crumble away for in the thirty second year of that Prince William Cosin by Deed passed it away to William Hextall William Gainsford and Nicholas Gainsford in the fifth year of Edward the fourth Hextall surrenders all his Interest here to William Gainsford Esquire so he is written in the Deed and from him did it descend to Nicholas Gainsford whom I find to be Justice of the Peace for Sussex and Kent in the reign of Henry the seventh and from him is that Family successively branched out who are the instant proprietaries of this place Waystrode is another obscure Mannor in this Parish which was the possession of as obscure a Family wich bore that Sirname who continued Lords of the Fee untill the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away to May in which Name it had not been permanent untill the latter end of that Prince but the same revolution conveyed it into the possession of a Family whose Sirname was Still in whose Successors the title hath remained so constant that the Inheritance of this place is at this instant resident in this Name and Family Cowling in the Hundred of Shamell had still the Barons Cobham of Cobham of whom I have discoursed so largely at that place for possessors and came down along with them to John Lord Cobham who expired in Joan Cobham his Daughter and Heir who was first espoused to John Delapole secondly to Sir John Oldcastle who for asserting the Doctrine of the Lollards notwithstanding his many great Atchievements in Military Commands which rendered him gracious with his Prince and glorious in our Chronicles he was in the first year of Henry the fifth quite subverted by a Romish Tempest raised by the Ecclesiasticks of those Times and martyr'd in a most inhumane manner by hanging him first and burning his Body also thirdly she was matched to Reginald Braybrook by whom she had only Joan her Daughter and Heir who was wedded to Thomas Brook of the County of Somerset Esquire from whom descended William Lord Brook Lord Warden of the Cinque ports in the reign of Queen Elizabeth who gave this Mannor to George Brooke his second Son and he being unhappily entangled in that mysterious Design of his Brother Henry Lord Cobham and Sir VValter Ramleigh by the Losse of his Head at VVinchester did expiate this unhappy undertaking but this being setled by entail and in Marriage also upon his Son who was in this latter Age known by the Name of Sir VVilliam Brook was by King James restored to this person then in his Minority upon whose Decease it descended to Sir Iohn Brook as the Heir male of the Family who was created Lord Brook by the late King at Oxford Cowling Castle was erected by Iohn Lord Cobham by Concession from Richard the second as appears Pat. 4. Richardi secundi which grant of his in the whole Tenor of it he caused to be inscribed in a large Table of Stone upon the Front of the Castle so careful was he to conform to the Laws of the Land which had a particular Aspect upon private embattelling a Species of Fortification prohibited si facta fuerit sine Licentia Domini Regis The Mannor of Mortimers in this Parish was the patrimony of Gentlemen of that Sirname Hugh de Mortimer who had a Grant of a Fair to Cliff in the forty first year of Henry the third was possessor of this place In Ages of a lower descent Iohn Mortimer who in the eleventh year of Edward the third was to provide an Hobler or Light Horseman for the security of the Coast about Genlade in Hoo lived at this place which had long before born the Name of his Ancestors After this Family had left it the Inglefields a noble Family in Barkesshire descended from * Ex veteri Rotulo Familiae de Inglefield Hasculfus de Inglefield who flourished about the latter end of King Canutus were by purchase ingraffed in the possession and here in this Name did the Title setle till about the latter end of Henry the seventh and then it was alienated to Iohn Sidley Esq Auditor to that Prince from Sidley it went over by purchase to Polhill Ancestor to George Polhill Esq eldest Son of Sir Thomas Polhill who is the present possessor of it Crundall in the Hundred of VVye was one of the Seats of the noble and ancient Family of Hadloe who had here a Mansion which at this day perpetuates their memory and is called Hadloe place Iohn de Hadloe had a Charter of Free-warren to Crundall and Hadloe in the first year of Edward the third he was son to Iohn de Hadloe who dyed seised of it in the eleventh year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 25. Of this Family was Nicholas Hadloe son of Edmund de Hadloe who ended in Amabilia Hadloe who matched with Honewood of Honewood in Postling but Crundall and Hadloe were sold away before to VVaretius de Valoigns by whose Daughter and Coheir they came over to Thâ—mas de Aldon and in that Name they continued several descents until the former Fatality brought it to languish into a Female Heir who was wedded to Heron of the County of Lincolne who desirous to draw all his estate into an entire Bulke passed away his estate here to Kempe and there it had no long continuance neither for by Mary one of the Coheirs of Sir Thomas Kempe it went away to Sir Dudley Diggs who suddenly after devested himself of his right to Crundall and Hadloe-place and in our Fathers memory passed them away by Sale to Mr ...... Gay Tremworth in this parish See more of Valoigns at Swerdlin in Petham was one of the ancient Mansions of Valoigns Allan de Valoigns who was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty first thirty second thirty third and thirty fourth years of Henry the second had his Residence here as well as at Repton in Ashford and is often written in the pipe-Rolls of those years Valoigns de Tremworth from this man did descend VVaretius de Valoigns who in the fourteenth year of Edward the third obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at Tremworth Hougham and other places in Kent and in whom the male Line failed for he concluded in two Daughters and Coheirs one of whom was matched to Aldon and so Tremworth came to own the Jurisdiction and Dominion of that Family and here it remained for divers Descents till Time that with successive Vicissitudes rolles all things into their determined period brought this Family to find its Tomb in a Female Heir who was married to Heron from which Family about the reign of Henry the eighth it passed away by Sale to Kempe of which Family was Sir Thomas Kempe who dying without Issue male left it to his Brother Mr. Reginald Kempe and he had Issue Thomas Kempe who deceasing without Children this Thomas his two Sisters married to Clark and Denny became his heirs and upon the Division of the Estate Tremworth was
in the Chancel of Eightham Church and Jo. Clement was his Brother and Heir whose Daughter Ann Clement was married to Hugh Pakenham who in her Right possest the Moat and he about the Reign of K. Edw. the sixth joyning with Sir William Sidney who had matched with Anne his only Heir passed it away to Sir John Ailen Lord Maior of London in the year 1526 and then again 1536 who left it to his Son Sir Christopher Allen and he about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it by Sale to John Selby Esq whose Son Sir William Selby dying without Issue to continue it in the Name gave it to Mr. George Selby of London whom it acknowledges at this instant for Lord of the Fee In the North-side of the Church of Eightham in an Arch in the Wall beneath the Quire lyes the Representation of a Knight wrought in Stone and his Arms pourtrayed on the Coat Armour on his Breast according to the usage of eminent Souldiers in the Reign of Edward the third This was Sir Thomas Cawne extracted originally out of the County of Stafford he had not much Land of Inheritance in Kent all I find was at Nulcomb a place so called in Seal as appears by his Deed of Purchase of John Ashburneham dated the thirty ninth of Edward the third but matching with Lora de Morant the Daughter and Heir of Sir Tho. Morant of Morants Court after his Death remarried to James de Peckham he thereby improved and enhaunsed his Fortune in Kent He died without Issue for ought as yet can be discovered his Arms as they be inserted in the Rolls and Registers of Staffordshire are empaled in the Chancel window with the Arms of Morant Elmested in the Hundred of Wye was a Limb of that Revenue which fell under the Signiory of the noble and ancient Family of Heringod In Testa de Nevill there is mention of Stephen de Heringod who paid respective Aid in the twentieth year of Henry the third for Lands which he held at Hardres and Elmsted Stephen de Heringod this mans Grandchild dyed about the beginning of Edward the first and determined in a Daughter and Heir called Grace de Heringod who was matched to Philip de Hardres and so this Mannor in her Right became incorporated into the revenue of this noble Family and remained for many Generations fastned to this Name untill the Age which almost commenced from our Fathers Memory and then Dane-Court a Branch of this Mannor was sold to Cloake and Elmested it self by the same Fatality went out to Marsh whose Successor very lately hath fixed his Interest by Sale in Lushington Evington Court is an ancient Seat in Elmested which was the Inheritance of Gentlemen of that Sirname who bare a Fesse between three Steel Burgonets for their Coat Armour and in a Book coppied out from old Deeds and digested into a just Volume by William Glover Somersett Herald and now in my Custody there is the Copy of an old Deed without date wherein William Fitz-Neal called in Latin Filius Nigelli does passe over some Land to Ruallo de Valoigns which is fortified by the appendant Testimony of one Robert de Evington who was Ancestor to the Evingtons of Elmsted of whom there is mention in the Deeds of this place in the Reign of Hen. the third and Edward the first After this Family was gon out the Gays a Family of no mean Account in this Track were incorporated into the Possession descended originally out of France where there is a Family which even at this Day is known by the Name of Le-gay and is planted in Normandy from whence those of Jersey and Gernesey are extracted a Branch of which is transplanted into South-Hampton and there for ought I know flourishes at present And to justifie the Truth of this their Extraction in the Leiger Book of Horton-Priory there is mention of one John le Gay who was a Benefactor to their House and though they are called at this day only without the Addition Gay yet this hath happened by Disuse and Intermission by not adding it in their Customary writing and affixing it to their Name But to proceed Evington Court though it was not originally erected by this Family yet certainly it was much inforced by Supplement and additionall Building for diverse places of the House are in Relation to the Name adorned with Nose-Gays In Conclusion after it had owned many of this Name of no vulgar Ranck for its Proprietaries it was about the beginning of Henry the seventh by Christopher Gay alienated to John Honywood Esquire of the eldest Family of the Honywoods from whom in a direct Line Edward Honywood Esquire Son and Heir of Sir John Honywood lately deceased is extracted and is now invested in the Possession of this place Elmested had the Grant of a Market obtained to it to be observed weekly on the Thursday and a Fair yearly on the Vigil and Day of Saint James by the Procurement of Henry de Haut Pat. 28. Edwardi tertii N. 20. Elmeston in the Hundred of Wingham was parcell of the Demeasne of the Lord Leybourn Juliana de Leybourn Wife of Roger de Leybourn had an estate here at her Death which was in the first year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 86. and her sole Heir was the Lady Juliana Leybourn first married to John de Hastings and after to William de Clinton but dyed without Issue by either in the forty third year of the Reign of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 57. and as it appears without any visible Alliance that could justify their Title to her Estate for the Crown feised upon it as legally escheated Richard the second granted Elmston to Simon Burleigh and upon his Attaint it returned to the Crown by Defailance of any who could pretend a Claim unto it King Richard the second about the fourteenth year of his Reign granted it to the Abby of Childrens Langley Before I proceed any farther in this Discourse I shall justifie what I before asserted that is that the first Husband of Juliana de Leybourn was John de Hastings a Kinsman of Lawrence de Hastings Earl of Pembroke but not his Son John de Hastings as some suppose and this is obvious if we consider that William de Clinton deceased by the Testimony of all in the twenty eighth yeer of Edward the third Juliana his Widow called in the Escheat Roll Comitissa de Huntington dyed in the forty third year of that Prince and John de Hastings Earl of Huntington in the year 1375 which happened in the forty ninth year of Edward the third which must necessarily upon a serious Computation of Time fall out six years after this Countesse's Decease to whom had she been matched she would have preserved the Stile of Comitissa de Pembroke and not that of Huntington But to return into that Track from whence this Digression hath made me wander after it remained Cloistered up in the Revenue of
very lately by Sale conveyed theirs and so by Consequence the Sole Interest of this Island unto Sir Edward Hales of Tunstal Graine Island lies in the Hundred of Hoo and had still the same Owners with the Mannor of Malmains in Stoke not farre distant Nicholas Malmains held it at his Death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the third and from him did the Title stream in this Family until the beginning of Henry the fourth and then it went away by Sale to Iden of Ripley Court in Westwell and in this Family did the Possession dwell untill the beginning of Henry the eighth and then it was alienated to John Parks Gentleman and he not long after dying without Issue Male Elizabeth his Sole Inheritrix who was wedded to John Roper of Bedmaneore in Lingsted Esquire united it to his Patrimony and from him is it now descended to his Successor Christopher Roper the instant Baron of Tenham Hartie lies in the Hundred of Feversham and did anciently acknowledge the Dominion of the Abbot and Covent of Feversham until John Abbot of that place in the tenth year of Henry the eighth obtained a Licence from the Crown to alienate it to Thomas Colepeper Esquire but here its abode was of no long Moment for about the latter end of Henry the eighth it was transmitted by Sale to Sir Thomas Cheyney whose Son the Lord Henry Cheyney about the middle of Q. Elizabeth passed it away to Samuel Thornhill Esquire great Grand-father to Mr. ....... Thornhill the instant Owner of it Oxney Island is an Hundred within it self The first place of eminence which offers it self to a Survey is Witresham which anciently belonged to the Monks of Christ-church and was given to that Cloister in the year 132 by Edsin Bishop of St. Martins without Cant. but upon the Suppression of that Covent in the reign of Hen. the eighth this Mannor with all its appendant was Immunities granted to Hen. Crispe Esq whose Son Nicholas Crispe held it the sixth of Q. Eliz. and after him James Hales Esquire and he in the thirteenth of that Princess alienated it to Freak in which Family it remained untill the Beginning of King James and then it was conveyed by Sir Thomas Freak to Sir Thomas Bishop and he in the sixteenth year of the abovesaid Prince gave it in marriage with his Daughter Mrs. Jane Bishop to Edward Alford Esquire and she in right of that original Settlement does now hold this Mannor Palstre is another Mannor in Witresham which represents to us the memory of John de Palstre who was anciently Lord of the Fee but before the end of Edward the third this Family was vanished and then the Charles's a Family of generous rank at Addington were setled in the possession and Richard Charles held it in the fifth year of Richard the second and so did Nicholas Charles who dyed possest of it in the eleventh year of that Prince Rot. Esc Num. 16. And from this Family by Alice one of the Coheirs it devolved to William Snath and he concluding in a Daughter and Heir she by matching with Watton brought it to be united to the patrimony of this Family And here it made its Re dence untill the reign of Heury the sixth and then it was passed away to Robert Rudston Esquire who being embarked in the reign of Queen Mary in the Design of Sir Thomas Wiatt although he did not forfeit his Life yet he did that of his Estate which by the special Indulgence of that Princesse was granted back to him in the second year of her reign in which this was involved which remained with this Family untill allmost our Time and then it was passed away to Sir Edward Henden one of the Barons of the Exchequer who dying not long since without Issue gave it to his Nephew Sir John Henden Father to Edw. Henden Esq the instant Lord of the Fee Owlye is another Mannor in Witresham which anciently was written Ovely as having owners of that Sirname who stayed not here untill the Beginning of Richard the second but were extinguished and left the possession to Ao Odiarne a Family anciently of good Note After whom I cannot because the private Evidences are embezel'd discover what Families were successively planted in the possession Only I find it about the latter end of Henry the eighth in the possession of Mayney of Biddenden in whom the Interest continued untill some few years since it was alienated by Sir John Mayney of Linton Knight and Baronet to Peter Ricaut Esquire who hath lately alienated his right in it to Mr. Menell of London Ebeney was given to the Monks of Christchurch in Canterbury by K. Athulfus at the particular entreaty and instigation of Ceolnoth the Arch-bishop in the year 832 to the Reparation of their Cloister and Cathedral The words registred in the Latine Record are these Anno Domini 832 Rex Athulfus instinctu Ceolnothi Archiepiscopi dedit Ebeneyam ad opus Monachorum Libere sicut Adisham But when the Impieties of the Monks who had cloistered up Religion it self in a Lazy Cell grew so clamorous that they called for Vengeance upon their Seminaties that Storm arose in the reign of Henry the eighth which by the Dissolution of their Covents expiated their Irregularities this Mannor was surrendered to the Crown and the abovesaid Prince in the thirty second year of his Government granted it to Sir Walter Henley Serjeant at Law who dying without Issue-male his three Daughters namely Elizabeth married to William Waller Esquire Hellen first wedded to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire secondly to Sir George Somerset and thirdly to Thomas Vane of Burston Esquire and Anne matched to Richard Covert of Slaugham as his Coheirs entered upon his Inheritance and then this place upon the Division of his estate increased the Demeasn of Richard Covert Esquire from whom by the Devolution of a descendant right the title is now lodged in his Successor Mr ...... Covert VVoodrove in Ebeney acknowledged in elder Ages a Family for proprietaries known by the Name of Mocking who had a revenue likewise about Milton Stockbury Hartlip and Shepey of no despicable Bulk John Mocking Son of VVilliam Mocking flourished under the Scepter of Edward the first Edward the second and held this Mannor at his Decease which was in the eleventh year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 75. And in this Family did the possession fix untill the reign of Henry the fourth and then it began to ebbe away from this Name and flow by the conveyance of Sale into Guldford and in a very old Schedule which enumerates the Mannors which related to John Guldford who lived under the Government of Henry the fourth and Henry the fifth this is registred in the Catalogue and from him did it come down to Sir Edward Guldford whose Daughter and Heir Joan brought it to be the patrimony of John Dudley Duke of Northumberland and he gave this Mannor with no small
seised of it in the fourth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 31. but this Name determining not long after in a Female Heir She by matching with Langley of Warwick-shire linked it to his Patrimony and William Langley in Right of this Alliance was possest of Hartanger in the fourth year of Henry the fourth and here it made its abode untill the latter End of Henry the sixth and then it was conveyed by Sale to Sir Thomas Brown aboved mentioned and his successor about the Beginning of Henry the seventh But the Mannor of Soles remained longer in the Name and possession of that Family John Soles held it at his Decease which was in the forty ninth year of Edw. the third Rot. Esc Num. 40. Parte secunda whilst this Family flourished under the Notion of one of the most ancient of East-Kent but continued here but untill the fourth year of Henry the fourth and then I find it linked to the Inheritance of Thomas Newbregge of Fordwich and in his Posterity did the propriety fix untill the Beginning of Henry the seventh and then the Name expired having tranferred the Interest they had in this place to Mr. William Bois Ancestor to Mr. John Bois of Hode who passed away some part of it not many years since to Sir Anthony Percival but transmitted the Remainder to his Son and Heir Mr. John Bois of Hode Esquire Bradherst with its two small appendant Mannors Petesworth and Meresworth vulgarly called Meresborough is situated in the Hundred of Eyhorne and was formerly folded up in that wide and spacious Revenue which was the paternal Inheritance of the Lords Leybourne of Leybourne Castle the last of which was Roger Lord Leybourne in whom the Name determined as the Estate did afterwards in his sole Daughter and Heir Juliana de Leybourne who having no Issue surviving neither by her first Husband John de Hastings nor her second William de Clinton Earl of Huntington nor any who by a collateral Relation could fortifie or furnish out a claim to her inheritance these Mannors which were a Limbe of it were invested by Escheat in the Crown and by Edward the third were not long after setled on his newly erected Abby of St. Mary Grace on Tower-Hill and remained wound up in the Revenue of that Cloister untill the Common dissolution did unravel it and resigned these respective Mannors with the Remainder of their Demeasn up to the Crown and here the Propriety of them made its abode untill the third year of Edward the sixth and then they were by the Royal Concession of that Prince passed away to Sir Thomas Cheyney whose Son and Heir Sir Henry Cheyney Lord Cheyney of Tuddington alienated all his Interest here in the thirteenth year of Q. Elizabeth to Samuel Thornhill Esquire who upon his Decease gave his Estate here to his second Son Sir John Thornhill of Bromley Knight whose Son and Heir Charles Thornhill Esquire hath now the Signorie of it The Church of Bradherst though thrust into an obscure and silent Corner amongst Woods and other dark Recesses yet is enobled with a Monument of one of the Knightly Family of Northwood which hath this Epitaph endorsed Hic jacet Willielmus Northwood cum quatuor suis Filiis verus Haeres Domini de Northwood It is probable this Family had some Retreat or Mansion here at this Parish which upon their abandoning of Bradherst languished away insenbly into Ruine so that the Memory of it now is altogether neglected and forgotten Blackmanston in the Hundred of Worth had a Family of good Account in this Tract named Marings or Marins which it called Proprietaries Thomas de Marings held it at his Decease which was in the twenty sixth year of Edward the first and so did Joan Widow of Roger Marins his Son as appears by two Inquisitions taken after her Decease one in the sixteenth year of Edward the third and the other in the twenty third year of that Princes Reign but after this I do not find this place long permanent in this Family for in the forty fourth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 10. Henry de Hauts of Haut bourne died possest of it and from him did the Title by an even Clew of succession come down to Sir William Haut Son and Heir of Sir Thomas Haut of Hautsbourne who deceased without Issue Male so that this Mannor of Blackmanston upon the Division of his Estate came by Joan one of his two Daughters and Coheirs to fall under the Possession and Signory of Sir Thomas Wiat but continued not long tied up in his Demeasn for this noble but unfortunate Person being engaged past all Retreat in a Disastrous Combination against Q. Mary was attainted of High Treason and beheaded in the second year of that Princess and so this place being rent off by Escheat from this Family it lay couched in the Income of the Crown untill the twenty ninth of Q. Elizabeth and then it was granted by that Princess to Roger Parker Esquire who was one of her Pages and he not long after conveyed it by Sale to Sir William Hall of Bibrook in Kennington and his Son Nevil Hall Esquire in the year 1630 alienated his Right in it to Sir Edward Hales Knight and Baronet whose Grandchild Sir Edward Hales now of Tunstal Baronet upon the late Decease of his Grand Father abovesaid now succeeds in the Possession of it Bekesbourne in the Hundred of Downhamford distinguished from the other Bournes which are linked to each other by the River of Leving by the ancient Owners Name the Bekes It hath long time been a Member to Hasting in Sussex and enjoyeth like Liberty with the Cinque Ports which K. Edward the third made Declaration of by a special Writ in the forty third year of his Reign At which time and long after there was a small Navigation out of the River of Stoure up to this place Richard de Beke as we read in Testa de Nevil a Book kept in the Exchequer held some Lands here in grand Serjeantie to find one Ship each Time K. Henry the third should pass the Seas The Arch-Bishops of Canterbury had here a small but elegant House very commodious for their Recesse or Retirement the River brought so conveniently about it that the Trouts the principal Fish there are plentifully useful unto it Garwinton a Mannor and House most elegantly and commodiously situated in this Parish was possest by certain Gentlemen that extracted their Denomination from this Seat and held the same by Knights Service of the Abbot of St. Augustins neer Canterbury and Thomas de Garwinton a Man of valuable Consideration on this side of the County was eminent here in the twentieth year of Edward the third and from him did it descend to his great Crandchild Thomas Garwinton in whom the Male Line determined for he dying without Issue in the eleventh year of Henry the fourth Joan his Neice matched to Richard Haut a Cadet of the Hauts
of Hauts-Bourne was after a serious Inquisition found to be his Heir General and She having entituled her Husband to this Mannor his Son Richard Haut in Right of this Alliance was enstated in it but he concluding likewise in a Female Inheritrix called Margery She She by espousing William Isaac of Hopland knit this and much other Land to his inheritance whose successor by the same Fatality expired in a Daughter and Heir first matched to Sydley and secondly to Sir Henry Palmer on whom She setled this Mannor and his Descendant Sir Henry Palmer passed it away to Lieutenant Colonel Prude slain at Maestricht Father to Mr. Searles Prude whose two Daughters and Coheirs have lately conveyed it to Mr. George Curtis Bekenham near Bromley helps to give Name to the Hundred wherein it is placed and of old time was held by Gentlemen called in Latine Records de Rupella in French de la Rochel and in English Rokeley and were in their original Etymologie extracted from Rochel in France Richard de Rokeley died seised of this Mannor in the fifth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 6. and was succeeded in the Possession by Philip de la Rokeley and he held it likewise at his Death which hapened in the 23 year of Edw. the first Rot. Esc Num. 39. and left it to his Sole Daughter and Heir Isolda de la Rokeley matched to William Bruin by whom She had Issue Sir Maurice Bruin Chamberlaine to K. Edw. the third honoured with the Summons to Parliament as Baron amongst the Peers of this Realm who by a Right derived to him from his Mother was possest of this at his Death in the twenty ninth of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 38. and transmitted a wide and spreading Revenue to his Posterity here at Southokenden in Essex and at Roumere in Hantshire which last was given in Appendage to a younger Son from whom the Bruins of Athelhampton in the County of Dorset are lineally descended But when after a fair continuance this Family had flourished at this Place the Distaffe prevailed against the Speare and Sir Henry Bruins two Daughters and Coheirs about the Beginning of Edward the fourth divided his Inheritance each of them having a first and second Husband Alice the eldest was first married to Robert Harleston of Essex Esquire and after to Sir Thomas Heveningham and Elizabeth second Daughter was wedded first to Thomas Tirrell of Heron in Essex Esquire and after his Decease to Sir William Brandon Knight who was Standard-bearer to Henry the seventh at Bosworth Field where he was stain in asserting his Cause and Quarrel against Richard the third and he had Issue by her Sir Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk the Flower and perfection of English Chivalrie in his Time who sometimes kept his Residence at this place not as Proprietarie but onely as Lessee for the Sole Inheritance upon the Division of Bruin's Estate accrued to Tirrell and here entertained Henry the eighth with all the Cunning Pompe of Magnificence as he went to bestow a Visit at Hever on his discarded and repudiated wife Ann of Cleve But to go on this Mannor as I said before being annexed to the patrimony of Thomas Tirrell Humphrey Tirrell his Grandchild to whom it descended passed away one Moietie of it in the thirty fifth year of Henry the eighth to Ralph Warren and the other to Henry Parke Warren alienated his Proportion not long after to Bradbury from which Family about the latter End of Q. Eliz. it came over by Sale to Serjeant Gent who gave it in Dower with his Daughter to Sir George Dalston of Cumberland who in our Memory conveyed it to Sir Patrick Curwin of the same County and he some few years since sold his Interest in it to Sir Oliver St. John of Batricksey in Surrey who upon his Decease gave it to his Son then Mr. Walter but now upon the Death of his Nephew Sir Walter St. John Baronet the other Moitie by Joan sole Heir of the abovesaid Henry Parke came to be the Inheritance of Mr. Robert Leigh descended out of Cheshire whose Successor about the latter End of King James alienated it to Sir Henry Snelgrave from whom it descended to his Grandchild Mr. Henry Snelgrave who not long since passed it away to Mr. Walter now Sir Walter St. John Baronet who lately hath exchanged the whole Mannor for other Land with his Brother Mr. Henry St. John Langley in this Parish is a second Seat of eminent Account which was in elder Times the Possession of John de Malmains who obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to his Lands in Bekenham in the twelfth year of Edward the second which was renewed to Henry de Cliffe to whom they accrued by Purchase from Malmains in the third year of Edward the third but stayed not long in the Tenure of this Family for before the going out of Edward the third I find the Propriety invested by Sale in Langley to which Family the Foundation of that HOuse owes in part its Original on which they ingraffed their own Name which hath flourished under that Title ever since though the Family be withered away and gone the last of which Name at this place was Ralph Langley who with Roger Twisden Stephen Monins Edward Monins John Edingham or Engham Richard Edingham John Berton of Cotmanton in Shouldon John Berham John Betenham of Shurland in Pluckley and others Gentlemen of prime Rank in this County were summoned to appear before Robert Poynings and John Perry in the twelfth year of Henry the sixth to disclaim the Title of the House of York and this Ralph died in the year 1451 and ordered Langley and other demeasns at Bekenham to be sold for the discharging his Debts the purport and Effects of which Will were accordingly performed and his Estate at Bekenham and Langley passed away by Sale to John Violett whose Successors enjoyed it until the Beginning of Hen. the eighth and then it was conveyed to John Stiles Esq who much inlarged the House with a supply of Buildings and from him is it by Descent devolved to be the instant Possession of his Successor Sir Humphrey Stiles Knight and Baronet Kelseys lies likewise in this Parish and may justly exact our Notice by Deeds written in a Character that hath an Aspect upon the Reign of Henry the third John de Kelsey William de Kelsey and others of that Sirname are represented to have an Interest in this Seat and from hence it is probable the Kelseys of Surrey did derive their first Extraction however by the Injuries of Time they have been in succeeding Generations cast under the umbrage of an obscurer Fortune But I return After this Family had deserted the Possession of this place which was before the latter End of Richard the the second I find the Brograves stepped in and by purchase became Lords of the Fee a Family which in very old Deeds writ themselves Burgrave and sometimes Boroughgrave though now a more
Name then the End of K. John for then William de Averenches dying without Issue Male Matilda his onely Daughter and Heir brought Capell with the two little Mannors Halton and Wolverton alias Wolton to be possest by Hamon de Crevequer called in the Language of those times the great Lord of Kent from him they descended to his Son and Heir Hamon de Crevequer who dying about the forty seventh year of Henry the third without Issue his Estate in Kent and elsewhere was seised on by that Prince as having died in Actual Arms against him but was by the Act of Pacification made at Kenelworth in the fiftieth year of his Reign restored to his four Sisters whereof one was espoused to John de Lenham the second was matched first to Nicholas de Sandwich and next to John de Segrave Matilda the third was wedded to Bertram de Crioll and the fourth was married to William de Pateshull but upon the Division of the Estate Capell with its two Appendages Halton and Wolton accrued to Crioll by whose Daughter and Heir they came to Sir Richard de Rokesley and then by Joan his Sole Inheritrix to Tho. de Peynings in which Family they remained untill the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and then Sir Edward Poynings dying without any lawfull Issue they came by Mary his natural Daughter to Edward Lord Clinton to whom they were by Grant confirmed in the thirtieth of that Princes Reign and he in the second year of Q. Mary passed them away to Mr. Henry Herdson whose Grandchild Mr. Francis Herdson conveyed them to his Uncle Mr. John Herdson and he dying without Issue setled them on his Kinsman Sir Basil Dixwell Knight and Baronet whose Kinsman Mr. Basill Divwell of Broome in Barham is now Proprietarie of them Caldham high mounted is another Mannor in this Parish which informs us that in elder times a Family of that Denomination held it which before the End of Richard the second had passed it away to Baker a Family of good Account in this Track who had a peculiar Chancel belonging to them in Folkstone Church near the Vestry Door over the Charnell House John Baker was Gentleman Porter of Callis under Henry the fifth and sixth and dying without Issue male Robert Brandred who had matched with one of his two Coheirs was planted in the Possession and he about the latter end of Henry the sixth passed it away to Sir Thomas Brown whose Grandchild Sir Matthew Brown exchanged it with Henry the eighth about the thirty sixth of his Reign and he granted it away to William Wilford John Bennet and George Brigges and they in the thirty seventh of his Government alienated their Right in this place to John Tufton Esquire Ancestor to the right Honourable John Earl of Thanett who still possesses the Signory of it Charlton in the Hundred of Blackheath anciently written Ceopleton that is the Town inhabited with honest good stout and usefull men for Tillage and Country businesse It anciently belonged to William Fitz Oger as Doomsday Book saith and was after given to the Monastery of Bermondsey neer Southwarke by Robert Bloett Bishop of Lincoln Anno sexto Willielmi Secundi King Henry the third gave the Prior of that House Liberty by his Charter in the fifty third year of his Reign to hold a Market there weekly and a Fair once in every yeer three days together viz. upon the Eve upon Trinity Sunday and two days after the Market was held weekly upon the Monday and was not long since ciscontinued but the Fair is not disused but kept yearly upon St. Lukes day and called Horn Fair by reason of the great plenty of all Sorts of Winding Hornes and Cups and other Vessels of Horn there brought to be sold King James granted the Mannor to Sir Adam Newton Knight and Baronet Tutor to Prince Henry who there hath built a goodly brave House and left the Care with his Cost to enlarge and beautify Gods House the Parish Church to Sir David Comingham Knight and Baronet late Coforer to Prince Charles Mr. Newton his Brother and Mr. Peter Newton Gentleman Usher to the late King Charles who have most amply discharged that Trust and in a manner new builded a great Part thereof and erected the Steeple new from the Ground and furnished it with a good Ring of Bells decorating the same Church without and within so worthily that it surpasseth most in the Shire Kedbroke neer Charlton was formerly a Parish but when the Church decayed and the paucity of the Inhabitants could not support the Charge that was to maintain the same they were by Composition annexed to Charlton it is of late become of better Note since it pleased King Charles to create Sir William Harvey Knight and Baronet and Baron Harvey of Rosse in Ireland a Peer of this Realm also by the Name of Baron Harvey of Kedbroke it being part of his Ladies Inheritance as being Daughter and one of the three Coheirs of Brian Annesley Esquire who having it in Lease from the Crown bought the Fee-simple of Edward Blunt of Wrickelmersh Esquire to whom it was conveyed by his Father in Law Sir William Garaway of London Knight who had purchased it of King James in the Beginning of his Government to whose Royal Demeasne it had been fastned ever since the Suppression of the Priory of Bermondsey in whose Patrimony it was involved in the Reign of Henry the eighth In the time of King Henry the sixth Pat. 26. Hen. sexti Parte secunda Memb. 27. the Church of Kedbroke was appropriated to the Priory of St. Mary Overies in Southwarke the Vicarage not endowed but being shrunk into Decay and Solitude the Inhabitants for many yeers last past have resorted for the performance of Divine Duties to the Parish Church of Charlton Chalke in the Hundred of Shamell was parcel of that Demeasne which related to the Abby of Bermondsey as appears by Kirkbies Inquest a Book kept in the Exchequer and collected in the ninth year of Edward the first wherein that Cloister is represented to have had the Possession of this place at that Time and here it remained untill the generall Dissolution snatched it away in the Time of Henry the eighth and that Prince afterwards devolved it to Sir George Brook from whom it descended to his Great Grandchild Sir William Brook who dying in the year 1643 without Issue male it came over to his Kinsman Sir Jon Brook as Reversioner in Entail and he some few years since passed it away to James Duke of Lenox lately deceased whose Son Esme Stuart now Duke of Lenox is the Heir Apparent of it Felborough Clam Lane and Rainhurst were a Limb of that wide Revenue which lay scattered and diffused over the face of all this Hundred and acknowledged it self to be under the Signory of the Family of Cobham Henry de Cobham held them as appears by Kirkbies Inquest in the ninth year of Edward the first and so did his
Aid at the making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third for sundry parcels of Land which he held in Kent and amongst the rest for his Lands at Cranebrook and in this Family was the possession of this place with that of Copton and Stone concentered till the latter end of Henry the seventh and then part of Sisingherst with Copton and Stone was sold to Mr. Tho. Baker Father to Sir John Baker Attorney General and of the Privy Counsel to Queen Mary and likewise Chancellor of the Exchequer and under-Treasurer who purchased the residue and raised that Magnificent Pile within the Park which now charmes with so much Delight the eyes of the Spectators and from this man by the channel of paternal and lineal Descent is the Inheritance of Sisingherst Copton and Stone emptied into Sir John Baker Baronet the instant Lord of the Fee Secondly Glastenbury is not to be forgotten since it is of so great a Name elsewhere and is called as the other is from Glastney the Saxon Idiome of Inis Witrin the Watry or Glassie place The House which stands in a Park is moated about and hath been for many Generations the capital Mansion of the ancient Family of Rokchurst ever since Stephen Rokehurst or Roberts of Curtesden and in old Records sometimes written Rokehurst Den in Goudherst about the beginning of Henry the fourth married Joan Sole Heir of William Tilley of Glastenbury whose Ancestors had flourished at this place as private Evidencs instruct me ever since the reign of Edward the first and in right of that Alliance became Lord of this Mansion This Stephen Roberts aliàs Rokehurst was Grand-child of William Roberts aliàs Rokehurst and that William was great Grand-child of William de Rokehurst who in the reign of William the Conquerour as the Evidences of this Family inform me came out of Anandale in Scotland into England and to preserve the memory of this man did the Family till the Government of Henry the seventh write Roberts alias Rokchurst till in the East window of the North Chancel of the Church of Cranebrook which was built by Walur Roberts Esq in that Princes Reign as also in most of his Deeds and Conveyences the alias was left out Coursehorne finds place to be remembred in the Map of Kent and then must not be forgotten here it hath been for above three hundred years as appears by private Records the Inheritance of Henley in an Escheat Roll taken in the seventeenth year of Edward the third and marked with the number 92. After the death of Richard Haudloe who it seems had Lands at Cranebrook there is mention of one Gerva Henley that was one of the Jury and concerned in the Inquisition But that which much improves the Fame of this Mansion is that it was the Cradle of Sir Walter Henley Serjeant at Law a man of eminent repute in this County in the Reign of Henry the eighth and by his three Daughters and Coheirs Elizabeth married to ....... Waller of Grome-bridge Hellen first matched to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgbury secondly to Sir George Somersett and thirdly to Thomas Vane of Burston and lastly Ann wedded to Richard Covert of Slaugham in Sussex knit those Noble Families together in one Alliance but Coursehorne did by Descent come over to his Brother Gervas Henley Esquire from whom Sir Thomas Henley now of Coursehorne is lineally extracted Another ancient place there is in Cranebrook called Hartridge the possession in times past of a worthy Family of that Sirname among them chiefly to be remembred is Thomas Hartridge for he was one of the Conservators or Justices of Peace in this County in the thirty fourth year of Edward the third when there was but eight only in the whole Shire It hath been since much honoured by the Will fords who by James Willsford a most worthy Senator of London derive themselves from the right ancient Family of Willsford of Willsford in Devonshire and are fairly spread from hence into many Branches both in this County and elsewhere and after it had thus for divers Descents been resident in this noble Family the Possession was in our Fathers remembrance united by purchase to the Patrimony of Tindall now of Sutton Valence Fifthly Betenham is not to be passed over in silence which is a Note worthy Place in this Parish that gave both Seat and Sirname to the Betenhams but when the eldest Line had only three Daughters and Coheirs matched to More Dering and Fisher who divided the Patrimony this in his Wifes right was annexed to the Demeasn of More and this after More had alienated his Interest in it came to acknowledge for Sole Owners the Roes of which Family was the right Noble Sir Thomas Roe Knight Chancellor of the most Noble Order of the Garter and of the Privy Councel to the late Kidg Charles and severall years Embassador to the Great Mogor Great Turk King of Sweden and lastly to the Princes of the Protestant Union in Germany in the year 1642. After which Negotiation most prudently transfacted he returned and died but in this Family it remained not long for in the remembrance of that Age our Fathers lived in it was by Sale demised to Mansfield in whom the Possession is at this present setled There are two places more which may be registred in this Inventorie The first is Plechinghurst which was an ancient Seat belonging to the Sharpeighs of Sharpeigh a Family of deep rooted Antiquitie in this Track Robert de Sharpeigh flourished here at Cranebrook about the beginning of Edward the first and was witness to a Deed of William de Brindens of Brinden In this Parish formerly the Linds and now the Holdens but this Deed is without Date another Robert Sharpeigh of Sharpeigh and Cranebrook as I find by an ancient Roll was in Commission as Justice of the Peace about the latter end of the Government of Henry the seventh But as all sublunary things are crushed and overturned by the wheel of an inconstant Vicissitude so by Consequence are our Possessions likewise for after this place had been for so many Descents the Inheritance of this ancient Family it was almost within the Verge of our Remembrance first alienated to Martin and by him not long since by Sale demised to Walter The second is Buckhurst which is the last place of Account within the circuit of this Parish If we go to trace the Antiquity of thse Families who were the ancient Proprietorrs of it we shall find that it acknowledged Hadloe and Buckhurst for its elder Possessors that the first had some concernment here not only the private Deeds and Muniments of this place do evince to us but likewise by an Inquisition taken after the decease of Richard de Hadloe by which it is evident he held some Estate here in the seventeenth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 32. And that the second Family had some Interest here not only the Authority abovesaid doth justifie
but the Name it self doth tacitly insinuate that this Mansion formerly gave Seat and Denomination to the Family of Buckhurst in times of a lower step that is in the Reign of Henry the seventh I find it in the Tenure of Drayner but how it devolved to this Family I cannot discover It is enough that it continued united to their Dimeasn untill the beginning of Q. Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Alexander Coachman in whose Descendant the Signorie and Interest of it hath ever since been constantly resident Cranebroke had the Grant of a Market to be observed weekly there on the Saturday in the eighteenth year of Edward the first as appears Cart. Edw. 1. Num. 92. I had almost forgot to tell you that there is a place in this Parish called Holden which with Hawkeridge hath for some Centuries of years acknowledged the Holdens for its Proprietaries and are still united to the Patrimony of this Name and Family which for such a vast Succession of time hath been planted at Cranebroke There was a Chappell at a place called Milkhouse in the Eastern part of this Parish founded and endowed by John Lawless about the latter end of Henry the seventh which upon the generall Dissolation of Chantries and all other Religious Fraternities by Henry the eighth was by that Prince about the latter end of his Rule granted to Sir John Baker of Sisingherst not far distant whose Revenue is yet in the possession of Sir John Baker his Successor There was another Chappell founded at Sisingherst as the Evidences of that place do insinuate by John de Saxenhurst which was reedified by the late Sir John Baker and by a Deed delivered to John Bancroft Bishop of Oxford devoted to the Service of God and dedicated as it was before to St. John the Evangelist After the reception of this Instrument which was in the year 1637. it was by the same Bishop Consecrated first by a Prayer at the entrance of the Chappell then by others made at the Seats Pulpit and Communion Table the effect of all which was that God would accept of it for a House and likewise of the Prayers and Devotions that in that Oratorie were offered up by the faithful People of God to his Honour and Service Charing in the Hundred of Calehill is in Saxon written Cering and by that Name King Kenulf in the year 799. made Restitution of it to Christ Church in Canterbury at the humble request of Arch-Bishop Athelard for King Offa had taken it away from that Church in the time of Arch-Bishop Janibert and being thus regained to the See it continued so till the great Exchange made in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth with that Prince by Arch-Bishop Cranmer the Fee-simple was planted in the Crown In the time of the Conquest in the Notitia of the Arch-Bishop and Cathedrals Lands because they held it in ancient Demeasn that is they had possest it long before the Conquest and a Mannor-house or Palace there it was called Proprium Manerium Archiepiscopi In the time of Edward the Confessor it went for eight Sullings or Plough-Lands but in the twentieth year of William the Conquerour it was rated in Domsday Book at seven Sullings because one Plough-Land was laid into his Demeasn The Church dedicated to St. Peter and Paul was anciently famous by a traditional relation which I am not much moved with for it wants the stamp of venerable Authority which did affirm that the Block on which St. John the Baptists Head was cut off was brought into England in the Reign of Richard the first and kept in this Church The first place of secular Interest which doth occurre is Pett the Evidences of this place now in the hands of Sir Robert Honywood do mention the Petts to be in Ages of a very high Assent that is about the Reign of Henry the third and Edward the first Proprietaries of it but publick Records reach no farther than Newcourt Lord of the Mannor of Newcourt not far distant Jeffrey de Newcourt Son of Walter de Newcourt paid respective Aid in the twentieth year of Edward the third for his Lands at Newcourt and Pett After the Newcourts were gone out the Hatches were by Purchase planted at Pett and Newcourt they were called so from their abode near some Gate or passage for one of them who was Possessor of these two places was written Hugh at Hatch from this Family by Sale about the latter end of Henry the seventh the right of Pett and Newcourt devolved to William Warham and in some Copies of Fines which I have seen by a false Transcription written William VVarren and this man sold them both again in the entrance of the Reign of Henry the eighth to Robert Atwater who determining in Mary Atwater his Sole Heir She by matching with Robert Honywood Esquire of Henewood in Postling wound up the Interest of these two places Pett and Newcourt into the Demeasn of that Family so that they now own Sir Robert Honywood his great Grandchild the Sole Proprietary of them Stilley is another little Mannor lying within Charing and was anciently enwrapt in the Revenue of Frene John de Frene who flourished in the Reign of Henry the third is mentioned in Testa de Nevill a Book collected in the twentieth year of that Prince to have paid Aid at the Marriage of the Kings Sider for Lands which he possest at Charing after in the twentieth year of Edward the third there is a recital in the Book of Aid of Sir Thomas de Brockhull Son of Sir William de Brockhull who paid an Auxiliary supply at the making of the Black Prince Knight for his Lands which he held at Saltwood Calehill Charing and other places in this County but after this the Possession was not long resident in this Family for Henry Brockhull this mans second Son to whom these Mannors of Stilley and Newland were assigned for livelyhood about the twelfth year of Henry the fourth transmitted them by Sale to John Darell Esquire Son of Sir William Darell who was extracted out of the right ancient and Knightly Family of the Darells of Sesay from whom Sir John Darell of Calehill and Lord of this Mannor of Stilley is originally and lineally issued out Wickins is another Mannor circumscribed within the Limits of this Parish it was originally the Patrimony of Brent a Family well endowed in this Track and certainly was as ancient a Seat of this Family as any which lay involved in their Revenue for John Brent Son of Robert de Brent of Charing paid respective Aid for Lands which he held here in the twentieth year of Edward the third and William Brent who was Son of Hugh Brent of Charing made his Will the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth and disposed of this place to his Son Hugh Brent and this Hugh had Issue William Brent who composed his Testament in the tenth year of Henry the seventh and this William was great
the supply of their Diet And the Notitia of the particular Mannors belonging to Christ Christ in the Dooms-day Record speaks thus Litel Cert iterum est Manerium Monachorum de Cibo eorum quod in T. E. R. id est Tempore Edwardi Regis se defendebat pro III Sullings nunc pro duo dimidio valet VIII lb. The other half Sulling or Ploughland was at that time held by William Fitz-Herminfrid of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury in Fee and was called Pett This Mannor was many Generations since given in Fee-Farm by Grant from the Monks of Christ Church to the Brockhulls who transmitted it with Calehill to John Darell Esq in the fourth year of Henry the fourth and under that Notion or Capacity it continued till the suppression and then it was confirmed to Sir James Darell by King Henry the eighth in Fee-Ferm there being a small Rent issuing out of it reserved to the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church and under that Character is it now come down to Sir John Darell the instant Lord of the Fee Calehill is that eminent Mannor in Little Chart which gives Name to the whole Hundred it was under the Scepter of Henry the third the Inheritance of a good Family called Frene who as appears by Seals and other Authentick Records of Armorie bare for their paternal Coat Or a Flower de Lis within a plain Bordure Sables in Allufion and Assimulation to that Pluckly of whom it is probable they held some Land in this Track who bore Or only a Flower de Lis Sabler Hugh de Frene in the first year of Ed. the first obtained a Charter of Free Warren to his Mannor of Calehill and Stilley in Charing But before the middle of Edw. the third this Family was departed from the Possession of this place having surrendred the Propriety of it and Stilley in Charing to Sir Thomas Brockhull second Son of Sir William Brockhull and he paid respective Aid for his Mannor of Calehill and his Lands at Charing at making the Black Prince Knight Thomas Brockhull his Son was Sheriff of Kent the seventh and eighth years of Rich. the second and held his Shrievalty at Calehill and he had Issue Hen. Brockhull who in the fourth year of Hen. the fourth conveyed Calehill to * Ex Autographis Jo. Darell de Calchill Militis John Darell Esq younger Brother of Darell of Sesay and elder Brother to Sir Will. Darell under-Treasurer of England which John was Steward of the Lands of Hen. Chichley Arch-B of Cant. a place in those Times of a large Trust and as eminent a Concernment and in the twelfth year of the abovesaid Prince Hen. Brockhull mentioned before passed away Stilley in Charing to John Darell abovesaid from whom it came over to his Successor James Darell who by a Charter of Inspection in the third of Hen. the sixth had the Franchise or Priviledge of Free Warren renewed to his Mannors of Calchill and Stilley in Charing which was originally granted to Hugh de Frene John Darell Esq was Sheriff of Kent the seventh of Hen. the seventh he was afterwards dignified with the Order of Knighthood and was so eminent a Partisan of that Prince that he had his Estate torn from him by * See Rot. Par. de An. tertio Ric. 3 Memb. 6. Richard the third for his Fidelity to his Cause and Quarrel which * See Originale An. 2. Hen. 7. Rot. 17. in the Treasurers side in the Exchequer with thirteen other Mannors lying dispersed in the County of Worcester was granted to him again by Henry the seventh before mentioned and was made Captain of the Lanciers for this part of the County wherein he lived Sir James Darell was his Son and Heir who was Governour of Guines and Hames Castle near Calais Thus have I in prospect represented when Jo. Darell above mentioned originally extracted from the Knightly Family of the Darells of Sesay in York-shire deserted that County to transplant himself into Kent and fix his residence at Little Chart from whom Sir John Darell who now enjoys the Signory of Calehill and Proprietie of Stilley in Charing by a Derivation of many Descents all of whom were very considerable in their Generations as their Monuments and sepulchral Inscriptions remaining in their own Chappel of St. Katharines in Little Chert Church do at this instant eminently manifest is by a just and un-interrupted Series originally and lineally extracted Burleigh is another Mannor partly in this Parish and partly in Charing which had anciently Owners who bore that Sirname and there is a place in Charing Church which at this Day is known by the Name of Burleighs Chauntry which is very probable was founded by them after the Burleighs were extinguished and abstracted from the Possession of this place which was about the Beginning of Edward the third the St. Johns written in Sir John Darells Latin Deeds De Sancto Johanne became Lords of the Fee but long this Mannor was not refident in them for before the end of Edward the third this Family of St. John was crumbled into Decay and Oblivion and having disloged from the Possession a Family called Dalingryg of eminent Note in Hantshire were entituled by Purchase to the Proprtety of it and Sir Edward Dalingryg by a Fine levyed the first year of Richard the first passed it away to Roger Dalingryg and Alice his Wife and they not long after by the same Vicissitude conveyed their united Interest here to Brockhull of Cale hill and Hen. Brockhull in the fourth year of Henry the fourth transmitted it by Sale to John Darrell Esquire and from him by the Chanel of sundry Descents is the Right now descended to Sir John Darrell who hath the instant Fee-simple of it Chart Sutton sometimes called Chart Greene is seated in the Hundred of Eyhorne within the Confines of this Parish there is an ancient Mannor and Mansion called Norton place it gave Name to as ancient a Family as any in this Track in the South-Windows of the Church there was the Effigies of Stephen Norton with his Arms on his Tabard or Surcoat viz. Argent a Cheveron between three Crescents Azure who flourished in King Richard the seconds Time and in a Turnament of the Kentish Gentlemen I find one of this Name in a Tabard of the Arms above mentioned encountring one Christmasse of East Sutton not far distant who was in like manner so habited in a Surcoat charged with his Arms which meetly express the Owners name viz. Gules upon a Bend Sables three Wassail Bowls Or which likewise stand in the South-Windows in Sutton Church But the Effects of Gavelkind did at length grind this Family to a small Remain so that in the Times which did almost border upon those our Fathers lived in this Seat was by Norton sold to Baker from whom by the same Fatality not long after it went away to Sir Edward Hales Grandfather to Sir Edward Hales Baronet who is the
of Lathbury in the County of Buckingham Nin-House shall not pass without some mention because it was the residence of John at Nin who is in the Register of those twelve Worthies who are pourtraied kneeling in Coat Armour in an ancient window in this Parish Church whose posteritie enjoyed it untill the beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was alienated to Sharpe and Wil. Sharpe mingled with the Ashes of his five Wives as the Inscription on his Sepulchral Stone instructs us rests in the nethermost part of the South Isle of this Church and as the Date endorsed on his Tombe informs us deceased in the year of Grace 1499. and from him did the Proprietie of this Mansion by the Devolution of sundry Descents come down to Mr ........ Sharpe lately deceased whose Heirs do still enjoy it Chevening in the Hundred of Codsheath had owners of that Name in times of higher Assent who were of no dispicable account Adam de Chevening was one of the grand Assise in the time of King John and had his residence here and likewise derived his Name from hence and the heirs of William de Chevening paid respective Aid for the Mannor of Chevening by the half part of a Knights Fee which Adam de Chevening formerly held of the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in the twentieth year of Edward the third at the making the Black Prince Knight when the Chevenings went away from the Possession of this place the Family of Delapole who were Lords of the Mannor of Pool in Southfleet were Seated in the Inheritance for John de Lapole held it in the tenth year of Henry the sixth but long after this did it not continue constant to this Name for by Sale the whole Demise was put into the Tenure of Isley and William Isley held it at his death which was in the fourth year of Edward the fourth Rot. Esc 34. and in the Demeasn of this Family was the Inheritance folded up till Sir Henry Isley in the Reign of Edward the sixth fixed the Proprietie of it by Sale in John Lennard Esquire who lies enterred in Chevening Church in right of which original Grant Francis now Lord Dacres his great Grandchild is invested in the present Inheritance of it Chepsted in this Parish was so called from the Market of Fish there long since used for there such as imported fish from Rye on the Sea-Coast thence called Rypers made their Stage and on fresh horses carried it to London Just as Chepe-Side and other places beginning with Chepe give Addition and Distinction from other Towns of like Name where Markets are kept That this Mannor had Proprietaries of this Name is evident for John de Chepsted Son of Cohn de Chepsted paid respect of Aid for this Mannor which was held by Knights Service of the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in the twentieth year of Edward the third at the making the Black Prince Knight the Heir of Chepsted as appears by an old Pedigree in the hands of Sir Sackvil Crow was matched to John de Bore and the Heir of Bore to Stockett who passed away Chepsted about the latter end of Henry the sixth to William Isley Esquire whose unhappy Successor Sir Henry Isley being attainted in the time of Q. Mary it escheated to the Crown where it hath ever since been resident Morants Court lies in Chevening likewise and contributed both Seat and Sirname to a Knightly Family who were Proprietaries of it King Edward the second in the fourteenth year of his Reign granted Charter-warren to Jurdan and William de Morant in all their Lands in Chevening Shoram Otfood Brasted Sundridge and Chidingston William de Morant was Sheriff of Kent the twelfth and thirteenth year of Edw. the third and had Issue Sir Thomas Morant whose heir General brought this Seat to Peckham in which Family the Title lay couched till our Fathers Memory and then it was demised to Blackswell who some few years since hath by Deed and other Conveyance setled his Right in it on Mr. Watson of the County of Oxford Chiselhurst in the Hundred of Rokesley hath several places within the confines of it of signal Account The first is Scadbery which had Owners of that Sirname which about the twentieth of Edward the third were extinguished for then John de Scadbery deceased without Issue male so that this ancient Seat devolved to be the Patrimony of Osmund de Walsingham descended from the Knightly Family of Walsingham in Norfolk who matched with Ann his sole Daughter and Heir and having planted himself in this County he began to sprout out and flourish into a Series of such worthy Successors that this Family was justly registred in the Catalogue of those who were esteemed the most ancient and eminent of this County having in this latter Decursion of Time been for six Descents Knights which that I may the better represent to the Reader the Splendor of this Family I shall destinctly name the first was Sir Thomas Walsingham who was born the third year of Henry the fifth and he had Issue Sir James Walsingham who was Sheriff of Kent the twelfth year of Henry the seventh whose Son and Heir was Sir Edmund Walsingham who was Lieutenant of the Tower twenty four years and he had Issue Sir Tho. Kinsman to Sir Francis Walsingham the famous Secretary of Estate to Queen Elizabeth Sir Thomas Walsingham was Son and Heir of Sir Thomas above mentioned and he had Issue Sir Thomas Walsingham who is the instant Proprietary of Scadbery Frogpool is another ancient Seat in this Parish which in Henry the thirds Reign confessed the Signory of a Family called Barbur Thomas le Barbur obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands in at Chiselhurst in the thirty eighth of the above named Prince But before the latter end of Edward the second this Family was moldered away and then it came to be possest by a Family called Cressell who were Lords of much Land about Hartley Faukham and other places in that Territory and bore for their Coat Armour as appears depicted in ancient Coloured Glasse in Chiselhurst Church Sables A Fesse Argent between three Chaplets Or John de Cressell in an old Survey of Rochester is remembred to have been a liberall Benefactor to this Church in the Reign of Edward the third and from the Government of that Prince does the Age of the above mentioned Coat seem to commence and this is the Reason why another John Cressell of this Family is in the seventh year of Henry the fifth recorded in the Register of those Qui portabant Arma antiqua Finally after the Propriety of this noted Mansion had continued so many Descents wrapped up in the Patrimony of this Family it was about the latter end of Henry the eighth transmitted by Sale to Dyneley and Sir John Dyneley in our Remembrance demised his Concernment in it to Mr. William Watkins to whose Care and industrious Expence the additional Building annexed to the ancient Structure does owe its
to Mr. Bathurst The Borough of Twisden is a fifth place which invites us to a Survey It was in elder Generations the Inheritance of Twisdens upon whom I may without any Supply of Flattery strew those just Attributes of Ancient and Noble The first that I find by Deed to be of this Family Possessor of it was Adam de Twisden and he was seised of it This Rog. Twisden was Steward to the Abby of St. Augustins a place of great Trust in those Times in the one and twentieth of Edward the first In times of a lower Descent Roger Twisden was possest of it and in the fifth year of H. the fourth affixes to a Deed now in the Hands of Sir Roger Twisden of Roydon Hall Baronet the Signature or Impression of a Cockatrice on Wax The Crest which at this Day is annexed to the paternal Coat of this Family a rare thing in those Times when Crests were infrequent and unusuall and began to be customary when those eminent Familyes who were embarked in the two Factions of York and Lancaster assumed them to serve as Evidences or Symbols of Distinction whereby the Son might avoid the plunging his Sword in the Bowells of his Father or a Brother the Sheathing his in the Entrails of his Brother But to proceed the last of this Name who possest this place was Roger Twisden who about the Beginning of H. the sixth passed it away to Roger Twisden and he immediately after conveyed it by Sale to Geffrey Allen who about the latter end of H. the sixth setled the Right of it by Deed in Thomas Windhill And thus far do the Copies of diverse original Evidences which relate to this Place extend and no farther After this it was for diverse Descents wrapt up in the Propriety of Austin who not many years since expiring in a Female Inheritrix she by matching with Mr. Fowle a Cadet of the Fowles of River-Hall in Sussen hath made it the present Possession of that Name and Family Shingley is another Mannor in Goudherst which belonged to that Revenue which did own the Signory of the Priory of Leeds and upon the suppression when the Patrimony of this Cloister was broken to peeces by the Scepter of Henry the Eighth this was in the thirty sixth year of that Prince granted to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire with all the Priviledges which it was fortified with when it related to the abovementioned Cloister as namely to be Tith-free c. But the Title such a Moath and Canker cleaves to the Patrimony of the Church when it is transplanted made no long stay in Colepeper for in the thirty eighth year of Henry the Eighth this Thomas Colepeper alienated it to Stephen and Thomas Darrell but in this Family likewise was the Possession of as frail a permanence for they nor long after conveyed it to William Campion Esquire Counsellor at Law from whom it descended to Sir William Campion Governor of Borestall House near Oxford for His Late Majesty and who was after slain at Colchester asserting the Royal Interest and in his Descendants is the Propriety of it still wrapped up Bokinfold is the last place of Consideration in Goudherst it was a Mannor which related to that Chauntry which was founded here by Hamon de Crevequer and confirmed with all the Franchises annexed to it by Edward the Third in the one and fortieth year of his Raign and in this Patent of Inspection and Ratification it is mentioned that Hamon de Crevequer was its Founder But the common Dissolution in the Raign of Henry the eighth renting away like some suddain and impetuous Torrent this Mannor from those Ends and Uses it was first designed to lodged it in the Crown and then the abovesaid Prince in the one and thirtieth year of his Raign granted it to Paul Sidnore Gentleman and he not long after conveyed it to Sir John Gates but he being one of the principal Emissaries or Complices of John Seymour Duke of Somerset being inwrapped and ingaged past Recovery in the Design of the above said Duke sunk in the Ruines of that unfortunate Peere and was convicted of High Treason and beheaded on Tower-Hill in the fourth year of Edward the sixth Upon his Tragedy this Mannor returned to the Crown and stayed there until the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was granted to Katherine Tong who not long after passed it away to Colepeper of Bedgebury who almost in our remembrance passed away that part of this Great Mannor which is circumscribed within the Verge of Goudherst to the instant Proprietary Brewer Joan Widow of Roger de Bedgebury in the third year of Richard the second obtained a weekly Market to Goudhurst on the Wednesday and a Fair yearly on the Day of our Ladies Assumption Cart. de Anno tertio Richardi secundi Numb 13. H. H. H. H. HAckington otherwise called St. Stephens lies partly in the Hundred of Bredge and Petham and partly in that of Westgate and did in elder Times appertain to the Monks of Christ-Church in Canterbury until it was exchanged by the Prior and that Covent and the Monks of it with Stephen Langton Arch-bishop of Canterbury for other Houses situated near the Priory of St. Gregories in Canterbury and he having here at Hackington erected a new Fabrick bestowed and setled it on his Brother Simon de Langton Arch-deacon of Canterbury from whom it successively came down to the following Arch-deacons and became their fixed Mansion until the Raign of Henry the eighth of those who were invested with that Office But in the general suppression the impious hand of sacriledge having plucked it off from the Church it was annexed to the Crown and continued there until Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir Roger Manwood chief Baron of the Exchequer and from him did it devolve to his Grand-child Sir John Manwood who passed it away in our Memory to Colonel Sir Thomas Colepeper Colonel of a Regiment of Foot in the Low Countries in whose Descendants the Possession is now resident In Times of a very high Ascent Arch-bishop Hubert and after him Arch-bishop Baldwin had a Design to have erected a Colledge first here at Hackington and then upon second Thoughts at Lambeth but the Monks of Christ-church believing that this intended new Seminary of Religion might something by its Interposition darken the Glory and Grandeur of their Covent first by Alanus their then Prior and afterwards by Proxie so vigorously opposed this Project at Rome that by the Favor and Indulgence of the then Popes it was vacated and extinguished But in times subsequent to these these Monks having much endeared Stephen Langton the then Arch-bishop by bestowing some Signal Favors on Simon de Langton his Brother the Controversie which was fomented by the above mentioned Design by his compliance with the Monks was appeased and entombed in an amicable Pacification Broad-oake is another little Mannor in Hackington which anciently made up the Demeasne of the Noble Family of
Hales Baronet in whose Revenue it at this instant is involved Beluncle is another Seat in this Parish whose Antiquity pleads for a Remembrance the first Family whom I find in Record to have been possest of it was Foliot Jordan de Foliot held it in the Time of Henry the second and Richard the first by the fifth part of a Knights Fee and from him did it descend to Richard de Foliot his Son and Heir who in the twentieth year of Henry the third passes it away by Fine to Reginald de Cobham who was Sheriff of Kent from the thirty third year of Henry the third to the fortieth of that Prince and was accounted one of the principal Seats which was couched in the Demeasne of this Family and in divers old Pedigrees and other Deeds they are written Cobham of Beluncle Of this Family was Henry de Cobham who was summoned to Parliament as Baron in the seventh year of Edward the third Stephen de Cobham who was summoned in the eighteenth year of that Prince And Thomas de Cobham who was summoned as Baron in the thirty eighth year of that Prince And in Cobham and then Brook did it continue until Henry Lord Cobham and his Brother George Brooke in the first year of King James being entangled in that cloudy Design of Sir Walter Rawleigh which continues muffled up in a Mist until this Day forfeited both their Estates and the last his Life But King James restored this to Henry Lord Cobham who dying without Issue it devolved to Sir William Brooke Son of George Brooke and he likewise deceasing without Issue-male in the year 1643. it came over to Sir John Brooke now Lord Cobham as Reversioner in Entail Hollingbourne in the Hundred of Eyhorne was given to the Monks of Christ-church in Canterbury for to supply them with Diet by Athelstan Son of Ethelred which Mannor he had before purchased of his Father and in the year 909. with his Licence and Consent bestowed it on that Covent free as Adisham If you will discover how it was rated in the Conquerors Time Doomesday Book thus represents it to you Hollingbourne saies that est Mancrium Monachorum de Cibo corum in Tempore Edwardi Regis se defendebat pro VI. Sullings nunc similiter Et est appretiatum inter totum hoc Maneriam XXX lb. This being thus fixed remained from the Original Donation locked up in the Ecclesiastical Patrimony until the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth and then it was surrendred into that King's Hands by the Prior and Monks of the Covent aforesaid and he that year exchanged it with Thomas Cranmer Arch-bishop of Canterbury There was the Gallows which appertained to the Priory of Christ-church here erected at Hollingbourne where those who had committed Murders Felonies or other Trespasses worthy of death within the liberties of that Covent were according to their priviledge of Infangtheof and Outfangtheof brought to exemplary punishment See Somner Fol. 286. There is a Mannor in this Parish called Ripple which had Owners of that Name for in the thirtieth of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 91. I find that Richard de Ripple held this and other Lands which he had in Lease from the Priory of Christ-church at his Decease but it only gave him Sirname and then left his Family for before the latter end of Edward the third it went from this Name to Sir William Septuans and he enjoyed it at his Death which was in the forty third year of Edward the third and transmitted it to his Son William Septuans who not long after conveyed it to John Gower in which Name it lay couched until the Raign of Henry the fourth and then it was alienated to Brockhull a Cadet of that Stock which flourished so long at Calehill and here it continued for many Descents in this Family until the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then Henry Brockhull dying without Issue-male Anne his only Daughter and Heir brought it to be the Inheritance of Sir John Taylor in which Family after it had lodged only until the latter end of Queen Elizabeth it was passed away to Sir Martin Barnham Elnothington is another Mannor in this Parish which had Owners likewise of that Sirname for in a Deed of Adam de Twisdens which bears Date from the one and twentieth of Edward the first one William de Elnothington is Witness But after this man I find no more mention in any Record of the Name In the Raign of Edward the third I discover Sir Arnold St. Leger of Ulcombe to be possest of it and in the forty second year he makes a Composition with divers of his Tenants for Lands that they held of this Mannor and from him like an uninterrupted Thread did the Title of this place passe thorough many Descents of this Family until at last it devolved to Sir Anthony St. Leger who almost in our Memory alienated it to Sir Thomas Colepeper Pen-Court is another Seat in Hollingbourne worthy our Notice It was in elder Times the Patrimony of a Family called Pen but whether the Pens of Codcot in the County of Bedford were descended from them or not is uncertain in Brief before the end of Edward the third this Family was worn out and then the Donets succeeded but held this Seat not long for by the Heir Generall it devolved with much other Land to St. Leger of Ulcombe and here it rested untill allmost our Remembrance and then it was passed away to Sir Thomas Colepeper and he again conveyed it to Mr. Mark Questwood of London who upon his Decease settled it for ever on the Company of Fishmongers in London Muston is likewise within the Verge of this Parish upon perusall of the ancient Deeds and Court-rols I found it to be written Moston as giving Name in the Raign of Edward the first to a Family of that Appellation which about the Beginning of Richard the second was wholly crumbled away and had surrendred the Possession to Wood in which Family the Inheritance hath ever since been permanent Greenway-court is the last place considerable in this Parish It was as high as the Conduct of any Evidence can guide me to discover parcell of the Patrimony of Atleeze and Sir Richard Atleeze dying without Issue in the year 1394 gave it to his Brother Marcellus Atleeze by whose Daughter and Coheir it came to be possest by Valentine Barret of Pery-Court and he about the Beginning of Henry the fourth conveyed it to Fitz Water in which Family it remained untill the Raign of Edward the fourth and then it was alienated to St. Leger with whose Inheritance it continued untill almost our Age and then it was by Sale transplanted into Sir Alexander Colepeper who upon his Decease gave it to Sir John Colepeper of Losenham Hope in the Hundreds of Langport and St. Martins hath nothing memorable in it but Crawthorn which for those worthy persons who have successively held it calls for some
Memorial for first the Cheyneys were as appears by ancient Evidences Lords of the Fee and when they went out the Henleys about the latter end of Hen. the eighth were the next eminent Possessors of it and in the Descendants of this Family did the propriety reside untill the beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Thomas Lord Borough of Sterborough who not long after conveyed it to Tooke of Bere in Westcliffe from whom it came over to Mr. Charles Took of Bere and he hath lately by the Vicissitude of Sale transplanted his Concernment in it to his Nephew Mr. Edward Chowte who being lately deceased without Issue-male hath setled it on his only Brother Mr. George Chowte Higham in the Hundred of Shamell had anciently a Nunnery but the original Chartularies and other Records being lost the Founder is unknown King Hen. the third by a Charter of Inspection as appears Carta 11. parte secunda Memb. septima reviews the Liberties of this Cloister and confirms them and adds this Franchise or Immunity to the former that this Parish lying couched in their Demeasn should hold a Fair on Michaelmas Day and two days after This Mannor upon the Suppression was by the Bounty of King Henry the eighth enstated for ever on St. Johns Colledge in Cambridge and there at present it continues The places of most eminence which were of secular Interest are Great and Little Okeley which both were formerly united though since dissever'd and pluck'd asunder by Sale In the twentieth of Ed. the third I find them wrapt up in the Possessions of John de St. Clere who held them by the fourth part of a Knights Fee of the Honor of Montchensey that is of Swanscamp-Castle from whose Descendant about the latter end of Edward the fourth they were both passed away to Neile of London who about the latter end of Henry the seventh conveyed Great Okeley to John Sydley Esquire Ancestor to Sir Charles Sydley Baronet the instant Inheritor of it But little Okeley by the same Transmission was transferred to Colemeley or Cholmeley who about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth resigned up his Interest by Sale to Thompson from whom the ordinary Vicissitude of purchase not long since conducted the Title down to Best Merston was formerly an independent Parish of it self though since annexed to Higham and had a Church dedicated to St. Giles whose Ruines in despight of the Impressions of Age yet represent themselves to the smallest Glance of a curious Eye It was before it fell into this Darkness and Obscurity made something illustrious by being the Inheritance of John de St. Clere and when this Family found its Tomb the Name of Smith Stept in and rose upon its Ruines And when this was expired at this place which was about the Beginning of Henry the eighth Jordan put in his Claim to the Possession of it but about the latter end of the abovesaid Prince I find this Family extinguished because the propriety of this Mannor was by one of the above mentioned Names conveyed to Anthony Tutsham who not long after alienated the premises to George Brooke Lord Cobham from whom by descendant Right the Interest of it is devolved to Sir John Brooke restored to the Barony of Cobham by the late King at Oxford who now possesses this place as Reversioner in Entail to Sir William Brooke who dyed without Issue-male in the year 1643. Horsmonden in the Hundreds of Brenchley Horsmonden and Larkefeild was folded up in the Patrimony of Rokesley a Family of a large Revenne and as wide a Repute in this Track from whom it descended to Richard de Rokesley by whose Inheritrix it was linked to the Patrimony of Thomas de Poynings from whom by the steps of divers Descents it went down to Sir Edward Poynings who deceasing without any lawfull Issue in the twelfth of Henry the eighth and there being not any that could by a pretence of collateral Alliance entitle themselves to his Estate the Crown made it its own Interest by Escheat and then the above said Prince in the thirty sixth of his Raign granted it to Richard Darell and his Son George Darill in the tenth of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it to Richard Paine who not long after alienated it to Beswick Ancestor to Mrs. Mary Beswick who dying without Issue hath settled it by Testament for life on Mr. ...... Haughton Groveherst with its relative Appendages Capell Augustpits Hoath and Sneade were lately passed away by Mr. Whetenhall of great Peckham to Mr. Francis Austin whose Ancestor William Whetenhall Esquire had them annexed to his Demeasne by matching with Margaret Sole Heir of William Hextall who about the Beginning of Henry the sixth had purchased the four last places of Capell Cheseman Hoath and Sneade Families who had been entituled to the propriety of them many Descents before But Groveherst was linked to the Demeasne of Kichard Hextall Father of William above mentioned by matching about the latter end of Richard the second with Anne one of the three Co-heirs of Richard Groveherst whose Ancestors had been possest of it many hundred years before Lewis Hoath was in Times of elder Track the Demeasne of John de Groveherst who lies buried in Horsmenden Church and was a Priest in Orders and dying so bequeathed this Mannor by Testament to the Abby of Begham upon whose suppression by the importunate Desire of Cardinal Wolsey it being found incorporated with the Demeasne of the above said Monastery it became parcel of the Revenue of the Crown and remained there until Queen Elizabeth by Royal Concession passed it away to Anthony Brown Viscount Montague but by a sudden Revolution it was by Sale transmitted to Beswick whose Heir Generall Mrs. Mary Beswick hath lately by Will settled it on Mr. ....... Haughton Sprivers is likewise under the Repute of a Mannor and had in elder Times Owners of that Sirname for I find that Rob. Spriver dyed possest of it in the year 1447 and by his Will gives it to his Son Robert Spriver and certainly from this Seat the Sprivers which are scattered into some places of Kent though now under the Eclipse of an obscure Character branched out originally In Times of a more modern Aspect the Vanes were the Proprietaries of it and when this Name began to fade away the Bathursts were the next successive Possessors in whom the Title was not many years settled but that by the same transitory Devolution it was put over to Malbert from whom by as quick and as sudden a Mutation it was incorporated into the Interest of Murgan Spelmonden celebrates the Memory of a Family which bore that Sirname Bidmonden in Horsmonden was a Cell but not conventuall belonging to the Priory of Beaulieu in Norman and being rent off by Henry the fifth it was settled on the Priory of St. Andrew in Rochester and after by H. the eigth on the Dean and Chapter of that City for in the Deeds and Evidences which concern
and other old Evidences Frankish and bore for their Coat-Armour as appears by Seals A Salteir engrailed ........ After Franke John Martin about the Beginning of of Henry the sixth by purchase became invested in the Possession and he upon his Decease which was in the year 1436. bequeathed it to a yonger Son who bore his Name and was called John Martin from whom by paternal Succession it came down to his Grand-child Edward Martin who about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth alienated it to Lancelot Bathurst Alderman of London who erected that elegant and magnificent Fabrick which is now the possession of my noble Friend his Grand-child Sir Edward Bathurst Reynolds is a third place of considerable importance it was the Seat of Gentlemen of that Denomination and were rooted by a Prescription of so many years in the Possession of this Place that it is a Controversie whether those at Belso in Essex or these here were of the most venerable Antiquity one of them in one of his Deeds writes Rogerus Filius Reginaldi It is not bounded with any Date and from this Orthography which was Customary in those Times the Name of Reynolds or Fitz Reynolds did by vulgar Acceptation and Use first borrow its Original But to advance in my Discourse After this Seat had for sundry Descents been constant to this Name and Family it was about the latter end of Edward the fourth transmitted by Sale to Sir John Browne Lord Mayor of London in the year 1480. from whom it came down by paternal Descent to his Son and Heir William Brown Esquire who assigned it for subsistance to his second Son John Browne Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent the tenth year of Queen Elizabeth and held his Shrievalty at this place and in this Name did the Title dwell until not many years since it was dislodged and by Sale transplanted into Sir John Jacob from whom the like Fatality hath lately transported it and cast it into the Inheritance of Sir Harbottle Grimston of Essex Baronet Horton upon Stoure near Canterbury lies in the Hundred of Bridge and Petham and was involved in that spacious Inheritance which acknowledged the Signiory of the Lord Badelesmere Bartholomew Lord Badelesmere Steward of the Houshold to Edward the second in the second year of that Prince gave it in Franke-marriage with his Daughter Joane Badelesmere to John de Northwood and that this was Customary in that Age wherein the Times were dry for any pecuniary Supply is most certain for John de Northwood this mans great Grand-child in the eighth year of Richard the second gave it in Franke-marriage with his Daughter to Christopher Shukborough of the County of Warwick Esquire and he in the ninth year of Henry the fourth alienated it to Gregory Ballard Esquire whose Posterity for many years did successively possesse it until Nicolas Ballard in the fourth year of Philip and Mary passed it away by Sale to Roger Trollop Esquire and he in the second year of Queen Elizabeth by Bargain and Sale demised his Interest in it to Sir Edward Warner then Lievtenant of the Tower and he in the sixteenth year of the Government of that Princess conveyed it to Sir Roger Manwood Lord chief Baron of the Exchequer whose Son Sir Peter Manwood almost in our Fathers Memory disposed of his Right in it by Sale to Mr. Christopher Tolderbye who left it to his Son Mr. Christopher Tolderbye and he deceasing without Issue Jane his only Sister and Heir by matching with Sir Robert Darell of Cale-hill a man eminent both by his Integrity and Hospitality according to the accustomed Genius which alwaies waited on this Family brought it to be possest by that Name upon whose Decease it devolved to his second Son Mr. Edward Darell who is the present Lord of the Fee There was an eager Contest between John Beckford Vicar of Chartham and Christopher Shukborough Esquire Lord of Horton touching the celebration of Divine Offices in the Chappel at Horton as likewise the Administration of the Sacraments and it was improved to that Animosity that there was a mutual Appeal made to William Courtney then Arch-bishop of Canterbury who directed a Commission to John Barnett his Official in the year 1380. to hear and determine the Controversie and upon a serious sifting and winnowing this whole Affair the Debate was wound up upon this Conclusion that there should be a solemnization of all Divine Offices in the above mentioned Chappel exceptis tantum D. functorum Sepulturis exsequiis only the Dead were to receive their enterment in the Church of Chartham Hothfeild in the Hundreds of Chart Longbridge and Cale-hill was wrapt up in the Demeasne of the Lord Badelesmer who held it in Grand Serjeanty of the Archbishop of Canterbury that is he was to serve up water to the Arch-bishop at his Installment or Inthronization to wash his Hands and had Pelvim Lotorium so are the Words of the Record he was rewarded with the Vessel which contained the Water and likewise the Towel which dried his Hands and he was likewise to be his Chamberlin the Night of his Instalment and was recompensed with the Arch-bishops Bed as his Guerdon Bartholomew de Badelesmere Son of Guncelin died possest of it in the fifth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 5. And left it to his infortunate Heir Bartholomew Lord Badelesmere who by his mutinous Association with the Rebellious Nobility having in the sixteenth year of Edward the second forfeited this to the Crown it lay entwined with the Royal Revenue until Edward the third in the second year of his Raign restored it to his Son Bartholomew de Badelesmere who in the twelfth year of that Prince's Government dying without Issue his four Sisters became his Co-heirs whereof Margaret married to the Lord William Rosse of Hamlake cast this Mannor into the Inheritance of that Family and he in her Right died seised of it in the seventeenth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 60. And from him did the Title by a lineal transmission passe down to Thomas Lord Rosse who vigorously endevouring to support the sinking Title of the House of Lancaster was by John Nevill Marquesse Montacute discomfited in the North and taken Prisoner and after beheaded at Newcastle upon whose Dysastrous Tragedy this Mannor was laid hold on by the Crown as an Escheat and King Edward the fourth in the fourth year of his Government granted it to Sir John Fogge of Repton for Life only who was Treasurer of his Houshold and one of his Privie-Councel and whom King Richard the third invited afterward out of the Abbey of West-minster where he had taken Sanctuary for fear of some Mischief intended him by that Usurper and in the presence of a numerous Assembly gave him his Hand and bad him be confident that he was thenceforth sure unto him in Affection This I mention the rather because divers of our Chronicles have erroneously mentioned that he was an Attorney whom
this Prince pardoned for Forgery But to proceed After the Decease of Sir John Fogge who dyed in the seventeenth year of Henry the seventh it returned to the Crown and lay there untill Henry the eighth granted it to John Tufton Esquire Ancestor to the right honorable John Earl of Thanet who now by paternal Right claims the Possession of it Swinfort is a Mannor in Hothfield which afforded a Sirname to a Family so called but whether Sir Otho Swinfort Husband to Katharine Swinfort who was afterwards Concubine to John of Gaunt was extracted from this Family or not is incertain because I cannot discover they were ever of any Eminence In Henry the fifths Reign I find it in the Possession of Bridges descended from John at Bregg one of those eminent persons that are depicted kneeling in Coat Armour in a Window in Great Chart Church And there is a place in that Parish which still bears the Name of this Family and is called Bridge being divorced by no great distance from this Mannor and in this Family did the Propriety of this place continue untill the latter end of King James and then it passed away by Sale from Bridges to Sir Nicholas Tufton Father to the right honourable John Earl of Thanet the instant Owner of it Faulesley vulgarly now called Fausley and Fousley was the Patrimony of a Family which borrowed not only its Source and Extraction but its Denomination likewise from hence Sir John Faulesley was an eminent person in the Raign of Richard the second being frequently in his Time as appears by the late printed Abridgement of the Records in the Tower summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron but although this Family was made eminent by this worthy person who was an elder Branch of this Stem yet in succeeding Generations it began to crumble away into Obscurity and Decay and was at last ground to so narrow a proportion of Estate that about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth this Mannor which had so long been espoused to the Interest of this Name and Family was carried off by Sale to Drury in which Family it was resident untill the latter end of that Princesse and then it was alienated to Paris who immediately after conveyed it to Bull and he transplanted his Right by Sale again into the same Family from whom a like Vicissitude brought it to be the Inheritance of Sir Nicholas Tufton Father to the right honorable John Earl of Thanet now Possessor of it At Hothfield in a field not far removed from Ripley a Mannor belonging to Alexander Iden Esquire was Jack Cade that Counterfeit Mortimer who was mufled up in that Name by the House of York only to fathom the depth of the people's Affection to their Title which was to take its Rise from that person encountered and in a single Combat offered up to the Justice of Henry the sixth by the abovesaid Alexander Iden who was not only by that Prince recompensed with a considerable Reward for so important a piece of Service but likewise invested with the Honour of Knighthood the present Age wherein he lived admired him nor shall there be any History for the future which shall not Record him From the Heir Generall of this Family is Mr. George Brown Esquire lately of Spelmonden in Kent and now of Buckland in Surrey by his Grand-mother originally descended Hougham in the Hundreds of Bew borough and Folkstone gave Seat and Sirname to a Family of as reverend an Estimate for Antiquity as any in this Track Robert de Hougham dyed seised of it in the forty first year of Henry the third and left it to his Son * This Robert de Hougham was with Edw. the first at the Seige of Acon in Palestine Robert de Hougham who was Castellan of Rochester Castle in the Reign of Edward the first and dyed seised in the possession of this and the Custody of that in the second year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 14. But in the next Descent this Family was entombed in two Daughters and Coheirs one was married to John de Shelving and the other to Waretius de Valoigns who in her Right entered upon the Inheritance and in the fourteenth year of Edward the third obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Hougham but enjoyed neither his new acquired Priviledge or Inheritance long for before the latter end of Edward the third he dyed and left a large Inheritance to be shared by his two Daughters and Coheirs one whereof was wedded to Sir Thomas Fogge of Toniford and the other to Thomas de Aldon to whose Revenue upon the Partition this was annexed and he was found in the enjoyment of it at his Death which was in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 10. Parte prima But here the Possession likewise before the end of Henry the fourth was as volatile and full of Vicissitude for by the Female Inheritrix of this Family it came to be the Demeasne of Heron who after he had some years owned the propriety of it alienated the Fee-simple to Phineux in which Name and Stem when it had for many Descents in a constant procedure flourished and had been productive of persons of the highest Office and Trust as they could be invested with in Relation to the Service of this County it was not many years since passed away from this Family and sold to Master Neview of Dover Little Hougham is a second Mannor in this Parish It was in Ages of a very high Ascent the Revenue of the ancient Family of Basing William de Basing held it at his Death which was in the ninth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 21. From whom it desceuded to his Grandchild John Basing who dyed in the Tenure of it in the seventh year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 6. After whose Decease it continued in the Name untill the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was alienated to Clive vulgarly called Cliffe a Family of eminent Account in the Counties of Salop and Essex and in the Possession of this Family it dwelt untill the latter end of that Prince and then by Purchase it was made the Patrimony of Hextall a Eamily who extracted their original out of Staffordshire and here it resided untill the latter end of Edward the fourth and then it was transmitted by a Daughter and Heir to Whetenhall who sold it to John Bois Esquire Ancestor to Jo. Bois of Fredville Esquire who is entituled to the present Signiory of it Maxton is a third place which must not be waved in this Discourse It was in elder Times divided between two Families called Madekin and Walsham Stephen de Madekin was not only Lord of Madekin in Denton and the Moiety of this place in the year one thousand seventy and seven but likewise Land at Canterbury as appears by Mr. Sompner in his Survey of that City page 415. And Will. de Walsham who in the thirty
Extraction in this Territorie by Purchase from the above recited Family There is a place in this Parish called Fogs-Court which is Register'd in the Inventorie of the Mannors of this County and although the Mansion-House which belongs to it be fallen into so low a degree of Contempt that it appears now to be litle more than a Caberet or Cottage yet it calls for some Remembrance even in this respect that it was the Patrimony of that noble and Illustrious Family and is the only Place of this County which I have yet met with that is adopted into their Sirname from Tho. Fogge Esq Serjeant Porter of Callis who was the last of this Name which possest it by Alice Fogge his Daughter and Coheir it came to be the Inheritance of her Husband William Scot and in this Family did the Patrimonial Interest of it reside till almost in our Memory the Signory and Propriety of it was from this Family by Sale translated into Mr. Philip Pownall of Sibertswould Great-Barville partly lying in Mongeham and partly in Tilmanston is the third place considerable in Mongeham It hath been for many Descents which have made up some Centuries of years the Possession of Crayford which are written in Deeds of a very high Ascent de Barville Magna In an old Roll which summs up those Kentish Gentlemen who were with Richard Nevill Earl of Warwick at the Battle of North-Hampton where after a warm and Bloody Debate the Title of the House of York by a glorious Victory was evidently asserted There is mention of William Crayford Esquire who afterwards as some private Evidences inform me now in the hands of Mr. Gethins neer Burntwood was made Bannerett by King Edward the fourth for his various undertakings and Services performed in several Encounters which had an Influence upon the Cause and Quarrell of the House of York and bore as is manifest by his Seal affixed to several Deeds Vpon a Cheveron three Eagles heads cresed which I mention to rectifie that â—istake which through inadvertency hath crept into our Visitations of Kent wherâ—â—he paternall Coat of this Family is represented to have been Vpon a Cheveron tâ—â—â—â— Falcons heads erased and from this eminent Person is Mr. Wil. Crayford Lord of thâ— Mannor in expectance by a Thread of direct Descent originally extracted Mongeham had an anâ—â—ent Market by prescription on the Thursday and Bertram de Crioll had a Grant of iâ— by the Charter of Henry the third which was allowed by the Judges Itinerant â—n the seventh year of Edward the first and a Fair yearly by the space of three Dayes viz. the Eve St. Luke's day and the day after Little-Barville is partly Situated in this Parish and partly in Tilmanston A Family called Pix and sometimes Picks were for some Centuries of years invested in the Possession and contracted this Name from some Office as the Successive Tradition of this Family affirms that they were anciently entrusted with about the Altar and the Utensils which related to it amongst which the Pix was the most considerable as being the Conservatory of the Host and so è Pixide nomen elicitum from their Care and Custody of the Pix they originally assumed their Sirname But to proceed after this Mannor had for so many Descents acknowledged this Name and Family about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth by Sale it came to confess the Signory of Crayford of Great-Barville with whose Revenue the Title and Propriety does at this instant continue Little-Mongeham next offers it self up to our consideration but of that I shall speak more at Northbourne Morston in the Hundred of Milton gave Seat and Sirname to a Family that fell under that Appellation as is evident by the Book of Aid where John de Morston is affirmed to have held it and to have paid an Auxiliary Contribution for it at the making the Black Prince Knight He was descended from Bartholomew de Morston who is in the list of those Kentish Gentlemen who assisted King Richard the first at the Siege of Acon But before the latter end of Richard the second this Family was worn out and then it fell under the Signory of Walter Fitz Walter of Essex who had beenin elder Times summoned frequently by Writ to sit as Baron in Parliament and from the abovesaid Walter did this Mannor by paternal devolution come down to his Son Humphrey Fitzwalter and he held it at his Death which was in the first year of Henry the sixth and had Issue John Fitzwalter who about the latter end of the abovesaid Prince alienated it by Sale to Cromer in which Family the possession was constant and resident untill the latter end of King James and then Sir James Cromer dying without Issue-male Christian one of his Daughters and Coheirs by matching with Sir John Hales upon the distinction of the Estate into parcells was united to the Patrimony of that Family from whom the Right by Descent is now transmitted to the instant Proprietarie Sir Edward Hales his Son and Heir Baronet Esthall is another Mannor in Morston which although it be now by the Vicissitude of Time and the injurious Impressions of Age shrunk from its elder Beauty into decay and Neglect yet in Ages of a higher date it was adorned with a nobler Character of Splendor when it confessed it self to be parcell of the Inheritance of an ancient Family called De la pine so they are written in their old dateless Deeds and bore for their Arms Sable three Pine Apples Or. James De la pine was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty sixth and part of the twenty seventh years of Edward the third and held his Shrievalty here at Esthall and died possest of it in the thirty seventh year of the abovesaid Prince and left it to his Son and Heir Thomas De la pine who about the beginning of Richard the second conveyed his Title and Concernment in it to Thomas St. Leger Esquire Sheriff of Kent in the twentieth year of Richard the second who dying without Issue-male Joan one of his Daughters and Coheirs by matching with John Ewias linked it to the Demeasn of that Name and from him did it transmit it self by Descent to his Son and Heir Humphrey Ewias who was seised of it at his Decease which was in the thirty third year of Henry the sixth and from him by a Thread of paternal Succession was it transported to his Grandchild William Eâ—ias in whom the Male-line determined so that by Alice his Daughter and Heir it came to confess the Signory of Thomas Hales who in the sixth year of Edward the sixth by a Fine and recovery wherein his Wife was concern'd passed away the whole Deâ—â—se to Sir Anthony Aucher whose Son Sir Anthony Aucher in the ninth year of Queeâ— Elizabeth by the same conveyance alienated it to Gardiner where the Title was so â—â—â—atile and mutable that it stayed with this Family but untill the tenth year of the abâ—â—â—said Princess and then it
Charter of Free-warren to this Mannor in the twenty seventh year of the above-said Prince In the forty ninth year of Edward the third Thomas de Gravesend died concerned in an Estate here at Nutsted as appears Rot. Esc Num. 63. parte secunda But not all the Mannor for in the twentieth year of Edward the third Sir John de Beaumont paid respective Aide for Lands which he held at Nutsted as appears by the Record in the twentieth year of Edward the third But both these Families before the end of Henry the fourth were dislodged from the possession of this place and then I find it cast into the Revenue of a Family called Middleton who were not long Lords of the Fee for in the raign of Henry the sixth I find it in the Tenure of Thomas Frowick Esquire and he by a Fine levied in the thirty eighth year of that Prince conveyed it to Hugh Brent in which Name it was resident until the beginning of Henry the seventh and then it was alienated to Martin but William Martin great Grand-child of John Martin the Judge dying without Issue-male Margaret his Sole Daughter and Heir linked it unto the Demeasne of her Husband Mr. John Rogers in which Family after it had resided until that Age which was encircled in our Fathers Remembrance it was passed away by Sale to Sidley and Sir John Sidley of St. Cleres Knight and Baronet not many years since by the same Vicissitude conveyed it to John Adye of Dodington Esquire O. O. O. O. OFham in the Hundred of Larkefeild was Anciently divided between two Families Corton and Ditton Richard de Corton held half a Knights Fee at this place and paid respective Aide for it at making the Black Prince Knight as appears by the Book of Aide in the twentieth year of Edward the third and Ralph de Ditton paid an auxiliary Contribution for the other Moity which likewise was held by half a Knights Fee at the Investiture above-said but long it continued not to confess the Signory of these two Families for Codwell which was part of the Mannor of Offham was alienated by Richard de Corton to Thomas de Godchepe and he was in the enjoyment of it at his Decease which was in the one and thirtieth of Edward the third After Godchepe had deserted the Possession I find by some old Conrt-rols that commence from the Raign of Henry the fourth that one John Melford had the Possession not only of Godwell but of Snodbean and Pepingstraw likewise which his Father purchased of the Heirs of Ditton but not long after this was the Title of those places resident in this Family For about the latter end of Henry the sixth I find one Moiety of them passed away to Browne and the other to Colepeper in Colepeper the Propriety remained until the latter end of Henry the seventh and then it was demised by Sale to John Leigh and he and Sir Matthew Browne the descendant of Browne who was invested by Purchase in the other Moiety exchanged the whole Mannor with Henry the eighth and he grants it to William Wilford John Bennet and George Briggs and they in the thirty seventh year of the above-named Prince convey one Moiety of Offham Snodbean and Peping straw to John Tufton Esquire Ancestor to the Right Honorable John Tufton now Earl of Thanett the instant Possessor of it And the other Proportion in which Godwell was included to Richard Nortop alias Clerk a Name vulgarly impos'd upon him which was originally borrowed from his Office as being Clark of the Forrest of Sherwood in the County of Nottingham yet this Name hath been so entailed on his Successors that it is now grown the paternal Appellation of the Family they having many years wrot Clerk alià s Nortop But I have digressed The last of this Family was ...... Clerk who not long since concluded in three Daughters and Coheirs Frances one of which was married to Mr. Thomas Dowell lately deceased who by purchasing the other Proportions allotted to his Wifes Sisters hath now entituled the other Moietie of the Mannor of Offham to his Descendant now surviving The vulgar Tradition of this Parish is that Jack Straw that eminent Incendiarie of the Kentish Commons in the raign of Richard the second who with Wat Tiler who was born at Dartford were the two principal Emissaries which did foment and manage that portentous Commotion which then brake forth like an Inundation and threatned to over-whelme the abovesaid Prince was born in a small Cottage at Pepingstraw in this Parish from whence he assumed his Sirname Ore in the Hundred of Feversham was as the Book called Feoda Militum kept in the Exchequer informs me in the thirty eighth year of Henry the third the Inheritance of Reginald de Cornhill but it seems was by a Distance of no long Time constant to this Family for in the raign of Edward the first it became the Patrimony of Savage of Bobbing Court for in the twenty third year of the above recited Prince John de Savage obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Ore as it lay involved in his other Demeasnes to which that Franchise was granted in the Bulk or General After Savage was worn away at this place the Norwoods of Norwood in Milton were established in one Moiety of it by purchase and the Alephs of Colshall in Iwade by the same Vicissitude were planted in the other Northwood demised his Proportion by Sale to Tomlin who for above an Hundred year down till this instant has been setled in the Possession and the other Moiety did augment the Dowry of Margaret Daughter and Heir of Thomas Aleph who was wedded to John Monins Esquire whose Successor Sir William Monins passed it away to Short of Tenterden to which Family the Interest of that part of Ore which was sold by Monins is at this present united Orpington in the Hundred of Rokesley was in the twentieth year of William the Conquerour wrapped up in the Ecclesiastical Patrimony and belonged to the Monks of Christ-church and if you will make an Inspection into the Pages of Dooms-day Book and consult that general Register you will find it at that Time thus rated Orpindun says the Record est Manerium Monachorum de Vestitu eâ—rum in T. E. R. that is in the Time of King Edward the Confessor se defendebat pro III. Sullingis nunc pro II. Sullingis dimidio est appretiatum XXV lb. tamen reddit de Firma XX. VIII lb. From this Record I observe that William the Norman sirnamed the Conquerour possessing himself of the English Scepter and Diadem by an infirme and crazy Title sought afterwards to fortifie and improve it by a soft Compliance with the Clergie who had then the most powerfull Influence on the Consciences of the Vulgar and therefore where he found their Revenue moderately taxed in the Time of the Confessor he confirms it and where in his Estimate the Gabell or
Buckingham who lost both his Life and Estate being attainted in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth After his Tragedy they continued until the twenty fourth year of Henry the eighth in the possession of the Crown and then they were passed away by Grant to Sir Edward Guldford and again confirmed to him in the twenty eighth year of that Prince's raign and from him not long after by Joane his Female Heir they increased the Patrimony of John Dudley after Duke of Northumberland and he in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth alienated them to Thomas Cromwell Earl of Essex whose Story Tragedy and Attaint in the thirty second year of the abovesaid Prince are represented to our view in such obvious Characters that I shall not need again to unvail them Upon his ruinous Catastrophe they revert to the Crown and lay shut up in the Royal Revenue until the thirty seventh year of Henry the eighth and then they were made by a new Grant the Inheritance of William Wybourn and Anthony Brown Esquires but that Proportion which was setled in Brown was not long resident in that Family for in the sixth year of Queen Elizabeth it was alienated to William VVybourn Esquire nor was the Interest of these places of any long Date after this in VVybourn for in our Grand-fathers Memory the Fate of Sale annexed them to the Patrimony of Thomas Sackvill Lord Buckurst whose Grand-child the Right Honorable Edward Sackvill Earl of Dorset not many years since conveyed his Right in them to Mr. ...... Amherst Halkewell is an eminent Mannor in this Parish and was a Branch of that Demeasne which fell under the Signory of the Priory of Begham and so remained until the Dissolution and then it was by Henry the eighth about the Time of their suppression that is 1525. granted to John VVybourn who was Tenant to that Abby upon the Suppression but was Anciently seated at a place called Culverdens whither they arrived from about Crofton in Orpington where they originally were planted about the latter end of Henry the third and from this Iohn VVybourn was Mr. Benjamin VVybourn descended who upon his late Death hath left this Mannor to his Widow Mrs. Blanch VVybourn eldest Daughter to Sir Iohn Philipott of the County of South-Hampton Bencrouch Highlands and Prigles were Mannors which related to the Patrimony of the Abby of Rothers-bridge in Sussex and in the year 1525 were pared off from the Ecclesiasticall Revenue by Cardinal Wolsey when he layed the Foundations of his Stately Colledge at Christ-church in Oxford which like some Embrio for want of Maturity became imperfect and indigested by his Death and then these places being found in his Hands at his Decease were seised upon by Henry the eighth who in the twenty fourth year granted them to George Guldford Esquire who not long after conveyed them by Sale to Sir Alexander Colepeper who had a Confirmation of them from the Crown about the thirty fifth year of that Prince's Government and in this Family did they continue laid up untill the Title was in our Fathers remembrance dislodged and by Sale resigned up to Nicholas Miller Esquire who upon his Decease without Issue left them to his Nephew Sir Nicholas Miller and he upon his late Decease hath left them to his Son and Heir Humphrey Miller Esquire Preston situated in the Hundred of Feversham contains sundry places within the Boundaries of it of no vulgar Account The first is Makenade which was the Mansion for many Ages of Gentlemen of that Sitname whereof VVilliam Makenade was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty third year of Edward the third and held his Shrievalty at this House which then was of more Magnificence though now it lye almost gasping in its own Ruines being crushed into that Disorder by the rough Hand of Time from this Man it descended to his Grandchild VVilliam Makenade who in the eighth year of Henry the fourth dying without Issue-male Constance Makenade his only Daughter became his Heir who carried this Seat along with her to her Husband John VVaterslip by whom she had Issue Margaret matched to Henry London and Joan wedded to Thomas Mathew who upon the Division of the Estate shared this House and the Land which related to it in which Family after the Inheritance had been for several years shut up it at length by Sale went out to Maycot who about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth passed it away by Sale to Martin James Esquire Register of the Chancery whose Great Grand-child Mr. ....... James enjoys the present Fee-Simple of it Perry Court in Preston was the Mansion of a good old Family called Barrett who enjoyed this Seat as high as the raign of Edward the second and then I find it was under the Signiory of one Iohn de Perry to whom and to whose Family it seems it afforded anciently both Seat and Sirname Valentine Barrett who matched with Cicelie Daughter and Coheir of Marcellus Att Leeze and Niece of Sir Richard Att Leeze was the last of the Name who held this place for he determined in Cicelie his only Daughter and Heir who was wedded to John Darrell of Cale-hill Esquire for his first Wife who was elder Brother of Sir William Darrell under-Treasurer of England branched out from the knightly Family of the Darrells of Sesay in York-hire whose Heir General matched with the Ancestor of Dawney now Proprietary of that place and by this Alliance Perry Court came to be knit to to the Demeasn of Darrell of Cale-hill for many Descents untill in the raign of Henry the eighth it fell to be divided between two Brothers Sir James Darrell Knight and John Darrell Gentleman John Darrell in the first year of Henry the eighth alienated his proportion to Stephen Jennins and he in the sixth year of that Prince conveyed it to Thomas Michell and he in the eighth of his raign passed it away to Robert Dokket who two years after demised it to Alan Percy and Alan Percy in the fourteenth year of Henry the eighth transmitted it by Sale to John Park who likewise purchased the other Moiety the same year of Sir James Darrell and so became sole Owner of Perry Court from whom by Elizabeth his Sole Daughter and Heir it was carried off to John Roper of Lingsted Esquire and he in the twenty fifth year of Q. Eliz. transferred all his Concernment in it to William Finch by whose Daughter and Coheir it was annexed to the Inheritance of Sir Drue Drewry of Norfolke and he in the Beginning of King James passed it away to Thomas Bennet Esquire whose Descendants are still entituled to the Possession of it Westwood is a third place in Preston not to be declined in our Account It was as high as I can trace out under the Jurisdiction of the eminent Family of Poynings Michaell Poynings who was Son of Thomas Lord Poynings held it at his Death which was in the forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc
his Deed remits divers Services to Cicely Wife of Robert de Grencbold which were due from her to his Mannor of Swerdling William de Valoigns was Sheriff of Kent the third fourth fifth and sixth years of Edward the first and his Son Sir William de Valoigns was engaged with Edward the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in Scotland and for some remarkable Service there performed received the Order of Knighthood Henry de Valoigns was Sheriff of Kent in the fourteenth year of Edward the third and he had Issue Waretius de Valoigns in whom the Male-line failed so that his two Daughters one matched to Sir Thomas Fogge Grandchild to Otho Fogge who came out of Lancashire into Kent about the Beginning of Edw. the first and the other wedded to Tho. de Aldon became his Heirs and this upon the breaking of the estate into parcels fell to be the proportion of Fogge in which Name after it had for divers ages continued fixed it was in that Age we style our Grandfathers alienated to Spelman and this Family not many years since determining in a Female Heir it is now by matching with her become the Inheritance of Hadds Sapinton in Petham was the Inheritance of a Family called Bregge for in the forty second year of Edward the third I find Jo. Bregge conveys this Mannor to Sir Richard Atteleeze and he dying without Issue it descended to Marcellus Atteleeze who was his Brother and Heir at Law but he suddenly after expir'd and with him the Name in Daughters and Coheirs whereof Luce who was one of them was first matched to John Norton Esq and after to William Langley of Knolton whose Heirs about the latter end of Richard the second concurred in a joynt and mutual Bargain and Sale and passed away their Interest in this Mannor which was too much disordered and ravel'd whilst it lay thus mingled to George Ballard Esquire from whom by the Clew of several Ages the Title went along to Nicholas Ballard Esquire who about the latter end of Philip and Mary alienated it to Langford and from this Name the four Brothers joyning in the Sale in that Age which was circumscribed within our Fathers Remembrance it was carried off by Sale to Cranmer of Canterbury whose Son Mr. ........ Cranmer is by Descent successively entituled to the present Propriety of it Hauts-place in this Parish was the Fountain from whence that noble Family which fell under that Sirname originally streamed out which afterwards dispersed it self in sub-divided Rivolets over the face of this County Ivo de Haut the first of this Name that ancient Record represents to us is mentioned in a Book kept in the Exchequer called Liber de Terris Templariorum which is a Survey of those Lands that Order held in England in the year of Grace One thousand one hundred and eighty and there it is affirmed that he held this Mannor of Temple Waltham and from this Ivo de Haut did the Title in a never-ebbing Current of Descent glide down to Sir William Haut who was Sheriff of Kent in the sixteenth year and then again promoted to that Office in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth and not long after deceased and with him the Name found its Funeral in two Daughters and Co-heirs one of which termed Elizabeth was matched to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire to whom this place in the right of his Wife devolved And from his Family in the Age within the confines of our Grand-fathers Remembrance it was passed away by Sale to Salkeld who not many years since conveyed the Possession over to Bateman There was a Chauntry founded at Depden in this Parish as appears by a Manuscript in the Hands of Mr. Thomas Den Recorder of Canterbury lately deceased founded and endowed by William Gratian Priest in the Raign of Henry the fourth Whose Revenue upon the Dissolution of this Chauntry in the second year of Edward the sixth was granted to Jo. Come and Richard Almot who not long after passed it away to Wilt. Forbrasse Yeoman a Name in some old Deeds written Fortbrasse which argues it to be of French extraction and from this Family it was about the Beginning of K. James carried off by Sale to Gregory who within the Verge of some few years fast past alienated the Title to Sladden of Liminge Postling lies in the Hundred of Hene and was in Ages of a very high Ascent the Patrimony of the Noble Family of Columbers a Name in Times of elder Cognisance of very great reputation in the West of England Philip de Columbariis or Columbers held it at his Decease which was in the fifth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 5. But after him I discover no more of this Family at this place The next that is represented to be Possessor of it is Hugh de Audley and he held it as appears by ancient Court-rolls in the raign of Edward the second and Edward the third and passed it away to Delves of Delves Court in the County of Chester where it seems it had no long aboad for about the forty third year of Edward the third John de Delves alienates it to Richard Earl of Arundell for which the Earl is pardoned because he purchased it without License first obtained from the King as appears Pat. de An o 43. Edw. tertii Parte secunda Memb. septim And in this Family was it for many Generations fixed and resident until the thirty eighth year of Henry the eighth and then it was by Sale transmitted to Sir Anthony Aucher But the Tenure of it in this Family was brief and Transitory for about the Beginning of Q. Elizabeth it went away from this Name to Robert Cranmer Esquire Nephew to Thomas Cranmer Arch-bishop of Canterbury who expiring in a Female Heir she brought it along with her to Sir Arthur Harris of Crixey in Essex from whom it is devolved to his Son and Heir Sir Cranmer Harris who holds the instant Possession of it Henewood is another Mannor in this Parish from whence the Honywood of Elmsted and those of Pett in Charing do extract their Sirname And Edmund de Honywood who in the raign of Hen. the third is remembred in the Front and Van of those in the Leiger Book of Horton Priory who were munificent Benefactors to that Covent is set down there to have been of Postling and as this Place was then so is it still through all that Flux and Decursion of Time which hath since elapsed wound up in that revenue which acknowledges the Signorie and Jurisdiction of this ancient Name and Family Pluckley in the Hundred of Calehill was originally a Mannor which owned the Arch-bishops of Canterbury for Lords of the Fee until Lanfranc Arch-bishop of Canterbury gave it to William Brother of John de Cobham who in the Grant is styled Miles Archiepiscopi not that he was ever any Knight or Souldier that attended upon him but that he granted him this Mannor to
eminent Kentish Gentlemen that accompanied King Edward the first into Scotland and for his signal Service performed at the Siege of Carlaverock was made a Banneret by that Prince See Rot. Pipae de Anno 17. Edw. 2. but he likewise expired in two Daughters and Coheirs Agnes one of them was wedded to Thomas de Poynings and Joan the other was matched to Walter de Pateshull Upon the Partition of the Estate Rokesley's Interest in Westenhanger wholly accrued to Poynings and he had Issue Nicholas de Poynings who was summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron the thirty third year of Edward the third Michael Poynings who was likewise summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron the forty second year of that Prince and thirdly Lucas de Poynings who in the year abovesaid was honored with the same summons Upon the Devision of the Estate Westenhanger was annexed to the Demeasne of Michaell de Poynings and he had Issue Thomas de Poynings who was summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the sixth year of Henry the fourth his Son and Heir was Robert Poynings who in the twelfth year of Henry the sixth with Iohn Perry were designed by Authority to take the Subscriptions of those Kentish Gentlemen who were summoned in to renounce the Title of the House of York which it seems was then in secret Agitation to be set up against she House of Lancâ—ster and this Robert was oftentimes summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of that Prince The last time I find him summoned was in the twenty third year of his Government and his Son and Heir was Robert Poynings who was likewise summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of the above-mentioned Monarch and deceased the eighth year of Edward the fourth and left his Estate here to that worthy Person his Son and Heir Sir Edward Poynings of whom more hereafter I shall now discover how that Division of Ostenhanger which devolved to Nicholas de Crioll by the Heir of Auberville was passed away Nicholas de Crioll had Issue John de Crioll who in the nineteenth year of Edward the third obtained a Licence to found a Chantry in the Chappel of St. Johns in Ostenhanger and endow it with one Messuage forty five Acres of Glebe and six Acres of Pasture situated in Limn as appears Prima Parte Pat. de Anno 19. Edwardi tertii Memb. 4. And before in the seventeenth year of that Prince was permitted by Grant from the Crown to embattle and make Loop-holes in his Mansion house at Ostenhanger as is manifest secunda Parte Pat. de Anno 17. Edwardi tertii Memb. 34. And he left it secured and invested with these new acquired Franchises to his Son Sir Nicholas de Crioll and he dyed seised of it in the third year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 40. And from him did it successively devolve to Sir Thomas Keriell or Crioll who was slain at the second Battle of St. Albans in the thirty eighth of Henry the sixth whilst he asserted the Quarrel of the House of Yorke and dying without Issue-male Thomas Fogge Esquire in his Wife 's Right who was one of his Daughters and Co-heirs entered upon his Estate here at Ostenhanger and about the latter end of Edward the fourth passed it away to his eldest Brother Sir John Fogge of Repton who died possest of it in the seventeenth year of Henry the seventh and bequeathed it by Testament to his Son and Heir Sir John Fogge who about the beginning of Henry the eighth demised his Concernment here to Sir Edward Poynings which Edward Poynings was one of the Privy Councel to Henry the seventh and lived here when he so vigorously in the tenth year of that Prince opposed the proceedings of James Lord Audley who was afterwards defeated at Black-heath and likewise was Lord Deputy of Ireland and Knight of the Garter and by his Influence on that Nation was that eminent Statute enacted which ever since hath been adopted into his Family and called Poynings-Law He was likewise at the Siege of Terwin with Henry the eighth and was there for his eminent Service created Knight Banneret and Governour of that Town He died in the twelfth year of King Henry the eighth and was found after a serious Inquisition taken after his Death in the fourteenth year of that Prince to have neither any Issue lawfully begotten nor any collateral Alliance that could by any remote Affinity eptitle themselves to his Estate and so by Escheat it became invested in the Crown but King Henry the eighth out of his indulgent Bounty by Royal Concession made it the Inheritance of his natural Son Thomas Poynings who was a Person of excellent and elegant Composure and eminent Merit and was made Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Queen Anne in the twenty fourth of that Prince's reign and afterwards having represented to the World signal Demonstrations in a publick Joust or Tournament of a remarkable Strength and Courage was in the thirty sixth year of Henry the eighth called to sit in Parliament as Baron Poynings of Ostenhanger but in the thirty seventh of that Prince's reign deceased without Issue upon whose Exit this Mannot reverts to the Crown and there lay couched until the first year of Edward the sixth and then it was granted to John Dudley Earl of Warwick afterwards Duke of Northumberland upon whose Attainder in the first year of Queen Mary it became again parcel of the Royal Patrimony and afterwards Queen Elizabeth about the beginning of her reign passed it away by Grant to her Kinsman Sir Thomas Sackville and he not long after alienated it by Sale to Thomas Smith Esquire vulgarly called Customer Smith who much enhaunsed the Beauty of the Fabrick which had been empaired and defaced with Fire with magnificent Additions from whom it is now transmitted by paternal Descent to his great Grand-child the Right Honorable Philip Smith Viscount Strangford who hath made it his principal Residence The Mannor of Heyton lies likewise in Stamford which was anciently possest by a Family of deep Antiquity which was known to the World by that Sirname and bore for their Cognisance in Ancient Armorials Gules three Piles Argent Alanus de Heyton called in some old Records Alanus Vicecomes because he was joyned as an Assistant to Ralph de Picot Sheriff of Kent in the execution of his Office in the third fourth and fifth years of Henry the second held a whole Knights Fee of Gilbert de Magninot in the Government of that Prince but deceased without Issue so that Elveva his Sister matched to Deringus de Morinis Son of Norman de Morinis became his Heir from whom the Mannor of Heyton descended to his Son Deringus de Morinis who still writ himself in his Dateless Deeds Dominus de Heyton and so did * It is probable this was the Richard Fitz-Dering who was with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon Richard Fitz-Dering his
of Shepbourn and in the thirteenth year of that Prince's reign had as appears Pat. 13. Edwardi primi Memb. 28. a Grant of a Market weekly to this place to be held on the Monday and a Fair for three Days Space at the Feast of St. Giles and this Adam de Bavent or else his Son was one of those eminent Kentish Gentlemen who was embarked with Edward the first in his Expedition into Scotland and was one of those who were created Bannerets at the Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his reign Roger de Bavent was summoned in the fourteenth year of Edward the second to sit in Parliamennt as Baron After whom I find no more mention of this Family as Possessors of this Mannor for it is probable the Religion and muffled Perswasion of those Times had so warped the Piety and Devotion of this Family that they setled it on the Priory of Leeds for by an old Rental of that Covent I find it wrapped up in their Demeasn in the reign of Edward the third and remained parcel of their Income until the general Shipwrack in the reign of Henry the eighth and then it was in the thirty sixth year of that Prince granted to Sir Ralph Vane and Anthony Tustham Esquire who not long after having passed away his Interest in it to Sir Ralph Vane it hath continued ever since to acknowledge the absolute Signory of this Family so that the right of it now rests in Sir Henry Vane Son and Heir to Sir Henry Vane Secretary of Estate to his late Majesty Fairlane is an eminent Seat in this Parish which likewise did confesse the Signory of the Family of Bavent but before the latter end of Edw. the third they had abandoned the Possession of it and then it came to confesse the Signory of Colepepers who remained Lords of the Fee untill the latter end of Henry the fourth and then it was transmitted by Sale to Chown in which Family after the Propriety had been constantly resident untill that Age which almost was circumscribed within the Verge of our Remembrance Sir George Chown the last of this Name at this place desiring to contract his Revenue solely within the Confines of Sussex alienated his Estate here to Sir Henry Vane Comptroller of his late Majestie 's Houshould and principal Secretary of Estate who having much beautified and adorned the ancient Fabrick with new Additions upon his late Decease bequeathed it to be enjoyed by his Lady Dowager Stelling in the Hundred of Lovingborough was with Wadenhall which lyes partly in this Parish and partly in Petham parcell of the Inheritance of the illustrious Family of Haut and William de Haut had Stelling and Wadenhall in the first year of Ed. the first and this above-mentioned VVilliam founded a Chappel at VVadenhall and dedicated it to St. Edmund the Saxon King of the East Angles and in this Family these Mannors continued untill the latter end of the reign of H. the sixth and then VVill. Haut lineally extracted from the above-said VVilliam conveyed Stelling to Humphrey Stafford Duke of Buckingham and this being forseited to the Crown upon the Attainder of his Grandchild Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth this lay enwrapped in the royal Revenue untill Queen Mary in the first year of her reign granted it with much other Land to Edward Lord Clinton who about the last year of that Princesse alienated it to Mr. Henry Herdson whose Grandchild Mr. Francis Herdson about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to Mr. John Herdson his Uncle who dying without Issue disposed of it by Will to his Nephew Sir Basill Dixwell of Terlingham in Folkstone from whom by descendant Devolution it is now come down to his Heir General Mr. Basill Dixwell of Broom in Barham But VVadenhall remained in the Name of Haut untill by the Steps of several Descents it was wafted along to Sir VVilliam Haut one of whose two Daughters and Coheirs called Elizabeth being wedded to Sir Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury brought it to acknowledge the Interest of that Family and he having exchanged it with Edward the sixth it confessed the Signory of the Crown untill Queen Elizabeth in the forty second year of her reign granted it to Sir John Sotherton Baron of her Exchequer whose Heir in the memory of these Times gave up his Right in it by the Fatality of Sale to Mr. Benjamin Pere of Canterbury The Advowson of the two Parsonages or Rectories of Stelling and Vpper Hardres were granted to the Priory of Tunbridge in the twenty sixth year of Edward the third Pat. 3. part 2. Memb. 3. Selling in the Hundred of Street hath several places in it which cannot be declined without some Memorial Willmington and Somervill are the first that occurre and they gave Seat and one of them Sirname to a Family of Repute in that Age because I find they had Land in other places in the County Roger de Wilmington held the Possession of them at his Death which was in the eleventh year of Edward the third and left his Estate here and elsewhere to be shared between his four Daughters and Coheirs matched to Ordmere Bromming Brockhull and St. Laurence but upon the Division of the Estate these accrued to St. Laurence and in Right of paternal Devolution John St. Laurence Son of Thomas St. Laurence held these at his Decease which was in the tenth year of Richard the second and from him their right devolved to his Son Thomas St. Laurence whose Sole Daughter and Heir Katharine brought them to be the Inheritance of Sir William Apulderfield who about the latter end of Henry the sixth passed them away to Ashburnham and Till and the first of those having wholly setled his Right in them by Sale in Till they rested in this Family until the reign of Henry the eighth and then Peter Heyman Esquire having wedded the sole Inheritrix of Till they were transplanted into the Patrimony of that Family and from him the Propriety descended to his great Grandchild my worthy Friend Sir Henry Heyman Baronet lately deceased Haringe is a second place of Consideration it was as high as any Clew of Record can lead us the Possession of the Gurneys Hugh de Gurney who is in the Register of those who entered England with William the Norman held it under his Scepter In Ages almost of the next Step or Descent the Sharsteds had it and Robert de Sharsted who flourished under Edward the first Edward the second and dyed in the eighth year of Edward the third was possest of it at his Decease but this Name was suddenly worn out for in the Time subsequent to this Henry Brockhull of Brockhull in Saltwood enjoyed it who likewise had some Interest in Wilmington and Somervill which his Successor sold to Ashburnham and here the Propriety made its aboad untill the latter end of Henry the sixth and then it was conveyed to
assaults his Rear with that Courage that he forced that Duke to a Disorderly Retteat leaving his Canon and Carriages behind him as the Reward of his Valour and Fortune In the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth he was sent over into France with fifteen hundred men as a fresh supply to buoy up the sincking Affairs of the English in that Nation with which he recovered many pieces of strength but overlaid with Multitude in an Encounter at Formigney by the Earl of Clermont and the Constable of France after he had with unparallel'd Testimonies of personal Courage endeavoured to preserve the Fortune of the Day he received a Defeat the Enemy buying his Victory at so dear a rate that it almost undid the Purchaser Lastly his Fate cast him into that Civil Contest which broke out between the two Houses of York and Lancaster and being satisfied with the Justice of those principles upon which the first had engaged in Arms became an eager Assertor of its Claim to the Diadem and having enbarked himself with Richard Earl of Warwick then the Atlas of that Faction in defence of it at the second Battle of St. Albans perished in the Ruines of that Field and by an unstained though a Calamitous Fidelity became the great Example of Loyalty to the House of York And he dying without Issue-male one of his Daughters and Co-heirs by matching with John Fogge of Repton Esquire brought this Mannor upon the partition of the Estate between Fogge and Bourchier who wedded the other to be annexed to the Demeasn of that Family and upon his Decease it descended to his Son Thomas Fogge Serjeant Porter of Callis who dying without Issue-male Anne Fogge who was one of his two Daughters and Co-heirs Aregrim a Saxon held the Mannor of Minshull in Cheshire as Dooms-day Book testifies in the Time of the Conquerour ut liber homo first matching with William Scot and afterwards to Henry Isham brought this to be parcel of the Inheritance of her second Husband but his Son Edward Isham about the latter end of Q. Elizabeth concluding in Mary Isham his onely Inheritrix she by espousing Sir George Perkins united it to his Patrimony and he setled the Reversion of it after his Wives decease upon Mary his Daughter married to Sir Richard Minshull of Cheshire created Baron of Minshull 1642 descended from that eminent Souldier Michael de Minshul who for his glorious service performed in the Quarrel of Richard the first at the Siege of Acon had the assignment for ever of the Crescent and Star for the Coat-Armour of this Family And he and the Lady Mary Perkins concurring in a joynt Sale passed it away in the second of King Charles to James Hugison of Lingsted whose Son John Hugison Esquire by descendant right is entituled to the Possession of it Waltham in the Hundreds of Bredge Petham and Stowting was anciently a Member of that Revenue which acknowledged the Interess of the Knights Templers as appears by a Survey taken of this Mannor in the year of Grace one thousand one hundred and eighty and registred in the Book styled de Terris Templariorum which is preserved in the Remembrancers Office in the Exchequer and in that Survey there is mention made of Ivo de Haut who held Lands at that Time of Temple Waltham lying at Petham not far distant which justifies the Antiquity of that Name in this Track Upon the total suppression and extinction of this Order here in England on pretence of some prodigious Crimes stuck upon it which whether they were imaginary or real must be discussed in that Critical Day when the secrets of all Hearts and the Bottome of all Secrets shall be opened this Mannor of Waltham was in the seventeenth year of Edward the second by Grant invested in the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem commonly called the Knights Hospitalers and here in this Order it rested until the reign of Henry the eighth and then being dissolved by that impetuous Tempest which like a Hurricano fell upon this and all other Conventual Orders in this Nation it was swallowed up in the Revenue of the Crown and there lay couched till the latter part of Queen Elizabeth and then it was in the forty second year of her swaying the English Scepter granted to John Manwaring Esquire from whom by Hope Manwaring his Daughter and Heir the Interess went to Humphrey Hamond upon whose Decease she was re-married to Sir Robert Stapylton a Person who hath erected his own everlasting Tomb and Epitaph in those exquisite Translations of his of Pliny's Panegyrick to Trajan Juvenal's Satyrs and lastly Strada's History of the Wars and other Transactions of the Low Countries who by purchase from his Son in Law Mr. Manwaring Hamond holds the instant Fee-simple of it Eshmerfeild is another eminent Mannor in Waltham and cals for some Respective Account because in Ages of a higher pedigree it confessed it self in the Revenual of the signal Family of Crioll for Bertram de Crioll possest it at his Death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the first and though he expired in a Daughter and Heir yet it continued still in the Tenure of a younger House until Bennet Daughter and Co-heir of Sir Thomas Crioll who was slain at the second Battle of St. Albans brought it to her Husband John Fogge Esquire whose Son Thomas Fogge about the beginning of Henry the seventh alienated his Right and Concernment in it to Sir Thomas Kempe in which Family the Inheritance remained until the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was passed by Sir Thomas Kempe this mans Grandchild to Roger Twisden Esquire whose Grandchild Sir Roger Twisden Knight and Baronet conveyed it to Sir John Ashburnham to whose Widow the Lady Ashburnham it accrued upon his Decease as having been before by speciall Compact made part of her Dower so that she at this instant hath the Use of the emergent profits and income of it Whetacre is another small Mannor that lies within the Circle of this Parish not worth the memorial were it not for a Family which extracted its Sirname from hence for I find Nigellus de Whetacre mentioned in the Book of Aide to have held Lands here in the twentieth of Edward the third In Times of a lower Date that is about the reign of Henry the sixth I find the Family of Hels or Hils descended from the Hels of Hels-court in Woditon to be planted in the possession and in this Name was the Interest of it constant until the beginning of Edward the sixth and then it was alienated to Prude whose Successor couveyed it to Alderman Cockain of London from whom the same Stream of Vicissitude carried it into Beacon Watringbury in the Hundred of Twiford was in Ages of a very high Gradation the Patrimony of a Family which enjoyed that Sirname and held not only the Mannor of Watringbury it self but Chart and Fowls which lie within the Precincts of this Parish
years united for from them it passed away by Sale to Wilson where the Title was not less violate and cursory for from Wilson the like Alienation translated the right of it into Parboe whose Widow Mrs. Parboe does now enjoy it as being made part of her Jointure when first she matched with Parboe Fourthly Grove and upper Hamwold are two little Mannors circumscribed likewise within the Limits of Wodnesborough and were in the thirty second year of Ed. the third the Inheritance of Pet. de Goldesburgh or Goldesborough but the Title made no long abode in this Name after this Man's Exit for both about the latter End of Richard the second were conveyed to Langley of Knowlton from whom as suddain a Devolution about the latter end of Henry the fixth passed them over to Sir John White of Canterbury a Merchant of the Staple and he died possest of them in the ninth year of Edward the fourth as appears Rot. Esc Num. 25. After this Family was worn out I find Stokes planted in the Possession from which Name about the latter end of Henry the eighth they came over by Purchase to one Nicholas Mois Gentleman and when that Family deserted the Possession which was in our Grand-fathers Remembrance a Fatality proportionate to the former made them both parcel of the Patrimony of Everard by whom not many years since they were alienated to James to the Inheritance of which Family they remain yet linked and united Fifthly Poltmans vulgarly called Poultmans yielded both Seat and Sirname to a Family of some Estimate in this Track who had here a Castellated Mansion invested with a Moat and continued Lords of this Habitation until Peter Poltman by descendant right came to be possest of it and he about the fifteenth year of Richard the second conveyed it by Fine to Langley of Knowlton in whom the Propriety was setled but until the latter end of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away by Sale to Sir John White who dying seised of it in the ninth year of Edward the fourth by Testament ordered it to be sold for the improvement of Acts of Charity and pious Uses and was according to the Tenor of his will conveyed by Sale to Boteler of Heronden in Eastry and there it made its abode until our Fathers Remembrance and then it was passed away to Benskin in which Family the Title is yet permanent Woditon in the Hundred of Kinghamford hath three places in it of considerable Estimate The first is Gedding which K. Cedwall and Keneldrith his Queen in the year of Grace 693 gave to Theodore Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and the Covent of Christ-Church in Canterbury free as the original Donation informs me as Adesham and was by them afterwards assigned to the Sacrist or Sexton of Christ-Church for his livelyhood and Subsistance an Office in elder Times of no contemptible Account in the Repute and Vogue of the Monks of that Cloister for the sacred Utensils of the Church were not only committed to his Care and Custody but he was likewise to make Preparation for the Celebration of the Mass and the performance of other divine and sacred Officers and because he might be more active and vigorous in the Managery and execution of his Trust these under-Officers were to be subservient and and ministerial to him their Catalogue sollows 1 Custos de Wexhouse 2 Primus serviens Ecclesiae ad pulsandum 3 Vigil Ecclesiae 4 Plumbarius Sacristae 5 Duo Clerici Altaris beatae Mariae 6 Duo Clerici Tumbae Martyrii 7 Quatuor servientes Ecclesiae ad pulsandum 8 Vitriarius Garcio ejus 9 Ostiarius Chori 10 Serviens Feretri 11 Aurifriga lotrix Ecclesiae For which last the rest being of easie understanding I conceive it was one that either wrought the Church Vestments or Hangings and the like in Gold or that refreshed them when they were dim or tarnished But to proceed this Mannor being with the Remainder of the Revenue of the Priory of Christ-Church surrendred into the Hands of Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his reign who afterwards in the thirty first of his Government granted it to Mr. Edward Foch of Hells Court in this Parish from whom it descended to Thomas Foch of Monkton in the Isle of Thanet Esquire who deceasing not many years since gave it to his second Son Major John Foch of London and he hath lately passed it away to his elder Brother Thomas Foch Esquire Hells is a second place of Note which for divers Descents until the reign of Henry the fourth confessed no other Proprietaries but Hells of Hell Court in Ash and then they abandoning the Possession it came to be enjoyed by Merywether and remained linked to the Patrimony of this Name until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then by a Female Inheritrix is came to confess the Signory of Foch in Right of which Alliance it is now the Inheritance of Thomas Foch Esquire Wickham Bushes is another Mannor which has its Situation within the Limits of Woditon and was as the Light of the most ancient Evidences does guide us to believe the Patrimony of Guldeford for Henry de Guldeford as the Book of Aid discovers to us did hold it by Knights Service of Geffrey de Say in the twentieth year of Ed. the third but in a Descent or two after this Family was shrunk away from the possession of this place and then the ancient and illustrious Family of Digge of Digge's Court in Berham was the next which succeeded in the Propriety and Inheritance and to this Name was the Title of this place by a successive Series of many Generations fastned till in our Fathers Memory it was by sale rent off and by that Alienation linked to the Revenue of Coppen in whose Demeasn the Interest of it at this Day continues included Woodchurch in the Hundred of Blackbourn was the Habitation of a Family of as deep Root in Antiquity as any in this Track who extracted their Sirname as well as borrowed their first Original from this place Roger de Woodchurch is the first who does occurre who in the ancient Evidences and the Deeds of this place which are not cloistered within any Date finds a frequent Mention and from him as appears by an old Pedigree of this Family did it devolve to his Grandchild Sir Simon de Woodchurch who is in the Register of those eminent Persons who accompanied Edward the first in his Victorious and triumphant Expedition into Scotland where his Victories entailed upon his Memory the Character of Malleus Scotorum but in this Sir Simon the Name though not the Male Line determined for he by matching with Susan Heir of Henry le Clerke of Munfidde brought a large Inheritance to own the Signory of Woodchurch and his Successors in Gratitude to a Family which had added so much of splendor and annexed so plentiful a Revenue to this Name altered their paternal Appellation from Woodchurch
he had Issue Nicholas Manston who matched with Eleanor only Daughter of Edmund Haut Esq and had Issue Julian his Sole Heir who was matched to Thomas St. Nicholas of Thorn in the Parish of Minster in Thanett which Seat accrued to his Grandfather by the Heir of Sir John Goshall This Thomas St. Nicholas dyed in the year 1474 and by his last Will recorded in the Prerogative at Canterbury he disposes his Body to be buryed before the Image of St. Nicholas in the Chancel of Thorn at Minster and Roger St. Nicholas was his Son and Heir who determined in a Daughter and Heir called Elizabeth matched to John Dynley of Worcestershire Whose Successor about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth conveyed his Right in Manston Powcies which likewise was annexed to the revenue of St. Nicholas by the Heir of Goshall and Thorne in Minster to Sir John Roper afterwards created Baron of Tenham by King James whose great Grandchild the Lord Christopher Roper does still enjoy Manston and Thorne but Powcies is lately passed away by Sale to Edward Monins of Waldershare Baronet Vpper-court is a third place in St. Laurence which may exact our Notice because it augmented the demeasn for many Generations of the illustrious Family of Crioll of whom I have spoken before in Sarre and remained parcel of their Inheritance until the latter end of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away by Sir Thomas Crioll to John White Esquire and he dyed possest of it in the ninth year of Edward the fourth but before the latter end of Henry the seventh the possession of this place had deserted this Name and was cast by Sale into the Revenue of Bere and was constant to their Signory untill almost the times which bordered upon our Fathers Remembrance and then it was by Sale conveyed to Johnson in which Family it is at this instant resident Nether-court is the last Seat in St. Laurence which calls for our remembrance It was in Times of an elder Inscription wrapt up in the Inheritance of the ancient and knightly Family of Goshall of Goshall in Ash and continued in their possession untill the reign of Henry the fourth and then this Family going out in a Daughter and Heir she by espousing St. Nicholas made it come to acknowledge the Signory of that Family and was permanent in their Name untill the latter end of Henry the seventh and then a Vicissitude proportionate to the former made it parcel of the Demeasn of John Dynley of the County of Worcester Esquire who matched with Elizabeth Sole Heir to Roger St. Nicholas and remained united to their Interest untill the Beginning of the reign of Q. Eliz. and then the right this Family held in it was by Sale transplanted into Maycott from whom not long after the same Devolution brought it to Lucas where after some small aboad the Title discarded that Name and came by purchase to own John Anthony for proprietary and he in our Fathers Memory passed it away to Mr .... Johnson in whose descendants the Jurisdiction and possession of this Mansion remains still concentered Minster is an eminent Mannor which anciently belonged to the Abby of St. Augustins being fenced in and invested with several Franchises and signal Immunities and when King Canutus translated the Body of St. Mildred to Canterbury and deposited it in a peculiar Shrine in the Chappel of St. Augustin's Abby a Draught of which is represented to the Readers View in Mr. Somners Survey of Canterbury this Mannor with all those Appendages which like so many Limbs made up the Body of that demeasn which supported the Cloister of St. Mildred as namely the Mannors of St. Johns and St. Peters and St. Laurence was translated by that Prince likewise and linked by his Confirmation to the Abby of St. Augustins But how both Minster and those other Mannors abovesaid came originally to be the ecclesiastical patrimony shall be now my task to discover Egbert or Egbright the third Christian King of Kent after Ethelbert had by a tacit Consent or Connivance permitted one Thunner to paddle in the Blood of his two Kinsmen or as William of Malmesbury will have it his Brothers called Ethelbert and Etheldred persons of a pregnant hope who like two early Stars as soon as they began to glitter and shine fell suddenly into Umbrage and were hid and eclipsed with their own Ruines he to assoil his hands from those stains this murder might seem to have bespattered them with and to make some Recompence or Expiation for so barbarous and clandestine an Assassination made an Herodian-oath that he would give Domneva Mother of these slaughtered Innocents whatsoever she would demand of him and she biassed and warped by the Advice of the Monkish Counsellors of those times asked of him as much Ground to endow an Abby with as a tame Deer which she had nourished could Run over at a Breath to which the King had immediately consented had not one Timor opposed this design saying It was too great a Boon for her to ask or for him to grant upon which the earth opened says Thorne the fabulous Chronicler of St. Augustins and swallowed him up and became both his Grave and Executioner and the place where he sunk in was as the abovesaid Author asserts untill the reign of Richard the second which was the time he lived in called Timors-leap Well The King amazed with this stupendious Accident assented to her Demand and the Deer being let loose ran forty eight Ploughlands over before it desisted And thus Domneva by the Aid and Concurrence of the King erected within the precincts of Minster a Monastery for veiled Nuns over which she constituted Mildred the first Abbesse who was Daughter to Wolfchere King of Mercia and she gathered to her Assistance an Assembly of seventy Virgins who being defirous to renounce the World were here vailed for Nuns by Theodorus then Arch-bishop of Canterbury And it seems this Mildred was a Virgin of that austere regular and inculpable Life in the Vogue and verdict of those cloudy times that her name is registred in the Calender of English Saints and had that Title attributed to her both whilst her Body lay at Minster and after its translation to St. Austins He that will survey the Bed-roll of her Miracles recorded at large one of which was that when the Danes in the reign of King Etheldred harrassed this Island and put this Cloister at Minster into a heap of flame and ruines her Body remained entire amidst the Embraces and Scorchings of that devouring and ravenous Element let him read Thorne lately printed and the Book called Nova Legenda Angliae and when he hath done he will find that wise-men will laugh not in Applause but in Contempt of such religious Romances But I return to Minster which as I said before being transplanted into the patrimony of St. Augustins by Canutus Hugh the Abbot of that Cloister to rescue this Town from that decay
of a thousand Crowns on Sir Stephen de Cosington and Sir William his Son for their remarkable Service performed against the Enemies of his Crown and Scepter The last of this Family which held this Mannor was Sir J. Cosington who concluded in three Danghters and Coheirs about the the latter end of Henry the eighth matched to Duke Wood and Alexander Hamon and upon the Disunion of the Estate into Parcels the last by Female Interest was invested in Acris and his Successors remained Lords of the Fee untill the Beginning of K. James and then a Fatalitie like the former brought the Patrimony of this Family to be possest by two Daughters and Coheirs so that Sir Robert Lewknor having matched with Katharine who was one of them became in her Right entituled to this Mannor and left it to his Son Hamon Lewknor Esq who deceasing not long since hath transmitted it during the Minority of his Son to his Widow Dowager The Mannor of Brandred lies in this Parish and belonged to the Abby of St. Radigunds untill the suppression and then it was by Henry the eighth exchanged with the Arch Bishop of Canterbury in the twenty ninth of his Reign and remained parcel of that Patrimony which acknowledged the Signorie of that See untill these tempestuous Times shook it off Addington in the Hundred of Larkfield was as high as any Track of Evidence can transport me to discover the Inheritance of a noble Family called Mandeville and divers Deeds of a very venerable Antiquity being without date and now in the hands of Mr. Watton do attest Roger de Mandeville in those elder Times to have been Lord of the Fee but before the end of Edward the second this Family was vanished and had surrendred the possession of this place to Robert At Checquer in whom the possession was but of a narrow Date for hee not long after alienated his Interest in it to Nicholas Dagworth as is evident by this Record registred in the Book of Aid kept in the Exchequer De Nicholao de Dagworth pro uno Feodo Militis quod Roberius de Scaccario tenuit in Addington de Warreno de Montecanisio 40. s. That is Nicholas Dagworth in the twentieth year of Edward the third paid a respective Supply of 40. s. for his Mannor of Addington which both he and Robert At Checquer which enjoyed it before him held of the Honour of Swanscamp Castle as being the capital Seat of the Barony of Mountchensey under the Notion of a whole Knights Fee But in this Family the Title was a Volatile as in the former for before the going out of Edward the third I find it passed away from Dagworth to Sir Hugh Segrave and he in the seventh year of Richard the second alienated it to Richard Charles descended from Edward Charles Captain and Admirall of the Seas from the Thames mouth Northward in the reign of Edward the first as appears Pat. 34. Edwardi primi But he was scarce warm in his new Acquists but he expired in two Daughters and Coheirs Alice matched to William Snaith and Joan married to Richard Ormeskirk but this Mannor upon the Distinction of the Estate into Parcells was entwin'd with the Demeasne of Snaith and he dyed possest of it as the date of his Tombe in Addington Church informs me in the year 1409. but dyed without Issue-male so that his sole Daughter and Heir being wedded to Watton made it the Inheritance of that Family and here have they planted themselves ever since that Alliance and have performed many signal Services to this County by being invested with places of Trust as Justices of the Peace Commissioners of the Sewers and other Officers of the like Condition which hath much inforced and multiplied the eminent Reputation of this ancient Family Allington in the Hundred of Lark field is eminent for an ancient Castle within the Limits of it which as Mr. Darrell and Mr. Mersh do assert was erected by William de Columbariis or Columbers and this Mr. Darrell who was very curious in Disquisitions of this Nature more possitively affirms because in the eighth year of Henry the third when as appears by the Records of the Tower there was an exact Survey taken of all the Castles of England and of those who were either Proprietaries of them or else the respective Castellans or Guardians one of the above mentioned Family was found to be possessor of this Fortresse and was also Lord of the Mannor which was still annexed to the Castle but this Name was of no long continuance in the Tenure of either for about the latter end of Henry the third they came to own the Signorie of Sir Stephen de Penchester Lord Warden afterwards of the Cinque Ports to whom and to Margaret his Wife Daughter of the famous Hubert de Burgh Earl of Kent King Edward the first granted a Licence in the ninth year of his Reign as appears by the Patent-Rolls of that Time to erect a Castle and to fortifie and embattle at Allington so that it seems it was only before Fortalitium some small Fortresse and could not be marshall'd under the just Notion of a Castle untill it had received new Symetrie and Dimensions by those Appendages and Supplements which were added to it by this great Man and having thus established this Pile it came to own his Name and is in some old Records called Allington Penchester and not undeservedly for in the eighth year of Edward the first he obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Allington and also a Market Weekly on the Tuesday and a Fair yearly three days on the Vigil the day and day after St. Laurence but deceased without Issue Male so that after his Exit it came to acknowledge Stephen de Cobham who had married his Daughter and Coheir and he inocculated his own Name upon it and called it Allington Cobham which flourished severall Descents in this Family untill the beginning of Edward the fourth and then I find it in the possession of Brent but remained not long in this Name for in the eighth year of Henry the seventh John Brent passed away the Castle and Mannor of Allington to Sir Henry Wiat one of the Privie Councel to that Prince but his infortunate Grandchild Sir Thomas Wiat having by his Defection in the second year of Queen Mary forfeited it to the Crown it remained there untill Queen Elizabeth granted it to Jo. Astley Esq Master of her Jewels whose Son Sir Jo. Astley dying without Issue it came by Descent to Sir Jacob Astley created Lord Astley by the late King at Oxford whose Descendant does now enjoy the Possession of it Alkham in the Hundred of Folkston hath divers places in it of Account Malmains by vulgar Corruption of the word called Smalmains with Hollmeade which was ever accounted an Appendage to it are first to be considered In the twentieth year of Edward the third I find Thomas de Malmains Son of Nicholas de Malmains who
Signorie of this Name is yet so constant to the Interest of this Family that it is at this instant knit to the Inheritance of Sir Richard Colepeper Knight and Baronet Roes Place in Alresford pretends to a deep Root in Antiquity likewise as being the Seat and Original of the ancient Family of Roe and from hence the Roes of Chafford in Ashurst those of Essex and he that was Lord Maior of London have primitively in a full Channel flowed out and in this Family was the possession lodged untill that Age we style our Grandfathers and then it was carried off by Sale to Taylor which Family not many years since concluding in a Female Inheritrix She by matching with Warcup hath espoused the possession of this place to that Name and Family Near this place Vortimer the valiant British King gave Battle to Hengist the Saxon after he had given a Victorious overthrow to the Britons at Creyford in which conflict Horsa and Catigern Brethrento both the Generals were stain and the Saxons repulsed into the Isle of Thanet their first assigned Habitation not daring to enter and reinvade the Continent whilest Vortimer survived Catigern was interr'd in that Plain which spreads it self on the Hanging of that Hill which looks down on Cosenton where to this Day his Monument remains being four vast Stones pitched somewhat after the Mannor of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain but of greater Breadth then they though not so thick or long whereby it appears like a small Sheepcote and is vulgarly styled Cits-Cotehouse which is graphically here intitated The like Monument was erected for Horsa at Horsted near Rochester which storms and Tempests under the Conduct of Time have utterly extinguished Joanni Wroth de Aula Blendonensi in Bexley Armigero graphicā hanc Jumuli Catigernici Delineationem suis Sumptibus Aere incisam Thomas Philipott Lubens devovet Ash by Sandwich lies in the Hundred of Wingham and contains many Places within its Precincts very considerable The first is Welmestone which is situated partly in this Parish and partly in Wingham Though it be now obscure it was in elder Times made more conspicuous by being one of the Seats of Residence of the Noble Family of Septuans William de Septnans or Sepuans was in the possession of it at his Death which was in the twenty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Ese Num. 5. and in this Family did the Title of this place by the steps of several Descents pass along untill the latter End of Henry the eighth and then it went from this Family by Exchange for other Land to Sir Walter Henley who not long after conveyed the Demeasn Land or Mansion-House to Alday and the Mannor it self to Solley in Alday the demised premises had not been long resident when they were sold to Mr. Benedict Barnham by one of whose four Coheirs the Fee-Simple devolved to the Earl of Castlehaven whose descendant conveyed it to Brigham Goshall in this Parish must not be forgotten it was the Residence anciently of a Family of that Sirname made more eminent by the production of Sir John Goshall a worthy Knight who flourished in the Reign of Edward the third and Richard the second and lyes entombed in Ash Church in compleat Armour and his Skeleton underneath his Arms are also depicted in his Shield viz. Azure a Lyon Rampant within Semeè of Crosse Crosselets Argent The Heir Generall of this Family was wedded to St. Nicholas of the Isle of Thanet and after the Title had for some Ages setled in this Family it was by a Daughter and Heir transmitted to John Dynley Esquire whose Descendant about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it to Roper Ancestor to Christopher Roper Baron of Tenham who hath lately alienated his Interest in it to Sir Edw. Monins Checquers in this Parish of Ash was a very ancient Seat of a Branch of the Family of Septuans who from their Residence here contracted the Sirname of Checquer or Atchecquer and so were stiled in severall old Records and after this Mansion had remained a Series of some Generations in the Name of Septuans and Checquer it shrunk into a Daughter and Heir matched with Alday in which Family after it had some Time resided it was by Sale lately passed away to Mr. Tho. Harfleet and now owns his Descendants for its instant Possessors Hells Twitham is swoln up to some Repute since it was the Revenue of the Hells a Family of generous Rank in this County but stayed not long in the possession for about the Beginning of Edward the third they had surrendered their Interest to Twitham a noble Family and of deep Extraction in this Teritory Bertram de Twitham died possest of it in the third year of Edward the third Alanus de Twitham his Son was likewise found invested in it at his Decease which was in the twenty fifth year of the abovesaid Prince and lastly Alanus the Son of Theobald Twitham held it in the fourth year of Richard the second and left it to Mawd his sole Daughter and Heir by whom the Title was transplanted into Simon Septuans in whose Family the Proprietie hath for many Ages even untill this instant by an unbroken Link been seated The next place which obviates my Discovery is Overland the which in the twenty fifth year of Henry the third was by the Royall Charter of that Prince granted to Bertram de Crioll and so being made Parcell of his Demeasne it remained fastned to his Interest untill the Beginning of Edward the first and then it was passed away to Leybourn and was held by Juliana de Leybourn the Heir generall of Roger Lord Leybourn who in relation to that vast Patrimony her Birth intituled her to might be justly stiled the Infanta of Kent and shee was first espoused to John de Hastings and secondly to William de Clinton Earl of Huntington who held it at his Death in her Right which was in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third but shee deceased without Issue in the forty third year of the abovesaid Prince by either of them and there being none that by the strength of any Collaterall Alliance could pretend any Interest or Title to the Estate it escheared to the Crown and lay there untill Richard the second bestowed it by Grant on Sir Simon de Burley Knight of the Garter and Lord Warden of the Cinque-Ports but he being attainted in the tenth year of that King it returned to the Crown again and then it was by the the same Prince setled on the Abby of Childrens Langley and was involved in the Patrimony of that Cloister untill the generall Suppression in the Reign of Henry the eighth and then it was granted in the thirty fifth year of that Prince to Sir Thomas Moile and Sir Walter Henley and they not long after conveyed their joynt Interest in it to Harfleet Who almost in our Fathers Remembrance alienated it to Bargrave from whom the same devolution brought it over to
Solley who not many years after transmitted it by Sale to Mr. Jo. Ward of London whose Widow Mrs. Katharin Ward now holds it in Right of Dower Goldstanton in this Parish is a second place of Note and was as high as the Beam of any Evidence will guide me to discover the Patrimony of Leybourn Roger de Leybourn who was in the Register of those Kentish Gentlemen who were pardoned by the Pacification called Dictum de Kenelworth for seeking to support with seditious Arms the Cause and Quarrell of Simon de Montfort held it in the fiftieth year of Henry the third and from him did it descend to his great Grandchild Juliana de Leybourn who dying without Issue or Alliance in the forty third year of Edward the third this with Overland escheated to the Crown but was granted out again by Richard the second to Sir Simon de Burley who being attainted and convicted of high Treason in the tenth year of his Reign that Prince link'd it by a new Donation to the Abby of Childrens Langley But yet I find that in the Reign of Henry the fourth Richard Cliderow who was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth year and most part of the fith year of that Prince and then again in the sixth year of Hen. the fifth held it I suppose only as a Lessee and kept his Shrivealty at this Place a Man he was of no contemptible Account in those Times as I shall discover more amply at little Betshanger which was his capital Seat But to return after this Mannor had made its aboad in the Demeasne of the above mentioned Covent untill the Dissollution in the Reign of Henry the eighth it was then torn off and granted to Tho. Lord Cromwell Earl of Essex upon whose Attaint in the thirty second year of the above said Prince it escheated back to the Crown and then it was granted in the thirty fourth year of Henry the eighth to Vincent Engham Esquire whose Descendant Sir Tho. Engham some few years transplanted his Concernment in it by Sale into Mr. ......... Courcelis of London Nevills Fleet in this Parish was more anciently called Butlers Fleet as being parcell of the Revenue of that Family and the Book of Aid in the Exchequer which makes an enumeration of the ancient Owners mentions one Richard de Boteler to have been its ancient Possessor but in the twentienth year of Edward the third when that Book was taken William Lord Latimer of Corbie Knight of the Garter and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports held it and in the thirty eighth obtained by the Charter of that Prince a Market to be held at Ark on the Thursday and a three days Fair at our Lady Day and from him as in divers Records it is evident did it acquire the Name of Latimers Fleet but stayed not long under that Title for he determined in Eleanor his Daughter and Heir matched to John Lord Nevill who in her Right became Lord of this Mannor and from him did it contract the Title of Nevils Fleet and lay couched in the Patrimony of this Name untill the Beginning of Edward the fourth and then it was alienated to Cromer and James Cromer in the eleventh year of Henry the seventh alienated it to John Isaac from whom not long after it was brought over by Purchase to Kendall and in that Name it fixed untill the Beginninig of Henry the eighth and then it was alienated to Sir John Fogge and he before the end of that Prince conveyed it to Ralph in which Name it was resident untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was demised to Spracklin and Sir Adam Spracklin almost in Times under our Fathers Cognisance passed it away to Harfleet in which Family you may at this instant find it Molands in this Parish gave Seat and Sirname to a Family so called who before the end of Edward the second were worn out and then it became the possession of Harfleet aliás Septuans who much improved the House with additional Buildings where the Arms of this Family do stand yet in Panes of very old coloured Glasse with this Motto annexed Dissipabo inimicos Regis mei ut paleam alluding either to their Coat which was three Fans such as they fan and winnow Corn with or else to William de Septuans who dyed in the year 14011. and warred as the Records of this Family inform me under Edward the third in France and by his Will registred in the Prerogative Office at Canterbury which I mention for the Novelty of it he gives Manumission or Freedome to diverse of his Slaves or Natives and Sir William Septuans was his Son who lyes buryed in Christ Church in Canterbury and as his Epitaph on his Tomb instructs me dyed in the year 1448. and from him did the Title stream in this Name untill the Reign of Henry the eighth and then I find this Seat in the possession of Robert Read but it was not long out of the Name for about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth I find it reinvested again in Harfleet and remains an eminent Mansion of this Family at present Many of this Sirname lye buryed in Ash Church for those three Altar Tombs in the Church yard and those on each side the North Dore were the Repositories or Exchequers that treasured up the Remains of divers of this Family all which had their Figures and Arms insculp'd in Brasse annexed to their Sepulchers which by the impression of Times and the Assaults of Sacrilegious Hands are quite dismantled and torn off Wingham Barton is another eminent Mannor in this Parish which belonged to the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and when John Peckham founded his Colledge at Wingham in the year 1282. there was an Exhibition setled on that Seminary or Brotherhood issuing out of this Manuor from whence it is supposed by some it contracted the Name of Wingham Barton though I rather conjecture it was called so from its Situation in opposition to another of that Name called Firmins Barton lying by Canterbury But to proceed this continued Archiepiscopal untill the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth and then it was exchanged by Thomas Arch-Bishop of Canterbury with the Crown and rested there untill Q. Elizabeth granted it to Sir Roger Manwood whose son Sir Peter Manwood passed it away by his Trustees not many years since to Sir William Curteen of London and he gave it in Dower with his daughter matched to Henry late Earle of Kent who upon his decease ordered it to be sold to discharge some Debts and was accordingly not long since by his Countess conveyed by Sale to Mr. James Thurbarne of Sandwich one of the Cinque Ports Son of James Thurbarne Esquire a Justice of Peace in this County in the Reign of K. James whose Ancestors from 1331 have continued very eminent in the Cinque Ports especially in Hasting and Romney as also in Romney Mersh as appears by divers ancient Records But the ancient Mannor-House was in the
under the Signorie of Catwick and John de Catwick held it and paid respective Aid for it as appears by the Book of Aid at making the black Prince Knight After this Family had deserted the possession of this place I discover by some old Deeds that Commence from the Reign of Rich. the second that the Frankenhams were Lords of the Fee who before the latter end of Henry the fifth were gon out and then it came to own the Propriety of Poynings and went along with this Name untill it devolved to Sir Edward Poyning who had it in possession at his Death which was in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and after a solemne and signall Inquisition taken in the fourteenth year of that Monarch to discover if there could be traced out any collaterall Alliance for he dyed without any lawfull Issue that could justifie a Claim to his Estate and there none appearing who could do it this Mannot with much other land escheated to the Crown and then the abovesaid Prince granted this to William Lewknor Esquire in which Family it had not rested many years when it was conveyed by Sale to Vane from whom by the like Vicissitude in that Age we call our Fathers it came to be the Possession of Walter of Faukham The Priorie of St. Helens in London had some Interest at South-Ash in the fourth year of Henry the fourth as appears by the Rolls of Blanch Lands kept in the Exchequer but whether upon the Suppression it were wrapped up in the Mannor of Ash and so conveyed in the general Concession or Grant as being a Perquisite I am incertain Ashford in the Hundred of Chart and Longbridge was one of those Mannors which was marshalled under the Jurisdiction and Propriety of the eminent Family of Crioll Simon de Crioll in the twenty seventh and twenty eighth year of Henry the third obtained a Charter of Free Warren to his Mannor of Ashford and Mawde de Crioll his Widow dyed seised of it in the fifty second year of Henry the third and left it to her Son Will. de Keriell who as Will. Glover Somerset Herald out of an old Court Roll does attest confirmed that change his Mother had designed in her life time and passed away this Mannor to Roger de Leybourne for Stocton in Huntington-shire and Rumford in Essex and from him did it come down to his great Grandchild Juliana de Leybourn sole Heir of Roger de Leybourne whose second Husband William de Clinton Earl of Huntington was possest of it at his Death which was in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 59. And after him Juliana his Countesse deceasing without Issue and without Kindred in the fourty third year of the abovesaid Prince it escheated to the Crown and this Monarch desiring to enhance the Revenue of the Church rather then his own gave it to the Deans and Canons of St. Stephens in Westminster which Donation was confirmed by Richard the second in the twelfth year of his Reign and afterwards more amply ratified with all the Franchises it was anciently fortified with in the twenty first year of his Rule as appears Pat. 1. Memb. 35. par 3. and with it conveyed divers Lands here at Ashford and elsewhere which were formerly relating to the Family of Leybourne but being granted to Sir Simon de Burleigh returned back to the Crown upon his Attaint which was in the tenth year of the abovesaid Prince and here in the Revenue of this Cloister did it make a secure abode untill the rough Hand of Henry the eighth like that of Aeolus scattered such a Tempest upon these and all other Cloisters that they shrunk into a common dissolution and then this Mannor being in that whirlwind ravished from the Church and transplanted into the Crown was by that Monarch granted with Westure which was purchased by Cardinal Kempe of Aldon about the twenty eighth of Henry the Sixth and setled on the Colledge of Wie and came to the Crown upon its Supression to Sir Anthony Aucher and Jo. Polsted and they not many years after conveyed them by Sale to Sir Andrew Judde who expiring in a Female Heir called Alice she by matching with Sir Thomas Smith annexed them to his Revenue and from him is both Ashford and Westure come down by descendant Right to his great Grandchild Philip Viscount Strangford Repton in this Parish was the Seat of that ancient Family of Valoigns Waretius de Valoigns in a Deed whereby on Ash-Wednesday in the the fourty fifth year of Henry the third releases some Services due to his Mannor of Swerdlin to Cecilia Widow of Richard Greenbold writes himself of Repton Rualonus de Valoigns was Sheriff of Kent in the first year of Henry the second and dwelt sometimes at Repton and sometimes at Tremworth The last of this Family at this Place was Waretius de Valoigns who concluding in two Daughters and Coheirs one of them by matching with Sir Tho. Fogge brought this and much other Land to own the Title of that Family and they afterwards made this their Seat which was productive of Persons as eminent for Piety Prudence and Valour as any that this County either in Times which have been tempestuous or else in those which have been calm and serene hath been fertile in one of which was Sir Io. Fogge Comptroller of the House and Privie Counsellor to Edward the fourth who founded a Colledge here at Ashford consisting of a Prebendarie as the Head and of certain Priests and Choristers as Members But to proceâ—d after this Seat had so many Generations acknowledged the Interest of this Family it was in the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth alienated by George Fogge to Sir Michael Sonds and he conveyed it to Iohn Tufton Esquire whose great Grandchild the right Honorable Iohn Tufton Earl of Thanet is the instant Lord of the Fee There was a perpetuall Chauntry here at Ashford in a certain Chappell dedicated to the Virgin Mary which was founded by Will. de Sodington for which he had a Concession from royall Authoritie as appears Pat. 17. Edw. 3. parte secunda Memb. 37. The Land which was tied to support it lay in Ashford Willesborough Charing and Kennington which upon the Suppression being dispersed into many Hands I shall decline any farther labour to trace out Ashford had a Market upon the Saturday which was allowed by the Judges Itinerant to William de Leybourn in the seventh year of Edw. the first which being thus ratified and confirmed continueth in force upon that Day even at this instant I had almost forgot Merdall which is the last Mannor in this Parish It was included in the Patrimony of Corbie untill Robert Corbie of Boughton Malherbe concluded in a Daughter and Heir called Joan Corbie matched to Sir Nicholas Wotton twice Lord Maior of London by which Marriage all that vast Demeasne which acknowledged the Interest of that Family came to be united to this and continued many years
couched in their Inheritance untill at length that is almost in our Grandfathers Remembrance by Sale it devolved to Sprot who not many years since conveyed his Right in it to Sir Thomas Finch Earl of Winchelsey Father to the right honorable Heneage Earl of Winchelsey now Lord of the Fee Ashurst or Ashenhurst in the Hundred of Watchlingstone with the Mannor of Buckland as an Appendage annexed to it was anciently the Demeasne as the Dooms-day Text informs us of Philip de Gerund and Hugh de Gerund this mans Successor was seised both of Ashurst and Buckland likewise in the twenty sixth year of Edward the first as appears Rot. Esc Num. 71. But after this Family determined in a Daughter and Heir who matching with Chalfhunt made that Family possessors of the Fee and Henry Chalfhunt as we trace by Record held it in the forty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 14. And after they went out it came about the Beginning of Henry the sixth by the Heir General of this Family to be possest by Hadde whose Successor about the Beginning of Henry the eighth conveyed it to Waller of Grome-bridge and from this Family after some Interval of Time it was carried off by Sale to Thomas Earl of Dorset Lord Treasurer of England and from his Descendant the Title went away not many years since by the same Fatality into Rivers of Chafford in which Family the Title both of Ashurst and Buckland are at this instant placed Chafford next invites our Survey it was for some Descents the Possession of the Roes or Rows streamed out from that original Fountain which was of this Name and Family at Roes Place in Alresford and from these two those numerous Branches have issued out which like so many divided Rivulets have dispersed themselves into so many parts of this Nation but though this Family be here like a River licked up by a Summer Sun shrunk into Oblivion and the Name wholly dryed yet hath the Title of this Seat found out another Chanel for by Sale it now flows in the Name of Rivers and Sir John Rivers Baronet Crandchild to Sir John Rivers Knight and Baronet descended from the ancient Family of Rivers of River Hill in Hantshire upon the late Decease or his Brother Sir Thomas is now Proprietary of it Aythorne in the Hundred of Eastry was given to the Monks of Christ Church by Ulfred Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in the year 824 in exchange for the Mannor of Berham but the principal Honour which did accrue to it was that it was parcel of that Estate which claimed the Family of Badelesmer for Inheritors and lay involved in their Demeasn until the infortunate Attainder of Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer in the Reign of Edward the second when being by this Tempest rent off from his Name and Patrimony it made its abode in the Revenue of the Crown untill K. Edw. the third granted it to Sir John de Bondon who in the eighteenth year of that Prince conveyed it to John de Gildesburgh After whose Exit it came by the same Devolution to be possest by Thomas Holben who in the twelfth year of Richard the second passed it away to Robert Dane And now there being an Interval or Gap in the private Evidences which have an Aspect on this place I must next represent Robert Webbe possessor of it who in the fourth year of Henry the sixth transplanted his Interest in it by Sale into John St. Clere and he not long after by the same Fatalitie transmitted it to Sir Walter Hungerford who about the latter End of Henry the sixth setled the Right and Title by Sale on Sir Thomas Brown of Bechworth Castle in Surrey Comptroler of the House to the abovesaid Prince who in the twenty seventh of his Reign as appears Pat. 27. Hen. 6. Num. 37. obtained the Grant of a Fair to be held yearly on St. Peters Day and in this Family the Propriety and Title was fixed until the sixteenth of Q. Elizabeth and then it was conveyed by Thomas Brown Esq to Francis Santon and his Son by the same Vicissitude in the twenty eighth of the abovesaid Princesse alienated it to Sir William Rither of London who dying without Issue Male setled this Mannor on Susan one of his Coheirs first matched to Sir Thomas Caesar and after to Mr. Thomas Philipott second Son to Sir John Philipott of Compton Wascelin in Hantshire and She upon her Decease gave it to her onely Son by her second Husband Mr. Villiers Philipott who hath lately conveyed it by Sale to Mr. John Brett of London B. B. B. BAbchild but in all ancient Records Escripts and all other Monuments of Antiquity written Becanceald lies in the Hundred of Milton and did as old Deeds testifie relate to the Savages a Family whom elder Times represented under a Character of much eminence in this Tract Arnold de Savage held this Mannor in the forty ninth of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 39. Parte secunda and in this Name the Title stood some years untill it sunk into a Daughter and Heir who being wedded to William Clifford branched out from the Cliffords of Cliffords Castle in Herefordshire the Title of this Mannor with the Name was folded up in this Family and here for some interval of Time it continued untill that common Fate which shifts and changes the Scene of Majesty it self as well as the Face of more subordinate Interests transferred this Mannor by Purchase to William Coting about the Beginning of Q. Elizabeth from whom not long after it passed away by the same fatality to William Biggs Ancestor to that Gentleman his Descendant both of the Name and Family who is now in the enjoyment of it There was at Radfield in this Parish anciently a Free Chappel which is now onely obvious to the Eye by that Mass of Ruines in which at this present it seems to lye gasping the Founder and Uses are both unknown upon the suppression the Demeansn which was annexed to it was by the Concession of Edward the sixth enstated on John Bateman and his Successor John Bateman hath by Testamentary Donation not long since conferred it on John Bateman of Wormesell There was another Oratory or Chappel whose Ruines are yet visible near the Verge or Margin of the Road and here Pilgrims which did usually visit the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury frequently enter'd to offer up their Orizons before they advanced any farther in their Pilgrimage the Oratory as far as possible Conjectures guide us to assert was erected in Memory and Celebration of that Counsel held here by Arch-Bishop Brigthwald under Withredus or as some Copies have it Muthredus K. of Kent in the year 692. He that will read the Results and Decrees of this Councel may have Recourse to Sir Henry Spelman's Concilia Anglicana or his Collections of the English Councels where he shall find the Constitutions and Canons of this Synod represented in an exact Register to
to a Family which formerly had their Mansion at this Place and John de Goddisland is mentioned in the Book of Aid to have held it in twentieth of Edward the third and when after some Flux of Time this Name was ebbed away from this place the Atwoods succeeded so stiled from their Habitation nere the Wood and Robert Atwood died seised of it in the sixth year of Richard the second and when this Family began to Decay the Sawyers came in and were Possessors of the place but long the Fee was not setled in this Name for the Title about the Beginning of Henry the seventh was engraffed by Purchase on Cheyney from which Family by the like Current it flowed about the Begining of Q. Elizabeth into Snode and from them not many years since it was by Sale wafted over to Franklin Barham in the Hundred of Kinghamford gives Name to that spacious Plain where the Britons encountred Caesar and his Army at his first Landing at Deale and after a signal Conflict repelled them back to their Ships The old Family of Fitz-Urse were formerly Lords of this Mannor and resolved into the Name of Berham after such Time as one of them called Randolph Fitz-Urse being Ring-leader of three other Cavaliers of the Kings Court had impiously assassinated Arch-Bishop Becket The Fact being so barbarous in the Estimate of those Times that flying into Ireland he abandoned the Name of Fitz-Urse and took that of Mac-Mahon as Mr. Camden Notes Certainly as he was the Actor and thereby more stained then the rest so was he much more culpable beause he held this Mannor of Berham of the See of Canterbury by the Service of halfe a Knights Fee so it appears by the Record of the Aid kept in the Exchequer and paid in the twentieth of Edw. the third yet did not this Name vanish at this place but still was inforced and multiplied into many Descents from whence issued Gentlemen of a prime and eminent Note in this Track untill lately that Fate which Shuffles both Families and Kingdomes into Disorder and Oblivion hath torn this Mannor now from this Name and by purchase brought over the Propriety of it to Fotherby Shelvingborough is a second Mannor in this Parish not to be waved in this Survey because it was sometimes one of the Seats of John de Shelving who held it in the seventeenth year of Edward the second But this Family determining not long after in a Daughter and Heir She by matching with Haut annexed this Mannor to the Patrimony of this Family and in this Name the Title was carried along by the Clew of many Descents untill it devolved to Sir William Haut who about the latter End of Henry the eighth concluded in two Female Coheirs whereof Elizabeth was matched to Sir Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury who brought this along with her to that Family and he about the Beginning of Edward the sixth devested himself of the possession and by Sale transmitted his Right in it to Mantle where after the Title had by some small continuance made some little respite it was conveyed by Sale to Carlisle and here the Propriety was as transient for an Alteration of the same resemblance not many years since made it the possession of Hopday Diggs Court in Barham was the Mansion of the ancient Family of Digge or Diggs which Family about four Hundred years since that is about the Reign of Richard the first had the Aldermanry of Newingate in Canterbury as part of their Inheritance which it seems was not as now elective but as Freehold either demisable or devisable ad Libitum of him or her that held the same or if neither demised nor devised of him nor her in Life Time but indisposed of at Death then as Inheritance or Fee it descended to the next Heir at Law These Aldermen every one of them kept within their own Wards and happily as the Jews held theirs had at their several Gates a Court assembled every three weeks which was called of our Ancestors sometimes the Hundred Court sometimes the Wardmote that is the assembly or the meeting of the Hundred or Ward or the Portmote as the Jurisdiction was called Portsoka John or Diggs was in the year 1258 a great Benefactor to the Franciscans who had then newly planted themselves at Canterbury and purchased for them an Island in that City called Binnewight Emit Insulam vocatam Binnewight in Cantuar. locum Portae super Stourstreet ad opus Fratrum Minorum tempore opportuno transtulit Fratres ad illam As Leland records of him Adomarus de Digge one of this House was a Judge in the Reign of Edward the second and possest much Land about Reynham and Newington which still represents his Name to Posterity and is called Diggs Mersh John Diggs of Diggs Court was Sheriff of Kent part of the second year of Henry the fourth and John Diggs his Grand child was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth year of Edward the fourth his Son and Heir was John Diggs Esquire who likewise held that Office in the eleventh year of Henry the seventh this our Sheriff had Issue James Diggs of Diggs Court Esquire who was likewise Sheriff of Kent the second year of Henry the eighth and Justice of the Peace for this County almost all the Government of that Prince he was Father of Leonard Diggs Esquire who was Grand Father to Sir Dudley Diggs of Chilham Castle Master of the Rolls 1637 who almost in our Memory passed away this Seat which had been for many years an Appendage to it to Captain Halsey of London who not long after alienated it to Alderman Soame of the same place who not long since conveyed it to Sir Basil Dixwell of Terlingham in Folkstone Knight and Baronet whose collateral Descendant that is his Nephews Son and Heir Mr. Basil Dixwell is Proprietary apparent of it Barfreyston in the Hundred of Eastry was anciently held by Castle-Guard of Dover Castle by John de Wybarne and when this Family had abandoned the possession which was about the latter End of Henry the fourth it came to be held by Harward and when some years it had been wrapped up in the Interest of this Family it was transmitted by Sale about the latter End of Henry the sixth to Sir Thomas Brown of Bechworth Castle and here the Title lodged untill the Beginning of Henry the eighth and then part of it was passed away to Wood but the Mannor it self rested in Brown untill the Beginning of Q. Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Mr. Thomas Bois whose successor Mr. John Bois not many years since alienated it to Sir Anthony Percival of Dover Hartanger and Soles are two Mannors situated within the Precincts of this little Parish who both had owners so Sirnamed The first after it had been folded up in the Demeasn of Hartanger untill the Reign of Edward the second was by Purchase made the Inheritance of Perot of Knowlton and Thomas Perot died
they were carryed away by Purchase to the noble Family of Stafford Dukes of Buckingham and Earls of Stafford in which Name they had not long continued when Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth being convicted of high Treason for consulting with a Wizard and a Monke touching the Succession of the Crown forfeited his Estate here and his Life together and then King Henry the eighth by royall Concession planted the Propriety of these Places in Sir John Rainsford one of his Privie Councell and his Son Sir Henry Rainsford passed them away to Sir Henry Isley and he having infortunately enwrapped himself in the unhappy Design of Sir Thomas Wiat an Attempt which was plausible and specious enough in the Intention of it as being enamel'd and guilded over with the glorious Pretences of asserting the Orthodox Religion and defending the publick Libertie against the Eruption of Strangers but very ruinous and disastrous in the Effects and Consequences of it as was very visible upon this worthy Person who in the first year of Queen Mary was convicted of high Treason and executed at Sevenoke where he dyed with as much Constancy and Alacrity of Spirit as he had lived with Integrity upon whose untimely Exit the Crown seised upon his Estate and that Princesse in the same year he was destroyed granted his Estate here to Sir John Baker her Attorney Generall from whom the Title and possession of Berming is flowed down to his Successor Sir John Baker Baronet who in Right of this Descent is now entituled to the Patrimony of both these Mannors Halls Place in this Parish gave Seat and Sirname to a Family so stiled who in ancient Deeds were written At-Hall from their Habitation at some more eminent Mansion but before the end of Edward the third this Family was vanished and the Signory of this Place surrendered to Colepeper of Preston yet some part of it I find by old Deeds was passed away to Clive which Jo. Clive about the seventh of Henry the fourth alienated to Peter Colepeper and he in the tenth year of the abovesaid Prince conveyed Hall Place to Sampson Mascall originally extracted from a place called Mascalls in Brenchley and in this Family the Possession was fixed untill the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Alchorne the Cradle or Fountain of whose Family was at Alchorne in Rotherfield and in this Name is the Fee-Simple of this Place still resident though the use and profits of it be for a long Series of years made over to Mr ......... Cook late of Stepney and his Descendants West-Bere stiled so in Opposition to Bere in St. Margarets nere Dover with the Appendant Mannor of Hopland is situated in the Hundred of Blengate the last of which was not called so from the growth and production of Hops there formerly planted as the vulgar Tradition affirms the Introduction of Hops into this Nation being not of that Antiquity but from a Family exceeding ancient who as appears by Deeds without Date were in elder Times possessors of it but before the end of Edward the first this Family was mouldered away and and then the eminent Family of St. Lawrence who likewise were Lords of West-Bere by purchase from Hugh de Bere and about the latter end of Edward the first were invested in the Tenure of both claimed the propriety and Thomas St. Lawrence and John de Swalclive paid Reliefe for their Lands at West-Bere and Hopland as the Book of Aid instructs us in the twentieth year of Edward the third and in this Family of St. Lawrence did the Propriety of both these Mannors reside untill the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then Hopland was conveyed to John Isaac in which Name it was resident untill the latter End of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conducted down by Sale to acknowledge Tourney of Saltwood and he by a like Alteration transplanted his Interest in it not many years since into Steed but West-Bere came by the Daughter and Heir of this Family to Apulderfield and again by the Female Heir of Sir William Apulderfield to Sir John Phineux and he setled it on his second Brother the Heir Generall of whose Descendant not many years since being wedded to Sir John Smith it is now become the Possession of his Grandchild Philip Viscount Strangford Bersted in the Hundred of Eythorne was the Seat of the noble Family of Crevequer before they removed to Leeds Castle their Seat and Residence and in Doomsday Book where there is a particular Account taken what Mannors Hamon de Crevequer was possest of in the twentieth of William the Conquerour it is written Briested which could not be meant of Brasted which was the Signory and Possession of Gilbert de Clare in the Reign of Henry the first as appears by the Records of Christ-Church in Canterbury where this Earl and his Successors are said to hold the Mannor of Brasted as Senescalli Archiepiscopi Cantuariensis in sua Inthronizatione whereas this Mannor had never any such Tenure united to it and remained parcell of the Patrimoniall Demeasne of Crevequer untill Hamon de Crevequer having embarked himself in the Quarrell of Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester made Shipwrack of his Estate here at Bersted which was wrung from him by Henry the third and though he was pardoned by the Pacification of Killingworth made in the fiftyeth of that Princes Reign yet I do not find that he was ever reinvested in Bersted so that it remained in the Crown untill the tenth year of Edward the second and then it was exchanged for other Land with Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer but he having by an ambitious Defection forfeited this and much other Land in the fifteenth year of Edward the second it lapsed back again by an early Confiscation to the Crown and lay involved there until the fourth year of Edward the sixth and then being looked upon as wrapped up in the Mannor of Leeds Castle as indeed it had been in Appendage unto that and the Castellans of it it was granted at that Time to Sir Anthony St. Leger from whom it descended to his great Grandchild Sir Warham St. Leger who about the latter end of King Iames exchanged it with Sir Richard Smith for Salmeston in the Isle of Thanet and two thousand pound in Money to poise the Exchange and make the Ballance even and he not long after passed it away to Sir Thomas Colepeper of Hollingbourn who hath lately enstated it on his Son and Heir Sir Cheyney Colepeper who is entituled to the present Signory of it Milgate in this Parish was anciently a Mannor though now by Intermission the Homage is lost and shrunk into Disuse and Oblivion It was in Ages of a more Antiquity the possession of a Family called Coloigne Robert de Coloigne was possest of it and the Record taken after his Decease will inform you that he dyed seised of it in the thirty fifth year of Edward
alienated to Godfrey of Lidde where after it had some small Time been setled a Mutation like the former united it to the Propriety of Wood and he about the Beginning of King James demised it by Sale to Mr. John Fagge Grandfather to Mr. John Fagge Esquire one of the Justices of the Peace for the County of Sussex who is the instant Lord of the Fee Brook in the Hundred of Chart and Longbridge was given to the Priory of Christ Church by Charlemanus a Priest which Donation was first ratified by the Charter of Henry the first and secondly confirmed by that of Henry the second In the Conquerours time you will find it thus represented Rodbertus de Romeney tenet 1 Manerium de Brock ad firmam de Cibo Monachorum pro 1 Sulling defendebat se nunc pro Dimidio valet 4 l. This upon the Surrender of the abovesaid Cloister and its Revenue into the Hands of Henry the eighth was enstated on the newly erected Dean and Chapter of Christ Church and there was lodged untill this Age of Discomposure and Distraction and now it is rent off Bromley gives Name to the whole Hundred where it is situated and hath been many Ages part of the Demeasne of the Church since it was given as appears by the Records of the Church of Rochester by John Later a Goldsmith of London to the Bishop of that Sea in the year of our Lord 1300. There are two Seats within this Parish which were alwaies of temporall Interest and pretend to a deep Antiquity The first is Sundridge which formerly was the Patrimony of a noble Family called Blund Peter le Blund was Constable of the Tower of London the thirty fourth of Henry the third and Ralph le Blund his Grandchild paid respective Aid for his Lands at Bromley which he there held by a whole Knights Fee of the Bishop of Rochester in the twentieth of Edward the third and when this Name was entombed in a Female Heir this Seat went with her to the Willoughbies from whom the Earl of Lindsey is descended and when some years it had rested in this Family by the Circumstance of Purchase it became the Patrimony of Booth when this Name was likewise wound up in an Heir Generall the Betenhams of Pluckley by matching with her became Lords of this Manfion and and continue still Proprietaries of it Simpsons is the second Seat of Account though in Ages of a later Inscription it contracted that Name yet anciently it was the Demeasne of Bankewell a Family of Signall Repute in this Track John de Bankewell had a Charter of Free Warren to his Lands in Bromley in which this was involved in the thirty first of Edward the first and Thomas de Bankewell dyed seised of it in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third and when this Family was shrunk at this Place into a finall extinction the next who were eminent in the Possession of it were the Clarks and one William Clark that flourished here in the Reign of Henry the fifth that he might not be obnoxious to the Statute of Kernellation obtained Licence to erect a strong little Pile of â—ime and Stone with an embattell'd Wall encircled with a deep Moat which is supplyed and nourished with a living Spring but this mans posterity did not long enjoy it for about the latter end of Henry the sixth John Simpson dwelt here by right of Purchase and he having much improved the ancient Fabrick setled his Name upon it and indeed that is all that 's left to Evidence they were once Owners of it for in an Age or two after this it was conveyed to Mr. John Stiles of Bekenham Esquire from whom descends Sir Humphrey Stiles Knight and Baronet Cupbearer to the late K. Charles and him does Simpsons confesse for its instant Owner There is a Well in the Bishops Park called St. Blases Well which anciently had an Oratory annexed to it dedicated to St. Blasius which was much frequented at Whitsontide because Lucas who was Legat for Sixtus the fourth here in England granted an indulgent remission of forty Days injoyned Pennance to all those who should visit this Chappell and offer up their Orizons there in the three Holy-days at Pentecost Boughton Montchensey is placed in the Hundred of Twyford and hath that Addition annexed to it to signifie to us that it was once the Possession of the Family of Montchensey whose principall Seat was at Swanscamp where I shall treat more largely of them but though originally they held this Place yet it was not long a Branch of their Demeasne for about the Beginning of Henry the third they had deserted the Possession and surrendred it up to Hougham of Hougham by Dover and Robert de Hougham dyed possest of it in the forty first year of Henry the third and had Issue Robert de Hougham after whose Death the Spindle prevailed against the Spear for he concluding in Daughters and Coheirs Bennet one of them was matched to John de Shelving and he by a Right derived from her was invested in the Possession and dyed seised of it in the fourth year of Edward the third and so did his Widow in the twenty second year of that Prince and with them the Name of Shelving expired in a Daughter and Heir called Helen who was affianced to John de Bourn and so he in her Right became entituled to the Signory of this Mannor but before the end of Richard the second this Family found likewise its Tomb in a Female Inheritrix who was married to Haut of Hauts Place in Petham and Edward Haut held this Mannor in the eighth year of Henry the fourth as appears by the Pipe Roll relating to that Time but after this it was not long united to their Inheritance for about the latter end of Henry the sixth by an old Court Roll I find it in the Tenure of Reginald Peckham Esquire and Katharine Peckham Widow of James Peckham his Son held it at her Death which was in the seventh year of Henry the seventh and after her Thomas Peckham Esquire her Descendant enjoyed it at his Decease which was in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and left it to his Son Reginald Peckham Esquire who about the latter end of the above mentioned Prince passed it away to Sir Thomas Wiat and he not long after alienated it to Robert Rudston Esquire who having been entangled in the unsuccesful Design of that Knight forfeited it to the Crown but was reinvested again in it by a new Concession in the second year of Queen Mary and much improved the ancient Structure with the increase of Building in the years 1567 and 1576 and left it to his Son and Heir Belknap Rudston Esquire who by his last Will and Testament setled it on his Kinsman Sir Francis Barnham in the year 1613 from whom it is now descended to that worthy person Mr. Robert Barnham Esquire his Son and Heir Wierton House is a
second place to be considered of in this Parish it borrows its Sirname from Adam de Wierton who as appears by old Deeds which by the Antiquity of their Character seem to commence from the Reign of King Henry the third was Possessor of this place and having inocculated his own Name upon it it sprouted out not in loose Suckers and Excrescencies but in those who were by lineal Descent from him justly and successively entituled to the Propriety of this Mannor untill the latter end of Richard the second and then it was by Sale transmitted to Robert Purse and there is one of this Name but whether this Man or his Son I am incertain who was Lord of Wierton House who lyes buryed in Boughton Church in the North Isle with this Inscription on a Plate of Brasse affixed to the Wall Hic jacet Robertus Purse qui obiit 145 bona multa huic contulit Ecclesiae that is he built the Belfrey and the North Isle and those are the good Works registred in his Epitaph and over his place of Sepulture his Portraicture in painted Glass was preserved entire untill the eruption of the late intestine War and then the tempestuous and ill managed or rather overheated Zeal of these Times which like an overheated Brain still concludes in Madnesse disordered it into a Heap of Ruines after this mans Exit I do not find it acknowledged this Family long for Robert Purse this mans Son alienated it to Richard Norton and his Wife Margaret Norton lyes enterr'd within that Seat which belongs to Wierton House as the Date on her Tombstone instructs me in the year 1470 and in this Family did the Title for many Generations inhabit untill that Age which fell under our Cognisance and then it was demised by Sale to Sir Anthony St. Leger of Ireland who still is the Proprietary of it Holbrook is the last Place to be taken Notice of in this Parish it was anciently involved in the Demeasne of a Family which in ancient Deeds and Court Rolls were written Halbroke and bore as is evident in old Registers and Armorials Azure A plain Crosse between four Mullets Or Frettee of the first and having continued here many Descents about the Beginning of Henry the fifth languished away and then the Propriety of this place came to confesse the Signory of Haut of Hautsbourn and dwelt in their Patrimony untill Sir William Haut determined about the latter end of Henry the eighth in two Female Coheirs whereof Joan was matched to Sir Thomas Wiat and he in her Right was enstated in the Inheritance of this place and about the latter end of Edward the sixth the Contract being fortified with his Ladyes consent passed it away to Smith Ancestor to Mr. ....... Smith who still possesses it as part of his Inheritance Boughton Alulph or Aluff in the Hundred of Wye had this appellative Distinction united to its Name to intimate to us that in the Saxons Time it owned the Jurisdiction of one Alulphus a Saxon into whose Name to derive his Memory down to us it hath been ever since adopted But in the Ages after the Conquest it was wrapped up in the Estate of the ancient Family of Burgherst now vulgarly called Burwash Robert dâ— Burgherst is the first who is brought on the Stage by publick Record and presented to our Remembrance and he held it at his Death which was in the thirty third year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 41. and is amongst the Register of those who accompanied that Triumphant and Succesfull Prince in his fotunate Expedition against the Scots and he left it to his Son Stephen de Burgherst who in the second year of Edward the second obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Boughton Aluff and in the third year of that Prince paid his Debt to Nature from whom it descended to his Son Stephen de Burwash who had a Renovation of the former Charter of Free-warren confirmed to this Mannor in the first year of Ed. the third his Son and Heirwas Bartholomew Lord Burgherst who had a Charter of Free-warren confirmed to all his Lands in which this was involved in the twelfth and sixteenth years of Edward the third and was certainly a Person of much Eminence in those Times for he is recorded by Daniell in his Chronicle to have been one of those to whom the abovesaid Prince committed the Conduct of his Army at the Battle of Crescy and was summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron as appears amongst the Summons of that Age he deceased in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third his Heir apparent was Bartholomew Lord Burgherst who was Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Household and was frequently summoned to sit as a Peere of the Realm by Edw. the third as it appears Registered in the late printed Abridgement of the Records of the Tower and he in the forty third year of Edward the third passed away this Mannor and much other Land to Walter de Pavely in Paveley the Possession was resident but untill the Beginning of Richard the second and then it was conveyed to Trivet but here it was of no long fixed continuance neither for Sir Thomas Trivet about the fifteenth year of the abovesaid Prince passed it away to Lewis Clifford from whom it descended to his Successor Lewis Clifford Esquire who in the twelfth year of Henry the sixth by a Fine then levied transplanted his right in it into William Wenlock and he not long after transmitted it by Sale to Richard Beauchampe Baron of Aburgavenny whose Son Richard Baron Aburgavenny concluded in Elizabeth Beauchampe his Sole Heir who was matched to Edward Nevil in her Right Lord of this Mannor whose Descendants constantly remained invested in the Inheritance untill the latter End of Henry the eighth and then it was alienated to Sir Thomas Moile and he dying without Issue Male Katharine his Daughter and Coheir fastned it to the Demeasn of her Husband Sir Thomas Finch where it hath ever since remained so constant and permanent that it now confesses the Signory of the right honourable Heneage Finch the instant Earl of Winchelsey Seaton Ulley and Potbery are three little Mannors lying within the Verge of this Parish the first of which held in grand Serjeantie of the Crown with this respective Service to be performed by the Lord of the Fee Esse vantrarius Regius quando Rex iverit in Vasconiam donec per usus fuerit pari Solutarum pretio 4 d. which wiser Heads who pretend to unravell the Intrigues and Criticisms of Law Latin interpret thus to be the Kings fore Footman when he shall go into Gasconie untill he hath worn out a pair of Shoes which cost 4 d. All these Mannors were wrapped up in the Demeasn of Crioll and Bertram de Crioll died seised of them in the twenty third year of Edward the first whose onely Daughter Joan being matched to Richard de Rokesley called in some old Records Sir
the Rowths of Darbyshire from which Alliance Sir John Rowth claims at this instant the Possession Nash Court is a Seat of very reverend Antiquity especially since for some Centuries of years it hath been as is apparent by their own private Evidences the Mansion of the Hawkins a Family of deep Descent and illustrious Account in this Track but made more eminent by being the Cradle of that Learned Gentleman Sir Thomas Hawkins who for his accurate Translation of Caussinus his holy Court from the French Original into English and his other well polished Labours cannot be decyphered or limned out to Posterity under too worthy an Attribute Colkins is the last place though not of the least Account which in this Parish is to be considered it was built by John Colkin originally a Citizen of Canterbury and he at his Death which was in the tenth of Edward the third was in possession of it there are several of this Mans Posterity which lye entombed in Boughton with a Griffin Segreant which was their Paternal Coat affixed to the Front of the Gravestone William Colkin and Agnes his Wife are there enterr'd with this Inscription Orate pro animâ Will. Colkin Agnet Ux. qui quidem obierunt Anno Dom. 1460. and the rest is defaced this Mans Father John Colkin sleeps there with this Inscription annexed to the Marble Hic jacet Johannes Colkin qui obiito ctavo Die Aprilis Anno Dom. 1405. But not long after the Decease of William Colkin abovesaid did the Possession of this Seat continue permanent in this Family for his Son John Colkin sold it to Henry Petit Father to Cirjacus or Sidrach Petit who drew up a Survey of all the Mannors of Kent which held by Knights Service of the Crown in the twenty eigth year of Henry the eighth from whom Mr. Petit the present Lord of Colkins does extract both his Descent and Title Dane Court in this Parish also cannot be passed by without some Inspection In elder Times Sir Allan de Dane challenged the Signorie of it and as he took his Sirname from it so he had his Habitation here in the Reign of Edward the third and it continued a Mansion for his Descendants divers years after but in the Reign of Henry the fourth I find the Foggs Lords of the Fee the last of which that held it was Sir Jo. Fogge who died possest of it as appears by his Will in the seventeenth year of Henry the seventh and left it to his Son and Heir Sir Jo. Fogge from which Family not many years after it came to own the Propriety of Petit of Colkins in the Descendant of which Family the Interest of it is yet resident Tho. At Hurst here founded a Chappel in the eighth of Richard the second and dedicated it to Saint Nicholas which was for the use of Lazars and poor Leprous people lodged in an Hospital not far distant of this Mans Foundation also Bourdfield or Boresfield in the Hundred of Eyhorn was formerly a Parish and the remains of some part of the Stonework of the Church as likewise the Bounds of the Church-yard are yet obvious but since its decay it hath been incorporated into Oltringden and is now looked upon as an Hamblet of that Parish It was for many Descents the Patrimony of the Lords Cobham of Sterborough and so continued untill Thomas Lord Cobham died in the eleventh year of Edward the fourth and left one onely Daughter and Heir called Ann Cobham who was matched with Edward Borough after in her Right as Heir General created Lord Borough of Sterborough from whom this Mannor descended to his Grandchild Thomas Lord Borough who in the twenty fifth year of Q. Elizabeth conveyed it to John Pakenham and he not long after alienated it to John Lewin Esquire in which Family it remained untill our Remembrance and then by the Heir General it was carried off to Rogers of the County of Somerset and the like vicissitude hath by the Female Inheritrix of that Family brought it now to acknowledge Charles Cavendish Viscount Mansfield Heir apparent to William created Marquess Newcastle by the late King at Oxford Bishops-Bourn in the Hundred of Bredge and Petham is called so because it was given by K. Kenulfus at the Request of Athelard Arch-Bishop of Canterbury to the Priory of Christ Church in the year of Grace 789 and in the Charter there is a Recital of one Aldhun a pious Citizen of Canterbury who first bequeathed it to that Covent and the Charter of Confirmation informs us that it was given to the Monks ad Vestimentum corum for a supply of Vesture In the year 811. Arch-Bishop Ulfred exchanged Eastry of Bourn with the Covent above mentioned and in the Demeasne of that See it lay couched untill the latter end of Hen. the eighth and then Tho. Arch-Bishop of Canterbury exchanged it for other Lands with Sir Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury who in the thirty fourth year of the abovesaid Prince conveyed it to Sir Anthony Aucher Ancestor to Sir Anthony Aucher Knight and Baronet the instant Proprietary both of this and Hautsbourn which next summons a Remembrance Hauts-bourn before it was enlarged with the Additional Appellation of Haut afforded both Seat and Sirname in elder Times to a Family of venerable Antiquity in these Parts John de Bourn lived here and had a Charter of Free-warren granted to it in the seventeenth year of Ed. the first but when this Name resolved into a Daughter and Heir who was married to Shelving this Mannor lost the Name of Bourn and was called by Addition Shelving Bourn and remained sometime under that Notion untill a Vicissitude of the same Nature with the former entombed this in a Female Inheritrix likewise who being married to Edw. Haut the first Addition was removed and wrapped up in a second for thenceforth in publick Records it was frequently stiled Hauts-bourn and so continued under that Name and in that Family untill Sir William Eaut about the latter end of Hen. the eighth dying without Issue Male this Family determined in two Daughters and Coheirs one of whom called Elizab. being matched to Sir Thowas Colepeper of Bedgebury brought Bourn to be the Inheritance of that Family and he in the thirty fourth year of Henry the eighth passed it away to Sir Anthony Aucher descended from Aucherus the Saxon who was of eminent Note at Newenden in this County of whom more shall be spoken when I come to treat of that place Bursted is the last Place to be taken Notice of in this Parish which in ancient Deeds is written Burghsted and was the Inheritance of a Family of that Sirname but the cheifest Honour which it acquired in times of a more modern Aspect is that for several Descents last past it hath constantly confessed it self to be part of the propriety and Patrimony of Denne a Cadet of the Denns of Denne Hill Boxley in the Hundred of Maidston had an Abby filled with Cistertian Monks and
Grandchild John de Cobham in the thirty sixth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 43. Parte secunda And in this Family and its Descendants did they settle until the Reign of Henry the sixth and then by an old Survey of Chalke I find them in the Hands of Brent and continued in their Possession until the eighth year of Henry the seventh and then Jo. Brent Esq conveys them as appears by a Fine levied in that year to Sir Henry Wiat and his infortunate Grandchild Sir Thomas Wiat having by an unsuccesseful Solleviation or Rising forfeited them to the Crown in the second year of Queen Mary they remained there until Queen Elizabeth in the thirty seventh of her Rule granted them in Lease to Sir Peter Manwood who passed it to Menfield and he to Mr. James Crispe but the Fee-simple still remained lodged in the Royal Revenue until the late King Charles passed it away to the City of London in the year 1630 and that City the same year they were granted conveyed them to Mr. James Crispe who upon his Departure disposed them by Testament to his two Sons Mr. Thomas Crispe and Mr. James Crispe Challock in the Hundred of Calehill hath two places in it which may deservedly come within the Register of those Mannors which are in this Survey to be recorded The first is Otterpley which was an eminent Seat belonging to the ancient Family of Apulderfield The first that I find of Note in any publick Record to have possest it was Henry de Apulderfield who had the Grant of a Market and Fayre to his Mannor of Apulderfield in Coldham in the thirty eighth year of Hen. the third and this mans great Grandchild Henry de Apulderfield was Sheriff of Kent the fiftieth of Edward the third and held his Shrievalty at Challock His House was near East-well in the Earl of Winchelseys upper Park called Apulderfields Garden which is now so obscured in its own Ruins that we now with Difficulty trace out its Sepulcher made up of its own complicated Rubbish but this Mannor as to some Proportion of it was passed away before he was Sheriff to Edmund de Hant who held it at his Decease which was in the forty fourth year of Edward the third but neither of these Families lasted longer then the Beginning of Richard the second for then I find it entirely invested in Richard Lord Poynings who in the eleventh year of that Prince was possest of it at his Death and left it to his Sole Heir Eleanor matched to Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland in whose Successors the Right was constantly fixed until the twenty third year of Henry the eighth and then it was conveyed by Henry Earl of Northumberland to Sir Thomas Cheyney William Walsingham and William Fitz-Williams and they immediately after re-conveyed it to Sir Christopher Hales and his Son Sir James Hales about the latter end of Henry the eighth alienated it to Sir Thomas Moile by whose Daughter and Coheir Katharine it came to be the Inheritance of Sir Thomas Finch unhappily Shipwract by New-Haven in France a Person who deserved a longer Life and not so dark a Fate from whom by paternal Descent it is now transmitted to the right honourable Heneage Finch now Earl of Winchelsey Loringden and Deane are places in Challock worthy of Consideration There is a Tradition very frequent amongst the Country people in this Track that Loringden now altogether desolate and full of solitude was once the Mansion of Gentlemen of this Name one of which should have waged Combate with one of the Apulderfields of Otterpley not far distant about building a Chappel in the Valley which was pretended by Loringden to be erected on Land that was of his Fee-simple but because this without some more solid Foundation to support then Fame and Vulgar Report will appear but legend I will re-present to you what the original Muniments and Evidences have discovered to me in Relation to those who were Possessors of this place That there was a Family which bore the Name of Lourdingden or Loringden is most certain for there is a place in Challock which yet continues the Name of Lorindens Forestal but when I consulted the private Evidences of this place I found upon a serious Disquition they reached no higher then Henry the fourth and in his Reign it acknowledged it self to be of the Propriety of Cadman a Family grown into a reverend esteem by a long Prescription in this Track but the Name of Dean continued in being till the Reign of Henry the sixth and was in very ancient Deeds some of which are not limited with any Date written At Dean and A Dean and in that Princes Reign was by Sale passed away to the above mentioned Family of Cadman in which Name both Loringdean and Dean remained clapsed up till the entrance of K. James and then by a Sole Daughter and Heir they went over to Plomer who almost in our Memory transferred his Right in both of them by Sale to Peirce The Church of Challock being fallen down was new erected by the Apulderfields as the Glass windows and Stone work in divers places embroider'd and diaper'd with the Voided Cross which was their paternal Coat Armour do more then sufficiently testifie Cranebrook gives name to the Hundred wherein it is seated a Town very populous in respect it was one of the first places where the Manufacture of Clothing was professed and practised being brought into England in Edward the thirds Reign who by proposing rewards and granting many Immunities trained Flemings into this Nation in the tenth year of his reign to teach the English that Art of Draperie or Weaving and making woollen Cloth which is esteemed at this day one of the Butteresse which sustains the Common-wealth and certainly for making durable Broad clothes with very good Mixtures and perfect Colours Cranebrook doth with the most that way excell The first place of note in it which obviates the eye is Sisingherst but more properly and truly written Saxenhurst and as Bittenden not far distant derives its Name from the Brittons so in most probability did this take and assume its Denomination from the Saxons In Testa de Nevil a Book kept in the Exchequer which is a memorial of those who holding their Lands in the Knights Service paid relief in the twentieth year of Henry third towards the Marriage of the Kings Sister There is mention of John de Saxenhurst who was taxed for his Lands here at Cranebrook which certainly was this Sisingherst with the two little Mannors of Copton and Stone which had alwayes the same Owners with Sisingherst In times of a more modern Character the Berhams by the Female Heirs of Saxenhurst were Lords of Sisingherst with its two adjuncts Copton and Stone Richard de Berham who was Sheriff of Kent in the forty fourth year of Edward the third was here resident and is written of this place and Henry de Berham this mans Father paid respective
present Proprietary of it But though the Family be worn out at this place yet from a Cadet of this Name who did once possess Wierton in Boughton Quarry now the Mansion of Sir Anthony St. Leger did Sir Gregory Norton now of Sussex Knight and Baronet lately deceased originally sprout forth There is another place in this Parish called the Den of Ivetegh which was anciently the Inheritance of a Family who bore that Name and though the Deeds now in the Hands of my Cozen Mr. Thomas Petley of Vilston do discover the Possession to be resident in this Name no higher then the Rule of Henry the fixth yet it is probable because the Name was local it was theirs long beyond that Time from Ivetegh it came to Mascall a Family whose Estate was formerly at Berming and from this Name it was by Sale demised to Lambe who some three descents since alienated his Interest in it to Perry extracted from the Perrys of Worcestershire but this Family lately determining in Females Elizabeth marryed to Mr. Thomas Petley of Vilston Ann and Mary these three are the Vihble Coheits of that Estate which related to it Crayford in the Hundred of Little and Lesness contains diverse places in it of eminent Consideration fitst Howbery offers it self up to our View It was in the Reign of Henry the third and Edward as appears by ancient Court Rolls and other Evidences the Patrimony of the noble Family of Northwood who held it for severall Descents in an uninterrupted Channel untill the Reign of Richard the second and then the Title and Propriety of it was by the Revolution of Sale transplanted into Abermill but here the Possession was so cursory and transient that before the end of Henry the fourth it was surrendred to Nicholas Carew of Surrey and John Cornwallis of London who by joynt Concurrence in the fifth year of Henry the fifth conveyed it to Richard Bryan and he in the first year of Henry the sixth passed it away to Roger Apylton one of the Auditors to that Prince and his Father Henry the fifth and Agnes his Wife Widow of Thomas Coveley or Cowley and the Reversion in Fee to her Son Thomas Cowley which accordingly after her Decease descended to him and from him it was transported by Descen to his Grandchild John Cowley who in the twenty second year of Henry the eighth alienated it to John Judde whose Son Henry Judde about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth resigned up the Possession by Sale to Sir Richard Fane in whose Family after it had fixed untill that Age which was within the Confines of our Fathers Remembrance it was by Purchase made the Patrimony of Draper and is still the Inheritance of Master ........ Draper now in his Minority Newbery is the second place of Account which was in elder Times ennobled by being parcell of that Inheritance which confessed the Dominion of St. John and Edward St. John as appears by the Records of this place flourished here in the Reign of Edward the first and Edward the second and dying without Issue left his Estate here to Isabell his Sister and Coheir matched to Henry de Burgherst and he in her Right dyed possest of it the twenty third year of Edward the third as appears Rot. Esc Num. 94. parte secunda After this Family was crumbled away at this place I find it folded up in the Demeasne of Poynings the last of which who enjoyed it was Thomas Poynings who about the Beginning of Henry the sixth conveyed it to John Kingston Esquire in which Family it made its aboad untill the Reign of Henry the eighth and then I find it departed from this Name and cast into the Possession of Sir Thomas Lisley whose Descendant about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it to Apylton of Marshalls Court in this Parish where they had been resident many Descents before and Roger Apylton gave this and Marshalls Court in Dower with his Daughter Frances matched to Mr. Francis Goldsmith who almost in our Remembrance passed away Newberry to Draper Ancestor to Mr. Draper now Proprietary of it but Marshalls Court was alienated to Pix whose Descendant not many years since sold his Interest in it to Mrs. Touse of London who hath setled it in Marriage on her Daughter matched to Collonel Wood of Kingston on Thames Ellam is the last place of Remark in Crayford it gave Seat and Sirname to a good old Family who for many Descents passed under the Notion and Estimate of Gentlemen before they deserted the Possession of this Seat and bore Argent a Sword in Bend Dexter Sables Henry Ellam dyed 1471 and lyes entombed in Crayford Church John Ellam deceased 1481 and had there likewise his place of Sepulture both whose Monuments Time and a Casual Fire invading the Church have miserably dismanteled the last of this Name who was possest of this place was John Ellam who in the sixteenth year of Henry the seventh alienated it to Henry Harman who was then Clerk of the Crown in which Family it continued untill the latter end of King James and then it was passed away with May Street which Henry Harman abovesaid purchased of Cowley and Bulbeck of Bubeck Street in this Parish in the twentieth of Edward the fourth to Draper whose Descendant Mr ....... Draper is entituled to the Interest of both these places The Arch Bishops of Canterbury had anciently some Concernment in Crayford for as I find by Record William Arch Bishop of Canterbury in the twentieth of Richard the second obtained the Grant of a Market to this place to be weekly observed on the Tuesday and a Fair yearly on the Vigil the Day of our Ladies Nativity and four Dayes after Northcrey lies in the Hundred of Rokesley and though an obscure Village in it self yet is made eminent by containing within its Limits the Mannor of Rokesley which contributes a name to the whole Hundred it was as high as can by Record be traced the Inheritance of Rokesley Greogrie de Rokesley Lord Maior of London in the year 1275 which was in the third year of Edward the first an eminent man in those times he was for as by the Chartularies of London it appears he was Keeper of the Kings Exchange in London and Say-master Generall of the Kings Mint nor was his Son of less reputation for Sir Richard de Rokesley so was he called was Seneschal of Poictou and Governour of Montreul in Picardy about the latter end of Edward the first but died without issue Male and left Ioan his Daughter and Heir who was matched to Sir Thomas de Poynings Father of Richard Lord Poynings and so Rokesley became the Inheritance of that Family but Northcrey remained longer in Rokesley for Roger de Rokesley a Cadet of this Family paid respective Aid for Northcrey in the twentyeth year of Edward the third but it seems went out without Issue so that Northcrey devolved to Poynings as the next of Alliance for Richard Lord
it is observable that in these Assemblies and in other Recorded by Sir Henry Spelman either the King immediately or else some Thane which was a Dignity equivalent to our English Baron who did Personate the Prince was joyntly President with the Bishop that as one took Cognisance of the Affaires of the Church so the other managed the Concernments and Interest of the State and this was done with much of Reason and Prudence in the original Constitution of these Synods for the mingling the divided Interests of the Laitie and Clergie together and making them mutually to interfere extinguished all jealousie and Emulation between them and by consequence all those black effects and inconveniences which are still the Retinue to those two Furies for we cannot be so Citizens of the Common-wealth but we must be Sons of the Church nor so Sons of the Church the Temporall and Spirituall Interest are so complicated together but we must in some relation be Citizens of the Common-wealth and what causeth annoyance to the one creates disturbance to the other for like Hippocrates Twins they laugh and mourn and live and die together But to proceed when this Mannor had for many Ages been incorporated with the Inheritance of the Church Henry the eighth judging the Clergie grown too Luxuriant in a wide Revenue prun'd off this and Malingden a Mannor which was ever an Appendage to Cliffe as two superfluous Excrescencies and engraffed them again in the Royall Demeasn but suddenly after Cliff was by this Prince granted to George Brooke Lord Cobham and he left it to his Son Sir William Brooke Lord Cobham who enstated it by entaile on his second Son George Brooke and in Defailance of Issue male by him surviving to the next Heir male of the Name after this man was beheaded at Winchester in the second year of King James this devolved to his Son Sir William Brooke who dying without Issue male in the year 1643. Sir Jo. Brooke now Lord Cobham became his Heir Malingden was by Queen Elizabeth granted to William Ewens who quickly after this Concession transferred his Interest in it by Sale to Brown from whom by as sudden a Decursion the Title by Purchase went in to Sompner who in Times which almost attaque our Remembrance sold it away to Hills Perry Court in Cliffe was always a Limb of the Revenue of the Family of Cobham and so for many Hundred years continued till Henry Brooke Lord Cobham being wound up in that fatal and mysterious Design of the noble but infortunate Sir Walter Rawleigh in the Time of King James forfeited this to the Crown but this Seat was by the abovesaid Prince after the Death of Frances Widow to the abovesaid Henry Lord Brook granted to Robert Cecill Earl of Salisbury in Reversion who married Elizabeth Brook this Lords Sister and his Son Will. Earl of Salisbury Knight of the Garter and Captain of the Band of Pentioners to his late Majesty passed it away by Sale to Bernard Hide of London Esq whose Grandchild Mr. Bernard Hide does enjoy the present Fee-simple of it Cardans is the last Mannor in Cliffe which untill the publique Dissolution tore it off belonged to the Charter-House in London and being thus ravished away was by Henry the eighth in the thirty first year of his Reign granted to Thomas Gethins from which Family not many years since it passed away by Sale to Oliver Leder and was lately if it be not still in the Tenure and Possession of that Name West-Clive vulgarly called West-Cliff in the Hundred of Bewsborough was the Patrimonial Inheritance of the Lord Cobham of Sterborough Castle in Surrey a younger Branch of the Lord Cobham of Cobham Reginald de Cobham second Son of John de Cobham was summoned to Parliament as Baron of Sterborough in the twenty second year of Edward the third and dyed possest of this Mannor and much other Land in Kent and Surrey in the forty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 15. and so it remained interwoven for some Descents with the Demeasne of this Family till Thomas Lord Cobham this mans great Grandchild resolved into Ann Cobham who was his Female Heir who by being espoused to Edward Borough Lord Gainsborough linked this to his Demeasne and Propriety but it was unloosned in Thomas Lord Borough this Mans Grandchild who in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth alienated his Interest in it to Guibon whose Grandchild Mr Thomas Guibon is invested in the instant Possession of it Bere Court or Mannor in this Parish was formerly a parcell of the Demeasne of a Family who in times more ancient fell under this Denomination Williant de Bere was Bailiff of Dover and was to account the profits to the Constable of Dover Castle Anno secundo Edwardi primi Memb. 19. Anno quarto Edwardi primi Memb. 34. After this Family had waved the Possession of this place the Tookes were setled in the Inheritance and by a Decursion of many Ages have brought down the Inheritance to Mr. Charles Tooke who is the instant Possessor of Bere Cobham in the Hundred of Shamell afforded a Seat and Sirname to that noble and splendid Family * Sir Hen. de Cobham Sir Reginald de Cobham Sir Stephen de Cobham Sir Henry de Cobham le Uncle are enrol'd in the Register of those Knights who were assistant to K. Edward the first at the Seige of Crlaverock in Scotland in the twenty eighth year of his Reign who from hence borrowed the originall Denomination of Cobham and certainly this place was the Cradle or Seminary of Persons who in elder times were invested in Places of as signall and principall a Trust or Eminence as they could move in in the narrow Orbe of a particular County Henry de Cobham was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the first year of K. John who were in some proportion equivalent to the Judges Itinerant for they took Cognisance of all Causes Criminal declared to be so by the Laws then in force and likewise determined in sundry Actions of a meer Civill Aspect either Reall Personal or Mixt Reginald de Cobham Son of John de Cobham was Sheriff of Kent from the Beginning of the thirty third year of Henry the third to the end of the fortieth year of the said Prince and was again Sheriff in the forty second year of the above mentioned Prince in which year he dyed and Roger de Northwood and his other Executors answered for the Remainder of the year Sir Henry de Cobham was Sheriff of Kent the twenty ninth thirtieth and part of the thirty first year of Edward the first he is written in the old Rolls of the Arms of the Knights of Kent Henry Cobham le Vncle that is he was Uncle to the Lord Cobham he lies buried in Shorne Church with his Portraicture armed in Mail and Crosselegg'd with a Barons Robes cast over but whether he were ever actually engaged in the Defence of the Crosse and
Croyden in which Family the Inheritance is yet remaining Dimchurh in the Hundred of Worth hath nothing to make it memorable but that it was formerly the Inheritance of Twitham Bertram de Twitham held Lands here at his Death which was in the third year of Edward the third as appears Rot. Esc Num. 115. And from him it came down to Theobald Twitham whose Daughter and Heir Mawd was married to Simon Septuans from whom descended John Septuans whose Daughter and Heir was matched to Fogge who in her Right was entituled to much Land here at Dimchurch and in other places of the Mersh but the Family of Poynings had likewise some Interest here for Michael Poynings was seised in Fee of some Lands in Dimchurch in the forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 14. Parte secunda and in this Name was the Possession carried on untill the Beginning of the Reign of Henry the sixth and then it was alienated to Fogge. Newhall in this Parish is the place where those which are the Lords of Romney Mersh that is of so many Mannors which lye within the Precincts the Liberties of it assemble yearly to compose Laws for the better regulating and securing the Banks of the Mersh against the perpetuall Invasions and Encroachments of the Sea Ditton in the Hundred of Larkefield with its two Appendages Brampton and Sifleston were in times of a very high ascent the Patrimony of a Family called Brampton the Book of Aid which makes a Recapitulation of the ancient owners informs us that anciently they were Bramptons that is in the Reign of King John and Henry the third as the Pipe-Rolls relating to both those Kings times discover to us Afterwards in the Reign of Edward the first I find the Aldons by the Pipe-Rolls to have been Proprietaries of both these places but it seems the Possession remained not long with them for in the third year of Edward the second I find Stephen de Burghurst or Burwash died in the Possession of them as appears Rot. Esc Num. 4. And here the Title continued untill the forty third of Edward the third and then the Lord Bartholomew Burwash this mans Grandchild conveyed them to Sir Walter de Paveley Knight of the Garter and he in the first year of Richard the second passed them away to Windlesor or Windsor in which Family the Inheritance was placed untill the fifteenth year of this Prince's Reign and then they were conveyed to Sir Lewis Clifford but in this Name they made no long abode neither For about the middle of Henry the sixth I find they were alienated to Colepeper and I discover Richard Colepeper enjoyed them at his decease which was in the second year of Richard the third Rot. Esc Num. 28. and in this Family was the Possession lodged untill the latter end of Henry the seventh and then the vicissitude of Purchase brought them to acknowledge the Interest of Leigh and Thomas Leigh exchanged them with K. Henry the eighth and that Prince in the thirty seventh year of his Reign passed them away to Sir Thomas Wriothesley and in the original grant it is recited that they devolved to the Crown by exchange with Thomas Leigh Esquire and he not long after demised them to Sir Robert Southwell who in the second year of Queen Mary conveyed them to Sir Thomas Pope in which Family they remained untill the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then they were alienated to Wiseman from whom almost in our Memory they were by Sale translated into the Patrimony of Sir Oliver Boteler of Teston Grandfather to Sir Oliver Boteler Baronet who now is entituled to the Proprietie of them The Ropers held some Estate here at Ditton by Purchase from Clifford in the Reign of Henry the fifth which Edmund Son of Ralph Roper died seised of in the third year of Henry the sixth as appears Rot. Esc Num. 33. which his Successor not long after alienated to Colepeper Dodington in the Hundred of Eyhorne contains severall places in it of no contemptible Estimate The first is Sharsted which was the Patrimony of a Family which was known by that Sirname Robert de Sharsted enjoyed it at his death which was in the eighth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 61. But after this mans departure I do not find that it owned this Family any farther for this mans Sole Daughter and heir was matched to John de Bourne Son of John de Bourne who was Sheriff of Kent the twenty second the twenty third and twenty fourth years of Edw. the first and after in the fifth year of Edward the third Certainly this Family was in times of a very high Gradation as eminent for Estate as it was venerable for its Antiquitie Henry de Bourne made a Purchase of Lands and Rents in Duddington of Matilda the Daughter of John de Duddington as appears by a Fine levyed in the forty seventh year of Henry the third and the above-mentioned John de Bourn obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at Bourne Boxley Dodington and other places in the eighteenth year of Edward the first and from this John de Bourne did Mr. William Bourne in an even stream of Descent issue forth who almost in our Remembrance passed away Sharsted-Court to Mr. Delawne of London whose Son Mr. ....... Delawne is the instant Proprietarie of it Ringleston is a second place of note in this Parish of which there is a Tradition that it borrows its principal Appellation from a Ring and a Stone which those who were Tenants to this Mannor were to hold for such a proportion of time as an embleme of their acknowledged Homage and Subjection But this is but a fabulous romance in the whole frame of it the truth is Ring in Saxon imports as much as Borough or Village so that Ringleston signifies no more but the Village-Stone that is some eminent Stone which was placed there to signifie and discover the utmost extent and limits of the Borough Having unveil'd the Name and dispelled the Mist of the former fiction I shall now exhibite to the publique view who were the ancient Possessors of it and first I find the Chalfehunts a Familie of a spreading Demeasne and no lesse reputation in this Track Henry de Chalfehunt died possest of it in the forty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 14. After him Humfrey Son and heir of Thomas Chalfehunt was in the enjoyment of it at his Death which was in the ninth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 14. After this Family was expired the Hadds a Family which was sometimes written Haddis and sometimes le Hadde which argues it to be of French Etymologie was planted in the Possession and remained many years invested in the Fee till about the beginning of Q. Elizabeth it passed away by Sale from them to Archer from whom not many years after the same fatalitie brought it to devolve to Thatcher who not many years since
of Edw. the second and Edw. the third whose great Grandchild Will. Garwinton dying without Issue Joan his Kinswoman matched to Richard Haut was in the ninth year of Henry the fourth found to be his Heir not only to this place but to much other Land in this Territory and she had Issue Richard Haut who concluded in a Female Heir whose Name was Margery who by matching with William Isaack linked this Mannor to his Revenue Thus farre this Manuscript Who were the Possessors since the Court-Rolls which do not ascend very high now in the Custody of Mr. Hugben discover The first Family which they recite is Hales and it remained in the Inheritance of that Name till towards the end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was by Sale transported over to Manwood who some few years after disposed of his Interest in it by the same Alienation to Sir Rob. Lewknor upon whose Decease it devolved to his Son Mr. Hamon Lewknor Esquire who hath upon his Death during the Minority of his Son left the Possession to be enjoyed by his Widow Bowick is a sixth place which must now come within the pale of this Discourse It was in Times of elder Inscription the Seat of the Lads who in diverse of their ancient Muniments and Evidences writ de Lad. Now if you will know where that place is seated I answer it is situated in Chart by Sutton where there is an ancient Farme which formerly had the Repute of a Mannor and is at this instant as it was in Ages of a higher Step known by the Name of Lads and was till almost our Grandfathers Memory in the Tenure of that Family after Lad was departed from the Possession of this Place the Nethersolls by Purchase were about the Beginning of Henry the seventh incorporated into the Possession and staid in it some few years and then alienated their Interest here to Aucher who about the latter end of Henry the eighth resigned the Title by Sale to Wroth in which Family it was resident until some few years since it was passed away to Elgar Oxroad is a seventh Mannor in Elham In a very old Court-Roll now in the hands of Mr. Shetterden of Eltham one John de Oxroad is represented to be the Possessor and in others of a more modern Complexion which bear date from Henry the fourth and so downwards untill the beginning of Henry the eighth the Hinckleys are discovered to us to be the Proprietaries of it and then this Name was extinguished in a Daughter and Heir for Isabell was the only Child of Thomas Hinckley who by espousing Joan Bene carried this place into the Possession of that Family where it was constantly fixed untill of late years the Title was by Sale transplanted into Mr. Daniell Shetterden of Eltham descended from the Shetterdens of Shetterden in great Chart which Land they have possest for diverse hundreds of years Ladwood is an eighth Mannor in this Parish written in old Evidences Ladswood from whence we may spin out a more then probable Conjecture that before the erecting the house by Rolfe it was a Wood belonging to Lad of Bowick but for some hundreds of years that is fince the latter end of Edward the third it hath constantly related to the Family of Rolfe a Name which Mr. Thinne conjectures in a Pedigree which he collected of this Family was contracted from the ancient German Name Rodolphus and Mr. Lambert in his Kentish Perambulation mentions one Rolph a Saxon who added much to the Castle of Rochester from whom it is not altogether improbable this Family which hath been so ancient at Elham might extract their first original Clavertie is the last place in this Parish which may exact our mention it did belong before the Suppression to the Knights Hospitallers and was one of those places in this Track which was a Commaundry to the more general Seminary of this Order planted at Edwell Upon the Dissolution of this Order here in England by Henry the eighth who condemned their Disorder and Luxury only to improve his own like the Lapwing who cries most when she is farthest off from her Nest this was added to the Demeasne of the Crown and King Edward the sixth granted it to Peter Heyman Esquire who was one of the Gentlemen off his Bedchamber and great Grandfather to Sir Henry Hamon Baronet who was the late Proprietarie of this Mannor of Claverty a person to whom if I should not affirm my self signally and extraordinarily engaged I deserved to be represented to Posterity under the darkest Complexion of Ingratitude Eightam Hamon de Crevequer held Eigtham in the Reign of K. John and then Sim. de Crioll in the Reign of Henry the third as appears by old Evidences vulgarly but corruptly and falsely called Ightam lies in the Hundred of Wrotham and hath that Denomination imposed upon it from the eight Hams or Boroughs which lie within the Verge of it The first is Eightham it self the second is Redwell the third is Ivie-Hatch the fourth is Barrow Green the fifth is St. Cleres the sixth is the Moat the seventh is Beaulies and the eighth and last is Oldborough which puts in its Claim to be of Roman originall for when Leland visited Kent which was about the beginning of Henry the eighth there was some Remains of an ancient Fortification and it is probable that this being the way which led to the great Roman Colonie at Noviomagum now called Woodcot in Surrey was at this place fortified upon all emergent occasions to secure their Retreat from any hostile Eruption The Mannor of Eightam it self was the Possession of William de Inge one of the Judges in the Reign of Edward the second this William de Inge was by his Country and Parentage of the County of Bedford and had Issue William de Inge who matched with Margery Daughter of Henry Grapenell and dyed seised in the fifteenth of Edward the second of this Mannor of Eightham his Daughter and Heir Joan was wedded to Eudo Lord Zouch of Harringworth and William le Zouch of Harringworth dyed possest of it in the fifteenth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 64. And in this Name was the Propriety of this place for sundry Generations successively resident untill the beginning of Henry the seventh and then it was alienated to Sir Robert Read Serjeant at Law and Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas who not long after going out in four Daughters and Coheirs Dorothy matched to Sir Edw. Wotton Margaret married to Sir John Harecourt of Elnall in the County of Stafford Katharine wedded to Sir Thomas Willoughbie Lord Chief Justice of the Common pleas and Eliz. espoused to Tho. Totihurst Esq they divided his Inheritance and this Mannor upon the Distinction of it into parcells this was added to the Revenue of Willoughby from which Family in our Grandfathers Remembrance it passed away by Sale to Jam. descended from Jacob van Hastrecht who was anciently seated in Cleve
Ancestor to Will. James aliàs Hastretcht Esquire thrice Knight of the Shire within the Circle of five years who by Paternall Derivation is now Lord of this Mannor of Eightam Before I leave this Discourse of Eightam I must inform the Reader of two things First that Edward the second in the ninth year of his Reign granted Licence to Will. de Inge the Judge to hold a Market here Weekly on the Monday and a Fair yearly at Eightham by the space of three days viz. the Vigill the day of St. Peter and Paul and the day after Secondly that the Family of James now Possessors of Eightam were originally called Hastrecht as being Lords of a place of that Name neer Gouda and were branched out from the ancient Family of Arkell Ex Autographis penes Do. Will. James as likewise was that of Bouteslaw both which Families bear the same Coat without any visible Distinction with Haestrecht viz. Argent two Barrs Crenelle or Counterembattel'd Gules three Pheon or Broad Arrow Heads in Chief Sables Roger James Son of Jacob van Hastrecht came out of Cleve whither his Ancestor a yonger Son of the Lord of Hastrecht had been chased by one of the Lords of Holland because his Father who likewise was forced to Drunen neer Huesden by that Count had been an eager Partisan of his enemy the Bishop of Vtretcht into England about the beginning of Hen. the eighth and being called after the Belgick mode Roger Jacobs the English by a more soft and gentle pronunciation filed off the roughnesse of the Accent and by melting it into a more narrow Volume contracted it into James By marriage the Family of Haestrecht and Arkell above mentioned are allyed to the eminent House of Wassenaer issued out from the ancient Counts of Holland as likewise to the Family of Waermont neer Leyden who matched with the Heir of Hastrecht of Drunen where this Family had for many Descents been planted ever since their first expulsion thither by the Earl of Holland who was Colonel of a Regiment of Foot and Drosart of Breda when it was under the Government and Scepter of the King of Spain St. Cleres is the second place of Note in this Parish it was formerly called Aldham as being for many years the Patrimony of that Family the last of which was Sir Tho. de Aldham who resolved into three Female Coheirs ....... matched to Newborough of the County of Dorsett Margery matched to Martin de Pecham and Isolda wedded to John St. Clere. Upon the partition of his patrimony this place was about the beginning of Ed. the third annexed to the Inheritance of St. Clere and so it becamein procedure of Time styled Aldham St. Cleres but Custome and vulgar Use did not long after file off the first Appellation so that it hath for diverse Generations been styled singly St. Cleres Isolda St. Clere Widow of this John did in the twentieth year of Edward the third pay respective Aid for her Lands at Eightham at the making the Black Prince Knight And in this Family did the Stream of Possession carry down the Possession of this place till towards the latter end of Henry the seventh and then it was alienated from this Name and setled in Richard Empson the grand Projector who had wire-drawn by his close and dextrous Artifices the Treasure of the Kingdome into such subtile Threads as he had almost wound it all into the Kings Exchequer But he being convicted of Felony for his many Excesses in the first year of Henry the eighth this was confiscated to the Crown and there it was not many years after by that Prince granted to Sir Thomas Bullen Knight of the Garter and created Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire in the year 1529 whose infortunate Son George Viscount Rochford being blasted with the black Aspersion of Treason which was multiplyed and inforced to that Bulke that the weight of it sunk him upon a Bloody and untimely Scaffold and then this Mannor upon the Death of his Father which was in the thirtyeth year of Hen. the eighth was seised on by the Crown as being setled before on him and his Heirs male of whom this unhappy Lord was the last Some few years after it was by Royall Concession from the abovesaid Prince made the Patrimony of George Moulton Esquire of Moulton in Hadloe a Man of high Repute in those Times and much interessed in the Favour of Henry the eighth whose Grandchild Robert Moulton Esquire almost in Times within the pale of our Remembrance alienated his Right in it to Sir John Sydley Knight and Baronet who hath upon the old Foundation erected that magnificent Pile which for the Grandeur Elegance and Majestick Aspect it carryes to the publick View surrenders a Priority but to few Structures in this County The Moat is the third and last place which summons our Remembrance It was in elder Times the Inheritance of Ivo de Haut who flourished in the Reign of King John and Henry the third his Grandchild was Henry de Haut who held this Mannor at his Decease which was in the forty fourth of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 34. his Grandchild was Nicholas Haut who was Sheriff of Kent in the ninteenth year of Richard the second Afterwards I find that Richard Haut Grandchild to this Man was Sheriff of Kent the eighteenth year of Edward the fourth and again in the twenty second year of the abovesaid Prince he was second Brother to Sir William Haut of Hautsbourne who was Sheriff of Kent in the sixth yeer of Edward the fourth and great Uncle to Sir William Haut But this Richard Haut having with John Fogge John Guldford Esquire John Darell Esquire James Horne of Westwell William Clifford Reginald Pimpe John Pimpe and Edward Poynings of Marsham or Mersham embarked himself in the Designs of Henry Earl of Richmond John Darell Esq and John Pimpe Esquire had the Grant of thirteen Mannors lying in Worcester-shire made to them which accrued to the Crown upon the Attaint of Humphrey Stafford Esquire in the second year of Henry the seventh as appears Origin Anni 2. Hen. 7. Rot. 17. in the Treasurers side in the Exchequer and the emotion of Henry Duke of Buckingham he was attainted in the third year of Richard the third as appears Rot. Par. de Anno 3. R. 3. Memb. 6. And then the Moat by the Favour and Indulgence of that Prince was conferred on Sir Rob. Brakenbury Lieutenant of the Tower but he enjoyed it not long for Henry abovesaid having triumphed in a Successeful Encounter at Bosworth field over Richard the third and all his Partisans this was restored to Richard Haut above-said in which Family it remained untill the latter end of Henry the seventh and then by an old Court Roll I find it in the Possession of Sir Richard Clement Knight who was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty third year of Henry the eighth he dyed without any legitimate Issue and lies entombed
941 and was as Mr. Lambert out of some old Records conjectures to find the Covent with Eele-Pies If you will see how it was rated in the Conquerours Time Dooms-day Book will tell you that Farnelege est Manerium Monachorum est de Cibo eorum in tempore Edwardi Regis se defendebat pro VI. Sullingis est appretiatum XXII lb. This Mannor upon the Resignation of the Revenue of the above-mentioned Cloister coming to the Crown King Henry the eighth in the thirty fourth year of his Reign granted this and West-Farleigh which was given to the Priory of Christ-Church by Queen Eleanor in exchange for the Port of Sandwich which Donation of hers Edward the first as the Book of Christ-Church informs me fully ratified and confirmed and likewise devolved from the Crown upon the former Surrender to Sir Thomas Wiatt who was then one of his Privy Councel and remained entwined with his Demeasne untill his infortunate Attaint and Tragedy in the second year of Queen Mary brought them back as escheated and forfeited to the Crown The Mannor of East-Farleigh of vast Extent was lately sold by the State to Colonel Robert Gibbons and then that Princesse the same time granted the Mannor of West-Farleigh and the Site and Demeasne of East-Farleigh to her Atturney General Sir John Baker who dying in the first year of Queen Elizabeth gave East-Farleigh to his second Son Mr. John Baker and West-Farleigh to his Son and Heir Sir Richard Jo. Baker had Issue Sir Richard Baker who about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth passed away East-Farleigh to Sir ....... Vane of Burstow in Hunton in whose Descendants the Propriety of it continues at this instant but West-Farleigh devolved by Descent from the abovesaid Sir Richard to his great Grandchild Sir Jo. Baker Baronet who hath very lately conveyed it by Sale to Mr. Thomas Floyd of Gore Court in Otham Esquire Smiths Hill in East-Farleigh hath been ever since the Reign of Henry the sixth the Residence of the Brewers though that Seat where they were anciently planted before was Brewers in Merworth which was a Mansion entituled to the Possssession of this Family some hundreds of years and from whence William de Brewer did originally issue out who was Lieutenant of Dover Castle under King John to whom that King directs a special Praecipe or Command to deliver that important Fortresse to Hubert de Burgh Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports as appears Pat. 17. Reg. Joannis Memb. 2. Num. 102. This I rather mention to manifest that this Family anciently as now hath been under no contemptible Character in this County Totesham Hall lyes within the Limits of West-Farleigh and was the Mansion of a Family of eminent Rank in this Track Jo. de Totesham was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae as appears by the Pipe Rolls in the Reign of King John and he was Grandfather to John de Totesham who held this Seat at his Decease as appears Rot. Esc Num. 17. Taken in the fifth year of Edward the third And from him did it in an uneven Channel of Successive Interest come down to Anthony Totesham Esquire the last of this Name at this place who about the latter end of Henry the eighth alienated this and Henherst in Yalding to Chapman in which Family the Posession dwelt untill the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was by the same Conveyance passed to Lawrence from which Name not many years since it went away by Purchase to Augustine Skinner Esquire descended from an ancient Family of the Skinners in Lincolne-Shire and now by this new Acquisition transplanted into Kent Farningham in the Hundred of Clackstan vulgarly called Acstane with the Moiety of Chartons was in the Time of the Conquerour held of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury by Ansgodus Rubitoniensis that is Ansgod de Rosse and was rated in Dooms-day Book at one Sulling or Ploughland as it was before in the Reign of Edward the Confessor But this Name of Rosse determining here about the end of Henry the third it came afterwards to be the Pattimony of Fremingham and Ralph de Fremingham obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to this Mannor in the fifty fifth year of Henry the third after whom it descended fortified and fenced in with this new acquired Priviledge to John de Fremingham who was first Assistant to John de Malmains of Faukham not far distant in his Office of Sheriff which was in the tenth of Edward the second and was afterwards Sheriff of this County himself in the twelfth year and then again in the eighteenth and nineteenth years of the above-mentioned Prince and dyed possest of Farningham in the twenty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 145. Pars secunda Ralph de Fremingham this Mans Son was Sheriff of Kent the thirty second of Edward the third and in the twentieth year of that Prince paid an auxiliary Contribution at the making the Black Prince Knight for Lands conveyed over to him by his Father and whose Tenure was in Knights Service and lay in this Parish and held them at his Decease which was in the thirty eighth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 19. This Mans Son and Heir was John Fremingham who was one of the Conservators of the Peace of this County in the first year of Richard the second and Sheriff of Kent in the second year of that Prince and afterwards had the Custody of this County again in the twelfth year of Henry the fourth but dyed without Issue so that Ann his Sister matched to Roger Isley of Sundrich became his Heir and so Farningham was with her brought to acknowledge the Interest of this Family from whom it devolved to John Isley whose Widow Alice Isley dyed possest of Farningham in Right of Jointure in the first year of Henry the eighth and from her it devolved to her Son Thomas Isley and he dyed seised of it in the eleventh year of Henry the eighth and it was found at his Decease that it was held in Knights Service of Dover Castle by the payment of a Rent-service of twenty one Shillings per An. and had the Estimate of a whole Knights Fee After him his Son Sir Henry Isley succeeded in the Possession of this place and being infortunately convicted of high Treason in the second year of Queen Mary Farningham and Chartons escheated to the Crown and that Princesse in the same year granted it back to his Son William Isley Esquire and he in the third and fourth of Philip and Mary by a Deed enroll'd in Chancery passes away Farningham and the Moiety of Chartons to William Roper Esquire Grandfather to Sir Anthony Roper and Mr. Henry Roper from whom upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Will made by his Brother Sir Anthony Roper wherein he demises the Fee-simple to Sir John Cotton of Cambridge-Shire it is by Verdict taken away and enstated on the above mentioned Person The other Moiety of Chartons gave Sirname
to a Family who held it as appears by Testa de Nevill in the twentieth year of Henry the third In Times of a lower Descent it was the Possession of a good old Family called Groveherst William de Groveherst paid respective Aid for it at making the Black Prince Knight and from him it devolved to his Successor Richard Groveherst who in the Reign of Henry the fourth determined in three Daughters and Coheirs espoused to Richard Tickhill Richard Hextall and John Petit who about the Beginning of Henry the sixth passed one Moiety of it to John Martin whose Successor and Descendant Edward Martin above-mentioned passed it away with Franks mentioned in Horton Kirkby in whose Revenue it lyes now couched about the beginning of Q. Elizabeth to Alderman Bathurst from whom with Franks it is now devolved by Descent to be the Inheritance of Sir Edward Bathurst Ralph de Fremingham obtained a Weekly Market to his Mannor of Farningham on the Tuesday and a Fair yearly to continue for four Days the Vigil the day of St. Peter and Paul and two days after by Grant from Henry the third in the fifty fifth year of his Reign Pat. An. 55. Hen. 3. Memb. 12. Which Grant was renewed and confirmed to John de Fremingham in the seventh and eighth years of Richard the second Chimbham is another Mannor in this Parish which did give Name to a Family of that Appellation for I find in the Book of Aid that when John de Fremingham pays Aid for his Mannors of Farningham and Chimbham there is a Recitall of Lawrence de Chimbham which formerly held it in the Reign of Henry the third But it is evident both by that Record and by the Inquisition taken after his Death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the third that John de Fremingham held it and transmitted it to his Son Ralph de Fremingham whose Son and Heir John Fremingham dying without Issue Ann his Sister entred upon the Possession of this as his next Heir and brought it with her to her Husband Roger Isley of Sundridge And so this Family became concerned in it and kept their Interest here until the Reign of Henry the seventh and then it was passed away to Sibill of Littlemoat in Ainsford in which Name the Propriety had not been long wrapt up when this Family found its Sepulcher in a Female Heir For Ed. Sibell the last of this Name resolved into a Daughter and Heir matched to Hide and he not many years since conveyed it by Sale to Alderman Bunce of London Fairfield in the Hundred of Langport was given to the Church of Christ-Church in Canterbury by St. Edm. Arch-bishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University of Oxford about the year 1238 and more to fortifie the Donation affixed his Seal Sigillo suo confirmavit say the Records of Christ-Church to the originall Grant This upon the Suppression was upon the Institution of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury by Henry the eighth confirmed by Grant to them Faukham in the Hundred of Acstane was the Seat and gave the Sirname to an ancient Family called Faukham The first whom I find upon Record is Walleran de Faukham who flourished here in the Reign of Henry the second as appears by the Book called Nova Feoffamenta taken in that Princes Reign and kept in the Exchequer Afterwards in Times of a more modern date it acknowledged the Signory of the Lord Grandison Baron of Ferneborough and Otho de Grandison is said in the Book of Aid with Gilbert de Kirkbie to have held one Knights Fee in Faukham of the Bishop of Rochester which Rose de Faukham and William de St. Clere of Ford in Wrotham formerly held and this Otho Lord Grandison held it at his Death which was in the thirty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 41. And left it to his Son Thomas Grandison who dyed without Issue in the forty ninth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 36. So that his Estate here and in other places was divided between his Sisters and Coheirs whereof this came to be possest by Sir John Northwood in Right of Agnes one of his Sisters from whom by a constant Line of Succession it was guided down to his Son Sir Roger Northwood who was extinguished in a Female Heir called Albina Northwood matched to John Diggs of Diggs Court in Berham Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent in the second year of Henry the fourth and so in her Right this Mannor devolved to this Family and lay couched in their Estate until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Barham of Berham-Court in Teston In which Name the Propriety had not been long resident when Thomas Barham Esquire concluded in a Daughter and Heir called Ann who was espoused to Sir Oliver Boteler who cast this into his Revenue from whom it is now come down to Sir Oliver Boteler Baronet only Son of Sir William Boteler slain at Cropready Bridge in asserting the Royall Quarrell Frendsbury in the Hundred of Shamell hath severall places in it worthy of our Cognisance The first is Eslingham which was given to the Church of St. Andrews in Rochester by Kenulfus King of Mercia as the Book called Textus Roffensis informs me But by the Registers of that Church I find that John de St. Clere held it in Lease of the Covent about the ninth year of Edward the third and after him a Family called Neal who had large Possessions about Higham were Lessees to the Cloister In the sixth year of Henry the sixth I find John Rykeld held it and kept his Shrievalty at this place after him a Family called Frogenhall was by Right of Lease in the Reign of Henry the seventh possest of it but upon the Suppression of this Monastery of St. Andrews in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth this Mannor was found to be Lease to Audley and Fisher and then the Fee-simple in Reversion was granted to Thomas Lord Cromwell Earl of Essex who being by the Malice of his Enemies who had raised all their Black Engines of Mischief upon him aspersed with the Calumnious Reproach of high Treason was attainted in the thirty second year of Henry the eighth and made a Peace-offering to the Fury of his irreconcileable Adversaries then this by Escheat returns back to the Crown after which that Prince by his Royall Concession makes it the Inheritance of Sir Will. Drury of Norfolke in which Family it remained untill Times of our Knowledge and Remembrance and then the Interest was by Sale translated into Henry Clerk Esquire Serjeant at Law and late Recorder of Rochester from whom it is now come down to his Son and Heir Francis Clerk Esquire collaterally descended from that eminent Souldier Sir John Clerk of Willoughby in Warwick-shire who took Lewis de Orleans Duke of Longueville Prisoner in that memorable Encounter commenced between Bomy and Spours Villages not far
the Propriety of Folkston and Walton returned to the Crown and resided in the Royal Patrimony untill the second year of Queen Mary and then they were regranted to Edward Lord Clinton abovesaid who not long after conveyed them to Mr. Henry Herdson whose Grandchild Mr. Francis Herdson alienated them to his Uncle Mr. John Herdson about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and he upon his Decease without any lawfull Issue gave them to his Nephew Sir Basill Dixwell Knight and Baronet descended from the ancient Family of Dixwell in the North-riding of York-shire Who likewise making his Exit without any lawful Issue Mark Dixwell Esquire his Nephew became his Heir and from him is the Propriety of both these places descended to his Son and Heir Basill Dixwell Esquire The Nunnery of Folkston abovesaid being much defaced was in the Time of Henry the third reedified and reestablished by John de Clinton and John de Segrave and Julian his Wife which was upon this second Erection stored with Nuns who were to live as formerly under the Rule of St. Bennet and dedicated to St. Peter and St. Eanswith But when it was found in the second year of Henry the fifth that it related by forrein Dependance to the Abby of Lolley in Normandy it was by that prudent and cautious Monarch Supprest There were five Churches anciently in Folkston three of which were dedicated to St. Peter St. Mary and St. Paul all which and one more whose Name is not now obvious were long since by the Assaults of the Elements and Devastations of men utterly dismantled only that which was erected in the year 1095. by Nigellus de Muneville and devoted to St. Mary and St. Eanswith hath been too hard a Morsel for the teeth of Time to consume Folkston had the Grant of a Market procured to be held here weekly on the Thursday by the Mediation of Geffrey Fitz-Peter in the sixth year of King John which was confirmed to William de Averenches in the sixteenth year of the abovesaid Prince and renewed to Sir John Segrave in the twenty second year of Edw. the third Richard the second granted to Sir John Clinton that a Market should be observed weekly at Folkston on the Wednesday and a Fair yearly on the Vigil and Day of St. Giles as appears Pat. 13. Richardi secundi Membr 14. Pars 2. Eabald King of Kent about 1000 years since built a Castle at the South part of this Town of Folkston which being shrunk into Decay William de Averenches erected a Fort in the year 1068 on the Foundation of the formerly demolished Pile whose ruinous Shell or Skeleton is yet visible I have seen a Leafe by some injurious Hand torn out from the Leiger Book of Folkston which sets forth the entertainment which the Family of Poynings were to have when they came to hear Masse at the Priory a subtle Artifice used by the Monks of that Age to catch the Benevolence of the noblest and most opulent Families of the Nation that certainly had not the Statute of Mortmain or Law of Amortization made in the seventh year of Edward the first restrained and contracted the unlimited Bounty of the Laity to these religious Cloisters almost all the Land which was of secular Interest had been ingulphed in the Revenue of the Church so that as one well observes this over-active and operative Devotion would have dedicated all to God and have left Little or Nothing to have given to Caesar Terlingham and Ackhanger were the Patrimony as high as the Reign of the Conquerour as Doomsday instructs us of William de Muneville the Repairer and Restorer if not Founder and Establisher of Folkston priory By whose Daughter and Heir they devolved to William de Averenches who had Issue William de Averenches in whom the male-line failed so that Matilda de Averenches his Sole Heir by matching with Hamon de Crevequer Baron Leeds Castle made them parcel of his Demeasne who by his Addition so swelled his Estate that he was styled the great Lord of Kent and was of that Esteem in this County that by a generall Consent and Councell of the Barons of the Cinque-ports the Custody of the Sea-Coast from Hastings to Pool was committed to his Care and Inspection Pat. 19. Hen. tertii Memb. 14. And he held these Mannors at his Death which was in the forty seventh year of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 33. And left them to his Son Hamon de Crevequer who was enwrapt in the Faction and Rebellion of Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester raised against Henry the third but was by that Act of Oblivion and Clemency styled Dictum de Kenilworth passed by that Prince in the fiftieth year of his Reign called to Mercie and to most part of his Estate excepting Leeds-Castle Bersted Chetham and some other peices but dyed without Issue so that Eleanor matched to Bertram de Crioll Juliana first matched to Nicholas de Sandwich and secondly to Roger de Segrave and two others who were wedded to Lenham and Pateshull became as they were his four Sisters his four Coheirs And upon the partition of the Estate these two Mannors came over to be the Patrimony of Crioll and Bertram de Crioll above mentioned held them at his Death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 48. And left them to John his only Son who dying Childlesse Joan his Sister matched to Sir Richard de Rokesley became his Heir but he determining likewise in a Female Heir called Joan she by espousing Sir Thomas de Poynings Father of Michaell de Poynings of Terlingham raunged these places under the Demeasn of that Family in which they remained untill the latter end of Henry the seventh and then Sir Edward Poynings gave them in Dower with Mary his natural Daughter to Thomas Lord Clinton whose Son Edw. Lord Clinton about the Beginning of Queen Mary by Sale passed them away to Herdson from whom by Testament they came over to Dixwell in which Family the Possession of them is still permanent Morehall is a small Mannor in this Parish to which William de Valentia obtained a Charter of Priviledges in the twenty seventh year of Henry the third After him I find the Morehalls to be Possessors of it who ingrafted their own Name upon it and John de Morehall paid respective Aid at the making the Black Prince Knight for his Mannor of Morehall in the twentieth of Edward the third After this Family was extinct the Bakers of Caldham about the Reign of Henry the fourth were invested in the Possession and not many years after Brandred by one of the Coheirs of Baker became Lord of the Fee from which Family by Sale it passed away to Sir Thomas Brown from whom descended Sir Mathew Brown Knight who in our Grand-fathers Memory conveyed his Right in it to Godman who is still Lord of the Fee Hope-House in Folkston belonged to the Houghams a noble and knightly Family
County for in the Pipe-Rols relating to the Raign of King John I discover that Robert de Malavill was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the fourth year of that Prince and then again in the seventh year of his Rule he was dignified with that eminent Place of Trust and he had Issue William de Malavil who was in the enjoyment of this Mannor at his Death which was in the Raign of Henry the third as appears by an escheat Roll marked with the number 56. And in this Family did the Right and Title of it lie involved untill the latter End of Edward the third and then the noted Family of Bures stept by Purchase into the Possession and John Bures as appears to me by an old Deed held it in the fourth year of Richard the second he was Son of William Bures who paid respective Aid for part of a Knights-fee which lay in Bromley in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight and William Bures Son of John lies entombed in Halsted Church pourtraied at length in Brass and mail'd in Armor upon a fair Grave-stone being Marble with this Inscription Hic jacet Willielmus Bures Armigeri Dominus Manerii de Halsted qui obiit 1454. And this was he who was Sheriff of Kent in the eleventh year of Henry the sixth But after his Death it was not long in the Fruition of this Name for about the Beginning of Edward the fourth I find it in the Hands of Thomas Bourchier descended from the Bourchiers of Essex and he about the Latter End of that Prince passed it away to Stephen Petley Esquire who lies buried in Halsted Church And in this Family was the Title fixed untill the Beginning of King James and then the Fatality of Sale did alternate the Possession and annexed it to the Inheritance of Sir Thomas Watson who dying without Issue-male his only Daughter and Heir was espoused to Sir William Pope afterwards created Earl of Downe in Ireland by King James and so in her Right this Mannor became the Inheritance of his Son the Right Honourable William Earl of Downe who not many years since passed it away to Mr. Edward Ash whose Widow Mrs. ........ Ash holds it at this instant in Right of Dower Halstow in the Hundred of Milton hath nothing memorable in it but Berkesore alias Basser-court which was as high as any print of Antiquity can direct me to discover the Patrimony of the Church for King Stephen devoted it to find a supply of perpetual Lights before the Chest or Shrine ante Capsam those are the words of the Record of Anselme the eminent Arch-bishop of Canterbury and it hath been many years past held by the Darrels of Cale-hill as Lessees and is still by that Right enjoyed by Sir John Darrell of the same place The Church of Halstow as the Records of Christ-church instruct us was given by Boniface Arch-bishop of Canterbury to buy Books for the Chaunter of that Covent Hamme in the Hundred of Eastry was as the Records of Christ-church in Canterbury inform me given to the Prior and Monks of that Covent in the year 934. by one Eylfleda but how it was rated in the Conqueror's Time when if not all yet at least the principal part of this County was surveyed the Pages of Doomesday Book are silent In brief the Moity of this Mannor for one Half of it was alwaies under the Jurisdiction of Lay-proprietaries being by the Donation abovesaid made parcel of the Spiritual Patrimony remained treasured up in the Revenue of the Church as in an unviolable Exchequer until both the Covent of Christ-church and all its Demeasne was surrendered into the Hands of Henry the eighth and that Prince in the thirty fifth year of his Raign granted that part of it which belonged to the Priory of Christ-church to Sir Thomas Moile who not long after passed it away to Sir Robert Oxenbridge Knight from which Family in our Grand-fathers memory it went away by Sale to Bois of Betshanger The other Moity of Hamme belonged to the Criolls of Walmer of which Family I shall speak more at that Place Simon de Crioll as I discover by old Deeds held it in the Raign of King John and Henry the third and transmitted it to his Son Nicolas de Crioll who held it at his Death which was in the one and thirtieth of Edward the first and from him did it by the steps of several Generations descend to Sir Thomas Crioll who was slain at the second Battle of Sr. Albans tamely and in cold Blood that is he was beheaded by Queen Margaret wife to King Henry the sixth in the thirty eighth of that Prince's Raign because he had been an eager Partisan of the House of Yorke and being thus infortunately cut off left that great Estate he was possest of in this County to two Daughters and Co-heirs one of which was matched for his second wife to John Fogg of Repton Esq Son and Heir of Sir William Fogg and he had Issue by her Thomas Fogg Serjeant Porter of Callis Esquire a Place of eminent Trust and Concernment in those Times And he ended in two Daughters and Co-heirs Anne first matched to Mr. William Scott Brother of Sir Reginald and secondly to Mr. Henry Isham and Alice first wedded to Edward Scott of the Moat in Sussex Esquire and after to Sir Robert Oxenbridge of the County of South-hampton but the Moity of this Mannor of Hamme upon the dividing the Estate into equal Portions fell to be the Inheritance of Edward Scott in Right of Alice his wife and his Descendant in our Grand-fathers Remembrance alienated all his Interest and Concernment here to Bois of Betshanger whose Successor Mr. John Bois of Betshanger Esquire is now entirely possest of this Mannor as namely of that Moity which came over to this Family by Purchase from Oxenbridge as well as of that which devolved to this Name by Purchase from Scott Harbledowne in the Hundred of Westgate though at present but an obscure Village and not of much Eminence was in Time of more ancient Date famous for three memorable Places First for an old Chappel situated upon the Margin of that Precipice which overlooks that way which leads to Canterbury In which Oratory as Tradition informs us was preserved the Slipper of Thomas Becket taken from one of his Feet after his being destroyed at his own Church at Canterbury and which as Report insinuates was bespattered with his Blood this being curiously enchased with Diamonds so much did those Times dote on this then reputed Saint and Martyr was let down for Passengers who travelled to Canterbury to offer up their Orizons at his Shrine to adore with a kiss nor was it returned but full fraighted and laden with the Benevolences of devoted Pilgrims The second was Polres which anciently had and still keeps the Repute of a Mannor John de Polre Son of John de Polre payd respective Aid for it in
the Beginning of Henry the eighth and then it was conveyed to Diggs a Family which had some Interest in it as appears by the Book of Aid in the twentieth year of Edward the third and some Descents before and from this Name not long after the same Alienation carried it off to Hales of the Dungeon in which Family it hath remained so constant that it is the instant propriety of Mr. ..... Hales a yonger Branch of that Family Hartlip in the Hundred of Milton hath divers places of Account in it First Gore Court which was in Times of an elder Aspect the Inheritance of a Family of that Appellation and I find that Henry at Gore held it at his Decease in the one and thirtieth year of Edward the third and remained with the Demeasne of this Name until the Beginning of Henry the fifth and then it was transmitted by Sale to Werdecre or Werdegar and here it fixt until the seventeenth year of King James and then William Werdegar Son of George Werdegar passed it away to Sir Nicholas Tufton whose Son and Heir John Earl of Thanet is now the Owner of it Juliana de Leybourne had some Estate here at Gore Court which at her Decease in the three and fortieth year of Edward the third escheating with the Remainder of her Estate to the Crown was by that Prince in the fiftieth year of his Government settled upon the Abby of St. Mary Grace on Tower-hill which he had before founded in the twenty fourth year of his Raign and lay involved in the Patrimony of that Cloister until the general suppression and then it was granted by Henry the eighth to William Werdegar whose Successor sold it with that part of it which was alwaies of secular Interest to Sir Nicolas Tufton Popes-hall in this Parish had Owners likewise of that Sirname who likewise were entituled to some Estate at Gaesden in Tenterden and continued Lords of this Seat until the latter end of Henry the seventh and then it was by Richard Pope Gentleman transmitted by Sale to Christopher Bloer by whose Daughter and Heir called Olympia Bloer it devolved to be the Inheritance of Mr. John Tufton Ancestor to the Right Honorable John Earl of Thanet now Possessor of it Ealgar or Ealdigar now vulgarly by melting away the L called Eager Court or Eagar Croft was anciently as appears by several old Deeds without Date the Patrimony of William de Elmested but continued not long in this Family for in the thirteenth year of Edward the first I find it folded up in the Inheritance of Roger de Northwood and in this Name the Title was resident until the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was transplanted by Sale into Norton of Borden from whom in the fourth year of Edward the fourth part of it was passed away by Sale to Champneys and in the eighth year of that Prince the Remainder was by the same Fatality brought to confesse the Signory of the above-mentioned Family from whom Thomas Rider held it in Lease in the Reign of Henry the seventh and in the seventeenth year of that Prince passed away all his Interest and concernment in it to Mark Harris but the Propriety of this place continued still in Champneys And from him did part of it in the twenty fourth year of Henry the eighth passe back again by Sale to Norton and the Remainder in the thirty second year of that King's raign was by the same conveyance wholly remitted to the above recited Family and made its aboad here untill the fourth and fifth year of Philip and Mary and then John Norton by Sale conveyed his Right in it to Gilbert Fremlin and he in the fifteenth year of Queen Elizabeth alienated all his Concernment in it to John Palmer Esquire Father of Sir Anthony Palmer and Grandfather of Dudley Palmer Esquire the instant Possessor of it There is a Mannor in this Parish vulgarly and corruptly called Grayney but in old Deeds Graveney as being indeed the Patrimony of a Family of that Sirname of which Stem was Stephen de Graveney whom as private Record informs me held it in the raign of Edward the first and in his Descendants I find it successively constant and fixed untill the Reign of Henry the sixth And from that Prince's Rule I must make a leap to the Government of Henry the eighth and then I find it in the Tenure of John Mayney of Biddenden Esquire great Grandfather of Sir John Mayney of Linton Knight and Baronet the present Lord of the Fee Hartley in the Hundred of Acstane made up a part of that Patrimony which came within the Circle of that Revenue which owned for Proprietaries the Lords Montchensey whose capitall Seat was at Swanscamp where I shall treat more largely of them but it seems they had a special regard to this Mannor for Warren de Montchensey obtained a Charter of Free-warren to Hartley in the thirty seventh year of Henry the third and left it enobled and secured with this Franchise to his only Son William de Montchensey who dying without Issue Joan his Sister and Heir by marching with William de Valence Earl of Pembroke entituled him to this Mannor and she held it at her Death which was in the first year of Edw. the second from whom it devolved to her Son Aymer de Valence who dying without Issue-male in the seventeenth year of Edward second Isabell de Valence his Heir Generall united it to the Inheritance of her Husband Lawrence de Hastings afterwards Earl of Pembroke from whom it came down to his Grandchild John de Hastings And he deceasing without Issue in the year 1389 left it to his Kinsman Reginald Grey and he brings a pleading for this and other Land against John le Scroope in the fifteenth year of Richard the second and in the second year of Henry the fourth as appears by the Book of Dover in the Exchequer he was peaceably fixed in the Possession and was a person of considerable Rank and importance in those Times for he bore a pair of gilt Spurs at the Coronation of the abovesaid Prince But no eminence of Birth or Dignity can chain the Possession of a place to a Family when the Title leans upon the Wheel of an inconstant and ebbing Estate For the Revolution of Sale about the latter end of Henry the sixth carried it from this Name to Penhale and John the Son of Emma Penhale as appears by the Book of Dover in the Exchequer held it in the second year of Edward the fourth but the Propriety was not long constant in this Family for about the latter end of Henry the seventh I find it in the Tenure of Cressell but it was not long permanent in this Family neither for about the Beginning of Henry the eighth it was by Sale transplanted into Ballard and here the Possession rested untill the latter end of Edward the sixth and then it was alienated to William Sydley Esquire Ancestor to Sir Charles
seventh year was possest of the other Moiety of this place gave about that year by Charter some land to the Incumbent or Parson of St. Nicholas of Harbledown After these two Families had deserted the Inheritance I find the Archers about the Beginning of Edward the third to be entituled by Purchase to it and William le Archer so he is written in the Book of Aid paid an Auxiliary Supply for this Mannor in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight but his Son VVilliam Archer in the twenty first year of Richard the second passes away his Right by Sale to John Alkham of Alkham a Family that had taken deep Root in Antiquity downwards and had a spreading Revenue upwards in this Track but before the end of Henry the seventh were consumed and crumbled away and then the next Family which succeeded in the Possession was Herman who was likewise owner of Mary-place in Crayford and in this Name did the Interest of it fix until the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Andrews who some few years after demised the Fee-simple to Pepper and he almost in the Verge of our Remembrance sold it to Sir Thomas VVilford of Ilden and he in our Memory alienated it to Richards of Dover Although the greatest part of this Mannor was of secular Concernment yet I find that the Prior of St. Martins in Dover had some Interest in it as appears by an Inquisition taken after the Death of John Atte-hall where it is proved in the sixteenth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Numb 129. Parte secunda that he held Lands at his Death at Maxton of that Covent Siberston is the last place of Account in Hougham it gave Name in elder Times to a Family so styled for in an old Deed without Date in the Hands of Mr. Whittingham-Wood of Canterbury lately deceased I find Richard de Siberston demises it to John Monins and in another Deed I discover that John Monins Son of John Monins passes the third Part of his Mannor of Siberston to John Monins the elder in the thirty ninth year of Edward the third And this I think is Authority sufficient to evidence to the Publique that it was a parcel of that Estate that owned the Interest and Signory of that eminent Family in which it lay couched until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was by Sale transplanted into Pepper whose Successor in our Fathers Remembrance conveyed it to Moulton of Retherhed vulgarly called Redriff in Surrey in whose Descendants the Inheritance of it does still continue Hunton in the Hundred of Twiford celebrates the Memory of an ancient Family called Lenham who were once Proprietaries of it Nicolas de Lenham obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannour of Hunton in the forty first year of Henry the third but about the Beginning of Edward the third the Interest of it was departed from this Family for William de Lenham determined in Eleanor de Lenham his sole Inheritrix and she by matching with John Gifford wrapt up this and Bensted another little Mannor in this Parish which likewise was parcel of Lenhams Estate in the Demeasne of that Family and he and his Wife paid Releif for Hunton and Bensted in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight But after this it was not long permanent in this Family for about the Beginning of Richard the second it was passed away with Bensted to John Lord Clinton who in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third was found Heir to his Cozen William Clinton Earl of Huntington for that Land which he held Jure proprio nativo not Jure uxoris Julianae de Leybourne in this County And the Effigies of this John and of his Grand child ...... Lord Clinton who paid Relief in the fourth year of Henry the fourth for his Mannor of Hunton at the Marriage of Blanch that Prince's Daughter have escaped the furious Barbarity of these Times and stand yet undemolished in the Church-Windows and from this last did it descend to John Lord Clinton his Successor who about the Beginning of Henry the seventh alienated the Fee-simple to Sir Henry Wiatt one of the Privy Councel to the said Monarch and his Son Sir Thomas Wiatt the elder died seised of it in the thirty fourth year of Henry the eighth and transmitted it with Bensted which his Grand-father likewise bought of the Lord Clinton to his infortunate Son Sir Thomas Wiatt who adhering too strictly to an unhappy Clause in the Testament of Henry the eighth which obliges his Councel not to suffer his Daughters to espouse any Forrainer involved him in that dysastrous Design which could not be expiated but by the Forfeiture of his Life and Estate in which this Mannor of Hunton being concerned it was in the second year of Queen Mary granted to her Atturney General Sir John Baker of Sisinghurst from whom the Title in the Stream of Succession lately glided down to his Heir General Sir John Baker Baronet Son and Heir to Sir John Baker Baronet not many years since deceased Burston is another Mannor in Hunton which is eminent for being the Seat of John de Burston which the Dateless Deeds that relate to this Family from the probable Conjecture of the Hand-writing which is calculated for the Raign of Henry the third record to have lived in that Prince's Time and there was Land likewise about Wye and Crundall that acknowledged the Jurisdiction of this Family for in the forty fifth year of Henry the third Waretius de Valoigns Knight makes a Release of his Title to some Lands in those Parishes to John de Burston and in this Family did this Seat remain for many Descents and was productive of men of no despicable Account in this Track amongst whom William Burston was returned in the twenty ninth year of Henry the sixth by Gervas Clifton then Sheriff inter illos qui portabant Arma Antiqua In the Raign of Henry the eighth Alderman Head of London was resident here and added much both of Building and Magnificence to this Fabrick but certainly it was only as Lessee for I cannot find that he was ever Proprietary of it for about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth it was sold by Burston to Sir Thomas Vane who upon his Decease gave it to his second Son ...... Vane from whom it descended to his Heir Sir George Vane whose Widdow Dowager the Lady ...... Vane is now in Possession of it Hunton had the Grant of a Market procured to it by Nicolas de Lenham on the Tuesday and a yearly Fair to continue five Dayes the Vigil the Day of the Assumption of our Lady and three Dayes after Pat. 41. Henrici tertii Memb. 7. Hucking in the Hundred of Eyhorne is involved in the Mannor of Hollingbourne and was enstated on the Prior and Convent of Christ-church when that by a munificent Donation
Richard de Capell this Man's Successor dyed possest of Capell Court in Werehorn and this here in the fifteenth year of Richard the second But after this Man's decease it did not long remain annexed to the Name for this Family expiring in a Female Heir shee by matching with Harlackenden of the Borough of Harlackenden in Woodchurch united it to the Patrimony of this Family and here it rested untill the Beginning of King James and then Deborah Sole Daughter and Heir of Walter Harlackenden a Branch of the abovesaid Stem by espousing Sir Edward Hales late of Tunstall deceased entwined it with his Demeasne upon whose Death it devolved to his Grandchild Sir Edward Hales now of Tunstall Baronet Cheyneys Court is a second place of Account in this Parish and had this Name imposed upon it because it lay folded up in the Revenue of that Name of that Family Alexander de Cheyney who flourished in the Raign of Henry the third and Edward the first in the ninth of which Prince's raign he was one of that Catalogue as appears by Kirkbie's Inquest kept in the Exchequer who was embarked in that successefull War which was commenced by that Monarch against the Welsh and dyed possest of this Mannor in the twenty fourth year of his Government After whose Decease it was constantly resident in this Family untill Henry Lord Cheyney Son of Sir Thomas Cheyney about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth passed it away by Sale to Mr. Richard Knatchbull whose Heir Generall Sir Norton Knatchbull Knight and Baronet extracted originally from thâ— Knatchbulls of Limne where I find the Name by Deeds very ancient is now in the Possession of the Demeasne but the Mannor was conveyed by Sale to Sir Walter Roberts More Court is a third place in Ivie Church which must not find its enterrement in Silence because it was the ancient Seat of the Moores now Barons of Mellifont in Ireland before they were transplanted into More-place in Benenden by matching with the Heir generall of Sir William Brenchley Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench under Henry the sixth and this is evident by a Fine levyed between John the Son of Thomas de Iden and John de More of Ivie-church so he is named in the Record by which the said John passes away Land to John de More of Rolvenden in the year of Grace 1280. And in this Family for many Generations was it constant and permanent untill the latter end of Henry the seventh and then the common Vicissitude of Purchase which like a Moath or Canker frets into ancient Titles brought it to be the Possession of Taylor and here it was settled untill in the second year of Edward the sixth as by an Exemplification now in the Hands of Thomas Taylor Esq is evident it was divided between William and John Taylor Gentlemen and they immediately after by a joint and mutuall Concurrence alienated their Interest here to Peter Godfrey Gentleman Great Grand-father to Sir Thomas Godfrey now of Hepington in Nether Hardres who is the instant Proprietary of it Iwade in the Hundred of Milton is a small Parish situated no great distance from the Swale which exposes it self to the injurious Impression of many Fogs and other sullen Vapours which exhale from the adjacent Marishes so that the Air becomming by these Mists contagious and unheathfull we must expect that it cannot be very populous nor contain many places in it considerable in their Account The only place of Note being Colshill-hall a place in its Name proportionate to its Position though formerly it had Owners of its own Appellation for in a Deed of William de Codshill who held Land at Middleton Bobbing and elsewhere and which bears Date from about the fiftieth of Henry the third I find one John de Colsted a Witnesse But in Times of no great distance from that Prince's Raign I find the Alefs or Alephs possest of it and to this Family does the ancient Shell or Fabrick of the House owe the principal part of its Structure especially that which by its Antiquity obliges the Eye to so much Regard and Veneration as is evident by the Hall which in diverse places is diaper'd with an A. and then a Leafe a Rebus which treasures up the Relique of the Name remaining unwritten And appears to be exceeding ancient by the Character calculated for the Raign of Edward the third From whose Time untill the Beginning of the Raign of Queen Elizabeth it continued knit to this Name of Alef and then Thomas Aleph the last of this Name being extinguished in a Daughter and Heir called Margaret matched to John Monins Esquire this by that Alliance became the Inheritance of that Name but made no long aboad in their Revenue for in our Grand-fathers memory it went away by Sale from Monins to Lewin and Lewin not many years since concluding in a Female Inheritrix she by being affianced to Rogers branched out from Rogers of Brianson in the West linked it to the Inheritance of that Family where it had as brief a Residence for Rogers not long since dying without Issue-male Elizabeth his only Heir by her espousalls with Charles Cavendish Lord Mansfield hath now interwoven it with the Propriety and Income relating to that eminent and illustrious Family K. K. K. K. KEmsing in the Hundred of Codsheath is a Parish which in Respect of its Circuit and Dimension is but despicable but in Relation to those Persons who in elder Times were Possessors of it it is not inferiour in its value to scarce any Parish in this Hundred The first that I find to be its Proprietary was Falcatius de Brent and he is mentioned in the Red-book kept in the Exchequer to have held it in the Raign of Henry the second and was Castellan likewise of Kemsing-Castle a place then of important Concernment though now it 's Skelleton it self be shrunk into such a desolate and neglected Masse of Rubbish that it would be now as difficult to trace it out or find it as it was formerly to conquer it And this Mans Son was that Falcatius de Brent so famous in our Chronicles for those wild Disorders and Sallies arising from those Boilings and Evaporations which were cast out by the Calentures of Youth rather then from any vitious Habit contracted from severall Acts of Excesse and riveted into his Soul Yet it seems these Excursions of his did so disgust King Henry the third that he made the Forfeiture of his Estate here pay the price of his Vanities Indeed that name his Misfortunes rather then his Treasons seem to Challenge And then that Prince in the sixth year of his Reign granted it with the Mannor of Sauters in Sutton at Hone to Baldwin de Betun Earl of Albemarle in Right of his Wife Hawis Daughter and Heir of William le Grosse Earl of Albemarle and Lord of Holdernesse And this Baldwin had by her two Daughters and Coheirs Hawis the eldest of them was married to
and Hornes-place Kenington in the Hundreds of Chart and Longbridge was a Mannor which alwaies related to the Crown as is intimated by the Name where lie tacitly couched some Hints of those who were Proprietaries of it And Keningbrooke which is circumscribed within the Limits of this Parish was annexed by William the Conqueror to his Royal Mannor of Wye and was looked upon as an Appendage to it and followed the Fate of it at the common Dissolution when the other was plucked away from the Patrimony of Battell Abby in which ever since the Original Donation of William the Conqueror it had been resident and was with the Mannor of Wye by Queen Elizabeth granted in the first year of her Raign to her Kinsman Henry Cary Lord Hunsdon and his Grand-child Hen. Earl of Dover not many years since passed it away by Sale to Sir Tho. Finch Father to Heneage Finch now Earl of Winchelsey in whose Revenue it is at this instant setled Bibrooke is a second Place in Kenington which claims some Consideration It was as appears by very old Evidences the Patrimony of a Family called Godwin which flourished here in the Raign of King John Henry the third and Edward the first but after this it began to wither and before the latter end of Edward the third was altogether crumbled away the last of whom that I find by publique Record to be invested in the Possession was William Godwin who enjoyed it at his Death which was in the thirty second year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 93. The next Family after this which was entituled to the Possession was Belknap but Sir Robert Belknap being infortunately attainted and banished in the tenth year of Richard the second to whose Cause and Quarrel he had wholly vowed his Life and Service and his Estate as to the principall part confiscated in which this lay involved the same Monarch in the thirteenth year of his Raign granted it to William Ellys who was at that Time one of the Conservators or Justices of the Peace of this County whose Capital Seat was at Burton in this Parish though in very old Deeds it is written Burston as being indeed the Seat of a Branch of that Family from whom it came over about the latter end of Edward the second to Ellys but in the Name of Ellys the Title of Bibrooke was not long-liv'd for about the Beginning of Henry the sixth I find it by Purchase invested in Shelley by whose Heir General it devolved in the Time of Edward the fourth to May from whom not long after it was alienated to Tilden where it continued until about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then the same Revolution transported the Title to Best who about the latter end of that Princesse passed it away by Sale to Hall Ancestor to Mr. Nevill Hall the present Lord of this Mansion but Burton was more constant to the Family of Ellys and remained linked to the Patrimony of that Name until that Age which bordered upon our Fathers Remembrance and then it was demised by Sale to Hall in whose Descendant Mr. Nevill Hall the Propriety is at present resident Keston in the Hundred of Rokesley belonged in the twentieth year of William the Conquerour as the Pages of Dooms-day Book inform me to Gilbert de Magninot and there it is written Cheston and continued in his Name untill the latter end of King John and then by the Heir Generall of this Family it came to be possest of Say of Says-court in Deptford but stayed not long in this Name for in the twenty fourth year of Edward the first Alexander de Cheyney dyed possest of it as appears Rot. Esc Num. 26. But in his Posterity likewise it had no long Residence for about the Beginning of Edward the third it was conveyed to Stephen de Ashway and he in the thirty eighth of this Prince obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Keston And here the Title fixed untill the Beginning of Henry the fourth and then it was alienated with Baston which had still the same original and successive Proprietaries with Keston to Squerris of Squerries-court in Westerham and here it made its aboad untill the latter end of Henry the sixth and then it devolved by Dorothy Daughter and Coheir of Thomas Squerrie to Richard Mervin of Fountell in Wiltshire who passed away Keston and Baston both which accrued to him upon the Division of Squerrie's Estate to Philp Reynolds and Thomas Tregarthen as his Trustees and they in the eighth year of Edward the fourth convey them both to Richard Scroope and Stephen Scroop from whom about the latter end of Edward the fourth they came to Henry Heyden Esquire and he in the first year of Richard the first as is manifest by an old Court-rol held a Court here at Keston and from him did the Propriety by the Steps of several Descents come down to that worthy Person Sir Christopher Heydon who about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth demised all his Interest in Keston and Baston to Sir Samuel Lennard whose Son Sir Stephen Lennard is still entituled to the Fee-simple of them Mr. Camden conjectures in his Britannia something of the Name of Caesar to be couched in the Etymologie of this place because at Baston adjoyning there is an ancient Camp stupendious for the heighth of double Rampiers and depth of double Ditches hardly paralleled elsewhere and questionlesse the work of many Labouring Hands Of what Capacity it was is not now exactly to be discerned much of it being overgrown with a Thicket but very vast it was as may be collected from its remains which are yet apparent And most probable it is that Camp which Julius Caesar pitched when the Britons with their united strength gave him the last Battle and then the successe being not equall to their Courage retired and gave him way to pierce into Surrey and so towards the Thames by Noviomagum or Woodcott where he planted a spatious City and standing Camp Kingsdown in the Hundred of Wrotham is spread into two Mannors called Northcourt and Southcourt both which anciently acknowledged themselves to be parcell of the Demeasne of Fitz Bernard who flourished here under the Notion and in the Degree of Barons and had this Mannor by Grant from Henry the first and with it had these priviledges annexed to it Toll and Theam Sac and Soc Furcas in Latrones Captos that is Infangthef and Outfangthef Tumbrell and Pillory and lastly Assisam Panis Cerevisiae that is a power to take Cognizance of the Weights and Measures of Bread and that Beverage which was then in use within the Precincts of this Mannor and all these were allowed to Ralph Fitz Bernard as granted before by Henry the first by the Judges Itinerant in the seventh year of Edward the first and this Man was Son to John Fitz Bernard who was rated after the value of a whole Knights Fee for his Mannor of Kingsdown as appears by Testa
But left no Issue so that Joan his Kinswoman matched to Richard Haut became his Heir and he had Issue Richard Haut in whom the Male-line concluding William Isaac in Right of his Wife Margerie who was Daughter and Heir to the above-mentioned Richard entered upon his Estate here at Permested and about the Beginning of Henry the eighth passed it away by Sale to Edward Knevet of Newington Belhouse Esquire and his Daughters and Coheirs by joint Sale demised it to Tho. Lord Cromwell and he in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth alienated it to Christopher Hales Esquire afterwards knighted first Attorney Generall and then Master of the Rolls under the abovesaid Prince and his Son Sir James Hales conveyed it away to Thomas Alphew aliàs Alphy Yeoman From this Man it came over by Sale in the fifth year of Queen Elizabeth to William Downe of Maidstone Draper and he in the sixth year of that Princesse transmitted it by the like conveyance to Doctour Vincent Denne Doctour of the Civil Law Grand-father to Mr. Vincent Denne of Grays Inne Esquire the present Lord of the Fee A Person to whose Conduct and supply this particular Survey ows a grateful Remembrance because by his Concurrent Aid it was guided along through all those Difficulties which might have probably intercepted it in its farther progresse Denhill in this Parish was not only the Seat but likewise the Seminary of a Family of eminent Note in this County Ralph de Den held much Land in Romney Mersh and likewise at Buckhurst in Sussex as appears by an old Roll now in the Hands of the Earl of Dorset about the twentieth of William the Conqueror and is styled in the Record Son of Robert Pincerna a Name imposed upon his Father from being as is probable either Butler or Sewer to Edward the Confessor an Office of no vulgar Account in those Times Sir Alured de Den flourished in the Raign of Henry the third and was a Person of signal Estimate in that Age for when the Laws of Romney Mersh were compiled by that venerable Judge Henry de Bath from which all England receives Directions for Sewers this Sir Alured and Nicolas de Haudloe were his Associates and Assistants in the Composure of them in the forty second year of Henry the third on Saturday next after the Nativity of St. Mary and which makes this Sir Alured de Den more remarkable he sealed even in that Age divided by so remote a Distance from us with three Leopards Heads couped and full faced which is the ancient paternal Coat of this Family Indeed if I should enter into a particular Discourse of all those Persons who have been originally extracted from this Family and were formerly eminent not only within the private Sphere of this County as being invested with the Commission of Justices of the Peace and other Offices of publique Trust and Concernment but likewise shone like Stars of the first Magnitude within the two Orbes of Divinity and the Law both Civil and Municipal the Survey of this Place which I intend to retrench within as narrow Bounds as may be must swell into a particular Treatise it is enough therefore to inform the Reader that it hath been so many Centuries of years folded up in the Propriety of Den. that there is no Gappe at all in the Succession between Ralph de Den the first of that Name and Tho. Den Esq the last who in a direct Line enjoyed it Nor hath it yet departed from the Name for the above mentioned Thomas lately deceasing without Issue-Male Vincent Donne of Grays-Inn Esquire collarerally issued out of this Family by matching with Mary his yongest Daughter and Coheir in Right of this Alliance is now in the instant Possession of it Kingsnoth in the Hundreds of Chart and Longbridge did in elder Times give Sear and Sirname to a Family which assumed its Denomination from hence who bore as appears by Seals appendant to their ancient Deeds Ermin upon a Bend five Cheverons and John de Kingsnoth who flourished here about the latter end of Edward the first sealed with that Coat and this Inscription encircles the Seal Sigillum Joannis de Kingsnoth Yet I find Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer who was attainted in the seventeenth year of Edw. the second had some Interest in this Mannor which upon his Conviction escheated to the Crown and rested there until Richard the second granted it out again to Sir Robert Belknap the Judge who had not long before purchased that proportion which Kingsnoth was concerned in So that by this Concession it came entirely to own the Signory of this Family But he being infortunately attainted and cast into Exile in the tenth year of the above said Prince this Mannor was annexed to the Revenue of the Crown and was lodged there until Henry the sixth in the twenty seventh year of his Raign granted some part of it to Sir Thomas Brown of Bechworth Castle in Surrey and with it a Charter to inclose a Parke which had Liberty of Free-warren annexed to it and likewise the more to endear him licensed this Town to hold a Fair yearly on Michaelmas Day but the principal part of it was conveyed by Sale to Cardinal Kemp who about the twenty eighth of Henry the sixth settled it on the Colledge of Wye where it remained until the Resignation of its Revenue into the Hands of Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his Raign and he by Royal Concession made it the Demeasne of Thomas Lord Cromwell afterwards Earl of Essex Who being attainted of High Treason in the thirty second year of that Prince it escheated back to the Crown and then a Moiety of it in the thirty fifth year of his Government was granted to Sir John Baker from whom by hereditary Conveyance it was delegated and transmitted to his Successor Sir John Baker of Sisingherst Baronet who some few years since hath alienated his Concerment here to Mr. Nathaniel Powell of Ewherst in Sussex The other Moiety of it lay folded up in the Patrimony of the Crown untill the first year of Queen Elizabeth and then it was by that Princesse granted to her Kinsman Henry Cary afterwards created Baron Hunsdon from whom by the Channel of Descent it was transported to his Grand-child the Right Honorable Henry Cary Earl of Dover who in our Memory conveyed it to Sir Thomas Finch afterwards Earl of Winchelsey Father to the instant Proprietary the Right Honorable Heneage Finch now Earl of Winchelsey Munfidde in this Parish was originally the Seat of the Clere's written in their ancient Deeds le Clere. But as all Families have their Vicissitudes and Tombs and like the Sea which is circumscribed and shut in with a Girdle of Sand are fettered to a determinate Period so was this for about the latter end of Edward the third Henry le Clerc concluded in Susan le Clerc who was his Daughter and Heir and she by matching with Sir Simon Woodchurch annexed
this Mannor to his Patrimony and he the better to inforce and perpetuate the Memory of this Alliance and the Estate which devolved to him by so fortunate a Conjunction inverted his Sirname and writ it for the future Clerc alias Woodchurch in which Name the Propriety of this Place continued until the latter end of Q. Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Taylor of Shadoxherst in which Name the Interest of it had not long continued but that it was in our Remembrance by Sale conveyed to Whitwick West-Halks is a third Mannor in Kingsnoth which in elder Times was ennobled for affording a Residence to a Family of this Sirname who bore in ancient Seals a Fesse between three Hawks or Falcons and sometimes one a Family of no contemptible Estimate or shallow Antiquity in this Track as appears by old Escripts Pedigrees and other venerable Muniments which represent this Family under the Character of Gentlemen for above three hundred years Sampson de Halk died about the year 1360 and held not onely this place Ex Autographis penes Dom. Tho. Taylor but much other Land about Petham and other Parishes in that Track but about the latter end of Henry the sixth this Family had demised the Propriety of this place to Taylor of great Chart in which Name it was constantly fixed untill the latter end of Henry the seaventh and then it was sold to Clerc who about the latter end of Q. Elizabeth passed it away to Robert Honywood of Charing Esquire who upon his Decease settled it by his last Will on his second Son by his second Wife Col. ....... Honywood now the instant Lord of the Fee Knowlton in the Hundred of Eastrye was parcel of the Patrimony of the noble Family of St. Leger Hugh St. Leger who was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the Raign of King John held this Mannor in the fourth year of the Raign of that Prince and left it to his Son John St. Leger who in the twelfth year of Henry the third exchanged it for other Lands with Reginald de Cornhill and he in the twenty fifth year of the abovesaid Prince passed it away by Sale as the Book of Christ-Church informs me to the Prior and Monks of that Covent but it seems not long after they exchanged it with Thomas Perot for he in the fourth year of Edward the third died possest of it as appears by his Office Rot. Esc Num. 31. and left onely a Female Heir who carried it along with her to Langley descended out of the County of Warwick and being thus chained by this Match to the Interest of this Family it remained for many Descents fastned to it and was productive in several Ages of Men of no vulgar Account William de Langley Son of William Langley was Sheriff of Kent the twenty first twenty third twenty fourth and twenty fifth years of Edward the third William Langley of Knolton was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth year of Henry the fifth and likewise Justice of the Peace for this County under that Prince John Langley Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the twentieth year of Henry the seventh and had Issue Edward Langley Esquire who matched with Elizabeth Daughter of Thomas Peyton of Peyton Hall in the County of Cambridge descended from Peytonus de Vfford but he dying without Issue about the latter end of Henry the eighth his Wive's Brother Sir Robert Peyton by Reason of a former Match in the Raign of Henry the fifth between Peyton and a Daughter of Langley entered upon it as Heir General at Law and he not desirous to desert Cambridgeshire to transplant himself into Kent assigned Knowlton for Livelyhood to his second Son Sir John Peyton Grand-father to Sir Thomas Peyton the Primier Baronet of this County who as lineally extracted from him does enjoy the Propriety of it See more of this Family of Peyton in my Discourse of Werd L. L. L. L. LAmberherst lies in the Hundred of Little Bernefield and was sometimes written Lamberts-hurst from Lambert a Saxon Owner in old English this Name imports as much as bright or holy and glorious Lamp as Herebert is bright Lord. Part of this Parish is in Kent and the other part in Sussex distinguished by a small Stream which rises nere Cowden and glides through this Town towards Medway The Lordship of Lamberhurst it self with the Mannor of Woodroff belonged to the Monastery of Roberts Bridge and after the Dissolution were by Henry the eighth granted in the thirteenth of his Reign to Sir William Sidney Tutor to King Edward the sixth when he was Prince whose Successor Robert Sidney Earl of Leicester sold Lamberherst in our Fathers Memory to Mr. Porter and Woodroff to Sir Edw. Henden one of the Barons of the Exchequer who bequeathed it to his Nephew Sir John Henden lately deceased Hodleigh in this Parish was part of that Demeasne which related to the Colledge of Lingfield in Surrey which upon the Suppression was by Henry the eighth granted to Thomas Cardan from which Family it passed away to Edward Filmer Esquire Ancestor to Sir Edward Filmer eldest Son to Sir Robert Filmer lately deceased to whose Demeasne the Propriety of it is at present united The Abby of Begham in this Parish was founded by Ela de Sackvill and Sir Robert de Thurneham a man of principal Account in the time of Henry the third This Priory was suppressed by Cardinal Wolsey and filled with Cannons Praemonstratenses or white Cannons called so from their Habit. The Mannor which belonged to it was by royal Concession From Q. Elizabeth it passed away to Anthony Brown Viscount Montague who not long after alienated the Fee-simple to Alderman Barneham of London who gave it to Benedict a second Son and he dying without Issne-male one of his Daughters and Coheirs married with Dobell of Sussex and so carried it into the Inheritance of that Family where the Possession has ever since been setled Scotney in this Parish which hath borrowed that Appellation from its locall Situation and the over-shooting of the Water was the Residence of a Family distinguished by that Sirname and Denomination for one Walter de Scotney in Times of high Ascent was Proprietary of this Place but added not much Reputation to this Mansion for as Edmund de Hadenham a Chronicler of great Antiquity attests he in the year 1259 administred poyson by tacit Stratagem to the Earl of Gloucester and his Brother to destroy them of which the last dyed and the first escaped not without Danger of Life But to goe on After this Family was mouldered away at this place which was about the midst of Edward the third the eminent Family of Ashburnham of Ashburnham in Sussex were entituled to the Signiory of it Roger Ashburnham who was one of the Conservators of the Peace for this County of Sussex in the first year of Richard the second had here a castellated Mansion did sometimes inhabit at this place and was
as appears by the Escheat Roll of that year marked with the Number 76. and left Mawde de Twitham heir to his large Possessions in this County who by marrying with Simon Septuans of Checquer in Ash by Sandwich invested him not only in the Signory of Dean-Court but likewise in his other Demeasne which lay dispersed in severall Branches over this County and he had Issue by her Sir William Septuans who matched with Anne Daughter and Heir of Sir Nicholas Sandwich and had Issue by her John Septuans Esquire who likewise wedded Constance Daughter and Heir of Thomas Ellys of Sandwich and had Issue by her John his eldest Son to whom he gave Hells Twitham Chilton Molands in Ash and other Lands in Kent Thomas his second Son who had Dean-Court in Mepeham and other Lands in this County and Gilbert Septuans his third Son who had his Mannor of Chequer in Ash above-said and from them it is sometimes writ At Chequer and afterwards Harfleet for some eminent Service by him performed at a Town of that Name in Normandy as the private Evidences of this Family do seem to insinuate under the conduct of Henry the fifth and so Successively by Custome and Prescription this Name became hereditary to all of the Name of Septuans who were either directly or Collaterally linked in Alliance to this Gilbert And in the Name of Harfleet alias Septuans did the Inheritance of this Mannor of Dean-Court sundry Ages reside till some few years since it was by one of this Name alienated to Mr. Francis Twisden third Brother to Sir Roger Twisden of Roydon-Hall Knight and Baronet Merworth stands in the Hundred of Littlefield and gave Seat and Sirname to a worthy Family of Gentlemen whose Ancestor branched out from a Family called St. Laurence William de Merworth is in the Register of those Kentish Knights who were embarked with Richard the first at the Seige of Acon upon which it is probable the Crosse Corslets were taken into the paternall Coat of this Family In the fifteenth year of King John one Roger the Son of Eustace de Merworth brought a Quare Impedit against the Prior of Leeds for the Adyouson of the Church of Merworth Roger de Merworth obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Merworth in the eighteenth year of Edward the first In the twentieth year of Edward the third as appears by the Book of Aid John de Merworth paid respective Aid for a whole Knight's Fee at Merworth and Crombery in Hadloe which he held of the Earl of Glocester at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third and an Inquisition taken after this mans Death for his Mannor of Merworth though the Inquisition for his Mannor of Maplescombe and other Lands was not taken untill the forty ninth of Edward the third finds John Malmains of Malmains in Pluckley to be his Heir who in the forty sixth year of Edward the third sells it to Humphrey Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex and he about the beginning of Richard the second conveys it to Nicholas de Brembre Son of Sir John de Brembre who at the Battle of Trent as Mr. Selden relates in his Titles of Honour pag. 556. made himself eminent by a signall encounter with John de Beaumonour in the year 1350. And endevouring to support the prerogative of Richard the second in an Age wherin his Crime was too much Loialty against the Assaults of some of the Factious and Ambitious Nobility sunk under the waight of their Hatred and Opposition and being attainted of High Treason this in the tenth year of the abovesaid Prince Escheated to the Crown and the same King in the thirteenth year of his Raign granted it to John Hermensthorpe who immediately after conveyed it to Richard Fitzallan Earl of Arundell Lord Treasurer and Lord Admirall of England whose Son Thomas Fitzallan dying without Issue Joan one of his Sisters and Coheirs matching with William Beauchampe who was created by Writt Baron of Abergavenny in the sixteenth year of Richard the second knit this Mannor to the Patrimony of that Family where it continued till Richard Beauchampe this mans Son dying without Issue-male in the ninth year of Henry the fifth bequeathed it to Elizabeth his Sole Daughter and Heir who matched afterward to Edward Nevill Baron of Abergavenny from whom the Title both of the Barony and Merworth flowed down to his Great Grandchild Henry Nevill who died the twenty ninth year of Queen Elizabeth and left this Mannor to Mary his Sole Daughter and heir married to Sir Thomas Fane unto whom King James in the first Parliament which he held Restored Gave Granted and so forth the Name Style Title Honour and Dignity of Baroness le Despencer and that her Heirs Successively should be Barons le Desp neer for ever She had Issue by Sir Thomas Fane of Badsell in Kent Sir Francis Fane eldest Son Knight of the Bath whom King James in the twenty second year of his Raign December the 29. created Earl of Westmerland and Baron Burghurst being likewise by his Mothers Descent extracted from the female heir of that old Barony for Edw. le Despencer who maried Elizabeth Heir of Bartholomew Lord Burghurst and Rich. Beauchampe who married Isabell Daughter and Heir of Thomas Lord Despencer and his eldest Son Sir Mildmay Fane Knight of the Noble Order of the Bath now Earl of Westmerland doth not onely enjoy the Concomitant Titles of Despencer and Burghurst but the Mannor of Mereworth likewise with all the Royalties of it which were not inferiour to any which hathreceived Honour by its owners for it is holden in Chivalrie by an entire Knights Fee and a Free-warren which was formerly granted to it is yet extant and the Conveniences of a Park and Conies are not wanting Jotes-Court in this Parish of Merworth had as appears by severall old Deeds some without Date Owners who were written Jeotes and by contraction of the Name call'd Jotes but before the latter end of Richard the second this Family was crumbled away and gone and then it came to have the same possessors with Merworth as namely Fitz-Allan Beauchampe and Nevill the last of which who enjoyed it was Sir Tho. Nevil third Son of George Nevill Baron of Abergavenny which Sir Tho. was one of the Privy Councel to Henry the eighth and Speaker of the Parliament and he in the thirty third year of that Prince conveyed it by Sale to Sir Robert Southwell who in the thirty fifth year of Henry the eighth by the same Fatalitie passed it away to Sir Edmund Walsingham of Scadbery whose great Grandchild Sir Tho. Walsingham Knight hath not many years since alienated all his Concernment in it to his Son in Law Mr. James Masters Swanton-Court is the last place considerable in Merworth It lay couched in that Revenue which related to the Knights Hospitalers untill the publique Dissolution supplanted it and surrendred it to the Crown and K. Henry the eighth about
was transplanted by Sale into John Norden who in our â—â—â—â—dfathers memory demised it to Pordage Predecessor to Mr ........ Pordage of Râ—â—â—ersham who is now entitled to the Fee-simple of it Mere-Court is a third place of Account in this Parish calle◠〈◊〉 from its Situation near the Sea which our Saxon Ancestors called Mere and is câ—â—â—â—marily used in that sense for any wast heap of Waters as Lakes and Pools that are 〈◊〉 all sides lockt in by the Land by the Dutch to this day But I cannot find that it evâ—â— had any Possessors that extracted their Sirname from hence for in the Raign of Edward the third I find Arnold de Savage held it and so did his Grandchild Eleanor Savage who was matched to William Clifford and he by this Alliance became invested in the Possession and in this Family did the Title lie couched untill the beginning of Henry the seventh and then I can track no farther Evidence of their Possession of this place In the Raign of Edward the sixth I find it to be invested in the Name of Croft and remained tied to the Patrimony of that Family untill David Crofts died in the twenty second year of Queen Elizabeth and left it to Jo. Croft Helen and Margaret his Daughters and they upon the death of their Brother who was an Ideot becomming Joynt-heirs to this place in the forty second year of Q. Elizabeth passed it away to Mr. Stephen Hulks who bequeathed it to his Son and Heir Mr. Jo. Hulks and he upon his Decease which was not many years since gave it to his second Son Mr. Charles Hulks who now is in Fruition of it N. N. N. N. NAtindon in the Hundreds of Bridge Petham and Whitstaple is an obscure Village not far remote from Canterbury and only calls for some Remembrance in this respect that the Mannor of Staplegate is situated within the Limits of it which was the Seat of an eminent Family which bore that Sirname who were Lords not onely of this Place but of much other Land in Romney Mersh and had certainly this Denomination ingrafted originally upon them because they collected the Kings profits and Customes arising out of the Staple of Wooll fixed at Staplegate in Canterbury The first of this Family whom I find eminent is Edmund Staplegate who paid respective Aid for his Mannor of Bilsington and his other Lands in Kent in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight and he was Father to Edmund Staplegate who at the Coronation of Richard the second held that signall Contest before John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster then High Steward at that solemn Inthronization with Richard Earl of Arundell about the Office of Chief Butler as I have before mentioned in Bilsington But to return to that Discourse from whence this emergent Controversie did divert me Edmund Staplegate in the thirteenth year of Richard the second enjoyed this Mannor at his Death but after his Deeease the Title was not long liv'd in this Name for in the Raign of Henry the fifth and Henry the sixth as appears by the Testimony of ancient Court Rolls it was in the Possession of Leichfield who was Master of much Land about Tilmanston and Betshanger and in the twenty second year of Ed. the fourth it was by Roger Lichfield passed away by Sale to William Haut Esquire Father to Sir William Haut in whom the male-line determined so that by Elizabeth his Daughter and Coheir it came to be the Inheritance of Sir Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury who about the first year of Edward the sixth alienated it to Philip Chowte Esquire and from him the like Fate bore off the Title to Sir Anthony Aucher and he about the latter end of Edward the sixth disposed of his Right in it to Sir James Hales of the Dungeon Ancestor to Sir James Hales of the same place who not many years since demised the Premises to Mr. Smith of High-Gate upon whose late Decease the Title like a Pythagorean-Soul is transmigrated into his Heir Nettlested in the Hundred of Twyford was the ancient Seat of the noble and ancient Family of Pimpe William de Pimpe paid respective Aid for this Mannor and other Lands which lay not far distant from this place which he held by a whole Knights Fee at the making the Black Prince Knight the twentieth of Edward the third Reginald Pimpe was his Son and Heir and served out the Office of high Sheriff of Kent for him in the forty ninth year of Edward the third in which year he dyed It is probable that this William was knighted because there is a Tombe in Nettlested Church with this Inscription affixed to his Tombe-stone Hic jacet Domina Margareta de Cobham quondam Vxor Willielmi Pimpe Militis quae obiit 4 Septembris 1337. From whence it may be probably collected that the above recited William Pimpe though he is not mentioned as a Knight in the Register of the Sheriffs yet afterwards for some exemplary Services by him performed and managed might be invested with the Order of Knighthood From this Man in the continued Succession of a direct Line See more of Pimp in my Discourse of Sea-watches did Reginald Pimpe descend who determined in Ann Pimpe who was his Sole Heir and so this ancient Family which had under a venerable Character of Antiquity for so many Ages flourished at this place as the Monuments in the Church not yet dismantled do sufficiently evince was about the latterend of Henry the seventh extinguished and Nettlested fell under the Patrimony of John Scott of Scotts Hall from whom Edw. Scot Esquire is lineally extracted and in Relation to this Alliance is the instant Proprietary of Nettlested Lomewood is a second place of Account in Nettlested it belonged formerly to a Cloister of black Cannons in Oxford dedicated to St. Friswith which being suppressed by Cardinal Wolsey in the year 1525 when he intended to erect the magnificent Fabrick of the Colledge of Christ-church this Mannor was resigned up to the Crown and was by King Henry the eighth in the twenty seventh year of his raign granted to Sir Edward Nevill who gave it in Martiage with his Daughter Katharine Nevill espoused to John Roydon Esquire of Roydon-Hall in great Peckham and he determining in Elizabeth Roydon his Sole Heir she by matching with Roger Twisden Esquire planted it in his Revenue and from him hath the Interest of Descent transported it along to his Grandchild Sir Roger Twisden of Roydon Hall Knight and Baronet Newenden in the Hundred of Selbrittenden was erected in the place where the old Roman City of Anderida was situated and was called by the Britons Caer Andred very aptly by Leland styled in Latine Noviodunum from the Saxon Nywandun in English by Corruption called Newenden which in the original imports as much as The new Hill in the Valley This was that Station and City of the Romans mentioned in the Banner of the Count or Lord
Master or Conservator of her Jewells whose Son Sir Jo. Astley upon his Decease bequeathed it to his Nephew Sir Norton Knatchbull Knight and Baronet who is the instant Proprietarie of it Champions-Court is the second place of Account in this Parish It was in elder Times the Mansion and Demeasne of a generous Family whose Sirname was Campania and was certainly a Family of eminence in elder Times Robert de Campania is inserted in the Register of those Kentish Gentlemen who accompanied Richard the first to the Seige of Acon John de Campania his Grandchild obtained the Grant of a Market to Newenham weekly on the Thursday and a Fair yearly to continue the Vigil the Day of St. Peter and Paul and the Day after and was one of those Knights of Kent who was embarked in the Seige of Carlaverock in Scotland with Edward the first in the twenty eighth year of his Raign In Times of a younger Aspect the Name by Depravation and vulgar Use languished into Champion and so continued till it expired in Daughters and Coheirs one of which was Katharine Champion who by matching with Robert Corbett descended from the Corbetts of Morton Corbett in the County of Salop upon the Division of Champions Estate united this to his Revenue where it had not long rested but the same vicissitude brought this Name to determine in female Coheirs likewise two of which called Joan and Elizabeth were espoused to Samuell Slap and Ralph Hart. Samuell Slap had Issue Joan Slap who dyed childlesse and so this Mannor was cast into the Possession of Richard Hart Son of Ralph Hart the Successor of Richard Hart in our Fathers Memory alienated his Interest in it to Sir Henry Spiller and he not many years since conveyed all his Right and Title to it by Sale to Mr. Weckerlin descended from the Weckerlins a Family of good Ranke and Account in Upper Germany A third place of Note in Newenham is Sholand whih was in the Raign of H. the third as an old datelesse Deed discovers to us the Patrimony of Adam de Stomynton and after this Name went out the Bournes of Sharsted in Dodington not far removed from this place were about the twentieth year of Edward the third possest of this Lordship from them by purchase the Propriety was carried over to Chevin descended from the Chevins of Chevins-court in Marden and Thomas Chevin of this place married Thomasin Coheir of Champion of Champions Court in this Parish From Chevin the Interest of Sholand did descend by Sale to Maycott and from them by the same Fate to Adye a Family of Note and very much Antiquity as to the Name in this Track whose Right it had not long acknowledged but by the same Devolution the Title was invested in Steere from whom by Purchase it came over to Sayers descended from those of York-shire who in that Age our Fathers lived in sold his Concernment in it to Mr. Hugison of Dover in whose Heirs the Propriety of this place is at this instant resident Newington-Belhouse lies in the Hundred of Folkston and was in the Raign of King John and Henry the third the Possession of Hubert de Burgo Lord Chief Justice of England and from him it descended to his Son John de Burgo who in the fifty fifth year of Henry the third passed it away by Sale to Thomas de Belhouse by the Name of Newington juxta Hieth And probably this may be a Reason why this Family after they had adopted this Mannor into their own Name assumed a Coat which had some Affinitie with that of Hubert de Burgo videlicet Or upon a Bend Gules three Lozinges Argent and Gules which I suppose was done to preserve the Memory of him of whom it was first purchased But to proceed Sir Thomas de Belhouse great Grandchild of the above-mentioned paid respective Aid for this Mannor by the Name of Newington-Belhouse in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight and died possest of it in the forty eighth year of that Princes Raign from whom a descendant Right brought it down to his Heir John de Belhouse who enjoyed it so narrow a space of Time that it is left upon Record that he died seised of it in the forty ninth year of Edward the third and Robert Knevit a younger Son of Sir John Knevit Lord Chancellor of England who had married the Heir Generall of this Family was found to be his Heir and it was this Robert or else probably his Son who in the seventh year of Henry the fourth had a Patent of Confirmation of Liberty of Free-warren to his Lands at Newington formerly granted to Thomas de Belhouse After the Line of the Knevits was extinguished at this place which was about the beginning of Henry the eighth this Mannor devolved to the Cloptons for Edmund Knevit of Stanwaymagna in Essex had three Sisters who were Coheirs to him and their Father Edward Knevit Esquire Thomasin the eldest was matched to Sir William Clopton of Kentwell in Suffolk for his second Wife and Katharine the second Sister was married to John Clopton Esq eldest Son of the above-said Sir William and Dorothy the third was matched to Thomas Carnaby but these desiring to Contract all their Patrimony within the Verge of Suffolk alienared this Mannor in the twenty seventh year of King Henry the eighth with much of their Land in the Mersh to Thomas Lord Cromwell who being attainted in the thirty second year of Henry the eighth this Mannor escheated to the Crown and lay couched in its Revenue untill the first year of Queen Mary and then it was granted to Edward Lord Clinton who in the last year of the above-said Princesse conveyed it with all its perquisites to Henry Herdson whose Grandchild Francis Herdson almost in that Age we entitle to our Fathers Remembrance alienated it to Mr. Henry Brockman Grandfather to the instant Proprietarie James Brockman Esquire Sene and Bithborough were two ancient Seats which related to the Knightly Family of Valoigns of whom I shall speak more in my Discourse of Petham but before the latter end of Edward the third this Family was extinguished and then one of the two Daughters and Coheirs upon the Distinction of the Estate parcells brought these two places to be the Inheritance of Sir Francis Fogge who lies buried Cross-legg'd in Cheriton-Church with the Arms of Fogge and Valoigns empal'd upon his Tombe and from him did the Propriety and Title in an uninterupted Channell stream down to George Fogge Esquire who alienated Sene in our Grandfathers Memory to Honywood and Bithborough to Mr. Henry Brockman who added much to the ancient Building so that it is now become the Seat of that Family Bertrams in Newington is so called because it was parcell of the Estate of Bertram de Crioll who died possest of it in the twenty third year of Edward the first and left it to Joan his Heir espoused to Sir Richard de
raign of Henry the seventh left two Sons to Thomas his eldest he devised Fredville with his Estate there to William his youngest Bonington and the Lands annexed to it so that the eldest had the Fairest and the youngest the ancient Seat from Fredville are streamed out first the Boois's of Hode the second Branch of the eldest House Secondly those of Betshanger Thirdly Bois of Sandwich issued out from those of Betshanger From Bonington are extracted the Bois's of Willsborough being the second Branch of the second House Secondly Bois of Offington and thirdly Bois of Hawkherst From Thomas Bois above-mentioned is the Title of Fredville in a successive Line now devolved to his Successor Iohn Bois Esquire Elmington is a second place of Note in this Parish It was made eminent in former Times by being parcell of the Patrimony of Condye of Condies Hall in VVitstaple who likewise had some Interest in Fredville by purchase from Colkin which VVilliam Condy passed away to Thomas Charlton above-mentioned Which VVilliam was Son and Heir to Iohn de Condy who dyed possest of Elmington the fifth of September in the forty second year of Edward the third and by descendant Right was invested in the Propriety of this place but enjoyed it not long for he dying without Issue Robert Grubbe who had married Margaret Sister and Coheir of the abovesaid VVilliam entered upon the Possession But he likewise concluding in two Daughters and Coheirs Agnes one of them by matching with Iohn Isaack annexed this to his Inheritance and his Successor James Isaack about the latter end of Henry the seventh conveyed it to George Guldford Esquire who not long after transmitted the Interest he had in this place by Sale to Betenham in whom the Possession was but of a frail and narrow Continuance for from this Family a Vicissitude like the former about the latter end of Henry the eighth carried it away to Sir Christopher Hales and his Son Sir James Hales not long after demised it to VVilliam Bois Esquire Ancestor to Jo. Bois of Fredville Esquire who now holds the instant Signiory of it St. Albans is a third place in Nonington which exacts our Notice It is called so because it was wrapped up in the Revenue of the Abby of St. Albans and did partake of the like priviledges as that Monastery enjoyed a Scale of which you may read of recorded in the late printed Monasticum Anglicanum too tedious here to recapitulate It was in elder Times called Esole and was held by one Edmund de Akcholt in Knights Service whose Arms in Nonington Church videlicet Quarterly Argent and Azure over all a Bend componee Or and Gules are yet visible and obvious This Mannor upon the general Dissolution in the Raign of Henry the eighth being found involved in the Patrimony of the above said Abby was in the thirty second year of that Prince granted with all its Appendages to Sir Christopher Hales and his Son Sir James Hales about the Beginning of Edward the sixth conveyed it to John Sticker who in the fifth year of that Prince alienated it to Sir Thomas Colepeper of Bedgbery from whom not long after the same mutation transplanted it into Sir Thomas Moile and he demised the propriety of it by Sale to Thomas Hamon Esquire Auncestor to Anthony Hamon Esquire who now enjoys the present Signory of it At the Borough of Wolwich in this Parish is a place called Oxendens which was the Original Seminary and Fountain of those of that Name and Family in this County Ratling is another place in Nonington of principal Note It contributed in Times of a more Venerable Date both Seat and Sirname to a Family of that Appellation It would be too tedious and voluminous a Digression to recite all those whom Ancient Records represent to be the possessors of this Place I shall only take notice of Sayer de Ratling Son of Sir Robert de Ratling who was the last of the Name who enjoyed it and had it in Possession at his Decease which was in the tenth year of Richard the second and left Joane his Daughter and Heir who was matched to John Spicer from whom the Spicers who were Owners of the Mannor of Sherford in Monks Horton in this County were collaterally extracted but it appears they were of no long residence at this Place for this Man and his Name together went out in Co-heirs so that Ratling fell under the Dominion of a new Proprietary for by Cicely one of them it was knit to the Demeasne of her Husband John Izaack of Blackmanbery in Bredge and by this Alliance the Title became tied to this Family till Edward Izaack this mans Grand-child in the Raign of Henry the seventh by Sale collated his Right in it on Sir John Phineux whose Successor in the next Age after alienated it to Nevinson from whom not so many years are yet elapsed but that almost our Memory may attaque the time of the Sale By the same Fatality the Possession and Title was rowled into the enjoyment of the present Owner Sir William Cowper Oldcourt is a third place which may exact our Account it was anciently parcel of the Demeasne of a good old Family who derived their Sirname from the Parish of Goodneston vulgarly called Gonston by no far Distance removed from this place and continued in an uninterrupted Series from John William and Robert de Godneston of whom there is frequent mention in private Evidences and who flourished in the Raigns of Henry the third and Edward the first as their Dateless Deeds do intimate until the Raign of Edward the fourth possest of this place and then it went by Edith Daughter and Heir of Edward Godneston in whom the Name was entombed to Vincent Engham descended from the Enghams or Edinghams of Woodchurch from whom it went away by Sale to John Sydley Esquire Auditor to Henry the seventh who added much to the Splendor and Magnificence of the Sydleys of Southfleet by those additional improvements with which he encreased the Patrimony of that Family When this Name went out the next Family which succeeded in the possession of this place by purchase was Wild of Canterbury descended originally from the Wilds of the County of Worcester where they are entituled to an Extraction of deep Antiquity whose Successor Sir John Wild of Canterbury in that Age we call our Fathers passed away his Right in Oldcourt to Mersh who holds the instant Fee-simple of it Northbourne in the Hundred of Eastry was given to Christ-church in Canterbury by Eadbald King of Kent as the Records of that Church do assert after his Return to the Christian Faith for formerly by an open Desertion or Apostacy he had renounced those Principles of Religion which originally had been infused into him And being thus cast into the Revenue of the Church it remained incorporated in its Patrimony till the publique Dissolution made by Henry the eighth dissevered it and laid it up in the Lap of the Royal
Imposition was scrued or wound up too much he abates and mollifies it by these Engagements perpetually for the future to oblige and endear them to assert and maintain his new atchieved Royaltie But to return to my Discourse In times of a more recent Inscription that is in the seventh year of King John the Prior and Monks of Christ-church obtained a Market to this their Mannor to be observed weekly on the Wednesday as appears Carta de Anno septimo R. Joannis Memb. secund with which Franchise it continued invested untill the twenty ninth of Henry the eighth and then being by the Monks abovesaid with the Residue of their Revenue into the Hands of that Prince it remained with the Crown untill the thirty second year of his Government and then it was granted to Pereivall Hart of Lullingston Esq to whose pious and charitable Beneficence the Almes Houses at this place owe their original Foundation and from him is the Propriety of it now descended to his great Grandchild Will. Hart Esq Crofton in this Parish did formerly swel into so much of Grandeur and populacy that it was known for a Parish of it self till by Fire it was entombed in its present Desolations and by the Violence of that wild and impetuous Element reduced into a Heap of Flame and Ruines and certainly those deplorable Remains which yet expose themselves to an Inquisitive Eye and the Groundsells too and scattered Foundations of Houses which the Plough often raises out of their Sepulcher of Rubbish and represents to the publick View do evince this Truth to us that Towns and Villages have their stated Period of Duration and must at length find a Grave like Men. But though this Village be shrunk into this disordered Heap yet still it preserves the Reputation of a Mannor which it had anciently when it was the Inheritance of Wibourn a Family in elder Times of high Esteem and a considerable Revenue in this Territory Ralph de Wibourn held Lands here and in other places of Kent as appears by sundry ancient Deeds now in the Possession of Wibourne of Halkewell in the raign of Edward the first and did after execute a Deed for Land in Wrotham Hundred in the tenth year of Edward the second And in the twentieth year of Edward the third John de Wybourne paid respective Aid for his Lands here and at other places in this County at the making the Black Prince Knight after Wibourne had relinquished the Possession of this place which was about the latter end of Edward the third it went away by Sale to Sir Robert Belknap who was attainted and banished by that Factious Parliament which was held in the tenth year of R. the second for vigorously endevouring to vindicate and assert his Prerogative against the Invasions and Inroads which some of the turbulent Nobility of those times did attempt to make upon it but this though forfeited and escheated to the Crown upon his pretended Treason was by Richard the second restor'd to Hamon Belknap Lord of Oston in the County of Warwick and from him it was by Descent transferred to John Belknap his Son who upon his Decease which was in the fifteenth year of Henry the sixth bequeathed it to Sir Henry Belknap who determined in three Daughters and Coheirs Alice married to Sir William Shelley Anne matched to Sir Robert Wotton and Elizabeth first wedded to Sir Philip Cook of Giddy-Hall in Essex and after to I eonard Dannett of the County of VVorcester who divided his Patrimony but this upon ballancing the partition of the Estate fell upon the poising of it in equall portions to be the Demeasn of Sir VVill. Shelley who demised it by Sale to Sir Rob. Read Lord Chiefe Justice of the Kings Bench and he in the raign of Henry the seventh passed it away by Grant to the Hospital of the Savoy in ' London where it has ever since without any Interruption of the first Donation remained successively resident Bark-hart has obtained a place in the Map of Kent and therefore shall not want one in this Discourse It was built by Percivall Hart Esquire Father to the late Sir Percivall but it was adorned with this Name by Queen Elizabeth when she was magnificently entertained at this place by the above said Gentleman Upon her Reception she received her first Caresses by a Nymph which personated the Genius of the House then the Scene was shifted and from several Chambers which as they were contrived represented a Ship a Sea Conflict was offered up to the Spectator's View which so much obliged the Eyes of this Princesse with the Charms of Delight that upon her Departure she left upon this House to perpetuate the Memory both of the Author and Artifice the Name and Appellation of Bark-hart There is a Tradition that Thomas de Beckett Arch-bishop of Canterbury was born at Tubbingden whose Demeasne is partly situated in Ferneborough and partly in this Parish But to dissipate this received Fiction I shall manifest out of an old Parliament Roll of the thirty first year of Henry the sixth the original Truth that is so much of it as concerns his Cradle or place of Nativity The Record in its own Dialect speaks thus James Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond whose Fader and many of his Ancestors are lineally descended of the Blode of the glorious Martyr St. Thomas sometimes Arch-bishop of Canterbury The which glorious Martyr was born of his Moder within the Ground where now is set the House or Hospital of the said Martyr called St. Thomas Acres now in the City of London where the Body of the said Earl lies buried and Dame Joane Beauchamp late Lady of Burgavenny Crandame to the said Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire For Tubbenden it self it was Anciently the Demeasne of a Family which was known by that Sirname for by a Deed now in the Hands of Mr. Wittingham Wood of Canterbury Esquire it appears Gilbert Saundre of Crofton did demise several parcels of Land to John de Tubbenden of Ferneborough and to Richard Philip John and Robert his Sons in the twenty first year of Edward the first which justifies it Anciently to be the Possession of one of that Name After Tubbenden Belknap was Proprietary of this place and then successively by Alice his Co-heir Sir William Shelley of Michelgrove in Sussex from which Family it was brought down by Purchase in the beginning of the raign of Henry the eighth to be the Estate of Posier who after some few years continuance in the Possession demised his Concernment in it by Sale to Dalton issued out from the Daltons of Yorkeshire which Name suddainly resolved into a Female Heir known by the Name of Anne Dalton who by matching with Aunsell Beckett linked it to the Demeasne of that Family from whom it descended to his Son Matthew Beckett who upon his Decease bequeathed it to Mr. John Winterborn of London who hath lately passed it away to Mr. ...... Gee of the County of Yorke
Esquire St. Mary Crey in the Hundred of Rokesley though it be a Market Town yet is but a Chapâ—el of Ease to Orpington Before the Conquest one Elfgat held it as Doomes-day Book which makes a Recapitulation of the first Owners informs us of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury In the Conqueror's Time Hugh Nephew of Herbert Bishop of Baion possest it under the Notion of a whole Knights Fee In Ages of a more modern Date that is in the raign of Henry the third John de Maries descended from Thomas de Maries who accompanied Richard the first to the Seige of Acon enjoyed a whole Knights Fee at Ackmere and Sentling two eminent Mannors in this Parish but about the beginning of Edward the first had deserted the Possession and surrendered it to Gregory de Rokesley Grand-child to John de Rokesley who likewise was embarked with Richard the first at the Seige of Acon and he in the ninth of Edward the first obtained the Grant of a Market on the Wednesday and a three Dayes Faire at the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary to St. Mary Crey as appears Pat. 9. Edw. 1. Memb. 35. and left it to his Son Sir Richard de Rokesley who dying in the seventeenth year of Edward the second without Issue-male by Agnes one of his Daughters and Co-heirs to Thomas de Poynings in which Name it continued until the latter end of Edward the third and then I find it possest by Sir Robert Belknap who was attainted in the tenth year and banished into Ireland for too vigorously attempting to boulster up the Majesty and Prerogative of that Prince against the Assaults and invasions which were made upon it by a Factious Junto of the Nobility yet it was suddainly after restored to his Posterity for in the ninteenth of Richard the second I find Hamon Belknap reseated in the Possession by the Royal Concession and Indulgence of that Prince and from him it did devolve to his Grand-child Sir Henry Belknap which Family being enterred in Daughters and Co-heirs Sir Robert Wotton by matching with Anne that was one of them entituled himself in her Right to the Inheritance of both these Places and so by the Thread of a continued Descent was it brought down to Thomas Lord Wotton who settled them in Marriage upon his eldest Daughter and Co-heir Mrs. Katherine Wotton who was espoused to Henry Lord Stanhop Heir apparent to Philip Earl of Chesterfeild Orlanston in the Hundred of Hamme was the Inherirance of a Family of that Sirname William de Orlanston is registred in the List of those Kentish Gentlemen who assisted Richard the first at the Siege of Acon William de Orlanston his Son held it in the raign of Henry the third and obtained a Charter of Free-warren to it in the one and fiftieth year of Henry the third and more to improve the Grandeur of this his Mannor with Additional Franchises he likewise obtained a Market to be weekly observed here and a Fair yearly which was to continne by the space of three Dayes at the Feast of Holyrode as appears Pat. de 51. Hen. 3. Memb. 10. The Grant of which Market was renewed and confirmed to John Kemp Arch-bishop of Yorke and after of Canterbury in the twentieth year of Henry the sixth William de Orlanston this mans Grand-child was Sheriff of Kent in the second year of Edward the third and had the Custody of the County some part of the year following and died the thirty eighth year of Edward the third and had Issue Sir John Orlanston who was Burgess for Romeney as appears by some old Records in Dover Castle sundry Times both in the raign of Edward the third and Richard the second and matched with the Daughter and Heir of Sir William at Capell from which Alliance proceeded Richard Orlanston Esquire who died possest of Orlanston in the seventh year of Henry the fifth Rot. Esc Num. 16. and left his Inheritance to be divided between his two Sisters and Co-heirs Margaret matched to William Parker of Parkers in Werehorne and Joane espoused to William Scott of Scotts Hall who upon the Partition of the Ancient Patrimony was invested in his Wife 's Right in this Mannor of Orlanston from whom the Clew of many Descents hath transported the Propriety to the instant Possessor Mr. Edward Scott of Scotts Hall Esquire Here were Lands divorced from this Place by no far Distance called Oswareston for I find Henry Earl of Augie gave to the Monks of Bermondsey in Southwarke his Lands called Oswareston near Romelin in the Parish of Lyda and the Lands of John the Clerk in Bilsington of which see Vincents Book of Nobility Fol. 190. Westbery in this Parish was as high as the private Evidences of this Place can give us any Prospect to discover the Propriety of a Family called Prisott who was planted here as high as the Raign of Henry the fourth and t is probable much higher though the Deeds reach no farther Of this Family was Sir John Prisot the Judge of whom there is frequent mention in our Law Books which have an Aspect upon the Raign of Henry the sixth and in this Name was the Title of this Mannor carried down to the eighth year of Henry the eighth and then it was by Thomas Prisot passed away by Sale to George Hount in whom the Possession had not many years been resident but the same Fatality brought it over to Reginald Strogle who was in the Commission of the Peace in the Raign of Edward the sixth and was descended from a Family which was of a very high Original in Romney-Mersh where there are some Lands yet which bear their Name After Strogle had left it it came by Purchase to Mr. Bennet Guildford a Branch of the Guildfords of Hempsted who in the beginning of the Raign of Queen Elizabeth falling under the Censure and Penalty of a Pramunire for refusing the Oath of Supremacy and flying beyond Sea forfeited this place to the Crown and this Princesse immediately after passed it away by Grant to Walter Moile of Buckwell from whom not many years after this original Concession it went away by Sale to Mr. Francis Bourne Grand-father to Mr. ...... Bourne the present Proprietary of it Ospringe in the Hundred of Feversham was anciently a Limb or Appendage of the Royal Revenue until King Edward the thind in the tenth year of his Raign by Royal Concession or Grant passed it away to John de Pultency afterwards Lord Mayor of London to hold it in Fee of the Crown by the Service of a Rose offered up or presented as a Symbol of Annual Fealty and with this Mannor he granted him likewise all the Advousons of-Churches which formerly related to it to hold in Soccage only by the former acknowledgement In the nineteenth year of his Raign the above said Prince grants this John de Pulteney that Thomas Son of William de Dene should be accountable to him for all those Knights Fees which lay in
of Henry the third at the marriage of Isabell that Prince's Sister and it is probable that this VVill. de Valoigns dyed possest of Otham in the tenth year of Edward the first for his Name was VVilliam likewise as appears by the escheat Roll marked with the Number 54. after whom his Successor Stephen de Valoigns held it who was certainly a man of some important Account in those Times for he was one of the Conservators of the Peace in the raign of Edward the third After Valoigns the knightly Family of Pimpe was by purchase invested about the latter end of Richard the second both in the Possession of Otham and Gore-court and to this Name was the Inheritance both of Otham and Gore-court by a Chain of severall Descents successively united till at last the ordinary Devolution of purchase brought them over to Isley of Sundrich and within the Circle of this Family was the Propriety of them circumscribed till the second year of Queen Mary and then Sir Hen. Isley being fatally engaged and entangled in the unsuccessefull Attempt of Sir Thomas Wiatt could not unravell himself untill he had satisfied the Justice of that Queen with the forfeiture of his Life and augmented the Revenue of the Crown with the Confiscation of his Estate from which these two places as being parcell of his escheated Patrimony were by Patent soon after passed away to Sir Walter Henley one of the Serjeants at Law to the abovesaid Queen Mary who dying without Issue-male bequeathed Gore-court to Hellen his Daughter and Coheir who was matched to Thomas Colepeper and Otham to his Brother Thomas Henley from whom it is come down to Walter Henley Esquire who is the present Lord of the Fee but Gore-court was by Colepeper demised by Sale to Buffkin where after the Possession had for severall years been fixed it was almost within the Pale of our Remembrance by purchase made the present Inheritance of Tho. Floyd Esquire Stoneacre in this Parish is an Ancient Seat which for some Centuries of years has acknowledged no other Proprietary then Ellys but whether Burton in Kenington or this Mansion were the original Fountain from whence this Family did extract its first Etymology is incertain for once they had one and the same Possessor The Deeds that fortifie their Interest in this place reach as high as the Time of Edward the second and instruct us that Ellis which enjoyes it now is by a stream of many unintercepted Descents issued out from John Ellis who possest it then There was the Foundation of a Religious Seminary of Canons Praemonstratenses or white Canons begun at Otham by Ralph de Dene but the Situation of the Place being not accommodated to Health they were by Ela de Sackvil removed and transplanted into her new erected Priory at Begham where till the common Suppression they continued undisturbed and fixed Otteringdon in the Hundred of Eyhorne does represent to us in Prospect the Memory of a Family to whom it contributed in Times more Arcient both Seat and Sirname Ralph de Ottringden held it at his Decease which was in the fifteenth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 29. But in his Son Sir Lawrence de Ottringden both the Name and Male Line failed together for his Daughter and Heir brought it along with her to Peyforer who about the latter end of the raign of Edward the third was extinguished likewise by the same Fatality in Julian Peyforer who was his Heir General and she by espousing Thomas St. Leger Esquire intermixed the Right of this place with the Inheritance of this Family and who lies entombed in this Church with this Compendious Superscription endorsed upon his Grave-stone Hic jacet Thomas St. Leger de Otteringden qui obiit 1408. But a Revolution as suddain as the former quickly snatched away Otteringden from the Patrimony of this Name for by Joan who was Co-heir to the above-mentioned Thomas St. Leger it was rowled into the Revenue of Henry Aucher Esquire sprouted out from the Illustrious Stem of Aucher of Losenham and in this Family was the Interest of this place successively laid up till the Time of Queen Elizabeth and then the whole Demise was by Sale transmitted to Lewin in whom a Descent or two after the Male-Line determining the Female Heir brought it to Rogers of the West from whom the like Fatality hath lately devolved it to Charles Lord Mansfeld eldest Son to the Right Honorable William Cavendish Marquess of Newcastle Putwood is another Mannor in this Parish which in Times of elder Etymology did acknowlede it self to be under the Signory of a Family who extracted their Sirname from Vienne in Dauphine in France and in several Deeds without Date there is mention of William de Vienna who was invested in Land here at Putwood and Ospringe and in the twentieth year of Edward the third Lucas de Vienna paid respective Supply at the making the Black Prince Knight for Lands which he held at Putwood and Ospringe After this Family was dissolved and gone the Quadrings which was about the beginning of Richard the second were settled in the possession where after some small Residence of the Title it went away by Sale about the latter end of Henry the fourth to the Ancient Family of Goldwell of great Chart and here after it had made some cursory aboad the same Devolution cast it into the Inheritance of Dryland of Cokes-ditch in Feversham to whose possession after the Title had for many years cleaved it was transported by purchase into the Patrimony of Atwater so styled because it is probable this Family had formerly their Residence near some Fountain or Stream but their Original from whence they primitively issued was from about Ospringe for there I find Robert Atwater possest Land at his Death which was in the fifth year of Edward the third and in this Name did the Title of the place lie couched until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then by Sale it was incorporated into the Revenue of Sir James Hales but long it remained not thus mingled for the Fate of purchase untwisted it and not many years after threw it into the Possession of Sayer from whom in Times which almost bordered upon our Memory it was by Sale wafted over to Mr. James Hugison of Dover and he bequeathed it to a second Son whose Female Heir Mrs. Jane Hugison by lately matching with Mr. John Roberts Esquire eldest Son to Sir John Roberts of Canterbury hath entituled him to the Propriety of it Herst in this Parish was the Ancient Demeasne of Filmer and here were they seated until by matching with the Heir of Argall they were transplanted to East Sutton I have seen an old Court-roll relating to the Mannor of Monkton in this Parish which by the Antiquity of it seemed to commence from the raign of Edward the second although the Date which stood in the Front by the in urious Hand of Time was almost expunged and so hardly
Patent conveyed in the thirteenth of Richard the third to John Brockman In Times of a lower step that is in the reign of Henry the eighth I find it in the Possession of John Newland but whether by Purchase from Brockman or not for want of Intelligence I cannot discover And in this Family the Propriety continued until the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Sir George Perkins from whom almost in our Memory the same Mutation brought it to confess the instant possession of Mr. ...... Aldridge of Tilers near Reding Rucking in the Hundred of Hamme in Ancient Records written Roking was by the Piety and Charitable Munificence of King Offa in the year seven hundred eighty and one given to the Prior and Monks of Christ-church and was in the Original Donation granted ad Pascua Porcorum for the Pasture of their Hoggs and it continued clasped up in their Revenue until the Tempest of the general Dissolution arose and overtook it for there being a Surrender of the Revenue of this Covent into the Hands of Henry the eighth in the thirty third year of his reign he united it to the Dean and Chapiter of Christ-church which he shortly after established and moulded out of their Ruines and here it continued until a late Storm arose again and tore it off Barbedinden is another eminent Mannor within the Boundaries of this Parish which had in Ages of a more Ancient Inscription Proprietaries of the same Denomination William de Barbodinden held it at his Death which was in the ninth of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 3. And left it to his Son and Heir John de Barbodinden who in the twentieth year of Edward the third as appears by the Book of Aid paid an Auxiliary supply for it at making the Black Prince Knight After this Family was extinguished Robert Belknap the Judge succeeded in the Possession of it and I do not find that though the Crown upon his Attaint seised upon much of his Estate that ever his Interest here was ravished away from him for he was in Possession of this place at his Death which was in the second year of Henry the fourth and disposed it by Will to his Son John Belknap who about the Beginning of Henry the sixth alienates it to Engham amongst whose Demeasne the Propriety of this Mannor had not many years dwelt but the Title was by Sale supplanted and cast into the Possession of Sir Matthew Brown Knight and his Son Thomas Brown Esquire in the last year of Edward the sixth passed it away by Sale to Anthony Lovelace Esquire Ancestor to Richard Lovelace who some few years since alienated his entire Concernment in it to the late Possessor Mr. Richard Hulse descended from the ancient Family of Hulse of the Borough of Hulse lying within Namptwich in the County of Chester S. S. S. S. SAltwood in the Hundred of Hene hath an open Prospect into the Ocean which flowed up much nearer then now it doth and imparted its Nature to its Name for in Latin it is written de Bosco Salso The Arch-bishops of Canterbury had here formerly a magnificent Castle which Time hath much dismantled and a Park well stored with Deere now vanished and gon Many Mannors in this Track are held of it by Knights Service which justly made it to be counted and called an Honour It was granted to the Church in the year 1096 by one Halden who for Grandeur and opulency was reckoned one of the Princes of England The Value and extent of it are more particularly set forth in the Records of the Church of Canterbury in the Conquerour's Time and they speak thus In Limwarlaed in Hundred de Hede habet Hugo de Montfort de Terra Mouachorum I Manerium Saltwode de Archiepiscopo Comes Godwinus tenuit illud tunc se defendebat pro VII Sullings That was Godwin Earl of Kent who by a possessory right held many Towns along this Coast nunc sunt V. tamen non Scottent nisi pro III. Et in Burgo de Hede sunt CC. XXV Burgenses qui pertinent huic Manerio de quibus non habet Hugo nisi III. Forisfacta for it lies in the Franchise of the five Ports and the King was to have their Serice est appretiatum XXVIII lb. IIII. This was Hugh Montfort who was one of those powerfull Men which entered England with William the Conquerour In the Time of K. Henry the second Henry de Essex Baron of Ralegh in that County Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports pro Tempore and the King's Standard-bearer in right of Inheritance held this Castle of the Arch-bishop who having in a leight Skirmish against the Welsh in Flintshire not only cast away his Courage but his Standard also was appealed of high Treason and in a legal Duell or Combate vanquished by his Challenger and being possest with regret and shame contracted from this Defeat shrouded himself in a Cloister and put on a Monks Cowle forfeiting a goodly Patrimony and Lively-hood which escheated to King Henry the second But Thomas Beckett acquainting the King that this Mannor belonged to his Church and Sea that Prince being beyond the Seas directed a Writt to K. Henry his Son the Draught of which is represented to us by Matthew Paris whither I referre the Reader for Restitution But in regard of new emergent Contests between King Henry the second and that insolent Prelate it was not restored unto the Church untill the Time of Richard the second The Castle was magnificently inlarged and repaired by William Courtney Archbishop of Canterbury in the Time of Richard the second as his Will doth declare and his Arms in Stone-work eminently demonstrate and remained after his Decease annexed to the Archiepiscopal Revenue untill Thomas Cranmer in the twenty ninth of Henry the eighth exchanged it with that Prince And his Son King Edward the sixth in the fourth year of his Raign granted it to Edward Lorâ— Clinton who not long after conveyed it to Mr. Henry Herdson whose Grandchild Mr. Francis Herdson passed it away about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth to Robert Cranmer Esquire by whose Daughter and Heir Ann Cranmer it devolved to Sir Arthur Harris of Crixey in Essex whose Son Sir Cranmer Harris not many years since alienated it to Sir William Boteler Father to Sir Oliver Boteler Baronet the instant Lord of the Fee There is an old vast Mansion House of Stone at Brochull in this Parish on the side of a Steep Hill which was the Seat and ancient Residence of a Family as eminent for Antiquity as any in this Track and extracted their Sirname from hence and were called Brochull who flourished here in Knights Degree and in some Parliaments in the Time of Edw. the third and Edw. the fourth sate there as Knights of the Shire Margaret the Wife of William builded or caused to be built an Isle on the Northside the Parish Church You may rove at the Time by
was by Etheldred let loose from the Veins of his Danish Subjects universally in this Nation and certainly it was this Swain that erected the Castle here to preserve a Winter Station for his Ships and though it now lye gasping in its own Rubbish yet there are yet some Characters and Signatures remaining which evidence and declare to us that there was once a Fortresse there where there is nothing now but dismantled Ruines The Tradition of the Country is that that Valley which interposes between that Hill which ascends up to Northfleet and that which winds up to Swanscamp was once covered with Water and being locked in on each side with Hills made a secure Road for Shipping which invited the Dane to make it a Winter-Station for his Navy and the same Report will tell you likewise of Anchors which have been digged up about the utmost Verge of that Mersh which is contiguous to the Thames and certainly if we consider the Position of this Valley which is nothing but a Chain of Mershland interlaced with a Stream called Ebbs fleet which swells and sinks with the Flux and Reflux of the adjacent River and the Dimension of their Ships then at that Time in use which were not of any extraordinary Bulk this Tradition is not improbable Near this place Stigand the Arch-bishop of Canterbury and Egelsine Abbot of St. Augustines assembled the Kentish Men into an Army pretending it was better to dye like Men in asserting and vindicating their Native Liberties with Swords in their Hands then like Slaves to prostitute themselves to the Insolence of the Conquerour by a cheap and tame Submission with Halters about their Necks which had so great an Influence and Impression upon their Spirits that they resolved their Franchises and themselves should find one Tomb together rather then they would give up both to the Sword and Will of an imperious Victor and indeed soon after they managed their Stratagems with that Successe that William Sirnamed the Conquerour advancing with his Normans into Kent to reduce Dover-Castle which was then made good against him he and his Army dropped into those Ambushes which the Kentish Inhabitants had strewed for him where he had indisputably perished had he not by Charter fortified and confirmed those Immunities they then contended and strugled for and which remain unviolated either by any forrain or domestick Eruption even untill this Day The Mannor of Swanscamp it self was as farre as Record can guide us to discover the Inheritance of the Montchensies called in the Latine Repertory de Monte-Canisio and Hubert de Montchensey as appears by Dooms-day Book was the first of that Name of any Eminence who was Lord of the Fee and after him his Son William de Montchensey by paternal Right held it and so dyed in Possession of it in the year 1287 from whom it descended to Dionis his Daughter and Heir and in Relation to her to her Husband Hugh de Vere who became by this Addition of Estate thus accruing Baron of Swanscamp and sat under that Notion in the Parliament which was summoned in the first year of Edward the second but he dying without Issue William de Valence Earl of Pembroke claimed it in Right of his Wife Daughter and Heir to John de Montchensey second Brother to William de Montchensey who was Father in Law to Hugh de Vere above-mentioned from whom it descended to his Son Aymer de Valence who dying without Issue in the seventeenth year of Edward the third Isabell his Sister matched to Lawrence de Hastings became his Heir who in her Right was Earl of Pembroke and Baron of Swanscamp and left it to his Grandchild John de Hastings Earl of Pembroke who dying without Issue in the fourteenth of Richard the second in the fifteenth year of that Prince Reginald Grey and Richard Talbot in respect of Marriage were found to be his Heirs and upon the Partition of the Estate this was united to the Demeasne of Talbot in which Family after it had rested untill the latter end of Henry the sixth it was conveyed to Sir Thomas Brown of Bechworth Castle whose Son Sir William Brown in the twelfth year of Edward the fourth surrendered them into the hands of Edward the fourth for the use of his Mother Cicely Dutchesse Dowager of York upon whose Decease it returned to the Crown and lay there untill the first year of Q. Elizabeth and then it was granted to Ralph Weldon Esq great Grand-father to Colonel Ralph Weldon the instant Lord of the Fee Alcharden alias Combes is another place in this Parish worthy this Survey It was many Hundred years since the Inheritance of a Family called Cumbe or Combe who continued resident in the Possession untill the reign of Edward the fourth and then it went away from them by Sale to Swan of Hook-House in Southfleet in which Family it was fixed untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Lovelace who not long after passed it away to Carter and he alienated it to Hardres from whom about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth the Vicissitude of Sale carried it off to Fagge who in the tenth year of King James transmitted it by Sale to Hudson whose Descendant not many years fince demised it by Sale to Mr. Richard Head of Rochester Ince-Grice is the last place considerable in Swanscampe It related before the general suppression to the Priory of Dartford but being torn off by King Henry the eighth it was by Edward the sixth in the fifth of his reign granted in Fee-Farm to Martin Muriell but the Fee-simple remained in the Crown until Queen Elizabeth in the fifth year of her Rule passed it away to Edward Darbishire and John Bere who not long after jointly conveyed it to Jones who in our Fathers Memory alienated it to Holloway whose Son and Heir Mr. Thomas Holloway hath lately demised his Interest in it to Captain Edward Brent of Southwarke Staple in the Hundred of Eastry hath two places memorable First Crixall which was Anciently written Crickleaddshall when in Ages of a higher Ascent it confessed the Family of Brockhull for its Owners which were Lords of it but until the twenty eighth of Edward the first and then it was setled upon a Daughter but whether she brought it or not by Marriage to Wadham which Family I find about the latter end of Edward the third to have been possest of it I cannot discover and where the Light of Record is dim I must acquiesce in silence William Wadhaem as I trace out by an old Pedigree of Fogg lived in the reign of Henry the fourth Henry the fifth and Henry the sixth under the Scepter of which Princes he managed the Office of Justice of the Peace for the County of Somerset and left his Estate here to his Son and Heir Sir Nicholas Wadham who determined in a Daughter and Heir matched to Sir William Fogg by which Alliance this Mannor came to be ingrafted into the
Whitfield of Canterbury There is a second Seat in Snodland called Holoway-court and in the Book of Aid mention is of one Henry de Holoway that held it in elder Times about the Beginning of Henry the third but upon a serious perusal of the evidences and Muniments which did relate to this Mansion I found it as high as they reached that is to the reign of Edward the third to be the Inheritance of the Tilghmans and several very old Panes of Glasse are coloured with that Coat of Arms which the Tilghmans are entered with in the last Visitation of Kent and in this Name was the Possession for many Descents permanent till some forty years since or more it was by Sale conveyed to Clotworthy extracted from the Clotworthies of Devon who by Testamentary Donation transmitted the Interest of it to his Sisters Son Mr. Thomas Williams Stone in the Hundred of Feversham was when it flourished most but a Chappel of Ease to Tenham but it is grown up to some Repute since Simon de Langton Arch-deacon of the Church of Canterbury Brother to Stephen de Langton the Arch-bishop gave to the Monks of Christ-church in Canterbury in the year 1227 omnes Decimas Majores Minores de Copton Eylwarton infra Limites Capellae de Stone Now this Copton and Eylwarton were Mannors anciently given to the Monks of Canterbury by Edmund Son of Q. Edgiva ad victum corum for the supply of Diet in the year of our Lord 980. Wildemersh in this Village deserves a Remembrance in that it was part of the Patrimony of the ancient Family of Donett for it was in the enjoyment of John Donett at his Death which was in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third But not long did it fixe there for Jâ—mes Donet his Successor dyed without Issue-male and left only a Daughter and Heir called Margery who being married to Iohn St. Leger this in her right went into the Possession of that Family from whom the ordinary Revolution of Sale conveyed it to Richard Dryland from which Name by the like Chanel the Inheritance slowed into Sir Anthony Aucher Predecessour to Sir Anthony Aucher of Bourne and here for ought I yet can collect is the Fee-simple of it setled Stone in the Hundred of Acstane had formerly a Castle which acknowledged the Northwoods for its founders as their Arms insculped in the old Stone-work now dismantled did easily demonstrate In the twentieth year of Edward the third Iohn de Northwood paid respective Aid at making the Black Prince Knight for his Mannor and Castle and although it now lye wrapped up in its own Ruines yet the Shell or Skeleton of it within which Sir Richard Wiltshire laid the Foundation of that Frabrick now extant represents to the eye some symptoms of its former strength and magnificence From Northwood it passed away by Sale to Butivant corruptly called Bonivant and from this Family a Fatalitie like the former carried it down to Cholmley from him by as quick a Current the Fee simple was transported to Chapman whose Widow Elizabeth Chapman being re-married to Jo. Preston he in her Right as I find by some Court-rolls was possest of it but her Son Thomas Chapman about the latter end of Henry the eighth concluded in Anne his Sole Heir who by matching with Mr. William Carew devolved the right on his Family from whom in right of that Alliance it is now descended to his Successor Mr. Henry Carew Littlebroke in this Parish did first own a Family of that Sirname as is evident from ancient Dateless Deeds wherein Laurence at Broke is re-presented to have been Possessor of it but this Family before the end of Edward the third had deserred the Possession and transplanted it by Sale into Northword and John Northwood about the latter end of Richard the second passed it away to Roger Apylton which Roger lies buried as the Date on his Tomb informs us in Crayford Church in the year 1400. And from him does Sir Henry Apylton Knight and Baronet not onely claim his Descent but his Interest in this Mannor also The Mannor of Cotton is embraced within the Precincts of Stone likewise It was as high as any private or publick Record can conduct us on to a Discovery the Possession of Killingworth of Hackstaple at Sutton at Hone and in this Family was the Title by a successive Derivation of several Descents preserved until the entrance of Henry the eighth and then it was conveyed by George Killingworth Esquire to Sir Richard Wiltshire from which Family not long after the Propriety of this place was by a Fate proportionate to this planted in Apylton Ancestor to Sir Henry Apylton Knight and Baronet now Lord of the Fee Stoke in the Hundred of Hoo was given to the Priory of St. Andrews in Rochester by Eadbert K. of Kent in the year 762. And upon the suppression being surrendred to the Crown it was by Henry the eighth setled on his newly erected Dean and Chapiter of Rochester But here are two places which are of secular Interest The first is Malmains which yielded both Seat and Sirname to a Family which fell under that Denomination for I find John de Malmains Son of Henry died possest of it in the tenth year of Edward the second and in this Family it remained until the latter end of Richard the second and then it was conveyed to Iden a Family of generous Rank in elder Times about Rolvenden and here it lay couched in the Demeasn of this Family until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Jo. Park who dying without Issue Male setled it on Elizabeth his Sole Heir matched to John Roper Esquire from whom by paternal succession the Inheritance is come down to his Descendant Christopher Roper Baron of Tenham Tuders is the second which anciently confessed a Family of that Appellation to be its original Possessors whose Name was in all probability primitively Theodore for I have seen an ancient Roll of Kentish Arms wherein Tuder of Stoke bears the same Coat with Owen Theodore vulgarly called Tuder viz. Azure a Cheveron between three Helmets Argent But to proceed When this Family dislodged from this place for want of Intelligence I confess I know not onely in the Reign of Henry the eighth I find it possest by Woodward in which Family the Title remained invested until the entrance of Q. Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Wilkins from whom by a quick Alienation it went away and resigned up its Interest by Sale to Bright and in the Revenue of his Descendant is the Proprietie of it yet wrapped up Stourmouth in the Hundred of Blengate was a piece of that large Revenue which owned the Signory of Hussey In the fifty fifth year of Henry the third Henry le Hussey obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to his Mannor of Stourmouth and his Grandchild Henry le Hussey died possest of it in the sixth year of Edward the
third but alass neither the Nobleness of the Name nor wideness of the Franchise could keep this Family from departing from this place for about the latter end of Henry the fourth I find it in the Tenure of the eminent Family of Apulderfield but setled not long here for Sir William Apulderfield about the middle of Edward the fourth concluded in Elizabeth Apulderfield who was his Sole Daughter and Heir who by matching with Sir Jo. Phineux Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench in the Reign of Henry the seventh made it his Demeasn but the Title of this place did not long fix here for he dying without Issue Male Jane his only Daughter became his only Heir who by espousing of Jo. Roper Esq of St. Dunstans in Canterbury linked it to the Demeasn of this Family from whom in a continued Current of descent the Proprietie of it is now flowed down to William Roper a Cadet or younger Branch of this Stem Shorne in the Hundred of Shamell was as high as the Reign of K. John the Patrimony of the Noble Family of Nevil Jordanus and in some old Deeds written Jollanus de Nevil held the Mannor of Shorne as appears by the Pipe-Roll of that year and John de Nevil was his Son and Heir who held this Mannor in the thirtieth year of Henry the third but after him I can track no farther Mention of this Family at this place for in the fifty fourth of Henry the third as appears by the Pipe-roll of that year I discover Roger de Norwood to be Lord of the Fee this was that Roger de Norwood who disdaining to have his Lands held in that Lazy and sluggish Tenure of Gavelkind changed it into the more active one of Knights Service in the fourteenth year of Henry the third still reserving to himself by that Licence by which he obtained a Grant of the first to reserve the ancient Rent whereby his Lands held even in the Time of the Conquerour and he in the thirteenth year of Edward the first died possest of this Mannor and all its Perquisites at Oisterland in Cliff and other places and left it to his Son and Heir Sir John de Norwood who together with his eldest Son Sir John de Norwood accompanied that triumphant Prince Edward the first in his Victorious Design undertaken against the Scots in the twenty eighth of his Reign The Mannor of Shorn holding by this Tenure viz. to carry a White Banner forty Dayes together at their own Charges whensoever the King should commence a War in Scotland as appears by an Inquisition taken after the Death of Roger de Norwood in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 23. Parte secundâ And this was customary not onely in England but elsewhere for Mr. Selden in his Titles of Honour observes out of Prelusius's his Discourses upon the State of Poland in the year 1530 Albert Marquess of Brandenburg and Mr. of the Teutonick or Dutch Order in Prussia receives his Investiture into that Dutchy per Vexilli Traditionem by the Delivery of a Banner from the Hands of Sigismund K. of Poland and his Brother George at his being enstated in that Signory by this Ceremony was suo Fratrum Nomine Vexillum contingere in his own and the Name of his Brother to place his Hands upon the Banner and when the above-mentioned Banner was delivered to an Heir who had not his Title and Right free from the Claim of an ambiguous and perplexed Competition he was onely admitted ad Contactum Extremitatum Vexilli ejusdem to touch the utmost or extream parts of this Banner The Tenure which was annexed to this Investiture was this to assist the K. of Poland with an hundred Horse whensoever he should personally advance into the Field against an enemie But to return John de Norwood was the last of this Name whom I find setled in the Inheritance of Shorne and he enjoyed it at his Decease which was in the second year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 35. But before the latter end of the Reign of that Prince it was removed from the possession of Norwood and by Sale plac'd in the Noble and ancient Family of Savage of Bobbing Court but not long after Sir Arnold Savage determining in Eleanor his Sole Inheritrix who was first wedded to Sir Reginald Cobham by whom she had no Issue and after to William Clifford Esquire she by this Alliance united it to the patrimony of this last Family and here it lay involved until the beginning of Q. Elizabeth and then it was passed away by George Clifford to Nicholas Lewson Esquire Grand-father to Sir Richard Lewson of the County of Stafford who desiring to circumscribe and collect his scattered Interest which lay dispersed in several parcels in this County into the closer circumference of Staffordshire alienated this Mannor almost in our Remembrance with all its Adjuncts at Oisterland in Cliff and other perquisites and out-Skirts to Mr. Woodier of Rochester in whose Lineage and Name the Title of it at this instant lies treasured up Ockington in this Parish was a Limb that made up the Body of that Revenue which anciently did swell into so vast a Bulk and Dimension in this Track and acknowledged for proprietaries the Noble Family of Cobham as appears by an Inquisition taken in the sixth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 45. where Stephen de Cobham was then found to have been possest of it at his Death and from him was the Title in a successive stream of Descent wasted down to the Reign of Hen. the seventh and then it was by Sale transplanted into Sir Henry Wiat where it flourished being supported with the Sap and Verdure of so Noble a Family until the fourth year of Edward the sixth and at that Time it was by Sale torn off from this Name for then Sir Thomas Wiat alienated it to Sir Anthony St. Leger and he passed it away to George Brooke Lord Cobham about the seventh year of Edward the siâ—â—â— whose great Grand-child Sir William brooke Knight of the Bath dying in the year 1643 without Issue Male it cescended to Sir John Brooke restored to the Barony of Cobham by the last King in the year 1644 as being Reversioner in entail Roundal though now shrunk into neglected Ruines was in elder Times the first Seat of the noble Family of Cobham from whence upon its Decay they were transplanted to Cobham Hall and was the Cradle of Men very eminent in their respective Generations of whom take this brief prospect * Ex veteri Rotulo penes Ed. Dering Militem Bar. dejunctum Henry de Cobham is enrolled in the List of those Kentish Gentlemen who were concerned with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon * Rotulus Pipae de Scutagio Wallia Reginald de Cobham accompanied Henry the third in his expedition against the Welch in the forty second year of his Reign Sir Henry Sir
Reginald Sir Stephen and Sir Henry de Cobham who lies buried here at Shorne are in the Catalogue of those Kentish Knights who supported the Cause and Quarrel of Edward the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in Scotland in the twenty eighth year of his Reign Jo. de Cobham was frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the Reign of Edw. the third Richard de Cobham was made Knight Banneret by Edward the third for his exemplary Service performed against the Scots as appears Pat. Edw. tertii Parte secunda Memb. 22. This Mannor escheating to the Crown upon the Attainder of Henry Lord Cobham in the second year of K. James it was by that Prince granted to Lodowick Duke of Lenox who upon his Decease bequeathed it to his Nephew James Duke of Lenox who being lately dead Esme Duke of Lenox his onely Son is now heir apparent of it Stowting lies in a Hundred which borrows its Name from this place In the reign of K. Iohn sundry ancient Records which have an Aspect upon that Prince's Time inform us that Stephen de Haringod was Lord of this Mannor and had the Grant of a Market to be held weekly at this place on the Tuesday and a Fair to be observed yearly for the space of two dayes viz. the Vigil and Day of Assumption of the Virgin Mary as is manifest Cart. 16. Joan. Num. 43. and died possest of it in the forty first of Henry the third But after this mans exit I can track no more of this Stem or Stock to have been proprietaries of it The next Family which was successively entituled to the possession was the noble Family of Burghurst or Burwash the first of which whom by some old Deeds I discover to have held this place was Bartholomew de Burwash who received the Order of Knighthood by Edward the first for his Noble and generous Assistance given to that Prince at the Seige of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth of his Reign and he had Issue Stephen de Burwash who obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to his Mannors Stowting Sifleston Ditton and Burwash in Chiddington in the first year of Edward the third and died possest of this Mannor and Hundred in the third year of that Prince's Government as appears Rot. Esc Num. 41. and from him did it descend to his Grand-child Bartholomew Lord Burwash who in the forty third of the abovesaid Monarch conveyed this Mannor with much other Land to Sir Walter de Paveley Knight of the Garter in which Family the possession was constant but until the beginnning of Richard the second and then it was passed away by Sale to Trivet from whom the same Fatalitie about the fifteenth year of that Prince brought it over to Sir Lewis Clifford and by Descent this devolving to his Successor Lewis Clifford he in the twelfth year of Hen. the sixth conveyed it by a Fine then levied to William Wenlock who not long after alienated his Right in it to Richard beauchampe Baron of Aburgavenny who had Issue Richard Beauchampe in whom the Male Line determined so that Elizabeth his onely Daughter and Heir being matched to Edward Nevill brought this Mannor and the Barony of Aburgavenny to be united to that Family and continued linked to the Demeasn of this Name until it was by Descent brought down to Henry Nevill Baron Aburgavenny who about the latter end of Henry the eighth passed it away to Sir Thomas Moile whose Daughter and Coheir Amy Moile united it to the Inheritance of her Husband Sir Thomas Kempe whose Son Sir Thomas Kempe setled it on his Brother Reginald Kempe and from him it descended to his onely Son Mr. Thomas Kempe who dying without Issue it came to be shared by his two Sisters and Co heirs matched to Denny and Clerk and they not many years since by mutual Concurrence and Assent alienated their joynt Interest here to Jenkins of Aythorne Stockbery in the Hundred of Milton celebrates the Memory of the illustrious Family of Crioll who lived here in Reputation amongst the eminent Gentry of this County and in the Recital of their Possessions in this Parish their Mansion was called a Castle and divers of their old Deeds bore Teste at their Castle of Stockbery Sir Nicholas de Crioll was the first that brought this Family into Repute and Eminence for he was one of those who accompanied Edward the first in the twenty eighth year of his Reign in his fortunate Attempt upon Scotland when after a pertinacious Siege he reduced the Castle of Carlaverock a piece in the repute of those Times held almost inexpugnable and for his signal Service in that Expedition was created Knight Banneret and died possest of this place in the thirty first of Edward the first and in this Name and Family did the Title of this place by an uninterrupted Current of Descent stream down to Sir Thomas Crioll Knight of the Garter eminent for several Services performed under the Scepter of Henry the sixth who being infortunately beheaded at the second battle of St. Albans whilst he endeavoured to support the Title of the House of York in the thirty eighth year of Henry the sixth determined in Daughters and Co-heirs one of which was wedded to Edward Bourchier who cast this Mannor into his possession and he in her Right died seised of it in the fourteenth year of Henry the seventh but after this it was not long constant to the Interest of this Family for in the twenty third year of the abovesaid Prince Robert Tate died seised of it by right of purchase And in the Descendants of this Name was the Possession involved by a long Series of years until those Times which almost fell under our Cognizance and then this Mannor was conveyed to Sir Edward Duke of Cosington in Alre sord whose Lady Dowager in Right of Joynture hath now the enjoyment of it The Mannor of Gillested in this Parish did formerly relate to the noble Family of Savage and was wrapped up in those Lands to which John de Savage Grand-child to Rafe de Savage who was with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon obtained a Charter of Free-Warren in the twenty third year of Edward the first and Arnold Savage Son of Sir Thomas Savage died possest of it in the forty ninth year of Edward the third and left it to his Son Sir Arnold Savage whose Daughter and Heir Elizabeth Savage was first matched to Reginald Cobham by whom she had no Issue and after to William Clifford Esquire second Brother to Robert Clifford who was often Knight of the Shire in the Reign of Henry the fourth whose Posterity in Right of this Alliance were possest of this place until the latter end of Hen. the eighth and then it was altenated to Knight Ancestor to Mr. William Knight upon whose Decease his sole Daughter and Heir Mrs. Frances Buck Widow of Mr. Peter Buck of Rochester lately deceased is now entred upon the Possession of it Cowsted
Sheriff of Kent in the thirty fourth year of Henry the eighth and again in the fifth year of Edward the sixth but being unhappily entangled in the dysastrous Attempt of Sir Thomas Wiat was upon the frustrating of that Designe and the Dissipation and Discomfiture of those Forces who were to support it in the second year of Queen Mary convicted and attainted of high Treason and executed at Sevenoke upon whose Tragedy this Mannor with all its Appendages escheated to the Crown but was the same year restored to his Son William Isley Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent part of the seventh year of Queen Elizabeth after whose decease the Title of this place which had so many Centuries of years like an Inmate dwelt in this Name and Family ebbed away to another Proprietary for in our Fathers Memory it was alienated by Sale to Brooker who not many years since passed it away to Mr. John Hide second Son to Mr. Bernard Hide one of the Commissioners of the Custome-house to his late Majestie Brook-place in Sundrich so called from its contiguous Situation neer some Drill of Water did acknowledge for many discents the Signory of Isley the last of whom who dyed possest of it was William Isley Esquire who held it at his Decease which was in the fourth year of Edward the fourth Rot. Esc Num. 34. After whose Exit it came to John Isley Esquire who not long after passed it away to John Alphew and he determinig in two Daughters and Coheirs one of them by matching with Sir Robert Read Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the reign of Henry the seventh linked it to his Patrimony but he likewise went out in four Daughters and Coheirs Katharine one of which was matched to Sir Thomas Willoughbie Lord Chief Justice likewise of the Common Pleas and so he in her right was possest of this place from whom it came down to his Successor Thomas Willoughbie Esquire who about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it by Sale to Mr. Hoskins of Oxted in Surrey descended from an ancient Family of that Name in Hereford-shire whose Successor Mr. Charles Hoskins being lately deceased the Fee-simple rests now in his Son and Heir Hethenden or Henden is another Mannor in Sundrich which was folded up in the Demeasn of the powerful and illustrious Family of the Clares who were Earls of Gloucester and Lords of Tunbridge by whose Heir general it devolved to Audley and this Family by the same Fatality languishing into a Female Inheritrix she by matching with Stafford cast this Mannor into his Revenue and in this Name was the Propriety resident untill Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham was infortunately attainted in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth it was by escheat annexed to the Demeasn of the Crown and made its aboad there untill King Henry the eighth in the thirty fifth year of his reign granted it to Sir John Gresham and he dyed possest of it in the first year of Queen Elizabeth after whose Decease it remained constant to the Interess of this Family until the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Sir Thomas Hoskins of Oxsted in Surrey in the Descendants of which Family the Signory and Propriety is at this instant remaining The Roman Fosse or Way which extended or stretched out it self from Oldborough in Igtham to Baston in Heys and afterwards to Woodcot in Surrey did cut thorough this Parish for not many years since in digging near Come-banke a Seat so called which did formerly relate to the Isleys and is situated in Sundrich were discovered many Roman Urns of an antick Shape and Figure from whence we may probably collect thus much that there was formerly erected some Fortresse at or near Combe-banke its Situation being fitted for such a Design by the Roman Generals to secure their forces in their March to Noviomagum or Woodcot against any Impression or Eruption of the Britons Sturrey in the Hundred of Blengate was a Mannor by a Prescription of many Generations wrapt up in the Patrimony of Apulderfeild a Family whom we shall have occasion often to mention thoroughout the Body of this Survey and here it continued till this Name met with its Tomb in a Daughter and Heir known by the Name of Elizabeth who was wedded to Sir John Phineux and although he likewise concluded in a Female Heir matched to John Roper Esquire who drew along with her a great portion of the Estate yet this still remained fixt in this Name and Family even till our Fathers Memory and then John Phineux Esquire died and left this and other vast possessions to his Daughter and Sole Heir Elizabeth Phineux who brought them over to her Husband Sir John Smith eldest Son of Sir Thomas Smith and Grand-father to Philip Smith Viscount Strangford who by Right planted in him by so worthy a Predecessor does entitle himself to the Interess and possession of it Mayton in this Parish though now of no great Importance yet formerly gave both Seat and Sirname to a Family that passed under that Appellation from whom by Sale the Inheritance was transplanted into Diggs where for some Descents without any Interval it made its abode till it was by Leonard Diggs Grand-father to Sir Dudley Diggs sold to Goodhugh by whose Daughter and Heir it became the Demeasne of Baggs which Name likewise going out here into a Daughter and Heir she by matching not long since to Farmer has made it to own him for its instant proprietary Sutton by Walmer lies in the Hundred of Cornilo and was the Inheritance of a good old Family called Stroude Peradventure it assumed its Denomination from the Shore not far distant and was sometimes in the Saxon Denomination called Strond and as often Stroude John de Stroude held it as the Book of Aide denotes in the reign of Edward the first and when this Family was worn out the next who were invested in the possession were the Criols and Nicholas Criol or Keriel held it at his death which was in the third year of Richard the second whose Grand-child Sir Thomas Keriel being an active Champion of the Cause and Quarrel of Edward the fourth against the House of Lancaster was slain in the second Battle of St. Albans where the Title of both Parties was put to the bloody decision of a Field who leaving only two Daughters and Co-heirs one matching with John Fogge Esquire incorporated this into his Revenue from whom by purchase the Right was setled in Whitlock where it tarried not long but was by the like devolution transplanted into Maycot from which Name the same Fate of Sale carried it into the possession of Stokes who in our memory by the like alienation transmitted his Interess here to Meryweather Sutton commonly called East-Sutton lies in the Hundted of Eyhorne and was formerly the Braybrookes Henry de Braybrooke one of the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports had Lands here and in this Track as the
likewise and bore for their Coat-Armous Argent six Lionceux Rampant Sables in assimilation I believe of the Lord Leybourne his Neighbour who was a Person of a vast power and no less Estate in this Track but before the latter end of Henry the third this Family was extinguished and vanished and then the next Family which stept into the possession of these places upon the extinction of this was the Noble Family of Leybourne of Leybourne-castle Thomas de Leybourne held it at his Decease which was in the first year of Edward the second and transmitted them to his Successor Roger de Leybourne who died seised of them in the beginning of Edward the third and left only one Daughter and Heir called Juliana Leybourne who in Relation to that vast proportion of Revenue which accrued to her upon his Decease was styled the Infanta of Kent she was first married to John de Hastings a Kinsman of Lawrence de Hastings who was Earl of Pembroke who dying without any Issue surviving by this Lady upon his Decease she chose for her second Husband William de Clinton Earl of Huntington but by him likewise had no Issue as appears by the Inquisition taken after her Death which was in forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 57. nor could there be any discovered that by collateral Affinity to this Lady by her Fathers side could elude the Escheat by pretending a Title to the Estate so that it devolved to the Crown as the Common Heir Jure patronatûs as the Civillians call it by Right of patronage and protection and King Edward the third in the fiftieth year of his reign granted Watringbury Chart and Fowles which were parcel of the above-mentioned Revenue of Leybourne to the Abby of St. Mary Grace upon Tower-hill in whose Revenue they lay couched till the general suppression in the twenty ninth of Henry the eighth and then they were by that Prince in the thirty sixth year of his reign granted to Giles Bridges and Robert Harris who immediately after passed them away to Sir Robert Southwell from whom by as quick a Transition they went away to Sir Edward North and he alienated them to Sir Martin Bowes from whom they passed away to Sir Iohn Baker who suddainly after devested himself of his Right to them and sold them to Nevill de la Hay where it is to be noted that these Revolutions of the Title fell out in less then thirty year Nevill de la Hay had Issue George de la Hay who about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth passed away Watringbury to Wilkinson and Chart and Fowles to Roger Twisden Esquire Wilkinson in our Fathers Memory conveyed Watringbury by Sale to Sir Tho. Stile Knight and Baronet Father to Sir Tho. Stile Baronet the instant proprietary of it Chert and Fowls descended to Sir William Twisden Knight and Baronet Father to Sir Roger Twisden now possessor of them both to whose Papers I owe for the latter part of my Intelligence concerning the successive Possessors of these above recited Mannors I had almost forgot to inform the Reader that in the fourth year of Edward the second Henry de Leybourne obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at Watringbury amongst which Chart in this Parish is particularly recited Westbery is another Mannor in this Parish which had anciently proprietaries of that Sirname the last of which Name was Iohn Westbery who deceased without Issue and so transmitted his Right in it by Testament to Agnes Ellis his Neece and she in the twenty third year of Henry the sixth alienated her Interess in it to Richard Fishbourne in whom it was not long resident for he in the thirty third year of that Prince conveyed it by Sale to Sir Thomas Browne of Bechworth-castle in Surrey Controller of the House and Privy Councellor to Henry the sixth from whom by an even Stream of Descent the Title flowed down to his Successor Sir Thomas Browne who in the twenty fifth year of Queen Elizazeth passed it away to Roger Twisden Esquire Grand-father to Sir Roger Twisden Knight and Baronet in whom the present proprietie of this place is resident Canons is the last Mannor in this Parish It is called so because it anciently belonged to the Prior and Canons of Leeds and after it had for many Ages rested in the Demeasne of this Convent it was by the Dissolution in the reign of Henry the eighth which like a general Inundation broke in upon the Patrimony of the Church swept away but was by Grant from that Prince suddainly after setled on the Dean and Chapter of Rochester and made a Branch of their Revenue Watringbury had the Grant of a weekly Market on the Tuesday and a three dayes Fair at the Feast of St. Iohn Baptist both procured to it by Hugh de Leybourne in the fourth year of Edward the second East-Well in the Hundred of Wye was anciently the possession of a Family which extracted its Sirname from hence Matilda de Eastwell held it at her Decease which was in the fifty second year of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 32. But soon after this this Family was faded away at this place and then it devolved to be a Limbe of that Revenue which acknowledged the Jurisdiction and possession of Bertram de Crioll and he held it in the twenty third year of Edward the first but his Son John Crioll dying without Issue about the beginning of Edward the third it came down to Richard de Rokesley Seneschall and Governour of Ponthieu and Monstreul as appears Pat. 1. Edwardi secundi in the reign of Edward the second who had married Joan Sole Daughter and now Heir of Bertram de Crioll but the same Vicissitude not long after carried it off from this Name for he went out likewise in two Daughters and Co-heirs one of whom called Agnes by matching with Thomas de Poynings emtombed the Name in his Family and the Estate here at East-well and else-where in his Patrimony but as one ingeniously observes the World it self is but a great Ball cast down into the Aire to sport the Stars and all the depopulations of Kingdomes and ruine of Empires is but their pastime so I may likewise infer that great Families from their tumblings and rollings are but the mockery and disports of Time and so it appeared here for Richard Lord Poynings Successor to the abovesaid Thomas died the eleventh year of Richard the second and left his Estate here to his Sole Daughter and Heir Eleanor matched to Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland in whose right he became Lord Poynings and so Eastwell became linked to his Revenue and dwelt in this Name and supported the Signory of Percy untill the Fate of Sale dissodged it for in the twenty third year of Henry the eighth Henry Earl of Northumberland passes it away to Sir Thomas Cheyney William Walsingham and William Fitz Williams and they not long after conveyed it to Sir Christopher Hales
third year of Henry the sixth Joan the Wife of Sir Iohn Grey one of the Sisters and Coheirs of the abovesaid Edmund was invested in the possession in the fourth year of the abovesaid Prince Not long after this it came to own the Signory of the Tiptofts and continued fastned to their patrimony until the renth year of Edward the fourth When Iohn Tiptoft Earl of Worcester being empeached of close Confederacy and Combination with the abovesaid Prince then forced into Exile was by the Parliament then principally moulded out of the Lancastrian Faction attainted and beheaded and his estate here confiscated to the Crown and there was lodged until the first year of Queen Elizabeth and then it was granted to Anthony Brown Viscount Montague who in the year 1592 deceased and left it to his Son and Heir Anthony Brown Viscount Montague and he setled it upon his second Son Mr. Stanislaus Brown who now is in the enjoyment of it East-wickham is situated in the Hundred of Little and Lesnes and celebrates the memory of the noble Family of Montchensey and was wrapped up in their Demeasn William de Montchensey held it at his Death which was in the fifty second year of Henry the third and left it to his Sole Daughter and Heir Dionis matched to Hugh de Vere but he dying without Issue in the seventh year of Edward the second as appears Rot. Esc Num. 51. the Title and possession diverted to VVilliam de Valentia Earl of Pembroke half Brother by the Mothers side to Henry the third who had matched with Joan Sister and Heir to VVilliam de Montchensey before named from whom it descended to his Son Aymer de Valence who dying without Issue Isabell one of his Sisters and Coheirs who was affianced to Laurence de Hastings summoned to sit in Parliament by Edward the third as Earl of Pembroke upon the approportioning the estate entituled her Husband to this Mannor and from him was the Title carried down to his Grandchild Iohn de Hastings Earl of Pembroke who was in possession of it at his Decease which was in the thirteenth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 30. And Reginald Grey was found to be his Heir in which Family it remained until the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away to VVilliam Lord Lovell who was often summoned to sit as Baron in Parliament in that Prince's reign and from him it came down to his Grandchild Iohn Lord Lovell summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the second year of Edward the fourth and he about the Beginning of his reign passed it away to Iohn Lord Howard afterwards created Duke of Norfolk who being a close and eager Complice of Richard the third sunk in his Ruines in the Battle commenced at Bosworth and Henry of Richmond having by that successeful Combat ascertained himself to the English Scepter seised upon this Mannor by Escheat in the first year of his Reign as relating to a person who had actually appeared in Arms against him and being thus united to the Crown it lay couched in its Revenue untill the seventh year of Edward the sixth and then it was granted to Sir Martin Bowes who not long after passed it away to Alderman Oliff of London who left it to Joan his Sole Daughter and Heir matched to John Leigh Son and Heir of Nicholas Leigh of Addington in Surrey Esquire Father to Sir Oliff Leigh who much enhaunsed the Magnisicence of the ancient Fabrick with increase of Building and left it to his Son Sir Francis Leigh whose Widow the Lady Christian Leigh in Right of Dower is now in Possession of the Signory of it VVest-Wickham in the Hundred of Rokesley is much enobled by being anciently entituled to the possession of the eminent Family of Huntingfield Peter de Huntingfield held it who was Sheriff of Kent the eleventh twelfth and thirteenth years of Edward the third and is registred in the Scroles of those Kentish Gentlemen who accompanied Edward the first in his Victorious Expedition into Scotland in the twenty eighth year of his reign when he reduced Carlaverock by a successeful Seige for which his merit was repayed with the Honour of Knighthood his Son and Heir was Walter de Huntingfield who in the eleventh year of Edward the second obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of West-Wickham a Market weekly on the Monday and a Fair yearly on the Vigil and day of St. Mary Magdalen as appears Pat. 11. Edwardi secundi Num. 23. And left it invested with these Priviledges to his Son and Heir Sir John de Huntingfield who paid Aid for three Knights Fees which he held in this County at making the Black Prince Knight and was a Man of that Eminence that he was summoned to sit as Baron in Parliament the thirty sixth year of Edward the third and several other Times during the Raign of the above-named Prince William de Huntingfield this mans Son was summoned likewise many Times to sit as Baron in Parliament about the latter end of Edward the third but dyed without Issue so that Joan and Alize Huntingfield his Cozens matched to Copledike and Norwich were his Heirs and by an old Deed I find that one John Copledike held this Mannor by Right of Partition the last year of Richard the second but it was not long after this fixed in the Patrimony of this Family for in the seventeenth year of Flenry the sixth Thomas Squerrie died possest of it and left it to his Son and Heir John Squerrie who dying without Issue in the fourth year of Edward the fourth Dorothy one of his two Sisters and Coheirs entituled her Husband Richard Mervin upon the Division of the Estate to the proprietie of this Mannor and he not long after passed it away to Richard Scrope who in the seventh year of Edward the fourth alienated it by Fine to Ambrose Creseacre who not long after transmitted it by Sale to Henry Heyden Esquire to whom the principal part of the ancient Pile now visible ows its Erection and from him did it devolved to that eminent Scholler and Souldier Justice of the Peace and Captain of the trained Bands of this County in the Reign or Queen Elizabeth Sir Christopher Heydon who about the latter end of that Princess passed it away to Sir Samuel Lennard Father to Sir Stephen Lennard who is entituled to the present propriety of it Wymingswould in the Hundred of Wingham contains within the Circuit or Limits of it an ancient Seat called Nethersole from its situation near some Pool or descending Pond and was as high as the Time of K. John and Henry the third the possession of a Family which was represented to the world under this Sirname for as it appears by the Original Deeds and Evidences which fortifie the Title of this Mansion Richard de Nethersoll flourished here about the Government of the abovesaid Monarchs and from him was it by a perpetuated Succession chained
late paying that Debt we all owe to Nature it is now Humf. Millers Esquire Yaldham or Aldham is another Seat of considerable Account in Wrotham especially since it celebrates the Memory of Thomas de Aldham who by a pious Assistance supported the Arms and Cause of Richard the first when he was engaged at the Siege of Acon and from him it descended to Sir Thomas de Aldham who determining in three Daughters and Coheirs Margery one of them by matching with Martin de Peckham descended from John de Peckham who likewise fills up the Catalogue of those Kentish Gentlemen who by their signal Courage made themselves considerable under Richard the first at the Siege of Acon did augment his Patrimony by the Union of hers at this place to it And from him hath an undisturbed Channel of many Descents flowing through sundry worthy persons of very remarkable Repute in their respective Generations brought it down to confess the Signory of Reginald Peckham Esquire Barsted is the last Mannor in Wrotham which accrued to James Peckham by matching wich the Sole Heir of Sir Thomas Moraunt and hath lain ever since wrapped up in the Demeasn of that Family so that at present it is part of the patrimony of Reginald Peckham of Yaldham Esquire Ford in this parish has been for some Centuries of years the possession of Clerk very frequently written in old Evidences le Clerk John Clerk Son of John Clerk was the second Baron of the Exchequer about the beginning of the reign of Henry the sixth from whom in a lineal succession Sir William Clerk did descend who when this Nation was engaged in the Flame of the late Civil Contention offered up his Life to the Commands of his late Majesty in that signal Confflict which was commenced between Sir William Waller and the Royal party at Cropreadie Bridge and which is more remarkable after he had received a mortal Wound as if he had had a greater Care of his Friend's Security then of his own poured out his last Breath in this Expression Look to Sir William Butler for I saw him fall After whose Decease the right of this Mansion being included in the jointure of his Lady Dowager she in Relation to that first settlement now holds the possession of it Pleckston was formerly a Borough appertaining to Wrotham but by an ordinance of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament bearing Date from the year of our Lord 1647 it was enacted there should be a Collection thoroughout this County towards the erecting a Parochial Church at this place and the establishing a Congregation proportionate to it which was effected accordingly so that now it hath the Repute of a Parish seperate and distinct from Wrotham and contains within its Limits the Mannor of Sore which was in times of a more ancient Complexion parcel of the patrimony of the Colepepers of Preston in Alresford for Walter Colepeper dyed possest of it in the first year of Edward the third from whom an uninterrupted flowing of Descent wafted the Title down to Sir Thomas Colepeper of Preston who passed it away to Nicholas Miller Esquire of Horsnells Crouch in Wrotham and he upon his decease disposed of his Right in it to his Nephew Sir Nicholas Miller of Oxenhoath upon whose late Decease it descended to his Son and Heir Humphrey Miller Esquire Wormsell is a small despicable Parish in the Hundred of Eyhorn and was ever esteemed an Appendage to the Mannor of Boughton Malherbe and had ever the same Proprietaries as namely Gatton Dene Corbie and lastly Wotton in which last Family it remained untill the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Dynley where it rested untill our Fathers Memory and then it was conveyed to Sydley so that it now owns the propriety of Sir Charles Sydley Baronet Wouldham lies in the Hundred of Larkefield and was given to Ernulf Bishop of Rochester by Ethelbert King of Kent in the year 762 who for this and other his Munificent Donations by which he so much enlarged and multiplyed the Revenue of the Sea at Rochester is represented to us at this day by the Records of that Church under the Character and Pourtraicture of pius Ethelbertus but the Steeple and much of the Fabrick of the Church owe their original to the Charity and Beneficence of Stephen Slegge who was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth and bequeathed by his Will in the thirty sixth year of that Prince's reign a 100. Marks to be disbursed and expended on the Church and Steeple of Wouldham Rings is a small Mannor that spreads it self partly into Wouldham and partly into the Parish of St. Margarets not far distant but was eminent formerly because it was the Demeasn in part of the noble Family of Cosington of Cosington in Alresford the other Moiety acknowledging the Signory of Carter Cosington sold his proportion to Whorne of Whornes-place in Cuckston and Carter alienated his to Laurence who not long after by a mutual Deed of Conveyance passed away their joynt Interest in it to Hadds of Meriam-court in VVicheling who was scarce setled in his new purchase but he by Sale transplanted his right in it into Thomas Roydon of Roydon-court in Peckham who was one of those who in the thirty first year of Henry the eighth altered by Act of Parliament their possessions from the Nature and Tenure of Gavelkind to that of Knights Service From Roydon this place as appears by the private Evidences of Mr. John Marsham by the former Alienation was carried into the Demeasn of Brockhull of Aldington Septuans in Thurnham where the possession was not long resident for Henry Brockhull conveyed it away to Nicholas Lewson of the County of Stafford whose Grandchild Sir Richard Lewson desiring to circumscribe his Revenue within the more close circumference of Staffordshire sold his Concernment here to John Marsham Esquire originally extracted out of Norfolk to whose Name those learned pieces which he hath made publick as namely his accurate Disquisitions upon Daniel and his elaborate Preface prefixed to the monastick Survey styled Monasticum Anglicanum shall stand in future Ages both Urn and Epitaph Starkeys is another place wholly involved within the Limits of VVouldham but formerly it was not known by this Name for in Times of elder Aspect I believe it could scarce entitle it self to any Mansion though it had the Repute of a Mannor and under that Notion is it mentioned to be held by Sir John Buckland in the twentieth year of Edward the third as appears by the Book called Feoda Militum kept in the Exchequer where it is styled the Mannor of Little-VVouldham After this Family was worn out the Newmans were the next who by purchase from them became possessors of the Fee but stayed not long in the Tenure of it for in a Descent or two after Henry Newman alienated the Inheritance to Humphrey Starkey one of the Barons of the Exchequer in
Prince made the Inheritance of Mr. John Buckler who about the beginning of Edward the sixth passed it away to Sir William Damsell emploid as Agent from that Prince to the Crown of France and he going out in four Daughters and Coheirs one of them by matching with Burston made it upon the disunion of the the Body of the Estate into parcels a Limb of his patrimony and remained so until our Fathers remembrance and then it was conveyed to Moil of Buckwell and was not many years since conveyed by Robert Moile Esquire alienated by Sale to Sir Thomas Finch afterwards Earl of Winchelsey Father to Heneage Finch Earl of Winchelsey now Proprietary of it Raymonds is the last place of Account in Wye which afforded a Seat and gave a Sirname to a Family so called and were eminent in this Parish many hundred years since as being Stewards to the Abby of Battle for Lands near this place and it is probable this place was the original Seminary or Fountain from whence the Raimonds of Essex Norfolk and other Counties in this Nation deduced their primitive Extraction But to advance in my discourse this Family of Raymond having long since abandoned the Signory of this place it hath been for sundry Descents the Inheritance of Beck and is still entituled to the propriety of one of this Name and Family Y. Y. Y. Y. YAlding in the Hundred of Twyford It was in old Saxon Orthography written Ealding from the Watry Situation of the Meadows It was made eminent by being parcel of the Inheritance of the Earls of Gloucester whose Sirname was de Clare under whose Signory it remained till Gilbert de Clare Earl of Gloucester and Hertford who deceased in the eighth year of Edward the second and left Margaret de Clare his sole Heir who was married to Hugh de Audley who became in right of his Wife Lord of the propriety of Yalding and Earl of Gloucester likewise but enjoyed neither no considerable space of Time for he died in the twenty first year of Edward the first and left no Issue Male so that Margaret Audley became his Heir who by matching with Rafe Earl of Stafford cast it into his patrimony and he at his Death which was in the forty sixth year of Edward the third in her right was found to be possest of it and in this Family did the Inheritance fix it self till the reign of Henry the eighth and then Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham descended in a direct line from the abovesaid Rafe Stafford having by his own improvidence and miscarriage laid himself open to the Malitious Assaults of Cardinal Wolsey He by blowing of wild Conjectures into the Ears of King Henry the eighth blew up the fire of his rage into that height and fury that nothing could extinguish it but the Blood of this Peer poured out by an untimely Effusion upon the Scaffold upon whose infortunate Decease his Estate by Forfeiture and Escheat devolved to the Crown And K. Henry the eighth suddenly after granted Yalding to his Kinsman Hen. Somerset E. of Worcester whose Father Charles Somerset he in the seventh year of his Government by a new Creation had adorned with that Title from whom not long after it was by purchase incorporated into the Patrimony of Nevill Baron of Aburgavenny whose Successor is John Nevill both in the Barony and in the Inheritance of Yalding Woodfold is a place not to be declined without some Consideration because it was a place formerly of no contemptible repute for Anselmus de Quintin originally issued out from the ancient Family of Boupton in Wiltshire held it in the twentieth year of Edward the third by the fourth part of a Knights Feee as the Book of Aid testifies at the making the Black Prince Knight and here after the Possession divers years had resided it shrunk away from this Family and by purchase was carried into the Inheritance of Burton where likewise it was some Generations settled till the same Vicissitude made it as inconstant here as it had been to the former Family and by Sale transported the right of it to Vane a younger Branch of Vane Earl of Westmerland in whose Name and Posterity the Patrimonial Interest of it continues still wrapt up Lodingford is another mannor in Yalding which belonged to the priory of Bermondsey and upon the Suppression of that magnificent Cloister was annexed to the revenue of the Crown but made no long abode there for Henry the eighth granted it to Tho. VVood Esquire and he not long after alienated it by Sale to George Fane Esquire Ancestor to the right Honourable Mildmay Fane now Earl of VVestmerland the instant Lord of the Fee Yalding had the Grant of a Market to be observed there weekly procured to it by Hugh de Audley and a Fair to continue three Days yearly viz. the Vigil the Day of St. Peter and Paul and the subsequent to it as appears Pat. 12. Edw. secundi N. 57. The Description of the ISLANDS ELmeley is an Island not farre removed from Feversham but yet is situated in the Hundred of Milton it was in elder Times parcel of the Demeasn of Peyforer Fulk de Peyforer held it at his Death which was in the fifth year of Edward the first from whom it was transported by Descent to his Son Fulk de Peyforer who likewise was in possession of it at his Decease which was in the ninth year of Edward the second but before the latter end of Edward the third this Name and Family was shrunk into a Daughter and Heir called Julian who by matching with Thomas St. Leger annexed that Interess that Family had in this Island to his Inheritance and from him the like Vicissitude carried it off to Hen. Aucher who had espoused Joan his Coheir but before the latter end of Hen. the fifth his right in Elmeley was by Sale transplanted into Cromer of London who likewise before had purchased some proportion of Estate which the Heirs of * Sir Rob. Knolles Feoffee in Trust for Grey and Talbot passed away 1000 Acres in Elmeley to Sir Will. Cromer 7. Hen. 4. Hastings had in this Island by a right deduced from Mayney for Sir VValter de Mayney Knight of the Garter died the forty ninth year of Edward the third and left onely a Sole Daughter and Heir called Anno who by matching with John Hastings Earl of Pembroke brought Tunstall and much other Land here in Elmeley and elsewhere to be the patrimony of that Family But to proceed Elmeley being thus entirely made the Demeasn of Cromer continued linked to this Family many Descents until Sir James Cromer the last of this Name almost in our memory died and left three Daughters and Coheirs surviving for Martha the fourth died unmarried to share his Estate Frances was matched to Sir Mathew Carew Elizabeth married Sir John Steed and Christian espoused Sir John Hales and so these three dividing Elmeley the Descendants which claimed from Carew and Steed have
1052 landed in this Island and miserably harrassed it by filling all places with Ruine and Devastation Indeed Religion when it glitters with a splendid and full revenue is like the Pictures of the ancient Saints apparelled in rich Garments which some have been enticed to rob not out of ill Will to their Sanctity but love to their Shrines and Beauty of their Cloaths Persecution and the Robes of Humility were the Attire of the primitive Church and when she is dressed up in gaudy Fortunes it is no more then she merits Yet sometimes it occasions the Devil to cheat her of her Holinesse and impious men by an unjust and injurious Sacriledge to cheat her of her riches But I have digressed I now return into the Track of my Discourse and must inform my Reader that although the Glory of this Cloister was so bowed down and broken with these misfortunes that it appeared almost sunk in its own Calamities yet by the piety of subsequent Ages it was buoyed up again but more especially by the indulgent Charity of King Henry the fourth who in the first year of his reign confirmed their old priviledges and to those added by patent many new And in this Condition it continued untill the general Dissolution or Deluge and then it was by Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his reign granted to Sir Thomas Cheyney and his Son Henry Lord Cheyney having in the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth exchanged it for other Lands with that Princesse she regranted it to Sir Edward Hobby who had matched with her Kinswoman Margaret Daughter of Henry Lord Hunsdon and his Son Sir Edward Hobby about the middle of King James passed it away to Mr. Hen. Richards and he upon his Decease bequeathed it to Gabriel Livesey Esquire and he almost in our Remembrance conveyed it to Sir John Heyward who setled it upon his two Feoffees in Trust Sir Francis Buller of Cornwall and Serjeant Clerk of Rochester for such Charitable Uses as they should think proportionate to that Conveyance The Mannor of Northwood is situated in this Parish which was the Inheritance of Jordanus de Scapeia for so he is written in old datelesse Deeds and he had Issue Stephen de Northwood who was the first whom I find in Record to have assumed this Appellation and he was Father to Sir Roger de Northwood who lies buryed in Minster Church with an Inscription affixed to his Monument which seems by its more modern Character to have been corrupted It is this Hic jacet Rogerus Northwood Miles sepultus ante Conquestum Indeed his Figure is fairly insculped in Brasse with that of his Lady Bona lying by him who was Sister and Heir of William de Wauton The vulgar upon a credulous errour every where affirm that all those who are thus buryed were enterr'd after the Conquest when it is certain that many were entombed in this posture many years before the Conquerour that had obliged themselves by Vow to defend the Crosse and Sepulcher of our Saviour against the Fury and Assaults of Infidels Sure I am the Tomb next to this appears to be far more ancient and of so venerable a Form that its like doth not occurre in any other place there is not any Letter of Inscription left only the Coat is a sure Testimony that it was one of the Ancestors of the Family of Northwood But to proceed John Norwood one of this House as the private Records of the Family testifie feasted H. the fifth at the Red Lion in Sedingbourne and the Wine amounted upon the wole account but to 9. s. and 9. d. Wine being then rated but at a penny the pint W. Northwood another of this Name and Family did signal Service at the Battel of Agincourt and afterwards at the Battel of Vernoile which was managed by John Duke of Bedford Regent of France He was Kinsman of John Northwood who was the last of this Name at this place for he about the latter end of Edward the fourth alienated it to VVilliam VVarner Esquire whose Son and Heir VVilliam VVarner about the Beginning of Henry the eighth demised it to Sir Thomas Cheyney and his Son Sir Henry Lord Cheyney having exchanged it for other Lands with Queen Elizabeth it remained with the Crown untill King James in the second year of his reign granted it to the right honorable Philip Herbert Earl of Montgomery and afterwards Earl of Pembroke Newhall is another little Mannor in Minster which Fulke Peyforer dyed seised of in the ninth year of Edward the second and from him it devolved by descent to be the patrimony of his great Grandchild Fulk Peyforer and his Sole Heir Julian carried it away to Thomas St. Leger of Ottringden whose two Female Coheirs being matched to Aucher and Ewias shared his Inheritance and about the reign of Henry the fifth passed it away by Sale to Cromer whose Successor VVilliam Cromer having about the latter end of Henry the eighth by some misdemeanor forfeited it to the Crown it was granted to one Stephen Graine in which Family it remained untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Small from which Name the same Vicissitude not many years since carried it off to Luck who transmitted his Right in it to Mr. Henry Newton who hath lately demised it to Mr. Josias Gering of London Rishingdon is the last place of Account which is circumscribed within the Limits of Minster It was in the twenty third year of Edward the first wrapped up in the patrimony of Savage for at that time John de Savage obtained a Charter of Freewarrren to several of his Mannors in Kont in the Number of which this is registered for one but in the reign of Edward the third the possession was departed from this Family being purchased by Philippa Wife and Queen to Edward the third and setled upon the Hospital of St. Katharines neere the Tower in whose demeasn it hath layn involved ever since In the fourteenth year of the reign of Richard the second John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster the King's Uncle was Lessee to that Hospital as appears Rot. Esc Num. 113. Which I mention to discover to the Reader that even in those Times Persons of the greatest eminence did not disdain to be Tenants for an Estate to an Hospital East-Church is the next place which comes to be considered Which though obscure in it self yet is made eminent by Shurland which is a Limb of this Parish and anciently did own a noble Family which bore that Sirname the last of which was Sir Robert de Shurland who was one of those Kentish Bannerets which were made by King Edward the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his reign and to whom the former Prince as a farther Symbol or Testimony of his Merit granted a Charter of Free-warren in the twenty ninth year of his reign to his Mannor of Shurland not long after which he deceased and
Mannor which fell under the Signory of the Arch-bishops of Canterbury as is manifest by an Inquisition taken in the twenty first of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 7. Which represents to posterity what Lands and Mannors Thomas Arch-bishop of Canterbury held at that time nor did it depart from the revenue of this Sea until the 29. year of Henry the eighth and then being exchanged with the Crown by Tho. Cranmer Arch-bishop of Canterbury it was granted away to Henry Crispe Esquire in which Family it was fixed untill those times which were circumscribed within the Verge of our Fathers Remembrance and then it was conveyed to Paramour from which Name not many years since the vicissitude of purchase carried it away and hath now made it part of the demeasn of Daniel Harvey of Combe-nevill in Kingston upon Thames Esquire Quekes in Birchington was the ancient Seat of an ancient Family which bore that Sirname and after it had for many descents acknowledged it self to have related to that Name it devolved by paternal descent to John Quekes who about the Beginning of H. the seventh expired in a Daughter and Heir who was matched to .... Crispe extracted from the Crispes of Oxfordshire who had flourished there many Generations before as appears by an old pedigree now in the hands of Sir Nicholas Crispe of London under the Notion of Gentlemen of the best Rank nor did this Family wither by being thus transplanted and inoculated upon a forraign Stem but rather did gather new Sap and Verdure which made it so exceedingly sprout forth that Henry Crispe Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty eighth of Henry the eighth and was afterwards honoured with Knighthood did shoot up to that power and grew so tall in Title that he was in the dialect of those Times called Regulus Insulae or the Governour of the Isle of Thannet and from this worthy person is Henry Crispe Esquire Heir to Sir Henry Crispe not long since deceased and now proprietary of Quekes originally descended West-gate in Birchington was wrapped up in that vast demeasn which was entituled to the possession of the noble and powerful Family of Leybourn of Leybourn-castle Will. de Leybourn Son of Roger de Leybourn held it at his Death which was in the third year of Ed. the second Rot. Esc Num. 56. And left it to Roger de Leybourn from whom with the rest of his diffused patrimony in this County it came to his only Daughter and Heir Juliana de Leybourn first matched to Iohn de Hastings Brother or Kinsman to Laurence de Hastings Earl of Pembroke and then to William de Clinton Earl of Huntingdon but survived them both and dying without Issue in the forty third year of Edward the third she made God her Heir to this Mannor and gave it to the Abby of St. Augustins and in the patrimony of that Cloister did the Title of this Mannor lie locked up untill the general Dissolution in the reign of Henry the eighth unloosened it and then linked it again by a new Augmentation to the demeasn of the Crown and then the abovesaid Prince in the thirty fifth year of his reign granted it to Sir Tho. Moile who not long after passed it away to Bere a Family of good account in this Island as being descended from Richard de Bere who was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae for Kent in the second year of King John as appears by the Pipe-roll of that time and from this Name about the latter end of Q. Elizabeth did it by purchase come over to Denne of Denne-hill in Kingston whose Successor Mr. Thomas Denne of Denne-hill Reader formerly of the Middle-Temple and Recorder of Canterbury dying lately without Issue-male his four Daughters Thomazin married to Sir Nicholas Crispe Bridget matched to Sir Iohn Darrell of Calehill Dorothy wedded to Mr. Roger Lucan and Mary espoused to Vincent Denne Esquire became his Coheirs and and this upon the division of his Estate augmented the patrimony of Sir Nicholas Crispe Dandelion in the Parish of St. Johns was the Seat of a Family in elder times called Dent de lyon as appears by divers ancient Deeds some without dare some as high as Edward the first but about the Government of Henry the fourth the Name was melted down and made more soft and easie and transplanted into Dandelion as appears by several Deeds of one John Dandelion which commence from that Kings reign and the reign of Henry the fifth and he had Issue John Dandelion who about the Beginning of Edward the fourth determined in a Daughter and Heir matched to Petit of Shalmesford neer Chartham and lies buryed under a fair Marble in St. Johns with a plate of Brasse if the Barbarity of these times have not ravished it away affixed to it designing the time of his death and by a Right fortified and made firme from this Alliance does this ancient Seat now acknowledge the Signory of Mr. Henry Petit. Nash-court in the Parish abovesaid was anciently the possession of the Garwintons of whom I have spoken at Bekesbourn where was their capital Mansion and went along with the Interest of this Family untill William Garwinton the last of this Name dying without Issue in the eleventh year of Henry the fourth bequeathed this and much other Land to Richard Haut who had married Joan his nearest Kinswoman and Heir general of the Family and he left it to his Son Richard Haut who left only one Daughter called Margery who was his Heir and she by marching with William Isaack made it parcel of his Inheritance and in memory of this Alliance the Windows of this Mansion are in several Pannels of Glasse adorned with the Arms of Haut and Isaack and near them are placed the Armes of William Warham Arch-bishop of Canterbury empaled with those of his Sea for of him and his Predecessors did this Mansion hold After Isaack was gone out which was about the latter end of Henry the eighth the Lincolnes by purchase became Lords of the Fee and held it untill the midst of the reign of Queen Elizabeth and then it was passed away for some Courtesies obtained by the Heir of this Family to Sir Roger Manwood Chief Baron of the Exchequer and his Son Sir Peter Manwood alienated it in our Fathers Memory to Cleybrook from whom it descended to his Son Mr. William Cleybrook who upon his decease left it to his Widow Mrs. Sarah Cleybrooks remarried to Mr. George Somner slain at Wye-bridge in the year 1648 and now lastly to Mr. James Newman and after her decease the Reversion to his Kinsman Mr. Alexander Northwood and his Heirs Dene and Hengrove are two Mannots circumscribed likewise within the precincts of St. Johns and were involved in the spreading Demeasn of the powerful Family of Leybourn as appears by a solemn Inquisition taken after the decease of William de Leybourn who dyed possest of them in the third year of Edward the second and