immediately above the railway station. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £800 with residence. The church is Decorated English with a Later clerestory; was rebuilt, in the E part, in 1863; belonged anciently to Throwleigh priory, afterwards to Sion monastery; and contains monuments of the Diggeses, the Colebrooks, and the Wildmans. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.

  • C18 Chillenden
  • Chillenden, a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 milea ENE of Adisham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6^ W of Deal. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, Nonington. Acreage, 202; population, 133. The parish gave name to a famous prior of Canterbury, who died in 1411. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £116. The church belonged to the priory of Leeds, and is a very small Late Norman structure, with east Perpendicular windows; it was restored and reseated in 1871.

  • C19 Chislet
  • Chislet, a parish in Kent, on a branch of the river Stour, 1 mile NW of Grove Ferry station on the S.E.R., and 6 NE of Canterbury. It has a post and telegraph office under Canterbury; money order office, Upstreet. Acreage, 6807 of land and 176 of tidal water and foreshore; population, 1019. The manor belongs to the see of Canterbury. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £180 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of Norman architecture of the 12th century, the arch between the tower and chancel being particularly fine. This arch has been illustrated in " Archaeologia Cantiana," vol. xii., p. 106. The present chancel is of the Early English style. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels, and a mission church at Marshside.

  • C20 Cliffe
  • Cliffe, West, a parish ia Kent, on the coast, 2 1/2 miles NE by N of Dover station on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, St Margaret-at-Cliffe. Acreage, 1180; population of the civil parish, 144; of the ecclesiastical, 972. The living is a vicarage, annexed to St Margaret-at-Cliffe, in the diocese of Canterbury ; joint net yearly value, £238. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church was restored in 1874.

  • C21 Cobham
  • Cobham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on Watling Street, 1 mile from Sole Street station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 miles SSE of Gravesend; has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Gravesend; was the scene of Pickwick's ludicrous antiquarian discovery; possesses still the " clean and commodious ale-house " to which Mr Tup-man retired from the world; is much frequented by visitors from London; was once a market-town, and still has a fair on 2 Aug. The parish comprises 3056 acres; population, 968. The manor belonged from early times to the great family of De Cobham; passed by marriage, toward the end of the 14th century, to Sir John Oldcastle, who assumed the title of Lord Cobham in right of his wife; passed again by marriage soon afterwards to the Brookes, who also bore the title of Lords Cobham; went, by attainder, in the first year of James I. to the Crown; was granted to the Stewarts, Earls of Lennox; and descended, in the early part of the 18th century, to John Bligh, Esq., who was created Earl of Darn-ley. Cobham Hall, the Earl of Darnley's seat, consists of a centre and two wings; is partly a Tudor brick structure of 1582-94, and partly a renovation and addition by Inigo Jones; gave entertainment to Elizabeth and Charles I.; and contains a very rich collection of pictures, and a large antique bath of red Oriental granite. The yard contains a chariot, alleged to have been that in which Elizabeth travelled, but really not older than the time of William III. The park is 7 miles in circuit, has much diversity of hill and dale, contains a heronry and a large stock of deer, and includes an elevation, called William's Hill, commanding a fine view, and crowned by a mausoleum, built in 1783 at a cost of £9000, biit never used. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £282 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Damley. The church is partly Early English, partly Late Decorated, and contains a remarkable assemblage of brasses and other monuments. A chantry for seven priests was founded, contiguous to the churchyard, in 1387, by Sir John de Cobham, and some fragments of it still exist. An almshouse, called a college, was founded on the site of the chantry, in 1598, by the executors of Sir William Brooke, Lord Cobham; forms a quadrangle containing twenty lodging-rooms and a chapel, and has an endowed income.

  • C22 Coldred
  • Coldred, a parish in Kent, 1 mile ESE of Shepherdswell station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 miles NNW of Dover. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, Siberts-wold. Acreage, 1552; population, 161. Ceolred, king of Mercia, is said to have fought a battle here in 715 with Ina. A Roman entrenchment, enclosing about 2 acres of land, encircles the church, and was found, at the cutting of a road through it, to have a well about 300 feet deep. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Sibertswold, in the diocese of Canterbury; joint net value, £300. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church has been repaired, but beyond the bell-turret has no features of architectural interest.

  • Cowden,
  • a parish in Kent, on a headstream of the Med-way river, at the boundary with Sussex. It has been described as " one of the prettiest villages in Kent," and has a station on the L.B. & S.C.R., 29 miles from London, and 7^ W of Tunbridge Wells, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Edenbridge. Acreage, 3260; population, 676. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £313 with residence. The church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, and dates at least from the year 1320, when the present building was erected on the site of an older church which was destroyed by fire. There were a large number of altars and shrines in the old church. The high altar is and has always been that of St Mary Magdalene. The massive roof timbers and tower are worthy of notice. The pulpit is of oak, Jacobean, dated 1628. The hour-glass is still in situ, placed in a holder of old Sussex wrought-iron work, mounted upon a miserable cast-iron modem bracket.

  • Crayford,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the rivulet Cray, with a station on the S.E.R., 14 miles from London, and 1 1/4 mile W by N of Dartford, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office (S.O.) Acreage of the civil parish, 2457 of land, and 173 of tidal water and foreshore; population, 5268 ; of the ecclesiastical, 4266. It was once a market-town, and it still has a fair on 24 August. It is the Creccanford of the Saxon Chronicle, and was the scene of the battle in 457 between Hengist and Vortigern. The parish includes also the hamlets of North-end and Slade-Green. The manor belonged at Domesday to the see of Canterbury. May Place, which is a building partly of the time of James I., was the seat of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel. Numerous caverns of great depth, with narrow mouths but ample vaulted interior, exist in chalk rocks in Bexley parish and the neighbouring heaths, and are thought by many persons to have been formed by the ancient Britons for retreat in the time of war. Some large establishments for silk manufacture and tanning are on the rivulet near the village. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £510. The church, dedicated to St Paulinus, is ancient, but has been restored. There are Baptist and Roman Catholic chapels, some almshouses, and a village hall.

  • C23 Cooling

  • C24 Cranbrook
  • Cranbrook, a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands in the Weald, on the river Crane, 6 miles S by W of Staplehurst, 14 S by E of Maidstone, and 48 from London. It has a station on the Paddock Wood and Hawkhurst branch of the S.E.R. It consists chiefly of one long street, is a seat of petty sessions, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office (S.O.), a bank, two chief inns, a market-house, a parish church, four dissenting chapels, a free grammar-school, a workhouse, and the Cramp Institute for lads and young men. Acreage of the civil parish, 10,374 ; population, 4046 ; of the ecclesiastical, 2971. The church is chiefly Decorated and Perpendicular English, has a western square embattled tower, was partly rebuilt in 1722, and contains monuments of the Robertses of Glassenbury and the Bakers of Sissinghurst. It was restored in 1879, and again in 1893. There is a handsome font of Gaen stone, and in the south aisle likewise a baptistery for immersion, a thing of very rare occurrence, there being supposed to be only one more in the kingdom. The grammar-school was founded in 1574 by Sir Simon Lynch, and has £135 from endowment. The building was enlarged and very much improved in 1885. Markets are held on alternate Wednesdays, and fairs on 30 May and 29 Sep. A broadcloth manufactory was introduced in the time of Edward III., flourished for ages so greatly as to give its masters and patrons high influence in county affairs, ceased about the beginning of the 19th century, and has left traces of itself in picturesque remains of old factories. The parish includes also the hamlet of Milkhouse Street, commonly called Sissing-burst Street. The surface presents all the characteristics of the Weald. Sissinghurst Castle was a stately mansion of the time of Edward VI. belonging to the Bakers, became toward the end of the 18th century a place of confinement for French prisoners, and now survives only in some picturesque fragments. There are mineral springs. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £270 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The vicarage of Sissinghurst is a separate benefice. Sir R. Baker, the author of the " English Chronicle," was a native.

  • Cudham,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the boundary with Surrey, 4 miles from Orpington station on the S.E.R., and 7 SSE of Bromley. It was once a market-town, and has a post office under Orpington (R.S.O. Kent); money order office, Down ; telegraph office, Knock-holt. The parish comprises 5925 acres; population, 1103. The manor belonged anciently to the Apperfields. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £255. The church is good; it was thoroughly restored in 1890. There are a Wesleyan chapel and charities.

  • C25 Crundale

  • C26 Cuxton
  • Cuxton, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway, 2^ milcs-SW by S of Strood. It has a station on the S.E.R., 32 miles from London, and a post office under Rochester; money order and telegraph office, Lower Hailing. Acreage, 1692 ;. population, 462. The surface is hilly. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester ; value, £303. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The church is ancient.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - D

  • Dartford
  • a town and a parish in Kent. The town stands in a narrow valley, between two steep hills, on Watling Street, and the river Darent, and has a station on the S.E.R., 16 miles from London. It was known to the Saxons as Darentford, and at Domesday as Tarentford, and it got its name from a ford or ferry-passage on the Darent, which was a great thoroughfare till the building of a bridge at it in the time of Henry VI. Isabella, the sister of Henry III., was married in the parish church in 1235 to theEmperor Frederick. Edward III. held a tournament here in 1331, and founded an Augustinian nunnery here in 1355. Wat Tyier commenced his insurrection here in 1381, by beating out the brains of the poll-tax collector. Henry V., the conqueror of Agincourt, was brought here after his death. The body was met at the porch of the parish church by the Bishop of Exeter.
  • Dartford consists chiefly of one spacious, well-built, picturesque street. The nunnery, founded by Edward III., stood at the west end, became the retreat of a daughter of Edward IV. and many noble ladies, was converted after the dissolution into a royal palace, passed for a time to Anne of Cloves, was inhabited two days in 1573 by Queen Elizabeth, passed by barter to Sir Robert Cecil, was held on life-lease by Sir Edward Darcy, and got then the name of Place House. The edifice appears to have been very extensive, and a small part of it, not .earlier than the time of Henry VII., still stands, and is now used as a farmhouse. A chantry chapel, dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr, and situated in a cemetery of its own on the opposite side of the town, belonged to the nunnery, and was in such great repute by pilgrims to Canterbury that the reach of Watling Street leading to it often took the name of " St Edmund's Way," but it has entirely disappeared. The pilgrims resorted chiefly to St Thomas a Becket's chapel at the north aisle of the parish church, which was used for that purpose until the time of Henry VIII. There is an interesting room which was formerly used as an armoury after the dissolution of the chantry. This is situated over the vestry. The parish church is a spacious ancient edifice with a Norman tower, was repaired or much altered in 1793, and thoroughly restored in 1877. It has remains of a decorated screen, a mural monument to Sir John Spielman, Queen Elizabeth's jeweller, and some interesting brasses and effigies. There are two mission churches and four chapels for dissenters. The Martyrs' Memorial Hall is an edifice of brick erected in 1890, and contains a library, reading-room, refreshment-room, and gymnasium. A Conservative club was opened in 1894. There are some large charities. The London Pauper Lunatic Asylum is a large erection, with a lofty central tower, and forms a prominent object for a considerable distance. There are also a workhouse, an endowed grammar school, and alms-houses. The town has a head post office, two banks, two chief inns, and is a seat of petty sessions. Markets are held on Saturdays, and a fair on 2 Aug. A large export trade is carried on in country produce, chalk, lime, and manufactures; and an import trade in coal and timber, the Darent, under the name of Dartford Creek, affording good navigation hither to the Thames, and there are powder and paper mills of great extent. One of the earliest paper mills was built by Sir John Spielman.
  • The parish comprises 4251 acres of land and 198 of water; population, 11,962. The manor belonged to the Crown, and was given by James I. to the Whitmores. Part of the area adjoining the river is marshy, and part above is chalk down. Numerous remarkable ancient excavations exist in the chalk, and fine views are had from the heath, a mile south-west of the town. Eichard Plantagenet encamped on the heath in 1452, and Fairfax in 1648. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £540 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Worcester.
  • Dartford Parliamentary Division, or North West Kent was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, and. returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 79,853. The division includes the following:-Dartford-' Ash-next-Ridley, Crayford, Darenth, Dartford, Erith, Eyns-ford, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Horton Kirby, Kings-down, Longfield, Lullingstone, Ridley, Southfleet, Stone (near Dartford), Sutton-at-Hone, Swanscombe, Wickham (East), Wilmington; Bromley (part of)-Orpington, St Paul's Cray, Foots Cray, St Mary Cray, North Cray; Greenwich, parliamentary borough ; Woolwich, parliamentary borough.

  • D1 Davington

  • D2 Deal
  • Deal, a town, a parish (divided in 1852 into three ecclesiastical parishes, St Leonard's, St George's, and St Andrew's), and a municipal borough in Kent. The town stands on the coast, facing the Downs, opposite the Goodwin Sands, with a joint station on the S.E.R. and L.C. & D.R., 86 miles from London, and 5 SSE of Sandwich. The railway connecting the town with Dover was constructed in 1879. It may have been the place of Caesar's landing fifty-five years before the Christian era; it was known at Domesday as Addelam; it was the place of Perkin Warbeck's landing in 1495; it received Anne of Cleves after her voyage in 1540; it was attacked by Prince Charles in 1648; it felt an earthquake shock in 1692 and it was the landing-place of Adelaide, the queen of William IV. It is a municipal borough, a member of the Cinque-port liberty of Sandwich, a coastguard and pilot station, and a seat of petty sessions. The air being good, and the sea-beach favourable for bathing, Deal has of late years been resorted to as a watering-place, and several rows of houses have been erected for the accommodation of visitors, besides a gentlemen's club with a fine sea frontage, baths, libraries, &c. There are several hotels, a bank, and a golf club. The town comprises three parts, Upper, Middle, and Lower, the latter consisting of three long narrow streets parallel with the beach, and adjoins on the south the parish of Walmer, in the castle of which the Duke of Wellington died in 1852. Lower Deal contains the bulk of the population, and has a head post office, of the name of Deal. Upper Deal stands on a hill above Middle Deal, was the original village, and has a post office under Deal. Deal Castle, like the neighbouring ones of Sandown and Walmer, was built by Henry VIII. for defence of the coast. It has been converted into a family residence, and is now in the occupation of Lord Herschel. An assembly-room was erected in 1865, and there is a capacious Oddfellows' hall. The town-hall, in Lower Deal, is a spacious edifice of 1803, and contains portraits of William III. and William IV. A council chamber and some police cells were added in 1883. St Leonard's Church, in Upper Deal, is an ancient structure with some Norman fragments. St George's Church, in Lower Deal, was built in 1715, and is an excellent specimen of the church architecture of that day; it was reseated in 1877. St Andrew's Church, in West Street, was built in 1850, and enlarged in 1865. The General Baptist chapel was built in the time of the Commonwealth by Samuel Tavemor, governor of the castle. The Congregational chapel was built soon after the ejectment of 1662, and replaced by the Congregational Bi-Centenary Memorial Church erected in 1882. There are five other dissenting chapels, and a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St Thomas a, Becket of Canterbury. The Victoria Baptist Church, in the Gothic style, was erected in 1881. The convent and orphanage of St Ethelburga was established in 1871 for educating young girls. The teaching is conducted by the Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions, and there is room for seventy inmates. Four weekly newspapers are published, and a provision trade, sail-making, and boatbuilding are carried on. A pier on iron piles stretching 920 feet out to sea, 20 feet wide generally, but 40 feet wide at the head, with an average depth there of 10 feet at low-water spring tides, and the platform 13 feet above high-water mark, was constructed in 1864,* and a pavilion for concerts at the head of the pier in 1886. The adjacent roadstead of the Downs is sheltered by the Goodwin Sands. The town was chartered by William IIL, and made a member of Sandwich parliamentary borough by the Reform Act. The municipal borough is conterminate with the parish, and is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The parish comprises 1111 acres of land and 50 of water; population, 8891. The livings of St Leonard and St Andrew are rectories, and that of St George a perpetual curacy titular vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; values respectively, -6400, £300, and £800. Patron of all, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

  • D3 Denton

  • D4 Detling

  • D5 Ditton
  • Ditton, a parish in Kent, near the river Medway, three-fourths of a mile SSW of Aylesford station on the S.E.R., .and 3 1/4 miles NW of Maidstone. Post town, Maidstone; money order office, Larkfield; telegraph office, East Mailing. Acreage, 1069 ; population, 874. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £430 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Aylesford. The church is Decorated English, and has been carefully restored.

  • D6 Doddington

  • Dover,
  • a seaport town and municipal and parliamentary borough in Kent. The town stands on the coast, partly under chalk cliffs, at the mouth of the rivulet Dour, the end of Watling Street, and the terminus of two railways, 15 1/4 miles SE of Canterbury, and 76 from London. The "S.E.R. has a station in Beach Street, with a branch to the Admiralty Pier. The L.C. & D.R. has two stations-one at the Priory, on the Folkestone Road, and a terminal station in Strond Street, with a branch to the Admiralty Pier. It confronts Calais, is the nearest port of England to France, and has been noted from very early times as a main point of communication with the Continent.

    History.

  • Dover was the Dwffyrrha of the ancient Britons, the Dubrse of the Romans, the Dofra or Dofris of the Saxons, and the Dovere of Domesday. The ancient Britons had a camp at it, Ca£sar appeared off it prior to his landing at Deal, a Roman receiver of tribute was located at it before Caesar departed, another Roman functionary converted the British camp at it into a fort or castle in the year 43, Severus engirt it with strong walls about the year 200, Roman legions were stationed at it in the reigns of Valen-tinian and Theodosius, and King Withred of Kent protected it by a sea-wall about the year 700. The Saxons and the Danes were prevented from troubling it by its strength. King Arthur, in the romance, arrived at it from Brittany. The knights of the Norman Conquest burned it, but the Conqueror furnished money for rebuilding it and gave it to Bishop Odo. Its Norman masters enlarged and strengthened its castle, enriched it with numerous churches and monastic houses, and made it, according to Matthew Paris, " the lock and key of the kingdom." Stephen, the last of the Norman kings, died in it. Henry II. was here in 1156, and again with Louis of France in 1179. Richard I. sailed hence in 1189 to the Holy Land. Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, was here in 1205 on his way to Rome as Prince John's agent against the Barons.

  • King John assembled on the neighbouring downs in 1212 a force of 60,000 men to prevent a threatened descent of the French, and made on the western heights in 1213 his submission to Rome. The French laid siege to the castle in 1216 in the belief that the capture of it would give them the kingdom, but were forced to retire. Richard de la Wyche, Bishop of Chichester, preached a great crusade against Sicily at Dover in 1253 in presence of the king. Henry III. landed here in 1254, was here again in 1257, and embarked and relanded here at four other times, Richard, king of the Romans, was refused admittance hither by the ruling barons in 1259, and the queen landed here and was met by the kings of England and Germany in 126 6. Edward I. and Queen Eleanor landed here in 1274, and the king sailed hence in 1286, and relanded in 1289. The French burned the town in 1295, but were immediately driven out. Queen Margaret of France landed here in 1299. Edward II. was here in 1303, sailed, hence in 1308 to espouse the Princess Isabella of France, relanded with that " she-wolf" in the same year, and was here again in 1319. Queen Philippa arrived here with a vast retinue in 1327. Edward III. embarked and relanded here in 1329, and again in 1331. The corpse of King John of France was brought hither from London in 1363 for removal to France.

  • A French fleet, after inflicting much injury on Rye, Hastings, and other places in 1377, appeared off Dover during seven days, but was driven away by a storm. Anne of Bohemia, the bride of Richard II., arrived here in 1382, and a sudden sea-tumult, thought to have been caused by an earthquake, occurred at her landing. Richard II. after suffering disasters at sea landed at Dover in 1392, and with the Dukes of York and Gloucester sailed from it in 1398 to make peace with the Duke of Burgundy. The child-queen Isabella, daughter of the Emperor Charles IV., landed and re-embarked here. The Emperor Sigismund arrived here in 1416 to mediate between Henry V. and France, and sailed hence in the same year. Henry V. landed here after a terrible storm two months later in the same year, and again with Catherine of Valois in 1421, and he embarked hence with the forces for his last campaign, and was brought back hither for his funeral obsequies. The Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, embarked and relanded here in 1452, and again in 14GO. Falconbridge and the nucleus of the force with which he marched on London landed here in 1471. Henry VII. embarked here with his army in 1492 to join the Emperor Maximilian in the siege of Boulogne, and relanded in the same year. Henry VIII. went hence in 1513 for the invasion of France and the "Battle of Spurs." The Princess Mary, the bride of Louis XII., arrived in 1514 with Queen Catherine and Anne Boleyn, remained here a month, and went hence to France.

  • The Emperor Charles V. landed here and was met by Henry VIII. in 1520. Henry VIII., with Queen Catherine, went hence in the same year to meet Francis I. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Charles V. was here again in 1522. Cardinal Wolsey went hence in 1527 as an envoy to Francis I. Anne Boleyn embarked, relanded, and was married to the king here in 1529. Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour resided here in the summer of 1537, and Henry was again here in 1538, 1541, and 1544. Erasmus landed here and "was provoked to hurl some fine Latin invective against the extortion of the boatmen. Anne of Cleves was here in 1539. Philip sailed hence in 1555, and was parted then for ever from Mary. Philibert, Duke of Savoy, landed here to pay his addresses to the Princess Elizabeth. The Spanish Armada was watched here by a reserve force, and beaten within sight of the cliffs by the English fleet. Envoys to sue for the hand of Queen Elizabeth in marriage arrived here in 1571, 1572, and 1574. The queen herself was here in 1573, and stayed six days. Henrietta Maria, the bride of Charles I., arrived and was met here by Charles in 1625. Marie de Medicis embarked here in 1641. Queen Henrietta and the Princess Mary sailed hence in 1642, while the king remained on shore long watching their departure. The castle fell into the hands of the Parliamentarians by stratagem in 1642, and remained with them throughout the war in spite of many assaults of the Royalists. Charles II. arrived here at his restoration in 1660, and was again here in the same year to welcome the return of his mother and his sister. Mary D'Este, the bride of James Duke of York, landed and was married here in 1672. James II. in disguise landed here in 1679.

  • The fleet of William of Orange at his accession to the throne passed near the cliffs, and a courier role hence to London to announce its course. A violent earthquake was felt here in 1692. The Duke of Marlborough landed here in 1714. Christian VII. of Denmark landed here in 1768. The notorious Duchess of Kingston sailed hence in an open boat under night in 1776. Louis XVIII., at his restoration in 1814, was entertained here by the Prince Regent, and sailed hence to France. The allied sovereigns arrived here and departed hence in the same year. Marshal Blucher and the Duke of Wellington also landed here. The Persian Ambassador arrived here in 1819, Queen Caroline to claim her royal rights in 1820, and Chateaubriand, the French minister, in 1822. A grand banquet to the Duke of Wellington was given here in 1839. Prince Albert arrived here in 1840. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were here on a, visit in 1842, and landed here after a foreign tour in 1858. The Prince of Wales sailed hence in the latter year, and relanded here. King Leopold has landed here at all his visit& to England. Napoleon III., the Empress Eugene, and Victor Emmanuel landed here in 1855. the Duke of Con-naught resided here, when Prince Arthur in 1872, and in 1883 opened the new town-hall and people's park, which were named after him. In 1893 the Prince of Wales came to lay the foundation stone of the eastern arm of the new harbour.

  • Shakespeare has dramatised several of the events we have noted ; Gray, the poet, mentions Dover ; Lisle Bowles wrote a sonnet on it; Lord Byron alludes to it in some sarcastic lines ; Wordsworth and Mrs Hemans celebrate it in a happier strain ; Dickens gives prominence to it in his " David Cop-perfield. " Dr King, the antiquary, made observations at it in 1744 and 1787; and Cole, the antiquary, visited it in 1735 and 1769. The town gave the title of Earl in 1628 to Henry Carey, fourth Lord Hunston ; of Baron in 1685 to the Hon. Henry Jermyn ; of Duke in 1708 to James Douglas. Earl of Queensberry; of Baron in 1788 to the Hon. Joseph Y^orke; and of Baron again, in 1831, to the Right Hou. George J. W. Ellis.

    Site, and Streets
  • The town occupies the entrance to a fertile vale, part of it overhung by an amphitheatre of chalk cliffs. and spreads thence, beneath the cliffs, along a curving shore. It has brilliant environs of hill and cliff and promontory; presents within itself romantic features ; commands, from its heights, a gorgeous prospect of the surrounding country, and across the straits to France, and is excelled by few towns in England in the mingled beauty and grandeur of its attractions. The walls which anciently engirt it described an irregular triangle, and had several towers. Four gates were on the south side and four on the west side, and the foundations of two of them, Severus Gate on the south and Adrian Gate on the west, remain. The western part of the town, contiguous to the harbour, consists of irregular narrow streets, and is the chief seat of business. The part thence along the shore includes lines of private houses (dates from 1791 and later periods), and is the chief resort of visitors and sea-bathers. The Marine Parade, Liverpool Terrace, and the houses under the East Cliff, were commenced in 1817, Guild-ford Lawn and Clarence Lawn a year or two later, the Esplanade in 1833, Waterloo Crescent in 1834, and Camden Crescent in 1840. Many handsome villas have been erected in the suburbs in recent years and the town much extended. A very progressive policy lias made itself apparent in the widening and improving of thoroughfares, the building of a school of art at a cost of about £10,000, and public baths.

    Public Buildings, &c.
  • The town-hall, opened in 1883, is a fine building of Kentish rag, Bath stone, and flint, erected at a cost of about £19,000. The ancient building was a Maison Dieu, founded by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, in 1227 as a resting-place for strangers and pilgrims, and a belfry-tower of it, the refectory and chapel, part of the north aisle of a crypt, and a north-east sacristy remain. The building for the Dover Museum and Philosophical Institution was erected in 1849, and is a handsome structure. There are concert halls, a theatre, a custom-house, and a sailors"' home. The Gordon Boys' Orphanage was founded in 1884. There are five clubs and a Working Men's Institute. The public park, 23 acres in extent, was opened in 1883. There are several first-class hotels, good boarding-houses, reading-rooms, libraries, baths, and places of recreation. Bathing establishments are on the Marine Parade, bathing machines are on the beach, and bathing-places without machines are very near the town. A handsome promenade pier, 900 feet in length, with a width of 40 feet at entrance and 100 feet at top for the pavilion, was opened in 1893. It is approached from the Marine Parade. Near the Parade is a monument erected to the memory of the officers and men of the 60th Rifles who fell in the Indian Mutiny.

    The Castle and Fortifications.
  • The castle crowns a chalk cliff 320 feet high, about a quarter of a mile north-east of the town, and occupies nearly 35 acres. Its parts are so numerous and complex that a clear idea could scarcely be given without the aid of a ground-plan, and they date variously from Roman, Saxon, Norman, and later times, but have, on the whole, been entirely remodelled since 1780. The castle, in its present state, may, in a general way, be said to consist of an upper and a lower court, defended by deep, broad, dry ditches, with subterranean communications to inner towers. The upper court is surrounded by a strong wall with towers, while the lower is encompassed on all sides, except next the sea, by an irregular wall or curtain, flanked by numerous towers. The entrance is on the south side of the principal tower by a flight of steps, leading by the west side to the house of the governor. The keep is supposed to occupy the site of the Roman pretorium, and has a height, at. the top of its parapet, of 465-8 feet above low water. The subterranean passages are supposed to have been formed in the reign of John. The cliff, with its vast congeries of almost every kind of fortification, looks like a citadel within a town, projects to the shore nearly as a promontory, and must, before the invention of cannon, have been as strong as Gibraltar.

  • Many changes and additions were made in the course of last century and in the early part of the present one to render this stronghold still more secure, and to fit it better for garrisons and for defence. Subterranean apartments, with communications, were formed for the reception of soldiery, and barracks excavated in the solid rock capacious enough to accommodate 2000 men. Fortifications also were erected on formidable heights to the west, which are higher than the keep. Four guard-houses were constructed there, ramparts and lines of defence were raised to defend them, and positions were made for seventy-two pieces of cannon. During the eleven years preceding 1814, likewise, entire regiments of soldiers, companies of miners and engineers, and a large train of masons, artificers, and labourers were continually employed in forming extensive excavations, lines, breast-works, batteries, redoubts, fosses, and all other strong constructions of military defence. Handsome barracks are situated above the town, and have communication with it by means of a military shaft. An arched passage leads to this from Snargate Street, and three spiral flights of 140 steps each, commencing at the extremity of the passage, wind round a large shaft or tower, open at the top to admit light. Above the barracks, on the hill, is the grand redoubt, surrounded by a deep fosse, and on the ridge of the hill, to the south-west of the redoubt, is the citadel, defended by deep ditches and numerous flanking and masked batteries. Lines of communication, either superficial or subterranean, connect all parts of the fortifications, and a military road passes over the hill from Archcliffe Fort to the entrance of the town from Folkestone. Deep wells and curiously-contrived tanks give an ample supply of excellent water; and a military hospital, a handsome edifice, .stands charmingly on the declivity toward the sea. The southern fortifications extend as far as the celebrated Shakespeare Cliff, or Hay Cliff, described in t1 King Lear." This is 350 feet high, almost perpendicular, and somewhat remarkable in form, but is by no means so sublime an object as might be supposed from Shakespeare's description. Additional barracks for 1200 men were erected, at a cost of £60,000, in 1855-56, and a school-church for the garrison was opened in 1858.

  • A curious piece of brass ordnance within the castle walls bears the name of Queen Elizabeth's pocket pistol. It is 24 feet long, is adorned with flowers and emblematical devices, and is said to be capable of carrying a 12-pound shot seven miles. It was cast at Utrecht in 1544, and presented to Henry VIII. by Charles V. A pharos watch-tower to the south of the keep is remarkable both as the only piece of the Roman works of the castle now remaining, and as almost the earliest regular masonry now existing in Great Britain. It forms a conspicuous object for miles around, and during the last 1800 years has served as a landmark to guide the mariner to the shores of England. It consists of a casing of flints and tufa, with bonding-courses of large Roman tiles, filled up in the interior with smaller stones and mortar, and it is octagonal outside and square inside, with walls 10 feet thick and a clear inner space of 14 feet each way; It was used for defence, and underwent alterations in the time of William the Conqueror, was repaired in 1259 by Lord Grey of Codnor, constable of the castle; was allowed afterwards to bear unaided all the abrasion of time and weather, and was at one time used as a government storehouse. The church of St Mary in the Castle, adjoining the pharos, occupies the site of the Roman Sacellum, is ascribed by some antiquaries to the age of the apocryphal King Lucius, or the period of the mission of St Augustine; seems certainly to date, in its oldest portions, from the middle of the 7th century; is chiefly Norman, but contains Saxon parts, has interspersions of Roman bricks and tiles in its walls, and was finely restored in 1862, under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, to be a garrison church. A special document of the time of the Conqueror speaks of " the castle of Dover, with the well of water in it." The position of the well eluded the most diligent investigation till the year 1811, when it was discovered in the keep in the thickness of the north-east wall. The castle has always been considered one of the principal defences of the country, and contains a garrison of about 750 men. Fort Burgoyne, an extensive modern work to the north, now forms the real line of defence on that side.

    Ecclesiastical Affairs.
  • The parishes of St James and St Mary, the chapelries of Trinity and Christ Church, the extra-parochial places of Dover Castle and East Cliffe, and parts of the parishes of Charlton, Hougham, Buckland, and Guston are within Dover borough. Five other parishes, a chapelry, and a priory or collegiate church were formerly within it.

    St James' Church,
  • in St James' Street, at the foot of the Castle Hill, consists of nave, south aisle, and chancel, with low central tower, has a Norman doorway, and contains the ashes of the father and grandfather of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, and a monument to Sir Nathaniel Wraxall. A larger church, to supersede this, in Maison Dieu Road, was built in 1861-63; is in the Decorated English style, of Kentish rag with Bath stone dressings; consists of nave and aisles 94 feet long and 66 feet wide, galleries at the sides, and a chancel 34 feet by 24, with an organ chapel on the south; and has a tower at the north-west angle, with crocketed pinnacles, and surmounted by a fine spire 150 feet high. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury ; value, £460 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. St Mary's Church, in Cannon Street, consists of nave with aisles, a chancel with apse, and a west square tower with octagonal spire; dates from the llth century, but was mainly rebuilt in 1843-44, and contains monumental inscriptions for the actor Foote and the poet Churchill. The living is a vicarage; value, £880, in the gift of the Archbishop, Lord Warden, and Lord Lieutenant. Trinity Church, in Strond Street, was built in 1833 at a cost of £8000. The living is a vicarage; value, £250. Patron, the Archbishop. Christ Church, within Hougham parish, was built in 1844, and is a good structure of nave and aisles, with bell-turret, in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; value, £350, in the gift of Trustees. The church of St Peter and. St Paul, Charlton, is a small building of flint and brick. A magnificent church to supersede this was built of stone in 1893 in close proximity with an entrance to Frith Road. The living is a rectory; value, £300. Patron, Keble College, Oxford. The Church of St Bartholomew is a good stone building in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; value, £195. Patron, Keble College, Oxford. The church of St Andrew is at Buckland. The living is a vicarage; value, £320. There are Wesleyan, Congregational, Baptist, and Unitarian chapels, a Roman Catholic church, Jews synagogue, and a Friends' meeting-house.

    St John Baptist's Church
  • was destroyed in 1537, St Peter's after 1611, St Nicholas in 1836, St Edmund's at some period not noted, Our Lady of Pity's or Archcliffe chapel in 1576. St Martin's-le-Grand Collegiate Church was founded in 691 by King Withred, refounded on a new site behind the market-place by King Henry II., and continued to be used for Divine service till 1528. Ruins of it, comprising the east piers of the central tower, the walls of the choir and its aisles, part of the transept, and the chapterhouse on the south side of the choir, with a portion of the crypt and a belfry, are still standing. Its churchyard contains the tomb of the poet Churchill, and was the place where Lord Byron wrote his well-known lines on one lt who blazed the comet of a season." The priory of St Martin, on the Folkestone Road, nearly opposite Christ Church, was founded in 1132 by Archbishop Corboil; had a large and magnificent church, which has entirely disappeared; made a great figure for a time in opposition to the Archbishops of Canterbury, but was at length subdued by them and became their property; and is now represented by a picturesque decorated principal gateway, and by the guest-house and the refectory, the latter nearly perfect, both very plain but massive, with Norman and Early English features. One of the priors, Ascelyn, became Bishop of Rochester, and another, Eichard, became Archbishop of Canterbury immediately after Thomas a Becket. Suffragan bisliops of Dover existed from 1537 till 1597, and were re-appointed in 1818. Dover College is an excellent boarding school for boys, founded in 1870; and is situated in the pleasant and extensive grounds of the priory. Dover High School for girls was founded in 1888. Aimshouses have existed from time immemorial.

    The South-Eastern railway
  • from Folkestone to Dover was opened in 1844, and excels nearly every other line of equal extent in England in the engineering difficulties which it overcame. The part of it near and at Dover, especially, is very striking. The Abbots Cliff Tunnel is 1940 yards long, goes through hard chalk at a level of 12 feet above high water, and is ventilated by side galleries opening in the face of the cliff. The sea-wall beyond this is three-quarters of a mile long, 23 feet thick at the base, and from 60 to 70 feet high, consists of solid concrete, and is washed on one side by the sea, and overhung on the other by precipitous cliffs from 300 to 400 feet high. The Round Down Level, a space of about 7 acres in the course of the sea-wall, was formed by blasting a mass of chalk 300 feet long, 375 feet high, and 70 feet in mean width; and the blast on one occasion was done by galvanic batteries, with 18,500 Ibs. of gunpowder, making a noiseless explosion which caused the prodigious mass to glide in shattered fragments "like a stream into the sea." The Shakespeare Cliff Tunnel is 1417 yards long, is entered by two pointed parabolic arches, and has two parallel tunnels, each 30 feet by 12, with seven air-shafts and seven lateral outlets to the sea, through which the excavated chalk was discharged. The timber viaduct, close to the town, is 2000 feet long. The tunnel of the L.C .& D.R. from Canterbury passes through the western heights, is 680 yards long, 21^ feet high, and 31 1/4 feet wide, and goes on a level 280 feet below the summit of the hill. Submarine telegraphs go from Dover to Calais and Ostend. The first was originally laid in 1850 to Cape Grisnez, and was the earliest submarine telegraph ever undertaken, but broke in consequence of fretting on a ridge of rocks under the cape, and a successor to it was formed to Sangatte, nearer Calais.

    The Harbour.
  • Dover is the only one of the ancient Cinque ports which has not lost its harbour, and it would long ago have shared the fate of its brethren but for successive large and important government works. Its harbour once extended some way up the valley, but has gradually retreated in consequence of the debris brought down from the hills, and of a shifting bar of shingle. Works were undertaken for it by Henry VIII., which included an enormous pier, and cost £80,000. Fresh works were commenced by Elizabeth, and continued by James I., which cost great sums, and kept the harbour open. New works or reconstructions were done in 1737-79 at a cost of £22,000. The harbour at present includes the pent or inner harbour, 11^ acres in extent, with an entrance 60 feet wide, the basin or middle harbour 3^ acres, and the outer harbour 7 1/4 acres. The inner dock was enlarged, deepened, and reopened for traffic in 1874. A wet dock and a graving dock are on the west side; a dry dock and basin are to the south of the outer harbour; a quay, constructed in 1841, and admitting vessels of 200 tons, goes 400 feet along the lower side of the pent, and 431 feet on the south-east; a commercial quay, formerly called pent-side, was formed in 1834; an addition of 4 acres to the outer harbour, enclosed by quays, was made in 1844; and a sea-wall, commencing at the north pier-head, and continued along Waterloo Crescent and the Esplanade, was built in 1850. The entrance of the harbour between the piers is 150 feet wide, and has a depth of from 14 to 18 feet of water. A harbour of refuge, immediately outside and eastward, was commenced in 1847. The first portion of the Admiralty pier, which forms the western arm of the harbour, 800 feet long, 90 feet broad at the base, 60 feet broad at the top, and commanding 10 feet of water at the lowest tide, was constructed in 1848-51. A second portion was begun in 1854, and occupied nearly thirty years. It is considered one of finest examples of sea-work in the world. The total cost was nearly £1,000,000. Two 81-ton guns were placed at the end of the pier in 1882. The works sustained considerable injury from furious storms in 1850 and 1855, yet continued substantially progressing, and meanwhile did valuable service in stopping the passage of beach which had so often choked the old harbour. In 1893 the Dover Harbour Board commenced the construction of the eastern arm, in order to provide a purely commercial harbour of ample dimensions, and it is expected that it will be completed in about seven years. The new works comprise eastern arm, landing jetties, and Admiralty pier extension. The eastern arm, at a cost of £414,000, is to contain a length of 1260 feet of ironwork, beyond which stonework extends to the distance of 1500 feet. The depth of water at entrance at lowest tides will be 40 feet, and the area 60 acres, while the estimated cost is £600,000.

    Trade, &C.
  • Dover has a head post office, two banks, maintains fully its old character as the chief point of England's communication with the Continent, figures as the head of the Cinque ports with a body of 56 pilots for the Channel service, and publishes four weekly newspapers. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and apart from that connected with the mail and packet service to the Continent,. the trade carried on is chiefly in shipbuilding, sail-making, rope-making, corn-grinding, and the supply of ships' stores.

  • Dover was chartered by Edward I., is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The limits of the municipal and parliamentary boroughs are co-extensive. The area is 1256 acres ; population, 33,300. The parliamentary borough returned two members to the House of Commons until the passing of the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,. which reduced the number to one. The number of vessels registered as belonging to Dover in 1893 was 47 (3783 tons). The entries and clearances each average 4200' (960,000 tons) per annum. The customs revenue in 1893' was £54,160.

    D7 Dover St. James
    D8 Dover St. Mary
    D9 Dover St. Mary In The Castle

  • D10 Dunkirk
  • Dunkirk, formerly an extra-parochial district in Kent, 2 1/2 miles NE of Selling station on'the L.C. & D.R., and 4^ W by N of Canterbury. Post town, Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Boughton. Acreage, 5338; population, 813. The land formerly was part of Blean Forest, and a large portion of it now belongs to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The name Dunkirk was first given to it about the middle of last century by a body of squatters who took free or forcible possession of the land, and who became notable for smuggling practices. Many of the persons implicated in the extraordinary outbreak of 1838, connected with Sir William Cour-tenay or Thorns, were inhabitants of Dunkirk. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £300. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is a flint structure with a tower, and was built after the outbreak of 1838; it was enlarged in 1872.

  • D11 Dymchurch
  • Dymchurch, a parish in Kent, on the coast, 4 miles NE of New Romney, and 5^ SSW of Westenhanger station on the S.E.B. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Folkestone. Acreage, 1228 of land and 386 of tidal water and foreshore ; population of the civil parish, 560 ; of the ecclesiastical, 629. The surface is all on the level of Romney Marsh, and, together with the rest of that low tract, is protected from sea-inundation only by means of Dymchurch wall. This is an embankment about 4 miles long, about 20 feet high, and from 15 to 30 feet wide, with three sluicegates for drainage, and is kept in repair by a local rate, under management of a local body. Much damage was done to the wall in the severe gales of 1894, and the inhabitants petitioned the authorities to construct groynes of other material, and thus render the flooding of the marshes practically impossible. During some alterations on the embankment, relics of the Mediaeval and the Saxon times were obtained, and a quantity of Roman pottery. The living is a rectory united in 1868 with Eastbridge, Blackmanstone, and Orgarswick, in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £192 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is old. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels, a working men's institute, and some large charities. A pleasure fair is held on the last Saturday in Whitsun week.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - E-F

  • E1 East Barming
  • Barming, or East Barming, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway, 2 1/4 miles WSW of Maidstone, and 38 from London. Railway stations, Barming, on the L.C. & D.R., 2 miles distant; East Farleigh, on the S.E.R., in the parish, It has a post and money order office of the name of Barming under Maidstone; telegraph office, East Farleigh station. Acreage, 760; population, 677. Hops and fruit are richly cultivated, and Kentish rag is quarried. Roman remains have been found near the church. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £330 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church, dating from the Norman period, and containing some remarkable oak stalls, is picturesquely situated by some fine elms, above the river. It was restored in 1850 and 1872. Mark Noble the antiquary was rector, and Christopher Smart the poet was a resident.

  • Eastchurch,
  • a hamlet and a parish in Kent. The hamlet lies on Hensbrook, on the north side of Sheppey Isle, 5 miles E by S of Queenborough station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 from Sheerness. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sheerness. The parish comprises 7006 acres of land and 954 of tidal water and foreshore; population, 854. Shurland manor here belonged to a family of its own name before the time of Henry III.; passed in 1323 to the Cheneys, and went afterwards to the Herberts. A mansion was built on it in the time of Henry VIII. with materials from Chilham Castle, and is now a farmhouse. Eastchurch living is a rectory and a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury ; value, £650. The church is Perpendicular English, has a conspicuous tower, belonged early to the Cistercian convent of the Dunes in Flanders, and was transferred to Box-ley Abbey in Kent. It was well restored in 1871 and 1872. There are Primitive Methodist and Wesleyan chapels.

  • E2 East Bridge

  • E3 East Farleigh
  • Farleigh, East, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Medway, 2 miles SW of Maid-stone, and has a station on the S.E.R., 41 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maid-stone. The parish comprises 1967 acres; population of the civil parish, 1611; of the ecclesiastical, 1436. The manor belonged at Domesday to the Archbishop of Canterbury. East Farleigh was the residence in his closing years of William Wilberforce, whose two sons were vicars of the parish. Hops of prime quality are extensively grown. A quondam hop-grower here, called James Ellis, began life in a. humble way, and left such a wealth of hop-farms at his death, that the poles alone were said to be worth £70,000. A picturesque ancient bridge, with ribbed arches, here spans the Medway. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £500 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church has some traces of Norman, but is chiefly Late Decorated English, and has a handsome spire." It was restored in 1891 by Mr Herbert Ellis of the priory as a memorial to his father. There are union workhouse schools within the parish.

  • E4 East Langdon
  • Langdon, East, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands half a mile from Martin Mill station on the Dover and Deal railway. The parish contains also the hamlet of Martin. It has a post office under Dover; money order and telegraph office, St Margaret-at-Cliffe. Acreage, 1085; population, 321. Lord Northboume is lord of the manor. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, s£120 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Guilford. The church, dedicated to St Augustine, is principally Norman of the early 12th century, and has a tower. It has a leper window, an old wrought-iron hourglass, a fine cope of mediaeval embroidery, and is of great interest to the archaeologist. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel.

  • E5 East Malling

  • E6 East Peckham

  • E7 East Sutton
  • Sutton, East, a parish in Kent, 3 1/2 miles N of Headcorn station on the S.E.R. Post town, Staplehurst; money order and telegraph office, Sutton Valence. Acreage, 1596; population, 336. There is a parish council consisting of five members. East Sutton Park is the chief residence. The living is a vicarage, annexed to Sutton Valence. The church is old and interesting.

  • E8 Eastchurch

  • E9 Eastling
  • Eastling, a parish in Kent, 4 1/2 miles SW of Faversham town and station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office under Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Dod-dington. Acreage, 1934; population, 433. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £417 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Winchelsea. The church is good.

  • E10 Eastry
  • Eastry, a village, a parish, and a hundred in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles SW by S of Sandwich station on the S.E.R., was once a market town belonging to Canterbury priory, was previously a seat of the Saxon kings, who had a palace at it, and has now a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover, a fair on 2 Oct., a church, a Wesleyan chapel, a workhouse, a cottage hospital, and some large charities. The church is chiefly Early English, but has Norman portions, -and contains monuments of the Botelers, the Paramors, the Harveys, and the Bargraves; it was restored in 1860. The parish contains also Heronden, Selson, Gower, Statenborough, -znd Felderland. Acreage, 2733 ; population, 1343. Court Lodge belonged to the Bargraves, and was the hiding-place of Becket for some days before his flight to France. Some ancient remains are at Statenborougli; and a remarkable excavation, winding to a great depth through a chalk strata, is in the vicinity of Eastry village. The living is a vicarage in .the diocese of Canterbury; value, £198 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

  • E11 Eastwell
  • Eastwell, a parish in Kent, 3 miles W by N of Wye station on the S.E.R., and 3 N by E of Ashford; post, money order, and telegraph office, Ashford. Acreage, 896 ; population of the civil parish, 125 ; of the ecclesiastical, 696. The manor belonged anciently to a family of its own name, but passed to successively the families of Hales, Moyle, Finch, Heneage, Hat-ton, and Gerard. Eastwell Park, the seat of the Gerard family, formerly a residence of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, has a modern mansion by Bononi, on the site of one built by Sir Thomas Moyle in the time of Henry VIII., extends beyond the parish so far as to include about 2500 acres, and both presents fine scenery within itself, and commands very brilliant exterior views. Richard, the last of the Plantagenets, a natural son of Richard III., took refuge in Eastwell after the battle of Bosworth; worked here as a mason till identified and relieved by Sir Thomas Moyle, and then built a small house in which he lived and died, and which was demolished towards the end of the 17th century. A modern building marks the site of the house, and a spring near this is called PIantagenet's Well. The living is a rectory, with Boughton Aluph annexed, in the diocese of Canterbury; joint value, £463 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Winchelsea. The church is ancient but good, consists of nave, aisle, and two chancels, with square embattled tower, and contains a massive table monument to Sir Moyle Finch and his wife the Countess of Winchelsea, and also a worn ancient tomb, without inscription, supposed by some to be the tomb of Richard PIantagenet, but appearing to others to be of earlier date. In the register there is an -entry of the death of Richard PIantagenet, and also the Solemn League and Covenant, the Protestation, the Vow and Covenant 1642-43, with the original signatures of some parishioners.

  • E12 Ebony
  • Ebony, a parish in Kent, 3 miles W of Appledore station on the S.E.R., and 3^ SE of Tenterden. It has a post office under Tenterden money order and telegraph office, Apple- dore. Acreage, 2215; population, 174. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Appledore, in the diocese of Canterbury; joint value, £2 20. The church, known as Ebony Chapel, was restored in 1894. Eboracum. See YORK.

  • E13 Egerton
  • Egerton, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the verge of the Weald, 3 1/4 miles N of Pluckley station on the S.E.R., and 8 WNW of Ashford, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. The parish comprises 2786 acres; population, 795. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £282 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. The church has a conspicuous tower. There is a Baptist chapel.

  • E14 Elham
  • Elham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour, 6 miles NNE of Hythe, and has a station on the S.E.R., 71 miles from London. It has a post and. money order office under Canterbury; telegraph office, at the station. Acreage, 6599 ; population, 1225. The manor belonged at the Conquest to the Earl of Ewe, and passed through the Leybournes and others to the Oxendens. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £350 with residence. Patron, Merton College, Oxford, under nomination by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early and Later English. There are a Wesleyan chapel and an endowed., school. There are large brick works.

  • E15 Elmley

  • E16 Elmsted

  • E17 Elmstone
  • Elmstone, a parish in Kent, near the river Stour, 3 miles S of Grove Ferry station on the S.E.R., and 2 1/4 NNE of Wingham. Post town, Sandwich; money order office, Wing-ham ; telegraph office, Grove Ferry. Acreage, 439 ; population, 74. Elmstone Court is a chief residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £200 with residence. The church was thoroughly repaired in 1878.

  • E18 Ewell
  • Ewell, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands in a vale a quarter of a mile from Kearsney station on the L.C. & D.R., and near the source of the river Dour, 3 miles NW of Dover. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover. Acreage, 1602; population, 566. The manor belonged as early as 1185 to the Knights Templars, and it had a commandery of theirs on an eminence about a mile from the village. Portions of the building remained till near the middle of the 18th century, and they occasioned both the village and the parish to be sometimes called Temple Ewell. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £137 with residence, and 54 acres of glebe. The church is small, but good.

  • E19 Eythorne

  • F1 Fairfield
  • Fairfield, a parish in Kent, near the military canal, 2 1/2 miles SSE of Appledore station on the S.E.R., and 6^ WNW of New Romney. Post town, Appledore, under Staplehurst. Acreage, 1206 ; population, 60. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury, united with Brookland; value, £300. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is a brick building.

  • F2 Faversham
  • Faversham, a town, a municipal borough, and a parish in Kent. The town stands on Watling Street, on a navigable creek of the river Swale, adjacent to the junction of the Margate railway with the L.C. & D.R., opposite the SE curve of Sheppey Isle, 9 miles WNW of Canterbury, and 48 from London. It was known to the Saxons as Favresfield, and to the Normans as Favreshant. It was a seat of the Saxon kings in 811, and the meeting-place of a wittenagemot, under Athelstan, in 930. It acquired much consequence from the founding of an abbey at it by Stephen and Matilda in 1147-49. It was visited by Henry VIII. in 1519, 1522, and 1545; by his sister Mary in 1515, by Elizabeth in 1573, by Charles II. in 1660, by James II. in 1688, when he was endeavouring to escape to France, and when he was seized by the sailors. The town consists of spacious and well-paved streets, but may be said to include the suburbs of Preston, Davington, and Ospringe. Its chief public buildings are a guildhall, a custom-house, an assembly room, a literary institute, a workmen's club, a cottage hospital, a parish church, several dissenting chapels, a grammar school, national schools, almshouses, and a workhouse. The guildhall stands in the centre of the town, and is supported upon pillars, and partly timbered. The assembly room stands, in Preston Street, and was built in 1848. The literary institute comprises lecture-room, reading-room, museum, and class-rooms, and was opened in 1862. The church' is cruciform, occupies the site of an ancient Saxon one, has at different times been entirely remodelled, has been subjected to thorough restoration, ' is chiefly Early English, of much size and great beauty, but has debased Corinthian character in its nave, has also a curious western tower of about the year 1800, and contains a very fine modern font of alabaster and serpentine, a number of interesting Early English paintings, three sedilia with detached pilasters, a richly-canopied Later English altar-tomb, another tomb with decorated canopy, alleged to be the tomb of King Stephen, a brass of Henry Hatche of 1533, who was a great benefactor to the town, and a mural monument of Thomas Mendfield. There were formerly in. the church a chapel of Thomas of Canterbury, and altars of Erasmus, Crispin, and Crispina. These altars were much frequented by devotees, and the persons or reputed saints to whom they were dedicated were locally held in high veneration. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £460 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. There is a chapel of ease in connection with the church opened in 1885. The abbey stood on ground now called Abbey Farm, was commonly called St Saviour's of Faversham, was first Cluniac, afterwards Benedictine, was the burial-place of King Stephen, his queen Matilda, their son Eustace, and many noble personages; held such rank that its abbots in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward II. sat in thirteen several Parliaments, was given at the. dissolution to Sir Thomas Cheney, and sold afterwards to Thomas Arden, the subject of a tragedy printed in 1592, is now represented only by foundations and part of a boundary wall. A Congregational chapel was built in 1865 at a cost of £3000, and is in the Second Pointed style. A mission church was erected in 1872, and a Baptist chapel in 1873. The grammar school was founded in 1527 for novices in the abbey, passed at the dissolution to the Crown, was regranted by Elizabeth, and is now managed under a scheme proposed by the Charity Commissioners. A row of almshouses, under a new scheme for the administration of Wreight's charity, was erected in 1863, includes a chapel, and cost upwards of £11,500. The income of the borough charities is over £3000. There are also some parochial charities, and there is on the E side of the town a recreation ground of 20 acres. The workhouse can accommodate 500 inmates.
  • The town has a head post office, two banks, and four chief inns; is a member of Dover Cinqufr port, and publishes two weekly newspapers. Markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday, and fairs on Oct. 11 and two following days. A considerable trade in corn, hops, fruit, and wool is carried on. The growth of madder, in the vicinity and at Dartford, was introduced in 1660. An extensive oyster fishery dates from remote times, and belongs to a " company of free fishermen and dredgermen" of the hundred of Faversham. An extensive manufacture of cement employs a large number of persons. Gunpowder mills were established adjacent to the town before the time of Elizabeth, exploded with dreadful effects in 1781, were rebuilt at some distance from their former site, and are now among the most important in the kingdom. An ancient quay, called the Thorn, and mentioned by Leiand, was long ago relinquished, and three new quays now in use are close to the town. The creek at the harbour has about 12 feet of water at ordinary spring tides, and the navigation of it has been improved at a cost of upwards of £30,000. Faversham is a limb of the Cinque ports. The number of vessels registered as belonging to it in 1893 was 235 (20,642 tons). The entries and clearances average 9300 (435,000 tons) per annum. The exports consist chiefly of country produce, and the imports are chiefly timber, iron, pitch, and tar, from Sweden and Norway, and coals from Sunderland. Faversham is a borough by prescription, had numerous charters, and is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. Population of the municipal borough, 10,478. Acreage of the civil parish, 2282; population, 10,660; of the ecclesiastical, 10,550. Hamo de Faversham, Simon de Faversham, Wilson the musician, and Bishop Herbert Marsh, were natives. Some curious chalk caverns with columns are in the neighbourhood, and were thought by Camden to be excavations by the ancient Britons, for chalk dressing.
  • Faversham Parliamentary Division, or North-Eastern Kent, was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 69,345. The division includes the following:- Faversham-Badlesmere Bapchild, Bobbing, Borden, Bough-ton-under-Blean, Bredgar, Buckland (near Faversham), Dav-ington, Doddington, Dunkirk, Eastchurch, Eastling, Elmley, Faversham (the part in the county), Goodnestone-next-Faversham, Graveney, Halstow (Lower), Hartlip, Harty (St Thomas), Hernhill, Iwade, Kingsdown, Leaveland, Leysdown, Linsted, Luddenham, MUstead, Milton-next-Sittingboume, Minster-in-Sheppy,' Murston, Newington-next-Sittingbourne. Newnham, Norton, Oare, Ospringe (part of), Preston-next-Faversham, Eainham, Redmersham, Selling, Sheldwicb, Sit-tingbourne, Stalisfield, Stone-next-Faversham, Teynham. Throwley, Tonge, Tunstall, Upchurch, Warden; Faversham, municipal borough; Queensborough, corporate town.

  • F3 Folkestone
  • Folkestone, a seaport town and parish, a municipal and (in conjunction with Hythe) a parliamentary borough in Kent. The town stands on the coast, and has stations on the S.E.R., 70 miles from London, 6^ WSW of Dover, and 15 SSE of Canterbury. Acreage of the civil parish, 2482; population, 23,905; of the ecclesiastical, 23,216; of the municipal borough, 23,711. For municipal purposes the town is divided into three wards, and is governed by a corporation consisting of mayor, 4 aldermen, and 14 councillors. Its name was written Folcestane by the Saxons, Fulchestan in Domesday Book, and has been regarded as a corruption of variously Fulke's town, signifying " the town of Fulke," Folkh'-stane, signifying "the fairies' rock," and Flos-stane, signifying (t the break in the rock." Its site is a congeries of cliffs and hillocks, such as to have induced Thomas Ingoldsby to say-" Rome stood on seven hills, Folkestone seems to have been built on seventy." Folkestone Hill is 575 feet high, and commands a fine view of the town, and a rich and extensive prospect over coast and sea. A ridge of cliffs, overhanging a coast road, extends on the one hand to Sand-gate, another ridge of cliffs extends on the other hand all the way to Dover, and these cliffs, besides affording very fine sea views, command in clear weather a distinct prospect of the French coast. The original town was known to the Romans, but has disappeared beneath the-waves, and even the succeeding town dates from remote times, but suffered such ravages by the Danes and the French, and has at different times sustained such damage by the beating of the billows, that it now presents far fewer ancient remains than might have been expected from its antiquity. Roman coins and bricks have been found, pieces of Saxon arms and pottery also have been found, but the extant ancient remains consist merely of traces of building, and can be observed only as shapeless fragments embodied in walls- A Roman watch-tower is believed to have stood on a cliff a short distance S of the present parish church ; a castle was built on the same site, about the year 630,. by Eadbald, king of Kent; a nunnery was founded within the castle by Eanswith, daughter of King Eadbald was ravaged by the Danes, and was afterwards replaced by a Benedictine priory; another castle, for a fortress, was built on the same site, by the Avranches de Abrincis, who became lords of the manor soon after the Norman Conquest; but all these structures, and the very cliff on which they stood, have been swept away by the sea. Part of the area which they occupied is marked by the present Bail-a name corrupted from ballium; a reservoir here, called the Bail Pond is supplied from a spring which St Eanswith is fabled to have brought hither by a miracle, and a reach of ancient wall still standing on the E side may perhaps be Norman. The Benedictine priory was rebuilt on another site, at a distance of 560 yards, was made a cell to Lonlay Abbey in Normandy, and served for a time to maintain the previous importance of the town by attracting devotees; some slight traces of building, supposed to indicate its site,. are still observable in the parsonage garden. Great ruins of a solemn old nunnery," are mentioned by Leiand as existing in his time; and Roman tiles are said by another writer to have been traceable among these ruins, but all these, both walls and tiles, have vanished. The town, at Domesday, had five churches, and was an honour held by Nigel de Mundeville; but, in spite of its continuing to possess the attraction of Eanswith's priory, it appears to have declined, and after the Reformation it sank into obscurity till toward the end of the 18th century, when it came into notice as a fishing town. But, by the opening of the railway to it, by consequent improvements on its harbour, by the constituting of it a packet station to Boulogne, and by the discovery of its position and environs as eminently suited for seabathing quarters, it has undergone vast change, and is now one of the most frequented and fashionable watering-places on the south-east coast.

  • F4 Fordwich
  • Fordwich, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour, adjacent to Sturry station on the S.E.R., 2 miles ENE of Canterbury; was known at Domesday as Forewich, shows marks of great antiquity, is a member of Sandwich cinque port and a seat of sessions, and gives the title of Viscount to Earl Cowper. In the sessions house there is a list of names of the succession of mayors from 1210 to 1886. There are also the old ducking stool, two oak drums, a very ancient chest with iron bands, containing town records, jurats' table, and bar of justice. The post office is under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Sturry. Acredge, 465; population, 249. The Stour was formerly tidal to this point, and Fordwich was then a port visited by sea-borne ships, and had extensive fisheries. The trout in its vicinity have always been famous, and are noted by Fuller as differing, in many considerable properties, from all other trout. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, gross value, £161 with residence. Patron, Earl Cowper. The church is of the 13th century, and comprises two aisles and a chancel, and a steeple with four bells, is in good condition, and contains a curious Saxon tomb and font, some brasses, the earliest found dated 1570, and some hatchments.

  • F5 Frinsbury
  • Frindsbury, a village and a parish in Kent. The village is suburban to Strood, stands on the Medway Canal, adjacent to the river Medway and to Strood station on the S.E.R., 1 mile N of Rochester, and was known to the Saxons as Esling-ham. It has a post and money order office under Rochester; telegraph office, Rochester. Acreage of the civil parish, 3083; population, 5060; of the ecclesiastical, 2338. The manor was given in the 8th century by King Offa to the see of Rochester. Upnor Castle here was erected by Queen Elizabeth to defend the passage of the Medway; beat off the Dutch in 1677 in their attempt to go up the river; comprises an oblong centre building and two round towers at the end, all encompassed by a moat; was for some time used as a powder magazine, and has been converted into barracks. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £350. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The church stands, on an eminence with a fine view; dates from the latter part of the llth century, and has a tower with octagonal spire. It was well restored in 1884. There is a Wesleyan chapel in St Mary's Strood, but in the civil parish of Frinds-bury, in which also are the church and vicarage house of St Mary, Strood.

  • F6 Frinsted
  • Frinsted, a parish in Kent, 3 1/4 miles NE of Hollingbourne, and 3 miles from Lenham station on the L.C. & D.R. It has. a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Doddington. Acreage, 1290 ; population of the civil parish, 153; of the ecclesiastical, 201. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £140 with residence. The church is Early Norman, and was repaired and enlarged in 1862.

  • F7 Frittenden
  • Frittenden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 miles from Headcorn station on the S.E.R., and 4 NNE of Cranbrook, with a post and money order office under Staplehurst; telegraph office, Staplehurst. Acreage, 3509 ; population, 974. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £232 with residence. The present church was rebuilt in 1847-48, on the lines of the former building of the 14th century.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - G-I

  • Garlinge
  • a place 1 1/2 mile SW of Margate, in Kent, with a post office under Margate.

  • G1 Gillingham
  • Gillingham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Medway, 1 1/2 mile NE of Chatham. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Chatham, and a station (New Brompton) on the L.C. & D.R. Acreage of civil parish, 4317 ; population, 27,872; of ecclesiastical, 9676. Gillingham was known to the Saxons as Gillinga, and at Domesday as Gelyngeham; had once a palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury; was a, market-town in the time of Edward II., and in later times, and, prior to the rise of Chatham, was an important station of the royal navy. The Danes made frequent descents on the village, and 600 noblemen who came in the retinae of Edward and Alfred were slain here by Earl Godwin. A fort was erected in the northwestern vicinity by Charles I. for protecting the dockyard, and it was afterwards enlarged and took the name of Gillingham Castle. It has been demolished to make room for the dockyard extensions. The parish includes also part of the town of Brompton, lies partly within the borough of Chatham, and contains Brompton barracks, St Mary's barracks, garrison hospital, and several other public institutions. The manor belonged to the Archbishops of Canterbury from a time prior to the Conquest. Much of the land is disposed in hop grounds and famous cherry gardens. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Eochester; value, £180 with residence. The church has characters from Early English to Perpendicular; exhibited for many years indications of having been a very fine edifice treated with neglect; consists of nave, aisle, chancel, and two side chapels with a west square tower; once possessed in a niche over the porch an image of (t Our Lady of Gillingham," much visited by pilgrims, and was variously restored and rebuilt so as to be completely altered in 1869. The vicarage of Brompton is a separate benefice, as also St Mark's, New Brompton, which is in the gift of the Vicar of Gellingham. The church of St Bamabas, which has become a separate ecclesiastical parish, was consecrated in 1890. The living is a vicarage. Patron, the Bishop. There is a fair on Easter Monday. William de Gillingham, the author of a history of Britain, and William Adams, the discoverer of Japan, were natives.

  • G2 Godmersham
  • Godmersham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour, 2 miles SSW of Chilham station on the S.E.R., and 6 NE by N of Ashford; was once a market-town, and has a post office under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Chilham. Acreage of parish, 3106; population, 329. Godmersham Park belonged formerly to the Valoigns, the Astyns, and the Broadnaxes; and has richly-wooded grounds. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £140 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church belonged to the prior and monks of Canterbury; had a chantry, and, having become much dilapidated, has been entirely restored. The prior's residence was built in the time of Richard II., and still exists.

  • G3 Goodnestone (Canterbury)

  • G4 Goodnestone (Faversham)
  • Goodnestone, a parish in Kent, 1 mile from Graveney station on the L.C. & D.R., and 2 miles E of Faversham. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Faversham. Acreage of Goodnestone, 341; population, 78. The living is a rectory, united with the vicarage of Graveney, in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient, but has been restored.

  • G5 Goudhurst
  • Goudhurst, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on a hill, near the river Theise, 5 miles WNW of Cranbrook, and has a station on the Cranbrook and Paddock Wood branch of the S.E.R.; was formerly a seat of the clothing trade and a market-town, and has now a post, money order, and telegraph office (S.O.), under Staplehurst, and a news-room. The parish comprises 9798 acres; population of the civil parish, 2734; of the ecclesiastical, 1858. Goudhurst Hill has an altitude of 491 feet, forms part of a range about 3 miles long, and is skirted on the W by the river Tees. Bedgebury Park was long the residence of the Bedgeburys; passed to the Colepepers, the Stephensons, the Cartiers, and the Beresfords. Combwell was once a priory, and afterwards the residence of the Campions. Finchcocks belonged to the Finchcock family in the time of Henry III., and the present mansion was built by the Bathursts in 1725. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £320 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church stands on a lofty site, commands from its tower an extensive and noble view, is itself a fine edifice, and contains many monuments of the Colepepers and the Campions. There are Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, Baptist, and Roman Catholic chapels, an endowed school, and other charities.

  • Grange
  • an extra-parochial township in Kent, on the river Medway, 1 mile E of the New Brompton station on the L.C. & D.R., and 2 1/2 miles ENE of Chatham. It is a member of the cinque port of Hastings, and it belonged to the Hastings, Philipott, and Bamines families. Acreage, 256; population, 179. A small chapel in Perpendicular architecture was built here by Sir John Philipott in the time of Richard II., and is now in ruins.

  • G6 Graine

  • G7 Graveney
  • Graveney, a parish in Kent, with a station on the L.C. & D.R., 50 miles from London, and 3 ENE of Fav-ersham. It has a post office under Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Faversham. Acreage, 2229; population, 266. The manor belonged from 811 to the Archbishops of Canterbury, and figured at Domesday as theirs. The living is a vicarage, united to the rectory of Good-nestone, in the diocese of Canterbury; joint value, o£290 with residence. The church is Early English, with interesting features, and has a Decorated English altar-tomb and a very fine brass of 1436.

  • G8 Gravesend
  • Gravesend, a town, a parliamentary and municipal borough, and a parish in Kent. The town stands on the river Thames, opposite Tilbury fort, and has stations on the L.C. & D.R., S.E.R., and London and Tilbury railway, 24 miles from London. The area of the municipal borough is 1256 acres; of the parliamentary, 3141 acres; population of the municipal borough, 23, 876; of the parliamentary, 35, 079. The Thames here is more than half a mile wide, and has a depth at low water of about 48 feet, and it begins to expand below, forming there the Hope, the last of its many reaches; yet it is supposed by some writers, for reasons of merely fancied changes of depth of channel, to have been forded at Higham, about a mile lower down, in the year 43, by Aulus Plautins, the lieutenant of Claudius. A rising ground occupied by the town is the nearest one to the sea on the river's bank, and to some extent commands the passage. Only a hytbe or landing-place was here at Domesday, but this bore the name of Gravesham, or the town of the grave, graef, or chief magistrate-seemingly an allusion to its being at the extremity of the jurisdiction of the chief magistrate of London-and that name has become corrupted into the modern one, Gravesend. The place belonged to Bishop Odo, and passed to successively the Cremilles, the Uffords, St Mary's Abbey, and the Earls of Darnley. A town of some consequence appears to have risen soon after the Conquest. The watermen of Gravesend so early as 1293 possessed exclusive right of ferry between this place and London. The French and Spaniards in 1380 burned and plundered the town, and carried off most of its inhabitants, and a grant of increased privileges of ferry was given to it by Richard II. to enable it to retrieve its losses. Outward-bound ships from about the 15th century lay here to complete their cargoes; early voyagers, as Sebastian Carbot in 1553, and Martin Frobisher in 1576, assembled here their little fleets, and the magistrates and city companies of London received here all distinguished strangers arriving by water, and conducted them hence in state up the river. William III. embarked here for Holland in 1691, and George L landed here.
  • The town suffered much damage by fire in 1727, and again to the estimated amount of £100, 000 in 1850. But the rebuildings which followed, and especially extensions and ornamentations consequent on great influx of visitors and residents from London, have wonderfully improved its appearance. The aspect of it as seen from the river is varied and pleasing, and the aspect within, after the interior has been seen, is not disappointing. The lower part, indeed, consists chiefly of narrow streets, but the upper part, on Windmill Hill, has fine ranges of houses, and the exterior parts, especially in the direction of Milton, have handsome squares and terraces. Windmill Hill takes name from a pristine mill erected on it in the time of Edward IIL, and commands a magnificent and extensive view. The Terrace gardens, on the site of what was called the Blockhouse Fort, and formed at a cost of about £20, 000, comprise beautiful walks and shrubberies, and are a favourite promenade. The Rosherville gardens, on what was previously a barren tract of chalk pits, on the estate of an enterprising person of the name of Jeremiah Rosher, are highly picturesque grounds of about 18 acres, constantly open for a small admission fee, and possessing a rich combination of attractions, variously natural and artificial. Abundant lodging-houses, salubrious air, cheap living, good bathing appliances, the stir on the river, fine rambling grounds in the neighbourhood, and ready communication by steamer and by railway with London, also draw hither a great and constant concourse of visitors. Gravesend now possesses three lines of railway-viz., the South-Eastern, London and Tilbury, and London, Chatham and Dover, running together nearly 150 trains per day to and from London, at very cheap fares.
  • The town-hall in High Street was built in 1836, is a substantial Doric edifice, and was considerably enlarged and improved in 1882; it has a market-place beneath. The county court-house is a building of stone, erected in 1871. The assembly rooms, in Harmer Street, were built in 1842 at a cost of £3000, and have a fine Ionic portico. A Jubilee clock tower, 80 feet high, and costing over, £1000, was erected in 1887. The baths, a little W of the town, are an extensive range of building, and contain hot, cold, and vapour baths. Three piers are at Rosherville, the town, and the terrace, and they seem fully required to accommodate the crowded passenger traffic with the steamers. The town pier was formed in 1834, leads up to High Street, belongs to the corporation, consists of cast-iron, and was covered in and altered in 1854 for the uses of the Tilbury railway ferry. The terrace pier connects with Harmer Street and Windmill Hill, was erected in 1845 at a cost of £9200 by a joint-stock company, and projects on twenty-two cast-iron columns 250 feet into the river. The Thames and Medway Canal, or Gravesend and Rochester Canal, 7 1/2 miles long, and completed in 1824, began in the Thames at Gravesend, and terminated in the Medway near Rochester Bridge; was designed to shorten the navigation to the Medway very greatly for small craft; but proved unsuccessful, was eventually purchased by the North Kent railway company, and was in part adopted for their line-of railway. A battery or fort is on the E side of the town. An addition to the Hut barracks, comprising officers' quarters, offices, an hospital, stores, and workshops, was erected near the end of 1861 at a cost of, £15, 000. The parish church was twice burnt down, and the present one was built in 1731 at a cost of £5000, and is a plain brick edifice with stone groins. St James' Church in London Road is a Gothic structure of 1851. Holy Trinity Church was built in 1845 at a cost of £4539; a fine organ was placed in it in 1885. Milton Parish Church is Late Decorated English, has a fine square tower, and contains well-designed sedilia, and interesting corbels of the original roof. Christ's Church, Milton,. is a Gothic edifice of 1854. The Congregational chapel in Prince's Street dates from 1717, but has been restored. The-Roman Catholic chapel in Milton Road was built in 1834 at a cost of £7000. There are also Baptist, Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodist chapels. A Jewish synagogue was erected in 1880, and a Presbyterian church in 1870. Var-chell's free school, founded previous to 1703 and endowed, was rebuilt in 1835, and then united to national schools. The ragged schools were built in 1864, and are a substantial brick structure of two storeys, 55 feet long and 23 wide. A branch of the Sailor's Home was opened in 1886, and is a fine brick edifice. The Children's Home, Parrock Hall, Milton, opened ill 1875, is a spacious building standing in 20 acres of land, and is capable of receiving 160 boys. There is a literary institute with a library. Pinnock's almsbouses were founded in 1624, and rebuilt in the Tudor style in 1836,. and have an endowed income. Tha new Thames Yacht Clubhouse is on the Clifton Marine Parade, and is a fine building. There is a Conservative club.
  • The town has a head post office, two banks, and a number ot hotels and inns; is a coastguard station and a sub-port to London, whose jurisdiction ends here; and publishes four newspapers. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and a fair on 24 Oct. The chief trade arises from intercourse with London by steamer and railway, but business is done also in shipbuilding, rope-making, iron-founding, soap-making, and brewing. Coal and timber are largely imported, and chalk lime from neighbouring quarries is exported. Fisheries also employ many men and vessels, and enormous quantities of shrimps are both consumed in the town and sent to London. Pilots are taken in here by vessels entering or leaving the Thames, and vessels which have to be examined by the custom-house officials wait here to undergo it. The Thames, therefore, while gay and bustling everywhere between London and the sea, is especially gay and bustling at Gravesend. The town was chartered by Elizabeth, is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, and was empowered by the Reform Act of 1867 to send a member to Parliament. The borough boundaries include the parishes of Gravesend and Milton.
  • The rural part of the parish is fertile, and is partly disposed in market-gardens. The hop cultivation begins near here, and the market-gardens are celebrated for asparagus and fruit. The parochial living is a rectory, and St James' is a vicarage, in the diocese of Rochester; value of the former, £290 gross; of the latter, £260 grossr Patron of the former, the Lord Chancellor; of the latter, the Bishop of Rochester. Gravesend gave name to an ancient family, one of whom, Sir Stephen de Gravesend, accompanied Edward I. to Scotland. The celebrated French mathematician Gravesende is commonly supposed to have been a descendant of this family, but was of Gravensand in Holland. Bishop Rich was a native. It is known as having been a favourite resort of many celebrated authors, musicians, and actors. Charles Dickens lived and died close by and made its surroundings the scenes in his principal works. Napoleon III. passed some time of his exile in the town, and started from here on his famous expedition to Boulogne. General Gordon passed six years of his eventful life at Fort House, which is now an object of interest; and a recreation ground has been opened to his memory, in the centre of which stands his statue. Princess Poccahontas, whose romantic history so charms the Americans, died here and was buried under the chancel of the parish church.

  • G9 Great Chart
  • Chart, Great, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands adjacent to the Ashford and Tunbridge railway, near the river Stour, 2 miles W by S of Ashford, under which it has a post and telegraph office; money order office, Ashford. It was formerly a market-town. Acreage, 3276 ; population, 706. The manor belonged anciently to Christ Church, Canterbury, and belongs now to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, c£424 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is chiefly Perpendicular English, was much repaired in the 15th century by the Goldwell family, and contains monuments of the Gold-wells, the Tokes, and others. There are a Wesleyan chapel and two almshouses. Godinton is the chief residence in the neighbourhood.

  • G10 Great Mongeham
  • Mongeham, Great, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 miles WSW of Deal, and 1 mile from Walmer station on the L.C. & D.R., takes its name by corruption from Monkham, signifying " Monks village;" was in the-time of Henry III. a considerable market-town; retains in its. centre a space called the Market-place, and has a post office under Deal; money order and telegraph office, Deal. Acreage of parish, 806 ; population, 701. The parish council consists of seven members-four for the western and three for the eastern division of Walmer. For ecclesiastical purposes the eastern division, with a population of over 300, was joined to Walmer by Order in Council dated 1894. The manor belonged anciently to St Augustine's, Canterbury. Some 1/2 remains exist of an ancient mansion of the Crayfords. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury ; value, £320 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church, originally Norman, is mainly Early English y has a lofty tower of later date, about the time of Henry I., covered with ivy and commanding an extensive view, was well restored about 1851, and contains interesting sedilia and piscina. John Potter, D.D., Archbishop of Canterbury, and Elias Sydall, D.D., Bishop of Gloucester, were at one time-rectors.

  • Greenwich,
  • a town, a parish, and a parliamentary borough in Kent. The town is suburban to London, within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan police and the Central Criminal Court, and of the London County Council, is separated from Deptford only by the river Ravensboume, and stands on the Thames, opposite the Isle of Dogs, with stations on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., 3 miles by rail and 5 by water SE by E of London Bridge.

    History.

  • Greenwich was known to the Saxons as Grenawic, signifying " Green Town," and seems to have taken that name from the verdure of its site, or of its environs, as seen from the Thames. Eitruda, niece of King Alfred, gave it, along with Deptford and Lewisham, about the year 900 to the Abbey of St Peter at Ghent. The Danes took possession of it in 1011 and other years, made camps on the high grounds above it at Blackheath, and slew, on the site of its parish church, Archbishop Alfege, whom they had brought from Canterbury. It figured at Domesday as Grenviz, and belonged then to Bishop Odo. It appears to have soon, by royal grant, reverted to Ghent Abbey; it was held by that establishment till the suppression of alien monasteries by Henry V.; it then reverted to the Crown, hut was soon given to the Carthusian priory of Skene, and at the Reformation it again came back to the Crown. Yet a part of it, apparently from the time of the royal grant to Ghent Abbey, was always reserved by the Crown, and that part, together with the rest, after the Reformation, owing to the pleasantness of the locality add the salubrity of the air, was a favourite residence of the kings and queens of England, and it has ever since been rich in historical associations. Edward I. and some of his successors made it their occasional abode. A splendid tournament was held here in 1217. Henry IV. resided much here, and in 1408 he dated his will from it. Henry V. gave it for life to Thomas Bean-fort, duke of Exeter, on whose death in 1417 it passed to Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, uncle to Henry VI. That duke in 1433 rebuilt or enlarged the manor house, called it Placentia, raised round it some fortifications enclosed in the park, and erected a tower on the site of the present observatory. Edward IV. re-enlarged the palace and founded in its vicinity a minorite friary. Henry VII. made the palace his favourite residence. Henry VIII. was born in it; was baptized in the parish church; married here Catherine of Arragon and Anne of Cloves; kept here his Christmas in 1521, 1525, 1527, 1537, and 1543; held here a series of tournaments and gorgeous spectacles; received here in 1527 a splendid embassy from France; celebrated here in 1536 the festival at which Anne Boleyn was arrested; and generally throughout his reign maintained here a surpassing display of luxury and magnificence. His daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, were born here. Edward VI. died here. Elizabeth, as figured by Shakespeare, was baptized here in the " Friar's Church; " as figured by Sir Walter Scott, went here through the scene of Raleigh's first interview, and of his mudded cloak; resided in the palace here during most of her reign; was entertained in the park in 1539 by the city of London; received here in 1585 the Dutch deputies, offering her the Crown of the Low Countries; received here in 1586 and 1597 embassies from Denmark and Poland; was seen here in 1598 in all her magnificence of costume by Hentzner the traveller; and watched from the windows of the palace here the vessels of her adventurous seamen as they floated past on their way to fresh discoveries in the new world. James I. resided a considerable time here, and his queen, Anne of Denmark, improved the palace, walled in the park, and laid the foundation of " The House of Delight." Their daughter, the Princess Mary, was baptized here with great pomp in 1606, Charles I., previous to the Civil War, often resided here, and his queen, Henrietta Maria, completed Queen Anne's " House of Delight." Charles II., after the Restoration, occasionally resided here, ordered the demolition of the decaying palace, and commenced the building of a new one on a most splendid scale, but was not able to erect more of it than what now forms a portion of the western wing of the present royal hospital The palace was finished by William and Mary. Queen Mary, in 1688, George I., and the mother of George III., landed at Greenwich. Lord Nelson's body was brought here in 1805-6 from Trafalgar. George IV. embarked here amid a vast display of magnificence in 1822 for Scotland. Sir W. Boreham, of the time of Charles II., resided in an old carved house near Crawley's Wharf. Dr Johnson, in 1737, " struck with the seat that gave Eliza birth," lodged in the house in Church Street next the " Golden Hart," and during walks in the park composed great part of his " Irene." Lord Chesterfield lived in what became the Ranger's house. Vanbrugh built on Maze Hill a residence after the model of the Bastille, and called Vanbrugh House. Dr Bumey had a school in Stock-well Street, and Dr Crombie near Maze Hill chapel. Admirals Lawson and Leake also were residents, and Ducarel the antiquary, Goddard the Gresham professor, and Munro the physician were natives. Greenwich gave the title of Duke to the great Argyle.

    Environs and Streets.

  • The park and Blackheath on one side, and the Thames on the other, give Greenwich very fine environs. See BLACKHEATH. The approach by the Thames is eminently striking. Its highest attraction is the magnificent hospital, presenting to the river an imposing range of beautiful though unadorned Grecian buildings, extending for several hundred feet along its side, and divided into two wings by a noble lawn, with a terrace and handsome approach by steps to the river. The ever-green verdure of the lawn forms a very striking and pleasing relief to the massive pillars and porticos with which it is surrounded. Each wing recedes to a considerable distance from the river, and is crowned in its retreat by a lofty dome, behind all which rise the hills of the park, their verdure broken into various shades by its groves of elm, pine, and chestnut, and the summit adorned by the Royal Observatory. The older parts of the town are very irregularly built. Most of their streets axe narrow, and have insignificant houses, yet some modern parts, with a spacious street leading from the parish church to the hospital, and with a continuation of the road beyond the hospital to the lower Woolwich Eoad, are great improvements. A new town also has arisen in the east. Numerous elegant villas are on the outskirts, in the vicinity of Blackheath.

    Public Buildings.

  • The market-house was rebuilt in 1831. The court-house, in Burney Street, is a place of county courts for Greenwich, Deptford, Lewisham, Ridbrook Eitham, and Mottingham. There is a theatre and a music hall. The public baths and wash-houses in London Street were built in 1851, and are a neat structure in the Jacobean style. The lecture hall, on the Royal Hill, is the home of the Greenwich Literary and Recreation Institute. The monument to Lieutenant Bellot, the Arctic navigator, stands in front of the left wing of the Royal Hospital, was erected by public subscription, and is an obelisk of red granite, inscribed simply with Bellot's name. The other noticeable public structures are mostly of far higher mark, and will be noticed in subsequent, paragraphs.

    Churches.

  • The livings within Greenwich parish are St Alphege, Trinity, Christ Church, St Paul, St Peter, and St Mary; and all are vicarages in the diocese of Rochester. Value of St Alphege, £260 with residence. Patron, the Crown. Trinity, £4: 00 gross value. Patron, the Vicar of Greenwich. Christ Church, £500 gross value with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Greenwich. St Paul, £450 gross value, united with residence. St Peter, £315 with residence. St Mary united with St Alphege. The old church of St Alphege was ancient, had a chantry belonging to a guild of the Holy Cross, contained a portrait on glass of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, contained also a monument to the antiquary Lambard, which was removed to Sevenoaks, contained likewise several other monuments and brasses, one of which was to Thomas Tallis, king's musician in the time of Henry VIIL, and became ruinous in 1710. The present church was built in 1718, was one of Queen Anne's fifty new churches, is a large edifice in poor, mixed Grecian style, has a square tower, with cupola and small spire, and contains portraits of Charles I., Queen Anne, and George L There were buried, in the churchyard, Admiral Stainer, who was famous during the Protectorate, General Wolfe, the conqueror of Quebec, the Duchess of Bolton, the original " Polly Peachum" of Gay's opera, Lord Aylmer, Sir C. Hardy, and the author Newcourt. The interior was thoroughly restored in 1869. Christ Church was built in 1849, St Paul's Church in 1868, St Peter's Church in 1865. St Mary's is a chapel of ease to the parish church of St Alphege. A Presbyterian chapel and a Roman catholic chapel are handsome structures. There are also three Congregational, two Baptist, and two "Wesleyan chapels, a mission church at East Greenwich, and a mission chapel.

    The Hospital and Soy al Naval College.

  • The palace founded by Charles II., forming the west wing of the hospital, was begun in 1664, after designs by Webb, and completed in 1698, under the direction of Wren. The edifice was converted by William and Mary into an asylum for disabled seamen of the royal navy, was grandly extended in their reign and in that of Anne, was first opened for the reception of " pensioners " in 1705, and was much enlarged in the time of George IV. The style is Ionic, the general design is the original one by Webb, colonnades, cupolas, and the features of the great hall are by Wren, and brick buildings to the west are by Van-brugh. A terrace in front, on the river, is 875 feet long, and a great quadrangle is a square of 273 feet. A statue of George II., by Rysbrach, is in the centre of the quadrangle, and was cut from a block of marble, weighing 11 tons, taken from the French by Sir George Rooke. The buildings form four great masses or courts-the western one near the river King Charles', the eastern one near the river Queen Anne's, the north-western one King William's, the north-eastern one Queen Mary's. The great hall is in King William's building, measures 106 feet in length, 56 feet in width, and 50 feet in height, is well-proportioned and artistic, has emblematic paintings over the ceiling and the side walls, executed by Su-James Thornhill, between 1708 and 1727, at a cost of £6685, and occasioning it to be often called the painted hall, and contains pictures of illustrious admirals and famous battles, collected chiefly through the exertions of Edward H. Locker, Esq., memorials of Nelson exhibited in a glass-case, and a marble statue of Captain Sir William Peel, erected by his brother, the Hon. Frederick Peel, in 1861. The chapel is in Queen Mary's building, has the same dimensions as the great hall, was rebuilt after a destructive fire in 1789, under direction of " Athenian Stewart," and contains an altar-piece of the shipwreck of St Paul, by West, a monument to .Admiral Sir Richard G. Reats, by Chantrey, and a monument to Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, by Behnes. A library is in King Charles' building, and has a bust of Dibdin, the author of the famous naval songs. The income of the hospital includes aa annual parliamentary grant of £20, 000, the proceeds of the large estates of the Earl of Derwentwater, forfeited in 1715, and the proceeds of various private bequests, including particularly one of £20, 000 by Robert Osbaldeston, and amounts to upwards of £130, 000 a year. The Painted Hall and the chapel are open to the public. The hospital formerly received about 2700 pensioners, but, by an Act of Parliament, out-pensioners were substituted, and the buildings are now occupied as a Royal Naval College, receiving for this purpose 700 students, all officers of the Royal Navy and Marine Artillery and Engineers being admitted, as well as a limited number of the officers of the mercantile marine. The old infirmary of the hospital, situated to the west of the main buildings, has been occupied since 1870 by the Seamen's Hospital Society; the society receives no aid from Government beyond the free use of the building.

    The Hospital School.

  • This institution was incorporated with the Royal Hospital in 1825. The building stands between the hospital and the park, includes at its centre the edifice which was called the " House of Delight," which was the residence of Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I., and which, next to Whitehall banqueting-house, is, the best extant memorial of the palaces of the Stuarts,' consists of two wings, each 146 feet long, connected by a colonnade 180 feet long, serves for the training of the sons of seamen to the sea service, is arranged into two schools, upper and lower, with 400 boys in each, and has good play-grounds, gymnastic apparatus, a rigged ship for instruction and exercise, and a small observatory.

    The Park.

  • This extends from the Royal Hospital to the high ground of Blackheath, comprises about 200 acres,, is agreeably diversified with height and hollow, presents within itself very pleasing scenery, and commands, from two eminences, most charming views. One of these eminences is that surmounted by the Observatory, and looks away over London and the Thames, and the other bears the name of the One-Tree Hill, is situated near the east border, and looks away so far as to Windsor Castle. " Would you believe," said Walpole to Bentley, in 1755, "I had never been in Greenwich Park£ I never had, and am transported. Even the glories of Richmond and Twickenham hide their diminished heads." The park, as it now exists, is only about one-half of the original one connected with the royal palace, and it was laid out, in the time of Charles II., by the famous Le Notre, who presided over the gardens of Versailles. The elms in it are said by Evelyn to have been planted in 1664, but the Spanish chestnuts, though arranged in regular avenues similarly to the elms, appear to be of greater age. The park is open to the public. Greenwich Fair, notable for frolic, was partly held in it, during Whitsun week, till 185 6, and was then abolished. Numerous tumuli, containing spear-heads, human bones, and other relics, were within the park.

    The Royal Observatory.

  • This stands on an eminence in the park, about 300 feet above the level of the Thames. Its site was occupied by a tower called Mirefleur, built by Duke Humphrey, and said to have been the original of the Tower of Miraflores figuring in " Amadis de Gaul." The older part of the observatory was erected in 1675, after designs by Wren; the lower part is the residence of the astronomer-royal. The parts in sight are little used for any operations; but two turrets on the leads are in constant active service. One of them has an anemometer, for hourly registering the direction and force of the wind; and the other has a time-ball, about 6 feet in diameter, which drops at one o'clock, notes the time to the shipping on the Thames, and telegraphs it to time-balls and signal-guns at distant stations. Meridional observations of the sun, the moon, and the stars are regularly made, to the aggregate of upwards of 5000 in the year.; magnetic observations also are made, the choicest instruments of the London chronometer-makers are brought hither to be tested, and all English charts and maps reckon from this point the degrees of longitude, E and W. The first astronomer-royal appointed for the observatory was Flamsteed, and others have been Halley, Bradley, Maskelyne, Pond, Airy, and Christie. The cost of maintaining the observatory is about £10, 000 per annum.

    Schools aad Charities.

  • The proprietary school was established in 1849, gives a first-class education at moderate expense, and has an average attendance of 150 pupils. Eoan's Grey-Coat School was founded in 1643, educates and clothes poor native boys of Greenwich parish. Foreman's Green-Coat School was founded in 1672, educates and supports sons of native seamen, watermen, or fishermen. The Blue-Coat School was founded in 1752, educates and supports poor native girls. National schools are at Church Passage and Blackheath Hill; industrial schools at East Greenwich and Blackheath Hill; infant schools at East Street, Lamb Lane, and Blackheath Hill; and a mission school for girls at Trafalgar Eoad. Queen Elizabeth's college was founded by Lambarde the antiquary in 1558, had originally an income of £104, devoted to the maintenance of 24 men and their wives, has acquired additional income from bequests, underwent enlargement in 1819 by the erection of tenements for aged persons, and gives an allowance of £20 to each almsman. Trinity Hospital, commonly called Norfolk College, was founded in 1613 by the Earl of Northampton, has a square central tower, gives support to poor men of Greenwich and Shottesham parishes, and has an income of £660, The Jubilee almshouses were erected in 1809, in honour of the jubilee of the 50th year of the reign of King George IIL; other houses were added to these from time to time, but in 1878-79 the whole of them were taken down and rebuilt, and they now form a handsome block of 14 houses facing the Greenwich Road. The Penn almshouses were erected in 1884 by Mrs Ellen Penn, in memory of her husband, and consist of 9 houses. There are several smaller almshouses in the town. The total amount of charities is very considerable.

    Trade, &c.

  • Greenwich has several post offices under London, S.E., a bank, and numerous hotels and taverns, and publishes two newspapers. Large support accrues to it from the visits of pleasure-parties from London, especially during the white-bait season; much to the lower classes accrues from employment on the river, and much to the operative classes from roperies, a spinning flax factory, iron foundries, iron steamboat works, engineering establishments, and some extensive factories for the supply of materials connected with shipping. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Greenwich, with the parishes of Charlton, Ridbrook, and St Nicholas (Deptford), forms the parliamentary borough of Greenwich under the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, sending one member to Parliament. Previously, with an extended area, it sent two members. The population of the parliamentary borough is 78, 167. Greenwich also contributes four members to the London School Board, and under the Local Government Act, 1888, is included in the county of London. It is governed by a district board of works, consisting of 99 members. A portion of the works of the South Metropolitan Gas Company are situated in this parish, and occupy 127 acres in Greenwich Marshes. The workhouse is in Woolwich Road.

  • G11 Guston
    Guston, a parish in Kent, about 2 miles from Dover station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Dover. Acreage, 1412; population, 731. Guston is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury, and was annexed in 1868 to the vicarage of River; joint value, £220 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Norman, and has three lancet windows at the east end. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • H1 Hackington

  • H2 Hadlow
  • Hadlow, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on an affluent of the Medway, 1 1/2 mile N of the Med-way navigation, and 4 1/2 miles NE of Tunbridge station on the S.E.R., with a post, money order, and telegraph office under Tunbridge. Acreage of parish, 5936; population, 2318. A church and two mills were here at Domesday. A castle also was erected soon afterwards by the Fitz-Gilberts; and a modern edifice, in the Pointed Monastic style, bearing the name of Hadlow Castle, occupies the site of the ancient castle, presents an imposing appearance, and has a tower 170 feet high, designed after the manner of Fonthill, richly decorated, and commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country. There are hop-grounds, brick-fields, and breweries. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £990 with residence. The church was attached to the preceptory of Hospitallers in West Peckham, consists of nave, aisle, and chancel, with a tower, and contains a monument to Sir John Eivers, of the time of James I. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels, and a literary institute, reading-room, and lecture-room. Halstead, a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the S.E.E., 15 miles from London, and 6 NNW of Sevenoaks. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under SevenoaRs. The parish comprises 923 acres; population, 448. Halstead Place is the chief residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £100 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church was rebuilt in 1881. and is in the Early English style. A parish room and men's club was built by subscription in 1893.

  • H3 Halling

  • H4 Halstow
  • Halstow, Lower, a parish in Kent, at the upper end of Stangate Creek, between the Medway and the Swale, 2 miles from Newington station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 1/4 NW of Sittingboume. It has a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Upchurch. Acreage, 1390; population, 653. Part of the land is marsh. An ancient village, inhabited by potters, seems to have been here, and an old embankment, to protect the land from the sea, and filled with broken tiles and pottery, is near the church. Brickmaking now employs many of the inhabitants, and there is a quay on one of the creeks of the Medway. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £320 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is ancient but good, is probably of Saxon origin, includes much Roman masonry in its walls, and has a small tower. There is a Bible Christian chapel.

  • H5 Ham
  • Ham, a parish in Kent, 1 mile E of Eastry, and 2 miles S by W of Sandwich station on the S.E.R. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, Eastry. Acreage, 321; population of the civil parish, 62; of the ecclesiastical, 133. Updown House is a chief residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, united with Bettes-hanger; value, £202. The church is old but good.

  • H6 Harbledown
  • Harbledown, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands about 1 1/2 mile from Canterbury station on the S.E.R., and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Canterbury. It grew around a lazar-honse, founded in 1084 by Archbishop Lanfranc; and it is " the little town " of Chaucer, " which that ycleped is Bob up and down, Under the Blee, in Canterbury way." The parish includes also the hamlet of Bough Common. Acreage, 1620; population of the civil parish, 842; of the ecclesiastical, 734. The lazar-house adjacent to the village was for lepers, and consisted originally of several wooden structures; was re-founded by Edward VI. for the residence and maintenance of 26 poor men and women; was rebuilt, with the exception of its church, in the time of James I.; consists now of a range of cottages and gardens, with central large common hall; bears the name of St Nicholas' hospital, and has an endowed income of £223. An excellent spring adjacent to it bears the name of the Black Prince's well, from a tradition that the water of it was sent to the Black Prince during a severe illness, and it may have occasioned the selection of the site for the hospital on account of its reputed virtues. The upper leather of a shoe of Thomas a Becket with a crystal set in it was possessed by the hospital before the Eeformation, and when pilgrims to Canterbury were passing by this was usually brought forth by one 'of the inmates to the steps leading down to the road, and presented with much reverence to the better class of pilgrims to be devoutly loosed as a sacred relic. A ludicrous account of the performance is given by Erasmus in his " Peregrinatio." A maple bowl, figured with Gay of Warwick's killing the dragon, and set with a large crystal, is preserved in a chest in the common hall, and the crystal on it is supposed to be that which was formerly on Becket's shoe. The church of the hospital is partly Nonnan, partly Early English, consists of nave, aides, and chancel, with western ivy-clad tower, and contains a curious ancient stone font and some remains of ancient frescoes. A farm on which the hospital stands, together with the hospital itself, is exempt from the jurisdiction of the parish, and belongs to Canterbury. The parochial living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £330 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church of St Michael was almost wholly rebuilt in 1881, and is in the Early English style. Hall Place is a very fine seat in the neighbourhood.

  • H7 Harrietsham

  • H8 Hartlip
  • Hartlip, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near Watling Street, 1 mile from Newington station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 1/4 miles ESE of Chatham. It has a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Newington. Acreage, 1422; population, 376. Remains of Roman baths, attached to a Roman villa in a field called Lower Danefield, were discovered about 1750 and laid open in 1848, and at their first discovery, were found to contain many bushels of wheat, apparently scorched by fire. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £208 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is cruciform, and of the latter part of the 13th century; has a square Norman tower; was restored in 1865 and 1885, and contains a handsome font. There are a Bible Christian chapel and an endowed school.

  • H9 Harty
  • Hartley, a parish in Kent, 1 mile from Fawkham station on the L.C. & D.R. and 6 miles SE of Dartford. Post, money order, and telegraph office, Longfield. Acreage, 1210; population, 272. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; value, £345. The church was restored in 1862. The west end and bell tower were rebuilt in 1892.

  • H10 Hastingleigh
  • Hastingleigh, a parish in Kent, 4 miles ESE of Wye station on the S.E.R., and NE by E of Ashford. It has a post office under Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Wye. Acreage, 1553; population of the civil parish, 198; of the ecclesiastical, 562. About 13 acres are under hops. The living is a rectory, consolidated with the vicarage of Elmstead, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £390 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is very ancient but good, and consists of a nave and aisle and a chancel, with a tower.

  • H11 Hawkhurst
  • Hawkhurst, a village and a parish in Kent, but part of the parish is also in Sussex. The village stands near the river Rother, and has a station on the S.E.R., and a post, money order, and telegraph office. It is 4 miles NE of Etchingham, and 4 SSW of Cranbrook, occupies a rising-ground with fine views over the Weald, was once a market-town, and was noted in the 18th century as a resort of smugglers. The parish comprises 6521 acres; population of the civil parish, 3274; of the ecclesiastical, 3102. The manor belonged to Battle Abbey. Lillesden, Collingwood House, Seacox Heath, and Fowler's Park are handsome seats; Elfords is an ancient Tudor mansion, and Eisden House, Oakfield Lodge, and others are pleasant residences. Babies' Castle, a nursery home for infants in connection with Dr Barnardo's Homes, Stepney, London, was opened in 1886. There is a Conservative Club, a small village hospital, a lecture-hall, and a reading-room. There were formerly iron furnaces belonging to William Penn the courtier Quaker. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £250 with residence. Patron, Christ Church, Oxford. The parochial church is Decorated and Perpendicular English, consists of lofty nave, aisles, chancel, and side chapels, with square embattled tower, and was restored in 1863 and previous years at a cost of nearly £3000. All Saints' Church stands at Highgate, was erected in 1861, is in the French Gothic style, consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with a spire, and has an endowment of £100 yearly and a convenient house. There are Wesleyan and Calvinistic chapels, an endowed school, almshouses, and other charities. Dr Lardner, author of " The Credibility of the Gospel History," was a native. A weekly newspaper is published.

  • H12 Hawkinge
  • Hawkinge, a parish in Kent, near the coast, 2 miles N of Folkestone station on the S.E.R., with a post and money order office under Folkestone; telegraph office, Folkestone. It includes the hamlet of Uphill. Acreage, 2352; population, 431. The living is a rectory, annexed to Swingfield, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £240 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient, and was restored in 1875, includes parts which probably are Norman, and has a small bell-turret. There is a Union chapel in the parish.

  • Hayes
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 miles S of Bromley and 2 1/2 E of the boundary with Surrey, and has a station on the S.E.E. 13 miles from London, and a post, money order, and telegraph office, under Beckenham. The parish comprises 1282 acres; population, 804. Hayes Place, adjacent to the church, was the seat of the Earl of Chatham and the birthplace of his son, William Pitt. Hayes Common, of 220 acres, is a piece of land S of the village, and Pickhurst and Langley Park are half a mile W; Rerton Common is a prolongation of Hayes Common, where there are remains of an extensive encampment, long known as Caesar's Camp, but is now generally held to mark the Roman station of Noviomagus, and where many Roman remains, foundations of buildings, tiles, broken pottery, and coins have been found. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £320 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English, was restored in 1856, with replacement of a spire in 1862, at a cost of £2500; was enlarged in 1878, and contains several ancient brasses and a few monuments.

  • H13 Headcorn

  • H14 Herne
  • Herne, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 1/4 mile S of Heme Bay station on the L.C. & D.R., and 7 miles NE of Canterbury, with a post, money order, and telegraph office under Canterbury. It took its name, or is said to have done so, from the former plenteonsness of herons on the adjacent coast, bears also the name of Herne "Street, is pleasantly surrounded by wood, and was once a market-town. The parish contains also the town of Herne Bay, and the hamlets of Beltinge, Haw, Hampton, Thornton, Strood, Huntersfostal, Eddington, Broomfield, and Underdown. Acreage, 4938; population of the civil parish, 5482; of the ecclesiastical, 1857. Part of the land is under hops. Blean Workhouse is on Heme Common. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £400 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is partly Early English, partly Perpendicular, consists of nave, aisles, and three chancels, with a square tower, and contains many tombs and brasses. There are a church and a Congregational chapel at Herne Bay, a Wesleyan chapel in Herne village, and some small charities. An hospital containing sixty beds was built in 1875. Bishop Ridley and the antiquary Duncombe were vicars.

  • H15 Herne Hill
  • Hernhill, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 miles E of Faversham. Post town, Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Boughton. The parish contains also the hamlets of Dargate, Staple Street, Waterham, Crockham, Down Postal, and Rough Hills. Acreage, 2826; population, 785. The manor belonga 1/2to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Remsdale House, Mount Ephraim, and the Bounds are the chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £263 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower. It was restored in 1877. Courtenay the Canterbury fanatic was buried in the churchyard. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • Hever,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the river Medway, 2 1/4 miles SE by E of Edenbridge, and has a station on the L.B. & S.C.R., 27 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office, under Edenbridge. Acreage of the civil parish, 2660; population, 731; of the ecclesiastical, 412. The manor belonged anciently to the Hevers or Hevres; passed to the Cobhams and the Brocas; was purchased in the time of Henry VI. by Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, great-grandfather of Queen Anne Boleyn; was given by Henry VIII. after the death of Anne Boleyn's father to Anne of Cleves; passed by gift of Queen Mary to the Waldegraves; was purchased in 1745 by Sir T. Waldo, and still belongs to the Waldo family. A castle on it, close to the Medway, dates from an ancient period; was rebuilt in the time of Edward III. by Sir William Hever; was again refounded by Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, and completed by his grandson, the father of Anne Boleyn; was the scene of Henry VIII.'s first acquaintance with Anne Boleyn, and of his courting her; retains curious traditional associations of his visits to it; is now an interesting specimen of the domestic architecture of its period; forms a quadrangle, surrounded by a double moat, and surmounted by high-pitched roofs and gables, and was approached by a strongly portcullised gatehouse, which still remains. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £330 with residence. The church is mostly Decorated English, consists of nave and chancel, with tower and lofty spire, and contains an altar-tomb of Sir Thomas Boleyn, and memorials of Cobhams and the Waldos.

  • H16 High Halden
  • Halden or High Halden, a parish in Kent, 3 1/2 miles NNE of Tenterden, and 6 S of Pluckley station on the S.E.R. There is a post and money order office, under Ashford; telegraph office, Tenterden. Acreage, 3749; population, 646. Some ponds are in various parts. There are potteries in the neighbourhood. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £250 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is very ancient, has a shingled oak spire, and has been restored. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • H17 High Halstow
  • Halstow, High, a parish in Kent, 5 1/2 miles N by E of Rochester. There is a station in the parish at Sharnal Street on the Hundred Hoo branch of the S.E.R. Post town, Rochester; money order office, Hoo; telegraph office, Shamel Street station. Acreage, 3212; population, 344. Northwood Hill commands an extensive view of the shore of the Thames. Part of the land is marsh, with reed beds, and the Mean is a tract of 262 acres indefinitely divided between this parish and Hoo St Mary. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; value, £400 with residence. The church has a brass of 1396, and is good.

  • H18 Higham

  • H19 Hinxhill

  • H20 Hoath
  • Hoath, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles NW of Grove Ferry station on the S.E.R., and 3 NE of Canterbury. It has a post and money order office under Canterbury; telegraph office, Chislet. The parish contains the hamlets of Maypole Street and Old Tree. Acreage, 914; population of the civil parish, 359; of the ecclesiastical, 603. The manor belongs to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Some scanty remains exist of the archiepiscopal palace of Ford. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Eeculver, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £166. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is an ancient structure, with a tower and spire, built in 1302, and restored in 1870, when a new aisle was added on the N side of the nave. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • Horton Kirby
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Darent, 1 mile SSE of Famingham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 1/2 miles SSE of Dartford. It has a post office under Dartford; money order and telegraph office, South Darenth. Acreage of parish, 2840; population, 1551. The manor was held at Domesday by Anschitill de Eos, under Bishop Odo; remained with the family of De Eos till the time of Lora, called the " Lady of Horton," and went by marriage with her to the family of Kirkby, who previously owned adjacent lands. . Horton Castle was founded soon after the Conquest by the De Eos, was rebuilt in the time of Edward I. by Eoger de Kirkby, seems to have been either rebuilt again or largely restored and altered at a subsequent period, and is now represented by very considerable remains. Franks is a fine Tudor edifice, was built in the time of Elizabeth by Alderman Bathurst, and has been restored at great expense. Extensive paper mills are at South Darenth. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £230 with residence. The church is mainly Early English, but has a modern tower; is cruciform, with the tower rising from the intersection; has arcades round the interior of the transepts, and contains some remains of Roman pavement An Anglo-Saxon burying-ground was discovered at South Darenth in 1872. A refuge home for boys was built-in 1867 at a cost of £23, 000.

  • H21 Hollingbourne

  • H22 Hoo All Hallows

  • H23 Hoo St. Mary

  • H24 Hoo St. Werbergh

  • H25 Hope

  • H26 Horsmonden

  • H27 Hothfield
  • Hothfield, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near a branch of the river Stour, and has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 56 miles from London, and a post office under Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Ashford. The property belonged to the Archbishops of Canterbury, was given by Henry VIII. to the Tuftons, and belongs now to Lord Hothfield. Hothfield Place is Lord Hothfield's seat, and was the seat of the Earls of Thanet. This parish contests with Heathfield in Sussex the claim of having been the place where Jack Cade was captured by Sheriff Iden. Acreage, 1829; population, 337. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £334 with residence. Patron, Lord- Hothfield. The church was partly rebuilt in 1624, and consists of nave, aisles, and chance!. It was thoroughly restored in 1876. There are an endowed school and other charities.

  • H28 Houghham

  • H29 Hucking
  • Hucking, a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 miles N of Hollingboume station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Hollingboume. Area, 1205 acres; population, 114. The manor belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the rectory of Bicknor, in the diocese of Canterbury. The church has Norman parts and was restored in 1870, when a new font of red marble was erected.

  • H30 Hunton
  • Hunton, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the river Beault, 3 miles E by S of Yalding station on the S.E.B., and 4 1/4 SW by S of Maidstone. It has a post and money order office under Maidstone; telegraph office, Yalding. Acreage, 2075; population, 934. The manor belonged to the Lenhams, passed to the Giffords, the Clintons, the Wyatts, and others, and belongs now to the Right Hon. Henry Campbell-Bannerman. Hunton Court, the seat of the Bannermans, is a handsome mansion in a well-wooded park. Hops are largely cultivated. Two remarkable thunderstorms occurred here in 1746 and 1763. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £600 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is neat and good, has a tower and spire, contains some ancient monuments of the Fanes, and was restored in 1876. Bishop Porteous was rector.

  • H31 Hythe
  • Hythe, a town, a parish, and a parliamentary and municipal borough in Kent. The town stands on the Military Canal, at the end of Stone Street, about three-quarters of a mile from the sea, and has a station on the S.E.R., 66 miles from London, and 4 1/2 W by S of Folkestone, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. It sprang from a Roman fortress, but in consequence of natural changes on the coast, is now fully 3 miles distant from the spot called Portus Lemanis, which gave it origin. It became one of the Cinque Ports, and in that capacity was rated at five ships. It was given in 1036 to the Archbishops of Canterbury, whose seat was in the neighbourhood at Saltwood Castle, and it seems to have acquired additional importance from the archbishops' influence. It is said by Leiand to have had at one time four parish churches and a fine abbey. It suffered much damage in the time of Henry IV. by a fire, and was afterwards desolated by the plague. Its harbour was long very suitable for commerce, but became by recession of the sea greatly narrowed in the time of Elizabeth, and nearly closed and useless soon afterwards, and probably will never be succeeded by even an artificial-one, as the beach is open and affords no shelter. The town was thrown into decay by the loss of its commerce, but it revived a little by the forming of the Military Canal, and it has revived still more by the formation of the railway, and by the attraction of summer visitors for sea-bathing. Its situation is very fine, on a declivity descending towards the sea, with a good bathing beach amid environs of great beauty, with charming walks and rides, with several interesting ancient ruins, with many picturesque close views, and with a prospect across the channel to France. The town includes one long principal street, well-built, paved, and clean; has also several smaller streets branching from the principal one, or parallel to it; and still exhibits, in the features of its older houses, many traces of its ancient prosperity. Its chief public buildings are a town-hall, a sessions hall, barracks, a school of musketry, a bathing establishment, a public library and reading room, a church, also an iron church erected in 1893, three dissenting chapels, and two hospitals. The town-hall stands on the N side of High Street, near the centre, and is a commodious structure of 1794. The barracks stand at the W extremity of the town, on the Ashford Road; were erected in 1807-8 for the use of the royal staff corps, and have accommodation for 30 1/2 men, besides officers. The school of musketry was established by government for rifle practice, both by regulars and by volunteers. The bathing establishment was erected in 1854 at a cost of upwards of £2000, and includes waiting-rooms and guides' residence. The sea-wall and parade, between Hythe and Sandgate, is the property of the S.E.R. It comprises a line of 5 miles along the coast, to the west of Folkestone, with a carriage drive the whole way. The church stands on lofty ground N of High Street; is partly Norman, partly Early English; consists of nave, aisles, and triple-chancel, with W tower; was partly rebuilt toward the middle of the 18th century; contains enrichments in Bethersden marble; and has several beautiful memorial windows, and a crypt, situated under the central chancel, containing a large pile of human bones. These bones are locally supposed to be remains of Britons slain in a sanguinary battle in 84.6, on the shore between Hythe and Folkestone, but they not improbably were exhumed from a contiguous Roman or Saxon cemetery. The building was thoroughly restored in 1875, and the roofs vaulted in 1886. There are Wesleyan and Congregational chapels. The two hospitals are St Bartholomew's and St John's, the former founded in 1336 by Bishop Hamo-of Rochester, the latter of unknown but early foundation; they are both endowed, and are used as almshouses. The town has a bank, two chief inns, a literary institution, a dispensary, and some other institutions, and is a seat of petty and quarter sessions. There is a large brewery. The town shared all the privileges of the Cinque Port charters; had also a special charter from Elizabeth; is now governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors; sent two members to Parliament from the time of Edward III. till the Act of 1832, and now sends one. Its municipal boundaries comprise the parishes of Hythe St Leonard and West Hythe, andi its parliamentary boundaries comprise, in addition to these,. the parishes of Cheriton, Folkestone, and Saltwood, and part of the parish of Newington-next-Hythe. Area of the parliamentary borough, 13, 402 acres; population, 35, 547. Area of municipal borough, 2620; population, 4347. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £260 with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Saltwood.

  • I01 Ickham
  • Ickham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the Little Stour river, 2 1/2 miles NE of Bekesbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 1/2 E of Canterbury, and was anciently called Yecham. The post town is Dover. The parish contains also Well hamlet. Acreage, 2219; population, 588. Lee Priory belonged formerly to the Barrets, and had a monastic appearance; but belongs now to the Philips family, and has been altered and enlarged in the Domestic Pointed style. Well Court belonged formerly to the Cliffords. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, gross value,, £810 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church consists of nave and aisles, with a cross septiment and a tower, and has been repaired and beautified. The chief residences are Bramling House, Lee Priory, and Hawletts.

  • I02 Ivychurch

  • I03 Iwade
  • Iwade, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 miles N of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.B. The parish extends from Stangate Creek to the Swale Strait; consists mainly of embanked marsh, and has a quay at Fun-ton, on Stangate Creek. Post town, Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Milton. Acreage, 3221 of land and 209 of water and foreshore; population, 251. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £180 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury The church is small and ancient, in the Perpendicular style.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - K

  • Kemsing,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles NE of Sevenoaks, and has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 24 miles from London. It was once a market-town, and has a post and money order office under Seven-oaks; telegraph office, Seal. Acreage, 1908; population, 621. A castle was here before the time of Henry II., but has disappeared. A line of chalk hills extends E and W a little N of the village, and is traversed by the ancient track way called the Pilgrims' Road. A spring, designated St Edith's Well, is near the centre of the village, an effigies of St Edith was in the churchyard, and both the well and the effigies were long held in superstitious veneration. St Edith is said to have been a native. Hops are largely grown. Lord Sackville is lord of the manor. Beecby Lees is a chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £60 with residence. Patron, Lord Sackville, The church, with shingle tower, was restored in 1870, in 1873, and again in 1891, when the aisle on the N side was added. The rood screen was beautifully restored in 1894. The perpetual curacy of Seal is a separate benefice. In 1887 an iron chapel of aase was erected at Noah's Ark, and a Wesleyan chapel was built in 1885.

  • K1 Kenardington
  • Kenardington, a parish, with a village, in Kent, near the Royal Military Canal, 1 1/2 mile SW of Ham Street station on the S.E.R., and 7 miles SSW of Ashford. Post town, Ham Street, under Asbford. Acreage, 2149; population, 194. Much of the land is occupied with coppice, called Silcox Wood. An ancient earthwork is on elevated ground near the village, is connected by a narrow causeway with another ancient earthwork in the marsh below, and these works are supposed by some to have been formed by the ancient British-by others to have been formed about 893 during the wars between Alfred and the Danes. The living is a rectory and a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £190 with residence. The church comprises aisle and chancel, with a bell-turret, and succeeded one which was destroyed by lightning in 1559.

  • K2 Kennington
  • Kennington, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 miles NNE of Ashford station on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., near the river Stour, and has a fair on 6 July, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. Acreage, 1382; population, 890. There are brick and tile works. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £260 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church consists of nave, chance], and two chapels adjacent to the chancel. It is a handsome edifice with a beautiful E window, and a tower and small beacon turret; it was well restored in 1878. There is a small Congregational chapel. Lord Gerard is lord of the manor. Kennington Hall, Kennington House, and Bockhanger are the chief residences. Keston, a parish in Kent, 1 1/4 mile from Hayes station on the S.E.R. It contains on its NW border two villages, includes in its centre an open high common with a fine view, and is within the jurisdiction of the metropolitan police. It has a post and money order office under Beckenham; telegraph office, Bromley Common. Acreage, 1479; population, 746. Keston Lodge, Forest Lodge, Holwood, Hollydale, and Heathfield are chief residences. Holwood was the seat of William Pitt. A Roman camp was on Holwood Hill, and many Roman relics have been found. (See HOLWOOD HILL.) The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £150 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is small. It was restored and enlarged in 1880. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels. There is a private chapel belonging to Lord Sackville Cecil. Adjoining this chapel is a building containing a reading-room, gymnasium, and baths. Kidbrooke, a liberty in Kent, on Watling Street and the North Kent railway, between Blackheath and Charlton. Post town, Blackheath. It consists of two hamlets, Lower Kidbrooke, half a mile S of Charlton, and Upper Kidbrooke, 2 miles NW of Eitham. It was once a parish, but it lost its church through neglect, and it was constituted a chapelry in 1867, and got then a handsome new church at a cost of £7200. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; value, £700.

  • K3 Kingsdown

  • K4 Kingsnorth
  • Kingsnorth, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles S of Ashford station on the S.E.R., and has a post office under Ashford; telegraph office, Ashford. Acreage, 8247; population, 597. Part of the surface is marshland, part is woodland, and about 50 acres hop-garden. The Kent County Industrial School, situated here, was built in 1875 at a cost of £10, 000, and in 1882 it was considerably enlarged at a cost of nearly £7000; it now has acccommodation for 200 boys. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £350 with residence. The church is ancient.

  • Knockholt,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on high ground, 2 miles from Halstead station on th& S.E.R., and 5 NW of Sevenoaks, and has a post, money order,. and telegraph office under Sevenoaks. It is situated about 750 feet above sea-level, is much frequented by visitors in the summer, and is supplied with water by the Kent Water Company from their well near Orpington station. Acreage of parish, 1700; population, 872. A clump of very old trees, called the Knockholt Beeches, is on a lofty hill, and is visible at great distances around. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £240 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is an ancient structure of chalk and flint, and has a brick tower. There are Wesleyan, Bible Christian, and Calvinistic chapels.

  • K5 Kingston

  • K6 Knowlton

  • Knowlton,
  • a parish in Kent, 2 miles SW of Eastry, and 3 1/2 E by S of Adisham station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Wingham. Acreage, 430; population, 36. Knowlton Court, a fine old mansion, belongs to the D'Aeth family, whose ancestor, Narborough, was lost with Admiral Shovell in 1707 on the Scilly Islands, and stands in a richly-wooded park of upwards of 300 acres. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £125.
Kentpoi
Kentpoi

Parishes in Kent

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1894-5

Kent Parishes - L

  • L1 Lamberhurst
  • Lamberhurst, a village and a parish in the counties of Kent and Sussex. The village stands on an affluent of the river Medway, 4 1/2 miles E of Fraut station on the S.E.R., and 6 1/2 ESE of Tunbridge Wells. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. There is a fair on 6 April. The parish includes Scotney Manor, and comprises 3525 acres in Kent and 1922 in Sussex, population in Sussex, 1158; in Kent, 728. Court Lodge stands on an eminence within a park, commands pleasant views of the surrounding country, and is the seat of the Morland family. Scotney Castle was the seat of Archbishop Chicheley in the early part of the 15th century; went to his collateral descendants, the Dan-ells; was rebuilt by Inigo Jones; and has given place to a modern mansion, the seat of the Hussey family. Bayham Abbey and Grant-ham Hall are also chief residences. Extensive iron-smelting furnaces were formerly in the parish, and they furnished the massive iron balustrades around St Paul's in London. Brewing and brick-making are now carried on. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £220 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is old but good, and has a conspicuous steeple. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels.

  • L2 Langley

  • L3 Leaveland
  • Leaveland, a parish in Kent, 3 1/2 miles SW of Selling station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 1/2 S by W of Faversham, Post town, Faversham, Acreage, 381; population of the civil parish, 98; of the ecclesiastical, 232. The manor and much of the land belong to Earl Sondes. The living is a rectory, annexed to the rectory of Badlesmere, in the diocese-of Canterbury; value, £400. Patron, Earl Sondes. Thfr church has a wooden turret, and is good.

  • Lee,
  • a village and a parish in Kent The village stands on the rivulet Lee, 1 1/2 mile SSE of Greenwich, is a pleasant, salubrious, and picturesque place, and has a station on the S.E.R., 7 miles from London, a police station, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Lewisham, London, S.E. Both itself and its environs within the parish are a resort of merchants and .wealthy families from the metropolis, and many handsome residences have been erected in Lee Park, Manor Park, and Lee Road. Lee Manor House, Lee House, Lee Grove, Lee Place, Lee Villa, and others are old mansions; a continuous line of new villas connects the village with Blackheath Park, and so very many other new villas and ornate cottages are disposed in terraces or lines that a large proportion of the parish may be pronounced a metropolitan suburb. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The old church went to ruin, but the cemetery of it continues to be interesting for containing several handsome monuments, one of which is to the Dacre family, and another to the astronomer Dr E. Halley. A new church was built in 1842, but this was found in a few years to be too small for the increasing population, and was then taken down. The present church stands near the old one, in a beautiful situation, with an extensive prospect, was erected at a cost of £8000, and is a handsome structure with a lofty spire. Five other churches are within the parish. Christ Church stands in Lee Park; it is a neat structure in the Pointed style, and was well restored in 1882. Holy Trinity Church was completed in 1864, is cruciform, in the Early English style, of Kentish rag with Bath stone dressings; has an external staircase turret, surmounted by an openwork oak bell-turret and shingled spire, and presents a somewhat novel yet heavy appearance. St Mildred's was erected in 1878-79, and is a building of Kentish ragstone, in the Early English and Decorated styles. The Church of the Good Shepherd was erected in 1881 as a chapel of ease to the parish church, and is a plain brick building. St Augustine's Church was erected in 1886 as a chapel of ease to St Mildred's; it is an edifice of Kentish ragstone. There are Baptist, Wesleyan, Congregational, and Bible Christian chapels, a well-conducted proprietary school, thirty good almshouses for the wives of freemen of the Merchant Tailors' Company, almshouses with endowed income founded by C. and T. Boone, and other charities. There is a working men's institute. The Earl of Northbrook is lord of the manor.

  • L4 Leeds

  • L5 Lenham
  • Lenham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the source of the rivulet Len, and has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 49 miles from London, and 9 1/2 E by S of Maidstone. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maidstone. The parish contains also the hamlets of Lenham Heath and Sandway. Acreage, 7145; population of the civil parish, 1896; of the ecclesiastical, 1551. The manor was given by Kenulf, King of Mercia, and Cudred, King of Kent, to Canterbury Abbey, continued in possession of the abbey till the dissolution, and belongs now to the Akers-Douglas family. Torry Hill and Swadelands are chief residences. The surface extends across a valley between chalk hills and sand hills, contains the sources of the rivulet Len and a head-stream of the Stour, and is salubrious and of average fertility. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value,, £339 with residence. The church is partly Early English with alterations, partly Decorated, consists of nave, aisles, and two chancels, with a tower, and contains sixteen ancient oaken stalls, which were used by the monks of Canterbury when visiting the manor, a stone chair or sedile, with solid arms and a cinquefoil-headed canopy, a piscina under a very wide arch, a richly-carved pulpit of the 17th century, the effigies of a priest, probably of the time of Edward III., monuments of the Colepepers, and a brass of a grandson of Mary Honeywood, who lived to see 367 of her descendants. There are a Congregational chapel, a neat literary, institute built in 1867, and almshouses. S58 Lenton, a town, a township, and a parish in Nottinghamshire. The town is on the river Leen, near its confluence with the Trent, on the Nottingham Canal, adjacent to the Nottingham and Mansfield railway, near its junction with the M.E., 1 1/2 mile WSW of Nottingham. It consists of two portions, New and Old, and is now included in the county borough of Nottingham. Lenton had anciently a rich priory of Cluniac monks, a house of Carmelite friars, and an hospital of St Anthony; carries on industry in numerous lace factories, machine works, tanneries, chemical works, starch works, and bleachfields; and has a post, money order, and telegraph office, of the name of New Lenton, under Nottingham, a station at Old Lenton on the Nottingham and Mansfield railway, two churches, five dissenting chapels, national schools, an industrial training institution and orphanage, and fairs on Whit-Wednesday and 11 Nov. for horses, cattle, and swine. The Cluniac priory was founded by William Peverel, son of the Conqueror, went at the dissolution to John Harrington, was partially dismantled in 1844, and remained in that state until 1884, when it was rebuilt and used as a chapel of ease to the parish church. The parish church was built in 1842, superseded a previous one of the 14th century, consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower, and contains a Saxon font. The dissenting chapels are Baptist, Congregational, Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, and Free Methodist. Area of township, 1968 acres of land and 60 of water; population, 10, 957. The parish originally included the township of Bestwood Park, 5 miles N of Nottingham, and also part of Hyson Green ecclesiastical parish. It contains many fine residences. The manor belongs to the Pearson Gregory family. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Southwell; net value, £420 with residence. The livings of Bestwood Park and Hyson Green are separate benefices.

  • L6 Leybourne
  • Leybourne, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on a small affluent of the river Medway, 1 mile from Mailing station on the L.C. & D.R., 35 miles from London, and 5 NW from Maidstone; was known at Domesday as Leleburne, and took that name from the little burn which runs past it. The parish contains also the hamlets of Mailing and Little Comp. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office at Maidstone. Acreage, 1523: population, 270. The manor belonged anciently to the De Leybournes, had a moated castle of theirs in which they entertained Edward I.; was given by the last of the De Leybournes, the " Infanta of Kent," to Edward III. ; was given by him to the newly-founded Cistercian abbey of St Mary Graces in London; went after the dissolution through various hands, and, with the fine seat of Leybourne Grange, belongs now to the Hawley family. Remains of the castle, including a fine gateway, still stand close to the church. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £300 with residence. The church is partly Early English, partly Perpendicular, has in the N aisle a remarkable niche of the Decorated period, and includes two small tabernacles, within one of which a heart, probably that of Roger de Leybourne, of the time of Edward II., was found In a leaden box. The building was restored in 1874. There are endowed schools at Leyboume, East Mailing, and Southborough.

  • L7 Leysdown
  • Leysdown, a parish, with a village, in Kent, on the NE side of Sheppey Isle, 9 miles from Sheemess station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Sheemess; money order and telegraph office, Eastchurch. Acreage of the parish, 2179; population, 218. There are two coastguard stations. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Harty, in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £265 with residence. The present church was built in 1874 on the site of the old Norman building which fell in in 1734.

  • Lidsing or Lidgen,
    a ville in Kent, 3 1/2 miles SE of Chatham. The ville forms a chapelry, annexed to the vicarage or Gillingham, in the diocese of Rochester.

  • L8 Linton
  • Linton, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the S declivity of a hill, 4 miles S of Maidstone, and 3 from East Farleigh station on the S E.R., and commands delightful views over a picturesque and richly-wooded country. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maidstone. Acreage of the civil parish, 1961; population, 990 ; of the ecclesiastical, 938. The parish contains also Maidstone Workhouse. Linton Park, with much of the land, belonged to the Manns, and passed by marriage to Earl Comwallis. The mansion was described by Horace Walpole as " standing like the citadel of Kent;" commands magnificent and very extensive views over the Weald, is a splendid white stuccoed edifice, with tetrastyle Corinthian portico; has a well-wooded park of about 500 acres, and is now the seat of the Cornwallis family. The parish is noted for prime fruit and hops. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, ££170 with residence. The church was originally Korman, had a S aisle and a private chapel added to it in the time of Edward III., underwent restoration and considerable enlargement in 1859-60, exhibits in the new portions chiefly the Later English style; comprises nave, aisles, chancel, and N and S chapels, with a tower of Kentish rag, surmounted by a spire of Bath stone; contains a carved oak pulpit and reading-desk, and a rich carved oak screen, and was the burial-place of Sir Horace Mann, whose body was brought to it for interment from Florence. The N chapel has been so entirely restored as to harmonize with the rest of the church, and it contains monuments to the Mayne, the Mann, and the Comwallis families, including a very fine one in white marble, by Bayley, to Viscount Brome. There are almshouses for eight aged persons.

  • L9 Littlebourne
  • Littlebourne, a village and a pariah in Kent. The village stands on a branch of the river Stour, adjacent to Lee Priory, 1 1/2 mile NNE of Bekesbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 miles E of Canterbury. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover. Acreage of the civil parish, 2501; population, 931; of the ecclesiastical, 909. The manor belonged anciently to the abbey of St Augustine and to an Italian monastery. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £231 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is Early English, comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, and contains monuments of the Dennes. There is a Congregational chapel. The parish council cou&ists of five members.

  • L10 Little Chart
  • Chart, Little, a parish in Kent, 2 miles SW of Charing station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Pluckley. Acreage, 1607; population, 313. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury ; the commuted tithe rent charge is £398 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is old, and has a tower with a peal of five bells. It was well restored in 1877. There is a Roman Catholic chapel in the mansion of Cale Hill.

  • L11 Little Mongeham
  • Mongeham, Little, a parish in Kent, 2 3/4 miles WSW of Deal, and 1 1/2 mile from Walmer station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Deal. Acreage, 1147; population of the civil parish, 176; of the ecclesiastical, 304. The manor was given in 760 by Aldric, king of Kent, to St Augustine's, Canterbury. The living is a rectory, united in 1868 with Sutton-by-Dover, in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £290 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Longfield, a parish in Kent, 3 miles WNW of Meopham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 SW of Gravesend. Fawkham station on the L.C. & D.R. is also in the parish, and Southfleet, on the Gravesend branch, is 2 1/2 miles distant. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 605; population, 498. There is a parish council of five members. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; value, £180. Patrons, the Lord Chancellor and the Bishop of Rochester alternately. The church comprises nave, chancel, tower, and N aisle, with a porch; it was well restored and enlarged in 1889. Archdeacon Plume, the founder of the Plumean professorship at Cambridge, was buried here, and his charities for augmenting livings and for other purposes amount to £343 a year.

  • L12 Loose
  • Loose, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on a rivulet of its own name, 3 miles S of Maidstone station on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., is a picturesque place, surrounded by hop and fruit gardens, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maidstone. Acreage of the civil parish, 1054; population, 1501; of the ecclesiastical, 1377. Under the Local Government Act of 1894 it has a parish council of nine members. The Loose rivulet is sluggish, drives several paper and corn mills, flows about half a mile underground, and goes to the Medway. There are a brewery and several ragstone quarries. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £230 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church consists of nave, chancel, aisles, and chantries. In 1878 the building was greatly damaged by fire, but was restored the same year. In 1887 the interior was considerably altered and new chantiies added.

  • L13 Lower Hardres

  • L14 Luddenham
  • Luddenham, a parish in Kent, 2 miles from Teynham station on the L.C. & D.E., and 3 NW of Faversham. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office at Faversham. Acreage, 1327; population of the civil parish, 190; of the ecclesiastical, 242. Much of the land is reclaimed marsh. The living is a rectory, with Stone-next-Faversham annexed, in the diocese of Canterbury; joint net value, £320 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is Early English, and consists of nave and chancel, with a brick tower, and has been well restored.

  • L15 Luddesdown
  • Luddesdown, a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile SE of Sole Street station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 1/2 miles WSW of Rochester. It contains the hamlets of Poundgate and Henley Street. Post town, Gravesend; money order and telegraph office, Cobham. Acreage, 1995; population, 320. The manor belonged formerly to the Montacutes. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £70 with residence. The church was mainly rebuilt, partly repaired, in 1866, is partly in the Early English style, partly Later English, and consists of nave, S aisle, and chancel, with a tower. Two large and very striking frescoes were put in the N chancel wall in 1894.

  • Lullingstone,
  • a parish in Kent, on the river Darent, near Eynsford station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 miles S of Dartford. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Dart-ford. Acreage, 1557; population, 64. The manor belonged. to the Peches, passed to the Harts and the Dykes, and, with, Lullingstone Castle, belongs now to the Hart Dyke family. The old castle, sometimes called Shoreham Castle, was held by tho Aldhams under the Archbishops of Canterbury; stood on a spot now occupied by a farmhouse, and has left some fragments. The present castle is partly ancient, but chiefly of the latter part of the 18th century; stands near the church in a valley between chalk hills, and is surrounded by a beautiful park of about 700 acres. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £350. The church is. ancient, and contains a good oak chancel screen, some fragments of stained glass of the Decorated period, and remarkably fine 16th century monuments of the Peche and Hart families.

  • L16 Lydd
  • Lydd, a small town, a municipal borough, and a parish in Kent. The town stands near the coast, 3 1/2 miles SW by S of New Romney, 4 NW of Dungeness, and 72 from London by road. It has a station on the S.E.R., 70 miles from London, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. Lydd is a member of Romney cinque port, and a borough by prescription; is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors, and is a seat of petty sessions. The old market-house has been converted into a handsome town-hall. Acreage of parish, 12,015, of which 1040 are water; population, 2061. The land is of various character, a great portion appears to be of more recent formation than the adjacent marshes, and parts, called the Rype and Midrips, run out in narrow tongues, yet reaches of the beach are suffering inroads by the sea, and are cut by it into pits or water-holes. A long tract, called the Holmstone, was once covered with sea-holly, locally termed holm, and of an unusual size. A heap of stones at Stone End, on the shore to the E of the town,vas long traditionally regarded as the tomb of St Crispin and St Crispianus, who were alleged to have been shipwrecked and buried here. Dungeness, with coastguard and lifeboat stations and lighthouse, is in the parish. During the greater part of the year there is a large military camp stationed here for gunnery and rifle practice, and a military hospital was erected in 1894. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £730 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a large and handsome building of the Later English style, dating from the early part of the 13th century, and consists of nave, chancel, and a beautiful tower. An interesting pictorial record of the past has been discovereda relic of painted glass high up in the E window-of a very beautiful head, probably of the boy-bishop which is often mentioned in the town records. The face is that of a boy of about twelve years of age, with long curly hair. He is called in these records Bishop of St Nicholas, and is said to have annually come over on St Nicholas Day from New Romney, and " fee'd and feted" at the expense of the corporation. The tower, which is of more recent date than the main building, having been erected between 1425 and 1450, was heightened in 1510 to 132 feet, at the expense, it is supposed, of Cardinal Wolsey, who held the benefice in right of the Abbey of Tintem. The church contains an altar-tomb to Sir W. Meynell of the time of Edward III., and a number of brasses, and was given by one of the De Clares to Tintem Abbey. It was thoroughly restored in 1887. A Wesleyan chapel was erected in 1886. Baptist and Roman Catholic chapels were erected in 1892.

  • L17 Lydden
  • Lydden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on Watling Street, in a valley between high chalk hills, 2 miles from Shepherd's Well station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 NW of Dover. It has a post office under Dover; money order and telegraph office, Ewell. Acreage of parish, 1445; population, 170. Considerable springs rise here, and streamlets flowing from them have a subterranean course and fall into the sea, under the name of Lydden spouts, from the cliffs at Hougham about four miles distant. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £140 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church was rebuilt in 1833, was restored in 1869, and consists of nave and chancel, with a tower.

  • L18 Lyminge
  • Lyminge, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 1/2 mile E of Stane Street, and has a station on the S.E.R., 70 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office (S.O.) Area of the parish, 4617 acres; population of the civil parish, 835; of the ecclesiastical, with Paddlesworth, 881. The manor passed to the Archbishops of Canterbury; was surrendered by Archbishop Cranmer to the Crown; and went through various possessors to Lord Lough-borough, thence to the Price family, and now belongs to the-Kelceys. A nunnery was established hereby Ethelburga, and she was buried in the church. The nunnery was destroyed by the Danes and early disappeared, but the monastery (it was a double foundation) survived till 965. A spring, called St Radburg's Well, is near the church, and forms a headstream of the Little Stour river. Upwards of 1000 acres are under wood, and part of the land is hilly, with a light poor soil, but the rest is very fertile. The living is a rectory, united with the perpetual curacy of Paddlesworth, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £720 with residence. The apsidal foundations of the nunnery church are to be seen on the S side of the present one. It was built out of the ruins of the Roman villa of Lyminge, and the present church was built by Dunstan out of the remains of the original monastic buildings. The archbishops had a palace here which existed from 965 to 1400. The present church comprises nave, N aisle, and chancel, with a remarkable flying buttress, and has been repaired. There is a massive tower, built by Cardinal Morton out of the remains of the archbishop's palace, in which are six very fine bells. There is a Wesleyan chapel which was recently built on a new site. The Elham Workhouse, situated at Etching Hill, is in this parish.

  • L19 Lympne
  • Lympne, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on a scarp of hills, overlooking Romney Marsh, at the end of Stone Street, near the Royal Military Canal, 2 miles SSW of Westenhanger station on the S.E.R., 1 1/2 mile NW of the coast at Fort Moncrief, and 3 miles W of Hythe, took its name from the river Limene, Lemanis, or Lymne, which anciently ran close to it; was the Port Lemanis or Portus Lemainanus of the Romans; was known at Domesday as Limes, and is now a very small place. It has a post office under Hythe; money order office, Hythe; telegraph office, Stanford. Acreage of the civil parish, 2916; population, 493 ; of the ecclesiastical, 685. The river Limene greatly changed its course, and is believed to be the Pother, which now enters the sea at Rye. A harbour was on it close to the site of the village in the time of the Romans, and hence the name Portns Lemanis. A Roman station stood adjacent to the harbour, covered or inclosed about 10 acres, continued long to be a place of great strength, suffered much injury from landslips and other physical agencies which changed the course of the river; suffered injury also by the removal of stones from it as building material for the church; took eventually the name of Studfall, signifying " a fallen place;" and is now represented by fragments large enough to show the great thickness of its walls, and including the stump of a tower 10 feet high and 45 in circumference. The station is thought to have been a reconstruction by the Romans, as the remains of it include many stones which appear to have belonged to earlier buildings. Excavations were made in 1850, and coins of several emperors, tiles, pottery, glass, and keys were then found. A spot called Shepway Cross, about half a mile from the village at the top of the hill toward West Hythe, was long the place where the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was sworn in, and where his courts were held. The neighbourhood of the village commands a very fine seaward view. The parish contains also the hamlet of Court-at-Street The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of West Hythe, in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £273 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. The church has Norman portions, includes stones taken from the Roman station, has a tower, and was restored at a great expense in 1877-78. A castellated house adjoins the church, is said to have been erected by Archbishop Lanfranc, really shows characters of the Edwardian period, and was probably a watch-tower built in lieu of the fallen towers of the Roman fortress. An ancient chapel stood near Court-at-Street, was visited by the pilgrims from Canterbury in the time of A'Becket, and is now a ruin.

  • L20 Lynsted
  • Linsted or Lynsted, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 1/2 mile SSW of Teynham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 3 miles SE of Sittingbourne. It has a post and telegraph office under Sittingbourne. The parish contains also lialf of the village of Greenstreet. Acreage, 1826 ; population, 1157. The manor belonged formerly to the Lords Teynham, and, with Linsted Lodge, belongs now to the Tyicr family. An estate in the parish belonged to the Hugessen families, and passed to Sir Edward Knatchbull. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £244 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. The church consists of nave, aisles, and two chapels of the Teynham and the Hugessen families, and contains in these chapels several handsome monuments.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - M-N

  • M1 Maidstone

  • Maidstone, a market and assize town, a parliamentary and municipal borough, and a parish in Kent. The townstands on the river Medway, with three stations on the S.E.R., one of which is called Maidstone Barracks and another Tovil; the L.C. & D. R. also has communication with the town from Swanley Junction via Sevenoaks. Acreage of the municipal and parliamentary borough, which is conterminous with the civil parish, 4008; population, 32,145. Maidstone dates from very early times. It is said to have been the third largest city of the ancient Britons, and to have been called by them Medwag or Megwad, from the name of the river. It was known to the Romans as Ad Madam, also from the name of the river, which the Romans called Madus. Some antiquaries suppose it to have been the station Vag-niacse of Antoninus, and they fortify their opinion by the fact that numerous Roman remains have been found here; but others hold the opinion as tpeii to doubt. The town was called Medwegestan or Medwagston by the Saxons, and appears in Domesday Book as Meddestane, and it then had several mills, eel fisheries, and saltpans. The manor be- longed from an early period to the Archbishops of Canterbury ; was transferred to Henry VIII. by Cranmer; remained with the Crown till the time of Edward VI.; was given then to Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington; reverted, at Wyatt's rebellion, to the Crown; was given by Charles I. to the Hattons; and passed in 1720 to the Eomneys. The Archbishops of Canterbury for a time had no residence in it; but Archbishop Laugton acquired the house of W. de Com-hill in it in the time of King John; Archbishop Ufford commenced the reconstruction of that house into a palace in 1348 ; and subsequent archbishops completed, enlarged, and adorned it, and used it as a favourite residence. The palace was given by Queen Elizabeth to Sir John Astley, passed to Sir Jacob Astley, Charles I.'s Baron of Reading, and was alienated from the Astleys to the first Lord Romney (1685-1750), and in the Jubilee year (1887) was purchased by the corporation, and is now used for several town purposes. The town acquired importance from the presence of the archbishops ; received some enrichments at their hands; was long the halting-place of pilgrims to Canterbury, and had, for their use, an edifice called the Travellers' Hospital or College, founded by Archbishop Boniface. Some Protestant martyrs were burnt in the town in the time of Mary; the plague devastated it in 1593-95,1604,1607, and 1666-68; and Fairfax, at the head of 10,000 men, stormed it in 1648. About 2000 Royalist troops, under Sir John Mayney, held it against Fairfax; they made such stout resistance as to yield the ground only inch by inch, and after a struggle of five hours they retreated into the church, and there made terms for surrender. Clarendon says, " It was a very sharp encounter, very bravely fought, with Fairfax's whole strength, and the veteran soldiers confessed that they had never met with the like desperate service during the war." Archbishop Lee, Bishop Ralph de Maidstone, Bishop Walter de Maidstone, Jenkyns the composer, Woollett the engraver, Jeffrys the painter, Broughton the secretary at Charles I.'s trial, and Newton the local historian were natives; and Earl Winchelsea takes from the town the title of Viscount.

    The town

  • occupies a fine situation. It is screened by surrounding hills, rising from the beautiful vale of the Medway ; it stands principally on the slopes of a hill, ascending from the right bank of the river, and declining toward the W and the S; it derives ventilation and cleanliness from the nature of its site; it is noted for both the excellence of its water and the dryness of its soil; and it enjoys the amenities of a surrounding country rendered peculiarly charming by innumerable orchards and hop-gardens. It consists chiefly of four streets, intersecting one another near the public drinking fountain, and of smaller ones leading from them; and it extends upwards of a mile from N to S, and is about a mile in breadth. The High Street ascends to the W, and is very spacious. A portion of the centre is taken up by a block of buildings called the Middle Row, at the top of which is the town hall. The London and Tonbridge roads, partly edificed with elegant modern houses, go off from the bridge, and the Lock Meadows, named from a park or pleasaunce which anciently belonged to the Episcopal Palace and the Travellers' Hospital, extend on the same side of the river. A bridge over the Medway to replace an older structure was built in 1878-79 at a cost of £32,000, and is composed entirely of granite and Kentish rag-stone. A general view of the town, owing to the configuration of the ground on both sides of the vale, is not easily obtained; but such partial views as can be got are very fine. One of the best is from a point on the river bank below the W end of the churchyard; and this shows the old palace, the old hospital, and All Saints' Church in a very picturesque group. Other views take much character from gabled houses and decorated fronts, and from the barracks, now the depot of the Royal West Kent (Queen's Own) Regiment, and formerly an important cavalry depot. A few of the houses are ancient, and more or less quaint or picturesque, but nearly all are modern and handsome. A tendency to extension became manifest in the third decade of the 19th century; and it worked on all sides, particularly to the E of Gabriel's Hill and Week Street, on the Ashford Road, and latterly very much on the other side of the river, but it has not seriously altered the general aspect of antiquity. The old palace, as enlarged by Archbishop Courtenay, and as both enlarged and adorned by Archbishop Morton, is now the property of the Corporation. A long range of building, on the opposite side of the road, originally part of the palace offices, and now used for stables and tan stores, shows the original exterior little altered, exhibiting windows and an external stair of Late Decorated English character. A small building at the end of Mill Street, immediately at the gate turning down to the palace, is probably of the 14th century, and shows interesting architectural features. Another ancient house, with very rich carved and pargeted front, probably of the time of James I., is on the right on entering High Street from the railway station. Chillington House, in St Faith Street, originally the court-house of the manor, and now occupied as the public museum, belongs to the early part of the 16th century, exhibits interesting features of that period, and contains.a fine collection of local Roman antiquities, and a collection of fossils and birds from the neighbourhood, and numerous other curiosities. Altogether it is one of the most complete and interesting museums in the country. A new wing, consisting of a very fine art gallery, erected by Sir Bentlif, was added in 1890. The Travellers' Hospital or College, situated on the slope between All Saints' Church and the river, underwent considerable alterations in 1845, but still presents to antiquarian observers a very fine upper gateway tower, a long downward range of quondam priests' apartments, a lower tower at the end of that range, part of the master's house occupying the side of a court toward the river, a ruined tower adjoining that house, and a second or back gateway. The hospital was originally founded in 1260 by Archbishop Boniface; was incorporated in 1395 by Archbishop Courtenay, with a new college of secular priests founded by him contiguous to All Saints' Church; and continued to flourish till suppressed in the first year of Edward VI. The ruins, besides the interest of their architectural features, possess the interest of rich variety of tinting from weather-worn stone and clustering ivy, and the upper gateway tower commands one of the best views over the town and vale.

    The Town-hall

  • stands in High Street near the centre of the town, and is a large plain building. The Assize Court and the Prison stand at the top of Week Street on a plot of 14 acres, form together one fine structure of Kentish rag, and were built in 1818 at a cost of £200,000. The building has recently been much improved. The court-house is in the front, comprises a commodious range of rooms, and is used both for assizes and for quarter sessions. The prison has capacity for over 700 prisoners. The Royal West Kent Barracks stand below on the river side, and have accommodation for about 700 men. At the top of Union Street is a large brick building erected in 1857 as a barracks for the West Kent Militia, but since sold to private owners. The Corn Exchange was erected over the market for meat, fish, and vegetables, at a cost of £4000; is entered by an archway from High Street at the Mitre Hotel; and was thought for a time to be very commodious, but the business done in it, originally extensive and multifarious, grew rapidly, and improvements on it, long felt to be much needed, were completed in the spring of 1867. There are assembly rooms, public baths, and public drinking-fountains. The baths stand in Fair Meadow, and were erected in 1852, and iu 1894 underwent considerable enlargement. A drinking-fountain in the High Street, erected in 1862 at the expense of Mr Eandall, is an open Gothic quadrangular structure enclosing a life-size marble statue of the Queen and surmounted by richly-crocketed canopy, consists of red Mansfield stone in the base and of Portland stone in the upper part, and has at the angles columns of red granite with carved capitals each surmounted by a statue-figure of a winged angel. There is an interesting museum, and adjoining it technical schools of science and art erected in 1894. The County Lunatic Asylum stands at Banning Heath, and is an extensive range of building with accommodation for nearly 1500 inmates. The West Kent General Hospital was enlarged in 1889. The mechanics' institution, as well as the public museum, is held in Chilington House, and it has a library of upwards of 13,000 volumes, and maintains lectures during the winter months. There are also a Church Institute with assembly rooms and gymnasium, a freemasons' hall, two political clubs, three banks ; and five weekly newspapers are published. In 1894 a recreation ground was laid out costing over £5000.

    All Saints' Church

  • stands commandingly on a cliff; was mainly built in 1381-96 by Archbishop Courtenay; is all Later English; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, with a chantry of 1366; had formerly another chantry of 1406; has a SW tower 78 feet high, formerly surmounted by a spire 80 feet high, which was destroyed by lightning in 1730 ; contains a richly painted chancel screen, elaborately ornamented sedilia, the grave of Archbishop Courtenay, remains of an ancient fresco, several ancient monuments, and a Jacobean font. The whole building was very beautifully restored in 1885-86 at a cost of £11,000. Trinity Church stands in Church Street, was erected in 1828, and is a large plain stone edifice restored in 1877. St Peter's Church was. originally the chapel of the Travellers' Hospital, stood long-in a state of neglect and dilapidation, and was restored and enlarged in 1839. St John's Church stands at Mote Parky the seat of the Earl of Romney, was built in 1861, and is in. the Early English style, of Bath stone, with bell-turret. St Paul's Church stands at Perryfields, was built in 1860 at a cost of more than £5000, is in the style of the 14th century, and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower. St Philip's Church stands at Kingsley, and was built in 1858-and greatly altered in 1869. St Stephen's Church stands in Tovil township about a mile from the town, and is a stone-building in the Early English style. St Faith's Church was completed in 1881, and is a stone building in the Early English style. St Michael and All Angels' Church, built in 1875,. is a building of Kentish rag-stone in the Decorated style. The Congregational Chapel in Week Street was built in 1865 at a cost of £2649, is in the Italian style, of white brick, with Bath stone dressings. There are three chapels for Baptists, two for Wesleyans, and one each for Presbyterians, Quakers, Unitarians, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics. The public cemetery is on the Sutton Road about a mile S of the town, and has two handsome chapels. There are remains of a Grey friary founded in 1331 and removed to Walsingham, and of St Faith's Chapel, which was used in the time of Elizabeth by the Walloons. The Grammar School for Boys, formerly in Earl Street, now in the Tonbridge Road, arose from property of the Corpus Christi Brotherhood, founded in 1324 and suppressed in 1547, and has an endowed income and two exhibitions at University College, Oxford. In the Jubilee year a Grammar School for Girls was erected in Sittingbourne Road at a cost of about £7000, a large portion of which was given by the Rochester Bridge Trustees; the school is doing excellent work. The Blue-coat School in Knightrider Street was founded in 1711, and gave education to fifty-three boys and forty-three girls, and had an endowed income. Sir Charles Booth's School also gave education to thirty-five boys and thirty-five girls, and had an endowed income. Owing to the rearrangement of other schools, these charity schools were stopped in 1894, and the buildings are virtually unoccupied. Sir John Banks' alms-houses are for six poor persons, and have £60 a year from. endowment; Brenchley's are for old persons, and have £50; Duke's are for females, and have £191; Hunter's are for twelve poor persons, and have £268; Con-all's are for six persons in six houses; and Cutbush's are for decayed tradesmen or journeymen mechanics, were built and endowed in 1865 at a cost of nearly £12,000, and give £52 a year to the holder of each of six houses. The Edmett charity provides annuities of five shillings per week and upwards for some seventy annuitants, and also distributes coal and clothing at Christmas and pays the cost of a district nurse. There are also Fisher's charity for apprenticing boys; Wright's charity, partly for lectures and relief to women; and several other almshouses, which are well managed and much appreciated by those who receive the benefits. The total amount of endowed charities is about £1500 a year.
  • The town has a head post office, and is a seat of assizes, quarter sessions, petty sessions, and county courts. A market for corn, seeds, and hops is held on every Thursday, a market for general business on every Saturday, a cattle market weekly on Tuesday, and fairs on 13 Feb., 12 Slay, 20 June, and 17 Oct. An extensive navigation traffic is carried on up and down the Medway; it amounted for a number of years to an annual aggregate of 120,000 tons passing through Allington Lock, and paying £3000 of tolls. It has been reduced since the opening of the railways, but is still very much used, a large number of barges being continually employed. The wharves at the town are well suited for unloading coals, but afford no proper berth to a sea-going vessel, and have no suitable appliances for discharging heavy goods or for shipping timber. There are several paper mills, breweries, mailing establishments, a distillery, a tannery, iron-foundries, agricultural implement manufactories, coach-building establishments, Roman cement and lime works, ornamental plaster works, tobacco-pipe works, and hop-bag, matting, sacking, and rope and twine manufactories. There are also in the neighbourhood brick-fields, extensive stone quarries, and extensive market-orchards. The stone from the quarries is a Kentish rag, much used for docks, wharves, and church-building ; and the fruit from the orchards is sent largely to the London and north-country markets. One of the neighbouring quarries furnished the famous fossil iguanodon now in the Natural History Museum at South Keusington. A quantity of timber from the Weald is barged hence down the river for the use of the Chatham Dockyard, but this trade has very much decreased since iron has become so generally used in shipbuilding. The town is a borough by prescription, was first chartered by Edward VI., and sent two members to Parliament until 1885, when the number was reduced to one. It is divided into four wards, and governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The Maidstone Union Workhouse is at Linton.
  • Loddington hamlet, lying detached about 5 miles to the S, is the part of the parish not included in the municipal borough, and it comprises 590 acres. Tovil township or hamlet, lying on the Medway about 1 mile to the S, is mainly but not wholly in the parish. In 1872 an iron bridge for foot passengers was constructed over the Medway, and connects the village with Maidstone (West Borough), and there is also another foot-bridge connecting Tovil with the largely-populated part of the borough opposite. The Mote, the seat of the Earl of Eomney, about 1 mile to the E, was rebuilt by the third Lord Komney about 1795 ; took its name, not from any ancient moat around the previous edifice, but from the Anglo-Saxon word mot, signifying " a gathering place," and stands in a fine park containing some grand old oaks and beeches, and comprising about 600 acres. It has for a long time been occupied by the Dowager-Duchess Lady Howard de Walden. The river Len, crossed by a bridge, runs in front of the mansion, and a pavilion, near the site of the previous house, marks a spot on which the third Lord Eomney, in the presence of George III., gave a dinner to upwards of 3000 of the Kentish YRomanry. Penenden Heath, about 1 1/4 mile NNE of the town, is a large open space where county meetings have been held for centuries. The livings are all vicarages in the diocese of Canterbury; net values - All Saints, £240 ; St Faith's, £274; St Michael and All Angels, £275; St Paul's, £320; St Philip, £300; St Peter's, £244; St Stephen's, £300; gross values-Holy Trinity, £295, and St John the Evangelist, £249. All have residences.

  • M2 Marden
  • Marden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near an affluent of the river Medway, with a station on the S.E.R., 40 miles from London, and 3 WNW of Staplehurst. It is a picturesque place, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish contains also the hamlet of Cbainhurst. Acreage, 7750 ; population, 2350. The parish council, under the Local Government Act, 1894, consists of eleven members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £530 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower; and contains a very curious font of 1662. The building was restored in 1888. There are Congregational, Wesleyan, and Methodist chapels. Amhnrst, the author of the " Craftsman," was a native.

  • M3 Margate
  • Margate, a market-town, a municipal borough, a member of the Cinque Port of Dover, and a parish in Kent. The town stands on the N shore of the Isle of Thanet, and has stations on the L.C. & D.R. and the S.E.R. It also has steamboat communication with London, Gravesend, Thames Haven, Boulogne, &c. It is 3 miles WNW of the North Foreland, 5 MNW of Ramsgate, and 72 E by S of London. It was originally a small village called Meregate or Mergate, signifying " an opening or gate into the sea;" it includes the site of another and later small village, called St John or Lucas Dane; and it long continued, even after the junction of the two villages, to be only a small fishing-town and small seaport. It had a wooden pier long before the time of Henry VIII., and it was often an embarking point from England to Holland. The Elector-Palatine and his wife, the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., embarked at it; William III. more than once sailed from it and landed at it; George I. and George II. landed at it; the Duke of Marlborough selected it as his place of embarking and of landing to and from his several campaigns; and the Princess Alexandra of Denmark, on her way to be married to the Prince of Wales, anchored off it in 1863 in order to receive the first municipal congratulations of her adopted country. Margate is recorded to have been in repute " for fishery and coasting trade;" but in the time of Henry VIII., when Leiandwrote, it was " sore decayed." Its houses, even at a later date, like those of Flemish and Scotch fishing towns, were generally mere cottages. Several farmhouses and private dwellings of the time of Edward III., it is said, still remain of antique form. But it began toward the middle of the 18th century to be frequented as a bathing-place; it gradually attracted an increase of visitors by the purity of its air and its firm and smooth bathing-beach; it acquired about 1790, by invention of one of its own inhabitants, the first bathing machines ever used in England; and it has continued to become increasingly attractive till, for many years past, it has been annually frequented by a temporary population of at least 100,000. The influx to it from the metropolis, both by steamers and by railway, is very great, insomuch as to render it practically a suburb of London. It is less aristocratic than some other great bathing resorts, and on that very account has great multitudes both of temporary residents and of flying visitors. There is a grotto, with shell-work in floreated patterns lining its whole extent, and ending in a groined room, in which it is said a Roman altar was found when the cave was accidentally discovered several years ago, which seems most probably to be of Roman origin. No other explanation seems possible of the character of the cement in which the shellwork is embodied. Another object of interest is of ecclesiastical origin, namely, Salmstone Grange, or, as it was once called, " Rectory." These buildings and ruins are situated outside Margate, and consist of the ancient hall, chapel, and dormitories and kitchens of the abbots of St Augustine, Canterbury, who were owners of the rectorial tithes of the parish of St John, and who lived here part of the year whilst collecting them. The ruins are in a good state of preservation, especially the chapel, which dates from 1230, but which succeeded one on the same site that had become decayed.
  • The town stands on the declivities of two hills and along low ground at their base. It is well laid out, has good streets, and is thoroughly well drained. A sea-wall about a mile in length extends along the coast to defend the town from the sea. The Marine Terrace lies along the shore contiguous to the sea-wall; was originally 1500 feet long; has been extended in front of the Royal Crescent, and forms a favourite walk for residents and visitors. The Esplanade or Marine Drive was opened in 1880, and leads from the Marine Terrace to the Parade. This fine road has been constructed on a site reclaimed from the sea, and is lined with good buildings and shops. The Parade is continued for some distance from this drive. The Fort is a fine promenade on the cliffs eastward of the town, having in the centre a green on which a bandstand has been erected. This part of Margate is now known as Cliftonville, and contains some fine residences. A pier of Whitby stone, 901 feet long, 60 wide, and 20 high, was built in 1810-15 by Rennie at a cost of more than £100,000; forms a grand promenade ; and has at the extremity a lighthouse in the form of a Doric pillar, open to the public, and commanding fine sea-views. The jetty is a platform supported by iron pillars, and extending several hundred feet from the shore, was constructed in 1854 for enabling steamers to land their passengers at any time of tide; and this also is used as a public promenade; it was considerably enlarged in 1876; in the centre is a large structure containing a pavilion, bandstand, and several kiosks. The Market was erected in 1820, and is enclosed. by Tuscan porticoes and iron railings. The Town-hall, near the market, is a plain building, and contains some portraits. The Droit-office, at the end of the pier, is a handsome structure with a portico, and has an illuminated clock. The Assembly Rooms, rebuilt after a fire in 1882, are handsomely fitted up, and include billiard-rooms and coffee-rooms. The theatre is a convenient and well-built structure. The Hall-by-the-Sea has a large and handsome ball-room, beautiful gardens, which are well laid out, and a menagerie. The Clock Tower, at the junction of the Marine Terrace and Esplanade, was erected in 1889, and is a very ornamental building in the French Renaissance style. The Church Institute in Hawley Square maintains lectures on scientific subjects during winter, and contains a library and a well-supplied reading-room. The Clifton Baths are excavated out of solid chalk rock, comprise a series of subterranean passages, and include a library, a newsroom, a billiard-table, and an organ. There are also baths on the Lower Marine Terrace. St John's Church dates from 1050, i'etains some Norman portions, is constructed of rough flint, consists of nave and. aisles, with a tower, contains numerous brasses, and was restored in 1875. Trinity Church was built in 1825, is in the Pointed style, of brick with Bath stone dressings, comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, and has a tower 135 feet high, which was not erected, as is so generally supposed, partly at the expense of the Trinity House, and serves as a landmark. St Paul's Church, Cliftonville, was erected in 1873, and is a fine building of Kentish ragstone in the Decorated style. A Congregationalchapel is in Union Crescent, a chapel of Lady Huntingdon'sConnexion in Addington Square, a Baptist chapel near Cross Street, a Wesleyan chapel in Hawley Square, and a Roman Catholic chapel in Victoria Road. The Royal National Hospital for Scrofula stands at Westbrook, is a neat building, has accommodation for 250 patients, and is supported by legacies and donations. The Alexandra Alms-houses, in memorial of the Princess Alexandra's marriage in 1863, were built by public subscription in 1866, and have an elevation somewhat in the Italian style. There are a cottage hospital, deaf and dumb asylum, an infirmary forchildren, and some convalescent homes.
  • The town has a head post office, several banks, and is a seat of petty sessions, county courts, and quarter sessions. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and have a good supply of meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables. Fishing for skate, haddock, soles, flat fish, and shrimps is carried on, and a coasting trade is conducted in corn, timber, and coal. All the amusements common to a watering-place abound. Many interesting places, with features either of beauty or of antiquity, are in the near neighbourhood or within easy distance, and contribute much to variety of recreation. The town was made a municipal borough in 1857, and is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. It is divided into four wards.
  • The parish contains also the hamlets of Garlinge and Woodchnrch, and comprises 3919 acres of land and 618 of water; population of the civil parish, 21,367 ; of the ecclesiastical, 19,017. Under the Local Government Act of 1894 the hamlets of Garlinge and Northdown became rural parishes. Dentdelion or Dandelyon, 1 1/4 mile W of the town, was an ancient manor house belonging to a family of its own name, retains a fine castellated gateway of about the time of Henry IV., and was long used as a tea-garden. Hartsdown House is a farm edifice commanding a fine sea-view. The living of St John and that of Trinity are vicarages, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value of the former £410, of the latter £500. Patron of the former, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The net value of the living of St Paul, Cliftonville, is £300. There are also the churches of Garlinge, All Saints', Westbrook, and St Mary, Northdown, and a mission church of St Barnabas, the two latter being connected with St John's.

  • Meopham
  • (pronounced Mepham), a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the L.C. & D.B., 26 miles from London and 5 S of Gravesend; was known to the Saxons as Meapaham; is a pleasant place with a fine green; and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Gravesend. The parish contains also the hamlet of Culver-stone and other small hamlets. Acreage, 4713; population, 1170. The manor belongs to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Meopham Court and Camer are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; value, £320 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is partly Early English and Decorated, with Perpendicular aisles; was probably commenced by the family of Simon de Mepham, and completed by Archbishop Courtenay; consists of nave, aisles, chancel, and two porches, with tower; and has been well preserved. There was an earlier church, probably Saxon, mentioned in the Domesday book. There is a Baptist chapel

  • M4 Mereworth
  • Mereworth, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles WNW of Wateringbury station on the S.E.B., and 7 W by S of Maidstone. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maidstone. Acreage of parish, 2556; population, 755. The manor belonged to John de Mere-worth, the crusader, passed to the Fitzalans, the Beauchamps, the Nevilles, the Fanes, the Stapletons, and the Boscawens. Mereworth Castle, the seat of the Barons Ie Deapeucer, which barony is now held by Viscount Falmouth, was built about the middle of the 18th century after the model of Palladio's Villa Capri, has at its sides detached kitchens and offices in a style similar to itself, and stands amid very beautiful scenery. Yotes Court is the seat of Viscount Torrington. Hops and fruit are extensively grown. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £520 with residence. The church was built in 1746, in lieu of a previous one which stood on part of the site of Mereworth Castle, is in the Classical style, with a portico and a lofty steeple, and contains some old monuments of the Nevilles and the Fanes, removed to it from the former church. Walpole describes its steeple as " so tall that the poor church curtsies under it like Mary Rich in a vast high-crowned hat."

  • M5 Mersham
  • Mersham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 1/2 mile NNW of Smeeth station on the S.E.R., and 3g- miles SE of Ashford. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. Acreage of parish, 2680; population, 704. Mersham Hatch is a seat of the Knatch-bulls, has belonged to that family since the time of Henry VIII., and is a red brick mansion, rebuilt in the 18th century. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £648 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient but excellently restored, comprises naves, aisle, and chancel, and contains many memorials to, with the private chapel of, the Knatchbull family.


  • M6 Midley
  • Midley, a parish in Kent, 8y miles WSW of New Romney, and 1 1/2 mile from Lydd station on the S.E.R. Post town, New Eomney. Acreage, 2161; population, 56. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £415. There is no church.

  • M7 Milsted
  • Milstead, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 1/2 miles S of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and has a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Doddington. Acreage of parish, 1226; population, 264. The manor belongs to the Tyiden family. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £170 with residence. The church is mainly Early English, includes Transition Norman portions, and is in good condition; it was restored and enlarged in 1872, and again restored in 1890.

  • M8 Milton (Canterbury)
  • Milton, a small parish in Kent, near Canterbury, 1 mile from Chartham station on the S.E.R. Post town, Canterbury ; money order and telegraph office, Chartham. Acreage, 404; population. 11. The living is a rectory, annexed to Thanington, in the diocese of Canterbury. The church is a small building of flint in the Early English style.

  • M9 Milton (Gravesend)

  • M10 Milton Regis

  • M11 Minster (Sheppey)

  • M12 Minster In Thanet
  • Minster, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands in the Isle of Thanet, 1 mile N of the river Stour, and 4 miles W of Ramsgate; was once a market-town, and has a station on the S.E.R., 81 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish contains also Brook and Wayborough, and comprises 5388 acres; population of the civil parish, 2339; of the ecclesiastical, 2156. A nunnery was founded here in 670 by Domneva, niece of Egbert, King of Kent; was placed under his daughter Mildred as abbess over seventy nuns; was repeatedly plundered and sacked by the Danes, particularly in 980 and 1011; ceased at the latter date to be occupied as a nunnery, and passed with its property to the monks of Canterbury. Minster Court or the Abbey occupies the site of the old manor house, in which the monks resided who had charge of the property; retains some portions of the old building, particularly one of the 12th century; and long had connected with it the spicarium or great barn, 352 feet by 47, which was destroyed by lightning in 1700. Most of the land is flat, and bears the name of Minster Level; but part is hilly, and commands very fine views, both landward and seaward. Fruit is extensively grown in the parish. Ebbs Fleet, in the SE, was the landing-place of Hengist and Horsa. Roman coins were found about 1640 at Mount Pleasant. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £640 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is large and interesting; comprises nave, transepts, and choir, with tower and spire; is Early Norman in the W end, Late Norman in the nave, and Early English in the transepts and the choir; has a triplet E window, with clustered shafts between the lights, and a Norman door with tympanum within the tower; and contains eighteen miserere stalls, a very ancient iron-bound chest, an arched tomb of Edile de Thome, and traces of several brasses. A cross originally surmounted the spire, but was removed in 1647 by " Blue Dick," the noted Canterbury fanatic. There are Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, and Methodist chapels. The workhouse for Thanet district also is in this parish. Lewis the historian of Thanet, Wharton the author of " Anglia Sacra," and the younger Cassaubon were vicars.

  • M13 Molash

  • M14 Monks Horton

  • M15 Monkton
  • Monkton, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 1/2 mile N of the river Stour, 2 WNW of Minster station on the S.E.R., and 6 1/2 miles W of Ramsgate; was once a market-town, is a scattered place, and has a post office under Ramsgate; money order and telegraph office, Minster. Acreage of parish, 2370; population, 413. The parish council consists of five members. The manor was given in 916 by Queen Ediva to Christ Church, Canterbury, " to feed the monks." A fishery and a saltern were here at Domesday. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £256 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient but good, with a tower; includes fragments of all architectural periods; appears, from exterior arches in the N wall, to have once been larger than now; and contains a very fine brass of a priest of 1450.

  • Mottingham,
  • an ecclesiastical parish in Kent, 1 mile from Eltham station on the S.E.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. Population, 1037. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; value, £220 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The church of St Andrew, erected in 1879, is in the Gothic style. There is a Wesleyan chapel. The Royal Naval School was removed in 1889 from New Cross to West Chiselhurst Park in this parish. It is a fine mansion in the Italian style, and in it the sons of naval and marine officers are educated at the least possible expense.

  • M16 Murston
  • Murston, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the Milton creek of the river Swale, three-quarters of a mile NE of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and has a quay and several docks on the creek, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sittingbourne. Acreage of parish, 1294; population, 908. The land is chiefly marsh, and the climate is held by an old proverb to be unhealthy. Brickmaking is largely carried on. Tliere is a ferry over the Swale to Elmley. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £440 with residence. Patron, St John's College, Cambridge. The church is a building of flint and stone in the Early English style, and is good. There is a slightly endowed school.

  • Nackington,
  • a parish in Kent, on Stone Street, 2 1/2 miles S by E of Canterbury stations on the L.C* & D.R. and S.E.R. Post town, Canterbury. Acreage, 907; population of the civil parish, 85 ; of the ecclesiastical, 130. The manor belongs to the Sondes family. Nackington House and Hep-pington House are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £100 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church comprises an aisle and two chancels, and is good.

  • N1 Nettlestead
  • Nettlestead, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Medway, 1 mile SSW of Wateringbury station on the S.E.R., and 6 miles SW of Maidstone. It has a post office under Maidstone; money order and telegraph office, Wateringbnry. The parish contains also the hamlets of West Barming and Nettlestead Green. Acreage, 1305; population of the civil parish, 514; of the ecclesiastical, 541. Nettlestead Place was the residence of the Pimpe family from the time of Edward I., passed to the Scotts and the Botelers, and has left some remains. About 140 acres have usually been under hops. Gravel pits are on the river, The hamlet of West Barming was formerly a separate parish. and still retains ecclesiastically a parochial status. The living of Nettlestead is a rectory, united with the rectory of West Barming, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £390 with residence. The church is Early English, with a tower, and retains in its windows interesting ancient stained glass.

  • N2 New Romney
  • Romney, New, a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands 1 1/4 mile from the coast, with a station, called New Romney and Littlestone, on the S.E.R., 74 miles from London, and 9 SW of Hythe, and has a post, money order, and telegraph omce. Acreage of the civil parish, 2568 ; population, 1402; of the ecclesiastical, 1460. Romney was known to the Saxons as Rumenea and to the Normans as Romenel; had at Domesday five parish churches, an hospital, twelve wards, and 156 burgesses; ranked for some time as an important one of the cinque ports; lost its harbour in the time of Edward L by a great storm, which changed the course of the river Rother; is a borough by prescription and was chartered by Edward IIL; sent two members to parliament till disfranchised by the Reform Act of 1832. In 1885 it received a charter of incorporation, and is now governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors; is a seat of county courts and a polling-place, gives the title of Earl to the family of Marsham, and has a good inn, a market-house, an assembly-room, a church, a workhouse, almshouses with £112 a year, and a large stock fair on 21 Aug. The church is mainly Norman, partly Early English ; consists of nave, aisles, and. chancel, with a lofty tower, seen all over the surrounding level; contains a piscina, two brasses, and some ancient monuments; and belonged once to Pontignac Abbey in France. It was thoroughly restored in 1884. A cell of that abbey was once here; a lepers' hospital or chantry of the time of Henry II. also was here, but both have been entirely effaced. The living is a vicarage, united to the rectory of Hope All Saints, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £300 with residence. There are Wesleyan and Baptist chapels. Littlestone-on-Sea is an estate on the sea front which has been laid out for building purposes, so as in time to form a marine town.

  • N3 Newchurch
  • Newchurch, a parish in Kent, 2 miles S of the Military Canal, 3 1/2 ESE of Ham Street station on the S.E.R., and 4 1/2 N by W of New Romney. It has a post office under Folkestone; money order and telegraph office, Dymchurch. Acreage, 3180 ; population, 355. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £280 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English, consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with an embattled tower, and has very beautiful pillars within the aisles.

  • N4 Newenden
  • Newenden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Rother at the boundary with Sussex, 5 1/2 miles SW by S of Tenterden, 6 of Hawkhurst station, and 9 NW by W of Eye station on the S.E.R. It was once a considerable shipping place, and has a three-arched bridge over the Rother, a fair on 21 June, and a post and money order office under Rye ; telegraph office, Northiam. Acreage of parish, 1046 ; population, 149. A Carmelite priory stood at Lossenham, founded in 1241, about half a mile E of the village; contests with a friary at Aylesford the claim of having been the earliest Carmelite establishment in England ; is thought by Camden to have been founded on the site of the Roman Anderida; and has left no remains. A spot called Castle Toll, at some distance from Lossenham, exhibits traces of large and deep entrenchments, enclosing a lofty mound, has furnished many Roman relics, and used also to be regarded by some antiquaries as the site of Anderida. That ancient city, however, is now identified by the best antiquaries with Pevensey. The living of Newenden is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £145 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient, bears marks of being only a portion of originally a much larger structure (the ruins of the chancel were taken down in 1701), and contains a good Perpendicular screen and a very curious square carved font, either Saxon or Early Norman. There is an endowed school.

  • N5 Newington-Hythe

  • N6 Newington

  • N7 Newnham
  • Newnham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 5 miles SW of Faversham, 4 1/2 from Teynham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 7 SE of Sittingbourne. It has a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Doddington. Acreage of parish, 1285; population, 301. The parish council consists of five members. The living is a vicarage in The diocese of Canterbury; net value, £110 with residence. The church is ancient but good; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel; and contains a handsome tablet to the Hulse family. There are a small Congregational chapel and a working men's institute.

  • N8 Nonington
  • Nonington, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands in a champaign tract, 2 miles SE of Adisham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 SW of Sandwich. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover. Acreage of parish, 3808; population, 764. Fredville belonged formerly to Sir Brook Bridges, passed in 1750 by marriage to the Plumptres, and stands in a picturesque park containing a remarkable oak tree 36 feet in girth and more than 50 feet high. St Alban's Court, formerly called Eastwell Priory, was presented by King Stephen to St Alban's Abbey; hence its present name. It at one time belonged to the Culpepers, passed in the time of Queen Mary to the Hammonds, in which family it still remains. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £270 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is chiefly Early English, consists of nave, aisle, and two chancels, with W tower. It was restored in 1887 at a cost of nearly £2000.

  • N9 Northbourne
  • Northbourne, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 miles W by S of Deal, and 2 1/2 from Walmer station on the Deal and Dover Joint railway; takes its name from a brook or burn which runs to the Stour at Sandwich; and has a post office under Deal; money order and telegraph office, Deal. The parish contains also the hamlets of Finglesham, Ashley, Little Betshanger, Marley, and West Street, and includes the detached tract of Tickenhurst. Acreage, 3659 ; population, 892. The manor was given in 618 by King Eadbald to the monastery of St Augustine at Canterbury; went after the dissolution to the Crown, and belongs now to Lord Northbourne. Northbourne Court was a residence of the monks; is supposed to occupy the site of a palace of King Eadbald; was for some time in the possession of the Sandys family; had then famous hanging gardens, parts of which are still preserved. The site is now occupied by a small mansion. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury ; value, £170 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Norman, Transition, and Early English-large, cruciform, and interesting; has a massive central tower, and contains a triangular-headed piscina and a splendid monument of 1629 to Sir Edwin Sandys.

  • Cray, North
  • a parish in Kent, on the rivulet Cray, 1 mile NNE of Foots-Cray, and 1 1/2 mile from Bexley station on the S.E.R. It has a post office under Chislehurst; money order and telegraph office, Foots-Cray. Acreage, 1484; population, 549. North Cray Place belonged to the Hether-ingtons, passed to the Coventrys, and now belongs to Captain R. A. Vansittard. Vale Mascall, Mount Mascall, and Woollet Hall (where Lord Castlereagh once lived), are seats in the parish. Enxley or Rokeslie was once a separate parish, and had a church in Late Decorated English, now converted into a barn. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; tithe commuted at £363 with residence. The church is very good, and was rebuilt in 1858, and the chancel in 1870.

  • Northfleet,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Thames, with a station on the S.E.R., 21 miles from London, and 2 W of Gravesend. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Gravesend. Acreage of the civil parish, 3934; population, 11,717; of the ecclesiastical, 9831. The manor figures in Domesday book and belonged anciently to the Archbishops of Canterbury. There are numerous good residences. A marsh in the NW was formerly covered by the Thames, but is now protected by high flood-gates. Rosherville Gardens, lying between Northfleet village and Gravesend, are large and picturesque; contain well-arranged promenades; include cliffs upwards of 150 feet high; have connection with a pier at which steamers touch, and have for many years been a favourite pleasure resort. Chalk rocks have been extensively quarried and chalk pits sunk; lime and cement are very largely manufactured; flints from the chalk are exported to Staffordshire and even to China for pottery purposes; and fossils in the chalk formation, particularly echinites and glosso-petrae, are very plentiful. Some masses of chalk along the bank of the Thames were left untouched by the excavations, in consequence of not being rich enough for manufacturing uses, are now covered with brushwood, and present a very picturesque appearance. A handsome edifice, called Hnggens' College, which stands on an eminence near Stonebridge, was erected by the munificence of Mr John Huggens, of Sittingbourne, for the occupancy of reduced ladies and gentlemen; gives each of them a weekly allowance of £1, and comprises fifty residences and a chapel with a beautiful lofty spire. A reach of the Thames contiguous to the parish and 1 1/4 mile long, bears the name of Northfleet Hope, and at one time-was the anchoring-place of the East India Company's ships. The Roman Watling Street traverses the S, and a Roman station probably was within the limits. The living is a. vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £420 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church is partly ancient, partly of the 15th century; has a chancel 52 feet by 22, restored in 1862; has a tower of about 1717 built after a previous one fell, and contains a 14th-century rood-screen, some oak stalls and stone seats, two piscinas, and several good brasses. There are Congregational, Wesleyan, Methodist, and Roman Catholic chapels. The Factory Club, erected in 1878, is a substantial building consisting of large hall, reading and billiard rooms, and capable of containing 900 persons.

  • N10 Norton
  • Norton, a small rural parish in East Kent, 1 1/2 mile SSE of Teynham station on the L.C. & D.R., and. 3 1/2 W of Faversham. Post town, Faversham. Acreage, 903; population, 165. Norton Court, Provender, and Rushett are handsome residences in the parish. At Wren's Hill, in this parish, are the kennels of The Tickham foxhounds. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £366 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Worcester. The church is Early English, in good condition; consists of nave and chancel, with a tower; and contains some beautiful mural tablets.

  • Nursted,
  • a parish in Kent, half a mile N of Meopham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 miles S by W of Gravesend. Post town, Meopham, under Gravesend. Acreage, 521; population of the civil parish, 56; of the ecclesiastical, 302. The ecclesiastical parish includes Ifield and part of Northfleet. Nursted Court belongs to the Edmeades family, is a modernised ancient structure, and was originally a fine specimen of the domestic architecture of the early part of the 14th century. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £154 with residence. The church consists of nave, with porch and tower.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - O-P-Q

  • O1 Oare

  • O2 Offham
  • Offham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands at the N skirt of Mereworth Woods, 2 1/2 miles from Mailing station on the L.C. & D.R., and 8 WNW of Maidstone. It has a post office under Maidstone; money order and telegraph office, West Mailing. Acreage of parish, 711; population, 397. There is a parish council consisting of five members. Offham Green long had an ancient quintain, which the lord of the manor is obliged to keep in repair. The manor and much of the land belong to Lord Hothfield. Upwards of 200 acres are under hops. There is a Danish camp. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is partly Norman, chiefly Early English, all in good condition, and has a tower. Jack Straw was a native.

  • O3 Old Romney
  • Romney, Old, a parish in Kent, 2 miles W by N of New Romney, and 2 from Brookland station on the S.E.R. Post town, New Romney. Acreage, 2546 ; population, 154. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £233 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient, has a tower and spire, and contains a curious Norman font and a small brass.

  • O4 Orgarswick
  • Orgarswick, a parish in Kent, in Romney Marsh, 4 miles ESE of Ham Street station on the S.E.R,, and 4 N by E of New Romney. Post town, Dymchurch, under Folkestone. Acreage, 402 ; population, 14. The living is a sinecure rectory in the diocese of Canterbury. There is no church.

  • O5 Orlestone
  • Orlestone, a hamlet and a parish in Kent. The hamlet lies 1 mile N of Ham Street station on the S.E.R., 2 N of the Grand Military Canal, and 5 S by W of Ashford. The parish contains also the village of Ham Street, and it has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 1774; population of the civil parish, 458; of the ecclesiastical, 457. There are brick-fields and extensive woods. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £30 with residence. The church is a small building of stone in the Decorated style. The manor house and the old parsonage both contain timber work of the 14th century. Orpington, a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the S.E.R., 13 miles from London, 4 SE of Bromley, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish contains also the hamlet of Crofton, and comprises 3517 acres; population, 4099. There is a parish council consisting of fifteen members. The manor of Great Orpington belongs to the Dyke family, and that of Little Orpington to the Stapleton family. The Priory, a residence in the neighbourhood, is a very ancient mansion in the Tudor style, parts of the building dating back as far as 1393. Hops and all kinds of fruit are plentifully grown. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is mainly Early English, includes Norman portions, and has a low embattled tower. There is a Baptist chapel. St Paul's is a small chapel of ease situated at Crofton, and there is a large new church (St Andrew's) near St Mary 'Cray. Queen Elizabeth was entertained at Bark Hart in 1573 by Sir P. Hart.

  • O6 Ospringe
  • Ospringe, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands three-quarters of a mile W of Faversham station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post and money order office under Faversham; telegraph office, Faversham. The parish includes part of Faversham borough, and comprises 2873 acres; population of the civil parish, 1123; of the ecclesiastical, 1233. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. There are several mansions and other good residences. A Maison Dieu or hospital was founded here in 1235 by Henry III., was held by the Knights Templars, had a " Camera Regis" for the king's use when going to France by way of Dover, and was given at the dissolution of monasteries to St John's College, Cambridge. Many Roman relics have been found, and are supposed by some antiquarians to indicate Ospringe as the site of the Roman Durolevum. A very fine view is obtained from the railway, at its emergence from a cutting through Beacon Hill. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £290 with residence. Patron, St John's College, Cambridge. The church is ancient, in good condition; is built of flint, groined with stone; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel.

  • Otford,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Darent, with a station on the L.C. & D.R., 24 miles from London, and 3 N of Sevenoaks. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sevenoaks. Acreage of the civil parish, 2806; population, 1480 ; of the ecclesiastical, 668. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor was given to the see of Canterbury in 791 by King Offa of Mercia, was resigned to the Crown by Archbishop Cranmer, and belongs now to Earl Amherst A palace seems to have been built here by the Archbishops of Canterbury soon after their obtaining the manor; stood in so pleasant a situation, at the foot of the chalk-hills, with adjoining large parks and woods, as to have always been one of the most highly relished of the archiepiscopal residences; was the death-place, in 1313, of Archbishop Winchelsea; gave entertainment to Edward I., and repeatedly to Henry VIII.; was specially liked by Thomas a Becket, who is said to have brought a water-supply to it, and to have ordinarily bathed in a walled well still extant, 10 feet deep and 15 in diameter; was rebuilt, in a style of great magnificence, at a cost of £33,000, by Archbishop Warham; and is now represented by only a roofless tower and the cloistered side of the outer court. Otford House, Otford Castle, and Twitton Vale are chief residences. Hops are grown, bricks are made, and limestone is calcined. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury ; net value, £320 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The church is said to have been partially destroyed by fire about 1637, was rebuilt soon afterwards, and underwent general restoration in 1863. It contains several fine stained glass memorial windows, a monument to Mr C. Polhill, formed of seven different kinds of marble, and some other handsome monuments, and was anciently noted for a shrine of St Bartholomew. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • O7 Otham
  • Otham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near the river Len, 2 miles from Bearsted station on the L.C. & D.R., and 2 1/2 ESE of Maidstone. It has a post and money order office under Maidstone; telegraph office, Bearsted. Acreage of parish, 955; population, 361. There is a parish council of five members and a chairman. The manor and much of the land belong to the Earl of Romney. Hops and fruit are largely grown. The river Len bounds the parish on the N. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £370 with residence. Patron, Magdalen College, Oxford. The church includes traces of Early English and possibly Norman work; consists of nave, N aisle, and chancel, with tower and small spire; has been well restored; and contains the mural monuments of Lewen Ruffkin and wife, and tablets in memory of the families of Fludd, Hendley, and Home. Bishop Home was a native, and his father was rector.

  • O8 Otterden
  • Otterden, a parish in Kent, 2 miles SSW of Eastling, and 3 1/2 from Lenham station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Faversham; money order office, Lenham; telegraph office, Doddington. The manor belonged formerly to the St Legers, the Auchers, the Lewins, and the Curteises, and, with Otterden Place, belongs now to the Wheler family. Otterden Place is a pretty mansion, partly of the time of Henry VII., was the scene of experiments by Gray and Wheler in 1729 allied to those of Dr. Franklin, leading to the identification of lightning with electricity, and commands fine views over the wooded country toward Faversham, with distant glimpses of the sea. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury ; gross value, £350 with residence. The church was rebuilt in 1753, of brick and stone, and a chancel was added in 1894. It contains handsome monuments of the Lewins, the Bunces, and the Curteises, as well as several monumental brasses.

  • O9 Oxney
  • Oxney, a parish in Kent, 1 mile from Martin Mill station on the Deal and Dover railway, 2 miles N by W of St Mar-garet-at-Cliffe, and 5 1/2 NE by W of Dover. Post town, St Margaret-at-Cliffe, under Dover; money order office, Ring-would; telegraph office, St Margaret-at-Cliffe. Acreage, 318; population, 31. Oxney Court is the chief residence.

  • P1 Paddlesworth
  • Paddlesworth, a hamlet in Snodland parish, Kent, 1 1/2 mile W of Snodland railway station. It formerly had a church, and was anciently a parish.

  • P2 Patrixbourne
  • Patrixbourne, a parish, with a village, in Kent, on an affluent of the river Stour, half a mile from Bekesbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and 3 miles SE by E of Canterbury. Post town, Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Bridge. Acreage, 1640; population of the civil parish, 248; of the ecclesiastical, 1114. The manor was held at Domesday by Bishop Odo; was given in 1200 to Beaulieu Abbey, in Normandy, in connection with a cell to that abbey founded then at the church; passed to Merton Abbey; went after the Reformation to the Says and others; passed to the Cheyneys; and, with Bifrons mansion, belongs now to the Marquis of Conyngham. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Bridge, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £350 with residence. Patron, the Marquis of Conyngham. The church is Norman; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with tower and spire; has three E circular-headed windows, with a fine rose wheel; has been well restored; and contains a handsome carved altar-piece, and a fine marble monument to the first Marquis of Conyngham, who died in 1832.

  • P3 Pembury
  • Pembury, a village and a parish in Kent The village stands 4 miles SE of Tunbridge, and 5 from Paddock Wood station on the S.E.R., and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Tunbridge Wells. The parish contains also the hamlet of Lower Pembury Green. Acreage, 3650; population of the civil parish, 1662; of the ecclesiastical, 1657. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. Kenward and Grovehurst are the chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £340 with residence. The parish church stands about 1 1/2 mile from the village, includes Norman portions, contains several very old and curious monuments, and has been well restored. St Peter's chapel of ease to the parish church stands in the S, was erected at a cost of about £2500, and is in the Later English style, with tower and spire. There are Wesleyan and Nonconformist chapels, almshouses, and two clubs for working men. A reservoir for supplying Tunbridge Wells with water is situated in this parish.

  • Penshurst,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands at the confluence of the rivers Eden and Medway, with a station on the S.E.R. 32 miles from London, and 6 1/4 SW of Tunbridge; was anciently called Penchester; is a pretty place, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Tunbridge. The parish contains also the hamlet of Fordcombe Green. Acreage, 4568 ; population of the civil parish, 1647; of the ecclesiastical, 1052. The manor belonged at the Norman Conquest to the Penchesters; passed to the Boultneys, the Louvaines, the St Cleres, the Bohuns, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, and the Fanes; was given by Edward VI. to Sir W. Sidney; and, with Penshurst Castle, belongs now to Lord De L'Isle. The castle was mainly rebuilt in 1570-85 ; figures in some graphic lines by Ben Jonson ; is a quadrangular structure in florid Tudor architecture,. with a spacious court; includes a portion called the King's Tower, restored in 1862 ; contains a grand hall, dating from 1349, in which James I. was entertained; contains also an apartment called Queen Elizabeth's room, with furniture said to have been presented by Elizabeth herself; contains likewise a splendid collection of paintings and old armour, was the birthplace of Sir Philip Sidney, of " Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother," of Algernon Sidney, and of Dorothy Sidney, Waller's " Sacharissa," and stands in beautiful ground, formerly of vast extent, and still containing beautiful gardens, Sidney's oak, Sacharissa's walk, and Lancup well. There is a large cricket ball and bat manufactory. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £470 with residence. Patron, Lord De L'Isle. The church adjoins Penshurst Castle; has been well restored; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with pinnacled tower; and contains an effigies of a Penchester and brasses and monuments of the Sidneys. Fordcombe chapel was built in 1847 as a memorial to the General Viscount Hardinge, and is in the Early English style. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels and six almshonses.

  • P4 Petham
  • Petham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near Stane Street, 3 miles SSE of Chartham station on the S.E.R., and 5 S by W of Canterbury. It has a post and money order office under Canterbury; telegraph office, Chartham. The parish contains also the hamlets of Swarling and Garlinge Green. Acreage, 3338; population of the civil parish, 622; of the ecclesiastical, with Waltham, 1088. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The manor was given in 1036 to Christchurch, Canterbury, and passed after the Reformation to the Crown. There are remains of entrenchments, which have been generally ascribed to Cffisar. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Waltham, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £580 with residence. The church consists of aisles and chancel,. with a tower. There is a Methodist chapel.

  • Plaistow,
  • a chapelry in Bromley parish, Kent, with a station on the S.E.R. 10 miles from London. It was constituted in 1863. Post town, Bromley. Population, 4186. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church was built in 1864, and is in the Decorated English style. A chancel was added in 1881, and the building was again enlarged in 1890.

  • Plumstead,
  • a suburban town and a parish in Kent. The town is suburban to Woolwich on the E, stands near the river Thames, and has a station on the S.E.R. It is included in the county of London. All statistics will be found under LONDON. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The population has increased considerably of late years, chiefly from contiguity to Woolwich, and from large extension there of Government employment. The manor was given in 960 by King Edgar to Canterbury Abbey; went for a time to Earl Godwin's son Tostan, and to Bishop Odo; passed in the time of Henry VIII. to the Broughtons; and was given in 1736 to Queen's College, Oxford. Lesnes or Lessness Abbey estate, with interesting ruins 1 1/4 mile E of the parish church, belongs to Christ's Hospital, London. Genteel residences and elegant villas are very numerous. The S portions of the parish are hilly, and have good views, but the N portions are chiefly marsh. Shooter's Hill is in the same range as Plumstead Common. About 2000 acres of the Plumstead and Erith Marshes were inundated in the time of Henry VIII., and were not recovered till the time of James I. Powder magazines are on the Plumstead Marshes; brickfields, tile-kilns, sand pits, and chalk pits are near Plumstead Common; market-gardening is carried on, and sugar moulds are made. The living is a vicarage, united with Arsenal chapel, in the diocese of London. The perpetual curacy of St Nicholas is a separate benefice, in the patronage of the Vicar. St James' chapel, on the Barrage Town estate, forms another charge. St Margaret's Church, on Plumstead Common, is a modern and handsome edifice. St Nicholas' Church is an old building, and has been much improved. St John the Baptist Church is a brick edifice in the Gothic style. St James' Church is a very plain rectangular edifice of brick. There are a mission hall, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Wesleyan chapels. The value of the various livings will be found under LONDON. Bostall Wood, near Plumstead, was opened to the public in 1893. It consists of 61 acres of charming hilly and thickly-wooded land, and was acquired at the joint cost of the London County Council and the Plumstead District Board. It adjoins Bostall Heath, an expanse of 55 acres which had already been acquired as an open space for the public.

  • P5 Pluckley

  • P6 Postling

  • P7 Poulston

  • P8 Preston-next-Wingham

  • P9 Preston-next-Faversham

  • Q1 Queenborough
  • Queenborough, a market-town, a municipal borough, a parish, and a port in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. The town stands on the Swale, near the Medway, with a station on the Sittingbourne and Sheerness branch of the L.C. & D.R., 50 miles from London, and 2 S of Sheerness. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sheerness. Acreage of parish, 298; population, 1050. Queenborough superseded a Saxon place called Cyningburg or Kings Castle, where annual courts were held; was founded along with a castle by Edward III., and called Queenborough in compliment to bis queen Philippa; received a charter from Edward III.; is now governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 13 councillors; sent two members to Parliament from the time of Elizabeth till 1832; and was long a staple for wool. There is no market day, but a fair is held on 5 August. It has some glue and chemical manure factories, Portland cement works, and carries on a large timber trade. It consists chiefly of one main street, and has a guildhall, a church, Congregational and Wesleyau chapel, and charities. The guildhall has been recently renovated. The L.C. & D.R. have constructed a branch line for the requirements of their continental traffic via Flushing; a pier erected by them was destroyed by fire in 1882, and was rebuilt in 1885 on a much larger scale. The castle was erected after designs by William of Wykeham; was repaired by Richard II., Henry VIII., and Elizabeth; was taken down in the time of the Commonwealth; and is now represented by only a well and the remains of the moat and glacis. The well was re-opened in 1860, and is 271 feet deep. The church has an ancient tower, probably Norman, and was well restored in 1885. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £190 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - R

  • R1 Rainham
  • Rainham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 39 miles from London, and 4 ESE of Chatham. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sittingbourne. Acreage of parish, 3562; population, 3082. The parish council consists of eleven members. The manor belongs to Lord Hothfield. Berengrave Hall is the chief residence. Bricks and cement are made. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £420 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is partly of the 12th century; has a nave, N aisle, and two chancels; and contains a carved rood-screen, three-stone sedilia, and monuments of the Tuftons. The burial vaults of the Earls of Thanet are beneath the N chancel. There are Wesleyan, Congregational, Baptist, and Methodist chapels, and a public hall.

  • R2 Ramsgate
  • Ramsgate, a town, a parish, a municipal borough, and a popular seaside resort in Kent. The town stands on th& coast, in an opening between cliffs, at the N side of the entrance of Pegwell Bay, and has stations on the L.C.&D.R. and S.E.E., 72 miles from London, 3 1/2 SSW of the North Foreland, and 4 SSE of Margate. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage of the borough, 2343; population, 24,733. It takes its name from Ruim, the ancient British designation of Thanet, and the " gate " or opening between the cliffs; was only a small fishing village about the beginning of the 18th century; began then to have a good commerce with Eussia and the east country; acquired importance from the construction of a pier harbour at it in 1750-95; rose thence into increasing prominence as a seat of trade; was the place where George IV. embarked for Hanover in 1821, and where the King and Queen of the Belgians landed in 1837; figures-now as a well frequented watering-place; consists of two portions, ancient and modern, the former occupying a depression of the chalk cliffs, the latter containing the principal streets, with handsome crescents and terraces; commands a. delightful prospect of coast and sea; and possesses all kinds of excellent appliances for the use of sea-bathing visitors. The town was incorporated by royal charter in 1884, and has a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, who act as the urban district council; is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, a coastguard station, and a port. It publishes three newspapers, has several fine hotels and a large number of boarding-houses, a market-place, a town-hall, a custom-house, theatre, assembly rooms, a music hall, an obelisk commemorative of George IV.'s embarkation, elegantly fitted baths, seven churches, several dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, a Jews' synagogue, good libraries, several public schools, a dispensary, liospital, and convalescent homes. St George's Church was built in in 1827 at a cost of £30,000 ; is in a florid Pointed style, with tower and spire 137 feet high; measures 148feet by68 1/2, and was thoroughly restored in 1884. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £400 with residence. Patron, the Arch bishop of Canterbury. The chapel of ease was built in 1791, and has been 'restored. Holy Trinity is a building of flint erected in 1844 and restored in 1888. The living is a vicarage ; net value, £245 with residence. Christ Church is a building of Kentish ragstone, picturesquely situated in Ramsgate Vale, and surrounded by gardens. The living is a vicarage ; net value, £450 with residence. St Paul's Church was erected in 1874, has since been enlarged, and is a brick building in the Pointed style. The living is a vicarage; gross value, £300 with residence. St Luke's, consecrated in 1875, is a vicarage; net value, £205. The church is a handsome new building. The population of the ecclesiastical parish of St George's is 7308; of Holy Trinity, 1624; of Christ Church, 6141; of St Paul's, 3534; and of St Luke's, 4007. The Sailors' Home and Mission Church were opened in 1878. St Augustine's Catholic Church is a very beautiful and richly decorated building, erected at the expense of the late A. W. Pugin, and is regarded as his masterpiece. The Benedictine monastery, situated near the church, was built for the Fathers of this order who serve the church; near the monastery is St Augustine's College for boys. There are Wesleyan, Congregational, Baptist, and Methodist chapels. The Granville Marina, opened in 1877, slopes in an easterly direction from the Ramsgate railway station near The sands for 600 yards, thence by a broad curve is carried westward by a gradual ascent to the brink of the east cliff, thus enabling persons to reach the summit from the beach. The promenade pier on the east cliff, erected in 1881, is a light structure of iron 500 feet in length. The Ellington Park estate, which had been purchased by the corporation, was opened as a public park in 1893. In 1893-95 an immense improvement was made by the construction of a new road along the sea front; it connects the quay, by gradual ascents, with the east and west cliffs. The unsightly Government stores and harbourmaster's house in the pier yard were demolished, thus allowing the approach to the town from the L.C. & D.R. to be widened. A new custom-house has been built, and a free public library was established in 1895. The town as a seaside place enjoys great popularity; the sands, which extend to Broadstairs, are specially adapted for bathing; and the air is very bracing.
  • Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays; ship-repairing, rope-making, brewing, and fishing are carried on; much business arises from the presence of numerous yachts, the plying of steam packets, and the visits of ships seeking refuge in the harbour ; and a considerable commerce, both coastwise and with the continent, is carried on. The harbour occupies an area of about 51 acres; is formed almost circularly by two stone piers; has an entrance 253 feet wide; and includes a patent slip 480 feet long and 60 wide. The E pier is nearly 3000 feet long, and the W pier is 1500 feet. Each pier is 26 feet wide, and forms a fine promenade, while a lighthouse on the W pier shows a red light 37 feet high and visible at the distance of 6 miles. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port in 1895 was 190 (6700 tons). The entries and clearances each average 1600 (259,000 tons) per annum.
  • The parish includes part of Ellington hamlet, yet is regarded as conterminale with Ramsgate town; it formed part of St Lawrence parish till 1827. Numerous mansions and villas are either within the parish or in its immediate vicinity.

  • R3 Reculver
  • Reculver, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the coast, 3 miles E by N of Herne Bay station on the L.C. & D.R., takes its name from the Roman station Regulbium, and was once a market-town. Post town, Herne Bay, under Canterbury. Acreage of the civil parish, 1221; population, 244; of the ecclesiastical, 603. The manor belongs to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Part of the land in the E and the NE is marsh. The coast is partly bluff cliff, partly marsh, protected by a sea-wall, and has suffered much encroachment by the sea. The Roman station of Regulbium was on a cliff overhanging the Thames estuary; guarded a strait dividing the Isle of Thanet from the mainland, and formerly navigable; was garrisoned by the first cohort of the Vetasii-Belgians from Brabant; occupied about 8 acres; is still represented by the S and the E walls, originally about 12 feet thick, and now much shattered and covered with ivy and brushwood; and has yielded many coins, utensils, and other relics. A palace was built on the station by Ethelbert, king of Kent, and is traditionally but incorrectly said to have-been his burial-place. A monastery also was founded herein the 7th century, and was annexed to Christchurch, Canterbury. Coastguard stations are at Reculver and Bishopstone. The living is a vicarage, united with the perpetual curacy of Hoath, in the diocese of Canterbury ; net value, £165 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The old church included some Roman masonry; was partly Norman, partly Early English; suffered much damage by erosion of the sea; was mainly taken down in 1809 ; and is now represented only by two towers, called the Sisters, and serving as landmarks to mariners, and by a small part of the walls. The church of St Mary, situated at Hillborough, is a building of flint in the Early English style. Ridley, a parish in Kent, 4 miles SSW of Meopham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 7 SSW of Gravesend. Post town, Wrotham. Acreage, 834; population, 86. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £120' with residence. The church is ancient but good.

  • R4 Ringwould
  • Ringwould, a village and a parish in Kent The village stands on high ground near the coast, 3 miles SSW of Deal, and 1 mile from Walmer station on the Deal and Dover Joint railway, is a member of the cinque port liberty of Dover, was once a market-town, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover. The parish contains also the hamlet of Kingsdown, and comprises 1604 acres; population of the civil parish, 709; of the ecclesiastical, 272. There are vestiges of a Roman camp. Fishing is largely carried on and there is a coastguard station. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £250 with residence. The church is handsome and contains some brasses. The vicarage of Kingsdown is a separate benefice.

  • R5 Ripple
  • Ripple, a parish in Kent, near the coast, 2 1/2 miles SW of Deal, and 1 mile from Walmer station on the Dover and Deal Joint railway. It has a post office under Dover; money order office, Deal; telegraph office, Walmer. Acreage, 1021; population, 294. Ripple House. Ripple Court, and Ripple Vale are chief residences. Traces of a Roman entrenchment are a little to the N of the church, and another ancient entrenchment, an oblong of about half an acre, is called Dane Pits. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £150 with residence. The church was rebuilt in 1861, is in a mixed style of architecture, chiefly Norman, and has a tower and spire.

  • R6 River
  • River, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Dour, adjacent to Kearsney station on the L.C. & D.R., and 2 miles NW from Dover. Acreage of the civil parish, 1194; population, 758; of the ecclesiastical, 1489. Kearsney Abbey, Woodside, and Old Park are chief residences. There are paper and corn mills. The living is a vicarage, united with Guston, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £306. Patron, the Archbishop. The church was rebuilt in 1832, and has been restored. There is a large parish-room with small rooms attached, built in 1892.

  • Riverhead,
  • a village and a chapelry in Sevenoaks parish, Kent The village stands 1 mile WNW of Sevenoaks station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sevenoaks. The chapelry is also a liberty. Population of the ecclesiastical district, 905. Montreal Park is the seat of Earl Amherst, and stands amid fine grounds. Bradbourne Hall was built in 1730, and occupies the site of a previous mansion which was visited by Queen Elizabeth. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £40 with residence. Patron, the Rector of Sevenoaks. The church was built in 1831, is in the Pointed style, and has a small spire.

  • R7 Rochester
  • Rochester, a municipal and parliamentary borough, a market-town, and a parish in Kent, and a diocese in Kent, Essex, and Herts. The borough stands on Watling Street, on the right bank of the river Medway, with stations on the L.O. & D.R. and S.E.R., 29 miles E by S of London. It adjoins Strood on the W and Chatham on the E, in such manner that the three towns practically form one. The two railways, from stations at respectively Chatham and Strood, give it inland communication with all parts of the kingdom; and the river Medway, from its own quays, give it navigation both inward for barges to Maidstone, and outward for seaborne vessels to the Thames and the ocean.

  • History.
  • An ancient British stronghold seems to have occupied the site of Rochester. A Roman castrum succeeded, and took the name of Dnrobrivae or Durobrivis, from the Celtic words dwr and briva, the former signifying " water," the latter indicating " a ferry." A Saxon chieftain called Hrof afterwards settled at it, and occasioned it to be known to the Saxons as Hrofe-ceastre, signifying " Hrofs castle." Ethelbert walled it in 600-4, and founded at it a missionary church which became the nucleus of the cathedral. Ethelred plundered it in 676. The Danes attacked it in 839 and 885, and were driven off in the latter year by Alfred. Etheldred besieged it in 986. The Danes sacked it in 998. William the Conqueror built a new castle on the site of the Saxon or Roman fort, and gave it to Bishop Odo. William Rufus besieged and took the castle in 1088. Henry I. attended the dedication of the new or reconstructed cathedral in 1130. The city was greatly injured by fire in the same year, and in 1137 and 1177. John took the castle from the barons in 1215, and Louis the Dauphin retook it in the following year. A tournament was held at the city, in the presence of Henry IIL, in 1251. Simon de Montford took the city, and besieged the castle, in 1264. Wat Tyier in his insurrection attacked the castle, and Edward IV. repaired it. Henry VIII. and Charles V. visited the city in 1522. Two Protestant martyrs were burnt in it in 1556. Elizabeth visited it in 1573, and Charles II. at the Restoration. The plague ravaged it in 1665. James II. embarked at it in his flight in 1688. Christian VII. slept at it in 1768. Queen Victoria went repeatedly through it in 1856. John de Salisbury, the friend of A'Becket, was a native; Dickens the novelist spent in it the earliest years of his life; and the families of Wilmot and Hyde took from it the title of Earl.

  • Structure.
  • The city is straggling, and extends over considerable space along the river. The main street is nearly in a line with the main street of Strood, and is continuous with the main street of Chatham. The streets for the most part are irregularly aligned, but they are well paved and have been much improved. The general view in combination with Strood and Chatham, as seen in the approach from the W, is very striking; discloses a curious mixture of old and new things, of quietude and activity; and includes, as chief objects, the castle and cathedral in the city, Fort Pitt on a hill above Chatham, and a throng of ships and steamers in the river. The city walls were suffered to fall into decay after the time of Edward IV., but remains of them still exist, and the fortifications of Chatham afford ample defence. The castle stands at the SW angle of the city; was defended on one side by the Medway, on the other sides by a deep fosse; retains traces of the fosse and much of the outer walls, with square open towers at intervals; and consists now chiefly of a Norman quadrangular keep, 70 feet square, 104 high, and from 11 to 13 thick in the walls, arranged in four storeys, and surmounted at each angle with a buttress-tower 12 feet square and rising above the principal mass. In 1883 the castle with its grounds was purchased by the corporation from the Earl of Jersey, and the grounds have been laid out for public recreation. A hillock called Boley Hill is close to the castle, seems to be partly or even mainly artificial, and is crowned by the house of Satis where Watts entertained Queen Elizabeth. Many Roman bricks, urns, coins, and other relics have been found on Boley Hill and around the castle. A wooden bridge of uncertain antiquity crossed the Medway in a line with High Street, was defended at its E end by a wooden tower and strong gates, and continued in use till the fifteenth year of Richard II. A stone bridge about 40 yards nearer the castle succeeded the wooden one, was 560 feet long and 24 wide between the parapets, had eleven arches, and continued in use till 1856. An iron bridge, on the site of the wooden one, was erected in 1857-58 at a cost of £200,000, has a centre arch 170 feet in span and two side arches each 140 feet in span, and includes toward the E end a swing bridge, turning on a pivot, and laying open a passage 50 feet wide for the transit of vessels. A railway viaduct, taking the North Kent line onward to a junction with the London, Chatham, and Dover line, crosses immediately below, and is an ungainly structure. The town-hall was built in 1687, is a brick structure with Doric columns, and contains portraits of William III., Queen Anne, and Sir C. Shovel. The clock-house, on the site of the old guildhall, was built in 1706 by Sir C. Shovel, and projects into High Street. The county court office in High Street was built in 1862, and is a commodious brick edifice in the Tudor style. A new corn exchange, to conjoin with the old one, was erected in 1870-71. There are Liberal and Conservative clubs. Other public buildings are the theatre, the custom-house, and the Fort Clarence military prison.

  • The Cathedral.
  • The original cathedral grew out of the church founded in 604, and was in a completely ruined condition at the time of the Norman Conquest. The present cathedral was commenced by Bishop Gundulph soon after 1077, did not attain sufficient commodiousness or character to be dedicated till 1130, underwent enlargements and alterations at various periods till 1479, and was renovated or repaired at a cost of £14,000 in 1827 and 1834. The pile comprises a nave of eight bays with aisles, a St Mary's chapel of three bays on the SE side of the nave, a west choir and transept each of one bay, a main transept with a four-chapelled aisle in one part and a tower called Gnndulph's Tower in another, a choir with aisles separated from it by solid walls, a central tower, an east ambulatory, and a Lady chapel of four bays. The nave is 159 feet long, 65 1/2 wide, and 55 high; St Mary's chapel is 45 feet long and 30 wide, the choir transept is 92 feet long, the main transept is 122 1/2 feet long, Gundulph's Tower is 24 feet square and 95 high, the central tower is 156 feet high, the choir is 110 1/2 feet long, the Lady chapel is 44 feet long and 28 1/4 wide, and the entire pile is. 310 feet long. Part of the architecture is Norman, and all the rest is Early English. The W front is 94 feet long, and has a magnificent Norman doorway. The nave is the oldest in England, and chiefly Norman. The central tower was built in 1352, and a spire was erected on it in 1479 and taken down in 1827. Three decorated sedilia are on the S side of the choir, occupy the ancient site of the high altar, and were restored in 1825. The chief monuments are one of Lord Henniker (1803), a stone cist of Bishop Gnndulph (1107), a canopied effigies of Bishop Inglethorpe (1291), an effigies of Bishop Laurence (1274), a coped tomb of Bishop Glanville-(1214), a canopy and effigies of Bishop Bradfield (1283), a canopy and effigies of Bishop Shepey (1361), a table tomb of Bishop Lowe (1467), an effigies and two pyramidal canopies -restored in 1849-of Walter de Merton (1278), a brass tablet to the celebrated novelist Charles Dickens, who lived. at Gad's Hill, near Rochester; and a marble portrait medallion of Joseph Maas the singer, who was at one time a chorister in the cathedral. A crypt extends beneath all the choir, was completed in 1227, and once contained nine altars. Th& W front of the destroyed chapter-house has a fine Norman character, and is elaborately carved with zodiacal signs; a doorway of it, rich in sculptures, was restored in 1830. Three gates of the precinct wall, and an embattled tower-arch of the S cloister gate, still stand. The choir was restored in 1874-75, and the stone screen between the nave and choir was adorned with canopied niches, to contain figures of bishops, in 1890. Since 1885 several of the Norman windows have been filled with stained glass as memorials-one being dedicated to General Gordon, the hero of Khartoum. The establishment of the cathedral consists of a dean, four canons, three minor canons, and six lay clerks. The salary of the bishop is £3800, that of the dean £1500, and of the canons £750 each.

  • The Diocese.
  • The see of Rochester claims to have been founded in 604. Some of the most prominent of the bishops were Putta who was deposed, Paulinus who was canonized, Gundulph the architect, Arnulph the compiler of " Textus Eoffensis," Walter the sportsman, Galeran who officially humbled himself at the altar of Canterbury, Glanville who severely mulcted the monks, Walter de Merton who founded a college at Oxford, John de Shepey who was Lord Chancellor, Rotherham called the munificent, Alcock founder of Jesus College at Cambridge, Fisher who became Cardinal and was executed, Eidley who died a martyr's death, Young who refused to be translated to Norwich, Neile called the Ambitious, Wamer the generous and brave, Sprat the wit and time-server, Atterbury the eloquent, Pearce who vainly entreated leave to renounce his mitre, and Horsley the learned. The diocese formerly included the whole of Herts and Essex, but these counties were separated from it and placed in the diocese of St Alban's in 1877. The present diocese comprises-Kent (part of), viz., the city and deanery of Rochester and the deaneries of Cobham and Gravesend; also part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Andrew, Mottingham ; London (part of), viz., the deaneries of Battersea, Camberwell, Clapham, Greenwich, Kennington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newington, Southwark, Streatham, and Woolwich, and the ecclesiastical parishes of Putney and Roehampton; Surrey (part of), viz., the deaneries of Beddington, Godstone, Kingston, and Reigate, and that part of the deanery of Barnes in the county of Surrey; Sussex (part of), viz., part of the ecclesiastical parish of Felbridge. Population, 1,928,737.

  • Churches.
  • St Margaret's Church was rebuilt in 1824,and contains a curious stone font and some old monuments. It has been well restored. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £340 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church of St Matthew, Borstal, serves as a chapel of ease to St Margaret's. St Nicholas' Church was rebuilt in 1624, is a favourable specimen of debased Gothic, was restored in 1862 at a cost of £1700, and contains a curious octagonal stone font. The living is a vicarage; net value, £170 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. St Clement's Church is now represented by only traces of its walls in houses on the N side of High Street. St Peter's Church stands in Troy Town, and is a building of stone and brick in the Decorated style. The living is a vicarage; net value, £185 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. There are Congregational, Bible Christian, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels, and a Society of Friends' meeting-house. There is also a Jews' synagogue, built in 1868. The cemetery for St Margaret's and St Peter's was formed in 1865, occupies 6 acres, and contains two chapels with connecting arcades and with a tower and spire, all in the Early English style. Population of the ecclesiastical parish of the cathedral church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, 156; of St Margaret, with Borstal St Matthew, 6980; of St Nicholas, with St Clement, 2778 ; and of St Peter, 5390.

  • Schools and Institutions.
  • The cathedral grammar school was founded by Henry VIII., gives free tuition and an annual allowance to each of twenty boys, admits other boys on payment of fees, and has four exhibitions at Oxford and two at Cambridge. Williamson's Free School was founded in 1701 by Sir Joseph Williamson, has an endowed income of nearly £1400 a year, and had Garrick for a pupil. A good grammar school for girls was founded in 1888. Richard Watt's Hospital was founded in 1579 for giving a night's lodging, a supper, and fourpence to each of twelve poor travellers; was rebuilt in 1771; bears an inscription stating that neither '' rogues nor proctors will be admitted,'' and has an endowed income of about £3500. A scheme was sanctioned in 1855 by the Court of Chancery to appropriate part of the funds of Watt's Hospital to the building and support of almshouses, and part toward the building and support of a general sick hospital. The almshouses were erected at a cost of £10,000, stand in the Maidstone Road, are very fine structures in the Tudor style with two splendid gateways, contain accommodation for ten men, ten women, and a porter, and have a yearly endowment from Watt's Hospital funds. The general hospital was built in 1862-63 at a cost of about £20,000, derived £4000 of that sum from Watt's charity, £4500 from a Government grant, and the rest from the revenues of St Bartholomew's Lepers' Hospital, founded in the time of the Crusades; stands in the New Road, is in the Tudor style, of red brick with stone dressings; consists of a main centre and projecting wings; contains accommodation for 100 patients, includes also surgeries, lecture-halls, nurses' rooms, and other departments, and draws £1000 a year from Watt's charity, and a considerable sum annually from the Lepers' Hospital estate. St Catherine's Hospital in Starhill is for sixteen aged females, and has about £548 a year from endowment. Other institutions are a house of industry, the Fort Pitt Military Hospital, and Hawkins' charity for decayed seamen.

  • Trade and Commerce.
  • The city has a head post office, two banks, and several good inns; is a port and a seat of quarter sessions and county courts; and publishes five newspapers. Weekly markets are held on Tuesdays. An oyster fishery is carried on, considerable business in connection with the arsenal at Chatham is done, and an establishment for making patent steam engines employs many hands. A new quay was constructed in 1862 at a cost of about £1500. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port in 1895 was 1050 (65,000 tons). The entries and clearances each average 7700 (620,000 tons) per annum.

  • The Borough, &c.
  • Rochester was first chartered by Henry II., sent two members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. until 1885, when the number was reduced to one under the Redistribution of Seats Act. It is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 17 councillors, who act as the urban district council. The borough boundaries are the same municipally as parliamentarily, and include the two city parishes, the cathedral precinct, Strood-Intra and Media, and small parts of the parishes of Chatham and Frindsbury. Area of the borough, 2909 acres; population, 26,290; area of the civil parish, 2334 acres; population of the civil parishes of Cathedral Precincts, 156; St Margaret, 12,370 ; and St Nicholas, 2778.

  • R8 Rodmersham
  • Rodmersham, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 1 3/4 mile SE of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Sittingbourne. Acreage, 1234; population, 407. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £110 with residence. The church is Early English, in good condition, and contains three curious antique wooden seats, overhung by a canopy, and supposed to have been formed for knights of St John. There is a Bible Christians' chapel.


  • R9 Rolvenden
  • Rolvenden, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on an eminence, 3 miles SW of Tenterden, and 6 miles from Cranbrook station on the S.E.R. Acreage, 5753, population, 1194. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor, with Hole House, belongs to-the Morrison family. Kingsgate House, Maytham Hall, and Rawlinson are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £245 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is Early and Later English, and consists of nave, aisles,. transepts, and chancel, with vestry and lofty tower. There is a Bible Christian chapel. Hops are extensively grown in the neighbourhood.

  • R10 Ruckinge
  • Ruckinge, a village and a parish in Kent The village stands on the brow of the high ground adjacent to the Military Canal, and overlooking Romney Marsh, 2 miles E of Ham Street station on the S.E.R., and 6 S by E of Ashford. It has a post office under Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Ham Street. Acreage of parish, 3448; population, 356. Part of it is under hops, part is excellent pasture, and much is under wood. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £220 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English, with Norman portions; it was restored in 1895. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • R11 Ryarsh
  • Ryarsh, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 1/2 mile from West Mailing station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 1/2 miles NW by W of Maidstone. It has a post office under Maidstone; money order and telegraph office, West Malling. The parish includes also part of Aldon hamlet, and comprises 1375 acres; population of the civil parish, 518; of the ecclesiastical, 555. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £300 with residence. The church is partly Norman, but mainly Later English.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - S

  • S1 Saltwood
  • Saltwood, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands three-quarters of a mile N of Hythe, and 1 ESE of Sandling station on the S.E.R., commands a fine view, and has a post office under Hythe; money order and telegraph office, Hythe. The parish contains also the hamlets of Saltwood Green and Pedlinge, and comprises 2387 acres; population of the civil parish, 557; of the ecclesiastical, 717.
  • There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The manor was given to the see of Canterbury in 1036 by the Danish Karl Halfden. Saltwood Castle, situated close to the village, is said to have been first erected in 488 by Escus or Oisc, king of Kent, was restored or rebuilt in 1080 by Hugo de Montfort, was held for some time by various knights under the archbishops, was the rendezvous of the four knights who planned the murder of A'Becket, passed afterwards to the Crown, but was restored by King John to the archbishops, underwent enlargement and embellishment at great cost by Archbishop Courtenay in the time of Richard II., was thence a residence of the archbishops till the time of Henry VIII., went then to the Crown in exchange for other property, was given by Henry VIII. to the Clintons, passed afterwards through various hands and sank into decay; it continued in a ruinous condition until 1882, when it was completely restored at great labour and expense.
  • The fine double gate-house was included in the restoration and a new block of buildings erected behind it, the whole now constituting a handsome country residence, and presenting an almost singular instance of a castle upwards of 500 years old having been successfully adapted for this purpose. It is the residence and property of the Deedes family. Brockhill House has been the seat of the Tournay family since 1498. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £260 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is chiefly of the time of Edward III., and has been restored. There is a mission church in connection with the parish church.

  • Sandgate
  • a village and a chapelry within Hythe parliamentary borough, Kent. The village stands on the coast, at the foot of an extensive range of hills, 1 mile S of Shorncliffe, and 1 1/2 WSW of Folkestone, with a station on the S.E.R., 68 miles from London. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The chapelry is partly in Folkestone parish, but chiefly in Cheriton, and was constituted an ecclesiastical district in 1854. Population, 2251. It has an urban district council consisting of nine members. In 1895 Sandgate and Cheriton were annexed to Folkestone.
  • The village is in the parish of Cheriton. It was founded in 1773 by a shipbuilder of the name of Wilson, grew and prospered as a place of shipbuilding and as a sea-bathing resort, possesses good advantages for visitors, enjoys very salubrious air and highly picturesque and romantic environs, commands a clear and extensive view of the French coast, has undergone much improvement by drainage, by the introduction of a good water supply, and otherwise, and has a church, Wesleyan and Congregational chapels, reading-rooms, a literary institution, a dispensary, a large convalescent home, and numerous charities. Sandgate Castle was built for defence of the coast by Henry VIII. in 1539, gave entertainment in 1573 to Queen Elizabeth, and underwent repairs and enlargement in 1806 to adapt it to purposes of modern warfare. Part of the line of martello towers erected during the war with France is in the neighbourhood.
  • A military camp, called Shorncliffe Camp, was formed on a plateau above the village about the time when the martello towers were (built, was made permanent with the erection of barracks in 1854, forms three sides of a square, and contains accommodation for about 6000 soldiers.
  • The Military Canal commences near Sandgate, and goes thence to Rye. The church is a Gothic structure, and has been well restored. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Patron, the Vicar of Folkestone. The area in and around Sandgate has always been liable to landslips, for the soft sandy soil when it becomes saturated with moisture is liable to slide over the impervious clay upon which it rests. A slip which occurred in 1893 led to the demolition of three houses and the injury of about seventy others. A suitable system of surface drainage has since been carried out, and it is believed that the district will thus be protected from a recurrence of such a calamity.

  • S2 Sandhurst

  • Sandwich,
  • a market-town, a municipal borough, and three parishes in Kent. The town stands on the river Stour, with a station on the Deal branch of the S.E.R., 86 miles from London, 2 W of Pegwell Bay, and 4 1/2 NW by N of Deal, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office. It grew out of the ruins of the Roman Rhutupis or Ratnpise at Richborough; was known to the Saxons as Sandwic or Sondwych, signifying "sand town," figured in the Saxon times also as Lundenwic, or outport to London; appears first on record as the landing place of Wilfred in 665, after he had preached among the Frisians; was attacked, but not taken, by the Danes in 838 and 851; was attacked by them again and pillaged in 852, 994, and 1007; stood, in these early times, on the margin of the sea, with a good and capacious haven; was the rendezvous of the fleet of Etheldred II. to oppose the Danes; suffered renewed attacks by the Danes in 1008, 1009, and 1013; became, about 1014, the most important of the English harbours,, was visited in that year by Canute; was the landing place of Canute in 1016, on his way to the throne; was reconstructed by Canute, and given by him to Christ Church, Canterbury; was visited in 1039 by Hardicanute; had 307 houses in the time of Edward the Confessor, and was then made a Cinque port; was visited by Edward the Confessor in 1049, and again in 1052 to oppose Earl Godwin. It had 383 houses at Domesday; was the embarking place of Thomas A Becket after his scene with the king at Northampton, and his landing place on his return in December, 1170; was the landing place of Richard I. in 1194, after his imprisonment in Austria; was burned by the French in 1217; was the embarking place of Edward III., for France and Flanders, in 1342, 1345,1347, 1349, 1359, and 1372; was the landing place of the Black Prince, with his prisoner the French king; was fortified against the French in 1384 by Richard II.; was the embarking place in 1416 of Henry V.; was plundered by the French in 1445, and burned by them in 1457; made such speedy recovery from its disasters as to have 95 ships with 1500 sailors in the time of Edward IV., and as then to yield customs to the yearly amount of £17,000; was the embarking place of Edward IV. to France in 1475; began to suffer decay from the choking of its harbour with sand about 1500; experienced revival in 1561 and subsequent years, by immigration of Walloons, acting principally as barge workers and as gardeners; suffered a slight stroke of earthquake in 1579 ; was ravaged by plague in 1636,1637,1644, and 1666; was visited by Henry VIII., by Elizabeth in 1573, by Cromwell in 1651, by Charles II. in 1660. It numbers among its natives Bishop Henry de Sandwich, who died in 1273; Manwood the lawyer, who died in 1592; Sir J. Mennes the mariner, who was born in 1598; Sir J. Burroughs the herald, who died in 1643; Sir H. Furnese, who was born in 1658; Sir G. Ent the physician, who died in 1689; Burchett, the admiralty secretary in the time of Queen Anne; Dr Simmons, who was born in 1750; and Admiral Rainier, who died in 1808. It has given the title of Earl to the family of Montague since 1650, and had its name transferred, through the Earl Sandwich who was minister of George III., to the group of South Sea Islands discovered by Cook in 1769.
  • The town had an ancient castle which was held against Edward IV. by Falconbridge and is now quite gone, and had also encompassing walls, partly of stone, partly of earth, with five gates, one of which called Fisher's Gate still stands. The old walls have been converted into a promenade. It had likewise a Carmelite friary, founded in 1272 by Lord Clinton, vested with the privilege of sanctuary, and given at the dissolution to the Ardens, and retains interesting fragments of ancient domestic architecture. A curiously carved house, supposed to be of the time of Henry VIII., and the house said to have been occupied by Queen Elizabeth in 1572, are still in existence. There are also the remains of a Roman amphitheatre in the neighbourhood. Sandwich exhibits now a decayed, antique, crowded, and intricate appearance, more that of a plain old weather-worn continental town than most old towns in England. It stands, with rectangular outline, on a platform about 15 feet above the level of an encompassing plain; is a seat of petty sessions and county courts; was made a borough by Edward III.; is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors; and until disfranchised by the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, returned, in conjunction with Deal and Walmer, two members of Parliament. It has two banks, a guild-hall of 1579, an assembly-room, a two-arched bridge with swing for transit of vessels, three churches, three ahnshouse hospitals, and considerable charities. St Clement's Church has Early English nave and chancel, a low central Norman tower, a restored Tudor roof, miserere stalls, and an ancient octagonal font. The churchyard has yielded ancient urns and other antiquities, indicating it to have probably been a cemetery connected with the Roman Ehutupis. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £150 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. St Peter's Church is mainly Early English, and has a ruined S aisle, a modern tower of stone below and brick above, and numerous monuments hidden by pews; the whole building has undergone frequent restoration since 1865. The living is a rectory; net value, £135 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. St Mary's Church is partly ancient, and has a steeple of 1718; the building was thoroughly restored in 1874. The living is a vicarage; net value, £90 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. St Bartholomew's Hospital was founded about 1200, gives lodging and maintenance to sixteen persons, includes an interesting Early English chapel which has been thoroughly restored, and has an endowed income of £850. St Thomas' Hospital was founded in 1392 by T. Elys, maintains twelve persons, includes an ancient dining-hall with Early Perpendicular English window, and has an endowed income. St John's Hospital was founded before 1287, and afterwards rebuilt, and has an endowed income. There are Wesleyan, Congregational, and Primitive Methodist chapels.
  • A corn market is held every Wednesday, and a cattle market every alternate Monday. Tanning, wool-sorting, malting, brewing, seed-crushing, iron-founding, and shipbuilding are carried on; coal is extensively imported for the supply of much of the E of Kent; timber and iron are also imported; and corn, malt, flour, seeds, wool, fruit, timber, and hops are exported. Extensive golf links have been formed on the downs by the St George's Golf Club. The municipal borough comprises the parishes of St Clement, St Peter, and St Mary, and the extra-parochial tract of St Bartholomew's Hospital. Area of the municipal borough, 707 acres; population, 2796; of St Mary's parish, 126 acres; population, 916; of St Peter, 40 acres; population, 1010; of St Clement, 535 acres; population, 833; and of St Bartholomew's Hospital, 6 acres; population, 37.

  • S3 Sandwich St. Clement

  • S4 Sandwich St. Mary

  • S5 Sandwich St. Peter

  • S6 Sarre
  • Sarre, a village and a ville in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour, 2 miles NE of Grove Ferry station on the S.E.R., and 8 WSW of Margate. Post town, Birchington; money order and telegraph office, St Nicholas-at-Wade. Acreage, 669; population of the civil parish, 160; of the ecclesiastical, 708. The ville comprises 653 acres, and is a member of the Cinque port liberty of Sandwich. The living is annexed to that of St Nicholas-at-Wade; joint value, £280 with residence. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel.

  • Seal
  • a village and a parish in Kent The village stands 2 miles E of Sevenoaks station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sevenoaks. The parish contains also the hamlets of Under River and Godden Green, and comprises 4445 acres; population of the civil parish, 1782; of the ecclesiastical, 1580. Wilderness Park is the seat of Lord Hillingdon. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £350 with residence. Patron, Lord Sackville. The church ranges from Early English to Perpendicular, and contains some handsome monuments of the Camden family. There are a Bible Christian chapel and a convalescent home.

  • S7 Seasalter
  • Seasalter, a parish in Kent, on the coast, 1 mile from Whitstable station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Whitstable. Acreage, 1487; population, 1397. It contains part of Whitstable; was a borough at Domesday called Le-saltre, and possessed eight fisheries; it has now no village, and is a liberty. Oyster fishing is carried on. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £300. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The old church is now used only for burials. The new church stands in Whit-stable, and was built in 1845.

  • Selling
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 56 miles from London, and 3A SE by S of Faversham. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Faversham. Acreage, 2454; population, 796. There is a parish council of seven members. Selling Court, Woodlands, Luton House, Sole Street House, and the Vicarage are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £250 with residence. Patron, Earl Sondes. The church is Early English with later work.

  • Sevenoaks,
  • a town and a parish in Kent. The town stands on high ground amid fine and varied scenery, with stations on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., 22 miles from London, and 6 NW by N of Tunbridge. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage of the civil parish, 6805; population, 9341; of the ecclesiastical, 7155. Sevenoaks took its name from seven oaks now represented by other trees, dates from considerably ancient times, belonged for ages to the archbishops of Canterbury, was exchanged by Cranmer to Henry VIII. for other property, and passed afterwards to the Sackvilles of Knole. It was a seat of the Kent assizes in the time of Elizabeth, is now a seat of petty sessions and county courts; publishes two weekly newspapers; serves also as a tourists' centre for very interesting excursions, and for visiting the noble mansion of Knole, which we have separately noticed, and has become of late years a favourite residential place for London merchants. There are several good inns, a county court-house, a police station, a literary and scientific institution, a bank, a good social club, a grammar-school, a village hospital and fever hospital, two suites of almshouses, and considerable other charities. The parish church figures conspicuously on an eminence, is mainly Later English, with an embattled tower 100 feet high, and contains the grave of Farnaby, a native and eminent scholar of the time of Charles I., a monument of Lambarde the antiquary, whose family was seated at Sevenoaks House, and monuments of the Amhersts, the Bosvilles, the Dorsets, the Fermoys, and many others. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £650 with residence. St John's Church was built in 1858, and is a neat edifice of stone in the Gothic style. The living is a vicarage; net value, £200. The church of St Mary, Kippington, is a building of Kentish rag, in the Early English style, and was erected in 1880. The living is a vicarage; net value, £400. There are two small iron churches, and Congregational, Wesleyan, Baptist, and Roman Catholic chapels. The grammar-school was founded in 1432, by Sir W. Sevenoake or Sennocke, originally a poor orphan of the parish; adjoins an hospital, by the same founder, for decayed elderly trades people; was rebuilt in 1727; has, jointly with the hospital, an endowed income, and has also scholarships at Cambridge and Oxford. The endowed national school was founded by Lady Boswell in the time of Charles I. A stock market is held on the third Wednesday in the month. Sevenoaks Parliamentary Division of Western Kent was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 80,063. The division includes the following:-Sevenoaks, Brasted, Chevening, Halsted, Kemsing, Otford, Seal, Sevenoaks, Shoreham, Sundridge, Westerham; Bromley (part of) -Beckenham, Bexley, Bromley, Chelsfield, Chislehurst, Cudham, Down, Farnborough, Hayes, Keston, Knockholt, West Wickham; Blackheath (part of)-Mottingham; Deptford parliamentary borough-the part in Kent; Lewisham parliamentary borough-the part in Kent.

  • S8 Sellindge

  • S9 Selling

  • S10 Sevington
  • Sevington, a parish in Kent, 2 miles SE of Ashford station on the S.E.R. Post town, Ashford. Acreage, 833; population, 111. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £135 with residence. The church, in the Early English style, was thoroughly restored in 1877.

  • S11 Shadoxhurst
  • Shadoxhurst, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 4 1/2 miles SW by S of Ashford station on the S.E.R. It has a post office under Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Woodchurch. Acreage, 1983; population, 186. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value. £130 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is a small building in the Early English style, and there is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • S12 Sheerness

  • S13 Sheldwich
  • Sheldwich, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 3 miles from Faversham, and 3 from Selling station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office on Sheldwich Lees, under Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Faversham. Acreage, 1948; population, 648. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The manor, with Lees Court, belongs to Earl Sondes. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £210 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is Later English with some Norman remains, and was enlarged and restored in 1888. At Perry Wood is a small mission room.

  • Shoreham,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 23 miles from London, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sevenoaks. Acreage of the civil parish, 5599; population, 1544; of the ecclesiastical, 1468. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. A castle of the Oldhams of the time of Henry III. stood about a mile N of the village. There is a paper-mill. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £290 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The church is ancient, and has been restored. There are three almshouses.

  • S14 Shorne
  • Shorne, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles SW of Higham station on the S.E.R., and 3 1/2 SE of Gravesend, and has a post and money order office under Gravesend; telegraph office, Cobham. The parish includes Thong and Shorne Ifield hamlets. Acreage, 3234; population, 858. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. Shorne Manor belonged anciently to the Crown, and belongs now to the. Earl of Darnley. Roundall Manor belonged to the Northwoods, and passed to the Savages, the Nevills, the Cobhams, and others. Court Lodge and Pipes Place are chief residences. An eminence in the S commands a very extensive view of the basin of the Thames. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £240. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is chiefly Decorated and Perpendicular, and has been well restored. There are Wesleyan. and Primitive Methodist chapels.

  • Sittingbourne,
  • a town and a parish in Kent. The town stands on Watling Street, on Milton creek, and on the London, Chatham, and Dover railway, at the junction of the Sittingbourne and Sheerness railway, 45 miles from London, and 10 ESE of Chatham. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Sittingbourne was anciently a halting-place for pilgrims to Canterbury, entertained Henry V. on his return to England after Agincourt, was the favourite resting-place of George I. and George II. on their way to Hanover, numbers among its natives Theobald the hero of the " Dunciad," was incorporated by Elizabeth to have a mayor and jurats, and to send members to Parliament, made little or no use of its parliamentary franchise, is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, consists chiefly of one long old street, and several shorter modern ones, and has two banks, two chief inns, public rooms, a town-hall, a free library, a public recreation ground of 10 acres, two churches, and several public institutions. A weekly corn market is held on Friday, and cattle markets on alternate Mondays. There is a large trade in bricks and fruit, in the import of coals, and in the dredging for oysters. A weekly newspaper is published. Lloyds have large paper-mills in the town. Acreage of parish, 1004; population, 8302. It has an urban district council consisting of nine members. The church of St Michael is a building of flint and stone in the Early English style, and contains some handsome monuments and stained windows. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £240 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Holy Trinity Church is an edifice of Kentish ragstone in the Early English style with a massive tower. The living is a vicarage; net value, £200 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. There are Congregational, Baptist, Primitive Methodist, Bible Christian, and Roman Catholic chapels.

  • Smarden,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Beult, 3 miles from Pluckley and Headcorn stations on the S.E.R., and 9 from Ashford. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. There are many quaint old timbered houses in the village, which at one time had a considerable trade in linen and woollen goods, but this industry has quite died out. The parish comprises 5387 acres; population, 1070. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £360 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is a building of stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. There are two Baptist chapels, a reading-room, and an endowed school.

  • S15 Shoulden

  • S16 Sibbertswould

  • S17 Sittingbourne

  • S18 Smarden

  • S19 Smeeth
  • Smeeth, a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the S.E.R., 60 miles from London, and 4 1/2 ESE of Ashford, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. The parish contains also the hamlet of Eidgway, and comprises 1620 acres; population, 602. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. Fairs are held on 15 May and 29 Sept. The Paddock is the residence of Lord Brabourne, who is lord of the manor. The living is a rectory; net value, £260 with residence. The church is Norman.

  • S20 Snargate
  • Snargate, a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile SE of Appledore station on the S.E.R., and 6 WNW of New Romney. Post town, Folkestone; money order and telegraph office, Appledore. Acreage, 1600; population of the civil parish, 108; of the ecclesiastical, 182. The living is a rectory, united with Snave, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £155. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English and good; it was restored in 1872.

  • S21 Snave
  • Snave, a parish in Kent, 2 miles from Ham Street station on the S.E.R., and 5 NW of New Romney. Post town, Ham Street. Acreage, 1490; population, 74. The living is annexed to Snargate. The church is good and has been well restored.

  • S22 Snodland
  • Snodland, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Medway, with a station on the S.E.R., 37 miles from London, and 5 1/4 SSW of Rochester. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish contains also the hamlets of Paddlesworth, Holborough, and Rookery. Acreage, 1845; population of the civil parish, 3188; of the ecclesiastical, 3164. Holborough Court is the chief residence. A hill above Holborough was anciently fortified, and commands an extensive view. A tessellated pavement and other Roman remains were discovered near the river in 1869. There are some extensive lime and cement works in the neighbourhood, also a large paper mill. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £400 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The church contains portions from Early English to Perpendicular, includes Roman bricks and tiles in its walls, and has been well restored. There are Congregational and Methodist chapels, a handsome Swedenborgian church, erected in 1882, a working-men's institute, and a temperance hall.

  • Southfleet,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands near Watling Street, 3 miles SW of Gravesend, and has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 25 miles from London. It has a post and money order office under Gravesend; telegraph office, Betsham. Acreage of parish, 2409; population, 968. There is a parish council consisting of seven members and a chairman. #### Southfleet originated in the Roman station Vagniacse on Watling Street, was known at Domesday as Suthfleta, took that name and its present one from a flete or creek which came to it from The Thames at Northfleet but is now shut out by an embankment, and is much frequented by visitors. The parish contains also the hamlets of Betsham and Westwood, and the gardens of Spring Head, famous for water-cresses. Many Roman relics, including a milestone, a sarcophagus, earthen vessels, glass urns, trinkets, and coins have been found. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £750. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The church is Decorated English, and contains some interesting monuments.

  • Speldhurst,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 miles WNW of Tunbridge Wells stations on the L.B. & S.C.R. and S.E.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Tunbridge Wells. The parish includes Langton and Lower Green hamlets, Rusthall manor, and part of Tunbridge Wells town. Acreage, 3990; population of the civil parish, 5591; of the ecclesiastical, 1323. There is a parish council of eleven members for that part of the parish not included in the borough of Tunbridge Wells. There are several mansions and neat villas. The living is a rectory, with Groombridge annexed, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £200 with residence. The church was entirely rebuilt in 1871, and is a stone edifice in the Early English style.

  • S24 St. Margaret at Cliffe

  • S25 St. Mary in the Marsh

  • S26 St. Nicholas at Wade

  • S27 St. Peter in Thanet

S28 Stalisfield

  • Stalisfield, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 3 miles from Charing station on the L.C. & D.R.,and 6 1/2 SSW of Faversham. It has a post office under Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Charing. Acreage, 2293; population, 328. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £170 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient, and has a tower but no spire. There is a small mission church adjoining the vicarage.

  • S29 Stanford
  • Standford, a parish, with a village and two hamlets, in Kent, near Westenhanger station on the S.E.R., and 2 1/2 miles NW by N of Hythe. It has a post and telegraph office under Hythe; money order office, Hythe. Acreage, 1192; population, 288. The ruins of the ancient and magnificent mansion of Westenhanger are in this parish. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £100 with residence. The church is a building of stone in the Early English style. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • S30 Staple
  • Staple, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 2 miles ESE of Wingham, and 4 NE of Adisham station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office under Dover; money order and telegraph office, Wingham. Acreage, 1009; population, 547. There is a parish council of seven members and a chairman. There are market-gardens. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £600. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church has been restored. There is a Baptist chapel.

  • S31 Staplehurst
  • Staplehurst, a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the S.E.R., 42 miles from London, and 9 SSE of Maidstone, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. The parish comprises 5897 acres; population, 1818. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. Iden Manor is the seat of the Hoare family. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £500 with residence. Patron, St John's College, Cambridge. The church, which is a very fine structure, has been well restored, and contains some beautiful ancient iron work on the S door, and interesting monuments to the Hoare family, Usbornes, and others. There are Congregational and Baptist chapels.

  • S32 Stelling
  • Stelling, a parish in Kent, on Stone Street, 6 miles S by W of Canterbury, and 4 from Elham station on the S.E.R. Post town, Stelling Minnis, under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Elham. Acreage, 1409; population, 255. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to Upper Hardres. The church is in great need of restoration. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • Stelling Minnis,
  • an extra-parochial tract in Kent, 1 mile SSE of Stelling. It has a post office under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Elham. Acreage, 81; population, 95.

  • S33 Stockbury
    Stockbury,
  • a parish, with a village, in Kent, 2 1/2 miles SSW of Newington station on the LC. & D.R., and 4 WSW of #### Sittingbourne.
  • It has a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Newington. Acreage, 2951; population of the civil parish, 547; of the ecclesiastical, 511. There is a parish council consisting of eight members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £220 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is Early English, cruciform, and good. There are Bible Christian and Wesleyan,chapels.

  • S34 Stodmarsh
  • Stodmarsh, a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile SW of Grove Ferry station on the S.E.R., and 4 1/4 miles ENE of Canterbury. Post town, Canterbury. Acreage, 699; population, 107. The living, formerly a donative, is now a rectory; gross value, £128. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. The nave of the church, partly rebuilt in 1889, was entirely reseated in 1895, and the chancel was restored in 1890.

  • S35 Stoke
  • Stoke, a parish, with a village, in Kent, on the Medway estuary, 3 miles from Shamal Street station on the S.E.R. It has a post office under Rochester. Acreage, 3070; population, 675. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £180. The church is of the time of Edward I. There are Bible Christian and Roman Catholic chapels

  • S36 Stonar
  • Stonar, a quondam town and a parish in Kent. The town stood on the river Stour, 1 mile NNE of Sandwich, is supposed to have been the Lapis Tituli of the Romans, was the place of Louis the Dauphin's debarkation in 1216, and of Edward III.'s embarkation in 1359, was destroyed by the French in 1385, figured as a member of Sandwich in 1773, and is now represented only by a farmhouse. Post town, Sandwich. The parish comprises 680 acres; population, 25. There is no church.

  • S37 Stone

  • S38 Stone in Oxney

  • S39 Stourmouth
  • Stourmouth, a parish, with a village, in Kent, on the river Stour at the influx of the Lesser Stour, 1 1/2 mile E by S of Grove Ferry station on the S.E.R., and 5 miles NW of Sandwich. It has a post office under Dover; money order office, Wingham; telegraph office, Grove Ferry railway station. Acreage, 901; population, 330. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £260 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Worcester. The church is ancient.

  • S40 Stowting
  • Stowting, a parish in Kent. The parish lies 3 miles N of Westenhanger station on the S.E.R., and 5 NNW of Hythe. Post town, Hythe. Acreage, 1622; population, 207. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £195 with residence. The church is good.

  • S41 Strood

  • S42 Sturry
  • Sturry, a parish in Kent, on the river Stour, with a station on the S.E.R., 73 miles from London, and 2 1/2 NE of Canterbury. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Canterbury. Acreage, 3151; population, 1204. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor was given by Ethelbert to St Augustine's Abbey. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £150 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is partly Norman, chiefly Later English, and all good. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels. Lord Greville is lord of the manor.

  • Sundridge,
  • a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 3 1/2 miles WSW of Sevenoaks, and 2 from Brasted station on the S.E.R. It gives the title of Baron to the Duke of Argyll. The parish contains Sevenoaks Workhouse, and includes most of Idehill chapelry. Acreage, 4141; population of the civil parish, 1737; of the ecclesiastical, 1007. The manor belongs to Earl Amherst. There are several good residences and a paper mill. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £500 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is mainly Later English, was nearly destroyed by fire in 1882, but has since been completely restored. The churchyard contains the tomb of Bishop Porteus.

  • S43 Sutton

  • S44 Sutton Valance
  • Sutton Valence, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 4 miles from Headcorn station on the S.E.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Staplehurst. Acreage, 2171; population of the civil parish, 940; of the ecclesiastical, 1276. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. Sutton Castle, now reduced to scanty remains, dates from the time of Edward I., and probably was built by the Valences, Earls of Pembroke. The living is a vicarage, united with East Sutton, in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £160 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is modern, and has been restored. There are a Congregational chapel, a grammar school, a national school, almshouses, and other charities. The grammar school belongs to the Cloth-workers' Company, was rebuilt on an extended scale in 1866, enlarged again in 1876-77, and has exhibitions at St John's College, Cambridge.

  • Swanscombe,
  • a parish in Kent, on the river Thames, 1 mile from Northfleet station on the S.E.R., and 5 miles E of Dartford. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Greenhithe. Acreage, 2140; population of the civil parish, 6577; of the ecclesiastical, 5037. The manor was known at Domesday as Swede's Camp; took that name from a winter camp formed by Sweyne the Dane to protect his fleet; passed to W. de Valence and the Mortimers; was. given by Queen Elizabeth to the Weldons; went afterwards to the Childs; and passed to the Earl of Jersey. The manor house is an ancient building. Swanscombe Wood is a famous rural retreat, frequented by gipsying parties; and contains a cavern, called Clappernappers Hole, associated with much curious legend. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £430 with residence. Patron, Sidney-Sussex College, Cambridge. The church is partly Transition Norman, but claims to be Saxon, and contains monuments to the Weldon family. There are Congregational, Wesleyan, Baptist, and Primitive Methodist chapels and some almshouses. Galleyhill is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1883. out of the parish of Swanscombe. The church is small. The living is a vicarage; gross value, £300 with residence. There are very extensive cement works in the neighbourhood.

  • S45 Swalecliffe

  • S46 Swingfield
  • Swingfield, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 4 miles from Kearsney station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 N of Folkestone. Post town, Canterbury. Acreage, 2639; population, 390. There is a parish council consisting of five members. A preceptory of the Knights of St John was founded here in the time of Henry II., and has left interesting remains. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the rectory of Hawkinge, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £60. The church is good, and was restored in 1889. There is a Bible Christian chapel. Bishop Richard de Swingfield, who died in 1316, was a native.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - T

  • T1 Tenterden
  • Tenterden, a market-town, a municipal borough, and a parish, in Kent. The town stands on elevated ground, 7 1/2 miles WNW of Appledore station on the S.E.R., and 12 SW of Ashford. It was anciently called Theinwarden; became, in the time of Henry VI., a member of the Eye cinque port and a municipal borough; is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors, who act as the urban district council; includes within its borough boundaries all Tenterden parish and part of Ebony; is a seat of quarter sessions, petty sessions, and county courts. It consists chiefly of one street about a mile long, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford; two banks, three good inns, a town-hall, a church, two working men's clubs, a union workhouse, a weekly market on Friday, a fair on the first Monday of May, and a lamb fair in Sept. The parish church belonged anciently to St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury; is a large and fine building of Later English, with a lofty pinnacled tower and a fine peal of eight bells. The tower is of a later period than the main body; was erected in the time of Henry VI., and ia notable for a proverbial expression that Tenterden Steeple was the cause of the Goodwin Sands, the funds for maintaining the sea-wall having been taken for the erection of the steeple. The living of St Mildred is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £240 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. Area of municipal borough, 8948 acres; population, 3429. There are Wesleyan, Baptist, and Unitarian chapels. Heronden, Heronden Hall, Morghew, Hales Place, and Westrom are chief residences. Kenchill, formerly a mansion, is now a farmhouse. A section in the N was constituted a separate charge, under the name of St Michael, in 1864; and another section, noticed in our article SMALL HYTHE, is also a separate charge. The church of St Michael is a building of stone in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; net value, £280 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Population, 786.

  • T2 Teston

  • T3 Teynham
  • Teynham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village, near a creek of the Swale, has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 49 miles from London and 3 1/2 E by S of Sittingbourne, and a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sittingbourne. It was once a market-town, and gives the title of Baron to the family of Curzon. Acreage of parish, 2474; population, 1683. There is a parish council of nine members and a chairman. The manor was given by Kenulf, king of Mercia, to Christchurch, Canterbury, and belongs now to the Tyler family. A palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury was here. Hubert Walter, one of the archbishops of Canterbury, died at the palace in 1205, and was buried at Canterbury. All the cherry gardens and orchards of Kent are said to have been stocked with the Flemish cherry from a plantation of 105 acres in Teynham, made with foreign cherries, pippins, and golden rennets, done by the fruiterer of Henry VIII. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £250 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. The church is Early English, cruciform, and good. There are a boatbuilding establishment and extensive cement works in the parish, and brick-making is carried on.

  • Thanet,
  • an island in the NE of Kent. The island projects to the North Foreland, at the mouth of the Thames, is bounded on the N and the E by the sea, on the SE by Pegwell Bay, on the S by the river Stour, on the W by the rivulet Nethergong; was anciently separated from the land by the Wantsome Channel, about a mile wide, along the course of the Stour and the Nethergong, and used as a short cut in the ordinary passage between 'London and France; became nearly connected with the land by the silting up of that channel progressively till about the year 1500; appears to have extended much farther seaward in the Saxon times than now; measures about 10 miles from E to W, and from 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 from N to S; was known to the ancient Britons as Ruim or Inis-Ruochim, to the Saxons as Tenet or Tanet-lond, to the old geographers as Thanatos; and retains, or has furnished, many relics of Roman, Saxon, and Jutish inhabitation. Till about the beginning of the eighteenth century it lay in nearly as wild a condition as the remotest parts of Cornwall, but is now distinguished by rich cultivation and high progress, and has generally a light fertile soil on a chalky bottom. It includes some rich marshes on the sides of the streams, and gave from 1628 till 1849 the title of Earl to the family of Tufton. The workhouse is situated in Minster parish.
  • Thanet Parliamentary Division of Kent was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 60,646. The division includes the following;-Ramsgate-St Lawrence, Minster-in-Thanet, Monkton, St Nicholas-at-Wade, Stonar; Margate, municipal borough; Sandwich, municipal borough; Ramsgate, non-corporate member of Sandwich; Sarre, non-corporate member of Sandwich; Birchington, St John, Wood, St Peter, Minster, non-corporate members of Dover.

  • T4 Thanington
  • Thanington, a parish in Kent, 2 miles SW of Canterbury station on the S.E.R. Post town, Canterbury. Acreage, 1222; population, 679. St James' Hospital for lepers was founded here in the tune of King John by Archbishop Walter, and was given in the time of Edward VI. to E. Dartnall. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £60. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is an ancient structure in the Early English style, and was restored in 1882.

  • T5 Throwley
  • Throwley, a parish in Kent, 4 miles SSW of Faversham station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office under Faversham; money order and telegraph office, Faversham. Acreage, 3256; population, 631. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The manors belong to Lord Sondes and Lord Harris. Throwley House and Belmont are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £200 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is an ancient edifice of flint, and has been well restored. There are three almshouses.

  • T6 Thurnham

  • T7 Tilmanstone
  • Tilmanstone, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 5 miles W by S of Deal, and 4 from Shepherds Well station on the L.C. & D.R. It has a post office under Dover; money order and telegraph office, Eythorne. Acreage, 1149; population, 365. The manor has belonged since the Saxon times to the Archbishops of Canterbury. Dane Court is the seat of the Eice family. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, n£220 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is good, and was restored in 1884. There is a small Wesleyan chapel.

  • T8 Tonge
  • Tonge, a parish in Kent, 1 mile from Teynham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 2 miles from Sittingbourne. Post town, Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Bapchild. Acreage, 1636; population, 303. There is a parish council consisting of five members. Tonge Castle dates from the earliest Saxon times; was the scene of a massacre of the ancient Britons by the Saxons; belonged in the time of Richard II. to Mortimer, Earl of March, and is now represented by a high moated mound. Chekes Court is the chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £165 with residence.

  • T9 Trotterscliffe

  • T10 Tudsley
  • Tudeley, a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 miles E by S of Tunbridge station on the S.E.R. Post town, Tunbridge. Population, 1133. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. There are mineral springs similar to those of Tunbridge Wells. The living is a vicarage, united with Capel, an the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £180 with residence.

  • Tunbridge Wells,
  • a municipal borough, market-town, fashionable watering-place, and seven chapelries, in Kent. The town has two stations, one on the L.B. & S.C.R. and the other on the S.E.R., 34 miles from London, and 4 S of Tonbridge. It consists chiefly of parts of Tonbridge and Speldhurst parishes; includes also part of the Sussex parish of Frant; originated in the discovery of medicinal springs, in the time of James I., by Dudley Lord North; took the name of Tunbridge Wells from the circumstance that persons frequenting its springs could for a time find no lodgings nearer than Tonbridge; was visited in 1630 by Queen Henrietta Maria, attended by a large suite; attracted, during the next thirty years, considerable numbers of illustrious visitors, who all were obliged either to camp on the downs or to lodge at Southborough; began, at the close of the reign of Charles I., to acquire numerous buildings for the accommodation of visitors; was, toward the end of the reign of Charles II., a resort of Queen Catherine of Braganza and of other distinguished persons; was visited also by Queen Anne; rose to pre-eminent celebrity in connection with visits by Gibber, Johnson, Garrick, Richardson, and other leaders of the literary world; was visited in 1834 by the Princess Victoria and the Duchess of Kent, and in 1849 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; assumed after the commencement of the nineteenth century the proportions of a town; was materially improved in 1847 by the erection of a portico or piazza in front of its chief spring, and by the formation there of a broad and handsome parade called the " Pantiles." The town is much resorted to by visitors for the chalybeate quality of its waters, the purity of its climate, the picturesqueness of its environs, and a wide command of interesting walks. It is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, publishes six weekly newspapers, carries on a manufacture of " Tunbridge ware," and has a head post office, three banks, several hotels, a town-hall, a neat corn exchange, a police station, a literary and scientific institution with reading-rooms and a good library, an infirmary and dispensary. The public hall was erected in 1870, and is a handsome building of stone in the Byzantine style. It cost upwards of £13,000. The town includes fine ranges of private dwellings, several extensive parks, and numerous mansions and villas. The principal parts are named from the surrounding eminences, as Mount Ephraim, Mount Sion, and Mount Pleasant. The pump room, a large red brick building, was erected in 1877, and includes a fine room containing a fountain, drawing-rooms, &c. The premises are also used by a club and a local masonic lodge. The Calverley Promenade is a range of buildings erected in the northwestern extremity of Calverley Park, in the form of a crescent, with a spacious colonnade in front. The town received a charter of incorporation in 1889, and is governed by a mayor, eight aldermen, and twenty-four councillors. The Bishops Down, Grove Spa, and Tunbridge Wells Sanatorium, situated in grounds of 60 acres, is a handsome building comprising dining and drawing and various recreation rooms, the garden and grounds being beautifully wooded. The Grosvenor Recreation Ground was opened in 1889, and comprises about 10 acres of land which has been well laid out. The Common, situated close to and almost surrounded by the town, covers an area of 180 acres, and is a great attraction and a favourite resort for visitors. A weekly market is held on Fridays. The water supply of the town is excellent. There are two large sewage farms. Acreage of the municipal borough, 3740; population, 27,895; of the ecclesiastical parish of Christchurch, 3237; Holy Trinity, 6262; King Charles the Martyr, 1037; St Barnabas, 3643; St James, 4424; St John, 4845; and St Peter, Windmill Fields, 1939.
  • Christ Church was erected in 1841, and is a structure of white brick. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £400 with residence. St John's Church was erected in 1858, and is a building of stone in the Decorated style. The living is a vicarage; net value, £130 with, residence. St James' Church is a building of sandstone in the Gothic style, was erected in 1862 and enlarged in 1883. The living is a vicarage; net value, £600 with residence. St Barnabas' was erected in 1889-90, and is a handsome building of brick in the Lancet style. The living is a vicarage; net value, £150. St Peter's was erected in 1875, and is a building of stone in the Early English style. The living is a, vicarage; gross value, £480 with residence. Holy Trinity, which is the mother church, was built in 1827 at a cost of £12,000, and is in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; gross value, £500 with residence. The church of King Charles the Martyr was erected in 1676, and is a plain rectangular building of red brick; it was thoroughly restored in 1881. Lady Huntingdon's Connexion chapel was built in 1868. There are Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational, Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodist chapels. The Skinners' Company's Middle-Class School was founded by that company in 1880, and opened in 1887, to hold 200 boys; attached to the school are various scholarships.

  • T11 Tunstall
  • Tunstall, a parish in Kent, 2 miles SSW of Sittingbourne station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Sittingbourne.. Acreage, 1200; population, 243. Gore Court is a preparatory school. Woodstock Park is the seat of the Twopeny family. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury;. gross value, £400 with residence. The church is old but good, and contains some stained glass windows and monuments.
Kentpoi
Kent Parishes - U-Z

  • U1 Ulcombe
  • Ulcombe, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 3 miles from Harrietsham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 NE of Staplehurst. It has a post office under Staplehurst; money order and telegraph office, Sutton Valence. Acreage, 3520; population, 591. The manor, with Ulcombe Place, belongs to the Marquis of Ormonde. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £380 with residence. The church is Early and Decorated English, includes a chapel founded by the St Leger family, was once collegiate, and was restored in 1870, when some frescoes of the 14th century were discovered on the S arcade of the nave.

  • U2 Upchurch
  • Upchurch, a parish, with a village, in Kent, on the creeks of the Medway, 2 miles from Rainham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 E of Chatham. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sittingbourne. Acreage, 3287; population, 1218. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The parish is among the best of fruit and hop land in Kent. Low islets and peninsulas engirt by creeks form part of the surface, bear the name of salterns or soltings, appear to have been the site of an extensive Roman pottery manufacture, and have yielded many pieces of Roman pottery and many Roman coins. There are also extensive gravel pits abounding with fossils. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £265. Patron, All Souls College, Oxford. The church is chiefly Decorated English, and has a spire which serves as a landmark.

  • U3 Upper Hardres

  • W1 Waldershare
  • Waldershare, a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 miles E of Shepherds Well station on the L.C. & D.R., and 5 NNW of Dover. Post town, Dover. Acreage, 1020; population of the civil parish, 140; of the ecclesiastical, 572. The manor belonged to the Malmaynes, passed to the Monyns, the Furneses, and Lord North, and with Waldershare Park belongs now to the Earl of Guildford. The mansion was built in the time of William III. by Sir H. Furnese, and the grounds are extensive, and contain a monumental tower which commands a view to the coast of France. The living is a vicarage, with Ashley annexed, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £175 with residence. The church is a small building of flint, has been well restored, and contains some handsome memorials to the Monyns and Furnese families.


  • W2 Walmer
  • Walmer, a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands on the coast, and consists of two parts, Lower Walmer and Upper Walmer, with a station on the Dover and Deal Joint railway, 83 miles from London, and 1 1/4 mile from Deal. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage of parish, 867; population, 4565. There is an urban district council consisting of twelve members. The town contains Walmer Castle, an infantry barracks, a naval hospital, and a house which was tenanted by the Duke of Wellington when Sir Arthur Wellesley; is a sea-bathing resort, and has two churches and a garrison school. Walmer Castle stands at nearly the south-eastern extremity of the parish; was built by Henry VIII. as a block-house; had the same form and design as the neighbouring and contemporaneous castles of Deal and Sandown; became soon the official residence of the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports; has been greatly altered from its original form; commands from the windows of its principal apartments a splendid sea-view; contains a small room in which W. Pitt, as Lord Warden, held frequent conferences with Lord Nelson; was the autumn residence of the Duke of Wellington, as Lord Warden, from 1829 till his death there in 1852. The barracks were built in 1795, occupy an area of 22 acres, and have accommodation for 1600 infantry. The naval hospital was originally constructed simply as an hospital for 250 patients; was converted after the Crimean War into a barrack for marines, but is used again as a marine hospital The old parish church is a building of rough flints, but has been closed for some years. The new parish church of St Mary was erected in 1887-88, and is a building of stone in the Perpen-oicniar style. A memorial tower with a peal of eight bells was erected in 1893. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £'260 with residence. St Saviour's church is a chapel of ease, built in 1849. There is a Roman Catholic convent with school and church attached. The town is gradually forming a populous suburb to the town of Deal.

  • W3 Waltham
  • Waltham, a parish, with Waltham village and Handville Green hamlet, in Kent, 4 miles from Chilham station on the S.E.R., and 7 SSW of Canterbury. It has a post office under Canterbury; money order office, Petham; telegraph office, Wye. Acreage, 3235; population of the civil parish, 452; of the ecclesiastical, 1083. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a vicarage, united with Petham, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £580 with residence in Pelham. The church is Early English and good. There is a Wesleyan chapel.

  • W4 Warden
  • Warden, a parish in Kent, on The coast, 7 miles E of Queenborough station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Queenborough, under Sheerness. Acreage, 223; population, 30. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury. The church of St James was taken down in 1877 on account of the encroachments of the sea.

  • W5 Warehorne
  • Warehorne, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 1 mile SSW of Ham Street station on the S.E.R., and 7 miles S by W of Ashford. It has a post office under Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Ham Street. Acreage, 2928; population, 445. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £374 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church stands on a knoll overlookiag Romney Marsh, and is a building of stone and flint in the; Early English style. There is a Bible Christian chapel.

  • W6 Wateringbury
  • Wateringbury, a village and a parish in Kent. The village has a station on the S.E.R., 40 miles from London, and 5 WSW of Maidstone, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maidstone. Acreage of the civil parish, 1376; population, 1324; of the ecclesiastical, 1347. The manor belongs to the Dowager Viscountess Falmouth. Wateringbury Place and Gracedieu are the chief residences. There are orchards, hop gardens, and two extensive breweries. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £650 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is mainly Later English, with an Early English tower, contains memorials of the Style and Leney families, and was restored in 1884 and 1886. Barming, West, a parish in Kent contiguous to East Barming, 3 miles WSW of Maidstone. Post town, Banning under Maidstone. Area, 332 acres ; population, 27. There is no church.

  • W7 West Farleigh
  • Farleigh, West, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway,. U mile WSW of East Farleigh station on the S.E.R., and 3 1/2 miles SW of Maidstone. It has a post and telegraph office under Maidstone; money order office, East Farleigh. Acreage,, 1107; population, 438. West Farleigh Hall is the seat of Sir William Fitzherbert, Bart. Much of the land is occupied in fine hop grounds and fruit gardens. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £292 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Eochester. The church is Early Norman, and. contains monuments of the Toteshams, the Lawrences, and others. The churchyard has some remarkably fine yew trees.

  • W8 West Hythe
  • Hythe, West, a parish in Kent, on the coast, 2 1/2 miles S of Westonhanger station on the S.E.R., and 2 1/2 W of Hythe; Post town, Hythe. The civil parish of West Hythewas annexed in 1888, part to St Leonards, Hythe, in the Elham union, anA IBBER part to Burmarsh in the Romney nnion. A village or town was here, more properly than Hythe, the original Cinque Port of Hythe, was a place of commerce and resort in the time of Edward the Confessor, and ceased to be a port and a town in consequence of the recession of the sea. The liv ing is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Lympne, in the diocese of Canterbury; value,, £270 with residence. Patron, the Archdeacon of Canterbury. The Norman church has, it is said, been in ruins for 400 years; the inhabitants attend the church at Lympne.

  • W9 West Langdon
  • Langdon, West, a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile W of Martin Mill station on the Dean and Dover railway, and 4 miles N of Dover. Post town, Dover. Acreage, 705; population of the civil parish, 97; of the ecclesiastical, 572. A White canonry was founded here in 1192 by William de Auberville, went at the dissolution to the Archbishop of Canterbury in exchange for other property, and has left a few ivy-covered walls. Langdon Abbey was a place of some importance, and at the time of the dissolution there resided in it ten canons. It was the first abbey that Henry VIII. confiscated. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarages of Whitfield and Waldershare, in the diocese of Canterbury. The church was rebuilt in 1869.

  • W10 West Malling

  • W11 West Peckham

  • W12 Westbere
  • Westbere, a parish in Kent, 1 mile ENE of Sturry station on the S.E.R., and 3 1/2 miles NE by E of Canterbury. Post town, Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Sturry. Acreage, 1173; population, 357. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £165 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church, a small building of flint, was restored in 1885. There is a Roman Catholic convent dedicated to Our Lady of Missions and St Anne.

  • W13 Westcliffe

  • W14 Westfield

  • W15 Westwell
  • Westwell, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 mile from Charing station on the L.C. & D.R., was once a market-town, and has a post office under Ashford; money order and telegraph office, Charing. The parish includes two hamlets, contains West Ashford Workhouse, and comprises 5223 acres; population, 958. The manor belonged at one time to Christchurch, Canterbury, and now belongs to Lord Hothfield. Ripley Court was the seat of the Tuftons, but is now a farmhouse. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £255 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is partly Early English, has a tower and spire, and was well restored in 1884, There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels.

  • Westerham,
  • a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands on a gentle acclivity, with a station on the S.E.R., 25 miles from London, and 5 1/2 W of Sevenoaks, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. It was the birthplace of the martyr Frith, Bishop Hoadley, General Wolfe, and Dean Coomber, is a pleasant place, and has a hotel, a public hall and corn market built in 1866, a fine large church, a Congregational chapel, a suite of twelve almshonses erected in 1874, a weekly market on Wednesday, and a fair on 3 May. The parish includes Crockham hamlet. Acreage, 5804; population of the civil parish, 2631; of the ecclesiastical, 2061. The manor was given by Edward I. to Westminster Abbey, passed to the Greshams and the Wardes, and, with Squerryes Court, belongs now to the Warde family. Valence and Dunsdale are handsome residences in the neighbourhood. Landslips occurred in the greensand hills here in 1596 and 1756. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £225 with residence. The church is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, contains numerous brasses and memorials, and has been restored at a cost of £5000. The vicarage of Crockham is a separate benefice.

  • Peckham, West,
  • a parish in Kent, 3 miles W of Wateringbury station on the S.E.R., and 6 NW of Tonbridge. It has a post office under Maidstone; money order and telegraph office, Hadlow. Acreage, 1581; population, 493. The parish council consists of five members and a chairman. Oxenhoath and Hamptons are the chief residences. A preceptory of Knights Hospitallers was founded here in 1408 by Sir John Colepeper, then proprietor of Oxenhoath. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £220 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is old but good, and consists of nave, aisle, chancel, and private chapel, with a tower. Wickham, West, a parish, with a village, in Kent, with a station on the S.E.R., 12 miles from London, and 3 S by W of Bromley. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Beckenham. Acreage, 2661; population, 1262. Wickham Court and Wickham Hall are the chief residences. The latter was much altered and extended in 1894, rendering it considerably more than double its former area. There are many neat villas. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £155 with residence. The church is Late Perpendicular, with an embattled tower, and contains several monuments to the Hobbes and Lennard families. There are a Congregational chapel and a chapel of ease.

  • Whitfield,
    a parish in Kent, 1 1/2 mile from Kearsney station on the L.C. & D.R., and 3 1/2 N by W of Dover. It has a post office under Dover; money order and telegraph office, Ewell. Acreage, 913; population, 335. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarages of Waldershare and West Langdon, in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £400. The church, dedicated to St Peter, was restored in 1894, and consists of Saxon, Norman, and Early English work. There is a Congregational chapel.

  • W16 Whitstable
  • Whitstable, a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands on the coast, with stations on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., 59 miles from London, and 6 NNW of Canterbury. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 3676; population of the civil parish, 4828; of the ecclesiastical, 4845. There is an urban district council of twelve members. The town is long and straggling, carries on a great oyster fishery and a considerable coal trade. The oyster fishery is under the control and management of the Incorporated Company of Dredgers, which numbers about 500 members who are admitted by right of inheritance. Tankerton Castle is a handsome structure of Kentish ragstone formerly standing in extensive grounds beautifully wooded, but which are now converted into a watering-place. The Whitstable Institute was established in 1864 for the promotion of literature, science, and art. There is a large coastguard station. Ancient remains are on a sea-bank in Tankerton Bay, and Roman pottery has been found in dredging for oysters. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The Church of All Saints is a building in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, and has been thoroughly restored at considerable cost. A handsome memorial pulpit has been placed in the church. There are Baptist, Congregational, and Primitive Methodist chapels, and six almshouses.

  • W17 Wickhambreux
  • Wickhambreux, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 2 1/2 miles NE of Bekesbourne station on the L.C. & D.R., and 4 1/2 E by N of Canterbury. It has a post office under Dover; money order and telegraph office, Littlebourne. Acreage, 2067; population of the civil parish, 499; of the ecclesiastical, 521. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £650 with residence. The church is a building of flint and stone in the Early English style, and has been restored. A Wesleyan chapel was erected in 1890.

  • W18 Willesborough
  • Willesborough, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 1 3/4 mile E of Ashford station on the S.E.R., and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. The parish includes Aylesford hamlet and part of Ashford' Newtown called Alfred Town, and contains East Ashford workhouse. Acreage, 1478; population, 3234. There is a parish council consisting of thirteen members. The Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham is lord of the manor. An ancient house standing opposite the church belonged at one time to the family of William Harvey, M.D., the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £220 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is a building of stone in various styles of architecture, and has been well restored. Christ Church is a Free church, and was erected in 1874.

  • Wilmington
    a parish, with a village, in Kent, 1 mile from Dartford station on the S.E.R. It has a post and money order office under Dartford; telegraph office, Hextable. Acreage, 1716; population, 1722. The manor belonged to Warwick the Kingmaker, and to Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury. Much of the land is disposed in gardens and cherry orchards. The Masonic Hall and buildings were erected in 1883 by the Lullingstone Lodge of Freemasons, at a cost of over £1600. There is a retreat for aged governesses, consisting of five cottages. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net; value, £185 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church stands on a hill, and is a handsome building of Kentish rag in the Perpendicular style, was enlarged in 1881, and again in 1883, and contains several handsome memorial windows. The antiquary Denne was vicar.

  • W19 Wingham
  • Wingham, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2 1/2 miles NNE of Adisham station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6 E by S of Canterbury, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Dover. It was the meeting-place, in the 23rd year of Edward I., of the clergy for sending members to Parliament; was once a market-town, gives the title of Baron to Earl Cowper, is a seat of petty sessions, and has a good inn. The parish comprises 2637 acres; population, 1246. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belongs to the Oxenden family. A palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury stood here, and was visited by Edward I., Edward II., and Edward III. Some remains of a Roman villa were discovered in 1881 whilst excavating in a meadow near the bridge. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £162 with residence. The church is Decorated and Later English, has a tower and spire, and was once collegiate. There is a - #Congregational chapel. Bishop Henry de Wengeham was a native.

W20 Wittersham

  • Wittersham, a parish, with a village, in Kent, 4 1/2 miles NNW of Rye station on the S.E.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 3625; population, 803. A fair is held on 12 May. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £375 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is a handsome building of stone in the Decorated style, with an embattled tower, and is a conspicuous landmark. Dr Beilby Porteous, Bishop of London, was once rector. There are a Wesleyan chapel, an endowed school, and charities.

  • W21 Womenswold
  • Womenswould, a parish in Kent, 1 mile from Barham station on the S.E.R., and 7 miles SE of Canterbury. It has a post office under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Barham. Acreage, 1721; population of the civil parish, 302; of the ecclesiastical, 265. There is a parish council consisting of five members. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £ 150 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is a building of flint and stone in the Early English style, and has been restored. A Baptist chapel was erected in 1887.

W22 Woodchurch

  • Woodchurch, a parish, with an ancient village, in Kent, 4 miles NW of Appledore station on the S.E.R., and 7 SW of Ashford. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Ashford. Acreage, 7002; population, 1179. Hengherst is the chief residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £430 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is a handsome building of stone in the Early English style, and contains some ancient monuments. There are Wesleyan and Bible Christian chapels.

  • Woolwich,
  • a parliamentary borough, a garrison and union town, and a parish in Kent. It was within the parliamentary borough of Greenwich until the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, when it was made a separate borough, comprising the parishes of Woolwich, Eitham, and Plumstead, and is now, under the provisions of the Local Government Act of 1888, included within the county of London for municipal purposes. The town stands on the river Thames, with stations on the S.E.R., 8 miles E by S of London Bridge. It was anciently called Hulviz, Wiewic, Wollewic, and Wulewiche; belonged in the time of the Confessor to William the Fowler, at Domesday to Haimo the sheriff; and passed to Gilbert de Marisco, the Bohuns, the Pulteneys, the Gilbournes, the Bowaters, and others. It was only a poor fishing village till the time of Henry VIII., acquired then a royal dockyard, became speedily famous for the construction of great ships of war, rose to further importance in 1716 by the establishment at it of a royal arsenal, and became the place of the " mother-dock of England," and of the only arsenal in the kingdom, the similar establishments elsewhere being called gun-wharfs. It is a seat of county courts, publishes three weekly newspapers, is practically identical with the main body of Woolwich parish, or all of it on the S side of the Thames, and extends nearly 2 miles along the river, and about half a mile inland to the brow of Shooters Hill. It includes a spacious level plateau called Woolwich Common, used for exercising troops; comprises a principal street running parallel to the river, and lesser streets crossing this at right angles; has undergone great improvement, by reconstructions, by new erections, and by drainage into the southern metropolitan outfall sewer; and has a post office, three banks, several chief inns, a police station, a town-hall, public baths and lecture-hall, a theatre, a royal military academy, two endowed schools, several other public schools, a great military hospital, almshouses founded in 1562, a cottage hospital, and some general charities.
  • The Royal Dockyard extended about a mile. It was closed by the Government in 1869, and is now used as officers' quarters and store departments. The Royal Arsenal includes gun factories for building up, boring, and drilling pieces of ordnance; a carriage department for making gun-carriages, pontoon-trains, baggage waggons, and ambulances; a laboratory for making all kinds of ammunition; and a store department of vast extent, containing projectiles for all guns used in the united service, and a vast amount of entrenching tools, gun-carriages, ambulances, saddlery, and other articles for the service of the army and the navy. A large torpedo factory has been erected and fitted up for the production of this modern implement of naval warfare. The Royal Artillery Barracks stand on the top of the hill facing the common, present a frontage of nearly a quarter of a mile long, contain accommodation for nearly 4000 men and stabling for 1000 horses, and include a riding school, a scientific institution, a military hospital, a small observatory, a mortar and howitzer battery for flagstaff practice, a military repository, a garrison chapel, and a museum. The Royal Marine Barracks (now used as an infantry barracks and depot of Ordnance Store Corps) stand on the slope of a hill, in the ascent from the dockyard to the common, are spacious and well ventilated, and have accommodation for a battalion. The Naval and Marine Hospital stands on an eminence contiguous to the marine barracks, and consists of eight pavilions, connected by a corridor 447 feet long and 13 wide. The Herbert Military Hospital stands on Kidbrook Common. It was completed in 1866 at a cost of about £250,000, and consists of eight pavilions, one of them standing at right angles to the rest, and serving as the entrance and the architectural front, and contains 620 beds for general patients and 28 for prisoners. The Royal Military Academy was built in 1805, educates cadets for the artillery and the engineers, has on the average about 200 in attendance, had among its professors Simpson, Hutton, and Gregory, and numbered among its students the late Prince Imperial of France, to whose memory a marble stetue has been erected on the green. A monument was erected in 1882 to the memory of the officers and men of the Royal Artillery who fell in the Zulu and Afghan wars in 1879 and 1880. St Mary's Church was rebuilt in 1740, and enlarged and restored at a cost of £5000 in 1894. It stands on an eminence overhanging the river, the churchyard being laid out as a public garden. St John's was built in 1848. St Thomas' was built in 1850. Trinity Church is plain but spacious. St Michael and All Angels' Church was built in 1879, and is in the Early English style. The garrison church was built in 1863 at a cost of about £16,000, and is in a variety of the Lombardic style. There are a Roman Catholic and fifteen dissenting chapels. The Marine Society's ship Warspife, lying off Woolwich, is for training boys for the royal navy and merchant service, and contains about 300 boys. The ferry across the river to North Woolwich was opened in 1889 by Lord Rosebery, and was the first free ferry established on the Thames. The parish is governed by a local board of twenty-one members, and was specially excepted at the time of the passing of the London Vestries Act. Population of the parish, 40,848; of the parliamentary borough, 98,966.

  • W23 Woodnesborough

  • W24 Wooton
  • Wootton, a parish in Kent, 2 1/2 miles WSW of Shepherds Well station on the L.C. & D.R., and 8 NW of Dover. It has a post office under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Shepherds Well. Acreage, 1028; population, 181. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £120 with residence. The church is Early English, and has been well restored. Wootton Court is the chief residence, and a portion of it is supposed to have been built in the reign of King John.

  • W25 Wormshill
  • Wormshill, a parish in Kent, 5 miles S by W of Sittingbourne, and 4 from Harrietsham station on the L.C. & D.R., with a post office under Sittingbourne; money order and telegraph office, Doddington. Acreage, 1475; population, 160. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £185 with residence. Patron, Christ's Hospital, London. The church is a plain building of flint in the Early English style, and was thoroughly restored in 1879.

  • W26 Worth

  • W27 Wouldham
  • Wouldham, a parish, with a village, in Kent, on the river Medway, 1 1/2 mile from Hailing station on the S.E.R., and 3 miles SSW of Rochester, with a post, money order, and telegraph office under Rochester. Acreage, 1540; population, 1373. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £200. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is partly Norman, but chiefly Late Perpendicular. A jubilee hall was erected in 1887.

  • Wrotham,
  • a small town and a parish in Kent. The town stands at the foot of chalk hills, 8 miles ENE of Sevenoaks, with a station on the L.C, & D.R., 24 miles from London. It has a post, mosey order, and telegraph office. Acreage of the civil parish, 8883; population, 3437; of the ecclesiastical, 1450. For parish council purposes Wrotham, Platt, and Plaxtole were formed into an urban district council, Wrotham having six, Platt three, and Plaxtole four members. Wrotham was known at Domesday as Broteham, is supposed to date from the time of the ancient Britons, was given by Athelstane to Christchurch, Canterbury, had a palace of the Archbishops, now represented by only a few offices, suffered devastation by the Isleys and their party in Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion, and was formerly a market-town. It has a well-laid-out recreation ground. Wrotham Hill, near the town, commands a superb view. The Isleys and their party were routed at Blacksole Field. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £775 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop. The church is in various styles of architecture, and contains memorials of the Peek-ham family and others. Old British coins and fragments of brass armour have been discovered in the neighbourhood. There are almshouses for four poor parishioners.

  • W28 Wychling

  • W29 Wye
  • Wye, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour, under Wye Downs, with a station on the S.E.R., 60 miles from London, and 4 NNE of Ashford. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office, was once a market-town, and consists of two parallel streets crossed by two others. The South-eastern Agricultural College is a 15th-century building, which has been adapted to modern requirements. A fair is held annually on 11 Oct. Acreage of the civil parish, 7349; population, 1419; of the ecclesiastical, 1254. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belonged to the Saxon kings, was given by William the Conqueror to Battle Abbey, went after the dissolution of monasteries to the Hunsdons, and passed in 1628 to the Finches. Olantigh Towers is the chief residence, and is believed to contain the finest collection of pictures in the county. Wye Downs command a fine view. A mineral spring is at Withersdane. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £275 with residence. The church is large and handsome, and has a nave of the time of Henry VI., and a chancel and tower of 1706. There are a Wesleyan chapel, an endowed school, and almshouses.

  • Y1 Yalding
  • Yalding, a village and a parish in Kent The village stands near the confluence of the rivers Medway, Beult, and Theyse, with a station on the S.E.R., 38 miles from London, and 5 1/2 SW of Maidstone. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Maidstone. It was once a market-town, was desolated by the plague in 1510, 1603,1609, and 1666; is subject to inundation in wet seasons by the rivers, and enjoys advantages of navigation by barges on the Medway. The parish includes Collier Street hamlet. Acreage, 6358; population of the civil parish, 2595; of the ecclesiastical, 2407. Court Lodge, Down House, and Kenward are chief residences. Hops and fruit are largely grown. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £1168 with residence. The church is ancient, cruciform, and good. The vicarage of St Margaret, with a church at Collier Street, is a separate benefice of the gross value of £300 with residence. The church was restored in 1884. There are a Baptist chapel and an endowed grammar school.
Kentpoi
Kentpoi

Parishes in Kent

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1894-5


Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1894-5

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1894-5