here likewise they had Authority by Royall Concession to make By-Laws and Ordinances for the common good and profit of the Cinque Ports and for the better Regulating as the exigency of Affairs might seem to exact the Herring-fishing at Yarmouth and that this Court in the power of it might appear to be the Counterpane of that great Original of Power the high Court of Parliament all appeals from the inferior and subordinate Courts of the Cinque Ports were transmitted and transfer'd to this of Shepway Lastly the Barons of the Cinque Ports claim by inherent Custome and Prescription which is grown up and confirm'd by a tacite consent between them and the King to support the four Staves of the Canopy that covers the Kings Head at his Coronation and after to dine at the uppermost Table in the great Hall on his right hand There are other Franchises and priviledges circumscrib'd within the Verge and Circumference of the above-recite a Charter as the taking cognizance of the Assize of Bread and Beer and some others which because they are not of that importance or consideration as those which before were rehearsed and moreover finding that they are calculated for the Meridian of many other Corporations besides that of the Cinque Ports I have at present forbore any farther Recital of them Now if any one will enquire what the Cinque Ports were to act by way of recompence or retribution for these so solemn and signall Characters and Demonstrations of royal favour To this I answer That they were to find fifty and seven Ships at their own Charge for the space of fifteen days to attend the King whensoever he should pass the Seas whereof Hasting was to find one and twenty Sandwich five Hieth five Romney five and Dover one and twenty each of which was to be furnished with one and twenty men and a Garcion or Boy the Masters stipend was to amount to 6â— the Constables to a Sallary of the same value and each vulgar Mariner was to have three pence per diem and if the obligation of affairs so requir'd it that they attended the King beyond the extent of fifteen days then they were for the time following to be supported in their expences at the charge of the Crown Now because the wisdome of after-times thought this too vast and burdensome an expence to be solely and wholly sustain'd by the Cinque-Ports therefore there were several other Towns and Villges that lay scatter'd in the Body of this Nation that were made Members and Limbs of the Cinque-Ports and invested and fortified with the same Immunities and Liberties that they might by consequence be enwrapt and engag'd in the same common expence The Names of those which are situated in Kent are as followeth viz. Sandwich had the Addition of Fordwich Sarre Ramsgate Deal Walmer and Stonor Dover had Feversham Birchington St. Johns St. Peters Ridlingswould and Folkstone Hieth had West Hieth Romney had old Romney Lydde Promhill Dengemersh and Orwelston Hastings and Winchelsey had in Kent as their Appendages Bekesbourn Grench and Tenterden As a L'envoy to the Cinque-Ports I shall represent a Summary or Bedroll of all those Persons of esteem that have had the Honour to have been dignified with the Title of Lord Wardens of the Cinque-Ports which Scroll or Register I have collected out of an ancient Manuscript and are in their Series or Succession as followeth viz. 1 John de Fiennes 2 James de Fiennes 3 John de Fiennes 4 Walkelinus de Magninot 5 Allen de Fiennes 6 James de Fiennes 7 Matthew de Clere 8 William de Wrotham 9 Hubert de Burgo He that so stoutly asserted the Interest of King John and the Castle of Dover likewise against Lewis the Dolphin of France 10 Bertram de Criol 11 Richardle Grey 12 Henry de Braybrook 13 Edward then Prince but after King by the Name of Edward the first and Henry de Cobham was his Substitute 14 Henry de Monteford 15 Roger de Leybourn 16 Stephen de Penchester 17 Sr. Robert Ashton ibidem sepultus id est Dubri 18 Simon de Crey 19 Hugh le Spencer 20 Edmund de Woodstock 21 Reginald de Cobham 22 Bartholomew Ld. Burgherst or Burwash 23 John le Beauchamp 24 Sr. Ralph Spigurnel 25 Sr. Robert Herle 26 Robert Earle of Cambridge 27 Simon Burleigh 28 Henry le Cobham 29 Sr. John Enrosse and in some Copies le-Rosse 30 Sr. Thomas Beaumont 31 Edward Duke of Aumerle and York 32 Sr. Thomas Erpingham 33 Prince Henry after King Henry the fifth 34 Humphry Duke of Glocester 35 James Fiennes Lord Say whom Jack Cade beheaded 36 Edmund Duke of Somerset 37 Humphry Stafford Duke of Buckingham 38 Simon Montfort 39 Richard Nevil Earle of Warwick 30 Will. Earle of Arundell 31 Richard Duke of Glocester after Richard the third 32 Sr. William Scott 33 James Fiennes Lord Say Henry in his Fathers life time after Hen. the eight 34 Arthur Plantagenet Viscount Lisle Natural Son to Edward the fourth 35 Sr. Edward Poynings 36 Henry Earle of Richmond 37 Sr. Edward Guldeford 38 George Boleyn Viscount Rochfort 39 Sr. Thomas Cheyney 40 Sr. Wil. Brook Lord Cobham Hen. Brook Lord Cobham 41 Henry Howard Earle of Northampton 42 Edward Zouch Lord Haringworth 43 George Villiers Duke of Buckingham 44 Theophilus Howard Earl of Suffolk 45 James Duke of Lenox and Richmond Having discovered to the Reader a scale of those who were successively Lord Wardens of the Cinque-Ports I shall now from Authentick Records and Registers represent a Catalogue of those who were substituted Lieutenants of Dover-Castle alterna vice under them Hugh de Montfort Temp. Gulielmi Rufi Henrici primi Simon de Averenches Temp. Gulielmi Rufi Henrici primi John de Stoner Temp. Gulielmi Rufi Henrici primi Alan de Heyton Temp. Hen. 2 di Henry de Essex Temp. Hen. 2 di Mat. de Clere Temp. Ric. 1 mi. Will. de Albemarle Temp. Ric. 1 mi. Simon de Averenches Temp. Ric. 1 mi. Barthol de Crioll Temp. Ric. 1 mi. Tho. Bassett Temp. Regis Joannis Will. de Huntingfield Temp. Regis Joannis Will. de Wrotham Temp. Regis Joannis Will. de Brewer Temp. Regis Joannis Alan de Buckland Temp. Regis Joannis Sr. Richard D'angervill Temp. Reg. Joannis Regis Hen. 3 di Bertram de Hells Temp. Hen. 3 tii Rob. de Burgherst Temp. Hen. 3 tii Rob. Walleran Temp. Hen. 3 tii Henry de Cobham Temp. Hen. 3 tii Henry Montfort Temp. Hen. 3 tii Roger Leybourn Temp. Hen. 3 tii Reginald le Viscount Temp. Edw. 1 mi. Thomas de Insula Temp. Edw. 1 mi. Rob. de Burgherst Temp. Edw. 1 mi. Bertram de Crioll Temp. Edw. 1 mi. VVill. de Averenches Temp. Edw. 1 mi. Rob. de Hereford Temp. Edw. 1 mi. Joh. de VValde VValde wars chare Temp. Edw. 1 mi. VVilliam de Lea Temp. Edw. 2 di Peter de Hanekin Temp. Edw. 2 di John de VValde wars chare Temp. Edw. 2 di VVilliam de Scotten Temp. Edw.
Sheriff before in the twenty third was now again Sheriff in the twenty eighth year of Henry the sixth Gervas Clifton that had served this Office in the eighteenth year of this Kings Reign was called again to discharge in the twenty ninth of K. Henry the sixth Robert Horne of Hornes Place in Apuldore was Sheriff of Kent the thirtieth year of Henry the sixth Thomas Ballard of Horton near Canterbury was Sheriff of Kent the thirty first year of Henry the sixth John Fogge of Repton in Ashford Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the thirty second year of Henry the sixth Sir Iohn Cheyney of Shurland and Patricksbourn Cheyney was Sheriff of Kent the thirty third year of K. Henry the sixth Philip Belknap of the Moate in Canterbury was Sheriff of Kent the twenty fourth year of Henry the sixth Alexander Iden of Westwell who slew Iack Cade and married the Widow of Will. Cromer slain before by that Rebell was Sheriff of Kent the thirty fifth year of Henry the sixth John Guldford of Halden Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the thirty sixth year of Henry the sixth This Man flourished under the Scepter of Henry the sixth Edward the fourth under whom he was Sheriff and likewise Comptroller of his House-hold Richard the third at whose Coronation he was Knighted and lastly that of Henry the seventh by whom he was admitted as his Monument in the Middle Isle of the Body of Christ Church in Canterbury does attest into his Privy Councell Sir Gervas Clifton who formerly in the eighteenth and twenty ninth years of this Prince had managed this Place was again summoned to execute it in the thirty seventh year of Henry the sixth Sir Thomas Brown of Bechworth Castle in Surrey was again Sheriff of Kent in the thirty eighth year of Henry the sixth John Scot of Scots-Hall Esquire was Sheriff of Kent part of the year above mentioned He was afterwards Knighted by K. Edward the fourth and by him called to be of his Privy Councell Deputy of Callis and Comptroller of his House-hold Sheriffs of Kent under K. Edward the fourth John Isaack of Howlets in Patricksbourne was Sheriff of Kent the first year of King Edward the fourth Sir William Peche of Lullingston Knight was Sheriff of Kent the third and fourth years of Edward the fourth and had likewise the Custody of the Castle of Canterbury annexed to his Office as this Record does inform me Rex concessit Willielmo Peche Milititotum Comit. Cantii una cum Castro Cantuariensi ac constituit eum Vicecomitem Cantii ac ei concessit 40 libras Annuas quousque ei dederit 40 libras Annuas in speciali Taellio Haeredibus Masculis Pat. 2. Edw. quarti Parte secunda John Diggs of Diggs Court in Barham was Sheriff of Kent the fourth year or Edw. the fourth Alexander Clifford of Bobbing Court Son of Lewis Clifford Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the fifth year of K. Edward the fourth Sir William Haut of Hautsbourn Son of William Haut and Elizabeth his Wife Sister to Richard Woodvill Earl Rivers and Aunt to Elizabeth Woodvill Queen of England and Wife to K. Edward the fourth was Sheriff of Kent the sixth year of that Prince Sir Iohn Colepeper of Pepenbury and Bedgebury was Sheriff of Kent the seventh year of Edward the fourth Ralph St. Leger of Ulcomb Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the eighth year of Edward the fourth Henry Ferrers of Chilesmore and Tamworth in the County of Warwick was Sheriff of the County of Kent in the ninth year of Edward the fourth He married Mawde one of the Coheirs of William Hextall of Hextall Place in great Peckham John Brumston of Preston near Feversham Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the tenth year of Edward the fourth This year the King likewise by his Letters Patents committed to his Custody the City of Canterbury Richard Colepeper of Oxenhoath in Little Peckham was Sheriff of Kent the eleventh year of Edward the fourth James Peckham of Yaldham in Wrotham was Sheriff of Kent the twelfth year of Edward the fourth Sir John Fogge of Repton in Ashford sometime Comptroller of the House to Edward the fourth was Sheriff of Kent the thirteenth year of that Prince John Isley of Sundridge Cousin and Heir Generall of William Isley who was Sheriff of this County the twenty fifth of Henry the sixth was Sheriff of Kent the fourteenth year of Edward the fourth Sir William Haut of Hautsbourn formerly mentioned was again Sheriff the fifteenth year of Edward the fourth John Green who lived at Scadbery in Chiselhurst in Right of his Wife Constance Widow of Sir Thomas Walsingham was Sheriff of Kent the sixteenth of Edward the fourth William Cheyney of Shurland Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the seventeenth year of Edward the fourth Richard Haut of the Moat in Ightham younger Brother to Sir William was Sheriff of Kent the eighteenth of Edward the fourth Richard Lee of great Delceâ— in Rochester was Sheriff of Kent the ninteenth year of Edward the fourth Sir John Fogge of Repton formerly mentioned was again Sheriff of Kent the twentieth year of Edward the fourth Sir George Brown of Bechworth Castle Son of Sir Thomas Brown was Sheriff of Kent the twenty first of Edward the fourth Richard Haut of the Moat in Ightham who served the Office of Sheriff of Kent the eighteenth of Edward the fourth was after he had been three years from the place according to the Statute made Sheriff of Kent again the twenty second year of Edward the fourth in which year this worthy Prince cast off the Luggage of humane Frailty by paying the last Debt he owed to Nature Sheriffs of Kent under Richard the Third Sir William Haut of Hautsbourn that had been Sheriff twice before in the Time of K. Edward the fourth was made Sheriff of Kent again in the first year of K. Richard the third from Michaelmass the twenty second of Edward the fourth to the ninth of April and then to the twenty third which day K. Edward the fifth fell an Oblation to the Avarice and Ambition of his usurping Uncle who cast trains no less for his Life then for his Crown and then again to the twenty fifth of June and from the twenty sixth of June untill the Michaelmass following Sir Henry Forrers supplied the place of Sheriff for him John Bamme Esquire of the Mannor of Grench in Gillingham descended from Adam Bamme Lord Maior of London was Sheriff of Kent in the second year of Richard the third Sir Robert Brackenbury of the Moate in Ightham was Sheriff of Kent the third year of Richard the third Will. Cheyney Esquire of Shurland was Sheriff of Kent the last year of Rich. the third Sheriffs of Kent under Henry the Seventh William Cheyney of Shurland Esquire Sheriff of Kent the seventh year of Edward the fourth and last of Richard the third continued in that Office the first year of K. Henry the seventh John Pimpe of Pimpes Court in Farleigh and Lose Esquire was Sheriff
of Kent the second year of Henry the seventh Sir Henry Ferrers of great Peckham Knight who was Sheriff before in the fifth year of Edward the fourth was Sheriff of Kent again in the third year of Henry the seventh Walter Roberts of Glastenbury in Cranbroke Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the fourth year of Edward the fourth Sir William Boleyne Knight of Hever Castle and of Seale Son of Sir Ieffery Boleyne Lord Maior of London and Anne his Wife Daughter and Coheir of Thomas Lord Hoo and Hastings was Sheriff of Kent in the fifth year of Henry the seventh Sir William Scot Son and Heir of Sir Iohn Scot was Sheriff of Kent in the sixth year of Henry the seventh This our Sheriff new built Scots Hall which was before decayed and ruinous John Darell of Cale-Hill Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the seventh year of Henry the seventh He was Esquire of the Body to that Prince and Captain of the Launciers in that part of the County wherein he lived and having had his Estate torn from him by Richard the third as being a Correspondent of Henry the seventh had it restored to him with several other Mannors by that Prince He was Father to Sir Iames Darell who was Knighted at Turwin by K. Henry the eighth and was Captain of Hames Castle and Governour of Guisnes Thomas Kemp of Ollantie near Wye Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the eighth year of Henry the seventh He married Emeline one of the two Daughters and Coheirs of Valentine Chich and Philippa his Wife Daughter and Heir of Sir Robert Chichley Knight sometime Lord Maior of London and Brother to Henry Chichley Arch Bishop of Canbury Sir Richard Gulford of Halden who was Knighted at Milford Haven and made Banneret at Blackheath was Sheriff of Kent the ninth year of Henry the seventh John Peche of Lullingston Esquire who afterwards received the Order of Knighthood was Sheriff of Kent in the tenth year of Henry the seventh John Digge of Digges Court in Berham was Sheriff of Kent the eleventh year of Henry the seventh Sir Iames Walsingham of Scadbery in Chiselhurst was Sheriff of Kent the twelfth of Henry the seventh Lewis Clifford of Bobbing Court Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the thirteenth year of Henry the seventh Robert Wotton of Boughton Malherbe Esquire afterwards Knighted and made comptroler of Callis was Sheriff of Kent the fourteenth of Henry the seventh Alexander Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire in Goudherst was Sheriff of Kent in the fifteenth year of Henry the seventh He afterwards received the Order of Knighthood Thomas Iden of Westwell Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the sixteenth year of Henry the seventh Sir William Scot of Scots Hall who was Sheriff in the sixth year of Henry the seventh was Sheriff of Kent again in the seventeenth year of that Princes Government Ralph St. Leger of Ulcomb Esquire Son and Heir of Ralph St. Leger was Sheriff of Kent the eighteenth year of Henry the seventh William Cromer of Tunstal Esquire who afterwards received the Order of Knighthood was Sherift of Kent the ninteenth of Henry the seventh John Langley of Knowlton Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the twentieth of Henry the seventh Sir Thomas Kempe of Ollantie Knight of the Bath was Sheriff of Kent the twenty first of Henry the seventh Sir Alexander Colepeper of Bedgebury was Sheriff of Kent again the twenty second year of Henry the seventh Henry Vane of Tunbridge Esquire second Son of John Vane of Tunbridge Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the twenty third year of Henry the seventh Reginald Peckham of Yaldham in Wrotham Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the twenty fourth of Henry the seventh in which year that Sagacious Monarch shook off the Garment of his Mortality Sheriffs of Kent under the Scepter of Henry the Eighth Sir William Cromer of Tunstal Knight who was Sheriff before in the ninteenth of Henry the seventh managed that Office again and was Sheriff again of this County in the first year of K. Henry the eighth James Digge of Digges Court in Berham Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the second year of Henry the eighth Sir Thomas Boleyne of Hever Castle Knight was Sheriff of Kent in the third year of Henry the eighth in the fifteenth year of Henry the eighth he was made Knight of the Garter and Treasurer of the Kings House in the seventeenth year he was created Viscount Rochford and in the twenty first of Henry the eighth he was invested with the Title of Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond Sir Thomas Kemp of Ollantie made Knight of the Bath at the Marriage of Prince Arthur Eldest Son to Henry the seventh was again Sheriff in the fourth year of Henry the eighth Sir John Norton of Northwood in Milton Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the fifth year of Henry the eighth Sir Alexander Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the sixth year of Henry the eighth Tho. Cheyney of Shurland Esquire afterwards made Knight of the Garter was Sheriff of Kent in the seventh year of Henry the eighth Sir William Scot of Scots Hall Knight was made Sheriff of Kent the eighth year of Hen. the eighth and before that in the sixth and seventeenth years of Hen. the seventh Sir Thomas Boleyne of Hever Castle Knight was again Sheriff of Kent the ninth year of Henry the eighth John Crispe of Quekes at Birchington in the Isle of Thanet Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the tenth year of Henry the eighth Sir John Wiltshire of Stone near Dartford Comptroller of Callis was Sheriff of Kent in the eleventh year of Henry the eighth John Roper Esquire of St. Dunstans without the Walls of Canterbury and of Well Hall in Eltham was Sheriff of Kent the twelfth of Henry the eighth Robert Sonds of Town Place in Throuley and of Sonds Place in Darking in Surrey was Sheriff of Kent in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth Sir John Fogge of Repton in Ashford was Sheriff of Kent in the fourteenth year of Henry the eighth George Guldford of Hemsted in Beneuden Esquire who married Elizabeth Daughter and Heir of Robert Mortimer of Mortimers Hall in Essex and the Lady Elizabeth Howard his Wife Daughter to John Lord Howard Duke of Norfolk was Sheriff of Kent the sixteenth of Henry the eighth Sir William Haut of Haut bourn Knight Son and Heir of Sir Thomas Haut made Knight of the Bath at the Marriage of Prince Arthur with Katharine of Castile was Sheriff of Kent the sixteenth year of Henry the eighth Henry Vane of Tunbridge Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty third year of Hen. the seventh discharged that Office again in the seventeenth year of Hen. the eighth This Henry Vane is he that had Command in an Expedition into Scotland in the beginning of the abovesaid Prince Vide Speed William Whetenhal of Hextal Place in East Peckham Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the eighteenth year of Henry the eighth Sir John Scot of Scott Hall
was Sheriff of Kent in the nineteenth year of Henry the eighth William Kempe of Oslantis Esquire who afterwards was invested with the Order of Knight hood was Sheriff of Kent in the twentieth year of Henry the eighth He was second Son of Sir Thomas Kempe and after his elder Brother Christopher Kempe deceased without Issue succeeded in the Patrimony He married Eleanor Daughter and Heir of Robert Brown Esquire third Son of Sir Thomas Brown of Bechworth Castle Sir Edward Wotton of Boughton Malherbe Knight who matched with Dorothy one of the Daughters and Coheirs of Sir Robert Reade Knight Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty first of Henry the eighth William Waller of Gromebridge in Spelherst Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the twenty second of Henry the eighth Sir Richard Clement of the Moat in Ightham was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty third of Henry the eighth Sir William Finch of the Moat in the Parish of St. Martins in Canterbury was Sheriff of Kent the twenty fourth year of Henry the eighth Thomas Roberts of Glastonbury in Cranbroke Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the twenty fifth of Henry the eighth Sir Thomas Poynings of Ostenhanger Knight afterwards created Lord Poynings in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty sixth year of Henry the eighth He married Katharine Daughter and Coheir of John Lord Marney but deceased without Issue in the thirty seventh year of the abovesaid Prince Sir Edward Wotton of Boughton Malherbe was again Sheriff of Kent the twenty seventh of Henry the eighth Sir Thomas Wiat of Allington Castle was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty eighth year of Henry the eighth He married Elizabeth Daughter of Sir Thomas Brooke Lord Cobham by whom he had Issue Sir Thomas Wiat afterwards beheaded Sir William Haut of Hautsbourn was again Sheriff of Kent the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth Sir William Sidney of Pencehurst Knight Banneret Tutor to Prince Edward afterwards Edward the sixth was Sheriff of Kent in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth He was Son and Heir of Nicholas Sidney Esquire who married Anne Daughter of Sir Will. Brandon Knight slain at Bosworâ—h Field Aunt to Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk This Nicholas was Son and Heir of William Sidney Esquire by Thomaâ—…in his Wife Daughter and Heir of John Barrington Esquire descended from the right ancient and Knightly Family of Barrington of Barrington Hall in Essex Sir Anthony St. Leger of Ulcomb Knight was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty first year of Henry the eighth Anthony Sonds of Throuley Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty second of Henry the eighth Reginald Scot of Scots Hall Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty third year of Henry the eighth Sir Henry Isley of Sondridge and of Farningham was Sheriff of Kent the thirty fourth of Henry the eighth Sir Humphry Stile of Langley Park in Bekenham Knight Son and Heir of John Stile Alderman of London and Elizabeth his Wife Daughter and Coheir of Sir Guy Wolston Knight was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty fifth of Henry the eighth Sir John Fogge of Repton was Sheriff of Kent the thirty sixth year of Henry the eighth Sir Percival Hart of Lullingston Knight was Sheriff of Kent the thirty seventh year of Henry the eighth Henry Crispe of Quekes in Birchington in the Isle of Thanet Esquire who received the Order of Knighthood before his Death was Sheriff of Kent in the thirty eighth year of Henry the eighth in which year this Prince shrunk to Ashes Sheriffs of Kent in the Time of K. Edward the Sixth William Sidley of Scadbery in Southfleet Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the first of Edward the sixth Sir George Harpur of Sutton Valence was sheriff of Kent in the second year of Edward the sixth Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Son and Heir of Sir Alexander Colepeper was Sheriff of Kent in the third year of K. Edward the sixth Sir Thomas Wiat of Allington Castle Son and Heir of Sir Thomas Wiat and Grandchild of Sir Henry Wiat was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth year of K. Edward the sixth Sir Henry Isley of Sundridge was Sheriff of Kent in the fifth year of K. Edward the sixth Sir John Guldford of Hemsted in Benenden was Sheriff of Kent the sixth year of K. Edward the sixth After this year this Pious young Monarch was not long Liv'd for all his early blooming Glories were shortly after blasted by a too sudden Death Sheriffs of Kent under Queen Mary Sir Robert Southwell of Merworth Knight afterwards Master of the Rolls was Sheriff of Kent in the first year of Queen Mary He held Merworth where he lies buried in Right of his Wife Margaret Daughter and sole Heir of Sir Thomas Nevill Speaker of the Parliament in the time of Henry the eighth and one of his Privy Councel and third Son to George Nevill Baron Aburgavenny William Roper of Well Hall in Eltham was Sheriff of Kent in the first and second year of Philip and Mary Sir Thomas Kempe of Ollantie near Wye was Sheriff of Kent in the second and third year of Philip and Mary part of the year was supplied for him by Thomas Moile Esquire George Vane of Badsell Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the third and fourth year of Philip and Mary Thomas Wotton of Boughton Malherbe Esquire was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth and fifth year of Philip and Mary In which year Callis was lost which Blow sat so heavy upon her Heartstrings that the Cordage not able to undergo the Pressure was crackt with the Burden which was lodged upon it Sheriffs of Kent under Queen Elizabeth Thomas Wotton of Bonghton Malherbe continued in that Office part of the first year of Q. Elizabeth and the remainder of the year was supplied by Nicholas Crispe Esquire who kept his Shrivealty at Grimgill in Whitestaple but more properly Greenshields from a Family so called who were once Proprietaries of it Warham St. Leger of Ulcomb Esquire afterwards Knighted in the year 1565 was Sheriff of Kent in the second year of Queen Elizabeth John Tufton of Hothfield in Kent Esquire Son and Heir of Nicholas Tufton Esquire who was possest of Tufton in Nordiam in Sussex was Sheriff of Kent the third year of Queen Elizabeth Richard Baker of Sisingherst in Cranbroke Esquire Son and Heir of Sir John Baker Chancellor of the Exchequer and one of the Privy Councel to Q. Mary was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth year of Q. Elizabeth Sir Thomas Walsingham of Scadbery in Chiselhurst Knight was Sheriff of Kent in the fifth year of Q. Elizabeth Sir Thomas Kempe of Ollantie Knight that was Sheriff before in the third year of Q. Mary served in that Office again in the sixth year of Q. Elizabeth John Mayney of Biddenden Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the seventh year of Q. Elizabeth but died before his year was out and the rest of the Time
now come down to be the Possession of Sir Stephen Leonard of West Wickham There is yet another ancient Seat within the Verge of this Village whose Name is Maplescombe and partly is situated in this and partly in Kingsdown This place although it now carry a desolate Aspect by reason of its Ruine and Depopulation was anciently of a high Repute and Estimate William de Chellerfield he whom I suppose lies enter'd in Halsted Church held it as Testa de Nevil informs me in the twentieth year of Henry the third but his Family had not been possest of it untill the latter End of Edward the second when the Vicissicude of Sale carried the Title off to Rokesley of Rokesley in North-Crey and Roger the Son of Thomas de Rokesley held the Lordship by a whole Knights Fee in the twentieth year of Edward the third of Richard de Rosse of Horton Kerkbie and he held it of the Successor of Robert de Arsick and he of the King yet I find some part of it to have acknowledged the Signorie of the Family of Merworth for Roger de Merworth in the eighteenth year of Edward the first obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to his Lands at this place and in the fortieth year of Edward the third John de Merworth this Mans Grandchild was by purchase wholly invested in the Possession and held it at his Decease which was in the forty ninth year of that Prince and John de Malmains was his Heir who passed it away to Nicholas de Brember of whom I shall speak more at Merworth and he being attainted in the tenth year of Richard the second there was a return made in the twelfth of that Prince that he held this Mannor at his Conviction upon which that Prince in the thirteenth year of his Reign grants it to John de Hermensthorpe and he not long after passed it away to Richard Fitz-Allen Earl of Arundel and his Son Thomas Earl of Arundel dying without Issue Male 1416. Joan one of his Sisters and Coheits brought it to be the Possession of her Husband Will. Beauchamp Baron of Abergavenny whose Son likewise dying without Issue Male in the ninth of Henry the fifth Elizabeth his sole Inheritrix united it to the Patrimony of Edward Nevil and in his Descendants did the Title remain untill our Fathers Remembrance and then it was conveyed to Lovelace and is now by Margaret Sole Heir of Richard Lovelace annexed to the Demeasn of Mr. ....... Cooke of Lanham in Suffolk Easthall in this Parish was parcel of the Revenue of Rokesley of Rokesley but when Sir Richard de Rokesley determined with the Name in a Female Inheritrix She by matching with Sir Thomas de Poynings entituled that Name to the Proprietie and Jurisdiction of this place in which Family it continued untill the fourteenth year of Henry the eighth and then it being found after a serious Inquisition that Sir Edward Poynings who deceased the twelfth year of that Princes Government had neither lawful Issue nor any Collateral Alliance which could start a Title to his Estate it escheated to the Crown in whose Demeasn this Mannor was locked up untill King Henry the eighth granted it to Sir Roger Cholmeley who suddenly alienated his Interest here to Sir Martin Bowes and he the first year of Edward the sixth conveyed it again to Percival Hart of Lullingston Esquire in whose Successor Mr. William Hart of Lullingston Esquire the Title is now resident Littlemote and Petham are two Mannors likewise in this Parish which augmented the Revenue of Sibell a Family of deep Antiquity as any in this Track who were for many Hundred years possest of Petham and of the House which is called Littlemote likewise as is evident by their Coat Armour viz. a Tiger viewing himself in a Mirrour or Spigel both carved and embossed very anciently in Wood as likewise represented to the view in old coloured Glass though much of the Land that relates to this Mansion devolved to Sibel about the Beginning of Henry the seventh by the Heir of Cowdale whose Arms viz. Arg. a Cheveron Gules between three Bulls Heads Cabosed Sables both empailed and quartered with this Family are yet visible in many Places of the House finally after these two Places had so many Descents been fastned to this Family they came down at last to John Sibel Esquire who concluded in a Female Heir called Elizabeth matched to Mr. Robert Bosvil Ancestor to Thomas Bosvil Esquire who in Right of this Alliance is now Heir apparent to the Signorie of them There is one part of the Church is called Arsicks Chancel and divers Lands hereabouts are held of the Honour of Arsick by Knights Service and Robert de Arsick that came in with William the Conqueror was one of those that were Assistants to John de Fiennes for the securer Guard of Dover Castle He had eighteen Knights Fees assigned to him of which these lay in Kent viz. Fremingham idest Farningham one Knights Fee Mayplescombe one Knights Fee Nutstted in Kent one Knights Fee Combe in Kent one Knights Fee Bekewel in Kent one Knights Fee The rest lay most in Oxfordshire and some in Dorset Wilts and Lincolnshire In the Reign of Henry the second Manasser de Arsick was of eminent Note in the County of Oxford and Mr. Camden in describing that County affirms the principal Seat of their Barony to be at Coggs and that the Daughter and Heir was married to Hubert de Burgo who was Earl of Kent Alhallows in the Hundred of Hoo with the appendant Mannor of Shawsted did anciently celebrate the Memory of Delapole John De la Pole held it in the twentieth year of Edward the third and paid a respective supply for it at making the Black Prince Knight and in this Family was the possession permanent untill the Reign of Henry the fourth and then it was transmitted by sale to Zouch of Haringworth written in ancient Court Rolls and other Muniments De la Zouch and here the Title was resident untill it was by Descent wafted along to John Lord De la Zouch who being a great Assertor of the Cause and Quarrel of Richard the third against Henry the seventh like some noble Fabrick in whose Joints the Raine hath dwelt and supplanted the Contextures of its Pillars fell under the Misfortune of his Royal Master and sunk in the Ruines of the fatal Field of Bosworth and in the first year of Henry the seventh being attainted by Parliament his Patrimony escheated to the Crown and then that Prince granted his Estate here to his faithful Partisan Sir Henry Wiat whom he had newly taken into his private Councels and from him did it successively come down to his Grandchild Sir Thomas Wiat whose Estate here was much improved and augmented by the Addition of Windlehill another Mannor in this Parish which as appears Rot. Esc Num. 82. did in the forty seventh year of Edward the third belong to the Abbot of Reding and upon the suppression of
easie Pronunciation hath melted it into Brograve which represents the Etymologie of the Name to have been in its Original perfectly Saxon. In the year 1479 there was a License granted as appears by the Records of Rochester to William Brograve by the then Bishop of that Diocess to erect an Oratory or Chapple at his Mannor-house of Kelseys the Vestigia or Reliques of which are yet obvious to an inquisitive Eye and from this William did the Title and possession in an even Current come down to Mr. Thomas Brograve who being not many years since deceased his Widow Mrs. Martha Brograve now in respect of Jointure enjoys the present Possession of it Foxgrove is the last place of Account in this Parish it had in elder times Proprietaries of this Sirname for I find John de Foxgrove paid respective Aid for it in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight After this Family succeeded Bartholomew Lord Burwash and he held it at his Decease which was in the twenty ninth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 44. and from him it descended to his Son Bartholomew Lord Burwash who in the forty third year of the abovesaid Prince passed it away to Sir Walter de Paveley and in his Family it remained untill the latter End of Richard the second and then it was conveyed to Vaux of the County of North-Hampton and there made its abode untill the latter End of Henry the sixth and then it was alienated to John Grene Esquire and he died possest of it in fourth year of Edward the fourth and in this Family did the Title reside untill the Beginning of Henry the eighth and then it was demised to Beversea and Humphrey Beversea I find held it in the eighteenth year of Henry the eighth and his Descendant passed it away to Luke Hollingworth and he about the Beginning of K. Edward the sixth sold his Interest in it to Alderman Sir Jo. Oliff of London and he dying without Issue Male Joan matched to John Leigh of Addington Esquire was his sole Heir and in Right of this Alliance did it come down to Sir Francis Leigh late of East-Wickham whose Widow Dowager the Lady Christian Leigh is now in Possession of it Bexley and in ancient Deeds written Bekesley lies in the Hundred of Rokesley and did in Times of elder Inscription belong to the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury for Anno 805. K. Kenulfus gave Bexley to Arch-Bishop Vefred ad opus Ecclesiae Christi and his Successor to improve his Interest in this Mannor obtained a Market to be held weekly at this place upon the Tuesday and a Fair upon Holy-Rood-Day yearly in the ninth year of Edward the second as appears Pat. 9. Edw. 2. Num. 49. and here the Title it lodged untill it came to the Crown in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth by Exchange with Tho. Cranmer then Arch-Bishop as appears by the Records of Christ Church and was passed away by King Iames to Sir Io. Spilman his Majesties Jeweller originally extracted out of Germany and he suddenly after conveyed it to that resplendent Luminary of Englands Antiquities Mr. William Camden Clarenceux King of Arms and he upon his Decease gave it to Brasennose Colledge in Oxford from whom the Lady Christian Leigh of East-Wickham holds it now as Lessee Blinden Court in old Deeds written Bladindon is the next object of our observation It was in elder Times the Possession of Jordanus de Bladindon or Blindon who about the first year of Richard the first passed it away to Walsingham in which Family it was resident untill the latter end of Henry the fourth and then it was carryed over by Sale to Ferbie of Pauls Crey and one of this Family about the Beginning of Henry the sixth transported it by the same Alteration to William Marshall and he not long after conveyed it to Rawlins but it setled longer here for it remained linked to the Demeasne of this Name almost untill our Grandfathers Remembrance and then it was by Purchase made the Inheritance of May who not many yeers since alienated his Concernment in it to Wroth and is at present part of the Demeasne of John Wroth Esquire descended from the ancient Family of the Wroths of Durants in Essex Hall Place in this Parish is the last place which summons our Remembrance It was in times of a more ancient Character the Inheritance of a Family called Athall the last of which was Thomas Athall who in the fourty first year of Edward the third conveyed it to Thomas Shelley of Gaysam in Westerham and in this Name after the Title like a fixed Inmate had for many Generations dwelt it came down to William Shelley Son of John Shelley Esquire who in the tweny ninth year of Henry the eighth passed it away to Sir John Champneys of London from whom it descended to his Grandchild Mr. Richard Champneys Esquire who some few yeers since alienated his Interest here to Mr. Robert Austin of London Brasted in the Hundred of Codsheath was a Mannor which anciently related to the Family of Clare who were Earls of Glocester and Hertford and held is in grand Serjeanty of the Arch-Bishops of Canterbury as they were originally and de Jure Stewards to the Lord Arch-Bishop at the Time of his Installment and Inthronization Ric. de Clare dyed possest of it in the forty seventh year of Henry the third and so did Gilbert de Clare in the twenty fourth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 107. From whom it came down to Richard de Clare who in the nineteenth year of Edward the second ended in Margaret his sole Heir matched to Hugh de Audley who in her Right was not only Earl of Glocester but likewise Lord of this Mannor and enjoyed it in the twenty first year of Edward the third but he likewise going out in a Female Heir stiled Margaret She by matching with Ralph Stafford Earl of Stafford wedded the Title to his Inheritance nor did it dislodge or depart from it until it escheated to the Crown upon the Attainder of Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham who was convicted of high Treason in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth where it had not long rested but the abovesaid Prince by Patent setled the Right of it on Sir Henry Isley who being interessed past recovery in the Design of Sir Tho. Wiat forfeited both Life and Estate to the Crown and then Queen Mary upon his Conviction granted it to John Lennard Esquire from whom it is now transported by Descent to his Successor Francis Lennard Lord Dacres who is the instant Lord of the Fee There is another Mannor and Seat in Brasted venerable enough for its Antiquity anciently called Stockets but now Crow-place it was so denominated from the Stockets which first held it Walter de Stocket and sometimes in old Deeds written Stock and Stoke possest it by the fourth part of a Knights Fee in the Time of Edward the
Name is promiscuously written Jo. de Marney who is in some old Deeds called Marins obtained a Charter of Free Warren to his Mannor of great Betshanger the first year of Edw. the first but it seems this Franchise did but improve the Sale and make it more fit to be enjoyed by another for not long after it was conveyed to John de Soles so called from his Habitation near some Ponds and he died in the enjoyment of it in the forty ninth year of Edw. the third Rot. Esc Num. 40. Parte secunda But after this it was not long constant to the Signory of this Family for about the Beginning of Richard the second I find it possest by Bertram de Tancrey Lord of Tancrey Island in Fordwich and his Descendants enjoyed it until the latter end of Henry the fourth and then it went away by Sale to Rutter from which Name about the Beginning of Edward the fourth it came to Lichfield whose Arms are yet visibly obvious in ancient Pains of Glass at Dane Court in Tilmanston viz. Bendee of six Pieces Azure and Ermin and in this Family it continued until the Beginning of Henry the eighth and then by the Heir General of this Name it became united to the Patrimony of Thomas Cox Esquire Customer of Sandwich who about the latter end of Henry the eighth conveyed it by Sale to Mr. John Bois Ancestor to John Bois Esquire who by Paternal Devolution is now entituled to the Signory of it Little Betshanger was a Seat relating to the Family of Cliderow which in elder Times was of eminent Account in this Track yet I find that Iohn de St. Philibert held Lands here in the thirty first year of Edward the third but the Mannor it self was an Appendage to the above mentioned Family * He was Knight of the Shire in the seventh year of Henry the fourth Roger de Cliderow flourished here in the Reign of Edward the second and Edward the third and as appears by Seals affixed to old Evidences which commence from the last Kings Reign bore for his Coat Armour upon a Cheveron between three Eagles five Annulets his Successor Richard Cliderow was Sheriff of Kent the fourth and most part of the fifth year of Henry the fourth he was constituted soon after Admiral of the Seas from the Thames mouth along the Saxon Shore to the West for in those Times the Admiralty was divided sometimes into three and most commonly into two Divisions one beginning at the Thames mouth was Admiral of the Northern Seas the second was Admiral from the Thames mouth Westward and the third had the command of the Irish Seas but in this man's Time King Henry the fourth in the eighth year of his Reign reduced it under one Person and granted it with more ample and wide Authority under his Brother John Beauford Earl of Somerset But to proceed after the Title of this place had remained locked up in the Demeasn of Cliderow until the latter end of Hen. the eighth it passed away with the Female Inheritrix to Thomas Stoughton Esquire by whom he had three Daughters who were Coheirs to their Mother Elizabeth matched to Thomas Wild Esquire Helen married to Edward Nethersole and Mary wedded to Henry Paramour who by a joynt conveyance passe away their right to their Father in the twentieth year of Queen Elizabeth and he in the twenty first year by Deed re-enstates his right in them and they again by a concurrent and mutual consent alienate their Interest here in the twenty eighth year of her Rule to Mr. John Gookin and he about the first year of King James conveyed it to Sir Henry Lodelow who not many years since passed it away to Mr. Edward Bois of Great Betshanger Father to Mr. John Bois Esquire the present Lord of the Fee Bicknor in the Hundreds of Milton and Eythorn was in elder Times the Habitation of a Family of that Sirname Sir John de Bicknor and Sir Thomas de Bicknor accompanied King Edward the first in his successeful Expedition into Scotland and are found Recorded in the Register or Bedroll of those Knights who were made Bannerets at Carlaverock Castle by that Prince in the twenty eighth year of his Government but after this this Mannor stayed not long in the Tenure of this Family for in the Reign of Edward the second it came to acknowledge the Dominion of Roger de Leybourn Baron of Leybourn Castle from whom it descended to his Sole Daughter and Heir Juliana de Leybourn who dying in the forty third year of Edw rd the third without Issue and without Kindred it devolved by Escheat to the Crown and then that Prince setled it by a new Donation on the Abby of St. Mary Grace on Tower-Hill where it continued until the publick Suppression and then being surrendred up to the Crown it was in the thirty sixth year of Henry the eighth granted to Christopher Sampson and he in the second year of Edward the sixth passed it away to Sir Thomas Wiat from whom not long after it came by the same conveyance to own the Interest of Reader who about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth alienated his Right in it to Terry who almost in our Memory partly by Sale and partly in respect of Alliance setled the Propriety of it on Aldersey so that Mr. Farnham Aldersey a second Brother of Terrey Aldersey of Swanton Court Esquire is now Lord of the Fee Biddenden in the Hundreds of Barkeley Cranbroke and Blackbourn had an old Family which took both Seat and Sirname from hence and when this was consumed and vanished the Mayneys were the next who were successively Possessors of it John de Mayney died seised of this and other Lands confining upon it in the fiftieth year of Edward the third and was Son of Sir John de Mayney who flourished here as appears by Deeds under the worthy Character of Knighthood many years before and to this Name was the Possession by a continued and unbroken Series of Ages wedded until some years since the Title was by Sale divorced from this Family and conveyed by Sir Anthony Mayney Knight and Baronet to Sir Edw. Henden Chief Baron of the Exchequer and he by Testament transmitted it to his Nephew Sir John Henden who having lately paid a Debt to Nature which we all owe his Son and Heir Edw. Henden Esquire does at this instant enjoy it Allards is another ancient Seat in this Parish which for many Generations past until of late acknowledged it self to be the Mansion of that Name and Family and from hence was Gervas Alarar or Allard descended who was Captain and Admiral of the Navy set forth by the Cinque Ports in the first year of Edward the first as appears Pat. 34. Edwardi primi but now the Distaffe hath prevailed against the Lance for this Name having been lately wound up in a Daughter and Heir the Possession of it in her Right is now transplanted into Captain Terry
Aldersey of Swanton Court in Bredgar Esquire Castwisell is a third place in Biddenden worth our Consideration it was in Times very ancient Parcel of that Estate which did in this County relate to the Moiles extracted from Moiles Court at Bodmin in Cornwall and certainly did as high acknowledge the Signory of this Knightly Family as any Land they held in this County for though by some old Deeds not bounded with any date I find the Name of John de Castwisell affixed as Teste yet by those old Deeds and Muniments which have an Aspect upon this Mannor I discover that Walter Moile Knight in the sixth year of Edw. the third did grant to Reginald and William Sand all those Lands Tenements Rents and Services which Simon Gidinden ad Formam late held of the said Sit Walter as of his Mannor of Castwisell and by a subsequent Deed dated in the twenty third year of Henry the sixth I find that Margaret Widow of William Scapis of Burmersh did grant to Walter Moile which was the Judge all that Messuage and Land she held in Biddenden and by a Deed of a more modern Inscription that is one which comences from the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth I find that Thomas Moile of Eastwell Gentleman afterwards dignified with the order of Knighthood by the abovesaid Prince conveyed it to Stephen Rogers Gentleman and from him is Mr. Jonathan Rogers now possessor of this place originally descended Bidborough is the last place which shuts up the Lowy of Tunbridge here were Lands which were the Inheritance of a Family called Chauney the first of whom with whom I meet with in Record is Thomas le Chauney who paid respective Aid for it at making the Black Prince Knight as appears by the Book of Aid in the twentieth year of Edward the third and continued in his Family divers years after his Exit for in the latter end of Henry the fourth I find George Chauney possest of it but after him I can trace out no more of this Family who held it the next who succeeded in the Possession were the Palmers as is manifest by some old Court Rolls which represent one Thomas Palmer to have been Lord of the Fee in the Reign of Ed. the fourth and Henry the seventh but made no long stay in this Name for about the Beginning of Henry the eighth it was alienated to John Vane Esquire and the descendant of this Family Sir Ralph Vane being attainted in the fourth year of Edw. the sixth it escheated to the Crown and Queen Elizabeth in the first year of her Rule granted it to Henry Cary Lord Hunsdon of whom more hereafter Ramhurst is another little Mannor in Bidborough which the Book of Aid informs me in the twentieth year of Ed. the third to have been possest by a Family called Warehall and remained in their possession until the Reign of Henry the fourth and then it was passed away to Colepeper whose Ancestor John Colepeper died seised of some Estate here in the forty eighth year of Edward the third as appears Rot. Esc Num. 29. and in this Family was the Propriety resident until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was transferred by Sale to Lewknor from whom in that Age which came within the Verge of our Grand-fathers Remembrance it was alienated and demised to Dixon in Right of which Conveyance it is the instant Possession of Mr. Edward Dixon Esquire There is an House in this Parish called Bounds and in ancient Deeds called Bunds which as Tradition avers was the utmost Margin or Limit which bounded that League of Earth which hath been since known by the Name of the Lowy of Tunbridge and was given by Will. Rufus to Gilbert Earl of Briony and Eu because his Castle of Briony had been before by Violence torn from him by Robert Duke of Normandy because this Earl had been a Promoter or at least a Fomenter of the Designs of his Brother King William The Mannor of Bidborough it self had the same owners with that of Tunbridge as namely the Earls of Clare Audley and Stafford and escheating by forfeiture to the Crown upon the attaint of Edw. Stafford Duke of Buckingham in the twelfth year of Hen. the eighth it was by Q. Elizabeth granted in the first year of her Reign to Henry Cary Lord Hunsdon whose Son George Cary Lord Hunsdon dying without Issue Male his onely Inheritrix Elizabeth wedded to Thomas Lord Barkley linked it to his Patrimony and he in the Beginning of King James conveyed it to Sir Thomas Smith Grand-father to Robert Smith Esquire who lately died possest of it Bilsington in the Hundred of New-church was folded up anciently in that Patrimony which acknowledged the Dominion of John Mansel a man of eminent Note in the Reign of Henry the third as appears by that Chain of offices which adorned his Greatness for he was Constable of Dover-Castle Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Provost of Beverley for the abovesaid Prince and Queen Eleanor his Wife and Treasurer of the Church of York but he not long enjoyed it for he in the twenty seventh year of Henry the third made God his Heir and devested himself of the propriety of it to settle it on the Priory of Bilsington which was of his Foundation and Endowment and by dedication entituled to the Patronage of the Virgin Mary and was furnished with white Canons or Canons Pramonstratenses and in this condition did it remain until not onely this but all other Orders in this Nation having warped and revolted from their original Integrity and those closer Engagements and narrower Restraints the Rules of their primitive Institution tyed them up in a dissolution of Mannors called for a Dissolution of Demeasn but now whether those who did so zealously pretend to correct their Lives did not more seriously intend to reform the Ecclesiastical Patrimony and arraign them not according to the Guilt of their Crimes but the Hainousness of their Estates will fall under a sober Consideration that the Excesses of the Romish Clergie were high their Imperfections many and their Irregularities clamorous is without controversie now what the Causes were which unfastned the Ligatures of streighter Discipline which like so many Nerves did both move and tie together all the Limbs of the Body Ecclesiastick I shall now briefly discover The first Cause of this Depravation was the removing and abating those Persecutions which had so long with a sad and bloody pressure grated upon Christianity under the Scepter of ten Heathen Tirants and we know that the Fable tepresents to us that when the Laurell the Guerdon and Salary of Triumphs and the Sweat of the Laborious shoulder withered and shrunk into Decay the Figgettee sprang up our of its Ruines which is the Emblematick Type of Softness and Effeminacy and we read that the Lamps of Tullia and Terentia burnt with a clear and uninterrupted Flame as long as they were Recluse to the Cloisters of their
Urnes and Vaults and dwelt in the Scene and Comprehension of Darkeness but when they were brought out into the Publick like Camphire they evaporated into the Air that fed them So the Primitive Christians who shone with such a bright and constant Beam in the Night and Agony of their Affliction when they were melted with the warmth and Sun-shine or a calme and prosperous Fortune began to slacken into Luxury and Excess Folly and Disorder and they that had dared Axes and Racks Wheels and Gridirons the Teeth of Beasts and the Fury of Men the Heat of Persecution and the Flame of Oblation and in brief had been inexpugnable to all the Artifices and Engines of Torture contrived by impious men fell afterwards cheaply and tamely like those who are smothered with Roses stifled with Perfumes and strangled with a silken Halter The second Cause that elder observations insinuate to us to have been the Reason of the Clergies deviation is that vast heap of temporal Treasure with which Constantine loaded the Bosome of the Church so that it may be truly affirmed Religio peperit Divitias Filia devoravit Matrem for Poverty though like a streight and narrow Girdle it does with its close and uneasie stricture pinch and afflict us yet it keeps the Garment from falling into Loosness and Disorder whilst superfluity of Wealth is apt to untie those Restraints which are cast upon the Will and unshackle those Fetters which are laid upon the sensual Appetite rendring our Thoughts vain and trifling foolish and impertinent and our undertakings wild and irregular making us soft and easie for the impressions of Vice but difficult and uncapable of the influences of Vertue and the nobler Designs of Religion For it is farther observable that from Riches evaporate the Fumes of Luxury and Ambition which like those Mists which exhale from the Crudities of a raw Stomach debauch the understanding and disorder Reason and muffle them up in 〈◊〉 Vaile and in a Cloud and they that view the Light of Truth which is the greaâ— Luminary in the Firmament of the Church through the Vapours of secular Interest are like those who take the Prospect of a Star through a gross vaporous Body of Air they behold it by the Chanel of so polluted a Medium they view it in an uneven and incertain Paralax The third Cause of the â—efection of Ecclesiastical Persons in the Church of Rome from the severer Obligations of their original Institution is this the Pope had newly entituled himself to a vast and uncircumscribed Power and found that there was an Obligation imposed upon him to support the Clergy in all their Excesses and vitious Sallies that so they might be obliged to engage the Pulpit and the Pen in the asserting of that Authority which the Western Emperors vainly endevoured by frequent Contests and Struglings to wring out of his Hands and reinvest in themselves and they looking up and discovering that he beheld their Disorders with a calm and an indulgent Brow let loose the Golden Reigns of Discipline and it is no wonder if at any Time the Bridle of Government be slackned when the Snaffle that should keep it steady and even hath lost its two Bosses Fear and Punishment But I have digressed I now return After the Suppression had entituled the Crown to this Maunor which formerly supported the Convent of Bilsington King Henry the eighth in the thirty seventh year of his Reign by Royall Concession made it the Inheritance of Sir Anthony St. Leger of Ulcombe in which Family the Title was permanent untill the beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then his Son Sir Warham St. Leger passed it away to Sir Francis Barnham of London Knight Sir Walter de Bernham was one of those who was at the seige of Carlaveock in Scotland with Edward the first in the twenty eighth of his Reign Knights and bore the Paternall Coat of this Family viz. Sables A plain Cross engrailed between sour Crescents Argent whose great Grand-childe Master Robert Barnham Esquire by Paternal devolution and descent does now claim the instant Signory of it Neither Bilsington in this Parish is that Mannor which anciently was held by a Family called Staplegate of Staplegate in Natindon who claimed to be the Kings chie Butler at his Coronation The first that I find possest of it was Edmund de Staplegate to whom it was derived by Purchase about the middle of Edward the third from Richard Fitz Allan Earl of Arundell whose Ancestors held it many years before and he having thus entered upon it by his Acquist dyed possest of it in the twenty ninth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 58 and left it to his Son and Heir Edmund de Staplegate and he in the first year of Richard the second put in his claim to be chief Butler at his Coronation as holding this Mannor by the Tenure of grand Serjeantry to discharge that Office to evacuate his claim Richard Earl of Arundell exhibits a Petition and Plea wherein he asserts that the Office of chief Butler was never annexed to this Mannor of Bilsington that his Family had enjoyed it both before the Possession and after the Alienation of it and therefore desired he might perform it that Solemn Day upon the discussion of the whole Controversie it was ordered that that Day the Earl of Arundell should discharge it with a salvo jure that it should not infringe the Right of Staplegate or any other that should pretend a Right or Title to it for the future But to proceed this Family held this Manor untill the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then the Fate of Sale carryed it away to Cheney and Sir John Cheney Knight was seized of it at his Death which was in the seventh year of Edward the fourth and from him was it wafted down by the Thread of Descent to his Successor Henry Lord Cheney who about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth alienated his Propriety in it to Sir Francis Barnham of London Knight from whom by Successive Right the Title is now devolved to his great Grand-childe Master Robert Barnham Esquire Birling in the Hundred of Larkfield was belonging when the great Survey of England was taken called Doomsday Book to one Ralph de Curva Spina and tha ancient Seat of those who were the possessors of it was at Comport or Comford Parke in this Parish but before the End of Henry the second the above mentioned Family was worn out and then I find a Family called Crescie to succeed in the Inheritance William de Crescie had a grant of Liberties in Birling in the fifth year of King John but his Name and Family after this did not long continue to possess them for before the Expiration of the long and tempestuous Reign of Henry the third it was departed from them and planted in th Revenue which did call that Family of Say Proprietaries the first of whom was William de Say who was one of those
who stuck so close to the Cause and Quarrel of Simon de Montfort the active Earl of Leicester after whose Ruine at the Battle of Evesham and the total Discomfiture and Dissipation of of his Forces in that signal Conflict he was found in the Register of those Kentish Gentlemen who were pardoned by the pacification at Kenelworth and died possest of it in the twenty third year of Edw. the first Rot. Esc Num. 48. and in some old Deeds it is called Caput Baroniae de Say now the vulgar opinion was formerly that that thirteen Knights Fees and a half made up a Tenure per Baroniam now how much in value a Knights Fee was was the Question in elder Times some affirming it to be 50 l. others 30 l. and diverse again but 25 l. but the common received opinion is which hath been generally allowed of by all our Law Books that it is in Estimate but 20 l. consisting of eight Carucates or Hides of Land for they are coincident allowing to every Carucate or Ploughed Land an 100. Acres which was anciently thought to be as much as one team of Oxen could plough up in a year but the Tenure it self which was compounded of these Knights Fees was altogether incertain for unless it be that Manscript stiled Modus Tenendi Parliamentum which is of no higher Age then the Reign of Edward the third there is no Record does state or fix it Walter de Meduana or Mayney Ancestor to the Mayneys of Linton held twenty Knights Fees as appears by the Red Book kept in the Exchequer Folio 84 yet was not under the Repute of a Baron Walter de Wahull had the possession of 30. Knights Fees and John de Port of 50. yet neither of them out of so vast a Tenure could multiply or inforce to themselves the Stile or Title of Baron whereas on the contrary Roger de Leybourn who marryed the Coheir of Vipont and was really a Baron makes a recognisance of his Service as appears by Kirkbies Inquest kept in the Exchequer and taken in the ninth year of Edward the first but for two Knights Fees and an half from all which recited passages is evinced that this Title of Baronage flowed only from the Favour and Indulgence of the Prince who by his Writ or Summons called those who had merited well by some worthy undertakings to this Dignity and Title and not from the vastness of their Patrimony though this did very much concurre afterwards to support their Baronage in its true Value and Lustre But to proceed Jeffrey de Say this Mans Successor had view of Franck Pledge here in the eighth year of Edward the third that is as appears by the Statute of Frank Pledge made in the eighteenth year of Edward the second he was to take Cognisance of those Disorders and Excesses in his Court Baron that were committed by those which held in Free-Soccage of his Mannor of Berling as well as of those which held in Knights Service or Villen age and this Jeffrey in the thirty third year of Edward the third dyed possest of this place Rot. Esc Num. 37. and left it to his Son William de Say who likewise was in the Tenure of it at his Death which happened in the forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 43. Parte secunda and transmitted it to his Son John de Say who likewise held it at his Decease which was in the sixth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 67. and from him did it devolve by descent to his Son and Heir Jeffrey Lord Say who about the latter end of Richard the second alienated his Interest here by Sale to Richard Fitzallan Earl of Arundell Lord Treasurer and Lord high Admirall of England from whom it came over to his Son Thomas Fitzallan Earl of Arundell and Lord Treasurer of England likewise who dying in the year 1416. without Issue Joan one of his Sisters matched to William Beauchampe summoned to Parliament as Baron of Aburgavenny in the sixteenth year of Richard the second became his Coheir and so he by this Alliance was acknowledged for Lord of the Fee but his Son Richard Beauchampe created Earl of Worcester in the year 1420 dying without Issue male in the ninth year of Henry the fifth Elizabeth his sole Daughter and Heir by matching with Edward Nevill who in her Right became Baron of Aburgavenny annexed Birling and Comfort Parke to his Revenue and he dyed possest of it in the sixteenth year of Edward the fourth and from him did it descend to his great Grandchild Henry Lord Aburgavenny who in the twenty ninth of Queen Elizabeth dying without Issue male gave it to his Kinsman Sir Edward Nevill afterwards Baron of Aburgavenny whose Grandchild John Nevill Lord Aburgavenny possesses now the Signory of it Bobbing in the Hundred of Milton was the ancient Seat of the illustrious Family of Savage Roger de Savage obtained a Charter of Free Warren to his Lands at Bobbing Milsted and elsewhere in the fifth year of Edward the second his Father Sir John de Savage was engaged with Edward the first at the remarkable Siege of Carlaverock in Scotland in the twenty eighth year of his Reign and there for his Signal Service was with Thomas Savage his Brother created Knight Banneret Sir Arnold Savage this mans Grandchild was Sheriff of Kent the fourth and ninth years of Richard the second and was afterwards Speaker of the Parliament in the second year of Henry the fourth as appeats by the late printed Abridgement of the Parliament Rolls preserved in the Tower and was one of the Privie Counsell to that Prince as appears by the private Evidences of this Family his Daughter Eleanor was first matched to Sir Reginald Cobham by whom she had no Issue and after was remarried to William Clifford Esquire Son of Sir Lewis Clifford Knight of the Garter descended from Clifford of Cliffords Castle in Herefordshire who upon the Decease of his Wifes only Brother this Sir Arnold Savage without Issue in her Right as Heir Generall entered upon his Estate here at Bobbing and was Sheriff of Kent in the fourth year of Henry the fifth and again in the thirteenth year of Henry the sixth his Kinsman Robert Clifford Esquire Brother to Richard Clifford first Arch-Deacon of Canterbury secondly Bishop of Worcester and thirdly Bishop of London was Knight of the Shire for Kent in the eighth year of Henry the fourth and lyes buryed in the middle Isle in the Body of Christ Church in Canterbury though now his Portraicture in Copper with the Inscription affixed with the many Coats declaring his Descent and Alliance are torn off and defaced the above mentioned William had Issue Lewis and John Lewis had Issue Alexander Clifford Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent the fifth year of King Edward the fourth and he had Issue Lewis Clifford Esq who was likewise Sheriff of Kent the thirteenth of Henry the seventh and from this Lewis was Henry
Clifford lineally descended who almost in our Fathers Remembrance passed away his Interest here to Sir Coniers Clifford and the Lady Mary his Wife Widow of Southwell whom he had made joynt purchaser with him in the Conveyance after whose Decease she was remarried to Sir Anthony St. Leger of Ireland by whom she had Issue Sir Anthony St. Leger now of Wierton House in Boughton Montchentsey who by a Right derived from a Donation of his Mother divided the Mannor of Bobbing with his two half Brothers Henry and Coniers Clifford all whom not many years since by mutuall and joynt Consent alienated the whole demise to Sir Edward Duke of Cosington and he not long after passed away his Right in it by Sale to Sir Richard Gurney of London from whom the same Vicissitude and Conveyance hath now brought it to be the Patrimony of his Brother in Law Captain Henry Samford Esquire Borden in the Hundred of Milton hath nothing memorable in it but the Mannor of Criolls and Poyles for they were alwaies united together and were parcell of that spreading Demeasne which fell under the Signory of Bertram de Crioll and he dyed possest of them in the twenty third year of Edward the third and left it to John Crioll his Son and Heir who dying without Issue Joan his Sister and Heir Generall brought this and much other Land to be possest by her Husband Sir Richard de Rokesley but he likewise deceasing without Issue the same fatal Vicissitude brought it by Joan sole Daughter and Heir to be the Patrimony of Thomas de Poynings in which Family the Title flowed with an uninterrupted Current untill it devolved to Sir Edward Poynings who dyed in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth without Issue lawfully begotten and as it appears by the last Inquisition taken after his Decease in the fourteenth year of that Prince without any respective Kindred that could legally entitle themselves to his Estate so this Mannor escheated to the Crown and was granted by the abovesaid Prince to Sir Thomas Wiat who lost it again upon his attainder in the second year of Queen Mary but was restored again by Queen Elizabeth in the twenty fifth year of her Reign to his Son George Wiat Esquire only for life for the Reversion thereof was by King James by his Letters Patents bearing Date the fifteenth Day of June in the sixteenth year of his Reign granted to Thomas Hooker and Jo. Spencer Gentlemen who joyn after in a fine and settle it on the Heirs of Mr. George Wiat in the second year of King Charles Sir Francis Wiat was found to be his Heir who with his Ladies Consent Dame Margaret Wiat did by good and sufficient Assurance in Law not many yeers since convey it to Isaac Seward Gentleman Sutton Barne is a little Mannor in this Parish remarkable only in this that Roger de Savage Son of Sir John Savage obtained a Charter of Free Warren to it in the fifth year of Edward the second and continued with the Name untill the Heir Generall carried it away with Bobbing to Clifford in which Family it remained untill the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Platt Ancestor to Mr ....... Plat of Borden who now enjoys the Inheritance of it Bonnington in the Hundred of Street did anciently appertain to the Knights Templars and being found in the Register of their Demeasne at their total Suppression which was in the second year of Edward the second it was in the seventeenth year of that Princes Rule by a new Provision made by Act of Parliament setled on the Knights Hospitallers or of St. Johns of Jerusalem and so lay enwrapped in their Patrimony which was wide and spacious in this Track untill the Reign of Henry the eighth and then by the Suppression of this Order it was made parcell of the Royall Revenue untill the abovesaid Prince in the thirty fifth year of his Government granted it to Sir Thomas Moile and he not long after conveyed it by Sale to Sir James Hales of the Dungeon neer Canterbury from whom it devolved by successive Right to his Successor Sir James Hales who almost in our Memory alienated his Interest in it to Sir William Man of Canterbury Singleton is another Mannor in Bonington which was the Inheritance of a Family which anciently extracted its Sirname from the abovesaid Parish and was called Bonington of which Family was Ni. de Bonington who paid respective Aid for this Mannor at making the Black Prince Knight after this Family was extinguished which was about the Beginning of Richard the second the Breslands a Family who were Owners of a plentifull Estate in East Kent were entituled by Purchase to the Possession of this Mannor and continued in the Tenure of it untill about the latter end of Henry the fourth and then it passed away as appears by some ancient Court Rolls to Cobbe whose Arms viz. Argent a Cheveron between three Cocks Gules if not assaulted by the barrous rudenesle of these Times stand in old coloured Class both in the Churches of Bonington and Limne But to proceed Singleton had for several Generations and Ages been folded up in that Demeasne which related to this Family it was carried down by the Vicissitude of Time to Edward Cobbe Esquire who about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth deceased without Issue male and so both this Place and Cobbs place in Aldington became the Inheritance of Sir John Norton of Northwood by matching with Alice sole Daughter and Heit of the abovesaid Edward and from him did it transmit it self by Descent to his Successor Sir Thomas Norton of Northwood who dying without Issue male Elizabeth his Female Inheritrix brought this to be parcell of that Estate which acknowledges the Signory of Sir James Hales now of the place or Court called the Dungeon neer Canterbury Brookland in the Hundred of Aloesbridge anciently was wrapt up in the Patrimony of a noble Family called Passeley whose Seat was at Thevegate in Smeth Edmund de Passeley is the first whom in publick Record I discover to have been possest of it as appears by an Inquisition taken after his Decease in the nineteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 57. but the aboad of this Family at this Place was no longer then untill the end of Henry the fourth and then it was by John Passeley alienated to the Lord Cobham of Sterborough and here was the Tenure and Title more transient and volatile then in the former Family for Thomas Lord Cobham of Sterborough dyed in the eleventh year of Edward the fourth and left it to his sole Daughter and Heir Ann matched to Edward Borough afterwards in her Right Lord Borough of Sterborough and Lord of this Mannor and in this Family was it fixed untill Thomas Lord Borough Grandchild to the abovesaid Edward about the middle of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to Eversfield of Sussex from whom by as quick a Transition it was
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
Denne who deceasing without Issue Male Margaret his only Daughter and Heir brought it over to her husband Edw. Hougham after whose death it is to devolve to two Daughters who are the surviving Issue of that Wife namely Elizabeth matched to Mr. Edward Rose of Chistlet and Ann wedded to Mr. John Betentham now of Canterbury The Dungeon is another Mannor in Canterbury It was formerly belonging to an ancient Family called Chich Ernaldus de Chich was a man of principal note under Henry the second Richard the first and K. John and the Aldermanry of Burgate in Canterbury did in elder times appertain to this Family Thoma Chich was was Bailiff of Canterbury 1259. and again in the year 1271. was a principal Benefactor to the Church of S. Mary Bredin in Canterbury whose Name in an old Character together with his Effigies are set up in the west Window as his Coat is likewise in Stone-work in the Chancell John Chich was Bailiff of Canterbury in the twenty third and again in the twenty sixth year of Edward the third in the year 1320. Robert Malling then Commissary of Canterbury gave Sentence upon clear Evidence by ancient muniments and otherwise that the Hospital of St. Laurence in Canterbury should not only receive the Tithes of the Mannor of the Dungeon but likewise of 300. Acres adjacient to it but this was not without the Tye or Tribute of some Remuneration for in Autumne John Chich who was then Lord of the Dungeon was to receive for his Servants five loaves of Bread two Pitchers and an half of Beer and half a Cheese of four pence and he himself was to receive unum par Cirocecarum ferinarum one pair of Holyday Gloves and one pound of Wax in Candles and for his Servants three pair of Gloves Thomas Chich this mans Son was Sheriff of Kent in the forty fourth year of Edward the third and held his Shrivealtie at the Dungeon but in Valantine Chich this mans great Grandchild not only the male line but likewise the possession of this place failed for he about the beginning of Edward the fourth passed it away to Roger Brent Esq and he died seised of it as appears by his Will recorded at Canterbury in the year 1486. But in this Family it was not long after this resident for in the beginning of Henry the eighth by an old Court Roll I find one John Butler of Heronden in Eastrye possest of it and he conveyed it to Sir John Hales Chief Baron of the Exchequer and when Leland visited Kent which was in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth he lived here and from him is it now come down to his Successor Sir James Hales the instant Proprietarie of it The Moate alias Wyke is a third Mannor within the precincts of Canterbury and had owners of that Sirname For I read in Testa de Nevill that Stephen de VVyke possest it in the twentyeth year of Henry the third and paid respective Aid for it at the marriage of Isabel that Princes Sister and in the Book of Aid where there is an Enumeration of the ancient owners there is a Recital of Stephen de Wyke William le Taylour John Tancrey and Richard Betts who had an Interest in it but before the beginning of Richard the second all these Families were mouldred away and vanished For in that Kings Reign I find it by the Court Rolls of this place in the hands of Sir Richard de Hoo and Richard Skippe and they about the latter end of Richard the second by deed conveyed it to Simon Spencer and he some few years after alienated it to John Standford Gentleman who suddenly after Passed it away to Richard Smith in whose hands it had not long continued when the same Devolution brought it over to John Eastfield Esquire Son of Sir William Eastfield who was Knight of the Bath and Lord Maior of London in the year 1438. and from him it was by Sale carried off to William Rogers and he by a Fine levied in the thirty third year of Henry the sixth demises and sells it to Philip Belknap of Canterbury Esquire Maior of that City in the year 1458. and Sheriff of Kent in the thirty fourth year of Henry the sixth he married Elizabeth Daughter of John Woodhouse Esq by whom he had Issue Alice his only Daughter and Heir who was matched to Henry Finch of Nitherfield Esq Father of Sir William Finch Banneret who in his Mothers right was invested in the possession of the Moâ—t and from him is it now by Successive right devolved to the Right Honourable John Lord Finch created Baron of Fordwich by the late K. Charles when he was Lord Keeper of the great Seal of England St. Dunstans in Canterbury was the Ancient Seat of the noble Family of Roper VVilliam Rosper or de Rubra Spathâ for so the Name is written in old Dateless Evidences and Elnith his Wife the Daughter and Heir of Edward de Apuldore flourished in the Reign of Henry the third and were great Benefactors to the Priorie of Saint Martins in Dover Iohn de Rubrâ Spathâ or Rosper did eminent Service in Scotland under Edward the third for which that Prince rewards him and William Clifford as appears by a Deed recorded in the Earl of Dorsets Pedigree about the twenty ninth year of his Reign with the third part of those Forfeitures that were due from the Jews then inhabiting in London for the Violation of some Penal Statutes enected against them Edmund Son of Ralph Roper was an eminent Man in the Reign of Henry the fourth and Henry the fifth under whom he was Justice of the Peace for this County and died the third year of Henry the sixth 1433 and lies buried in this Church of St. Dunstans John Roper his Son and John VVestcliffe as the Records of this Family instruct me were Correctors and Surveyours of the Customes of the Cinque Ports in the ninteenth year of Henry the seventh Jo. Roper his Grandchild was Attorney General to Henry the eighth and Prothonotary of the Kings Bench as appears by the Inscription on his Monument in St. Dunstans Church 1524 and VVill. Roper who was Sheriff of Kent the first and second year of Philip and Mary and matched with Margaret Daughter of Sir Thomas More Lord Chancellor of England who as the Inscription on her Monument was Graecis Latinisque Literis Doctissima succeeded his Father in the Office of Prothonotary of the Kings Bench which he discharged with much of Fidelity and Care fifty four years and left it to his Sor Thomas Roper Esquire 1577 in which year he died and from this Thomas is this Mannor of St. Dunstans which for so many Centuries of years hath constantly confessed the Signorie of this Name now descended to his great Grandchild Mr. Edward Roper Esquire Capell in the Hundred of Folkstone was parcel of that Estate which celebrated the Family of Averenches to have been its Proprieraries which continued no longer in the
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
first from Chelsfield it passed away to Otho Lord Grandison who paid respective Aid for this Mannor by the sixth part of a Knights Fee at the making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third but there it had but a frail abode for Sir Thomas de Grandison this mans Son conveyed it over by Sale to Richard Lord Poynings whose Daughter and Heir Eleanor matched to Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland and in his Line was the Right of it for some Descents interwoven till in the Reign of Henry the seventh it was by Sale resigned up to James Walsingham Esquire whose Son Sir Edmund Walsingham alienated it to Giles in the Reign of Edward the sixth which Giles descended from Giles of Lords in Shelvich where for many years before they had been planted and from Giles about the latter end of Q. Elizabeth it came over by purchase to Captain Henry Lee of London who going out in Sisters and Coheirs it is now come by two of them to Serjeant John Clerk of Huntington-shire the principal Possessor and Mr. Thomas Norton of London Ferneborough is but a Chappel of Ease devoted to the honour of St. Giles but belongs to the Mother-Church of Chelsfield which is dedicated to St. James as appears by the Records of the Church of Rochester It was a principal Seat of the Lord Grandison who made this the Head of their Barony William de Grandison held it at his death which was in the ninth year of Edward the third * Otho de Grandison obtained a the grant of Market to Ferneborough in the eighteenth of Edw. the first which was renewed to Hen. Earl of Lancaster in the eighteenth year of Edward the third and the grant of a Fair added at the Feast of S. Giles the Eve and Eight dayes following Otho Lord Grandison this mans Son obtained a Charter of Free Warren to it in the eighteenth year of Edward the third but long after this it did not remain linked to the Inheritance of this Family for in the Reign of Richard the second I find Fleming invested in the Possession whose Tenure was very transitory for not long after by Purchase it was brought into the Demeasn of Petley from whom by as swift a Fatalitie it went away to Peche of Lullingston which Family determined in Sir John Peche in the Reign of Henry the seventh who dying Issueless Elizabeth his Sister and heir brought this and a spatious Inheritance to her husband John Hart Esquire from whom M. William Hart now of Lullingston Esquire is lineally extracted and in right of this Alliance is at this present entituled to the Possession and Signorie of Ferneborough There is a third Mannor in this Parish called Godington which was anciently the Habitation of a Family which was represented to the world under that Name Simon de Godington paid respective Aid for his Mannor of Godington at the making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third as the Book of Aid informs us and after this Family expired at this place Richard Lord Poynings became Lord of the Signorie of it from whom with Eleanor his Daughter and Heir it went over to Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland but did not long fix in that Family for for almost two hundred years last past the Possession hath been constantly united to the Name of Haddon a Family of principal Account in this Track as may appear by their Arms viz. A Leg couped and wounded which are Registered in the old Rolls and Ordinaries of Kentish Armorie alwayes with this addition Haddon of Kent and sometimes of Godington in Kent Hewat is another small Mannor in Cheslfield One Jeffrey de Hewat was possest of it in the Time of Henry the third ut apparet ex Charta sine Data which was for many Descents the Petleys of Down originally from whom it devolved to a Cadet of that Family who planted himself at Moulsoe in this Parish and there is a Deed in the hands of Mr. Thomas Petley of Vielston of John Coldigate of Coldigate a Farm in Halsted which bears Date from the eleventh year of Henry the fourth to which one William Petley of Chelsfield is Teste After it had been resident for sundry Generations in this Branch of Petley which sprouted out from those of Down the Title in that Age which ushered in this was by Sale from Edward Petley transferred to Mr. Thomas Petley of Vilston in Shorham another Branch shot out from the principal Stem of the Petleys at Down and he left it to his second Son Mr. Ralph Petley of Riverhead in Sevenoke not long since deceased whose Heir who is Proprietary of this place is at this instant in his Minoritie Northsted is situated likewise in Chelsfield and in the reign of Edward the third confessed a Family called Francis for its Proprietaries Simon Francis held it at his death which was in the thirty second year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 33. and acquired it by Purchase of Otho de Grandison who held this and Chelsfield as appears by the Book of Aid in the twentieth year of the former Prince but about the beginning of Henry the fourth this Family had surrendred the possession of this Mannor to Vuedall or Udall a Noble Familie and Masters of much Land both in Surrey Sussex and Hant-shire Sir John de Vuedall was one of the Knights who was with Edward the first at the Siege of Carlaverock Sir Peter D'Vuedall sat as Baron in Parliament the eighth and ninth of Edward the second Nicholas Vuedall was Constable of Windsor under Edward the third John Vuedall was Sheriff of Sussex and Surrey the second fourth and seventh years of Henry the fifth and again the first fifth and twelfth year of Henry the sixth William Vuedall was Sheriff of Sussex and Surrey the eighth of Henry the sixth and he in the sixth year of that Princes Government conveyed it to John Shelley of Bexley whose Successor William Shelley about the latter end of Henry the eighth passed it away to Mr. John Leonard of Chevening whose great Grand-child Henry Lord Dacres not many years since conveyed it to the Lady Wolrich who upon her decease setled it on her Kinsman Mr. ....... Skeggs of the County of Huntington Chelsfield had a Market obtained by Otho de Grandison in the eighteenth year of Edw. the first to be held there weekly on the Monday and a Fair to be observed there yearly by the space of three dayes at the Feast of Saint James Choriton in the Hundred of Folk-stone was the Inheritance of an ancient Family called Scotton Robert Scotton who was Sheriff of Kent the seventh eighth ninth and tenth years of Edward the first lived here and held his Shrievalty at this place and was of eminent Rank in this Track for he was Lieutenant of Dover Castle under the Prince abovesaid and held this Mannor under the Estimate of a whole Knights Fee of the Lord of
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
originall and he having thus improved it transmitted his Right in it by sale some few yeers since to Mr. Philip Warwick Chiddingston in the Hundred of Somerden hath the Addition of Cohbam as being the Inheritance of the Lords Cobham of Sterborough Castle Henry de Cobham had in the ninth year of King John a Charter for all his Lands in Kent of which these at Chiddingston with the two little Mannors of Reynsley and Tihurst In Ages of a lower Step Reginald Lord Cobham who was summoned to Parliament as Lord Cobham of Sterborough in the twenty second year of Edward the third died possest of them in the thirty fifth year of that Prince Parte prima Rot. Esc Num. 62. And here the Right continued till in Thomas Lord Cobham this mans great Grandchild the Male Line failed and resolved into Ann Cobham who was matched to Edward Borough Lord of Gainsborough in the County of Lincoln whose Grandchild Thomas Lord Borough some fifty years since passed away his Right in Chiddingstone Reynsley and Tihurst which had devolved to him by his Grandmother to Stretfield whose Son deceasing without Issue Male they became the Inheritance of four Daughters and Coheirs matched to Dillingham Shetterden Powell and Taylor only Reynsley before his Death was sold to Mr. Christopher Knight whose Heir does now possesse it Burwash Court in this Parish was the Patrimony of the Lords Burgherst by vulgar Depravation of the Name called Burwash Stephen de Burwash had a Charter of Free-warren to all his Lands in Kent in the first year of Edward the second Robert de Burgherst or Burwarsh possest it at his Death which was in the thirty third year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 41. and his Son Bartholomew Lord Burwash in the forty third year of Edward the third by Deed passes away much of his Land in Warwick-shire and Kent to Walter de Paveley and Matilda his Wife in which this lay involved from Paveley it came down by Purchase to John de Bore Trivet and Vaux whose Successors conveyed Burwash to John Alphew in the Reign of Henry the sixth Alphews Coheirs were marryed to ....... Brograve and Sir Robert Read Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the Time of Henry the seventh who in his Wifes Right carried away Burwash as parcell of her Dower but this man determining likewise in Daughters and Coheirs Katharine one of them was wedded to Sir Thomas Willoughby second Son to Christopher Willoughbie of Eresbie which Sir Thomas was likewise Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Eliza. was matched to Sir Tho. Totihurst and a third was married to Th. Wotton Esquire Sir Thomas Willoughbie Esquire Son and Heir of Sir Tho. who joyned in a Fine with his two Uncles even now mentioned in the sixth year of Edw. the sixth and so by a mutuall Concurrence with them their united Concernment in Burwash was passed away to Mr. John and Mr. Robert Seyliard of Delaware in whose Name and Revenue the Title and Propriety of this place hath ever since kept so permanent an Aboad that it is still the Inheritance of Mr. John Seyliard now of Delaware Esquire Bore Place with the Mannor of Milbroke and Boresell was formerly the Inheritance as high as Henry the third of a Family which assumed its Sirname from hence and was called Bore and likewise took in to his Arms a Bore for his Cognisance in this Family the Right of these places successively dwelt till John Bore in the Time of Henry the sixth transplanted his Interest in them by Sale into John Alphew by whose Coheir they came over to her Husband Sir Robert Read and from him they went away by Katharine one of his Coheirs to Sir Thomas Willoughbie whose great Grandchild Percivall Willoughbie who having matched with Bridget one of the four Coheirs of Sir Percival Willoughbie of Notinghamshire devested himself of his Title to both these places to improve his Interest in that County and not many years since alienated them to Mr. Bernard Hide of London Esquire one of the Commissioners of the Custome House to the late King Charles whose Grandchild Mr. Bernard Hide is upon his Fathers late Decease now enterred into their Possession of Milbroke and Boreplace But Boresell now vulgarly called Bowsell was sold to Edmund Thomas of Whitley neer Sevenoke who is now in the enjoyment of it Chilham in the Hundred of Felborough was by William the Conquerour as the Pages of Doomsday Book instruct us assigned to Fulbert de Dover under the Notion of a whole Knights Fee for his Assistance and Association to John de Fiennes in the Guard of Dover Castle which eminent employment thus imposed upon him did induce him to wave his originall Sirname of Lucy and assume one derived from his Office yet Richard de Lucy this mans Son did it seems take up again his primitive Sirname for when King John by his Charter in the sixteenth year of his Reign Cart. 24. Num. 37. restores to Rose de Dover called in the Latin Record Rohesia the Castle of Chilham with all its Appendages he calls it there the Land which was her Grandfather Richard de Lucy's Inheritance This Rose de Dover was sometimes written in old Deeds de Lucy in Relation to which she sealed with three Pikes * Fishes called Lucii in Latin she matched with Richard base Son to King John by whom she had two Daughters and Coheirs Lora married to William de Marmion and Isabell espoused to David de Strabolgie Earl of Athol who in her Right became Lord of the Castle and Mannor of Chilham and transmitted it to his Son John Earl of Atholl who for his frequent Acts of Hostility and Rebellion against Edward the first in his Contest with the Scots being by the Fate of War made Captive was at Canterbury hanged on a Gibbet fifty Foot high that he might be as eminent in his Punishment as he was before conspicuous in his Crimes and being cut down halfe alive had his Head struck off and his Trunk cast into the Fire a Savage Manner of Punishment and hardly heard of before amongst us upon his Shipwrack and Confiscation of Estate it rested in the Demeasne of the Crown till King Edward the second in the fifth year of his Reign as appears Parte prima Pat. Edwardi secundi granted the Castle and Mannor of Chilham to Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer who quickly after lost it by his Perfidiousnesse and Disloyalty to that Prince so that it returned to the Crown and the abovesaid Prince as is evident by Pat. 15. 16. Edwardi secundi restores the Castle and Mannor with all the Goods and Chattels in it which belonged to Bartholomew Badelesmer to David de Strabolgie Grandchild to the first David for Life only which upon his Expiration was again united to the Royal Revenue and in the third year of King Edward the thirds Government it was by Patent granted to Bartholomew Badelesmer Son to the abovesaid Lord Bartholomew and
Island upon intelligence received that his Fleet riding in the road at Lymen not far distant had been much afflicted and shattered by a Tempest whereupon he returned and left his Army for ten dayes encamped upon the brow of this Hill till he had new careen'd and rigg'd his Navy but in his march from hence was so vigoriously encountered by the Britons that he lost with many others Leberius Durus Tribune and Marshal of the Field whose Obsequies being performed with solemnities answerable to the eminence of his Place and Command each Souldier as was then Customary bringing a certain quantity of earth to improve his place of Sepulture into more note then ordinarie caused it so much to exceed the proportion of others elswhere and from hence it assumed the name of Julaber whom other vulgar heads ignorant of the truth of the story have fancied to have been a Giant and others of them have dreamed to have been some Enchanter or Witch It is probable the Romanes built something here at Chilham for when Sir Dudly Diggs digged down the ruines of the old Castle to make space for the foundation of that exact and elegant House which he there erected there was the Basis of a more ancient building discovered and many Aeconomical vessels of the Romane antique mode traced out in that place besides the Keeper of the Castle which is yet preserved hath a Senate-House adorned and furnished with Seats round about shaped out of an excellent durable Stone Oldwives Leas is the last place in the Inventorie of those Mannors which lie within the Limits of Chilham It was in elder Orthographie written Old-woods Leas as being indeed the Patrimony of a Family so called as appears both by Deeds without Date and of a more modern Constitution and continued Lords of it untill the Reign of Henry the sixth and then the Daughter and Heir Generall of John Oldwood annexed it to the Inheritance of Paine in which Family it was without any pause or interruption resident almost untill our Fathers memory and then this Name was entombed in four Daughters and Coheirs two of which by the first Wife were matched to Cob and Philipot of Feversham and the two other which were the Issue by the second Wife were espoused to Petit and Prude but this upon the division of the Estate into portions augmented the Revenue of Cob and is still for ought I know wraped up in the Demeasn of the Heirs and Descendants of this Family Chilham by the influence and procurement of Alexander de Balioll and Isabell his wife had the grant of a Market to be held weekly on the Tuesday and a Fair yearly by the space of three dayes viz. the Vigil the day of the Assumption of our Lady and the day after in the ninteenth year of Edward the first which grant was renewed and confirmed to Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer in the ninth year of Edward the second as appears Pat. 9. Edw. secundi Num. 57. Chillenden in the Hundred of Eastry gave Sirname to a Family so stiled and there is a recital in Deeds very ancient which extract their Original from the time of Henry the third of John de Chillenden Edward and William de Chillenden who had an Interest in this place in Ages of a lower step the Bakers who were Lords of Caldham by Capell were in the Possession of this place and after they were gone out the Family of Hunt about the Government of Henry the sixth by Purchase were setled in the Inheritance and here the Title for two or three Descents was Successively permanent and then the same inconstant Revolution which carried it to Hunt wafted it over from that Name by Sale to Gason which Family I find to be of no despiscable Antiquitie about Ickham and that Track and when it had for some years been linked to their Revenue it was for some two or three Ages since alienated to Hamon Ancestor to Anthony Hamon Esquire into whom by original Descent the hereditarie Right of this place is at this present collected Chistlet in the Hundred of Whilstaple was given to the Sea of Canterbury by Ethelbert King of Kent under the notion of Cistelet and here the Arch-Bishops of Canterbury erected a Magnificent Mansion which they called Ford and empaled a certain proportion of Land into the form of a Park as if they had judged it meet to justifie the first Donation of this Christian Prince who by election and design intended it for a chosen portion of Earth devoted to the support of this Arch-Bishoprick Clive formerly Cloves-Hoo lies in the Hundred of Shamell called so from its situation either on some elevated precipice or else its being cloven or rent in some part of it from the Continent by water It was in the Conquerours time called Bishops-Clive and in the Pages of Doomsday Book it is thus rated Cliva est Manerium Monachorum est de vestitu eorum in T. E. R. se defendebat pro II. Sullings Dimidio est appretiatum XVI However the place at present may be represented obscure and despiscable being shrunk from its former Glory yet in those Ages wherein the Saxons flourished it was ennobled with several Synods which were held here both National and Provincial wherein several Rules and Constitutions were enacted and established both to fetter up the Exorbitances of of the Clergie within the Channels and shores of the Ordinances and Decretals Ecclesiastical and likewise to empale the Irregularities of the Laity who then began to be debauched into disorder and excess within the restraints and boundaries of the Laws temporal I shall now exactly unweave them as they are Registred by the learned Spelman in his exact Collection of the Councels held before the Conquest The first was held in the year 742. under King Ethelbald and Arch-Bishop Cuthbert The second under Ethelbald King of Mercia accompanied with the principal of his Nobilitie and Arch-Bishop Cuthbert invested with his Bishops Abbots and other Ecclesiastical Persons in the year 747. The third was celebrated under Arch-Bishop Athelard in the year 798. The fourth Synod or Councell was convened at this place under Kenulf King of Mercians and Athelard Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in in the year 800. The fifth was called together under the abovesaid King Kenulf and Arch-Bishop Athelard in the year 803. The sixth was assembled in the third year of Bernulfe King of the Mercia in the year 822. that Prince himself with Vlfred Arch-Bishop of Canterbury being both present and president at it and over it The result of this eminent Synod was to rescue and restore to the Patrimony of the Church-Lands called Haerghes Hereforddinglond Gedding and Combe which by the Sacrilegious violence of some impious men even in those times had been ravished away from the Ecclesiastical Demeasn Their eighth and last was a small Synodal Convention collected into a Body under the above mentioned King Bernulf and Arch-Bishop Ulfred in the year of Grace 824. And
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
John de Vescy held for term of her Life begotten upon Dergavile his Concubine Daughter to Dunwald a petty Prince in Ireland he made a Feoffment of all his Lands in England to Anthony Beck Bishop of Durham to the use of William Vescy of Kildare his base Son and also infeoffed King Edward in Kildare in Ireland and in Sproxton in Scotland for Licence of his good Leave and Assent to the other Feoffment William de Vescy of Kildare was slain in the Warrs of Stripling in Scotland The King of England himself being then present in Person By which means the State being in the Bishop of Durham he disposed of Alnewike Castle in the North to Henry de Percy that had married Idonia de Clifford and considering that the Estate of Lands at Eltham came from the Crown the said Bishop reserving an estate for life disposed of them back again to the Crown he himself dyed there the twenty eighth of March 1311. In the fifth year of Edward the second and had bestowed great cost in building there The Stone-work of the outward Gate being Castle-like is a remnant of the work of that Time The Palace it self being much more modern and Augmented by several additions of the Kings of England who in a manner kept here their constant residence and here were made the Statutes of Eliham the precedents for Government of the Kinâ—s House to this day The Bishop of Durham being dead K. Edward the second kept his residence here 1315 9 Edw. 2. and his Q. was here brought to bed of a Son called John of Eliham K. Edward the third intending to give a princely reception to K. John of France which had been Prisoner in England and came over to visit the King 1363. and dyed before his return entertained him here at Eltham K. Henry the fourth kept his last Christmas at Eliham 1412. K. Henry the fifth his Son and Successor lay there at Christmas likewise when he was fain to depart suddenly for fear of some that had conspired to murther him K. Henry sixth made it his principal place of residence and granted the Tenants of the Mannor of Eltham a Charter of renovation of a Market in the seventeenth of his reign which containeth more ample priviledges than any such grant that yet I have seen as will be likewise evident to those who will peruse the original Record of that year in the Tower of London K. Edward the fourth greatly to his cost repaired the House Pat. Anno 21. Edw. 3. pars 2. Memb. 2. and inclosed Hornpark so called being the Site of the Mannor of West-horn which was anciently in the Kings Demeasne For King Edward the third in the twenty first year of his reign granted liberty to all his Tenants of this Mannor to be toll-free throughout England K. Henry the seventh set up the fair Front there towards the Moat and was usually resident there I find in a Record in the Office of Arms that he did usually dine in the Hall and all his Officers kept their Tables there and at such time as he created Stanley Baron Monteagle by reason of some Infection then reigning in and near the City of London none were permitted to dine in the Kings Hall but the officers of Arms who at the serving in the Kings second Course of meat according to the Custome came and proclaimed the Kings style and the style of the said new Lord. King Henry the eighth built much at Greenwich with Bricks made here at Eltham and then neglected this place yet he lived here sometime and kept a royal Christmass at this place 1515. There is an ancient place in this Parish called Henleys which in the time of King Edward the third was a Marnor belonging to John de Henley whose House was moated about the situation is yet extant below the Conduit-head but he dying without Issue it came by his guift to King Edward the third and was annexed unto the Mannor by William de Brantingham his Feoffee The Mannor East-horn and Well-hall was in the year 1100. possest by Jordan de Iriset or Brinset first establisher of the Order of Knights Hospitallers here in England In Ages of a lower Descent that is in the reign of Edward the third it was held by Iohn de Poultney and from that Family about the reign of Richard the second it devolved by Sale to Chichley Iohn Tatterst all married Agnes the Daughter of Iohn Chichley of Wolwich Son of William Chichley Alderman of London and by her had VVell-hall and East-horn he had Issue by her two Daughters Ann was married unto Sir Ralph Hastings and Margery was married unto Iohn Roper Esquire and Agnes their Mother was remarried to VVill. Kene who likewise had Issue by her from whom the Mansells of Wales are extracted and by this Descent are of the Blood and Kindred of Henry Chichley Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury Founder of All-Souls Colledge in Oxford but VVell-hall and East-horn were united to the patrimony of Roper and have continued here so fixed that they are the present Inheritance of Edward Roper Esquire To this Mannor the Chancel of St. Michael in the South-side of Eltham Church belongeth called sometimes Tatershalls Chancel In the windows the Matches before mentioned are impaled in Coloured glass The utmost extent of this Hundred East-ward reacheth to Shooters-Hill so called of the Thievery there practised where Travellers in elder Times were so much infested with Depraedations and bloody mischiefs that order was taken in the sixth of Richard the second for the enlarging the High-way according to the Statute made in the Time of King Edward the first so that they venter still to rob here by prescription Pat. 6. R. 2. pars 2. Mem. 34. and some have been so impudent to offer to engage the Sun shining at mid-day for the repayment of money called borrowed in a Theevish way to the great charge of the Hundred that still was in the Counter-bond and King Henry the fourth granted leave to Thomas Chapman to cut down burn and sell all the Woods and Under-woods growing and confining to Shooters-Hill Pat. 7. H. 4. pars 2. Memb. 12. on the South-side and to bestow the money raised thereby upon mending the High-way Surely Prince Henry his Son and Sir John Falstaffe his make-sport so merrily represented in Shakespear's Comedies for examining the Sandwich Carriers loading at this place were not the Surveyers Mottingham in the Hundred of Blackheath is a Hamlet and member to Eltham enjoying like priviledges which are annexed to both these places as being of ancient Demealn It was formerly written Modingham denoting that it was proudly situated for so we interpret Mod in old English It passed away from the Crown with the Mannor of Eltham to Jo. de Vescy and returned back again with it inhabited in the time of K. Edw. the third by the Family of Bankwell and after in the reign of H. the sixth by the Chesmans the last
distant from Terowan or Terwin in the fifth year of Henry the eighth which was Signally testified by that Prince when by his Favour and Command there was annexed this Augmentation to his paternall Coat viz upon a Canton Azure a Demy Ram Saliant Argent armed Or between two Flower de Lis of the last over all a Batton or Truncheon which intimates to us that that Captive-Duke was one of the Marshalls of France Dexterways in Bend of the Second Chaddington is a second place of Account and represents to our Remembrance the Lords Cobham who were in elder Times Lords of the Fee John de Cobham dyed seised of it in the twenty eighth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 42. And from this John did it successively flow down to Henry Lord Cobham who was attainted in the first year of King James upon whose Conviction this Mannor escheated to the Crown and that Prince some few years after granted it to his Kinsman Lodowick Duke of Lenox but he dying without Issue it descended to his Nephew James Duke of Lenox lately deceased whose Dutchesse Dowager during the Minority of the Duke her Son holds the present enjoyment of it Goddington is a third place which calls for our Consideration It was parcel of the Patrimony of the ancient Family of Charles Robert Charles who was possest of Land about Hilden in Tunbridge and was Bailiff of the Forrest or Chase there to Robert de Clare Earl of Gloucester was seised of it at his Death which was in the twenty ninth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 74. From whom it devolved to Nicholas Charles who dying without Issue in the eleventh year of Richard the second Alice one of his Sisters and Coheirs brought this to be the Inheritance of William Snaith Sheriff of Kent in the ninth year of K. Henry the fourth descended from William de Snaith who was made Chancellor of the Kings Exchequer during Pleasure in the fifty fifth year of Edward the third but this Family likewise going out in a Daughter and Heir she by matching with Watton whose Ancestor held Lands at Rydley nere Ash in the twentieth year of Edward the third annexed it to the Incom of that Family in which Name the Title hath ever since by an even and permanent Succession resided Wainscot is the last place of any Eminence It was a Branch which was engrafted upon that Demeasne which fell under the Signiory of the Colepepers of Alresford Walter Colepeper of Preston in that Parish held it at his Death which was in the first year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 80. And into the Patrimony of this Family did the Right of it by a Succession of many Descents even seem to have bin riveted having continued constant to this Name from the above mentioned Walter Colepeper untill the Reign of Queen Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Randolph from which Family in Times which were within the Circle of our Fathers Remembrance it passed away by Sale to Somers descended from William Somer Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Reign of Henry the sixth who held much Land in the Hundred of Hoo whose Son not many years since passed it away to Mr. Robinson of Rochester Frensted in the Hundred of Eyhorne was honored anciently by being parcel of the Patrimony of the noble Family of Crombwell written so in elder Times though since a softer pronunciation hath been quilted into the Name so that in Times of a more modern Aspect it hath been written Cromwell who had here a Seat called now Meriam Court but in elder Orthography written Mereham Court The first of this Family whom I find possest of it was John de Crombwell who in the eighth year of Edward the second as Sir Henry Spelman in his Glossary in the Word Banneretus cites the Record out of the Office of the Pell was written Banneret Now what these Bannerets were I shall briefly unfold they were formerly called Vexilliferi because their Investiture anciently was by delivering to them a Guidon which was nothing but a Pennon cut off at the end which before flowed out into an acute Angle and now was fashioned and composed into a Square And as anciently thirteen Knights Fees did in the vulgar Estimate make up a Tenure per Baroniam so did ten Knights Fees compose a Banneret out of which he was whensoever the Affairs of the Prince did require to bring into the Field twelve or sixteen Chevaliers or Horsemen and those Persons of no cheap or inconsiderable Account but such as could as Sir Henry Spelman notes ex Praediis Peculio proprio out of their own Patrimony Equipp Horse and furniture of Armes proportionate to the Service they were to be embarked in But to proceed Ralph de Crombwell Son of the abovesaid John in the ninth year of Edward the second obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands here at Frensted and Meriam Court but his Family after the Grant of this Franchise did not long possesse their Inheritance here for Richard de Crombwell this mans Son about the Beginning of Edward the third passed it away to Hugh Girund in whom the Title was as sickle and volatile for he determining in Mawd his Sole Daughter and Heir she by matching with Henry de Chalfhunt made it his Patrimony and he in his Wifes Right was seised of it at his Death which was in the forty ninth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 14. And in this Family did the Propriety of Meriam Court and other Lands at Frensted continue invested untill the Entrance of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away to Hadde now called Hadds and William Hadde held Meriam Court and the Land annexed to it here at Frensted at his Decease which was in the thirty fourth year of Henry the sixth and in this Family was the Possession constantly resident untill that Age which fell within the Circle of our Grandfathers Knowledge and then it was conveyed to Archer from which Family some few years since it went off by Sale to Thatcher Yokes Court is another ancient Seat in Frensted which as high as any Beam either of Publick Record or private Muniments can conduct me to a Discovery I find acknowledged the noble Family of Northwood and owned the Interest of that Family untill the thirty fifth of Edward the third and then Roger de Northwood dying without Issue-male bequeathed it to his only Daughter and Heir Albina Northwood who by matching with John Digge of Diggs Court in Berham united this Seat to the Interest of that Name and Family and they to keep Life in her Memory a small Preferment beyond the Fate of humane Frailty that had improved their Paternal Inheritance with so great a Supplement of Additional Estate erected a fair Monument over her Ashes in Berham Church and adorned it with a French Epitaph which instructs the Reader whose Dust sleeps beneath the Marble Repository Indeed in this Act this Family
conveyed it by Grant to Sir Walter Henley and he in the thirty fourth year of Henry the eighth transmitted it by his Deed to Sir John Baker whose Successor Sir John Baker even in those Times which entrenched on our Remembrance passed it away to Mr ....... Cleyton of London Bewper is the second place of account in this Parish It was in elder Times an Appendage or Fragment of that Demeasn which did contribute to the Support of the Abby of Feversham and upon the Suppression of that Cloister or Seminary by Henry the eighth it was in the thirty fifth year of that Princes Reign granted to Sir Thomas Moil who not long after passed it away to Robert Prat. And his Son Master Franci Prat primo Elizabethae by Fine conveyed it to Mr Edward Bathurst who not many years after transplanted his Interest here by Sale into Sir Richard Baker Ancestor to Sir Jo. Baker of Sisinghurst Baronet who now by paternal Succession is entituled to the instant Signory of it Wallinghurst and Buckhurst are two petty Mannors which belonged to the Abby of Feversham but upon the Suppression of that Covent they were pared off and by Grant from Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his Reign were enstated upon Thomas Lord Cromwell Earl of Essex But long he was not endowed with them for in the thirty second year of that Prince's Government he was bespattered and blasted with an Accusation of high Treason which the Subtlety of his Adversaries had woven so closely together that he was entangled in it and being attainted forfeited both his Life and Estate to the Fury I cannot say Justice of an incensed Prince Amongst the Ruines of his Patrimony these two places were comprehended and upon his Shipwrack it returned to the Crown And then King Henry the eighth by a new Grant in the same year they escheated passed them away to Sir John Baker of Sisingherst in Cranebroke from whom they are now come down to Sir John Baker Baronet his Successor Upper Peasridge was involved in that spatious Inheritance which fell under the Dominion of the Lord Badelesmer of whom I shall speak more at Leeds and when he by his Disloyalty had forfeited both Life and Fortune to the Crown this was enwrapt in the Escheat But was restored in the second year of Edward the third to Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer this Mans Son and he in the twelfth year of that Prince held it at his Death Rot. Esc Num. 44. But Giles his only Son dying without Issue his great Estate was split into parcells and this with some more of his Demeasne was allotted to Mawd his Sister and Coheir who was matched to John Vere Earl of Oxford and he in her Right was possest of it at his Death which was in the thirty fourth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 84. And in this Family did it reside untill the Beginning of Henry the fourth and then it was passed away by Sale to St. Leger to whose Patrimony it remained annexed untill the Government of Philip and Mary and then an Alienation like the former brought it over to Lone descended from the Lones of Lancashire where there is yet a House of the Name and being thus fixt in this Family the Possession continues still united to it Fordwich in the Hundred of West-Gate was given to the Abbot and Monks of St. Austins as the Annalls of that Convent testifie by King Edward the Confessor and was given ad Vestitum for Reparation of their Apparell And there is a Tradition that Hemp-Hall which was an Appendage to this Mannor did pay a quit-Rent in Hemp but certainly it must be then for the use of those secular persons which related as Officers and Servants to this Cloister for the Monks themselves being under the Rule of Bennet harrowed their Skin with Shirts of Hair and slept vestiti in their Apparell the more to tame and controle the Mutinies and Disorders of the Flesh But to advance After this Mannor which the Piety of former Ages had planted in the Revenue of the Church had for a large Decursion of Time owned no other Proprietary it was by the Dissolution in the twenty ninth of Henry the eighth emptied into the Income of the Crown where it lay untill Edward the sixth in the seventh year of his Reign granted it to Sir Thomas Cheyney and he not long after alienated his Concernment in it to John Johnson from whom it came over by Purchase to Paramour who passed it away to the Lady Elizabeth Finch Widow of Sir Moile Finch whose Son Thomas Finch Earl of Winchelsey almost in our Memory passed it away to John Finch Baron of Fordwich late Lord Keeper of the great Seal of England in the year 1640 and in him does the instant Signory of it reside Folkstone does contribute a Name to the Hundred in which it is situated The Mannor it self with the Mannor of Walton was given to the Nunnery by Eadbald King of Kent which it seems was of that Repute in those Times that Eanswide his Daughter was there vailed a Nun under the Rule of St. Bennet and Ermenred and Ercombert his Sons changed their hopes of a Crown into those of one more celestiall and folded up all their Earthly Glories in a Monastick Cowle which they assumed at this place under the Discipline of St. Bennet But this Cloister was some Ages after partly by the Fury of the Danes and partly by the Impressions of the Sea reduced into a heap of Ruines so that in the Reign of William the Conquerour William de Muneville laid the Foundations of a new Priory in another place of the Town which was much augmented afterwards by William de Averenches who had married his only Daughter But it seems upon the former Devastation of this religious Seminary the Mannor had returned to the Crown for in the year one thousand thirty and eight Canutus restored to Christ-church in Canterbury as the Records of that Covent do intimate this Mannor of Folkston which Athelstan Son of King Edward in the year nine hundred twenty and eight had formerly granted to them for the health of his Fathers Soul and to the Honor of Vlfhelme Arch-priest of Canterbury but with this Restriction he limits and bounds this his Concession that this Mannor thus returned to the Church should never be alienated by the Arch-bishop without the Consent of the King and the Covent of Christ-church who it appears joyned with William the Conquerour and the Archbishop of Canterbury and fastned it again to this Priory where it remained untill it was torn away by the Suppression in the Time of Henry the eighth and annexed to the Crown Afterwards that Prince in the thirtieth year of his Reign transplanted his Interest in it and Walton by Grant into Edward Lord Clinton and he the same year passed them away to Thomas Lord Cromwell Earl of Essex who being attainted in the thirty second year of the abovesaid Prince
untill King Henry the eighth tore it off by the Publique Dissolution and united it to the Royall Revenue where it had its fixed aboad untill the thirteenth year of King James and then it was granted to Mr. William Salter who not many years after passed it away to Mr. James Crispe from whom in our Memory partly by Purchase and partly by Exchange it went over to Mr. Jo. Child in whose Descendant the Propriety is still permanent Gravesend had anciently a Market on the Thursday and a Fair yearly on the Day of St. Edward the Confessor both granted to this Town in the thirtieth year of Edward the third Gillingham was a Mannor always relating to the Arch-bishops of Canterbury though the Donation by the Book of Christ-church be not specified If we survey the Pages of Dooms-day Book they will give us this Gilling ham est proprium Manerium Archiepiscopi in tempore Ewardi Regis se defendebat pro VI. Sullings est appretiatum hoc quod Archiepiscopus habet inde in Dominio VIII lb. c X.s. The Arch-bishops of Canterbury had here an eminent Pallace and held their Residence at it and gave Consecrations here to Bishops as we find it recorded in the Book called Textus Roffensis or the Text of Rochester East-court and West-court in this Parish were anciently knit together and resided in a Family called Gillingham Richard de Gillingham Son of Thomas de Gillingham held it at his Death which was in the twelfth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 176. And left it to his Son Thomas Gillingham who resolved into two Daughters and Coheirs Margaret married to John Thorpe who in her Right had West-court and Isabell matched to William Crensted who brought along with her East-court But as all things have their Fate and Vicissitude they did not long acknowledge the Dominion of either of them for Thorpe sold West-court to Nicholas Lawson of Whoorn-place in Cuckston who not long after by the same Devolution passed it away to Duling of Rochester by whose Female Heir it is now come over to Mr. Stephen Alcock but Thorp Ferme on which he had planted his own Name he alienated to Short and from this Family it went away again by Sale to May of Rochester Greensted endowed Benedict Webb his Sisters Son and in that Relation his Heir with the Title and Propriety of East-court whose two Grand-children Thomas and Christopher Webb by a mutuall and joynt Concurrence devested themselves of their Right and by Sale surrendered it up to Will. Painter Esquire Great Grand-father to Mr. Allington Painter the instant Proprietary of it Twidall is another Mannor of eminent Account and had Owners likewise of that Appellation The first that I find of the Name in Mr. Painter's Evidences which held both this and Dane-court is Robert de Twidall and he slourished here about the Reign of Henry the first and he had Issue Adam de Twidall from whom was lineally extracted Richard de Twidall who in the fourth year of Richard the second passed away this and Dane-court to John the Son of Robert de Beaufitz originally descended from Reade in Marden But in this Family the Possession was not very permanent for in some Descents after the Name went out into into Joan Beaufitz and other Coheirs and she by matching with Robert Arnold of Sussex did enstate the Possession of both these places upon this Name and Family and he bequeathed them as Dower to his Daughter Elizabeth Arnold and shee in the thirteenth year of Henry the seventh conveys them over to her Brother Henry and his Son William Arnold in the eighteenth year of Henry the eighth transports his Right in them by Sale to Thomas Benolt Clarenceux King of Arms from whom the like Conveyance in the twentieth year of that Prince brought itto Sir Hen. Wiatt one of the Privie Councel to Hen. the 8 whose Son Sir Tho. Wiat in the thirtieth year of that King exchanged them for other Lands with the Crown from which immediately after they were conveyed by Grant to Christopher Sampson who not many years after transplanted his Interest by Sale into Thomas Parker who conveyed away his Right in Twidall to William Painter Esquire great Grand-father to Mr. Allington Painter who now enjoys it but Dane-court was by Purchase brought over to Short in whom it had not long continued but the same Fatality carried it away to May of Rochester The Grange in this Parish sometimes written Grench did in the Conquerours time appertain to the old Lords called Hastings Ancestors of the Lord Hastings now Earl of Huntington In the Book called Testa de Nevill kept in the Exchequer we read that one Manasser de Hastings held Grench by Serjeanty under King Hen. the third and the particular Office in some more modern Records is described viz. that it is held of the King and not of the Cinque-ports as some do suggest by Serjeanty to find two men and two Oars in the Ship which carries over the King from Dover to Whitesand by Callis From Hastings it came over by Purchase to Richard Smelt Alderman of London whose Daughter and Heir Margaret Smelt carried it away to Richard Croyden likewise an Alderman of London in whom the male-line failing Margery his Sole Heir was matched to John Philipott Esquire Alderman of London in the Reign of Edward the third and Lord Maior of London in the Reign of Richard the second by which Prince he was invested with the Order of Knighthood for being so signally instrumental in the Ruine of Wat Tiler Jack Straw and his seditious Complices and had after the Addition of Gules A plain Crosse between four Swords Argent Pomell'd Or as a Coat of Augmentation annexed to his Paternal Coat viz. Sable a Bend Ermin for setting out a Fleet of Ships at his own expence and vanquishing John Mercer and his piratical Rabble who had so infested the narrow Sea that the Trade of the Merchant was brought into a deplorable Condition and had sunk had he not buoyd it up again by his Care and Magnanimity Yet how laudable soever the work were it escaped not the Envy of John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster who questioned him at the Couucel-Board for that he being a private Person had embarked himself in an Attempt of so much Concernment without Order and Licence first obtained by the State but by the noble Favour he received from his honorable Friends there especially Rychard Fitzallan Earl of Arundell whose Arms he placed in his House as a Monument of Gratitude and left him a Legacie in his Will he was fetched off with Reputation But to proceed in Right of the former Alliance he was planted in the Possession of this Mannor and from him it devolved to his Grandchild John Philipott Esquire And he in the eleventh year of Henry the sixth exchanged this Mannor with Sir Richard Bamme Son of Adam Bamme Lord Maior of London for Twiford in Middlesex and from him it
descended to John Bamme Sheriff of Kent in the second year of Richard the third And he gave it to his Daughter Katharine Bamme who passed it away by Grant to Kempe and Wiatt Sir Thomas Kempe sold his moiety to Sir Thomas Wiatt who having forfeited this to the Crown by his unhappy Defection in the second year of Q. Mary it lodged in the royal Revenue untill Queen Elizabeth in the twenty fourth year of her Rule granted it back again to the Lady Joan Wiatt and her Son George Wiatt Esq who in our Fathers memory alienated it to Hayward from which Name by the Heir Generall of this Family it is lately brought to acknowledge Mr. Will. De Lawn of London for its present Proprietary There was a Chappel belonging to Grench which upon the Inquisition returned into the Court of Augmentation but upon the Suppression in the Reign of Hen. the eighth was affirmed to have been erected by Sir John Philipott I confesse I have seen no other Record to evince any thing to the Contrary and therefore I acquiesce in that Testimony Vpbery is the last Mannor in Gillingham which was a Limb of that Demeasn which related to the Nunnery at Minster in Shepey and when the whirlwind of the common Dissolution in the Reign of Henry the eighth had shook this into the Revenue of the Crown that Prince in the thirty eighth year of his Reign passed it away by Grant as appears by the original Patent to Sir Thomas Cheyney whose Son Henry Lord Cheyney exchanged it with other Lands with Queen Elizabeth and shee as is manifest by the Patent now in the Custody of Brasen-nose Colledge granted it to Sir Edward Hobby who about the latter end of her Reign conveyed it to the Reverend Alexander Nowell Dean of Pauls and he dying without Issue in the year 1601 left it for ever to Brasennose Colledge in Oxford with this Proviso that one of his Alliance should hold it in Lease from that Society for ever paying to the Colledge an 100 Marks per Annum according to the Tenure of which Testamentary Restriction it is now enjoyed by Col. Tho. Blount of Wriklemersh Esquire Gillingham had a Market procured to it to be held weekly on the Thursday and a Fair to be observed yearly at the Feast of St. Crosse and seven days after by John Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury in the eleventh year of Edward the first as appears Cart. Num. 3. Lidsing is the last place of Account in this Parish it was in Ages of a higher Ascent the Inheritance of an ancient Family called Sharsted Simon de Sharsted possest it at his Death which was in the twenty fourth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 42. In Ages of a lower Computation I find Roger de Say to be possest of it and he about the fiftieth of E. the 3d. gives it to Rob. Belknap the Judge who about the tenth year of Richard the second was by Sentence from Parliament exiled into Ireland for too vehemently asserting the Prerogative of the Crown which in the Estimate of those Times was thought to have opened those sluces too much which would have let in the Inundations of an arbitrary Power upon the people's Liberties But this Mannor was again restored by that Prince who looked upon this person as his Martyr to him as its ancient Possessor in the twenty second year of his Reign and he by his Deed bearing Date the eighth of October in the second year of King Henry the fourth gives it to the Priory of St. Andrews in Rochester for one Monk who was a Priest to celebrate Masse for ever for the Soul of his Father John Belknap and for the Soul of his Mother Alice Wife of the said John and likewise for the Soul of himself and all his Successors in the Cathedrall of Rochester This upon the Dissolution of the former Priory was by Henry the eighth upon his Institution of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester granted to them for their support and Alimony and rested in their Revenue untill these Times There was another Chauntry founded at Twidall by John Beaufits which he makes provision for by his last Will the twenty second of November in the year of our Lord 1433 and orders it to be dedicated to John the Baptist and likewise that one Priest should there celebrate Masse for the Soul of Himself his Wife Alice his Father John his Mother Isabell and his Uncle William Beaufitz the Seats in the Chappel and other Remains declare it to have been formerly a neat and elegant Piece of Architecture Here was a signall Encounter as the Annals of St. Austins testifie between Edmund Ironside and Canutus the Dane wherein after a Sharp Debate the Dane was broken and discomfited At Gillingham likewise as Thomas Robburn a Monk of Winchester testifies was acted that bloody Tragedy by Earl Godwin who slew all those Normans who arrived with Edward unto the tenth man for which his Name as well as his Conscience stands bespatter'd and stain'd with an indelible Character of Ignominy and Cruelty to all Posterity Goodwenston in the Hundred of Feversham was the ancient Seat of Chich. The first of Eminence was Ernaldus Chich who was a man of principall Account in the Reign of Henry the second Richard the first and King John nor were they more eminent here then they were at Canterbury where they had large Possessions and unto them did the Aldermanry of Burgate appertain Thomas Chich of Goodwenston was a prime Benefactor to the Church of St. Mary Bredmin in Canterbury where his Name together with his Effigies are in an old Character set up in the West-window as his Coat is likewise in the Chancel insculped in Stone-work He was Bailiff of Canterbury an Office not contemptible in those Times in the year 1259 and again in the year 1271. Thomas Chich this mans Son was Sheriff of Kent in the forty fourth year of Edward the third and held his Shrievalty at Goodwenston Thomas Chich this Mans Son was Sheriff of Kent likewise in the fifteenth year of Richard the second and he was Grandfather to Valentine Chich who matched with Philippa Daughter and Heir of Sir Robert Chichley Brother to Henry Chichley Arch-bishop of Canterbury but dyed without Issue-male so that his three Sisters and Coheirs wedded to Kemp Judde and Martin shared his Inheritance and by a joint Consent about the Beginning of Henry the eighth passed away their Estate here and at Ewell in this parish to Pordage of Rodmersham and from this Name about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth it passed away to Fagg descended from the Faggs of Willesborough where I find by the Court Rolls of the Mannor of Brabourne that one Andrew Fagge held Lands there of that Mannor in the Reign of Edward the third But to go on the Faggs had not long been planted in their new atchieved Purchase at this place when Robert Fagge concluded in two Daughters and Coheirs Ann who was matched to Sir
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
Sydley Baronet who now is entituled to the Right and Propriety of it Hastingleigh in the Hundred of Bircholt did anciently confesse the noble Family of Haut to be its Proprietaries and was in their Possession untill the beginning of Henry the fourth and then Edward Haut passed it away to Robert Poynings of Ostenhanger and in the Revenue of this Family was enwrapt untill the Decease of Sir Edward Poynings in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and he dying without any Issue of his Body lawfully begotten and there being none that could justly entitle himself by Right of Blood or Alliance to his Possessions it devolved by Escheat to the Crown and K. Edward the sixth in the last year of his reign by Royal Concession invested the Right of this Mannor in the City of London and there it is still resident Hawkherst in the Hundred of Barnefield was granted by William the Conquerour to the Mannor of Wye which with all its Appendages was to hold of the Abby of Battle and remains though that Abby be supprest a Member or Limb of that Court to this Day Congerherst in this Parish was a Mansion that formerly gave Seat and Sirname to a Family so called and which in a Successive Series did relate to this Name untill Mildred Congerherst Sole Daughter and Heir of Thomas Congerherst matching with Thomas Scott made this the Propriety of that Family to which it is still united The Royalty and Rents of Haukherst upon the Suppression of the Abby of Battle were in the thirty third year of Henry the eighth granted to * He was likewise Privy-counsellor to those three Princes and one of the Executors of Henry the eighths Will. Sir John Baker Attorney Generall and Chancellor of the Exchequer to that Prince King Edward the sixth and Queen Mary but Differences and Clashings breaking out between the Descendant of Sir John Baker and the Heir of the Lord Hunsdon Lord of Wye touching claims to bury all future Animosities in Amity and mutual Compliance Sir Henry Baker in the seventeenth year of King James conveyed it to Henry Cary Lord Hunsdon now Earl of Dover who some years since passed it away to Sir Thomas Finch Father to Heneage Earl of Winchelsey now Lord of the Fee Haukherst had a Market anciently now shrunk into Disuse on the Tuesday and a yearly Fair three Days viz. the Vigil the Day of St. Lawrence and the Day subsequent to it both procured by the Abbot of Battle as the original patent instructs me in the fifth year of Edward the first Hawking in the Hundred of Folkstone contains two little Mannors within its Verge which must not be passed over in Silence The first is Bilchester which belonged to the Knights Templers but upon their Suppression in the second year of Edward the second it escheated to the Crown and remained there untill new provision was made by the Statute called Statutum de Terris Templariorum passed in the seventeenth year of the abovesaid Prince to enstate it on the Knights Hospitalers and make it part of their Revenue and accordingly was united to their Patrimony nor was any hand so bold as to tear it off untill the generall Suppression of this Order in the Raign of Henry the eighth did invest it in the Crown and that Prince in the thirty third year of his Reign granted it to Sir Anthony Aucher in Lease and he not long after assigned it to Thomas Sommersall by whom it was made over to Richard Simonds but the Fee-simple continued in the Crown untill the year 1648. The second is Fleggs Court which was folded up in that Demeasne which related to the Abby of St. Radigunds and upon the Suppression of that Cloister was exchanged by Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his Reign for other Lands with Thomas Cranmer Arch-bishop of Canterbury and so remained free from violation untill these Times wrapt it up in the Demeasne of that See Hedcorne in the Hundred of Eyhorne containd within its Limits First Modenden vulgarly called Mottenden where was a Monastery for Monks of the Order of Crouched Friers and founded by Sir Ric. de Rokesley the Head of which Covent was called Minister and in the cloudy Times of Popery was much resorted unto by the enchanted Vulgar by reason of some special Priviledges they were endowed with as of granting of pardons and others of the like Nature all which met with their Sepulcher in the Ruine of this Abbey and that fatall and destructive Wound it received in its finall Dissolution from the Hand of Henry the eighth which Prince upon its escheating to the Crown granted it in the thirty sixth year of his Government to Sir Anthony Aucher And he in the second year of Edward the sixth passed it away to Sir Walter Henley by whose Daughter and Coheir it came to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire who in the sixth year of Edward the sixth conveyed it to Christopher Sackvill Esquire from which Family in our Grand-fathers Remembrance it came over by Sale to Franklin and his Successor George Franklin dying without Issue bequeathed it by Testament to his Kinsman Sir William Sydley whose Grand-child Sir Charles Sydley Baronet is intituled to the instant Fee-simple of it Kents Chauntry is a second Place of Account in Headcorne called so because here was a Chauntry founded by one John Kent in the sixth year of Edward the fourth and a large Demeasne settled upon it to support the Chauntry Priest that was to officiate there all which upon the suppression was in the two and thirtieth year of Henry the eighth granted to Sir Anthony St. Leger whose Son Sir Warham St. Leger about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth passed it away by Sale to Beresford of Westernham from which Family in our Memory it went away to South-land and he very lately hath alienated it to Mr. ...... Belcher now Minister of Gods Word at Ulcombe Kelsham is a third Seat in this Parish which may challenge our Consideration because it was the Residence formerly though now transformed into a Farm-house of Gentlemen known by this Sirname who might have been ranged and marshalled amongst the prime Gentlemen of this County and bare for their Coat Armour Sable a Fesse engrailed Argent between three Garbes Or. One of them stood depicted in coloured Glasse in the Church windows with his Arms upon his Tabard but by the Assaults of Age and other wild and sacrilegious Impressions is now utterly defaced and demolished nor is the Family in any better condition that having many years since deserted the Possession of this Place for about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth it was conveyed to Johnson from whom very lately it is come over by Purchase to Stringer Rishford is a fourth Mannor circumscribed within the Bounds of Headcorne which in the twentieth year of Edward the third was possest by a Family called Pend who as it appears by the Book of Aid paid a respective supply for
it at making the Black Prince Knight And here is much Land in this Parish which bears the Name of Pend a probable Argument of the Antiquity of it in this Track nor did it yeild to Time or desert the Possession of this Place but was constant in the Tenure of it until that Age we call our Grand-fathers and then it was alienated to a Family called Dominie alias Fullaker the last of which Name at this Place was Christopher Dominie alias Fullaker who not many years since passed it away to Mr. John Hulks of Newenham whose Son and Heir Mr. Stephen Hulks does now possesse the Signory of it Herietsham in the Hundred of Eyhorne was anciently a Limb of that Estate which was entituled to the Possession of the Noble Family of Crescy Hugh de Crescy died seised of the Mannor in the forty seventh year of King Henry the third and his Grand-mother Margery was Daughter of William de Cheyney of Patricksbourne Cheyney as appears Claus 52. Henrici tertii Memb. 6. in Dorso But he deceased without Issue and so his Brother Stephen de Crescy became his Heir and Lord of Herietsham and in this Family it continued until the latter end of Edward the second and then the Possession of this Place went from Crescy into Northwood as is manifest by the Book of Aid where Roger de Northwood is represented to have held this Mannor and have paid a proportionate Aid for it at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth of Edward the third and he deceased seised of it in the thirty fifth year of that King's Raign And in this Name it remained fixed until the Beginning of Henry the fifth and then it was transplanted into the Interest of a Family called Adam who had large Possessions in Essex and bore for their Paternal Coat vert a Plain Crosse Or and John Adam held it at his Death which was in the ninteenth year of Henry the sixth and left it to his Son John Adam after whom I do not find any more of the Family possest of it for in the Raign of Edward the fourth I discover by some Court Rols that James Peckham of Yaldham Esquire was Lord of the Fee and Reginald Peckham his Son that was Sheriff of Kent in the last year of Henry the seventh kept his Shrivalty at Herietsham but after this it was of no long continuance in this Family for in the fifteenth year of Henry the eighth Reginald Peckham passes it away by Sale to Edward Scott Esquire and he not long after transmits it by the same conveyance to John Hales one of the Barons of the Exchequer and from him one Moiety of it went away by Sale in the twenty eighth of Henry the eighth to John Norton Esquire and the other not long after to Sir Anthony St. Leger Norton conveyed his proportion to Ashburnham of Sussex and both St. Leger and Ashburnham in the Time almost of our Fathers Remembrance by a concurrent Sale demised their joint Right in it to Sir John Steed whose Successor Doctour ...... Steed Doctour of the Civil Law is the instant Proprietary of Herietsham East Farbon and Bentley are two little Mannors in this Parish which belonged to the Priory of Leeds and upon the suppression were made parcel of the Revenue of the Crown and remained there until King Edward the sixth in the fourth year of his Raign granted them to Sir Anthony St. Leger whose great Grand-child Sir Warham St. Leger about the Beginning of King James passed them away to Mr. ........ Steed Father to Doctour Steed who upon the Decease of his Nephew Cromer Steed without Issue Male as Reversioner in Entail is now settled in the Possession of these two Mannors West Farbon sometimes in old Deeds called little Herietsham lies likewise in this Parish and was granted in the two and fiftieth year of Henry the third to William de Valentia Earl of Pembrooke But after him I track no more of the Family at this place For in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight it was held by John Pennington and in the fourth year of Henry the fourth when Blanch that Prince's Daughter was married it acknowledged it self to be under the Signory of the above mentioned Family and continued divers years after united to their Interest But in the Raign of Henry the eighth I find them quite vanished from the Possession and a Family called Hede or Head entituled to the Inheritance and in this Name did it make its abode until the Raign of Edward the sixth and then it was conveyed by Sale to St. Leger where it rested until the Beginning of King James and then it was alienated by Sir Warham St. Leger to Mr. Benedict Barneham who left four Daughters and Co-heirs matched to Audley Constable Doble and Soame who equally shared his Estate and this upon the distinguishing of it into just Proportions augmented the Revenue of Constable Harbilton is another ancient Mannor in Herietsham It was in the twentieth year of Edward the third the Inheritance of Thomas de Malmains for at that Time as appears by the Book of Aid he paid a subsidiary supply for this and other Lands at making the Black Prince Knight After this Family was mouldred away which was before the End of Richard the second I find the Family of Maris was settled in the Inheritance William Maris who was Esquire first to Henry the fifth and after to Cardinal Kempe was Possessor of it and so was his Son William Maris Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent in the one and twentieth year of Henry the sixth After this Family I find the Moils about the latter end of the former Prince's Government to have stept into the Inheritance the first of which was Walter Moile who was Justice of the Peace for this County in the Raign both of Henry the sixth and Edward the fourth and left this and a spatious Patrimony besides to his Heir John Moile Esquire whose Son Robert Moile about the Beginning of Henry the eighth alienated it to Geffrey St. Leger Esquire from whom the Title for many years streamed into this Family until in that Time which fell under our Grand-fathers cognizance it was passed away by Sale to Steed Ancestor to Doctour Steed who is the instant Possessor of it Marley and Hopme Mill and in other Copies written Holme Hill did with their Income support the Chaunter of the Canons of Pauls to whose office they were annexed A Place certainly in elder Times of important Account for in the Records of Christ-church from whence Pitseus hath collected his Inventory of the English Writers there is mention of one Joannes de Teneth a Man as exemplary for his Piety as he was eminent for his Learning who was Chaunter to that Covent but this Office being entombed in the Ruines of those Canons of Paul in the General suppression the Revenue which upheld it was fixed in the Crown until King Edward the sixth
that Prince it for some years encreased the Royal Revenue until David de Strabolgie Earl of Atholl the first that altered his Name from Balioll to Strabolgie having expiated his Fathers Disservices by being constant to the Party and Interest of Edward the second against the Eruptions of the Nobility which then bandied in Combinations against him had this with much other Land restored to him in the fifteenth year of that Prince from whom it descended to David de Strabolgie his Grand-child who dying in the forty ninth year of Edward the third left it to Philippa his Daughter and Co-heir matched to John Halsham of Sussex by whom she had Issue Hugh Halsham who about the Beginning of Henry the sixth passed it away to Sir Robert Scott Lievtenant of the Tower of London 1424. And he concluding in Alice Scott a Female Inheritrix she by matching with William Kempe Nephew of Cardinal Kempe linked it to the Demeasne of that Family and here it remained until Sir William Kempe about the latter end of Henry the eighth alienated it to Browning from which Family about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth it passed away by Sale to Mr. Robert Edolph whose Grand-child Mr. Robert Edolph dying in the year 1632. without Issue gave his Interest in it with Godchepes to his beloved Wife Cicelie Edolph remarried to Sir Francis Knowls of Reading and she passed away the Moiety of it the other proportion of it being invested in Mr. Thomas Edolph the third Brother with Godchepes now called Goodchepes to her Husbands second Brother Mr. Samuel Edolph who some few years since conveyed his Interest in Hinxhill with this by Testament to his Brother in Law Mr. John Angell of Croherst in Surrey to discharge Debts and Legacies and he that he might the more effectually perform the Contents of the Will hath lately passed away the Moiety of Hinxhill with Goodchepes to Edward Chowte of Surrenden Chowte in Bethersden Esquire lately deceased W. liham is another Mannor in Hinxhill which was folded up in the vast Demeasne of Crioll by whose Daughter and Heir it came to Rokesley and by the Female Inheritrix of Rokesley to Poynings in which Name it continued until the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and then Sir Edward Poynings dying without any lawful Issue after a signal and solemne Inspection by several Inquisitions into his collateral Alliance no Claim being laid unto his Estate this Mannor escheated to the Crown in the fourteenth year of that Prince and then King Henry the eighth by Grant passed it away to Sir Richard Damsell who not long after transmitted his Right in it to Goldhill who in our Grand-fathers Memory alienated it to Mr. Robert Edolph whose Grand-child Mr. Robert Edolph gave it with his Interest in Hinxhill and Goodchepes to his Wife Cicelie Edolph who passed away the Moiety to Mr. Samuel Edolph and he devised it by Will to Mr. Angell who hath transferred his Right in it by Sale to Mr. Edward Chowte The Farm called Godchepes or Goodchepes in this Parish for an unbroken Series of many Generations had Owners of that Sirname as appears by an Inquisition taken after the Death of Thomas Godchepe in the one and thirtieth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 47. and remained fastned to their Inheritance until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then by a strange and mysterious Fatality the Propriety of it was carried off to Barrow The Story is represented thus John Barrow being an Atturney was called to frame a Settlement by Deed of Thomas Godchepe and by his Direction was desired to insert eight Persons into the Deed who were successively to inherit his Estate and being asked by this John Barrow whether he should adde the Names of any more he was answered because there had formerly been reciprocal Obligations of Friendship between them that he should place his own next after those eight above mentioned It pleased the eternal Arbiter of humane Affairs so to order the vicissitude of things that those eight Persons recited in the Deed deceased without Issue so that his Estate here at Godchepe devolved to Barrow as his Heir at Law from whom by Elizabeth his eldest Daughter and Co-heir it came to Mr. Robert Edolph Hoo gives Name to the Hundred wherein it is situated and was a principal Branch of that Revenue which fell under the Dominion of Bardolfe Robert de Bardolfe held it under the Notion of a whole Knights Fee as appears by the red Book kept in the Exchequer in the Raign of Henry the second and from him it came down to Hugh Bardolfe who was rated for it after the same Account in the second year of Richard the first but Hugh Lord Bardolfe his Son not long after concluded in three Daughters and Co-heirs Mawde was matched to Nicholas Points Margaret was married to Robert Aguillon and Isolda was espoused to Henry Lord Grey of Codnor which divided the Inheritance of that Family at this Place But that Proportion of it which was annexed by this Alliance to Points and Aguillon was passed away by a Joint Sale to John de la Pole and he paid respective supply for his Lands at Hoo which were rated at half a Knights Fee at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third but before the latter end of Henry the fourth this Family was worn out and that Estate they held here was by Purchase involved and swallowed up in the Inheritance of Grey who before was entituled to the Moiety of this Mannor as descending from Henry Lord Grey of Codnor and Isolda his Wife Co-heir to Hugh Lord Bardolfe and in this Family did it continue until Henry Lord Grey of Codnor in the twenty second year of Henry the sixth dying without Issue Male left it to be Patrimony of Daughters and Co-heirs one of which brought it to be the Inheritance of the Lord Zouch but in this Family it had not long remained when John Lord Zouch having pursued the Interest of the House of Yorke did exemplifie his Zeal to it by his being embarked in the Cause and Quarrel of Richard the third in that signal and fatal Encounter at Bosworth Feild where the Title of the two Houses Yorke and Lancaster was put to the bloody Arbitration of the Sword for which after the Crown and Scepter by that happy Contest devolved to Henry the seventh he was in the first year of that Prince's Rule attainted and his Estate here granted to Sir Henry Wiatt one of the Privy Councell to the said Monarch whose infortunate Grand-child Sir Thomas Wiatt being likewise attainted in the second year of Queen Mary it escheated upon that Confiscation to the Crown and there was lodged until King James about the third year of his Raign granted it to Robert Earl of Salisbury whose Son Robert Earl of Salisbury sold it quarto Caroli to Sir Edward Hales Knight and Baronet from whom it is now come down to his Grand-child Sir Edward
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
this Seat there is a frequent recital of John de Spelmonden who was Possessor of this Place After this Family had deserted the Inheritance of it the noble and eminent Family of Poynings was planted by Purchase in the possession of it Michael Poynings enjoyed it at his Death which was in the forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 14. parte secunda and from him did the Title glide along in the Interest of this Name untill it came down to Sir Edw. Poynings and he in the fourteenth year of Edward the fourth alienated his Concernment in it to John Sampson and he had Issue Christopher Sampson who in the thirty seventh year of Henry the eighth passed it away to Stephen Darrell and his Son George Darrell in the tenth year of Queen Elizabeth sold it to Richard Payne of Twyford in Middlesex and he in the twenty eighth year of the above-said Princesse translated his Right in it by Sale into William Nutbrown and he in the twenty ninth year of the same Queens Reign conveyed it to George Cure of Surrey Esquire from whom immediately after it went away by Sale to Arthur Langworth and from him by as quick a Vicissitude to William Beswick Esquire Son to ....... Beswick Lord Maior of London in the year of our Lord ........ and his Grandchild Mrs Mary Beswick dying not long since without Issue shee by Testament gave it in Lease to Mr. ...... Haughton now of Chelsey in Middlesex originally extracted from the ancient Family of Haughton of Haughton Tower in the County of Lancaster Horton in the Hundred of Stowting was a Mannor which belonged to that Priory which was founded here by Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford Lord great Chamberlain of England and dedicated to the Honour of St. John Baptist it being a Cell to the Priory of Lewes and stored with black Monks of the Cluniac Order Adelina Daughter of Hugh de Montfort was a principall Benefactresse to this House and so were the Honywoods of Henewood in Saltwood not far distant The first remembred in the Register is Edmund de Honywood who flourisht in the Raign of Henry the third Upon the Generall surrender of the Estate of Abbyes into the Hands of Henry the eighth this by that Prince in the twenty ninth year of his Reign was granted to Thomas Lord Cromwell Earl of Essex but he being infortunately attainted in the thirty first year of the abovesaid Prince this Mannor returned to the Crown and was resident there untill King Charles passed it away by Grant in the fourth year of his Raign to the City of London and they 1630 conveyed it to George Rook Esquire Father to Mr. Lawrence Rook who enjoys the instant Signory of it but the Abby-house was by Henry the eighth upon the fatall Execution of the above-mentioned Lord granted to John Tate of the County of North-hampton Esquire and he in the sixth year of Edward the sixth sold it to Walter Mantle Esq who being infortunately involved in the Design of the noble but unhappy Sir Thomas Wiatt in the second year of Queen Mary forfeited this to the Crown where after it had for some interval of Time been lodged it was in the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth restored to the above-said Walter Mantle and from him did it come down to his Successor Mr. Walter Mantle who was the present Possessor of it 1657. Sherford aliàs East-Horton is another Mannor in this Parish it was a Branch of that Demeasne which fell under the Jurisdiction of Retling Sir Richard de Retling was found in the enjoyment of it at his death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 12. and left it to Joane his Sole Daughter and Heir who brought it by espousing John Spicer to be parcel of his Inheritance and he died invested in the Possession of it in the tenth year of Richard the second and from him it devolved to his second Son John Spicer who assigned it as Dower to his Wife Joane and she was found to hold it in Possession at her Death which was in the fifth year of Henry the fifth Rot. Esc Num. 9. and in this Family did it reside until that Age which bordered upon our Fathers Remembrance and then it was passed away by Spicer to Morris in which Family the Propriety is still Resident Horton in the Hundred of Acstane was held by An. Retellus Rubitoniensis or Rosse in the twentieth year of William the Conqueror as Doomesday Book instructs me Alexander Rosse another of this Family and Lord of this Mannor was one of the Recognitores Magnae Assisae an Office of Eminence and no lesse Concernment In the first yeare of the Raign of King John William de Rosse held a Knights Fee in Horton and Lullingston and left it to his Sole Inheritrix Lora de Rosse who about the latter end of Edward the first brought it to be the Possession of her Husband ...... Kirkbie who by this Match being entituled to this place removed out of Lancashire where was his antient Mansion at Kirkbie Hall and seated himself at Horton where he re-edified the Castle which as Darell relates in his Tract de Castellis Cantii did acknowledge the Rosses for its Founders and built the Mannor House upon which he engrafted his own Name from whence it hath ever since acquired the Attribute of Horton-Kirkbie But it was not long united to this Name for about the Beginning of Henry the fourth this Family was extinguished in a Female Inheritrix who was matched to Thomas Stoner of Stoner in Oxfordshire Father and Mother of Sir Thomas Stoner who was Father to Sir William Stoner who by Anne Daughter and Heir of John Nevill Marquesse Montacute had Issue John Stoner who died Issue-lesse and had forfeited Horton Castle to Henry the seventh by confederating with the Lord Audley in his Insurrection against that Prince and Anne a Daughter matched to Sir Adrian Fortescue by whom he had the Mannor of Kirkbie Court and by her only a Female Inheritrix called Margery Fortescue matched to Thomas Lord Wentworth Ancestor to Thomas Lord Wentworth of Nettlested created Earl of Cleveland in the first year of King Charles but Kirkbie was passed away by Sir Adrian Fortescue to Sir James Walsingham in the Beginning of Henry the eighth whose Grandchild Sir Thomas Walsingham about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth alienated it to Alderman Hacket of London in whose Posterity the Propriety of it resides at this Day but Horton Castle continued in the Crown until King Henry the eighth granted it to Robert Rudston Esquire by the Heir General of which Family it is at this instant become the Inheritance of Mr. ...... Michell of Richmond Franks is an eminent Seat in this Parish which was the Mansion of Gentlemen of that Sirname who about the latter end of Henry the third came out of Yorkeshire and planted themselves at this place and writ their Sirnames in very old Deeds
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
William le Marshall Earl of Pembroke to whom her Father gave with her in Marriage Kemsing Sawters and much other Land in this County but this Mans Successor Anselme le Marshall Earl of Pembroke dying without Issue Robert Bigod Earl of Norfolk by Mawd his Mother the Heir Generall of the Family as being Sister to Gilbert Marshall Earl of Pembroke entered upon the Estate of that Family here at Kemsing and he passed it away to Otho Lord Grandison with the Advowson of the Church of Kemsing in the eleventh year of Edward the first And after this Family was worn out I find the Says to Step into the Inheritance and Geffrey de Say held it at his Death which was in the forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 24. Parte secunda From whom the Propriety flowed down to his Successor Geffrey Lord Say and he concluded in two Daughters and Coheirs whereof Elizabeth one of them was affianced to Sir William Fiennes who in her Right was invested in Kemsing and from him was the Title by Descent transported over to William Lord Fiennes Son of James Lord Fiennes and he in the second year of Edward the fourth passed it away to Sir Geffrey Bolein Great Grand-father to George Viscount Rochford who was beheaded and left no Issue in the Raign of Henry the eighth so that this upon his Father Sir Thomas Boleyn Earl of Wilts departure without any other Issue-male in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth devolved to that Prince who seised upon it in Right of his Wife the infortunate Anne Bullen who was eldest Sister to the unhappy Viscount And here in the Revenue of the Crown did it lie couched until Queen Elizabeth in the first year of her Raign passed it away by Grant to her Kinsman Henry Cary Lord Hunsdon Son of William Cary Esquire of the Body to Henry the eighth and of Mary his Wife Sister to Q. Anne Mother to the above said Princesse and his Grandchild Henry Earl of Dover alienated his Right in it to Richard Earl of Dorset and he not many years since passed it away to Mr. ...... Smith vulgarly called Dog-Smith who upon his Decease settled the Fee-simple for ever on the Hospital of St. Thomas in Southwarke There was an old Knightly Family which tooke their Sirname from this Parish and was styled Kemsing and their Coat was Argent a Fesse and Cheveron interlaced Sables now quatered by Mr. William Hart of Lullingston Esquire in Right of Peche who married the Heir General Kenardington in the Hundred of Blackborn is by Contraction called Kenarton and although it cannot much boast of the healthful situation thereof yet it hath had Lords and Owners of a very great Estimate Will. de Normannia held it in the Raign of K. John and part of the Raign of Henry the third as appears by the Pipe Rolls which relate to those Times and concern this County Rafe de Normanvill is registred in the list of those Kentish Gentlemen who were with Richard the first at the Seige of Acon in Palestine After him his Son Thomas de Normannia or Normanvill for so he is written in the ancient Rolls succeeded in the Possession of it but died in the eleventh year of Edward the first without Issue-male so that by his only Daughter and Heir it devolved to be the Possession of Sir William de Basing with the Mannor of Cockride likewise which was folded up in her Inheritance and was one of those Knights who accompanied King Edward the first in the twenty eighth year of his Raign in that succesful Expedition which he was ingaged in when he undertook the Conquest of Scotland After him William de Basing held it and was Sheriff of Kent in the eighth year of Edward the second and dying in his Shrievalty Margaret his Widdow accounted for the Profits of the County as the Records of the Pipe Office set forth Sir Thomas de Basing his Son died seised of it in the twenty third year of Edward the third and paid respective Aid for it under the Notion of a whole Knights Fee at making the Black Prince Knight and left it to John his Son a Child of eight years of Age who after was Knighted and died possest of it in the seventh year of Richard the second and left it to Thomas his Son and Heir then eleven years of Age and he had Issue Thomas likewise who dying without Issue John Basing his Uncle was found to be his Heir but was scarce planted in his new acquired Patrimony but he also in the twenty fourth year of Henry the sixth expired without Issue so that the Inheritance devolved to Alice his Sister matched to Thomas Mackworth as the Heir General of the Family And thus were the Basings at this Place extinguished who before they planted in Kent were registred amongst the prime Gentlemen of Middlesex Salomon de Basing was Sheriff of London the last year of King John Adam de Basing was Lord Mayor of London in the thirty sixth year of Henry the third and Robert de Basing succeeded in that Office in the seventh year of Edward the first and Basings-Hall ows both his Name and Foundation to this Family and John Stow in his Survey of London ascribes to them the Degree of Barons of the Realm But to return into that Path from whence this Discourse had diverted me After Mackworth which by Female Devolution was possest of this Mannor was worn out which was about the Beginning of Henry the seventh The Hornes of Hornes-place in this Parish were by Purchase settled in the Inheritance Gentlemen certainly they were of as eminent Account as any in this Territory and had been Proprietaries of this Seat for many Hundreds of years for one Ralph de Hurne of Kenardington was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the Raign of King John Persons who before the Office of Justice of Peace was instituted did supply their Place and were much in Resemblance like the Grand Inquest at this Day being assistant both by their presence and concurrent Counsels to the Justices in Eyre in all the great Decisions which did relate to Causes Criminal emergent à tribus Forisfacturis or the three Forfeitures Murder Felony and Breach of the Peace But to proceed In this Family did the Propriety both of Hernes-place and Kenardington thus purchased of Mackworth lie rolled up together until the twelfth year of Queen Elizabeth and then Bennet Horne the Heir General of both these being matched to ...... Guldford a Romish Catholick he to decline the Oath of Supremacy fled beyond Sea with his Wife upon whose Recesse the Crown seised upon that Estate which had formerly accrewed to him in behalf of his Wife at this place as escheated upon the Statute of praemunire And the above said Princesse immediately after granted the Premises thus forfeited to Walter Moile of Buckwell Esquire Ancestor to Mr. Robert Moile who claims the present Signiory both of Kenardington
de Nevill in the twentieth year of Henry the third at the Marriage of Isabell that Prince's Sister Thomas Fitz Bernard Son to Ralph above-mentioned enjoyed it at his Death which was in the sixth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 31. And from him it descended to John Fitz Bernard who in the thirty sixth year of Edward the third dyed without Issue upon whose Decease the four Daughters of Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer matched to Rosse Vere Mortimer and Tiptoft entered upon the Possession 〈◊〉 Heirs to their Mother who was Sister and Heir to this John Fitz Bernard and upon the Breaking the Estate into Parcells upon the Partition this was united to the Demeasne of Wiliam Rosse of Hamlake in Right of his Wife Margaret who was Coheir likewise to her two Brothers Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer and Giles Lord Badelesmer who both dyed without Issue and John Rosse this Man's Son was in the Possession of it at his Death which was in the seventeenth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 49. And from him did it glide down to his infortunate Grandchild Thomas Lord Rosse who was attainted and beheaded at New-Castle in the fourth year of Edward the fourth whilst he endevoured to support the sinking House of Lancaster upon whose Shipwrack this was annexed to the Revenue of the Crown and in the eighteenth year of his Reign Edward the fourth restores it for Life to Margaret Wife of Roger Lord Wentworth who was Widow of Thomas Lord Rosse but after his Deeease it returned to the Crown and slept in its Revenue untill King Henry the eighth passed it away by Grant to John Wilkinson from which Name about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth it was conveyed to Richard Lovelace who dying without Issue-male Margaret matched to Henry Cooke of Lanham Esq became his Heir and in her Right is now entered upon Northcourt and Southcourt which make up the Mannor of Kingsdown Hever is another Mannor in Kingsdown which was parcell of the Demeasne of the ancient Family of Hever of Hever Castle in this County William de Hever had a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands here and at Hever in the ninth year of Edward the first which was renued to Thomas de Hever in the fourth year of Edward the third but he did not long enjoy it for he dying without Issue Joan his Sister and Coheir matched to Reginald Lord Cobham became Heir to his Estate at this place and he in her Right dyed possest of it in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third But before the latter end of Richard the second this Family was worn out and then the Family of Vrban succeeded by purchase in the Possession John Vrban held it at his Death which was in the eighth year of Henry the fifth Rot. Esc Num. 75. And left it to his Sister and Heir Emma Penhale and she enjoyed it at her Decease which was in the fifth year of Hen. the sixth Rot. Esc Num. 43. But it was not long after this in the Tenure of this Name for Richard Lovelace by his last Will in the year 1465 which was made in the fifth of Edward the fourth ordains that his Feoffees make an Estate of this Mannor of Hever which he purchased of Penhale to Katharine his Daughter and if she dye without Issue as she did then he wills that it descend to John Lovelace his Son and Heir and from this John did it by an uninterrupted Series of Descent devolve to Rich. Lovelace and from him did it go away by Margaret his Sole Daughter and Heir to Henry Cook of Lanham in Suffolk Esquire in which Name it is at this instant resident Chipsted is a third Mannor in Kingsdown which indisputably gave Seat and Sirname to a Family so called For I find Adam de Chipsted dyed possest of it at his Death which was in the forty first year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 16. And after this Family was extinguished the Mowbrays were planted in the Possession and continued in the Inheritance from the latter end of Richard the second untill the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away by Sale to John Martin Justice of the Common-pleas whose Son John Martin in the thirty third year of Henry the sixth alienates it to Thomas Underdown of Dertford and he not long after gives it to Richard Thetcher of Warbulton in Sussex and he in the nineteenth year of Edward the fourth sold it to William Atwood and his Son Robert Atwood in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth demises one moiety of it to Nicholas Taylor and the other Moiety in the twenty second year of the abovesaid Prince to Sibill of Littlemoat in Eynsford William Taylor and William Atwood in the first year of Queen Mary passe away their Proportion of it to Sir John Champneys and his Son Justinian Champneys not long after alienates his Interest in it to Lovelace and by the Heir Generall of that Family it is now devolved to Mr. Henry Cook abovementioned the other Moiety by Ann Sole Heir of Lancelot Sibill came to be possest by Mr. John Hope in which Name it did not long remain for in our Memory it was by Sale demised to Mr. Hodsoll of Hodsoll in Ash and he is now in the enjoyment of it Woodland is the last Mannor in this Parish and was anciently a Chappell of Ease to Kingsdowne till in the year 1557. it was by Reginald Fole then Cardinal and Arch-bishop of Canterbury united to Wrotham But the Mannor is still circumscribed within the Precincts of Kingsdown It was formerly a Branch of that Revenue which owned the Title and Jurisdiction of that powerful Baron Hamon de Crevequer and he died possest of it in the forty seventh year of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 33. But after him I find not much more of this Family at this Place for in the ninth year of Edward the third John Son of John St. Clere enjoyed it as appears by the Inquisition taken after his Death Rot. Esc Num. 48. Afterwards I discover Thomas St. Clere to be possest of it at his Death in the fourth year of Henry the fourth and so was Margaret St. Clere Widdow of Philip in the first year of Henry the sixth and Thomas St. Clere held it in the twelfth year of Edward the fourth and from his Descendant about the latter end of Henry the seventh it passed away by Sale to Pett of Pett-house in Sevenoke and John Pett his Successor sold Woodland in the seventeenth year of Queen Elizabeth to William Rowe of London by the Daughter and Heir of which Family even in our fathers Memory it came over to the instant Possessor Jenny of Norfolke Kingsdown in the Hundred of Milton was given by Hubert de Burgh to his newly erected Maison le Dieu in Dover which was to be a Retreat for the Knights Templers when they visired Temple Ewell and other Lands they enjoyed in this Track but
to Norden and not long after alienated his right in it to Francis Colepeper Esquire who not long after disposed of it again by Sale to Norden in which Family it rested until the same vicissitude brought it to be the Inheritance of Covert from which Family hath the Fate of Sale not many years since brought it to be the instant Patrimony of Sir William Merideth Leigh in the Lowey of Tunbridge is sometimes written West-Leigh and very often West-Leigh alias Pauls It was in Ages of a very high Gradation the Penchester's and in Dooms-day Book there is mention of * See more of this Family at Pencehurst Paul de Penchester who held Lands here and at Pencehurst and from this Man was it by a continued Series brought down to Sir Stephen de Penchester Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle who exspired in two Daughters and Co-heirs whereof Joan the eldest was married to Henry Lord Cobham of Roundall in Shorn and Alice the other was married to John Lord Columbers as appears by an Inquisition taken in the third year of Edward the third and she had for her proportion assigned her the Mannors of West-Leigh and Pencehurst Sir Thomas de Columbers was Heir apparent to this John de Columbers and Alice his Mother and he by his Deed bearing Date from the eleventh year of Edward the third passed away all his Interest in this place to Sir John de Poultney Lord Maior of London and he died possest of it in the twenty third year of Edward the third immediately after I find Sir Nicholas Lovain Son of Guy Lovain interessed in the possession but whether it was by Marriage of Margaret Widow of Sir John Poultney or by purchase I cannot discover and he had Issue Nicholas Lovain who held it as Heir to his Father as appears by an Inquisition taken after his Deeease in the forty fourth year of Edward the third but this Nicholas dying without Issue Margaret Lovain his Sister became his Heir who brought it to her Husband Philip St. Clere of Aldham St. Clere Son of John St. Clere and they by joint Concurrence by their Deed of Sale bearing Date the tenth year of Henry the fourth passed it away to the Crown and that Prince bequeathed this Mannor of West-Leigh with several other Lands to John Duke of Bedford his third Son after Lord Regent in the minority of Henry the sixth but he deceasing and leaving no Issue it came to Humphrey Duke of Glocester his fourth Brother who being strangled by the procurement of William De la pole Duke of Suffolk in the Abbey of Bury and dying without any Posterity King Henry the sixth in the twenty fifth year of his Rule granted this Mannor being an Adjunct to Pencehurst to Humphrey Stafford Duke of Buckingham Ancestor to Edward Stafford who being attainted of high Treason in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth lost both his Life Title and Estate and then it was granted by that Prince to Sir Rafe Vane who was made Banneret by that Prince for his remarkable Service in Scotland but he being unsuccessefully wound up in the Businesse of the Duke of Somerset in the fourth year of Edward the sixth was executed as guilty of Felony upon whose ruinous Catastrophe this Mannor by Escheat returning to the Crown it was in the seventh year of Edward the sixth granted to Sir William Sydney a person of deep Knowledge and unblemished Integrity great Grand-father to Robert now Earl of Leicester and Proprietary of West-Leigh There is another Mannor in this Parish called Philipotts which yielded a Sirname to a Family so styled and in a Deed which bears Date from the twenty eighth year of Edward the first whereby one John de Philipott does demise some parcels of Land to Robert Charles Bailiff of the Forest of Tunbridge he writes himself de Philipotts in Leigh but as all things have their Revolution which gives either their own Ruines or Oblivion to them for a Sepulchre so it was here For after this place had for some Hundreds of years been wrapt up in the Inheritance of this Family it at last came down to Thomas Philipott whose Daughter and Heir Alice was married to John Petley Esquire and so Philipotts fell under the Signiory of that Family but long it continued not there for this man determined in four Daughters and Coheirs one of whom matching with Children a Family so called interwove it with his Demeasne in which Name after it had for some years been fixed it was not long since by the Daughter and Heir of this Name brought to be the Inheritance of Polhill Lenham in the Hundred of Eyhorne is that place which Mr. Camden and Mr. Lambert conelude was Durolenum a City of the Romans mentioned by Antonius in his Itinerarium though others would have it to be about Newington by Sedingbourn But finding the consulary way went through this place and Roman Coine found many Times nere the Fosse and Surface of that way and that the high Road called Watling-street continued in the Line of the former till Rochester Bridge was built of stone and all that have written of that way do agree that it went through the middle of Kent I will not further dispute it but acquaint you that the Composition of the Name was from Dore Water in the British and Lenum which the Romans formed from some such sounding Name in the British Dialect and it is the more probable because from hence is a direct way to Limen the Romans Haven nere Hyth The Soile and Signiory were given to the Abby of St. Anstins by K. Kenwulf under the Notion of one and twenty Plough-lands in the year 804 and upon the Dissolution was united to the Crown till Queen Elizabeth passed it away by Grant to Tho. Wilford Esquire whose Son Sir Tho. Wilford conveyed it by Sale not many years since to Anthory Brown Viscount Montacute East-Lenham was long time since the Seat of the Husseys of whom I have spoken before in Boughton Malherbe Henry Hussey had a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at East-Lenham Chilston and Stourmouth in the fifty fifth of Henry the third and from this Man did thethread of a continued Descent waft it along to Henry Hussey who about the twenty sixth year of Henry the eighth alienated the Possession to Mr. John Parkhurst descended from an ancient Family so called in Norfolke one of which Name was Bishop of Norwich in the year 1560 Ancestor to that ingenious Gentleman Sir William Parkhurst who has lately by Sale transmitted his Right in this Mansion to Mr. Wood of London Merchant Royton in this Parish had very good Gentlemen so styled who were no small space possessed of it and had a Free Chappel founded by Robert de Royton about the latter end of Henry the third from whence it borrowed the Name of Royton Chappel it being annexed to this mansion The Daughter and Heir of Royton was wedded to
Title to the Estate it devolved by escheat in the fourteenth year of that Prince to the Crown from which Bellavieu was again suddenly granted away to Rich. Bernys Esq and he not long after disposed of it by Sale to Tho. Wombwell of Northfleet who in the twenty fifth year of Henry the eighth conveyed it to Peter Heyman Esquire from whom not long after it went away to Bedingfield descended from Gentlemen of a deep and ancient extraction in the County of Suffolk and in this Family did it fixe untill the Custome of Gavelkind having broken and split this Mannor into several parcels and so made it the Inheritance of several Brothers they by a joint Concurrence alienated their collective Interest in it to Sir Edward Hales Knight and Baronet Grandfather to Mr. Edward Hales who now enjoyes the Fee-simple of it Otterpoole continued in the Crown untill the thirty seventh year of Henry the eighth and then it was invested by Grant in Sir James Hales from which Family about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth it came over by Sale to Thomas Smith Esquire commonly called Customer Smith Ancestor to the right honorable Philip Viscount Strangford the instant Lord of the Fee Wellop another parcel of the escheated Demeasne of Poynings though it were granted in Lease to Knatchbull and others yet the Fee-simple still lodged in the Crown untill K. Charles passed it away to Sir Edward Hales Knight and Baronet from whom it is now by Descent devolved to his Grandchild Sir Edward Hales of Tunstall Lingsted lies in the Hundred of Tenham and hath two places in it of emiminent Reputation The first is Bedmancore which was in Times of a very high Ascent wrapped up in the Patrimony of Cheyney of whom I shall speak more at Patricksbourn Cheyney their principal Seat the last of which Family that held it was William de Cheyney who dyed possest of it in the eighth year of Edward the third as appears Rot. Esc Num. 58. But after his Decease it was not long resident in this Name for in the twenty seventh year of the abovesaid Prince I find it in the Tenure of William de Apulderfield of whose Family take this compendious prospect He was descended from * Ex veteri Rot. penes Edo Dering Mil. Baronettum desunctum Henry de Apulderfield of Apulderfield in Coudham who with his Son Henry are inserted in the Catalogue of those eminent Kentish Gentlemen who were engaged with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon in Palestine * See the Roll of Gascony Henry de Apulderfield another of this Family accompanied Henry the third in his Expedition into Gascony and his Son * See the printed Laws of Romney Mersh Henry de Apulderfield with John de Lovetot did by a Commission dated the fifteenth of November in the sixteenth year of Edward the first sit as Justices of the Sewers for Romney Mersh And this Henry was Sheriff of Kent the twenty sixth and twenty seventh of the abovesaid Prince and had Issue William de Apulderfield the above-mentioned Lord of Bedmancore who was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty seventh and twenty eighth of Edward the third and again the thirty first thirty fourth thirty fifth thirty sixth thirty eighth and fourty fourth years of the above mentioned Prince and held his Shrievaltie at Lingsted Henry Apulderfield his Son was Sheriff of Kent the fifty first of Edward the third in which that glorious Prince paid that Tribute to Nature we all owe and from this Man did Bedmancore descend to his great Grandchild Sir William Apulderfield a Man of very great Eminence in the Raign of Henry the sixth and Edward the fourth who concluded in a Daughter and Heir called Elizabeth matched to Sir John Phineux Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench in the Raign of Henry the seventh as is attested by his Monument in Hern Church and he in her right became possest of Bedmancore but it was not long fastned to this Name for this Man likewise concluded in two Female Coheirs whereof Jane Phineux one of them matched with John Roper Esquire and Middred the other wedded James Diggs of Diggs-court in Berham Esquire from the first Alliance Christopher now Lord Roper of Tenham is lineally extracted and by Right of that Conjugal Union is fortified in his present Possession and Title to this place Next to be remembred is Sewards the Seat of a second Stock of the well-spread Family of the Finches ever since they married the Heir of place and Name and after they had sprouted out into many fair Branches at Kingsdown Norton Selling and other places The Sole Heir of this House at Sewards was married to Sir Drew Drury of Norfolke Knight Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber to Q. Elizabeth a Gentleman of incorrupt Integrity and Wisdome to whom wee ascribe the building of the great House against the Church where Mr. James Hugison kept his Shrievaltie in the seventeenth year of the late King having some years before purchased it of Sir Drew Drury his Heir Linton in the Hundred of Twyford was anciently under the Jurisdiction and Signiory of Proprietaries called Capell who had a Seat adopted into their Sirname and called Capells-court a Family certainly of great Antiquity and no lesse Revenue in this Track John at Capell held Lands at Boxley called Tattelmell in the thirty seventh year of Henry the third as appears by that King's Charter of Inspection of the Foundation of Boxley Abbey Cart. 37. Memb. 9. Thomas at Capell and James at Capell were to find two Hobelers or leight Horsmen at Denge Mersh in the eleventh year of Edward the third And in this Family did the Title and Propriety of this place reside untill the raign of Henry the sixth and then it was passed away to Baesden where after it had for many years been permanent it was almost in our Grand-fathers Remembrance transplanted by Sale into Sir Anthony Mayney Knight Grand-father to Sir Jo. Mayney Knight and Baronet the instant Lord of the Fee Some part of Linton did for many Descents relate to a Family called Welldish who had here a Chappel called Welldish his Chappel and bore upon their Seals appendant to ancient Deeds three Talbots passant upon a Chiefe a Fox in the same posture with the Talbots which was assumed by this Family as the vulgar and constant Tradition of this Parish asserts to perpetuate and inforce the Memory of one of their Ancestors who was Huntsman to William the Conquerour Finally after this Name had been fixed at this place for so many Descents a considerable part of their Estate was in that Age wee name our Grand-fathers passed away to VValter Mayney Esquire from whom his Successor Sir Jo. Mayney now claims the Propriety of it Littlebourne in the Hundred of Downchamford was many Hundred years since given to the Church of Canterbury as the Annalls of St. Angustins testifie by Withredus King of Kent But here is the Mannor of
Welle in this Parish which was alwayes under the Jurisdiction of Lay Proprietaries It was first the position of John de Welle sometimes written At Well from the position of his Dwelling which perhaps was in a bottom but this Man in the forty fourth year of Hen. the third made Ranulph Joremer his Feoffe in Trust who sold it for his Use to Reginald de Cornehill by whose Daughter and Heir it came to Garwinton of Beakesbourne and in this Name after it had been fixed some four Descents it went away to Haut for William Garwinton died without Issue and so Margaret his Kinswoman matched to Richard Haute who was a second stock of the Hauts of Bourne became his Heir but long the Right of it was not united to his Family For Richard Haut this Mans Son left likewise onely a Daughter and Heir called Margery who altered the Possession and brought it with Her to her Husband William Isaack who had by her Edward Isaack and he determined in two Daughters and Coheirs Mary married to Thomas Apulton of Waldingfield in the County of Suffolk and the other first matched to ....... Sydley and after to Sir Henry Palmer who by Donation from his Wife was endowed with the Fee-simple of Well Court and his Successor in our Father's Memory alienated it to Lievetenant Colonel Prude slain at the Siege of Maestricht who left it to his Son Mr. Searles Prude whose two Daughters and Coheirs are by his Will after his Widow's Decease entituled to the Inheritance Reginald de Cornehill in the forty fourth year of Henry the third exchanged Lands with John de St. Leger for Lands at Lukedale in Littlebourne where he founded a Chantry which was endowed with a new accession of Land by his Wife Matilda de Cornehill and was confirmed by Patent from Henry the third Lose in the Hundred of Maidstone was in old Saxon Records written Hlos which imports as much as the Lot or Portion It was as the Book of Christ-Church informs us given by Ethelwulf King of the South-Saxons to Sneta a Widow and her Daughter and they gave it back again to the Monks of Christ-Church in Canterbury to apparel them In the Conqueror's Time upon the general Survey recorded in Doonesday-Book it was accounted as part of the six Sullings of Ferneleigh Pimps Court that gave Name to the Knightly Family of the Pimps is in this Parish although they made Nettlested their more frequent place of abode William de Pimpe held this and other Lands by a whole Knights Fee in the twentieth year of Edward the third at the making the Black Prince Knight and from this William was John Pimpe Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent in the second year of Henry the seventh lineally descended who sold this Place to Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham Lord Constable of England whose dysastrous Fate having engaged him to make some dark Applications to a Wizard and a Monk about the Succession of the Crown Henry the eighth a Prince of much Jelousie and Fury like an Industrious Spider spun out Venome enough out of this unhappy Address of his to poyson him with the Guilt of High Treason and so made the forfeiture of his Life and Fortune pay the price of his Vanity upon whose Ruine his Estate was not long after his Death and Attaint which was in the thirteenth year of Henry the eighth by that Prince granted to his Confident and Favourite Sir John Rainsford who after a brief enjoyment of it passed it away to Sir Henry Isley who being attainted in the second year of Q. Mary for supporting by his Assistance and Concurrence the Defection of Sir Thomas Wiat this reverted to the Crown and the same Princess in the second year of her Government granted it by Patent to Sir John Baker whose Successor Sir John Baker Baronet hath lately passed it away to Thomas Floyd of Gore Court Esquire Luddenham in the Hundred of Middleton with the appendant Mannor of Bishops-Bush was a Branch of that spatious Revenue which did in these parts own the Northwoods for Possessors and Roger de Northwood in the forty first year of Henry the third amongst divers Parcels of Land which he altered from the Nature of Gavelkind into Knights Service of the which there is a particular Recapitulation in the Book of Aid changed ninety Acres of Mersh Land which lay partly in Iwade and partly in his Mannor of Luddenham into that Tenure After the Northwoods the Frogenhalls were Possessors of this place and William Frogenhall had this amongst other Lands in this Track which he died seised of in the eighth year of Richard the second his Son and Heir was William Frogenhall Father to Thomas Frogenhall the last of the Name at this Place for he left no Issue Male so that the Daughters became his Coheirs One of whom was Anne who married Thomas Quadring of London and so this place became hsi Inheritance as being her Proportion of Frogenhalls Estate but it quickly found an other owner for Joan Quadring his onely Daughter and Heir by marrying with Richard Dryland of Cokesditch in Feversham incorporated it with the Demeasn of that Family since which Alliance it hath by a constant Succession been fixt in the Possession of the Name of Dryland untill of late years by an Heir General it came to own the Signory of Kirton Luddesdowne in the Hundred of Taltingtrough was though now a petty obscure Village more noted formerly when it was the Patrimony of the Barons Montchensie of Swanscamp-Castle Warren de Montchensie one of them obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to this Mannor of Ludsdowne in the thirty seventh year of Henry the third afterwards this Mans Successor William de Monchensie held it and sat in Parliament as Baron of Swanscamp and dying in the year 1287 without Issue Male left this and diverse other Places to Dionys his Sole Daughter and Heir who was married to Hugh de Vere but died without Issue in the year of our Lord 1314 by which means the Title of this Place diverted to Joan de Montchensie Sister to William above-named and She matched in Marriage with William de Valentia Earl of Pembroke half Brother to King Henry the third and by him had Aymer de Valence who expired in two Female Coheirs one of whom called Isabel was married to Lawrence de Hastings who in her Right was afterwards Earl of Pembroke and Proprietary of the Fee-simple of this Place from whom it descended to his Grand-child John Hastings Earl of Pembroke who dying in the fourteenth year of Richard the second left his Estate in Kent in which this was involved to his two Kinsmen Reginald Grey and Richard Talbot and upon the Division of it this Mannor was lincked to the Patrimony of Grey and remained untill the Beginning of Henry the fixth interwoven with the Revenue of this Family and then I find it under the Signory of that eminent Peer and glorious Souldier Thomas Montacute Earl of Salisbury
who in so many remarkable and triumphant Conflicts asserted the Interest of this Nation in France in the Raign of the abovesaid Prince and at last received a mortal Wound by a Splinter of a Window struck into his Face by a Cannon shot at the Siege of Orleans of which he died 1428 and left his Estate here to his Natural Son James Montacute * Ex vetustis Autographis penes Rich. Lea Arm. de Rochester so written in the Deed but in all our printed Books of Nobility falsly and corruptly John and he in the thirtieth year of Henry the sixth conveyed it by Deed to Thomas Davy Gentleman and he not many years after alienated it to Edward Nevill Baron of Aburgavenny from whom it was transported by Descent to his Successor Henry Lord Aburgavenny who dying in the twenty ninth year of Q. Elizabeth without Issue Male gave it to his second Brother Sir Edward Nevill from whom it is come down to his Descendant John Lord Aburgavenny the instant Proprietary of it Buckland in this Parish did acknowledge the Bucklands for its Heirs and Possessors who sometimes did inhabit at Preston in Shorham and sometimes at this place which however now obscure and despicable was of Credit when Sir John Buckland paid respective Aid for his Lands at Ludsdown at the making of the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth of Edward the third from Buckland by a Daughter and Heir some few Ages since it came over with Preston in Shorham to Folhill and in that Family is the Title still at this instant resident Lullingston in the Hundred of Axtan was in ancient Records written Lullingston Rosse for Anketellus Rosse held Lands here in the twentieth of William the Conqueror William de Rosse this mans Grand-child as appears by the Pipe Rolls held two Knights Fees in Lullingston in the first year of King John Alexander de Rosse this mans Son was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae or of the grand Assise about the end of that Prince's Rule but not long after this the Possession of this place was not lincked to this Family for Lora de Rosse Sole Daughter to William de Rosse by matching with William de Peyforer fastned it to the Revenue of that Stock from whence it assumed the Title of Lullingston Peyforer but it quickly deserted both the Title and Possessor for Gregory de Rokesley Lord Maior of London in the seventh year of Edward the first purchased it of the abovesaid William and in the same year obtained a Charter Warren to his Lands at this place In the twentieth year of Edward the third John de Rokesley Son to Walter Rokesley and Grand-child to the before mentioned Gregory paid Aid for the Mannor of Lullingston which held by a whole Knights Fee at the making the Black Prince Knight In the thirty third year of Edward the third Sir John Peche purchased the Mannor of this John de Rokesley this Sir John was Son to Sir John de Peche who was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle and was called to Parliament among the Barons in the fourth year of Edward the third In the same year he bought Lullingston he obtained a Charter of Free Warren to his Lands there which was renewed and by Confirmation fortified in the thirty fourth and thirty fifth of Edward the third Sir William Peche was his Son and Heir whose Widow the Lady Joane Peche who died seised of this Mannor in the eleventh year of Henry the fourth lies entombed in St. Mary Woolnoth Church in London Sir John Peche was Son and Heir to them both Sir William Peche was Son and Heir to this Sir John who died at Lullingston 1487 and had two Children Sir John Peche Knight and Banneret who died sans Issue which Sir John was a man of exemplary Account being Lord Deputy of Calais and of signal Charity as is evident by his Munificence and Bounty towards the Poor for he founded the Alms-Houses at Lullingston and gave 500 lb. to other Pious Uses to be performed by the Grocers Company in London of which he was Free and Elizabeth marched to John Hart Esquire who in his Wife 's Right upon the Decease of her Brother enter'd into the Possession of the Premisses from whom it is transmitted to William Hart Esquire his great Grand-child who hath the instant Signory and Fee-simple of this Mannor of Lullingston M. M. M. M. MAidstone giveth Name to the whole Hundred wherein it is seated an elegant Town it is whether we consider it in respect of the uniform and regular Building or of the healthful Situation of it spreading it self out partly upon a Hill and partly upon a Valley which are interlaced with a smal River which hath its Original about Leeds and on the other side its Banks are washed with the waters of the Medway from whence it primitively borrowed its Name being in Saxon called Medwegston The Places of most eminence which are circumscribed within the Limits of it are First Buckland which is situated on the opposite Banck of the River upon the Knob or Knoll of an Hill of easie Ascent from whence it takes in a various and delightful Prospect of the adjacent Valley It was anciently part of the Demeasn of the Bucklands but whether it originally gave Seat and Sirname to them or not is not evident because there was another Place which likewise bore this Name at Luddesdowne and which also acknowledged it self to be Parcel of their Proprietie John de Buckland held it at his Death which was in the third year of Edward the third and his Son and Heir was Sir John Buckland who was a Person of remarkable Reputation and Note in this Track for he had Lands about Wouldham Halling Snodland Ludsdowne and Shoreham as well as at this Place After this Name went out the Lords Cobham were Proprietaries of Buckland and in this Family was the Possession guided along by an undivided Clew of several Ages till the infortunate Henry Lord Cobham about the entrance into the Raign of King James being with Sir VValter Raleigh and others entangled in a Design which the then present Power after a serious and solemn Debate adjudged treasonable he could not unravel himself out of it but with the Forfeiture though not of Life yet of Estate but this Mannor before his Attaint being settled upon his Lady Francis Cobham as part of her Jointure upon his Decease was granted by the Crown to her and the Reversion to Robert Cecil Earl of Salisbury in respect he had married Elizabeth Daughter to William Brooke Lord Cobham and Sister to this last Lord Henry and She shortly after by marrying with ....... Fitz Gerald Earl of Kildare settled the present Interest of it in him and He and his Countess being embarked in a mutual and joint consent with the above-mentioned Earl of Salisbury passed away their Right in it about the year One thousand six hundred and eighteen to William
elder Times made their Applications by humble Addresses to the Crown of whose Revenue this Parish was a Limb to rescue them from that Burden which crushed the shoulder and to permit that this Parish Suo integro Dominio Jurisdictione complecterctur might be circumscribed within the Sphere and Circumference of its own Signiory without any adherence or Connexion to any other but it seems the Beams of majesty not beating with any propitious Influence on this Design it grew not up to that Stature and perfection it did first aspire to so that it remained an imperfect Moiety of a Mannor under which Notion it is represented to us at present Yet in the ninth year of Edw. the first Eleanor Wife to that Prince obtained a Market weekly and a Fair yearly to be observed at this place and being improved with these advantageous Franchises it remained marshalled in the Inventory of the Royal Demeasne untill the second year of King James and then it was passed away by Grant to Philip then Earl of Mout Gomery upon whose late Decease it was disposed by Will to own the Interest of his second Son Mr. James Herbert Cheveney and Cheveney House are both within the Verge of Marden and were entituled to a Family of that Sirname Henry de Cheveney held it at his Death which was in the second year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 59. And after him Joan the Wife of John Cheveney his Son was in Enjoyment of it at her Decease which was in the thirty second year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 5. But after this I find no farther Remembrance of this Family at this Place for in the second year of Richard the second I discover by an ancient Court-Roll one William Atweld to have held the Propriety of it And in this Family was the Title lodged until the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was transmitted by Sale to Couper and in the thirteenth year of that Monarch I find one William Couper to have discharged some Persons of some Amerciaments and Fines imposed upon them for not performing Suite and Service at this Mannor of Cheveney and in this Family was the Interest successively resident until the Beginning of Q. Mary and then this House and Mannor being by the Custome of Gavelkind ground into two Parcels and those possest by two Brothers Coheirs one of them passed away Cheveney House to Maplesden in which name it is yet constant and the other alienated the Mannor of Cheveny to Lone from whom Mr. ....... Lone the instant Proprietary is lineally extracted Sipherst is another little Mannor in Marden which had Possessors here of that Sirname until the latter End of Edward the third and then they being abolished and the Fee-simple abandoned and surrendred to William Atweld about the second year of Richard the second that Name was entituled to the Estate here until the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was alienated with Cheveney to Couper in whom the Fee-simple had not been long constant when it was demised to John Field and he made his Will in the seventeenth year of Edward the fourth and gives it to his Son Jo. Field and from him did it by descendant Right devolve to his Successor Edward Field who held it the fourth year of Q. Elizabeth and after gave it to his Kinsman Thomas Gilbert whose Successor Thomas Gilbert having settled it on his Widow Sibil Gilbert it is now in her Right possest by her second Husband Mr. Richard Knight Tildens Stubbins and Brooke are three other inconsiderable Mannors in this Parish which had three owners of these Denominations the first of which were Persons of Eminence in this County and had an Estate at Wye Catts place in Brenchley and at Tilmanston likewise as it appears by the Book of Aid where there is an Assessement laid upon the Lands of William Tilden in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight But to proceed the Propriety of these three Places were constantly under the Dominion of these three Families until the latter End of Henry the fourth and then Stubbins was passed away to Tilden in whom both Stubbins and Tildens remained combined and wound up together until the Beginning of Henry the sixth and then they were demised to Thomas Stidolfe Esquire and he made his Will in the year 1453 and therein mentions Stubbins and Tildens to have been purchased of Tilden and Brooke of Richard Brooke but this Family about the Beginning of Henry the seventh determining in a Female Inheritrix matched to Richard Vane Esquire united these three Mannors to his Patrimony and from him by the traverses of several Descents are they now come down to be possest by the right Honourable Mildmay Vane Earl of Westmerland Monkton is a Mannor in Marden which made up the Demeasn of the Priory of Leeds and upon the suppression of that Cloister was by K. Henry the eighth granted to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire who not long after alienated it to Thomas Wilfor'd Esquire and he in the seventh year of Q. Elizabeth to Thomas Stanley in which Family it remained until our Fathers Remembrance and then it was demised by Sale to Mr. ...... Board of Sussex St. Mary Church in Romney Mersh lies in the Hundreds of St. Martins and New-Church and was anciently folded up in that large Demeasn which did acknowledge the Dominion of the Criolls John de Crioll or Keriel of a younger Extraction from Bertram de Crioll held it at his Death which was in the forty ninth year of Edward the third and transmitted it to his Son Sir Nicholas Criol from whom by a continued Succession it devolved to Sir Thomas Crioll Knight of the Garter who falling an Oblation at the Battle of St. Albans to the Cause and Quarrel of the House of York by his Daughter and Heir it came to be the Inheritance of John Fogge Esquire who left it to his Son Thomas Fogge and though he determined in two Daughters and Coheirs Alice matched to William Scot and Anne first married to Edward Scot and after to Henry Isham yet it seems to improve and continue the Name he gave this and other Lands to his Kinsman George Fogge whose Posterity enjoyed it even until our Fathers Memory and then it was alienated to Carkeredge St. Maries in the Hundred of Hoo was as appears by Sir Thomas Wisemans Evidences for I can trace not any Notice of it in Publick Records in the Raign of Edw. the fourth for no higher do the Deeds arrive at in the Hands of one William Halton who sold the same to William Lemyng Citizen and Grocer of London as appears by a Deed dated the twenty second day of October in the eighth year of the said King's Raign Afterwards I find this abovesaid Mannor in the Hands of Sir John Brooke Lord Cobham in the Raign of Henry the seventh but from whom it came to him the Evidences do not discover but
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
Nephew Sir Nicholas Miller to whom we ascribe the new Additions which are set out with all the Circumstances both of Art and Magnificence and is now possest by his Son and Heir Hump. Miller Esquire Pencehurst is seated upon the utmost Boundary of the Lowy of Tunbridge and was an eminent Mansion of a very Ancient Family whose Sirname was Penchester of whom there is mention in the Great Survey of England taken in the twentieth year of William the Conqueror vulgarly called Doomes-day Book and in this Family did the possession reside until the two Daughters and Co-heirs of the famous Sir Stephen de Penchester who was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle in the Raign of Edward the second and who died seised of it in the year of that Prince's Government Rot. Esc Numb ... divided the Inheritance Joane the eldest was matched to Henry Lord Cobham of Roundall in Shorne and she carried away Allington-castle Alice the other Daughter and Co-heir was wedded to John Lord Columbers and she had Pencehurst and other Lands for her proportion And he had Issue by her Thomas de Columbers who by his Deed dated at Pencehurst in the eleventh year of Edward the third passes away his Right in it to Sir John de Poultney and he in the twelfth year of the above-mentioned Prince obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Pencehurst and in the twentieth year of Edward the third paid Aid for it at making the Black Prince Knight and held it at his Decease which was in the twenty third year of that Prince and left it to his Son William Poultney who immediatly after alienated it to Guy Lovain who had Issue Sir Nicolas Lovain who held Pencehurst in the forty fourth year of Edward the third and married Margaret eldest Daughter to John Vere Earl of Oxford re-married to Henry Lord Beaumont and after to Sir John Devereux Knight of the Garter Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Constable of Dover-castle and Steward of the Kings House in the eleventh year of King Richard the second In the sixteenth year of whose raign he had Licence by Letters Patents to fortifie and embattel his Mansion-house at Pencehurst His Daughter and Heir was matched to Walter Lord Fitz-water from whom the Earls of Sussex descended and he had a Brother named Sir Walter Devereux from whom the late Earl of Essex was derived and the Arms of this Sir John Devereux were not long since extant in a Window on the North-side of Pencehurst Church But he only enjoyed this Mannor in Right of his Wife for after her Death it devolved to Philip St. Clere of Aldham St. Clere in Eightham who married Margaret Daughter of Sir Nicolas Lovain above-mentioned Sister and Heir to her Brother Nicolas Lovain who died without Issue And by her he had John St. Clere who passed away his Right here to John Duke of Bedford third Son to Henry the fourth and he enjoyed Pencehurst at his Decease which was in the fourteenth year of Henry the sixth but dying without Issue it came down to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester fourth Son of Henry the fourth who was strangled in the Abby of Bury by the procurement and practises of the Duke of Suffolke and he likewise going out without Posterity it returned to the Crown And Henry the sixth in the twenty fifth year of his raign granted it to Humphrey Stafford Duke of Buckingham whose infortunate Grandchild Edward Duke of Buckingham endeavouring by a specious Semblance of Vanity and Ostentation guilded with all the Cunning and Pompe of Magnificence to make himself popular and entering afterwards into Consultation with a Monk and another who pretended to the dark Art of Necromancy about the Succession of the Crown poured in so many Jealousies into the Bosome of Henry the eighth which were multiplied to the height of Treason by the malice of Cardinal Wolsey that nothing could allay or appease them but the Effusion of this mans Blood in the twelfth year of that Prince upon a Scaffold Upon whose infortunate Exit this Mannor escheated to the Crown and here it remained until King Henry the eighth granted it to his faithful Servant Sir Ralph Vane who being entangled with John Duke of Somersett in that obscure Design which was destructive to them both in the fourth year of Edward the sixth this was again seised upon by the Crown as escheated by his Conviction and remained with its Revenue until the above-said Prince in the sixth year of his Government by Royal Concession planted the Inheritance in Sir William Sidney his Tutor who was likewise Lord Chamberlain of his Houshold and one of his Privy Councel from whom it is descended to his great Grand-child the Right Honorable Robert Earl of Leicester designed Lord Lievtenant of Ireland by the late King Charles and he is the instant Proprietary of it Pencehurst Halymote is another little Mannor in this Parish and had still the same Owners with Pencehurst and upon the Tragedy of Edward Duke of Buckingham devolving by Escheat to the Crown lay couched in the Royal Revenue until the State not many years since passed it away by Grant to Colonel Robert Gibbons Pepenbury vulgarly called Pembury is seated in the Hundreds of Watchlingston and Twyford and contains within the Limits of it that noted Seat called Bayhall which was the Ancient Seat of the Ancient Family of Colepepers The first of which whom I find made eminent by Record is Thomas de Colepeper who was as appears by the Bundels of incertain years in the Pipe-Office one of the Recognitores Magnae Assisae in the raign of King John a place if we consider the Meridian of those Times for which it was calculated that is before the establishment of the Conservators of the Peace of eminent Trust and Concernment And certainly this man was Father of that Thomas Colepeper who was brought upon the Stage and his Tragedy represented at Leeds Castle where he was sacrificed to the Anger of Edward the second because he was a more faithful Castellan to the Lord Badelesmer then he was a Loyal Subject to his Soveraign and with his Life he lost his Estate here at Pepenbury Yet I find by the close Rols of the seventeenth year of Edward the second Memb. 5. that there was much of his Land here and in other places by the Indulgence of that Prince restored to his Son Thomas de Colepeper but yet the Mannor and this Seat remained lodged in the Crown yet certainly it was no contemptible parcel of Land that was granted back for Richard the second by Royal Concession gave Licence to Thomas Colepeper to inclose fifty Acres of Land into a Park at Pepenbury But to advance In the twenty fifth year of Henry the sixth the Crown devests it self of its Right to both these places and transplants it by Grant into Humphrey Stafford the Duke of Buckingham from whom they descended to his infortunate Grand-child Edward Duke of
this Family was mouldered away the Says of Coldham were interessed in the possession and Geffrey de Say possest it in the fifteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 20. The next Family in Succession to these was the Mowbrays and Elizabeth Wife of Thomas Duke of Norfolk and Daughter of Richard Earl of Arundell held it at her Decease which was in the third year of Henry the sixth Rot. Esc Num. 25. And so did her Son John Mowbray Duke of Norfolke who deceased in the eleventh year of Henry the sixth Rot. Esc Num. 129. And was descended from John Mowbray who held it as appears by ancient Court-rolls as parcel of the Barony of Bedford in the reign of Edward the second After the Mowbrays the Nevill Barons of Aburgavenny were invested in the Fee and remained seated in the possession until the reign of Q Elizabeth and then Henry Lord Nevill in the twenty ninth year dying without Issue-male it was disposed with much other Land to his Brother Sir Edward Nevill from whom it is now brought down to his Grandchild John Lord Nevill who enjoys the instant Inheritance of it Ridley in the Hundred of Acstane acknowledges it self to have been anciently a Branch of the patrimony of the Lords Leybourn and Rog. de Leybourn in the 55 th year of H. the third sells Ridley excepting the Advowson to Bartholomew VVodeton In which Family the Title was not very permanent for in the reign of Edward the third I find the VVallis's to have been its Proprietaries Augustin VVallis obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Ridley in the twenty second year of Edward the third and dyed possest of it in the twenty eighth year of that Prince's Government Rot. Esc Num. 55. After the VVallis's were expired and vanished the Rickhills held this Mannor where it was not long constant for VVilliam Rickhill about the sixteenth of Henry the sixth conveyed it by Deed to Tho. Edingham or Engham who again in the ninteenth year of the abovesaid Prince passed it away by Fine to Robert Savery from which Name not many years after it came by the same Vicissitude to be the Inheritance of Bevill in whose Descendants it remained untill the Beginning of Henry the eighth and then it was by purchase fastned to the demeasn of Fitz and VValter Fitz by Deed whose dare commences from the twenty seventh of Henry the eighth conveyed it to Will. Sidley of Southfleet Esq Ancestor to Sir Charles Sidley Baronet to whom upon the late Decease of his Brother Sir William Sidley it owns for its present Possessor Ridlingswould is a Member of Dover Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer obtained the Grant of a Market to Ridling swould and a three Dayes Fair at St. Nicolas in the ninth of Edward the 2. as appears Pat. 9. Ed. 2. N. 57. and was parcel of the Honor of Fulberts and Fulbert de Dover held it as appears by Doomes-day Book in the twentieth year of William the Conqueror in Ages of a nearer Approach to us that is in the raign of Henry the third Richard de Dover and Roesia his Wife were possest of it as appears Ex Bundellis Annor incertorum Henrici tertii Rot. Esc Num. 237. When this Family went out the Badelesmeres stept in Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer that powerful Baron obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands here in the ninth year of Edward the second and was Steward too to the Houshold of King Edward the second as appears by a Confirmation of the Charter of the City of London which bears Date from that year of Edward the second and to which he as Teste writes himself Steward of the Kings Houshold but not long after being entangled in that Combination which was made by Thomas Earl of Lancaster and sundry other Barons against that Prince he forfeited both his Estate and Life as the price of that seditious Attempt but this with much other Land was restored to his Son Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer in the second year of Edward the third but he died without Issue in the twelfth year of that Prince Rot. Esc Num. 44. So that his large Revenue was proportionably divided between his four Sisters and Co-heirs whereof this was a Limb and fell in upon the partition to the Inheritance of John Vere Earl of Oxford by Matilda de Badelesmer and he held it at his Death which was in the fortieth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 38. But in this Family it did not long continue after his Exit for in the raign of Richard the second I find Robert Belknap possest of it and enjoyed it at his Death which was in the second year of Henry the fourth after his Return from his Exilement into Ireland whither he was banished for his too active asserting the Prerogative against the Liberty of the Populacie in the tenth year of Richard the second In the second year of Richard the third I find William Belknap Esquire was in the Fruition of it at his Decease Rot. Esc Num. 16. and from him did it devolve to his Successor Sir Henry Belknap in whom this Name was extinguisht so that his Estate was resolved into several parcels which came over to Alice his Daughter and Co-heir matched to Sir William Shelley Anne married to Sir Robert Wotton and Elizabeth wedded to Sir Philip Cooke of Giddie-hall in Essex and in these Families did the complicated Interest of this place remain concentered until that Age which fell under our Grand-fathers Cognisance and then it was by joint-Concurrence passed away to Edelph from whom it is brought down to Sir ...... Edolph who holds the present Signory of it Oxney-house in this Parish was an Ancient Seat of the Noble Family of Criol Matilda Widow of Simon de Criol died possest of it in the fifty second year of Henry the third and transmitted it to Bertram de Criol who held it at his death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. After him his Son Bertram de Criol was setled in the possession but was not long liv'd after his Father for he died in the thirty fourth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 37. and left it to his Brother John Criol who dying without Issue it was brought over to his Sister Joan Criol who by matching with Sir Richard de Rokesley made it the Inheritance of that Name and Family and was in possession of it at her Death which was in the fifteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 95. From whom it came down to Thomas Lord Poynings who had espoused Agnes one of the Coheirs of them two and in Right of this Alliance was his Successor Richard Lord Poyning found invested in it at his Death which was in the fifteenth year of Richard the second Parte prima Rot. Esc Num. 53. and left it to his Kinsman Robert de Poynings who passed it away by Sale to Tame and in the fourth year of
Henry the fourth Robert Tame paid respective Aid for it at the Marriage of Blanch that Kings Daughter After Tame was worn out the Sidleys possest it and John Sidley Esquire who was Auditor to Henry the seventh added much to this House as well as to his Estate and from him is it now descended to Sir Charles Sidley Baronet whom it owns for present Lord of the Fee Ripple in the Hundred of Cornile was a Mannor which alwayes related to the Abby of St. Austins and was in the Surrender of this Abby into the Hands of Henry eighth in the twenty ninth year of that Prince found to be involved in the Demeasne of that Covent from whom it went over to the Crown and remained there until Queen Elizabeth in the thirty second year of her Government passed it away to Sir John Hall who not long after alienated his Interest here to Gokin in which Family the Propriety hath ever since continued But Watling was originally of secular Concernment and was wound up in the Patrimony of the Lord Leybourn Thomas de Leybourn enjoyed it at his Decease which was in the thirty fifth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 10. From whom it went along with the Residue of his Estate to his Son Sir Roger de Leybourn with whom the Male-Line sunk into his Sepulcher and Juliana de Leybourn was his Sole Heir and she was first matched to Iohn de Hastings and afterwards to William de Clinton Earl of Huntington but had no Issue by neither nor was there any which could by a Claim of collateral Affinity stave off the Claim and pretences of the Crown unto her Estate so that upon her Decease which was in the forty third year of Edward the third that Prince seised upon her Inheritance as an Escheat and his Granchild Richard the second granted this to the Abby of Chidrens Langley upon whose suppression it devolved with all its perquisites to the Crown and Henry the eighth granted it in the thirty fifth year of his raign to Sir Thomas Moile one of the Justices at that Time of this County from whom by Amy his Daughter and Coheir it was cemented into the Patrimony of Sir Thomas Kempe but it was not long after unsodered for in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth it was sold to William Sherley of Sussex who in our Grand-fathers Remembrance alienated it to Crayford of Mongeham whose Successor not without an eager contest commenced with one Durbon and Kidder by his Predecessor who pretended an Interest in it conveyed to them by an antecedent Judgement acknowledged by the above-said Shirley is now setled in the Possession of it River in the Hundred of Bewsborough contains two remarkable places within the Boundaries of it The first is Kersoney which was the Inheritance of a Family called Paganell or more vulgarly Paynell Isolda Wife of John Paynell held it at her Death which was in the seventeenth year of Edward the second In Times of a lower Descent I find it in the Tenure of Phineux the last of which Name at this Place was Sir John Phineux Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the raign of Henry the seventh and he determining in Daughters and Co-heirs Jane one of them by matching with John Roper of St. Dunstans Esquire made it the Patrimony of that Family from whom in our Grand-fathers Remembrance it was passed away to Best Ancestor to Mr. ...... Best of Canterbury Esquire who is the instant Proprietary of it The second is Archers-Court which gave both Seat and Sirname to a Family so called one Nicolas Archer held it in the first year of Edward the second and so did Thomas le Archer in the third year of Edward the third and left it to his Son William Archer who paid respective Aide for his Lands here at River and at Atterton and Coperland in the twentieth year of Edward the third at the making the Black Prince Knight From Archer it came to a Family called Baudrede and continued divers years in this Name until in the first year of Edward the fourth it was conveyed by Sale with Coperland to Thomas Doilie Esquire Afterwards in the raign of Henry the eighth it was exchanged with the Crown and that Prince in the thirty sixth year of his managing the English Scepter granted it to Sir James Hales in whose Family it remained until almost that Time which we entitle to our Fathers Remembrance and then a part of it was passed away by Sale to Lee but the other parcel continued constant to the Interest of Hales until not many years since not only that proportion which was in the possession of Lee but likewise that other above-mentioned were both alienated by their respective Proprietaries to Sir Hardres Waller Rodmersham in the Hundred of Milton was the Inheritance of a Family whose Sirname was Pine John de la Pine enjoyed it in the twentieth year of Henry the third as appears by private Evidences and so did James de la Pine his Grandchild who deceased in the thirty seventh year of Edward the third and left it to his Son and Heir James de la Pine a Child of nine years old at his Fathers Exit and he preserved it untill the latter end of Richard the second and then it was transmitted by Sale to Podach now called vulgarly Pordage descended originally from John de Podach who flourished as appears by an ancient Pedigree relating to this Family in the raign of Henry the third and held Lands in the County of Devon which bore his Name and was called Podach and from this above-mentioned Iohn is Mr. Tho. Pordage aliàs Podach now of Rodmersham by a multiplyed Efflux of many Descents lineally extracted and bears now the Fesse in his Coat Armour plain whereas by ancient Monuments and Seals affixed to old Evidences it is manifest his Ancestors bore it Checque Upon what Grounds the modern Alteration is establisht I confesse I know not it is enough that the Dignity of the Family is yet supported by that ancient Inheritance which they have for so many Ages and yet do possesse here at Rodmersham Pitstock in Rodmersham is a little Mannor which augmented the Revenue of the Nuns of Minster in Shepey but when that ruinous Tempest broke forth in the raign of Henry the eighth which like an Hurricano tore up by the Roots the Ecclesiastical Patrimony this was supplanted and thrown into the Demeasne of the Crown and then the abovesaid Prince in the twenty ninth year of his Rule granted it to Sir Thomas Cheyney and his Son Henry Lord Cheyney about the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth alienated it to Samuel Thornhill Esquire who upon his Decease gave it to his second Son Sir Iohn Thornhill from whom by descendant Right it is now come over to his Son and Heir Charles Thornhill Esquire Newburgh is partly situated in Rodmersham and partly in Lingsted and anciently had the Estimate of a Mannor and gave Name to a Family that
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
Inheritance of that Family and rested there until the first year of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away by Sale from Sir John Fogg Knight to Ralph Banister In Times of a lower Descent that is about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth I find it by Court-rols possest by Tucker who about the latter end of that Princess alienated his Concernment in it to Smith who in our Fathers Remembrance transplanted the Title by Sale into Doctour Fotherbie Dean of Cantorbury whose Son Mr. Charles Fotherbie continues now Proprietary of it Secondly Grove-place offers it self up to our Notice as being the Habitation of a Knightly Family called Grove who in old Deeds are sometimes written at Grove and sealed as appears by the Labells-affixed to their Evidences with three Escollops upon a Cheveron In the reign of Henry the sixth I find it devolved by Descent to Sir John Grove who was a great Benefactor to the Church of St. Peters in Sandwich where he lies buried with the Arms above-mentioned upon his Shield but not long after this Family determined in a Daughter and Heir who linked this Seat to the Inheritance of St. Nicholas who about the latter end of Edward the fourth conveyed it to Quilter in which Name it was resident until the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Linch and hath remained ever since incorporated into the Revenue of that Family so that at present it is come down to Mr. John Linch a Noble Confessor for the Interest of the Church and Protestant Religion There is a Family in this Parish called Omer which as appears by old Court-rols Tombs Deeds and other Evidences have been constantly resident almost four Hundred years Seasalter in the Hundred of Whitstaple did belong to the Priory of Christ-church but by whom it was given the Records of that Covent are silent only I find that it was part of that Revenue which supported their Diet and Table and likewise I discover that Pope Gregory the ninth in the tenth year of his Papacy by his Bull appropriated the Parsonage to the Priory above-mentioned and likewise was granted for the better improving their Lively-hood and Subsistence If you will see under what Notion it passed in the twentieth year of William the Conqueror Doomesday Book will inform you that it was valued upon the Terrier at two Carucats of Land and upon the Appraisment was rated at five pound This Mannor upon the Resignation of that Estate which related to the Convent abovesaid into the Hands of Henry the eighth was setled by that Prince on the newly erected Dean and Chapiter of Christ-church and there it remained until these calamitous Times Ellenden in this Parish belonged to the Abby of Feversham and was as the Lieger Book of that Covent informs me given to the Monks of that Cloister by John Ellenden and here it was incorporated and fixed until the publick Dissolution unhinged and unrooted it and planted it in the Crown and afterwards King Henry the eighth in the thirty fifth year of his Government granted it to Mr. Thomas Arden miserably afterwards assassinated by his Wife at Feversham and he the same year conveyed it to John Nedeham from whom it came over to his Son and Heir John Nedeham Gentleman and he in the thirty second year of Queen Elizabeth alienated it to Mr. Michael Beresford of Westerham who not long after passed it away to Sir George Newman Doctour of the Civil Law and Knighted in the sixteenth year of King James and from him by successive Right it is now descended to his Son and Heir George Newman of Rochester Esquire Seale in the Hundred of Codsheath was a Mannor which belonged to the Crown until the first year of King John and then it was passed away by Grant to Baldwin de Betun Earl of Albemard and Hawis his Daughter and Heir by matching with William Mareschall Earl of Pembroke incorporated it into his Demeasne but Gilbert Mareschall this mans Successor deceasing without Issue Roger de Bigod Earl of Norfolk in Right of Mawde his Mother who was Sister and Heir General to the abovesaid Gilbert was setled in the possession of this Mannor and he in the eleventh year of Edward the first by Gift or Donation transmits it to Otho Lord Grandison a man certainly of great power in those Times for as it appears Pat. 4. Edwardi primi he had a certain Agreement woven of sundry Articles and made between Henry the third and the King of Castile deposited in his Custody in the fourth year of Edward the first And in the fifth year of that Prince as appears Pat. 5. in seedulâ he had the Government of Jersey assigned to his Care during Life After this Family of Grandison went out which was about the Beginning of Richard the second for Thomas de Grandison dyed possest of Seale in the forty ninth year of Edward the third Parte prima Num. 62 the noble Family of Brian of Holoway in Devon was invested in the Possession and Sir William Brian or Briene for so he is styled on his Tomb dyed possest of it in the year 1395 and lyes buryed in Seale Church mailed in Armor with a Huntsmans Horn at his Head upon which the Conjecture of the Country is that he was a great Hunter when the Truth is it was placed there to signifie or denote the Tenure of some part of his Land which was in Cornage But to return the next Family which succeeded Brian in the Inheritance of Seale was the ancient Family of Fiennes and this as I find by some Court-rolls was in the reign of Henry the fourth and James Fiennes second Son of William Fiennes Esquire was the first of March in the twenty fifth of Henry the sixth summoned to the Parliament at Bury as Baron of Say and Seale but this place after this newly atchieved Honor continued not long in this Name for William Lord Say in the second year of Edward the fourth passed it away to Geffrey Boleyne Grand-father to Sir Thomas Boleyne who was made Knight of the Garter and Treasurer of the Kings House in the fifteenth created Viscount Rochford in the seventeenth and lastly raised to the Earldome of Wiltshire and Ormond in the twenty first of Henry the eighth but his infortunate Son George Viscount Rochford being beheaded and leaving no Issue it devolved to Queen Elizabeth in Right of Queen Anne her Mother one of the Sisters and Coheirs and she in the first year of her reign passes it by Grant to her Kinsman Henry Cary whose Grandchild Henry Cary Earl of Dover alienated it by Sale to Richard Sackvill Earl of Dorset who passed it away in our Fathers Memory to Richard Smith vulgarly called Dog Smith and he not many years since deceasing without Issue bequeathed the Fee-simple of it to St Thomas Hospital in Southwarke Hall-place in Seale is a second place of Account It was in the thirty sixth year of Edward the third as an
Track who had their ancient Residence at this place and sealed as high as Edward the third with a Fesse Ermin between three Goats heads erased in Labells affixed to their Deeds which was the Paternal Coat-Armour of John de Fereby for so is the Name written in ancient Muniments who flourished in the reign of Edward the second and Edward the third But this mans Posterity being desirous to transplant themselves to Pauls Crey where they had before purchased Lands called Hokinden of Dynley about the latter end of Richard the second conveyed that Estate they had here about the beginning of Henry the sixth to Waller of Grome-bridge and continued for many years folded up in the Revenue of that Family until very lately it varied its Possessor being by purchase made the Inheritance of Alderman Chiverton of London Rust-hall in this Parish had likewise Proprietaries of that Sirname one of which Family called John Rust was Maior of Feversham in the raign of Henry the sixth and there lyes entombed and about that Age. this Family surrendered their Concernment here by Sale to Waller in which Name it resided untill the forty second year of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conveyed by Richard Waller Esquire to Mr. George Stacy who not long after passed it away to Bing in which Family the Possession is at this instant fixed Ewherst is the last place which must be mentioned and indeed it is worth our Recording because this and Read in Marden was the ancient Patrimony of Read many Discents before Sir Robert Read Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the reign of Henry the seventh transplanted himself to Chiddingstone by matching with the Coheir of Alphew yet still remained Possessor of this place which he transmitted with Katharine one of his four Daughters and Coheirs matched with Sir Thomas Willoughbie and after the Title had been knit to this Family by the Links of some Discents it was by Sale not long since transferred to Knight Siberts-would vulgarly called Shepeards-well lies in the Hundred of Bewsborough and hath two places in it worth our Notice The first is West-court which was given as the Records of Christ-church testifie to Alfric the Abbot by King Etheldred in the year 944 and conveyed not long after by Scotlandus the Abbot his Successor to the Arch-bishop of Canterbury and hath been ever since as a Limbe or Branch of that See Upton-court is a second place of Repute Several old datelesse Deeds discover to us that it was in elder Times the Patrimony of a Family called Vpton from whom it is probable that the Vptons of Feversham who for many years have flourished there under a fair Estimate of Antiquity were originally descended but before the end of Edward the third this Family was crumbled away at this place and then the Goldsburghs or Goldsboroughs were invested in the Possession and remained Masters of this Seat untill the Beginning of Henry the seventh and then this Name began to moulder away into Decay and Oblivion and surrendred their Interest here by Sale to Guldford in which Name it found an aboad untill the latter end of Henry the eighth and then it was conveyed to John Bois Esquire Ancestor to John Bois of Fredvill Esq now Lord and Proprietary of it Swink-field in the Hundred of Folkstone was originally and as high as any Evidence will leave us any Track or Print to walk by to a Discovery the Possession of the noble Family of Crioll who held here two little Manors called Bouington alias Bointon and Northcourt which were both given by Nicholas Keriell or Crioll in the third year of Richard the second to one John Phineux Esquire for that Protection and Shelter which he by a Magnanimous and vigorous Assistance supplied him with even to the saving of his Life at the Battle of Polcteirs and being thus fastned to this Family the Interest of both these places continued intermingled with their Inheritance untill they came by successive Discent to be possest by John Phineux Esquire extracted from a Son by a second Wife of Sir Jo. Phineux the Judge who determined in a Daughter and Heir matched to Sir John Smith who in her right was invested in the Propriety of both these places from whom they are now come down to his Grandchild Philip Smith Viscount Strangford There was a Praeceptory here at Swingfield which belonged to the Knights Hospitallers of the Nature Capacity and Condition of which I have spoken before at Little-Peckham which upon the Suppression of their Order here in England was by Henry the eighth in the thirty third of his reign granted to Sir Anthony Aucher who not long after passed it away to Palmer descended from an ancient Family of that Sirname in Sussex so that it is now the Inheritance of Sir Henry Palmer of Wingham Baronet In the twentieth year of Edward the third John Monins held Land here and paid respective Aid for it as the Book of Aid informs me at making the Black Prince Knight I should not have mentioned this Record but to shew that this noble and eminent Family I am bold to call them so since the above-mentioned John Monins is styled in the former Record Esquire can put in its claim to as high and illustrious Descent as the most of the Families of this County can justly and primitively entitle themselves to Snodland in the Hundred of Lark-field was given to the Priory of St. Andrews in Rochester by Egbert King of the West-Saxons in the year 838 and is an Appendage to Halling being setled by Henry the eighth upon the Suppression of the former Covent on the Dean and Chapiter of Rochester The Courtlodge by the Church was as high as I can by the Guide and Direction of Evidence trace out the Palmers who as appears by very ancient Deeds sealed with a Cheveron between three Palmers Scrips William le Palmer who was Owner both of this and Rye-huose in Otford flourished here in the reign of Edward the third and stood depicted in the Church-Window with the above-recited Arms on his Tabard or Surcoat untill some rude hand defaced the Signature Another of this Name lies entombed in Snodland Church whose Epitaph alluding to his Name is registred by Weaver amongst his printed Monuments of the Diocesse of Rochester and after this Name was extinguished at this place the Leeds's were the next Family who by purchase entituled themselves to the Possession of it and I remember amongst some Church-notes of this County collected by the eminent Robert Glover Esquire there is mention of one Will. Leeds who lyes enter'd in Snodland Church with his Armes viz A Fessee between three Eagles affixed to his Graves-stone but it seems the Date Pourtraicture and Coat being insculped in Brasse were by sacrilegious Handstorn off for now there is no appearance of them nor of this Family neither who not many years since dispossessed themselves of their Interest in this place and by Sale gave it up to
was father to Will. de Septuans who was seised of it when he deceased which was in the twenty fifth year of Edw. the third but it seems it was not long permanent in the Tenure of this Name for immediately after the Gowers had it and Iohn Gower when he died was in the enjoyment of it which was in the forty third year of Edward the third from whom not many years after it was by purchase transported to Iohn Brockhul Esquire and with the Demeasn of this Family did the right of this place many years appear to be interwoven till Anne Daughter and Heir of Henry Brockhull married to Sir Iohn Taylor and then both the Name and Estate were swallowed up in this Family where the possession for sundry Ages remained till lately it was conveyed by Sale to Freake issued out from the Freakes of the County of Dorset who by marrying the Darghter of Sir Thomas Colepeper of Hollingbourne has planted himself in this County There was a Castle anciently in Thurneham which as Darel affirms in his Tract de Castellis Cantii had both its Name and Foundation from Godardus a Saxon being called Godard Castle which is so despicable an Heap that not the least Crums or Fragments continue of the Ruines which might signifie to us the lest symptome of its former strength and Grandeur Tunstall in the Hundred of Milton did about the twenty ninth of Henry the third confess it self to be under the Dominion of Walter de Grey who was Lord Paramont of this place but long did not remain invested in the Signory of it for in the forty fourth year of Henry the third I find Iohn de Burgh descended from Hubert de Burgh in the possession of it and he that year by the favourable compliance of that Prince obtained a Charter of Free-Warren to his Mannors of Norton and Tunstall but before the latter end of Edward the first this Family had deserted the Inheritance of this place and then the next which succeeded proprietarie of it was Thomas de Brotherton Earl of Norfolk who ending in Daughters and Co-heirs Margaret one of them being first matched to Iohn de Segrave and afterwards to Walter de Mayney descended from VValter de Meduana or Mayney who held twenty Knights in this County in the reign of Henry the third brought this to be the Demeasn of her second Husband Walter de Mayney a person on whom the Beams of Majestie reflected with so vigorous impression that he was summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of Edw. the third and in whom that Prince reposed so great a confidence that as Daniel represents to us in his Chronicle he and his Son Edward the Black Prince fought under his Colours in a private Habit against Monsieur de Charmy a Frenchman near Calais in Picardy in the twenty third year of his reign and deceased full of Fame and of Years in the forty fixth of that Prince but determined in Anne Mayney his Sole Inheritrix who by matching with John Hastings Earl of Pembroke linked this Mannor to his Inheritance but he dying in the thirteenth year of Richard the second Reginald Grey and Richard Talbot were found to be his Heirs and they bring a pleading in the fifteenth year of the Prince abovesaid against John le Scroope who pretended some Title to his Estate and having rescued it from collateral Claim about the beginning of Henry the fourth conveyed it to Sir Robert Knolles who in the seventh year of that Prince passed it by Fine then levied to Sir William Cromer Lord Maior of London his Son William Cromer Esquire who was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty third year of Henry the sixth and was afterwards in the twenty seventh year of that Prince barbarously assassinated by Jack Cade whilst he endeavoured to impeach that Arch-Incendiarie in his March towards London He married Elizabeth Daughter of James Fiennes Lord Say and Seal by whom he had Issue Sir James Cromer Father of Sir Will. Cromer who was Sheriff of Kent the ninteenth year of Henry the seventh and the first year of K. Henry the eighth and George Cromer who was Arch-Bishop of Armagh in Ireland This Sir William had Issue James Cromer Esquire from whom descended Will. Cromer Esq his Son and Heir who was Sheriff of Kent the ninth and twenty seventh of Q. Elizabeth and had Issue Sir James Cromer of Tunstall Knight Sheriff of Kent in the second year of K. James in whom the Male-line determined so that Francis his Daughter by his first Wife matched to Sir Mathew Carew Elizabeth his Daughter by his second Wife wedded to Sir Iohn Steed of Steed-hill and Christian born likewise by that Venter married to Sir Iohn Hales eldest Son to Sir Edward Hales of Wood-Church became his Co-heirs Upon the partition of the Estate Tunstall was shared by Sir Iohn Hales from whom it is now descended to his Son and Heir Sir Edw. Hales Baronet who lately hath begun to erect upon the ancient Foundation a Frabrick of that stupendious Magnificence that it at once obliges the eye to Admiration and Delight Vfton is a place of Repute Seated in this Parish but it is raised up to a higher estimate since we find it was anciently parcel of the patrimony of Shurland for Robert de Shurland had a concession by Charter of Free-Warren to sundry of his Lands in Kent amongst which there is a recital of Vfton afterwards in Times subsequent to this by the Heir General of Shurland it was cast into the possession of Cheyney and Will. de Casineto for so this Name is rendred in Latine Records or William Cheyney held it at his Death which was in the eighth year of Edward the third and after for many Descents it had layn included in the Interest and proprietie of Cheyney it was by a Daughter and Heir put into the Demeasn of Astley from whom again the like flux of Circumstances bore away the Inheritance and transferred it to Harlackenden the instant Lord of Vfton Gore-Court in this Parish in Times of elder Derivation was the Seat of a Family whose Sirname was At-Gore and sometimes in ancient Court-rolls written De la Gore called so from their Habitation which was situated near some publick way Gare Gate and Gore importting no more in the Saxon Dialect then some common passage But to proceed Henry At-Gore held Gore-Court when he deceased which was in the thirty first year of Edward the third and for several Generations was the Inheritance knit to his Name till the common Fatalitie of Time brought it to expire in Alice Gore the Heir General of this place and of Iohn Gore the last of the Male-line who enjoyed it and she disposed of her Concernment in it to Will. Croyden in which Family after the possession had resided it was alienated to Wood descended from the Woods of Muston in Hollingbourne in whom the right of Gore-Court continues still invested Tunbridge gives Name to that
as a Limb of the Estate thus acquired who in the fiftieth year of his reign setled it on the Abby of St. Mary Grace on Tower-hill of his Foundation and Endowment and having remained treasured up in the Revenue of that Cloister untill the general suppression it was then plucked off and by King Henry the eighth granted in the thirty first of his Reign to Thomas Green Esquire whose Descendant in our Fathers memory passed away his Concernment in it to Apsley Ham Sharpenash and West-court are three little Mannors situated within the Circuit of this Parish and were parcel of that Patrimony which related to the Abby of St. Augustins which upon the Dissolution of that Fraternity the vast Demeasn which appertained to it being more hainous in the Eyes of Henry the eighth than those Crimes and Offences though peradventure of a Complexion dark enough which were charged upon the Covent He I mean the Prince abovesaid ravished them away from the patrimony of the Church to incorporate and interweave them with the Revenue of the Crown where their Title and proprietie was not long lodged for K. Hen. the eighth conveyed them by Grant to Will. Hach descended from Hach of Aller in Devon who not long after passed them away to Tho. Green Esq written in his Deeds alià Norton where after the possession of them had some years continued the Interest of all these Mannors was by the Mutation of Sale transported into Aldersey Ancestor to Captain Terry Aldersey of Swanton Court in Bredgar now Lord of the Fee and Signory of these above recited places W. W. W. W. WAldershare in the Hundred of Eastry was in elder Times the Seat of an eminent Family called Malmains John de Malmains is recorded in an Ancient Roll of those Gentlentemen which entred England with William the Conquerour and engaged with him at the Battle of Battle John de Malmains as Mr. Fuller in his Ecclesiastical History does represent to us was Standard Bearer to the Norman Footmen and was joyned by William the Conquerour as an Assistant Knight to Otho one of the Monks of Ely Henry Malmains is registred in the Bed-roll of those Kentish Gentlemen who assisted Richard the first at the Siege of Acon See more of this Family of Malmains in the Catalogue of Sheriffs John de Malmains is registred in the Pipe rolls amongst those who were Recognitores Magnae Assisae in the reign of K. John a place of that Latitude of Trust and Authority that those who managed it were frequently selected out of the chiefest Knights and most eminent Gentlemen of the County Sir Nicholas de Malmains was engaged with Edward the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in Scotland in the twenty eighth of his reign and for his worthy undertaking there received the Dignity of Knighthood and from him did Waldershare descend to Nicholas de Malmains who died possest of this and much other Land in the twenty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 160. and from him descended Henry Malmains his Grand-child who dying about the beginning of Henry the fourth without Issue Male left his Estate here at Waldershare to Agnes his sole Daughter and Heir matched to Thomas Goldwell of Great Chart yet had this Henry a Kinsman called Thomas Malmains Son of John Malmains who had a considerable share of this Mannor of Waldershare which by his Heir General devolved to John Monins Esquire who about the beginning of Henry the sixth purchased all that Demeasn and Interest which Tho. Goldwell was entituled to here and so became sole Lord of Waldershare This John Monins was descended from John Monins who in the twentieth year of Edw. the third held Lands at Swink-field as appeats by the Book of Aid by the Title of Esquire and was allied to William Monings or Monins for in old Records they are written so promiscuously who was several times Knight of the Shire for Norfolk as appears by the Record in the Tower whose Title is De Expensis Militum in the time of Richard the second and John Monins this Mans Son was a person of so eminent Notice in this County that he obtained an Indulgence under the Seal of Sixtus the fourth bearing Date 1474 to carry along with him a Priest and a portable Altar for celebration of divine Offices in his necessary Journeyings and John Monins this Man's Grand-child and Son of Robert compounds with Tho. Hobbys in the twentieth year of Hen. the seventh for ten Marks as part of his Fine to be excused from being made Knight of the Bath at the creation of Henry his Son Prince of Wales Edward Monins Esq was Justice of the Peace for Kent the latter part of the reign of Henry the eighth and he was Ancestor to Sir William Monins who was made Knight and Baronet the twenty ninth day of June in the ninth year of K. James by the Name of Sir William Monings of Waldershare and from him is not onely this Title but likewise the signory of this Mannor now devolved by paternal right to his Son and Heir Edward Monins Baronet Walmer is a Member of Sandwich and so in no Hundred It was one of those principal Seats which owned the jurisdiction and signory of the noble and spreading Family of Crioll written frequently likewise Keriel The first whom I find to be possest of it was Matilda de Criol Widow of Simon de Crioll and she in right of Dower was in possession of it at her Death which was in the fifty second of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 34. The next of this Name whom the Beams of publick Record represent to me to be possessor of it was Nicholas de Crioll who enjoyed it at his Death which was in the thirty first of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 39. In Ages of a nearer Approach unto us Iohn de Crioll in the forty ninth year of Edward the third died seised of it and so did William Keriell in the first year of Henry the fifth Rot. Esc Num. 21. and left it to his Son Sir John Crioll of Sarre in Thanet who as an old Pedigree of this Family informs me was in eminent Command under Henry the fifth in his successful Expedition into France having the Conduct of several Kentish Squadrons at the Battle of Agincourt and died laden more with Honour then with Years in the ninth year of Henry the sixth and left Sir Thomas Crioll or Keriell Knight of the Gatter Heir both of his Estate and Virtues of whom because our Chronicles speak so much I shall not be silent He was Governor of Gourney in Normandy in the ninth year of Henry the sixth under John Duke of Bedford the Regent not farre from which Place he defeated the Earl of Britaine and in that discomfiture slew six Hundred and took two Hundred Prisoners In the fourteenth year of Henry the sixth the Duke of Burgundy infested Crotoy with a Siege which being successefully raised by the Lord Talbot Sir Thomas Keriell
and Geffrey de Camville was with Edward the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in Scotland in the twenty eighth year of his reign and there received the Order of Knighthood and here this Family concluded for afterwards I find this Mannor in the Hands of the Abbot of VVestminster who obtained a Market weekly to be held at this place on the Munday and a Fair yearly upon the Vigil the day and day after the Nativity of our Lady as appears Pat. 25. Edwardi tertii Num. 32. And here it remained with their revenue untill the Suppression of that Cloister in the reign of Henry the eighth and then being rent away by that Tempest it was in the thirty second year of that Prince granted to Sir Iohn Gresham which Concession was again confirmed to the Lady Beatrix Gresham Widow of Sir Thomas Gresham his Son by Queen Elizabeth from whom it is now devolved to Marmaduke Gresham Esq the Heir apparent of the Family Broxham is a place of eminent Account in this Parish Iohn de Insula or Isley was Lord of this Mannor and obtained a Charter of Free-warren here in the eleventh year of Edward the second After the Isleys were gon out the Ashways successively stept into the possession Stephen de Ashway obtained a Licence to inclose a Park here in the forty first year of Edward the third the Characters and Reliques of which are not so generally demolished and disparked by Time but that they are still obvious to a Curious eye yet this Priviledge could not fix it long in this Family for about the latter end of Richard the second I find it by Sale cast into the possession of Edward Lord Clinton who held it at his Decease which was in the first year of Henry the fourth Rot. Esc Num. 16. But here likewise the Title was as volatile and transitory for about the Beginning of Henry the sixth Iohn Lord Clinton passed it away to Thomas Squerie who was Lord of Squeries-court in this Parish and was descended from Iohn de Squerie whom I find by some old Evidences to have lived at Westerham in the Reign of Henry the third and it is possible either erected or very much augmented the Seat called Squeries-court The Arms viz. a Squirrel brousing on a Hasell-nut are depicted in very ancient coloured Glasse in Westerham-church but this Thomas above-mentioned dying in the seventeenth year of Henry the sixth without Issue-male Margaret his eldest Daughter matched to Sir William Cromer and Dorothy his youngest wedded to Richard Mervin of Fontels in Wiltshire became his two Coheirs and upon the division of the estate Squeries-court and Broxham were annexed to the patrimony of Cromer in which Family they made their aboad until the reign of Henry the eighth and then VVilliam Cromer Esquire having by some Delinquencie forfeited them to the Crown that Prince granted them to Thomas Cawarden or Carden Esquire from which Family about the middle of Queen Elizabeths reign they went off by Sale to Beresford who almost in our memory sold Squeries-Court to Sir George Stroud and he some few years since alienated it to Thomas Lambert Esquire who hath lately demised it to Mr ...... Leech but Broxham was conveyed to Mr. Tho. Petley of Vilston whose Grandchild Mr. ..... Petley is the Heir apparent of it Well-street and Gaysam in this Parish did anciently confess the two Families of Atwell and Shelley for its proprietaries William Atwell held Wellstreet as appears by an ancient Court-roll in the thirty fifth of Edward the third and Thomas Shelley in the forty sixth year of the same Monarch settles Gaysam by Testament on Thomas his Son and Heir who in the eighth year of Richard the second conveys it to his Son Thomas Shelley whose Descendant about the latter end of Henry the sixth demised it to John Potter and his Successor about the Beginning of Henry the fourth purchased VVellstreet of the Heirs of Cothull and is in the List of five of this Family who lye buried in Westerham-church and this Branch of the Name here was descended from Iohn Potter who held Lands at Dertford the twelfth of Edward the second and whose posterity continued Lords of these two places untill the Beginning of King James and then ...... Potter dying without Issue-male his only Daughter and Heir brought them to be the Inheritance of Sir Iohn Rivers of Chafford who not many years since demised his Interest in Well-street to Mr. Thomas Smith of Milk-street in London Scrivener Valons in this Parish was formerly the Mansion of a Family called in old datelesse Deeds de Valoniis and in English Valons but the greatest Honor which accrued to it was that Islip Abbot of VVestminster bought it in the reign of Henry the seventh of Casinghurst a Family which had been possest of it many Descents before and gave it to his Servant VVilliam Middleton who much improved it with Building And in his Family it was resident untill the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to James Verseline descended out of Flanders who gave it with his Daughter Anne Verseline to Peter Manning from which Family not many years since it passed away to Mr. Randall Manning of London whose Son and Heir Mr. Thomas Manning is now in the enjoyment of it Werd or Werth in the Hundred of Eastry is a Parish if you consider it in its precincts but narrow if in position low and unhealthful or if again in its number of Communicants not considerable but yet there are two places within the Ambuts and Boundaries of it which claim some consideration The first is the Mannor of Sandowne which was anciently the Perots who held this Mannor as the private Deeds of this Name and Family inform me as high as the Reign of Henry the third Thomas de Perot died possest of it in the fourth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 31. and then it was found fenced in and fortified with these priviledges It had Infangthef and Outfangthef Toll and Theam Sac and Soc Tumbrell and Pillory and other Franchises of the like Complexion but after this the Tenure was but of a brief Duration in this Name for the Female Heir of Perot brought this Mannor with much other Land to Langley of the County of Warwick and about the Reign of Henry the fifth there was a match between this Family and Peyton of the County of Cambridge which match at length brought this Mannor to descend to this Family For Edward Langley of Knolton Esquire deceasing about the beginning of Henry the eighth without Issue Sir Robert Peyton of Peyton Hall entred upon this and other Lands as his Heir at Law and he assigned it to his second Son John Peyton Esquire from whom it is now descended to Sir Thomas Peyton Baronet the instant proprietary of it Before I leave this Discourse of Sandowne I must inform the Reader that the Family of Peyton above mentioned and that of Ufford were primitively one and
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
an irrecoverable Ruine was in an infortunate Encounter made Captive by that Prince and being attainted of high Treason and Executed his Estate here by Escheat devolved to the Crown and was by Edward the second in the ninth of his reign granted to Bartholomew Lord Badelesmere but he having again lost it by his Revolt and Defection in the sixteenth and seventeenth years of that Prince it revolved to the Crown and continued there until K. Edward the third in the second year of his Reign restored it to Bartholomew de Badelesmer his Son who died in the twelfth year of the abovesaid Prince and left it to his Brother Giles de Badelesmer and he deceasing without Issue it accrued by Mawde one of his Sisters and Coheirs to be the Inheritance of John Vere Earl of Oxford and he held it at his Death which was in the thirty fourth year of Edw. the third and to this Family it remained by the Links of many Descents successively fastned until at last that Revolution which is made by Sale cast it into the possession of Phineux the last of which who enjoyed it was John Phineux Esquire who concluded in a Daughter and Heir called Elizabeth who by matching with Sir John Smith of Ostenhanger knit it to his Estate from whom by the Devolution of Descent it is now come to confess for proprietary the right honourable Philip Viscount Strangford his Grand-child Secondly there is Chestfield which was the Mansion of a Family which bore that Sirname and although I can trace none higher by any publick Record then James Chestfield who paid respective Aid for it at the making the Black Prince Knight as is manifest by the Book of Aid collected in the twentieth of Edward the third yet it is upon possible Conjectures to be argued that they were farre more ancient here because they assumed their Denomination from this Seat from Chestfield about the latter end of the Government of Richard the second it came over by purchase to Henry Reyner but whether he issued from Borden or the Reyners of Borden from him I cannot discover but it is very probable he determined in four Daughters and Coheirs matched to Edmund Meade Jo. Badkin John Reynolds and John Springate who concurred in one united Consent and by one common conveyance demised their Interest in it to John Roper of St. Dunstans from whom Edward Roper Esquire now of Well-hall in Eltham claims the instaut Demeasn and Signory of it The third is Grimgill so vulgarly called but originally and more properly Greenshield for so it is in Records of an elder Aspect alwayes written It was the Seat of a Family that was known by that Appellation and although the Breviat of the private Evidences which relate to it discover to us owners of the Name no higher then John Greenshield who flourished here about the entrance into the reign of Henry the sixth and who was Father to Henry Greenshield whose Will is Registred at Canterbury and which bears Date from the last of Edward the fourth yet it is more then probable that they were eminent here long before because the above-recited John and Henry Greenshields were Lords of no despicable or narrow fortune not onely here but about Sandwich and Wodnesborough likewise from Greenshield by sale the propriety passed over to Quekes of Quekes in Birchington who suddenly after being extinguished in a Daughter and Heir all his Interest in Grimgill was with her transported in Marriage to Crispe originally extracted out of the County of Glocester and Nicholas Crispe Esquire held his Shrievalty here which was in the second year of Q. Elizabeth from Crispe it was by purchase conveyed into the Revenue of Paramour where after it had for several years been fixed it was very lately taken off from this Family and by Sale made the Possession of Mr. Twiman of Canterbury Fourthly here was Condies-place which was the Residence of John Condie who had in the reign of Edward the third contracted upon himself which is yet indelibly fixed upon his Memory a Character of high Account because he had made an eminent Enemie of the Kings Captive in Congressu Bellico those are the words of the Record in a personal Combat for which he had thirty pound per Annum setled upon him out of the Kings Profits of the Staple at Canterbury by Charter or Grant from Edward the third dated the seventh day of July in the fourteenth year of his reign Now if you will know where this memorable Action was commenced the same Record will inform you that the Scene of it was laid at Swine in Normandy But to proceed this Man not long after he was thus adorned with these Tophies of Honour paid that Debt to Nature which we all owe and left Condies Hall to his Son William Condy who dying without any lawful Issue Margaret Condy one of his Sisters became his Co-heir who by her espousals with Robert Grubbe made Condies Hall parcel of his Demeasn but he likewise in the Age subsequent to this determining in Females Agnes one of his Coheirs being wedded to John Isaack of Blackmanbery in Bridge did much swell and improve his Patrimony with that Additional Estate she united to his and here in this Name was the possession for sundry Descents resident even till our Fathers Memory But here for want of Intelligence I can proceed no farther and indeed the Place being fallen from its original Name by Disuse and that Repute it was under when it was possest by so noble proprietaries is now onely fit to find the Common Sepulcher of Oblivion Wicheling in the Hundred of Eyhorne was folded up in the Patrimony of the noble Family of Cobham of Sterborough issued out fâ—om the Cobhams of Cobham Hall and of this Family was Reginald de Cobham who was frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of Edward the third and from this worthy person did this Mannor by successive Devolution come down to Thomas Lord Cobham of Sterborough who deceased in the eleventh of Edward the fourth and left his Estate here and elsewhere to Anne his sole Daughter and Heir marched to Edward Lord Borough called to sit in Parliament as Baron of Sterborough and Gainsborough in the reign of Henry the seventh and from him both the Title of Baron and of this Mannor flowed down successively to his Grandchild Thomas Lord Borough who passed away the Inheritance to Edward Filmer Esquire whose Grand-child Sir Edward Filmer in relation to that purchase challenges the instant right and revenue of it Willesborough in the Hundreds of Chart and Longbridge has nothing to make it memorable but that it was a principal piece of that revenue which in this County related to the noble and ancient Family of Brent of which was Falcatius de Brent a man whom our English History pencils out to us under a Character of the most perfect Courage and Magnanimity though disordered with some wild Sallies and Excesses which
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
the first Sir John de Savage obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Werdon But before the middle of Edward the third this Family had surrendered their Interest here to Fremingham for John de Fremingham dyed seised of it in the twenty third year of Edward the third but whether it devolved with other Land by the Heir general of Fremingham to Isley or not is incertain because those privtae evidences which relate to this Mannor extend no higher then the reign of Edward the fourth and then I find the propriety of it in Norton in which Family after the possession had resided untill our times it was conveyed to Edmund Tooke of Dartford Esq Barrister at Law now proprietary of it Thanet lies if not all yet most part of it circumscribed within the Hundred of Ringleslow It is styled in Greek by ancient Authors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine Thanetum and in the Saxon it is curtailed into Thanet which an old Manuscript which I have seen deduces from two Saxon Words Thane and Yete which in that Language then implyed as much as the Lords-Entrance but for my particular I believe that the Saxons when upon the Donation of it to them by Vortiger they first entered into this Island finding that Thanetum was a Latine Name imposed upon it by the Romans who had but newly then deserted the Protection of this Island new-softned the Name by contracting it and then quilted it into the Alphabet of their own Language and called it Thanett and that this is probable I shall evince from circumstances Punio in Latine signifies to punish from whence the Saxons styled that place by Maidstone where they punished Malefactors Pinandun Hoath So Castrum was a Name used by the Romans to signifie or expresse any Castle or Fortresse which the Saxons upon their admission into this Island finding it to be imposed upon all places of strength and importance adopted it into their Dialect and from the word Castrum extracted the word Ceaster I could instance in many other particulars but that I should both weary my Reader and clog this Discourse with Superfluities I shall therefore from the untwisting the Name descend to the Description of the Island Serre now vulgarly called Sarre is the first place of Note which offers it self up to a view It was anciently a Parish untill peradventure the unhealthinesse of the Soile for it now confines upon Marishes where formerly glided that Gullet of Sea-water now wholly stifled with Sand which made Thanett an Island as may plainly appear by an ancient Mapp printed by the original and now extant in the Book called Monasticum Anglicanum or else from the insalubrity of the Air which being polluted with those black and foggie vapours which ascend from a loose and soggie earth very frequently leave a venomous Tincture upon the Blood and Spirits of those Inhabitants who are subject to the impression of such pernicious exhalations forced those who dwelt in Serre to abandon so sickly a Habitation and so the Parish by degrees began to languish away into that Solitude we see it is shrunk into at present The Church was dedicated to St. Giles but at present lies entombed in such forgotten Ruines that scarce the least Remains are visible The Mannor it self was one of the ancient Seats of the noble Family of Crioll Bertram de Crioll augments the Register of those Kentish Gentlemen who were with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon in Palestine Bartholomew de Crioll another of this Name and Family was Lieutenant of Dover-castle under the abovesaid Prince Simon de Crioll was with Edward the first at his prosperous Siege of Carlaverock and for his generous Assistance there received the Order of Knighthood and from him it came down to Sir William Crioll Father to Sir John Crioll who held it in the Beginning of Henry the sixth as appears Pat. 9. Hen. 6. Par. prim Memb. 19. And from him was it transmitted to his Son Sir Thomas Keriell Knight of the Garter a Man of that worth and eminence in that time he lived in that I might seem something to obscure his Glory if I should not represent to the Reader some of those honorable Atchievements which he performed in France the Relation of which I have omitted in my Description of Stockbury and Walmer In the ninth year of Henry the sixth he being Governour of Gourney in Normandy issuedout of that place and harassed not only that Province but fought with the Earl of Bretaigne who was sent to oppose his Eruptions and after a sharp Combat gave him a remarkable discomfiture killing about six hundred and captivating two hundred Soldiers In the fifteenth of Henry the sixth he seised upon the Duke of Burgundie's Carriages and Cannons leaving Cretoy a Fortresse then in possession of the English and not long before distressed by the abovesaid Duke furnished with victual for six hundred men for the space of a twelvemonth And lastly in the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth he was sent over into France with a supply of 1500 men to recruit the English Army where he did as much with so small a quantity of men as could be expected from humane Courage and having reduced some pieces of strength he encountered the Earl of Clermont at a place called Formigney where being overlaid with Multitude after he had given most signal Testimony of his valour and discharged all those duties which might have secured and preserved the Honor of the English Nation and the Glory of the day by which he declared himself to be not only a prudent Man but an expert Commander he was defeated But to proceed after the Family of Crioll went out from the possession of this place which was before the latter end of Henry the sixth John White Esquire became Lord of the Fee and held it at his Death which was in the ninth year of Edward the fourth but after his Decease it was not long resident in this Name for in the reign of Henry the seventh and Henry the eighth I find it the Inheritance of Bere and was fixed in this Family untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was passed away by Sale to Rush ancestor to Sir Francis Rush who not many years since concluding in two Daughters and Coheirs one of them by matching with Sir George Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse in York-shire third Brother to Sir Thomas Wentworth late Earl of Stafford hath made it his instant patrimony Downebarton is the next place which occurs and challenges our Survey There was a Family Sirnamed Exeter that had large possessions at or neer this place and were planted in the Tenure of them many Centuries of years In the fourth year of Henry the sixth Margaret Widow of John Exeter held Lands at Downebarton in Right of Dower as appears by an Inquisition taken after her death which commences from that time But the principal Honor this place anciently recieved was that it was a
of Northumberland and then again l. 30. the fourth year of Edward the sixth r. the first year of Q. Mary In Biddenden p. 77. l. 28. for Sir Anthony Mayney Knight and Baronet r. Sir Anthony Mayney Knight In Bidborough p. 78. l. 36. for conveyed it r. conveyed the whole Mannor At VVevering in Boxley p. 90. l. 2. the twenty fourth of Q. Mary r. the second of Q. Mary In my Description of Dodingdale at Canterbury p. 94. l. 13. John Bentham r. John Betenham In my Description of the Dungeon at Canterbury the same page l. 29. for par Cirocearum r. par Chirothecarum In Chalk p. 96. l. 52. for and that Prince afterwards devolved it to Sir George Brook r. and from that Prince it afterwards devolved by Grant to George Lord Brook In Chilham p. 116. l. 12. to his Son Giles de Badelesmer r. to his Brother Giles de Badelesmer In Dartford p. 128. l. 19. for Edw. Darcy Esq r. Sir Edward Darcy Knight l. 20. VVill. Gough r. Will. Gouge In Horsemans place at Dartford the same page l. 53. for 30th year r. 38th year l. 55 46. Twislton r. Twissleton At Newhall in Dimchurch p. 131. l. 52. one and twenty Lords r. four and twenty Lords In Clavertie in Elham p. 140. l. 24. for Sir Henry Hamon r. Sir Henry Heyman In Eightham p. 141. l. 11. for one of the Lords of Holland r. one of the Earls of Holland In Farleigh p. 150. l. 25 and 26. for Thomas Floyd of Gore Court in Otham Esquire r. Mr. Robert Newton of London Grocer In my Description of Blackheath p. 163. l. 57. for John Tiler r. Wat. Tiler In Egerton in Godmersham p. 171. l. 7 and 8. for Joan his Sole Daughter r. Joan his Daughter and Co-heir for indeed so she was for Jo. Comin Earl of Badzenoth died and left two Daughters and Co-heirs Joan was matched to David de Strabolgie and Elizabeth was wedded to Richard Talbot In my Description of Kingston by Barham p. 205. l. 55. for to his Son and Heir Giles r. to his Brother and Heir Giles At West-Halks in Kingsnoth p. 208. l. 41. for his second Son r. his fourth Son In my Description of Brising at Langley pag. 212. l. 11. for Leven Buffkin r. Ralph Buffkin In Apulton and Southwould at East-Langdon p. 211. l. 5. for Edward the third r. Edward the second In my Description of Leeds Castle p. 214. l. 8. for his Son r. his great Grandchild In my Description of Goulds and Shepway at Maidston p. 223. l. 8. for to Sir Walter and Gervas Henley Esquire r. to Thomas Henley Esq leaving out Sir Walter In Sheals at Maidston p. 223. l. 45. for Walter Henley Esquire r. Thomas Henley Esquire In my Description of Parrocks and Ewell at West-Malling p. 232. l. 19. for the last of which r. the first of which In Hogshaws at Milsted p. 239. l. 11. for Sir Jo. Took r. Mr. Jo. Took In Milton Septuans p. 239. l. 34. for Sir Thomas Fogge r. Sir Francis Fogge and then l. 38. for Sir Rob. Honywood r. Mr. Rob. Honywood In my Description of St. Mary Crey at Orpington p. 260. l. 39. it came is left out and then l. 41. Richard the second is omitted In Gore Court in Otham p. 263. l. 54. for by purchase made the Inheritance of Thomas Floyd Esq r. by purchase made the Demeasn of Nathaniel Powell Esquire who not many years since conveyed it to Thomas Floyd Esquire Since my writing this Book I find that Sir Walter and Thomas Henley his Brother purchased Land at Otham and Gore Court of Sir Henry Isley before his Attaint that at Otham descended to the Successors of Thomas Henley that at Gore Court devolved to Colepeper who had married one of the Co-heirs of Sir Walter Henley In Archers Court at River p. 282. l. 53. this must be added But part of Archers Court was by Bandred or Brandred in the reign of Edward the fourth conveyed it to Sir George Browne of Bechworth Castle whose Successor Sir Thomas Browne alienated it to Mr. Isaac Honywood who dying without Issue bequeathed it to his Nephew Col. Henry Honywood Esquire now proprietary of it the Mannor of Archers Court with the Demeasn annexed to it holds in grand Serjeantie with this Condition united a strange one that the present Owner or Owners should hold the Kings Head when he passes to Calais and by the working of the Sea should be obliged to vomit In Swanscampe p. 307. l. 42 43. for the fourteenth of Richard the second r. the thirteenth of Richard the second and then again the same page l. 45. this is omitted who had before a considerable Interest in Swanscampe by Descent from his Ancestor Richard Tabot who had married Elizabeth one of the two Co-heirs of Jo. Comin Earl of Badzenoth and Joan his Wife one of the Sisters and Co-heirs of Aymer de Valence Earl of Pembroke and Lord of Swanscampe At West-Well p. 355. l. 15 16. for and so it rested in the Crown until not many years since it was granted to Sir Nicholas Tufton of Hothfied r. and was exchanged with Thomas Arch-Bishop of Canterbury by the Crown in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth whose Predecessors had a large share in it long before but was again reassumed by Q. Elizabeth in the Vacancy of that Sea and afterwards it rested in the Crown until almost our Memory and then it was granted away to Sir Nicholas Tufton of Hothfield Father to the right honourable Io. Earl of Thanet now proprietary of it There are some other Mistakes in this Work as at Uphery in Gillingham p. 168. it is printed that Sir Henry Cheney exchanged that Mannor with Q. Elizabeth and she passed it away to Sir Edward Hobby upon a second Review I find it was not exchanged but conveyed by Sale in the sixteenth year of that Princess by Sir Henry Cheyney to Dr. Alexander Nowell Dean of Pauls At Potts Court in Babchild Bradhurst Queen Court in Ospringe More Court in Reynham Pitstock in Rodmersham and the Island of Hartie Samuel Thornhill r. Richard Thornhill which Richard was Father to Mr. Samuel Thornhill Grand Father to Sir Timothy Thornhill and Sir Io. Thornhill and great grandfather to Col. Rich. Thornhill eldest Son of Sir Timothy which Col. Richard is lately deceased and Charles Thornhill Esquire Son and Heir of Sir Iohn now surviving whose great Grandfather Mr. Richard Thornhill above mentioned purchased Mere Court in the twelfth year of Queen Elizabeth and Potts Court Bradherst Quene Court in Ospringe Pitstock and Hartie in the thirteenth year of that Princess of Sir Hen. Cheyney and made his Son Samuel joint purchaser with him At Pencehurst what I have written concerning the Mannor of Pencehurst Halymote p. 270. must be retracted and altered and read thus Pencehurst Halymote alias Otford VVild was anciently held in Lease by the Successive Lords of Pencehurst of the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury as being
original In Ages of a lower step these Comites were frequently call'd Reguli In Cantia saith Malmsbury Omnis justitia laborabat sub cujusdam Gorongiregimine qui tamen sicut omnes Reguli insulae Vortigerno substernebantur Afterwards when Hengist had establish'd his Kentish Kingdome the Title of Earl began to commence in Otho and Ebusa Brothers to the abovesaid Hengist as the same Malmesbury observes in his Tract de Gestis Regum Cap. 3. And the Title of Earl was anciently expressed by the word Comes amongst the Saxons for to King Ethelberts Charter for the foundation of the Abby of St. Augustins cited by Reynerus there are these subscriptions Ego Hamigilus Dux laudavi and then Ego Ocea Comes consensi Ego Graphio Comes benedixi and there is an old Epitaph quoted by Mr. Selden in his Titles of Honour the substance of which is this that Alwain which was Founder of Ramsey-Abby was Comes Aldermannus totius Angliae but in decursion of Time this word Eolderman being used by others besides those to whom it was proper and analogical it began to languish into disuse and the Title of Thane and Earl was assumed which last hath remained in force untill this day Now the relief of a Thane who was certainly an Earl by office rather then Title if he were of the first rank that is had the custody of some County under the King which he paid to the Crown was four Horses two sadled and two unsadled two Swords and four Spears and as many Shields And if he were of the second rank he paid two Horses one sadled and one unsadled one Sword two Lances as many Shields and fifty Marks in Silver sometimes if he were a Thane of an inferior rank he paid eight-pound and frequently three-pound The relief which an Earl paid constantly to the Crown after the Norman Conquest was as Mr. Selden in his Titles of Honour does demonstrate out of severall Records was an Hundred pound Now the benefit which did accrue to the Count or Earl besides a Barren and naked Title to support the dignity of his Person in its due Magnificence and Splendor was the third penny arising out of the Profits of the County Algar Earl of Mercland as Dooms-day Book informs us had the third penny of the County of Oxford and the Borough of Stafford under Edward the Confessor And Mawde the Empresse when she created Milo Earl of Hereford assigned to him for the support of his Honor the third penny of that County Many examples of the like condition are discoverable in Mr. Selden's Titles of Honour whither I refer the Reader And as they had the third penny so they had frequently the Castle of the County annexed to their Title but when by experience the Kings of England were instructed how fatally pernicious it was to have so many local powers concurrent with theirs that by the strength of their retreat and the number of confederates and Partisans seem'd even to out-poise the Royal Authority it was by a Statute made in the 13 th year of Richard the 2 d. for the future interdicted and prohibited Now if you will enquire when Earls or Counts from being absolute became Feudal Sr. Henry Spelman in his Glossarie will tell you that it was Tempore Othonum sub excessu Merovinae stirpis in Galliâ that is about the year onet housand Now as concerning the Ensigns of Investiture with which the Earl was created it was anciently only with the Cincture of a Sword but about the latter end of Edward the first the Coronet began to be in use for Aymer de Vallence Earl of Pembrook who died in the 16 th year of Edward the 2 d. had one as appears by an instrument of William de Lavenham cited by Mr. Selden in his Titles of Honour by which he acknowledges the receit of it from Sr. Henry Stacheden in the 12 th year of Edward the 2 d. Richard Earl of Arundel died in the 49 th year of Edward the 3 d. and by his last Will dated the fifth of December gives his Noblest and Richest Coronet to his Son the Lord Richard Fitz-allan his second to the Lady Joan his eldest and the 3 d. he bequeaths to the Lady Alice his youngest Daughter What the Counts Palatine were I shall now demonstrate they were taken immediately à Palatio from whence they assum'd their name and were customarily such as had the nearest relation to the Prince either by friendship or Affinity and to whose care and administration he did entrust such or such a Province and the more to improve and enable them in the discharge of their Duty did unite some privileges and Franchises to their office as erecting Courts of Judicature appointing Judges to sit in them and determine by signal decision upon causes both Criminal and Civil and others of the like nature that were of that luxutiant latitude that they had the Stamp and Character of something which resembled Regality fixt upon them He that will discover by example more of this honorary Title may read Mr. Seldens Titles of Honor whither to decline all superfluity of discourse I refer to the Reader I have now done with the Title I shall now proceed to unwind the Register of those who were Earls of Kent subsequent to Earl Godwin 1067 1 Odo Bishop of Baieux halfe Brother to William the Conquerer Lord chief Justice and Lord Treasurer of England 1141 2 William de Ipre 1227 3 Hubert de Burg Lord Chief Justice of England 1321 4 Edmund de woodstock Son to King Edward the first 1330 5 Edmund Plantaginet 1333 6 John Plantaget  7 Thomas Holland Earl of Kent in right of Joan his wife who was Daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1360 8 Thomas Holland 1397 9 Thomas Holland Duke of Surry 1400 10 Thomas Holland Lord High Admiral of England 1461 11 Will. Nevill Lord Fauconbridge 1464 12 Edmund Grey Lord Ruthin Lord Treasurer of England created Earl of Kent by King Edward the 4 th  13 George Grey  14 Richard Grey  15 Reginald Grey  16 Henry Grey  17 Charles Grey  18 Henry Grey  19 Anthony Grey Clerk Parson of Burbage in the County of Leicester Grandchild of Anthony 3 d. Son of George Earl of Kent above mentioned  20 Henry Grey  21 Anthony Grey Earl of Kent now living 1658. but in his Minority Having represented in Prospect the Comites and Consules the Earls and Consuls which were originally to manage those Provinces subordinate to the Romane Government I shall now take cognisance of those which were anciently styl'd Vice Comites Proconsules and had care of the Provincial revenue in relation to which they were term'd Questores Provinciarum and the jurisdiction of some Causes only as our Sheriffs have of divers Actions Viscontiel and inquiry of Causes Criminal but not determination of them In the Saxon times they were sometimes call'd Ealdormen and in Latine Vice Comites which was applyed
of Huntingdon and Cambridge the 16th and 17th of King John and Sheriff of Lincoln six or seven years together The Earls of Warwick were often Sheriffs of Warwick and Leicester-shire under Edward the 3 d. and also of the County of Worcester most part of that Kings Reign indeed the office of Sheriff was so frequent in that Family that it almost appear'd to be Hereditary to the Beauchamps Ralph Earl of Chester was Sheriff of that County the first of Henry the third and of the County of Lancaster the second year of the same King Walter Lord Arch-Bishop of York was Sheriff of Nottingham the fifty fourth and fifty fifth of K. Henry the third and Hugo de Stapleford was his Shire-Clerk Hillarius Bishop of Lincoln was Sheriff of Lincolnshire the ninth tenth eleventh twelfth and thirteenth of Henry the third and Ralph Regnald was his Shire-Clerk Hillarius Bishop of Chichester was Sheriff of Sussex and Surry the eight of Henry the second Richard Bishop of Salisbury was often Sheriff of the County of Dorset under Henry the third and of Hampshire at the same time Joceline Bishop of Bath was Sheriff of Somerset under Henry the third and Peter Bishop of Winchester the first eigth years of Henry the third Walter Bishop of Carlisle was frequently Sheriff of Cumberland under Henry the third and Robert his successor was often Sheriff of the same County under Edward the first and both of them had their Shire-Clerks Walter Bishop of Coventry and Liechfield was often in this office under Richard the first in the County of Stafford Ralph Abbott of Michelen was Sheriff of the Counties of Somersett and Dorset the seventh of Henry the third Many more Presidents of this Nature could be unfolded but I think these are competent Testimonies enough to discover both the Dignity and Eminence of this ancient and illustrous office only this may be deduc'd from these examples That some Counties heretofore were joyned with their next Neighbors for ease of the service as Sussex and Surry Devon and Cornwall Somerset and Dorset Hampshire and Wilts Warwick and Leicester Cambridge and Huntingdon Norfolk and Suffolk Essex and Hartford c. most of which were separated by Queen Elizabeth and the rest taken in sunder by the late King Charles I shall now endevour to unravel the Catalogue of the Sheriffs of Kent as I find them Registred either in the Pipe-Rolls or other Evidences and I have as much as posibly I could Recorded the places where they inhabited which will much improve and inforce that light which I am to distribute to the world in Relation to those places I am in my subsequent discourse to treat upon And first I find Osward a Saxon held divers Lands in Kent as Herst Hagalei Norton Chert Stepedon with Tunsdal and Tong during the Reign of Edward the Confessor all which Lands were in the Conquerors Time possest by Hugo de Port This Osward also held Delce Hadon Alneiton and Har Sham. He was Sheriff of Kent under the Confessor as appears by the prime Record of the Nation Domes day Book where speaking of Tarentford in Axtan Hundred it is thus entred Homines de in Hundredo testificantur quod de isto Manerio Regis ablatum est unum Pratum unum Alnetum unum Molendinum XX. acrae Prati c. Dicunt etiam quod Osward tunc Vicecomes praestitit ea Alestano Praeposito London modo tenet Heltus Dapifer Nepos ejus Hamo and as frequently Hanno Lord of Marourd in the Hundred of Littlefield and of Blen in the Hundred of Whitstaple and Lavinton in the Hundred of Downhamford of Estursete Briested now I take Brasted Nettlested Ditton and divers other Lands in Kent was Sheriff at the Time of the General Survey entred by the Conqueror into his Domes day Book The Records of Christ Church and the Deeds of the Hospital of St. Lawrence near Canterbury prove that Hamo Son of Etardes de Crevequer did in the Reign of Richard the first and K. John hold divers of the Lands if not all above recited He continued Sheriff as then was very usual during life which was enlarged untill about the middle of Henry the first for in the year 10111 which is the 11th of Henry the first Hugh Abbot of St. Augustins granted Bodesham and Smethetum to this Hamo Quod ipse as sayes the Deed si opus fuerit Ecclesiae mihi vel successoribus meis de praedictis in Comitatu vel in Curia Regis contra aliquem Baronem consulat adjuvet succurrat exceptis Dominis suis quorum Homo manibus suis fuerit At the same time this Hamo restored to the same Abby in the Town of Fordwich in this Form Hamo Cantii Vicecomes Henrici Regis Anglorum Dapifer timore Dei ductus reddo Deo Sancto Petro Apostolorum Principi Sancto Augustino Anglorum Apostolo Abbati Hugoni Fratribus ejusdem loci Villam de Fordwich Hanc Donationem meam per Psalterium Sancti Augustini per cultellum meum super principale Altare ejusdem Ecclesiae manibus meis misi c. William de Aynsford was Sheriff of Kent after Hamo in the Reign of Henry the first for in the Chartularies of St. Augustin in Canterbury I find a Transcript of the Kings writ thus Henricus Rex Anglorum Willielmo de Aynsford salutem fac juste habere Abbati de Sancto Augustino consuetudinem suam de Niwentonâ in Denariis Averiis operationibus c. And the Deed from William Son to Henry the first is here entred and imports as much as the former Willielmus Filius Regis Willielmo Vice Comiti de Kent salutem Fac recognosci per Homines Hundredi de Middletuna quas consuetudines in Villâ de Niventonâ c. This Family of Ainsford ended about Edward the first and one of this Name was Sheriff of London Norman Fitz Dering was Sheriff of Kent under K. Stephen unto whom Queen Maud directed her Writ concerning some Land given by her to the Nun Helmida ad faciendam Domum suam in Elemosinam apud Fauresham post Mortem ejus Volo saith the Queen ut Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae de Fauresham pro salute Domini mei Regis Stephani meâ Filiorum nostrornm Statu Regni nostri habeat praefatam Terram in perpetuum He and his Brother Godred Fitz Dering are Teste to a Deed of their Brother Osbert de Morinis so called because his Brother was a Fleming which Deed is Registerd in the Chartularies of Saint Augustins wherein he to that Abby gives six Acres and an half of Land in Thanet for the supply of a Light in the Chapel of St. Mildred within the Abby aforesaid Pro salute Animae suae Animi Uxoris ejus Ermelinae in Honorem Sanctae Virginis Mildrethae This Norman Fitz Dering held Lands at Ashford East Farleigh Lese Bircholt and Bedesham Rualonus or Ruallo de Valoigns was Sheriff of Kent
in the first year of K. Henry the second in the year of our Lord 1154 as appears by the Records of the Pipe Office which I must now exactly trace where the Sheriffs Accounts are inrolled His Seat was at Swerdlin in Petham and sometime at Tremworth in Bocton Alulph Ralph Picot was Sheriff the second third fourth fifth sixth and seventh years of K. Henry the second Adam Picot supplied part of the last year and Hugh de Dover the rest Hugh de Dover descended from Fulbert de Dover to whom the Castle of Chilham with the Mannor of Kingston and other Knights Fees were granted by K. William the Conqueror in Defence of Dover Castle was Sheriff of Kent the eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth and fourteenth years of Henry the second His Residence was sometimes at Chilham Castle and sometimes at Kingston Gervas de Cornhill was Sheriff of Kent the fifteenth sixteenth seventeenth eighteenth ninteenth and twentieth of Henry the second His Seat was Lukedale in Littlebourn Robert Fitz Bernard was joyned with Gervas de Cornhill in the twenty first of Henry the second and after that year was expired he exercised the Office alone till the thirtieth of the said Kings Reign His Capital Mansion was Kingsdown near Ferningham Arnoldus but of what Family is not yet discovered was Sheriff of Kent the twentieth second of Henry the second William Fitz Neal was Sheriff of Kent the thirtieth of Henry the second and Will. Fitz Philip was joyned with him Where his Residence was is incertain Allan de Valoigns was Sheriff of Kent the thirty first thirty second thirty third and thirty fourth of Henry the second His Seat was frequently at Swerdlin in Petham and often at Repton in Ashford Henry de Cornhill Son to Gervas de Cornhill above recited was Sheriff of Kent in the first second and third years of Richard the first His Seat was at Lukedale Reginald de Cornhill was Sheriff of Kent the fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth and last year of K. Richard the first and during the whole Reign of K. John and in the twelfth year of his Reign John Fitz Vinon of Haring in Selling Juxta Hyth was joyned to him for Execution of the said Office in Kent His Seat was at that Mansion in Minster in Thanet Which at this instant from his being so constantly Sheriff preserves the Appellation of the Sheriffs Court Hubert de Burgo that great subject which was afterwards Earl of Kent Constable of the Castle of Dover and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was Sheriff of Kent in the first second third fourth fifth sixth and seventh of K. Henry the third during which Time one Hugh de Windlesore whose Estate lay at Werehorn was joyned to him as his Assistant In the eight year of K. Henry the third Roger Grimstone was joyned with him as his Assistant and continued so the eighth ninth and tenth years of King Henry the third In the eleventh of the said Kings Reign William Brito was joyned unto Him and continued his Assistant in that Office till the seventeenth of King Hen. the third Bartholomew de Criol Lord of Ostenhanger was Sheriff of Kent from the seventeenth to the twenty fourth year of K. Henry the third Humphrey de Bohum Earl of Essex was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty fourth and twenty fifth of K. Henry the third He was at that Time possessed of the Mannour of Bilsington in this County as I find by a Fine levied by him of the said Mannour the twenty fourth of Henry the third Peter de Sabaudiae or Savoy being Earl of Savoy and Uncle by the Mothers side unto Eleanor the wife of K. Henry the third was made Earl of Richmond in York-shire and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports He dwelt in the House in the Strand from him named the Savoy He was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty sixth of K. Henry the third and Bertram de Criol was joyned with Him Bertram de Criol of Ostenhanger in Relation to that vast Estate which accrued to him by matching with Eleanor one of the Daughters and Coheirs of Hamon Crevequer Lord of Leeds Castle and of Matilda his wife Daughter and Heir of William de Averings Lord of Folkston was called the great Lord of Kent held the Office of Sheriff the twenty seventh of Henry the third and John de Cobham was joyned with him that year But the twenty eighth twenty ninth thirtieth thirty first and thirty second years of Henry the third he held the Place alone Reginald de Cobham was Sheriff of Kent from the beginning of the thirty third of Henry the third to the end of the fortieth of Henry the third and in the forty first of Henry the third one Walter de Bersted was joyned with him in the Execution of that Office he died the forty second of Henry the third and Roger de Northwood and his other Executors answered for the Remainder of that year This Walter de Bersted was Constable of the Castle of Dover the forty sixth of Henry the third Hugh de Monfort the Kings Nephew had the Custody of the County of Kent and the Hundred of Milton granted to him in the forty second of Henry the third Pat. 48. Mem. 12. Fulk Peyforer was Sheriff and Custos of Kent the forty third of Henry the third His Seat was sometimes at North Court in Eseling and sometimes at Colbrige in Boughton Malherbe Jo. de Cobham was Sheriff of Kent the forty fourth of Henry the third He served the first Part of the forty fifth and Robert Waller served the rest and Walter de Redmarleg was under him Robert Waller and Thomas Delaway under him held the Sherivaltie of Kent the forty sixth and forty seventh of Henry the third His Seat was at Monkton in Thanet Roger de Leybourn was Sheriff of Kent the forty eighth of Henry the third and Fulk Peyforer was Custos of the County the latter part of that year and three parts of the year forty ninth In the fiftieth year John de Bourn was joyned unto him and so continued till the fifty second of Henry the third and Fulk de Peyforer was Custos of the County again the last three parts of that year His Seat was at Leybourn Castle in Kent Stephen de Penchester was High Sheriff of Kent the fifty third and fifty fourth of K. Henry the third and Henry de Leeds was his Assistant or Shire Clerk His Seat was at Pencehurst Henry Malmains of Pluckley and Waldershare was Sheriff the fifty sixth of Henry the third and continued part of the first year of K. Edward the first in which Office he deceased and John his Son answered for the Profits of the County the first half year and William de Hever for the other half year William de Hever of Hever Castle in Kent was Sheriff part of the first year and all the second year of Edward the first William de Valoigns of Smerdlin and Repton was Sheriff of Kent the
of Diggs Court in Barham was upon his decease authoriz'd to discharge the said office for the remainder of the year Thomas Chich of the Dungeon in St. Mary Bredimans Parish in Canterbury was Sheriff of this County the third year of Henry the fourth Richard Cliderow of Gouldstanton in Ash neer Sandwich who was constituted in the Reign of Henry the fourth Admirall of the Seas from the Thames mouth along the Saxon shore to the West was likewise Sheriff of Kent the fourth and most part of the fifth year of the abovesaid Prince Tho. Swinbourn Esquire owner of much Land in the County of Essex was Sheriff of Kent the sixth year of Henry the fourth and kept his Shrievalty at Thevegate in Smeth Michael Horn of Horn place in Apuldore was Sheriff of Kent the seventh year of Henry the fourth Edward Haut of Hauts place in Petham and of Bourn was Sheriff of Kent the eighth year of Henry the fourth William Snaith of Addington was Sheriff of Kent the ninth year of Henry the fourth Reginald Pimp of Pimps Court in East Farleigh Son of William Pimp of Pimps Court and Nettlested was Sheriff of Kent the tenth year of Henry the fourth John Darrell of Cale-Hill in little Chert eldest Brother of Sir William Darrell under Treasurer of England was Sheriff of Kent the eleventh year of Henry the fourth William Notbeame descended out of Suffolk where his Family was of generous rank but whose Residence was at Ash neer Sandwich was Sheriff of Kent the twelfth year of Henry the fourth and in the seventh year of Henry the fifth was return'd amongst those who did Portare arma antiqua William Cheney of Shurland in Shepey Son of Richard Cheney was Sheriff of Kent the thirteenth year of Henry the fourth in which year this Prince deceased Sheriffs of Kent under Henry the Fifth William Cheney above mentioned continued Sheriff of Kent the first year of Henry the fifth William Cliford of whom mention was formerly made was again Sheriff of Kent in the second and third years of Henry the fifth William Langley of Knolton was Sheriff of Kent the fourth year of Henry the fifth John Darrell of Cale-hill above recited was again Sheriff of Kent the fifth year of K. Henry the fifth Richard Cliderow of whom mention was made in the fourth and fifth years of Henry the fourth was now Sheriff again in the sixth year of King Henry the fifth John Burgh was Sheriff of Kent the seventh year of Henry the fifth During this mans Shrievalty there came a special Writ from the King to elect out of the most fit and able Knights and Esquires of the County that bore Arms from antiquity twelve of the most sufficient to serve as Lances for defence of the Kingdome William Haut of Hautsbourne was Sheriff of Kent some part of the eighth and all the ninth year of K. Henry the fifth John Darrell of Cale-hill was Sheriff of Kent the tenth year of Henry the fifth in which year that successeful and triumphant Prince paid the last Debt he owed to Nature and the first which he owed to Sin Sheriffs of Kent in the Reign of Henry the Sixth John Darrell of Cale-hill who was Sheriff of Kent when K. Henry the fifth deceased continued Sheriff in the first year of Henry the sixth William Cheyney of Shurland who was Knighted in the ninth year of K. Henry the sixth was Sheriff of Kent in the second year of that Princes Government John Rykâ—ld of Estlingham in Frend bury neer Rochester was Sheriff of Kent the third year of K. Henry the sixth William Clifford of Bobbing who had been Sheriff of Kent in the first year of K. Henry the fifth was elected to take that Office in the fourth year of K. Henry the sixth William Colepeper of Preston in Alresford Son and Heir of Sir John Colepeper was Sheriff of Kent the fifth year of Henry the sixth Thomas Ellis of Burton in Kennington was Sheriff of Kent the sixth year of Henry the sixth William Scot of Scots Hall in Smeeth was Sheriff of Kent the seventh year of Henry the sixth John Peche of Lullingston was Sheriff of Kent the eighth year of Henry the sixth John St. Leger of Ulcomb was Sheriff of Kent the ninth year of Henry the sixth John Guldford of Halden alias Lambin in the Parish of Rolvenden was Sheriff of Kent in the tenth year of Henry the sixth William Bures who held much Land at Bromeley and Greenwich and was descended from William de Bures who held part of a Knights Fee in Bromley the twentieth year of Edward the third At making the black Prince Knight was Sheriff of Kent the eleventh year of Henry the sixth Richard Woodville of the Moat in Maidston was Sheriff of Kent in the twelfth year of K. Henry the sixth William Clifford of Bobbing and of Shorn of whom mention is made twice before was now again chosen Sheriff the thirteenth year of Henry the sixth William Manston of Manston in the Parish of St. Laurence in the Isle of Thanet was Sheriff of Kent the fourteenth year of Henry the sixth James Fiennes of Kemsing and Seal afterwards created Lord Say and Seal and High Treasurer of England was Sheriff of Kent the fifteenth year of Henry the sixth Richard Waller of Gromebridge in Spelhurst who took Charles Duke of Orleans Captive at the Battle of Agin Court was Sheriff of Kent the sixteenth year of K. Henry the sixth Edward Guldford of Halden in Rolvenden was Sheriff of Kent the seventeenth year of Henry the sixth Gervas Clifton who married Isabel Widow of William Scot Esquire and lived upon his Wives Estate at Brabourn in Kent where he lies buried was Sheriff of Kent the eighteenth year of Henry the sixth John Yerde of Denton near Berham was Sheriff of Kent the ninteenth year of Henry the sixth John Warmer of Votes Crey was Sheriff of Kent in the twentieth year of Henry the sixth William Maries who lived at Ufton in Tunstal was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty first of Henry the sixth Thomas Brown Knight Treasurer to the House-hold of K. Henry the sixth was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty second year of that Prince William Cromer of Tunstal who married Elizabeth Daughter of James Lord Say and Seale was Sheriff of Kent the twenty third year of Henry the sixth This was that William Cromer who was barbarously assassanated by Jack Cade whilst he vigorously sought to oppose that Rebell in his Expedition towards London John Thornbury of Feversham was Sheriff of Kent the twenty fourth year of Henry the sixth William Isley of Sundridge was Sheriff of Kent the twenty fifth year of Henry the sixth William Kene who lived at Well Hall in Eltham in Right of Agnes his Wife Widow of John Tatersal was Sheriff of Kent the twenty sixth year of Henry the sixth Stephen Slegge of Wouldham near Rochester was Sheriff of Kent the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth William Cromer who was
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
was Possessor of both these Places in Times of an elder Computation paid respective Aid at making the black Prince Knight for his Lands at Alkham But after this I find no more intelligence given me by Record of this Family for about the beginning of Henry the fourth I discover Iohn Alkham who extracted his Sirname from this Parish and it is very probable had here his Mansion though now it have found a double Sepulcher that of Oblivion and its own Rubbish to have been possest of them both which he held in Castle-Guard Tenure of Dover Castle and paid a subsidiarie Supply for them in the fourth year of that Prince at the Marriage of Blanch his Daughter from which temporary Assessement or Contribution severall Parcels of Land in this County have ever since contracted the Name of Blanch-Lands In Alkham the Signorie of both Places did reside untill the beginning of Henry the seventh and then they were demised by Peter Alkham to Iohn Warren Gentleman in which Name after they had continued untill the latter End of Henry the eighth Malmains was passed away to Brown who in our Memory conveyed it by Sale to Lushinton and Hollmeade was by the same Vicissitude annexed to the Demeasn of Wollet a Name that is grown reverend by an Efflux of many Ages both here and at Elham The Mannor of Hoptons another place considerable in Alkham If you will search who was in elder Times possest of it the private date lesse Deeds will inform you that anciently it was the Inheritance of Peter de Hall but was not long permanent in the possession of this Name for in the twentieth year of Edward the third as appears by the Book of Aid it was the Inheritance of William de Bourn and here it seems the Title was more constant for in this Family it was resident untill the beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was alienated to Baker of Caldham in whom it had not long continued but by his Daughter and Coheir it became the Inheritance of Robert Brandred from which Name about the latter end of Edward the fourth it passed away by Sale to Brown of Bechworth Castle in Surrey and here it fixed untill that Age which came within the Verge of our Grandfathers Remembrance and then it was demised to Godman in whose Descendants the Propriety now continues Evering is the last place of Account in Alkham it was the possession of a Family so called which branched from the ancient Lords of Folkston sirnamed Averenches whose Armes were as is manifest by ancient Armorials Or five Cheverons Gules and these Everings bare Or five Cheverons Azure Wolwardus de Evering held it under the Notion and by the Service of a whole Knights Fee in the Time of Henry the second of the Lords of Folkston And by a successive Chanell of many Descents hath the Title flowed so constantly in this Family that this Seat is at this instant annexed to their Inheritance In this Parish is an Eyle-Bourn which rises in the bottome at Dillingore which the Inhabitants presage to be a fatall presage either of Death or Dearth and in a short Distance of Time and Place from no appearance of Head or Spring sends forth such store of Water that a Vessell of considerable Burden may float therein then the Water being inforced into a Stream runs down to Chilton and disgorges it self into that River which meets the Sea at Dover Apuldore in the Hundred of Blackborn in the year of Grace 1032. was by an especiall Licence first obtained from Canutus and Elfgiva his Queen and given by Eadsin Bishop of Sr. Martins without Canterbury to the Prior and Monks of Christchurch est de cibo corum says the Book of that Convent that is it was granted to them for a Supportation of Diet. In the eleventh year of Edward the third there was a License granted to the then Archbishop and others by his Royall Patent obsternere quendam antiquam Trencheam quae ducit a Brachio Maris vocato Apledore versus Villam de Romney those are the Words of the Record that is to intercept and dam up a certain Trench or Chanell which proceeds from an Arm of the Sea called Apledore for then it seems the Sea flow'd up to this place though now it have wholly deserted it and leads to the Town of Romney But to proceed Apledore having by the abovesaid Donation been link'd to the Ecclesiasticall Patrimony continued wrapp'd up in that Interest untill the Resignation of the Revenue of the Priorie of Christchurch into the hands of K. Henry the eighth and then he setled it by a new grant on his new erected Dean and Chapter of Christ Church Hornes place in this Parish was the Seat for many hundreds of years of Gentlemen of that Sirname William Horne was one of the Conservators of the Peace in the first year of Richard the Second for this County and Michael Horne was Sheriff of Kent in the seventh year of Henry the fourth and held his Shrievalty at Apledore and from him did the proprietie of this place descend to Anne Horne the last of this Name who matched with Benedict Guldford Esquire who in her Right as being the sole Inheritrix of this place became Lord of this Seat but he denying the Oath of Supremacy which began about the twelfth and thirteenth of Queen Elizabeth to be tendered to Romish Recusants and sheltring himselfe by a Recesse and Flight into forrein Parts fell under the displeasure of the Queen and his Estate under the Fury of a praemunire so that this Mannor was torne away from his Interest by a Confiscation of it to the Crown and shortly after the above mentioned Princesse granted it to her faithfull Servant George Chowte Esquire from whom it is now descended to his great Grandchild Mr. Edward Chowt * Lately Deceased Esquire a Person who for his Support of Learning in these Times wherein if some whose Palates do decline it with regret and disgust might be confirmed in that licencious Liberty which they pretend to they would scarce leave us the Title page to inform Posterity that their was once Religion or Learning inhabiting amongst us cannot be mentioned by the Fautors and Abettors of Literature or at least the Pretenders to it without some grateful acknowledgment Dean Court in this Parish was the Mansion of a Family who borrowed their Sirname from this Town and were called Apledore and sealed with a Pile surmounted with a Fesse which was their paternal Coat but before the latter end of Edward the third this Family found its Sepulcher in a Female Heir for Thomas de Apledore dying witout Issue Elnith his only Sister entituled her husband William Roper to his Estate here and in the confining Marsh and by an uninterrupted Right derived from this Alliance hath the title of this place been supported in the Family of Roper for so many Descents that it is now at last devolved to the right honorable Christopher
that Cloister by Henry the eighth was by his liberal Concession made Parcel of his Inheritance and remained so until the Reign of Q. Mary and then being attainted and convicted of High Treason in the second year of that Princess his Estate here fell back to the Crown and continued there untill K. James in the Beginning of his Reign passed away Shawsted and Windlehill to the City of London and they again by their Trustees invested the Propriety of them by Sale in Sir William Garaway of London Father to Sir Henry Garaway Knight in whose Descendants the Title of them is still resident Place House in this Parish is secondly to be remembred which was anciently part of the Demeasn of the illustrious Family of the Pimps of Pimps Court in the Parish of Loose near Maidston and Philip de Pimp was one of those Men at Arms which the Prior of Rochester was to furnish out for the Guard of the Seacoast at Genlade or Yenlade in the Hundred of Hoo in the eleventh year of Edward the third In Times of a more modern Inscription I find Thomas Pimpe the elder to be Buried in Alhollows in Hoo and that he made his Will the twenty seventh of August as appears by the Repertorie of Rochester Diocess and in the fourteenth of Edward the fourth William and John were his Sons Elizabeth unmaried Margery Lady Prioress of Malling and Alice a Nun there Sir William Hampton about that Time bought much Land of him He I mean this Sir William was Lord Maior of London in the Time of Edwâ—rd the fourth but whether this Place was part of this Purchase or not there is no Light from any publick Intelligence can illustate it certain I am that the Coppingers imediately almost after this Time became possessors of the Place and the Proprietie is now by Female Right of a Daughter and Heir of a Branch of these Coppingers resolved into Sir Harbotle Grimston of Essex Alresford anciently written Aiglesford hath Places of considerable Animadversion within the Limits and Boundaries of it The Priory or rather now the Skeleton of it was founded by Richard Lord Grey of Codnor Anno Dom. 1240 in the twenty fifth of Henry the third for Carmelite or White Friers in Honour of the Virgin Mary the Mother of this Lord was Isolda Daughter and Coheir of Hugh Bardolph Lord of Hoo in Kent from whom he inherited fair Possessions in this County And many of his Posterity in Relation to that Particular were buried in the Conventual Church of this Monastery Upon the suppression it was granted with the Royalty of it by Henry the eighth to Sir Thomas Wiat from whom it descended to his Son Sir Thomas Wiat upon whose Defection this being with other Lands escheated to the Crown Queen Elizabeth granted it to Mr. J. Sidley and he bequeathed to his Brother Sir Will. Sidley and from that Name it was lately passed by Sale unto Sir Peter Ricaut whose Heir 1657 conveyed it by the same Vicissitude to Mr. Caleb Banks of Maidston Tottington and Eccles two Mannors in this Parish Richard Sonne of Malger de Rokesley gave Tiths of Tottington to the Priory of Rochester See Textus Roffensis anciently belonged to the Family of Rokesley of whose Heir General it came to of Poynings and Richard Lord Poynings the eleventh of Rich. the second held the Mannor of Tottington which with Eccles one of his Ancestors in the Time of King Henry the sixth gave in frank Marriage with his Daughter to J. Palmer of the Courtlodge in Snodland Esquire whose Posterity after they had held them some space of Time sold them to Warcup descended from the Warcups of Cumberland in which Name the Tenure was not long resident for by Sale it was alienated to Sidley of Southfleet and his Successor suddenly after by the like Fatalitie invested Ricaut in Eccles and Madox in Tottington Cosington is a Seat of much Eminence in this Parish and gave Residence and Sir-name to a Knightly Familie of the same And King Edward the first rewarded Sir Stephen de Cosenton whom he had made Banneret in the twenty eighth of his Reign for his signal Service at Carlaverock in Scotland with a Charter of Free Warren to all his Lands at Cosenton Acris and South-Burton vulgarly called South-Blabden in Elham in Kent The Mannor it self holdeth by Knights Service of the Barony of Rosse of Horton Kirbie from whom they received it by ancient Feoffement and bear in similitude of their Lords the Rosses the same Charge in their Arms viz. Azure three Roses Or. The Arms of Rosse being Or three Roses Gules But when in the Beginning of Hen. the eighths Government the Fatality of Time had concluded this Family in three Daughters and Coheirs married to Duke Hamon and Wood this Mannor of Cosenton accrued by Co-partition to Duke in which Name it hath ever since resided There was a Free Chappel belonging to this Mansion founded as private Evidences advertise me by Sir Stephen de Cosenton which is now crumbled into so desolate an Heap of Rubbish that we can hardly trace out its Ruines even amidst its Ruines There was another Free Chappel in his Parish annexed to Tottington by Richard Lord Poynings in the eleventh year of Rich. the second which hath been so dismantled by the impressions of Time and the fury of the Elements that there is very little Testimony or Evidence remaining that this Oratorie ever had a Being Preston in this Parish of Alresford is a Seat of that venerable Antiquity and hath for so many Descents been incorporated into the Demeasn of Colepeper that it is questionable which is the ancient Cradle or Seminary of this Family either Bayhall in Pepenbury or Preston in Alresford Sir Thomas Colepeper as the old Evidences and Muniments of this Name instruct me was of this Family and was Governour of Winchelsey under Edward the second by whom he was beheaded for defending that Town in behalf of the Barons then combined in an hostile League against him Walter de Colepeper flourished under Edward the first and Edward the second and seal'd with a Bend engrailed which is still the paternal Coat-Armour of this Family which I the rather mention because these Deeds are the first of that Nature which I have seen since Sealing with Coats of Arms grew customary in this Nation and argues him to be a Man of eminence in this County as did that spreading Revenue likewise of which he died possest not onely here but at Farleigh Peckham Wrotham and divers other places in the first year of Edward the third John Colepeper was a Judge in the Reign of Henry the sixth and concluded in a Daughter and Heir who by matching with Harrington added a considerable Supplement to the paternal Revenue of that noble Family I shall not more dilate my self in this Discourse it is enough that I inform the Reader that this ancient Seat which hath been for so many Centuries of years under the
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
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
posterity Potts Court in Babchild vulgarly called Petts Court was parcel of the Demeasn of the Priory of Dertford as appears by an Inquisition taken in the eleventh year of Edw. the fourth Rot. Esc Num. 69. and continued united to it untill the suppression in the Reign of Henry the eighth and then it was cast into the Revenue of the Crown where it lay untill Edward the sixth in the last year of his Reign granted it to Sir Thomas Cheyney whose Son Henry Lord Cheyney about the thirteenth year of Q. Eliz. passed it away to Samuel Thornhil Esquire in whose Descendant Line the Propriety of it is yet continuing Morris Court is a third place of Note in Babchild in elder Times it gave Seat and Sirname to a Family of that Denomination as appears by the ancient Muniments of this Seat but before the latter End of Henry the fourth this Family was vanished and then I find the Enghams setled by Purchase in the Inheritance and John Engham as appears by ancient Court Rolls held it in the Reign of Henry the fifth and Henry the sixth and after him did the Title by successive Inheritance transmit it self to his Posterity even untill those Times which grew near our Grand Fathers remembrance and then it was by Sale translated into Wolgate whose Ancestors had their Habitation at Wolgate Green in Throuley and after it had for some years acknowledged this Family for Proprietaries it was conveyed to Tilghman descended from the Tilghmans of Snodland from which Name it was again by as sudden a transmission alienated to Carselock of Feversham allied to John Carselock the last Abbot of the Priory there at the suppression of it and this Name being lately here by Defailance of Issue totally extinguished the Heirs of this Family as Knowler and others so designed by Testament do now possess it Badelesmer in the Hundred of Feversham was the Seat of that Family which for the great sway and influence they had once in this County although they have their Existence now only in Annals and History deserve a serious Remembrance Giles Lord Badelesmer as the Annals of St. Augustins instruct me was slain in the year 1258. in a Battell against the Welsh whilst he by endevouring to unite them to the English Scepter attempted to assault their Liberty and they as vigorously asserted it Guncelin de Badelesmer dyed possest of this Mannor in the twenty ninth year of Edward the first as appears Rot. Esc Num. 50. and lies buryed in Badelesmer Church with his Portraiture crosseleg'd cut in Wood and so much left of his Name as discovers to us that it is He who lyes there enterred and although there hath such a vast Interval or Decursion of Time intervened since his Sepulture yet neither hath Time nor our modern Zeal more fierce and ravenous then that so defaced it but that the Effigies insculped crosseleg'd is yet obvious visible and this I believe wil sufficiently refute the opinion of the vulgar who believe this Figure on the Tomb-stone to be the representation of some Giant and this Guncelin had Issue Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer that opulent and powerfull Baron of Kent who was witnesse to the Charter of Edward the second by which he confirms the Franchises and Priviledges of the City of London in the twelfth year of his Reign and there subscribes himself Steward of the Kings Hostell and was certainly a very eminent Person for in the year 1316 when Sir Richard de Rodney was invested with Knighthood by the abovesaid Prince the Ceremony of putting on his Spurs was performed by Maurice de Berkley and Bartholomew de Badelesmer but he had not been long swoln to this vast Dimension of power but their arose a Tempest which blasted all his blooming Glories for Isabel Wife and Queen to Edward the second having by severall good Offices performed between her Husband and his disobliged Barons so becalmed and softned all their Animosities that they became intombed in a mutuall Pacification was so inflamed at her denyall of Lodging and Accomodation in Leeds Castle by Thomas Colepeper the Castellan under Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer that she egged and pushed on the King to a Revenge which was done so effectually that the Death of the Castellan was the Expiation of so infortunate an Insolence and the Losse of the Head of the Lord Badelesmer taken Prisoner not long after neer Pontfrait and the forfeiture of his Estate paid the price of his Ambition and thus this magnificent Baron who like a streight and procere Elme grew tall in Title and like its luxuriant Branches did spread wide in the extent of his Power and Revenue was by this Storm supplanted and his Patrimony broken to peices being gathered up by escheat into the Royall Demeasne and in this Shipwrack did this Family lye involved untill the second year of Edward the third and then the indulgent Munificence of that Prince boy'd it up out of those Ruines wherein it appeared almost to have been sunk and by Patent restored him to his Estate here and elsewhere and he in a thankfull acknowledge to Heaven for this Restitution according to the Piety of those Times erected here a House for Black Canons or Canons of St. Augustins as the Record pat 13. Edw. 3. Memb. 6. doth amply testifie and dyed in the twelfth year of Edward the third and left his Estate to his only Son Giles Lord Badelesmere who dying without Issue his four Sisters Margery first marryed to William Rosse Lord Hamlake and then remarryed to Tho. Arundell Margaret matched to Sir John Tiptoft Elizabeth first wedded to William Bohun Earl of Northampton and afterwards to Edmund Mortimer Earl of March and Mawde espoused to John Vere Earl of Oxford became his Coheirs and that Land here at Badelesmer which was not before setled on the Monastery upon the partition was knit to the Patrimony of Vere and he dyed possest of it in the thirty fourth year of Edward the third and left it with the Title of Baron Badelesmer to his Successors one of which was Jo. Earl of Oxford who was attainted in the twelfth year of Edw. the fourth for supporting the House of Lancaster at the Battle of Barnet but was restored both in Blood and Estate but he never was possest of this Mannor for I find that upon the Suppression of this Cloister at Badelesmer it escheated to the Crown and then Henry the eighth granted it to Sir Robert Southwell and he in the second year of Edward the sixth alienated it to Sir Anth. Aucher and he upon his decease gave it to his Son Jo. Aucher who dying without Issue male Ann his sole Inheritrix brought it with her to her Husband Sir Humphrey Gilbert who about the middle of Queen Elizabeth alienated it to Sir Michael Sonds and from him is the instant Signorie devolved to Sir George Sonds Knight of the Bath There is another Mannor in this Parish of Badelesmer called Goddisland and gave Seat and Sirname
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
first and after this Name began to languish into Decay it was by a Daughter and Heir brought over to Crow extracted from the Crows of Norfolk who from the Reign of Richard the second held it in a continued Track of Succession even untill our Time and then it was passed away from Sir Sackville Crow by Sale to Sir Robert Heath who dyed Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench made so by the late King at Oxford whose Son and Heir Mr. ........ Heath Esquire is now entituled to the Signorie of it Bredge gives name to the whole Hundred wherein it is placed and in Times of a more ancient Date was clasped up within that Revenue which did augment the paternal Inheritance of Cheyney Sir Alexander de Cheyney as appears by ancient Muniments was possest of this place in the reign of Edward the first and is in the Register of those eminent persons who accompanied that Prince into Scotland and was for his important Service against that Nation made Bannerent by that King at Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his Government and from him did it by the links of severall Descents after a large Efflux of Time devolve to Henry Lord Cheyney who about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to Mr. William Partrich Esquire whose Grandchild Sir Edward Partrich not many yeers since conveyed it to Mr. Arnold Brame of Dover descended from one of this Name who was Secretary to Charles the fifth Blackmanbury is a noted Seat in this Parish and had still the same Owners in Times of a more ancient Character with Garwinton in Bekesbourn as namely the Garwintons the last of which was Tho. Garwinton who held it at his Death which happened in the eleventh year of Henry the fourth and by the Heir Generall of this Family it devolved to Haut issued out from the Hauts of Hautsborne and when this Family determined the Female Heir brought this Seat to Isaac after Isaac was worn out of a great part of this Mannor of Blackmanbury it became the Possession of Henry Lawrence Esquire descended from the Lawrences of Dorsetshire and he held it as appears by a Court Roll in the thirty sixth year of Henry the eighth and in both these Families was the joynt Propriety of this Mannor resident untill about the middle of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth and then the whole Demise was by mutuall Consent passed away from Isaac and Lawrence to William Partrich Esquire Grandfather to Sir Edward Partrich who not many yeers since conveyed it to Mr. Arnold Brame of Dover and he upon the Foundation of the ancient Fabrick hath erected that magnificent Pile which obliges the Eye of the passenger both to Admiration and Delight and which like a Phaenix seems to have arose more glorious out of its Ruines Bereacre is a third Mannor in Bredge which in the twenty first year of Edward the first acknowledged it self to be under the Signorie of Walter de Kancia as appears by an Inquisition taken at the same time after his Death Rot. Esc Num. 7. But before the twentieth year of Edward the third this Family was extinguished and then it became the Propriety of Bereacre who assumed his Name from this Mannor and John de Bereacre paid a respective Supply for it as appears by the Book of Aid at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third After Bereacre was gone out the Family of Lichfield was concerned in the Possession who likewise were Lords of much Land about Eastry Tilmanston and Betshanger and in this Name was the Title placed untill the twenty second year of Edward the fourth and then Roger Lichfield by Sale conveyed it to William Haut and he had Issue Richard Haut who left only Margery who by matching with William Isaac resigned up this Mannor to the Possession of that Family but long it was not planted in this Name for before the latter end of Henry the eighth it was alienated to Petit and Weeks and they again not many yeers after transmitted it by Sale to Nailor of Renvill from whom by the same Devolution it was almost in our Fathers Memory carryed down to Smith and Watkins Beauville alià s Bewâ—field or Whitfield lyes in the Hundred of Bewisborough is a small Parish mounted aloft on those Hills that run from Barham down to Dover Castle The Lord Giles Badelesmer anciently held it and gave it in Frank Marriage with his Daughter Elizabeth whom Jo. Northwood of Milton took to Wife and here it continued with the Interest of this Family severall Descents untill at last it devolved to John Northwood of Northwood in Milton abovesaid from which Name and Family the Fate of Sale took it off and brought it over about the latter end of Henry the eighth to Jo. Bois Esquire Ancestor to Mr. Io. Bois of Fredvill Esquire now living and in this Family the Possession is still resident The Mannor of Linacre is seated within the Circuit of this Parish and gave both Seat and Sirname to a Family so called and from whom Linacre that composed the Latin Grammar in the Reign of Henry the ninth was lineally extracted but this Name here was expired before the end of Henry the fourth and then by some Court Rolls I find that Iohn Monins was invested in the Fee and here for some Decursion of Time the Right and Interest of this Place did abide untill at length about the Beginning of Henry the eighth the Title by Sale fell under the Signory of Chelesford or Chelford from which Name the same Fate conveyed it to Mr. Io. Bois whose Successor Mr. Io. Bois of Fredville Esquire by descendant Right does now enjoy it East and West Berming in the Hundred of Twyford was in Times of a very high Ascent the Possession of a Family who derived their Sirname from this Place William de Bermeling dyed seised of it in the twenty second year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 27. and had likewise the Advowson of the Church after him Robert de Bermelin held it in the thirty first year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 123. When this Family was gone out the Freminghams came into the Possession Iohn Son of Ralph de Fremingham was in the enjoyment of them at his Death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 145. and so was his Successor John Fremingham in the twelfth year of Henry the fourth Rot. Esc Num. 15. But after this I find no more of this Name interessed in the Possession the next Family which was invested in the Inheritance were the Pimpes a Name very eminent and no lesse ancient in this Track John Pimpe held them and Ledhock at his Decease which was in the ninth year of Henry the fifth Rot. Esc Num. 35. from whom the Title streamed down to Reginald Pimpe Esquire in whose Tenure they were at his Death which was in the sixteenth year of Henry the sixth from Pimpe
in his Glossarie will inform you Alodium est praedium liberum saith he nulli Servituti obnoxium quod opponitur Feudo nam olim Feuda non possent vendi sine consensu Domini At Alodium vero est quod per omnem haeredum seriem discurrit cuivis è populo etiam reclamante Domino dare possit aut venundari The result of all which is this that the word Alodium signifies a Free Inheritance or Patrimony not chained up to any particular Service whatsoever which hath the least Resemblace or symtome of servitude either by Custome Prescription or Law imprinted upon it and may in English be styled Free Soccage and which being transmitted and conducted along by an uninterrupted Series of Descent from Posterity to Posterity might be pawned mortgaged or alienated to any Person whatsoever whereas on the contrary Lands which were Feudal could not be passed away without the Lords consent And this agrees with the Municipal Laws of France which anciently styled those Persons whose Lands were fortified with that Tenure Leuds Francs id est Nobiles nullius Domini Imperio evocati Homines sui Juris non Feudalis id est nullo Feudi Gravamine coerciti vel restricti that is Men of a noble Extraction free and unrestrained whose Demeasns were not manacled and tyed up with the Obligations of any Tenure which was Servile as those whose Lands were Fendal But enough of this I shall now return to Benenden which as it gave Seat to the above mentioned Godricus so it seems his Descendants extracted there Sirname from thence and assumed the Denomination of Benenden and bare for their Armes in a Shield Azure a Lobster Or and certainly were of Account in this Track for John the Son of Roger de Benenden held a Knights Fee in Benenden in the twentieth year of Edward the third But as all Families are chained up to a fixed Period like the Sea which is it self bound in with a Girdle of Sand so had this its conclusion likewise for Joan Benenden the Heir General of this Name by matching with Sir William Brenchley Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas fastned this Mannor to his Inheritance and they both lie buried in Christ Church in Canterbury He died as the Date upon their Tomb for they slumber under one Marble insorms me in the year 1446 and She in the year 1453. But after his Decease the Title of this place did quickly acknowledge another Proprietary for the Heir General of this Family matched to More of More Court in Ivy-Church where having been many Generations they dislodged from so solitary an Habitation and planted themselves at Benenden where they erected a House and adopted it into their own Name by styling it More Court but though it still stand an Alphabet to the Memory of this Family by bearing their Sirname yet did it not many years after its first Institution and Frame acknowledge the Signory of this Family for John More Esquire in the first year of Q. Mary conveyed it to Mr. William Watts from whom by successive Right it is now come down to Mr. ......... Watts and owns him for its present Proprietary The Mannor of Hempsted in this Parish anciently that is about the twentieth year of Henry the third belonged as appears by the Book in the Exchequer called Testa de Nevil to Robert de Hempsted from whence he assumed his Sirname which could not make the Title long liv'd in his Family for about the Beginning of Edward the third I find it passed away to Echingham of Sussex and James de Echingham held it by the fourth part of a Knights Fee in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight but after this the Title was not long constant to the Interest of this Family for about the Beginning of Richard the second I find it in the Hands of Sir Robert Belknap the Judge who being attainted in the tenth year of that Prince by the Malice and crooked Arts of a factious and insolent Nobility there was Survey taken of his Estate in the fourteenth year of his Reign and then this Mannor with the residue of his Estate escheated being annexed to the Crown it was by Richard the second granted to William de Guldford Sheriff of Kent in the eleventh year of that Prince descended from Henry de Guldford a great Benefactor to the Priory of Taning in the twenty eighth year of Edw. the first and who is mentioned in the Book of Aid to have held the Mannor of Wickham near Lidde in Kent by Knights Service in the twentyeth year of Edward the third and the abovesaid William having thus by the Favour of his Prince obtained this Mannor made it his Seat and transmitted it to his Successors who much improved it with the Supplement of Additional Buildings so that it hath not only formerly for many Generations continued to be the Seat of this Familie but is likewise a Mansion relating to this Name at this instant Great Maytham in Benenden was a Mannor which related to the Proprietie of the noble Family of Malmains whose principal Seat was at Malmains in Stoke in the Hundred of Hoo Nicholas Malmain Grandchild of John Malmain who likewise held this Mannor in the twentieth year of Henry the third paid a proportionate supply for Maytham at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edw. the third and died possest of it in the twenty third year of that Prince But after this it was not long permanent in this Name for in the fourth year of Henry the fourth Nicholas Carew held it at the Marriage of Blanch that Princes Daughter and in his Family was the Title constant untill the latter End of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Thomas Lord Cromwell afterwards created Earl of Essex who being convicted of High Treason in the thirty second year of Henry the eighth it escheated to the Crown and that Prince in the thirty third year of his Rule granted it to Sir Thomas Wiatt who the same year conveyed it by Sale to Sir Walter Henley of Coursehorne the Kings Serjeant at Law and he not long after disposed of it to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgbury Esquire who had wedded Hellen one of his three Daughters and Coheirs and he in the last year of Edward the Sixth alienated some part of the Land which related to it to Richard Parker and Anthony Franklin but the Mannor it self rested in Colepeper of Bedgebury untill the late King granted it away not many years since to Alderman Wright of London as being forfeited to the Crowne because the Lord of it did not pay those Scots and Assessements which were laid upon him towards the Reparation of the Banks of the Mersh and by Margaret the Daughter and Coheir of the abovesaid Alderman is it now become the Inheritence of Mr. Richard Cordall of London Esquire Lowden or little Maytham is the last Mannor in this Parish and was
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
Folkstone But before the latter end of Edward the second this Family had diserted the Possession of this place and surrendered their Interest here to Valoigns whose Time was very brief in the enjoyment of it for Waretius de Valoigus dying without Issue Male this Mannor accompanied his Daughter and Co-heir and was upon the division of his Estate linked with much other Land to the Demeasn of her Husband Sir Thomas Fogge who was Knight of the Shire for Kent several times under the Scepter of Edward the third and Richard the second Sir Francis Fogge another of this Family lies entombed in Cheriton Church with his portraicture Cross-legged affixed to his Sepulchral Stone which implies that he had obleiged himself by some vow to assert the Cross and Sepulchre of our Saviour finally after the Proprietie of this place had by the Current of many Descents flowed in this Family it devolved to George Fogge Esquire who about the latter end of Q. Elizabeth passed it away to Mr. Henry Brockman Grand-father to Mr. James Brockman Esquire the instant Lord of the Fee Enbroke is another Mannor in Cheriton which in the twentieth year of Henry the third was the Patrimony of Peter de Alkam and after his Descendants were Extinguished at this place it came by the ordinary fate of Purchase to Enbroke who having erected a Mansion upon the Demeasn it is probable adopted it into his own Sirname and called it Enbroke John de Enbroke held it in the twentieth year of Edw. the third and paid an auxiliarie supply for it as appears by the book of Aid at making the Black Prince Knight Michael Enbroke was a great Benefactor to the Fabrick of Choriton Church in the time of Rich. the second and it is probable those antient Tombs yet visible related to these two or some of this Family the last of which was John Enbroke who flourished here in the Reign of Henry the fourth after whose departure it came to be enjoyed by Thorold or Torold and Walter Torold conveyed it to Nicholas Evering in the seventeenth year of Henry the sixth in which Family the Possession was permanent and constant until that Age which was circumscribed within our Grand-fathers remembrance and then it was alienated to Mr. John Honywood of Elmsted Ancestor to the instant Proprietary John Honywood of the same place Esquire The Tombs in the Church adorned with several Portraictures and Sculptures of Persons deceased related to these two formerly recited Families which the rude hand of Time hath crushed into the disorder of so great a Ruine that now even the Monuments and Sepulchres themselves have found an enterment in their own Dust and Rubbish Godinton in Great Chart was an ancient Mansion of a Family of that Sirname Place Godinton Court Wurthin Singleton and Nin House in Page 105. after Chelmington Simon de Godinton lived here as appears by very ancient Deeds and so did Lucas de Godinton likewise John de Godinton is portraied in Coat Armour in an ancient window in the North-Isle of the Church having an aspect upon a Crucifix in the same Glass placed above him accompanied with eleven others of eminent note in this Track depicted in the same posture with him and this John had Issue William de Godinton who flourished here as appears by his Deed in the fourth year of Richard the second but before the beginning of Henry the fourth had passed away his Interest here to Richard Simon and John Champneys and they in the sixth year of the abovesaid Prince conveyed it to Thomas Goldwell Son of William de Goldwell and he determined in a Daughter and Heir called Agnes who was affianced to Thomas Tooke of Bere by whom he had Issue Ralph Tooke Richard and John Ralph went into Hertfordshire Richard planted himself at Bere by Dover and John Tooke by Donation from his Father was invested in Godinton and continued ever since an eminent Seat of that Family and is at present the residence of that worthy person Captain Nicholas Tooke descended from * See Fox Acts and Mon. pag. 182. Holinshed Chro. pag. 2. Stows Chr. pag. 103. Sieur de Toque or Toc who is recorded in the Rolls of those who entred England with William the Conqueror who hath so industriously and elegantly cultivated and improved our English Vines that the wine pressed and extracted out of their Grapes seems not onely to paralell but almost to out-rival that of France Court Wurthin is a place of good Account in Great Chart which likewise afforded a residence to Possessors of that Sirname William de Wurtin by his Deed without Date demises Land which lay circumscribed within his Mannor of Wurtin to Quikemanus de Bere Henry de Wurtin is in the Register of those twelve eminent persons who are depicted kneeling in a Glass window in this Church the last of this Name at this place was Thomas de Wurtin who about the beginning of Henry the fourth passed it away to Thomas Goldwell by whose Heir General it came with Godinton to Thomas Tooke of Bere who setled it on his third Son Mr. John Tooke from whom it is successively by Descent come down to my Noble Friend Captain Nicholas Tooke Esquire It is observable that there is a Coat of Augmentation united to the Paternal Coat of this Family which the Tookes of Godinton bear in the first quarter viz. Argent upon a Cheveron between three Greyhounds-Heads crased Sables three Silver Plates which was given to John Tooke by Henry the seventh as a reward for his diligence in that Embassie in which he was employed by that Prince the Plates were an Embleme of his Guerdon or Salary and the Creyhounds-Heads a Symbol of his Celeritie Singleton is another eminent Mansion in this Parish which had owners of that Sirname and bore in ancient Armorials as appears by their Deeds Two Cheverons between three Martletts Henry de Singleton is one of those twelve eminent Persons that are depicted kneeling in Coat Armour in a window in Great Chart Church and John Singleton this mans Successor was Justice of the Peace for this County in the Reign of Richard the second and Henry the fourth as appears by an old Roll of the Justices of those times collected by Thin But after this mans Exit the Title was not long wedded to this Family for about the latter end of Henry the sixth I find the Edinghams or Enghams to be by Purchase entituled to the Possession whâ— added much to the Lustre of the ancient Pile by adorning its Fabrick with increase of Building and contniued proprietaries of it untill the beginning of King James and then it was passed away by Sir Edward Engham to Richard Brown Esquire a Cadet or younger Branch of the Browns of Betsworth Castle in Surrey from whom it descended to his Grandchild Mr. Richard Brown who being very lately deceased it is now in behalf of Dower the Habitation of his Widow Mrs. Elizabeth Brown Daughter of Sir William Andrews
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
Sepulchre of Christ against the Assaults of Infidels is incertain for it was customary in those times if they did but vow to undertake the protection of the Crosse in the Christian Quarrel to insculpe their Figures upon their Sepulchres armed and Crosselegged This abovesaid Sir Henry de Cobham was again Sheriff of Kent in the first and ninth years of Edward the second Stephen de Cobham Son and Heir of this Sir Henry was Sheriff of Kent the eighth ninth and tenth years of Edward the third Tho. de Cobham was Sheriff of Kent in the first year of Richard the second John de Cobham was one of the Conservators of the Peace in this County in the third fifth sixth ninth twelfth and eighteenth years of Edward the third a place of no small Consequence in that Age the end of it being to appease Tumults regulate and bridle the Disorders and Excesses of all Irregular Persons whether Felons Outlaws or other Malefactors of what Complexion soever and lastly to secure the Peace of the County from all Eruptions either inbred or forraign This man had Issue Thomas Lord Cobham Father to John Lord Cobham in whom the male Line determined so that Joan became his Daughter and Heir who was first matched to John Delapole secondly to Sir John Ouldcastle by whom she had only a Daughter that died an Infant and thirdly to Reginald Braybrook who dyed as appears by the Inscription on his Tombe in Cobham Church in the year 1433 and by him she had only Joan who was Heir to them both and she by being wedded to Thomas Brook of the County of Somerset Esquire knitt Cobham and a large Income besides to her Husbands Patrimony And this man had Issue by her Sir Edmund Broke who was summoned to Parliament as Baron of Cobham in the twenty third year of Henry the sixth and he was in the direct Line Ancestor to Henry Broke Lord Cobham Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in the first year of King James who being too deeply concerned in the Design of Sir Walter Rawleigh which was as some who pretend to unravell it in the whole Webb by private Collusion and Treaty with Count Aremberg the Spanish Legat to draw over some Forces from Flanders by whose powerfull Concurrence they might engage this Nation in the Flame of Civill Contention since from that they expected their Light though others wrap it up in so many Vails and Umbrages that the whole Scene of this Attempt becomes perplexed and mysterious made the forfeiture of his Estate here at Cobham though not his Life become the price of his undertaking which being thus rent away by this Escheat from the Patrimony of this Family was soon after by King James invested by Grant in his Kinsman Lodowick Stuart Duke of Lenox who expiring without Issue it did successively devolve to his Nephew James Duke of Lenox upon whose late Decease it is come over to ....... his Dutchesse Dowager only Daughter to George Villiers Duke of Buckingham in whom the blood of those three noble Families Villiers Manours and Beaumont appears to be concentered Cobham-Colledge was founded by John Baron Cobham of Cobham in year 1362 for a Master and Chaplains to pray for the Souls of him his Ancestors and Successors Cobham-Bury lyes likewise in this Parish and was always esteemed as an appendant Mannor to Cobham having originally and successively the same Proprietaries and being found wrapped up in the Patrimony of the infortunate Henry Lord Cobham it escheated upon his Attainder to the Crown and was suddenly after by King James granted to Robert Earl of Salisbury whose Son and Heir the right honorable Robert Cecill Earl of Salisbury some few years since transferred his Right in it by Sale to one Zachary King of Watford in the County of Hertford Henherst is the last place of note in Cobham which as the Records in Rochester inform me was given to the Priory of Leed Castle by Robert de Crevequer upon his Foundation of that Cloister and continued folded up in its Revenue until the Whirlwind of the generall Suppression rent it off and King Henry the eighth granted it to George Lord Cobham who immediately after conveyed it to Sir George Harpur Esquire whose Son Sir Edward Harpur about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth passed away his Concernment here to Mr. Thomas Wright from whom it descended to his Son and Heir George Wright Esquire who dying without Issue gave it to his Kinsman Sir George Wright and his Son not many years since surrendered it by Sale to Doctor Obert Physitian to the late Queen Mary The Tythes of this Mannor were given by one Goscelinus as the first Book of of Compositions at Rochester discovers to me in the year 1091 to the Priory of St. Andrews in that City which upon the Suppression were by King Henry the eighth granted to George Brook Lord Cobham which upon the Attainder of his infortunate Grandchild Henry Lord Cobham in the second year of King James returned to the Crown and here the Propriety made its aboad untill the late King Charles by his royal Concession made them the Inheritance of Mr. Stephen Alcock of Rochester Esquire Cobham had the Grant of a Market weekly on the Monday and a Fair yearly on the Day of St Mary Magdalen procured to be observed there at those stated times abovesaid by John Lord Cobham in the forty first year of Edward the third Because I have mentioned before and shall have frequent occasion to mention hereafter those Kentish Gentlemen who were embarqued with Edward the first in his victorious and triumphant Expedition into Scotland and were dignified with the order of Knighthood for their Assistance given to that Prince in his succesfull and auspicious Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his Reign I shall represent to the Reader a List which I have collected from an Authentick Roll gleaned from very ancient Registers and other Records by that eminent Antiquary Robert Glover Esquire Sir Henry de Cobham Sir Reginald de Cobham of Cobham and Roundall in Shorn Sir Stephen de Cobham Sir Henry de Cobham le Uncle Sir Simon de Leybourn Sir Henry de Leybourne of Leybourne Castle Sir Jeffrey de Say de Birling Sir Ralph de St. Leger Sir John de St. Leger of Vlcombe Sir Thomas de St. Leger Sir Jeffrey de Lucy Sir Aymery de Lucy of Newington Lucies Sir Thomas de Lucy Sir John de Northwood Sir John de Northwood his Son of Northwood in Milton Sir John de Savage Sir Thomas de Savage of Bobbing Court Sir Roger de Savage Sir Stephen de Cosington in another old Roll there is mention of Sir William de Cosington it is probable they were deslinct persons but both of Cosington Hall in Alresford Sir Peter de Huntingfield of West-Wickham Sir Robert de Crevequer but of what place is not mentioned in the Roll. Sir Simon de Crioll of Walmer Sir Maurice de Bruin de Bekenham Sir Bartholomew de
Burgherst of Plumsted Sir Fulk de Peyferer Sir William de Peyferer of Ottringden Sir Robert de Shurland of Shurland in Shepey Sir Alexander de Cheyney of Patrick bourn Cheyney Sir Thomas de Bicknor Sir John de Bicknor of Bicknor Sir Robert de Septuans of Milton Septuans Sir Henry Fitz-Aucher of Losenham in Newenden Sir John de Hadloe of Court at Street Sir VVilliam de Valoigus of Repton in Ashford Sir William de Basing of Kenardington Sir Simon de Crey Sir William de Crey of Pauls Crey Sir Stephen de Gravesend of Nutsted Sir John de Champneys of what place is not mentioned but it is probable of Champneys in Pauls Crey Sir Robert de Eastangrave of Eastangrave in Eden Bridge Sir John Abell of Hering Hill in Erith Sir Nicholas de Malmains of Malmains in Stoke Sir Richard de Rokesley of Rokesley in North Crey Sir Jeffrey de Camuill of Westerham Sir John Segrave of Folkston Sir VVilliam Peche Sir Robort Peche of Lullingston Sir John de Newenham of Newenham Coldred in the Hundred of Eastrie was a Branch of that Estate which related to the Fraternity of the Maison de Dien in Dover to which in the fourteenth year of S. the first they obtained a Charter of Free warren which was looked upon in that Age as a priviledge of vast extent and circumference upon the Dissolution in the reign of Hen. the eighth it was by royal Concession from that Prince added to the Demeasn of Rich. Monins Esq great Grandfather to Sir Edw. Monins Baroner to whose Signory and Jurisdiction the propriety of this place at this instant submits it self Popshall in this Parish was anciently wrapt up in the Demeasn of Orlanston of Orlanston William de Orlanston held it as appears by an Escheat-roll marked with the number 86 in the reign of Hen. the third and transmitted it to his Son Will. de Orlanston who in the fifty first year of the above-mentioned Prince obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at Orlanston and Pophall from him it descended to Will. de Orlanston who had Issue Jo. de Orlarston who held it in possession at his Decease which was in the forty sixth year of Edw. the third and had Issue VVill. Orlanston who by Sale transplanted the Interest of this place into Rich. Berham in which Family after the Title had for some Generations been resident a Vicissitude of the same Resemblance with the former cast it into the possession of Horne branched out from the Hornes of Horns-place in Apuldore who after some years investiture in the propriety of Popshall determined in a Daughter and Heir who was espoused to John Diggs from whom in a direct Line Sir Dudley Diggs of Chilham-castle was extracted who alienated his right in this place to Sir Will. Monins Knight and Baronet whose Son Sir Edw. Monins Baronet enjoys the instant Fee-simple of it Coldham in the Hundred of Rockesley is in the Pages of Doomsday Book written Caudham which denotes the bleak and chil situation of it In the twentieth year of VVill. the Conquerour it was parcel of the Demeasn of Gilbert de Magninot being involved in those Knights Fees which were assigned to him to be assistant to Jo. de Fiennes in the defence of Dover-castle And in this Name after it had some three Descents been lodged this Mannor went away about the beginning of K. Stephen to VVill. de Say with the Daughter and Heir of this Family VVill. de Say this Mans Son is in the Front or Van of that register which comprehends the Names of those Kentish Gentlemen who were embarked in the holy Quarrel with Rich. the first at the Siege of Acon Geffrey de Say was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the second year of K. Jo. the Nature of which office and the Latitude of its Authority I rust and Concernment I have before unsolded at Cobham * Will. de Say was with Henry the third in his expedition into Gascony in the thirty seseventh year of his Rule Geffrey de Say was with Edw. the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his reign and for his noted Actings there was honoured by that Prince with Knighthood and dyed possest of this Mannor in the fifteenth year of Edw. the second and had the repute of a Baron at his Decease as had all his Successors likewise holding Birling Couldham and other places by that Tenure which is styled per Baroniam Geffrey de Say had view of Frank-pledge here in the eighth year of Edw. the third and was engaged with that Prince in the thirteenth of his reign in his triumphant Designs upon France Sir VVill. Say was his Son and Heir who went out from his Tabernacle of humane frailty in the forty third year of Edw. the third Rot. Esc Num. 43. and bequeathed his Estate here at Coldham to Geffrey de Say his only Son surviving who going out in two Daughters and Coheirs Joan one of them was matched to Sir VVill. Fiennes from whom descended Ja. Fiennes his second Son who was summoned to Parliament at Bury as Baron Say and Seale the first of March in the twenty fifth year of the abovesaid Prince and * This Ric. Fiennes was created Baron Dacres in the seventh of Henry the sixth Rich. Fiennes eldest Son who matched with Joan Sole Heir of Tho. Dacres eldest Son of Tho. Lord Dacres of Hurstmonseaux who had this Mannor by Descent from his Father from whom in a continued Series it came down to Gregory Fiennes Lord Dacres who in the thirty sixth year of Q. Elizabeth dyed without Issue and so Sampson Lenard Esquire by marrying with Margaret his Sister and Heir became Heir to Coldham and a large Inheritance besides and his Son Hen. Lenard in the reign of K. James was created Baron Dacres from whom Francis Lenard now Lord Dacres and proprietary of this Mannor is lineally extracted The Mannor of Apulderfield by contraction now called Apurfield lies in the precincts of this Parish which was long time possest by Gentlemen that took their Sirname from thence and branched numerously into divers parts of this Shire Hen. de Apulderfield in the thirty eighth of Hen. the third obtained a grant of a Fair and Market to his Mannor of Apulderfield In the eleventh year of Edward the second Iohn de Insula had a Charter of Free-warren granted to his Mannor of Apulderfield which was renewed to Stephen de Ashway in the thirty eighth of Edward the third who had a free Chappel annexed to it and in this Family of Ashway did the Title of this place for many Generations settle till at last the common vicissitude of Purchase made it the Demeasn of Denny from whom it came over by the same Alienation to Fiennes and is now in right of Margaret Fiennes Sister to Gregory Lord Dacres matched to Sampson Lenard devolved to his great Grandchild Francis Lenard the present Lord Dacre The Hamlet of Bettred is
did the Cloister of Davington remain a Seminary of religious Women whilst their revenue without was the Fuel which supported and nourished the Flame on the Altar But when the reign of Henry the eighth approached which became decretory and critical to all these Nurseries of a lazy and speculative Devotion the demeasn which sustained this Covent was by Henry the eighth plucked away and in the eight and thirteeth year of his Government was by patent knit to the patrimony of Sir Thomas Cheyney And his Son Sir Henry Lord Cheyney in the eighth year of Q. Eliz. conveyed it by Sale to Jo. Bradborn descended as appears by his Seal affixed to his Deed by which he alienates it again in the tenth year of Q. Eliza. to Avery Giles from the Bradborns of Darbyshire But in this Family the residence of it was very brief and transitory for his Son Francis Giles in the twentieth year of Q. Eliza. passed it away to Mr. Jo. Edwards and from this Family though the Fate of purchase did not rend it away yet that of marriage did for this Jo. Edwards leaving only one Daughter and Heir called Ann she by matching with Io. Boade of Essex Esquire linked this to his revenue and from him it is descended to Mr. Io. Boade the present Lord of the Fee Little Davington or Davington-court not far distant from that house which was the Nunnerie was formerly wrapped up in that Demeasn which confessed the Dominion of the Earls of Atholl Lords of Chilham by whom the Mansion it self was built as their Arms in Stone-work in the great Hall before they were taken down by Mr. Tho. Mills did abundantly testifie and having for many years acknowledged their Signory at last it devolved to David de Strabolgie Earl of Atholl who dying without Issue-male in the forty ninth year of Edw. the third left it to Philippa one of his two Coheirs who was matched to Io. Halsham and from him did a successive Right bring it down to Sir Hugh Halsham his Grandchild who about the beginning of H. the sixth passed it away to Ja. Drylond who determined in one Daughter and Heir called Constance Drylond who was matched to Sir Tho. VValsingham of Scadbery Knight who in her right became possessor of it and transmitted it to his Son Sir Ja. VValsingham who was Sheriff of Kent in the twelfth year of H. the seventh and kept his Shrievalty at Davington and from him did it descend to his Grandchild Sir Tho. VValsingham who almost in our Grandfathers remembrance conveyed it by Sale to Simons and he not long after to Coppinger And his Son having about the beginning of K. James mortgaged it to Freeman they both joyned and by mutual Concurrence fixed their right in Mr. Tho. Mills of Norton who deceasing without Issue-male it came by Ann his Sole Daughter and Heir to be the Inheritance of Sir Io. Mill of South-hampton who conveyed it to his Brother Dr. Mill and he some few years past alienated it to his Kinsman Mr. Tho. Mill and he serled the propriety of it on his Son Mr. Tho. Mill who hath very lately transmitted all his Right in it by Sale to Tho. Twisden Esquire Serjeant at Law now of Brabourn in East-Malling Since my Writing of this I have discovered by an old Survey of Davington collected by Mr. Tho. Millâ— that Io. Lewknor of Sussex Esq had in the twenty first year of H. the sixth an Interess in Davington-court derived to him by Joan his Wife Sole Inheritrix of Sir Hugh Halsham which he not long after passed away to Mr. James Drylond Detling in the Hundred of Maidstone gave Name to a Knightly Family famous for Fortitude and Chivalrie in token whereof a Massie Lance all wrearhed about with thinn Iron place is preserved in the Church like that of VVillam the Conquerours at Battel in Sussex as the very Spear by them used and left as a memorial of their Atchivements in Arms and an Emblem also of their extraordinary Strength and Abilitie In which respect those in Bedington-Hall in Surrey celebrate the renown of the Carewes atchieved at Tilt and Turnament and that in Lullingston-Hall in Kent the like for the Peches As also that in Gerards-Hall in London upon which a Romance is drest up by the vulgar report fancying he was some Giant when the truth is he was of the Knightly Family of Gizors and Constable of the Tower and this his Capital Mansion was Castellated as the Seat of the Basings was another strenuous Family at Basings-Hall in London these matters allude much to the manner of the Romans whose Victories were aplauded and the Victors in their Triumphs extoll'd by Trophies and other Monuments and Ensigns of Honour as Pancirolus Rosinus and others have judiciously observed that have treated of these kind of Rituals But to return to the Subject from which this discourse hath diverted me in this Family of Detling did the Possession of this place for many Ages remain constantly seated till the beginning of the Reign of Edward the fourth and then John Detling written in some Old Deeds Brampton alias Detling transmitted it by Sale to Richard Lord Woodvill Lord of the Moat in Maidston not far distant created Earl of Rivers Lord Treasurer and Constable of England by his Son in law King Edward the fourth in the year 1466. whose Grandchild Anthony Woodvill Earl Rivers being attainted upon supposed Treason in the first year of Richard the third which was made so by that Usurper and those black Engins which he had raised upon him because he too cordially asserted the Interest of Edward fifth it escheated to the Crown and that Prince in the second year of his Government granted it to Sir Robert Brackenbury Lievtenant of the Tower who it seems disliking a Tenure which was caemented with Blood passed away his right immediately after to Richard Lewknor who had some estate here before by matching with Eleanor Coheir of Tho. Towne which Tho. Towne wedded to Bennett Heir of John Detling and this Richard Lewknor about the latter end of Henry the seventh gave it in franck Marriage with his Daughter to Hills Hills resolved into two Daughters and Coheirs one of which was married to Vincent and the other was matched to Martin and so upon the Division to avoid all Disorder and Confusion Detling was split into two Mannors one was called West-Court which accrued to Vincent and the other was termed East-Court which was annexed to the Demeasne of Martin Martin about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth sold East-Court to Webbe in which Name after it had for severall years been fixed it was in our Fathers Memory passed away to Smith who not many years since alienated it to Sir Edward Henden one of the Barons of the Exchequer who upon his Decease gave it to his Nephew Sir John Henden and from him it is now descended to his eldest Son Edward Henden Esquire But Westcourt was by Vincent passed away to Morton of Whitehorse in
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
alienated both the Title and Demeasn to Allen and he in our Memory sold one moitie of it to Ford and setled the other proportion of it upon his Daughter and Heir who was matched to Giles Down-Court in Dodington is an ancient Mannor which in elder times owned the Signorie of Simon de Dodington who flourished here in the Reign of K. John and Henry the third and was entituled likewise to the Patronage or Advouson of the Church but he determined in an only Daughter called Matilda de Dodington who in the forty first of King Henry the third as appears by a Fine levied in that year passed away her Interest here to John de Bourne in which Family the Title many years after rested untill about the latter end of Henry the sixth it was conveyed to Dungate of Dungate-Street in Kingsdowne And Andrew Dungate the last of this Name at this place dying without Issue male his sole Daughter and Heir was marched to Killigrew who likewise about the entrance of Henry the eighth expired in two female Coheirs whereof one was wedded to Roydon the second to Cowland In Roydon The Pssession was but brief for he about the latter end of Henry the eighth alienated his Proportion to Adye a Name deeply rooted in this Track whose Successor Mr. John Adye still enjoyes the capitall Messuage or Mansion called Down-Court but the Mannor it self which accrued to John Cowland upon the Division of the Estate was by his Will made 1540. ordered to be sold to discharge Debts and Legacies and was according to the Tenure of the premises not long after conveyed to Allen Ancestor to him who is the instant owner of it Downe in the Hundred of Rokesley is so called from its eminent situation it was in times of elder Aspect the Habitation of a Family which passed under that Sirname Richard de Downe who flourished under Edward the first and Edward the second lies buried in the Chancell of the Church but with no date upon his Tombe Soon after this Family was expired the Petleys became Lords of the Fee and Stephen Petley is Recorded in the Book of Aid to have paid an Auxiliary supply for Lands at Down at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third and in this Family was the Title of this place successively wrapped up for many Generations untill about the latter end of Henry the eighth it melted away with the Name For Jo. Petley resolved into four Daughters and Coheirs Agnes the eldest was matched to Jo. Manning the second was espoused to Bird the third was wedded to Casinghurst of Valous and the fourth was married to Childrens and upon partition of the Estate this Mannor fell to be the Inheritance of Manning and in this Name for many years it remained constant untill in our Fathers Remembrance it went away by Sale to Sir Nicholas Carew of Beddington in Surrey and his Son Sir Francis Carew conveyed it to Ellis of London who not many years since alienated his Right in it to Colonel Richard Sandys third Son of Sir Edward Sandys of Northbourne but Down-Court was long before passed away by Manning to Palmer which was separated from the Mannor of Downe and singly sold by it self The Arms of Philipot and Petley are extant in the South-window of the Chancell with this Inscription affixed to the Pedestall of their two Pourtraicttures Orate pro Animabus Jo. Petley Christiana Uxoris Jo. Petley Aliciae Filiae Tho. Philipot ........ ac Parentum corum E. E. E. E. EGerton in the Hundred of Calehill hath two places within the Verge of it remarkable The first is Barmeling which was the Seat of a Family of that Sirname Robert de Bermeling and in old datelesse Deeds called Sir Robert de Barmeling he held it at his Decease which was in the fifty third year of Henry the third and left Issue William de Bermeling who was also in the enjoyment of it at his Death which was in the twenty second year of Edward the first and so did Robert de Bermeling who made his Exit the thirty first of Edward the first and here in this Family hath the Propriety by an undivided Track of Succession been so fixed and permanent that it is yet the unseperated Inheritance of this Name of Barmeling The second is Bruscombe This was a Branch of that Demeasn which formerly acknowledg'd the Chitcrofts for its Possessors a Name of very great Antiquity both here and at Lamberherst Agnes wife of Richard Chitcroft held it at her Death which was in the eighteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 198. After Chitcroft was worn out the Beaumonts were invested in the Possession and John de Bellemont or Beaumont deceased in the enjoyment of it in the twentieth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 14. But not long after this the Title ebbed away from this Name and by a successive Channel of Vicissitude was powred into Baron a Family originally extracted out of the West where they are yet in being John Baron died seised of Bruscombe the second year of Henry the fifth The Family which succeeded this in the Inheritance upon their Recesse which was about the latter end of Henry the sixth were the Wottons of Boughton Malherbe in which Family the Title and Propriety hath been ever since so constantly resident that it still rests in the Descendants and Heirs of Tho. Lord Wotton of Marley Eltham in the Hundred of Black heath anciently called Ealdham did anciently belong in part to the King and partly to the Mandevills from whence it came to be called Eltham Mandeville King Edward the first granted that Moiety which belonged to himself to John de Vescy a potent Baron in the North in the ninth year of his Reign and in the twelfth year ennobles his former Concession and gives him a new Grant to hold a Market weekly and a Fair yearly at his Mannor of Eltham In the fourteenth year of the abovesaid Prince John de Vescy with his Knowledge and Consent made an Exchange with Walter de Mandevill for that Proportion of Eltham in which he was Interessed and gave the sixth part of the Mannor of Luton in Bedfordshire for one Messuage with the Appurtenances in Eltham and Modingham This John de Vescy died without Issue in the eighteenth of Edward the first and William his Brother succeeded in the Possession and was Lord Vescy and had Issue by Isabell Daughter of Robert Perington Widow of Sir Robert de Wells William de Vescy his lawfull Son born in the year 1269 who died without Issue in his Fathers life Time at Conway and was buryed at Malton Then William de Vescy having a base Son called William Vescy de Kildare born at Compston in the County of Kildare 1292 * Fines de Anno 24. Ed. primi VVill. de Vescy sold to Anth. Beck Bishop of Durham the Mannor of Eltham with the Appurtinances which Isabell the Widow of
of which Name which held this place was Tho. Chesman whose Female-heir Alice brought this Seat to her Husband Rob. Stodder Ancestor to Will. Stodder Esq not long since deceased who was proprietary of it A strange and marvellous Accident happened at this place upon the fourth day of August 1585 in a Field which belongeth to Sir Percival Hart. Betimes in the morning the ground began to sink so much that three great Elme-Trees were suddenly swallowed into the Pit the tops falling downward into the hole And before ten of the Clock they were so overwhelmed that no part of them might be discerned the Concave being suddenly filled with water the Compass of the hole was about 80. yards and so profound that a sounding line of fifty Fathoms could hardly find or feel any bottome ten yards distance from that place there was another piece of ground sunk in like manner near the high-way and so nigh a dwelling house that the Inhabitants were greatly terrified therewith Edenbridge in the Hundred of Westerham was ever esteemed a Chappel of ease to the Parish of Westerham The first that I discover by the beams of Record to have been possest of Edenbridge were the Stangraves who had here their capital Mansion which was known by their Name John de Stangrave obtained a Charter of Free-warren to Edenbridge in the twenty sixth year of Edw. the first Sir Rob. de Stangrave was his Son and Heir who was with Edw. the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in Scotland and there for his generous Service received the Order of Knighthood and dyed seised of Edenbridge and Stangrave the twelfth year of E. the third Rot. Esc Num. 52. After the Stangraves were vanished the Dynleys were setled in the Signory of these above-mentioned places Jo. de Dynley had a Confirmation of the Chatter of Free-warren to Eden-bridge in the fourteenth year of Edward the third and immediately after passed away his Interest here to Hugh de Audley Earl of Gloucester Lord of the Mannor and Castle of Tunbridge by whose Daughter and Heir the Lady Margaret Audley Stangrave and Edenbridge came to acknowledge the Signory of Ralph Stafford Earl of Stafford and he dyed seised of them in the forty sixth year of Edward the third and in this Family of Stafford as they were successively Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham was the propriety of these places resident untill the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and then Edward Duke of Buckingham Lord high Constable of England having unadvisedly consulted with a Monk and a Wizzard touching the Succession of the Crown fomented so Vast a Stock of Fears and Jealousies in the Brain of that Cautious Prince that they could not be extinguished but by his Blood which was poured out on a Scaffold as the last expiation of that Treason which was by Cardinal Wolsey pinn'd upon him and likewise of his Prince's Fury Upon this his untimely Exit his Estate escheated to the Crown and King Henry the eighth not many years after granted Westerham Eden Bridge and Stangrave which were parcell of the Confiscation to Sir John Gresham Knight from whom they by Descent are now devolved to Marmaduke Gresham Esquire who enjoys the instant Possession of them Delaware is a Seat of very venerable Account in this Parish It was the Seat of Gentlemen of that Name as high as the Reign of Henry the second as appears by old Evidences now in the Hands of Mr. Seyliard of which Robert de la Ware was the last who about the latter end of Edward the third went out without Issue-male so that Dionysia Delaware who was matched to William Paulin became Heir to this place In Paulin it remained constantly resident till the beginning of the Rule of Henry the sixth and then William Paulin determined in a Daughter and Heir likewise who was wedded to John Seyliard of Seyliard in Hever which is still in the Possession of Mr. Seyliard of Gabriells in this Parish and who descended from Ralph de Seyliard who flourished about the Reign of King Stephen In an old Pedigree of Seyliard now treasured up amongst the Evidences of Delaware there is enrolled the Coppy of a Deed without date by which Almerick d'Eureux Earl of Gloucester who flourished in the Reign of Henry the third demises Lands to Martin at Seyliard and other Lands called Hedinden to Richard at Seyliard who were Sons of Ralph from which Ralph John Seyliard Esquire now Proprietary of this anâ—â—ent Mansion of Delaware by a Steady and unbroken Current of many Descents in a Direct Line is originally extracted The Mannor of Sharnden in this Parish was parcell of that Estate which belonged to the Lords Cobham of Sterborough Castle not far distant and continued folded up in the Patrimony of this Family till the Government of Edward the fourth and then Thomas Lord Cobham of Sterborough deceasing without Issue-male Anne matched to Edward Lord Borough of Gainsborough became his Heir in which Name and Family the Title of this place successively streamed down till almost our Times and then the Lady Katharine Borough to whom it was assigned by Thomas Lord Borough her Husband to defray Debts and other Uses passed it away to Sir Edward Richardson Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench whose Grandchild the Lord Edward Richardson Baron of Cromartie in Scotland does now possesse the Signory and Inheritance of it Elham in the Hundred of Lovingborough is anciently written Helham which denotes the Situation of it in a Valley amongst Hills Though now the Magnificent Structures which in elder Times were here be dismantled and have only left a Masse of deplored Rubble to direct us were they stood yet in Dooms-day Book it is written that the Earl of Ewe a Norman and neere in Alliance to the Conquerour held it and left the Reputation of an Honour unto it as the Record of the Aid granted at the making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth of Ed. the third doth warrant For the Mannor of Mount adjacent to Elham is said to be held of the Honour of the Earl of Ewe by Knights Service In Testa de Nevill there is mention of Gilbert Earl of Ewe who then paid respective Aid in the twentieth year of Henry the third at the Marriage of Isabell that Prince's Sister From this Gilbert Earl of Ewe it went away to Edward eldest Son to Henry the third who obtained a Market and Fair to Elham by Charter in the thirty fifth of Henry the third and after he had fortified it with these Priviledges in the forty first year of the abovesaid Prince conveys it by Sale to Boniface of Savoy Arch-bishop of Canterbury Boniface to decline the Envy and Emulation of his English Opposites which he and the rest of those Forreiners and Aliens had contracted upon themselves by their practicall Turbulencies in the Managery of the principal Affairs of State under Henry the third passed it away by Sale to Roger Lord Leybourne a great Partisan and
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
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
the Church for diverse Ages untill the Title was by the Generall Dissolution dislodged and in the thirty fifth year of Henry the eighth was by Royall Concession from that Prince invested in Sir Walter Henley Serjeant at Law and a Man under an eminent Character in those Times from whom about the beginning of King Edward the sixth it passed away by Sale to Linch a Family of good Antiquity in Kent from whom the Linches of Lemster in Ireland are primitively descended and have been for some Descents seated at Linch Knock a Castle in that Province After the Linches the Gibs's about the latter end of Queen Elizabeth were by Purchase seated in the Inheritance and continued in it untill very lately the Title was unfixed and by the Transposition of Sale planted in Mr. Jaques of London Erith in the Hundred of Little and Lesness was a Mannor which was circumscribed within the Revenue of Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer that powerfull Baton whose Story I shall pencill out more exactly at Leeds-Castle but before him Guncelin de Badelesmer This Guncelin de Badelesmer was Justice of Chester See Mr. King's Vale Royall who lyes buried at Badelesmer with a fair Pourtraicture upon his Tomb cut out in Wood enjoyed it and held it at his Decease which was in the twenty ninth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 50. And this Guncelin was Son to Giles de Badelesmer who as the Annals of St. Austins informs us was slain at a Battell commenced against the Welsh in the year 1258 whilst he vigorously asserted the Interest of his Country against their wild Excursions But to advance where I first left off Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer before mentioned had such a particular Affection to this place that in the ninth year of Edward the second he obtained a Charter of Free-warren to this Mannor and suddenly after by his Confederacy with Thomas Earl of Lancaster and the rest of the Nobility knit together in Combination against that Prince forfeited his Estate and Life to the Crown And then Edward the second as appears by the Patent Rolls of that time in the fifteenth year of his Reign grants it for life to David de Strabolgie Earl of Atholl Son to the infortunate John Earl of Atholl who was offered up a Sacrifice to the Fury of Edward the first because he had done too little for him and too much for his bleeding and gasping Country of Scotland and this Earl held it at his Decease which was in the first year of Ed. the third Rot. Esc Num. 85. After his Death it reverts to the Crown and then King Edward the third not only reverses the Processe and Judgement issued out against Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer but likewise by Patent in the second year of his Reign restores this Mannor and diverse other Lands to Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer his Son And he dyed seised of it in the twelfth year of that Prince's Reign but left no Issue-male so that his four Daughters became his Heirs whereof Eliz. was one of them who was first matched to William Bohun Earl of Northampton and after to Roger Mortimer Earl of March to whose Patrimony this in his Wives Right upon the Quadripartite Division of this wide Estate was united and Edmund de Mortimer this Mans Son enjoyed it at his Death which was in the fifth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 43. And left it to his Son Roger Earl of March and Ulster and he had Issue Roger Mortimer and Ann who married Richard Plantagenet de Conisburgh Earl of Cambridge second Son of Edmund of Langley Duke of York and this Richard Earl of Cambridge having involved himselfe with Henry Lord Scroop and Sir Thomas Grey of Northumberland in a Treasonable Design against the Life of Henry the fifth in the second year of his Reign as he was embarking at South-hampton for France there to justifie his Title to that Crown by the Power of the Sword was convicted and executed and left Issue Richard Plantagenet who was in the year 1426 created Duke of York and upon the Decease of his Mothers Brother Roger Mortimer Earl of March without Issue he became not only Heir to his Estate but likewise to that of his Right to the Crown which first had devolved to him and after his Death to this his Sister Ann Countesse of Cambridge Mother to this Richard Duke of York from Philppa Wife to Edmund Mortimer Earl of March their Grandfather which Philippa was sole Heir of Lionell Duke of Clarence third Son of Edward the third and elder Brother to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster fourth Son of that Prince from whom the Lancastrian Family had wiredrawn and spun out a forced usurped and distorted Title to the English Diadem Upon his Decease at the Battle waged at Wakefield where he found an untimely Sepulcher whilst he most vigorously disputed his Claim to the Scepter against the House of Lancaster this mannor with the Crown devolved to his Son King Edward the fourth and here it dwelt with the Royall Revenue untill King Henry the eighth in the thirty sixth year of his Reign passed it away to Elizabeth Countesse of Shrewsbury Widow Dowager of George Earl of Shrewsbury by whom she had Issue John who dyed unmarried and Ann first matched to Peter Compton Esquire by whom she had Issue Sir Henry Compton who was Heir to her Estate here at Erith and secondly wedded to William Earl of Pembroke Sir Henry Compton had Issue William created Earl of North-hampton in the sixteenth year of King James and Sir Thomas Compton who dying without Issue gave his Estate here which was setled on him by his Father upon his Marriage with Mary Countesse of Buckingham to his Nephew Sir William Compton a younger Son of Spencer Earl of Northampton who hath very lately alienated his Interest here to Mr. Lodowick of London Bedenwell in this Parish had formerly the Repute of a Mannor when it was the Inheritance of a Family called Boreford or more vulgarly Burford Rose de Burford held it at her Death which was in the third year of Edward the third Rot. Ese Num. 52. And afterwards I find James de Burford obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at Bedenwell in Erith in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third After this Family was expired which was before the end of Richard the second it came to be the Possession of Draper descended from an ancient Family of that Name in the County of Notingham who concluded in a Female Heir For William Killom matched with the sole Daughter of John Draper by whom he obtained Bedenwell but with this Proviso that he should change his Name to Draper which hath been ever since both by Draper of Crayford and Draper of Hering-Hill in Erith punctually performed But since this solemne Stipulation Bedenwell in severall peices hath been sold to Turner Gainsford of Crowherst in Surrey who not many years since alienated his Proportion to Cholmeley and
Juliana de Leybourn after his Decease remarried to William de Clinton Earl of Huntington who in her Right was likewise possest of them but likewise Deceased without any Issue by her in the twenty eighth of Edward the third after whose Death it is more then probable she continued a Widow For in the Inquisition taken in the forty third year of Ed. the third she is styled Comitissa de Huntington and was found upon a serious winnowing both of her Direct and collaterall Alliances to have no Heirs that could directly pretend to the Title so that her Estate here laps'd to the Crown and King Edward the third in the fiftieth year of his Rule granted the Mannors of Northcourt Denton and Plomford to the Abby of St. Mary Grace on Tower Hill where they rested untill the Dissolution and then King Henry the eighth granted them to Sir Thomas Cheyney one of his Privy Councel whose lavish and unthrifty Son Henry Lord Cheyney after his Estate mouldered away by Retail in the eighth year of Queen Elizabeth passed them away to Martin James Esquire whose great Grandchild Mr. Walter James is at this instant the indisputable Proprietary of them Huntingfield in Estling gave Sirname to that illustrious Family of Huntingfield and stands a Monument to this Day to inforce and perpetuate its Memory to Posterity though the Name be long since extinguished and gon out in two Daughters and Coheirs being entombed in Coupledick and Norwich The capital Seat of this Family was at West-Wickham on the Skirts of Surrey where I shall make a more ample mention of them but they had other parcels of Land which lay scattered in the severall Parishes of Northsleet Mepham Ludsdown Cobham and other places and it is probable this Family was possest of an Estate likewise in Somersetshire For in Mr. Bishe late printed Notes upon Upton one Walter de Huntingfield is represented as Teste to that memorable Compact which bears Date the twenty eighth of Aprill in the forty second year of Henry the third and was made between Henry de Ferneburgh and the Abbot and Covent of Glastenbury to defend the Lands of the abovesaid Abbot against all the Claim or Pretence of the Bishop of Bath and Wells with the Dean and Canons of the same place or any of their Champions and certainly this Walter de Huntingfield is he who is mentioned to have paid respective Aid in the Book called Testa de Nevist for much Land which he held in Kent at the Marriage of Isab the Kings Sister in the twentieth year of Henry the third The last of this Family who was possessor of this Mannor was Sir John Huntingfield who was summoned to sit as a Baron in Parliament in the thirty sixth year of Edw. the third and he passed it away to Sir Sim. de Burley in whom it was resident until the tenth year of Richard the second and then he being by Parliament convicted of high Treason for seeking in a Time when too much Loyalty was ruinous to support the shaking Prerogative of his Prince against the Assaults and Impressions made upon it by some of the ambitious Nobility This Mannor with Northcourt likewise in this Parish which was granted to him upon the Decease of Juliana Countesse of Huntington escheated to the Crown and there made its aboad untill the twenty first of Richard the second and then that Prince setled it by a new Grant as appears Pat. 1. An. 21. Ric. 2. Memb. 35. Pars tertia On the Dean and Canons of St. Stephens in Westminster and continued chained to their Revenue untill the Link was by the general Dissolution of Religious Gonventions in the Reign of Henry the eighth untied and broken and then being cast into the Demeasne of the Crown it was in the thirty fifth year of Henry the eighth granted to Alured Randolph and John Guldford Esquires and they not long after conveyed their Interest in it by Sale to Sir Thomas Moil from whom the same Fatality in the seventh year of Edward the sixth carried it away and transplanted it into John Wild Esquire and he not long after transmitted his Concernment in it to Gates and from this Name the Propriety about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth was by the Vicissitude of Sale conveyed to Martin James Esquire Examiner of the Chancery from whom the Title by descendant Right is flowed down to his great Granchild Mr. Walt. James who is now in the Possession of it Estling had the Grant of a Market obtained to be held there Weekly and a two Days Fair at St. Crosse by the Mediation of Fulke de Peyferer in the thirty second of Edward the first Diven Arnold is a third place of mark in Estling It is called so because it was in Ages of a very venerable Inscription the Inheritance of a Family called Dive and it had the Addition of Arnold because one Arnoldus de Dive possest it and is often mentioned in Deeds without date and was Teste to a Deed whereby John de Valoigns does convey Lands to Robert de Dive Prior of the Hospiral of St. Johns of Jerusalem which is justified by a fine levyed between the said John and this Robert in the ninth year of Henry the third And in this Family did it continue untill the Beginning of Richard the second and then it was alienated to Sharp of Nin-place in great Chart in which Name the Signorry and Title was for sundry Generations constant untill about the latter end of Henry the seventh it was conveyed away to Thurstan of Challock a Name of great Antiquity in that Parish from whom not many years after it went over by Sale to Jo. Wild Esquire and he in the entrance of the Government of Queen Elizabeth by the same Revolution disposed of his Right in it to Gates who alienated it after to Croyden who in our Fathers Remembrance transmitted it by Sale to Bunce and continues still in the Revenue of that Family Eastry gives the Name to the whole Hundred wherein it is seated and was given to the Church in the year of Grace nine Hundred seventy and nine by King Egelred that is Etheldred Father to Edmund Ironside Et est de Cibo Monachorum say the Records of Christ-Church that is it was granted to the Monks for the Support of their Kitchin and was in the first Intention of the Gift I believe invested in the Ecclesiastical Revenue purposely to expiate that Murder which was at this place acted upon the Persons of Ethelbert and Etheldred Brethren of Egbert King of Kent by one Thunner as if that dark Tincture of Guilt which the effussion of this Royall and Innocent Blood had stained the earth with could not have been assoiled without so munificent a Donation In the time of Edward the Confessor this Mannor was held by the Monks of Christ-Church under the Notion of Seven Plough-lands nor was it represented under a lesse Bulke in the Reign of William the Conquerour and was rated
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
inhabiting at Hougham not far distant and Robert de Hougham dyed seised of it in the forty first year of Henry the third In the Reign of Edward the second I find the Clintons possest of it and William de Clinton Earl of Huntington dyed seised of it in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third and from him it descended to his Kinsman John de Clinton great Grandfather to John Lord Clinton who about the Beginning of Henry the seventh sold it away to Davis from which Family by a Daughter and partly by Purchase it came over to Lessington and he in our Fathers Remembrance alienated his Concernment in it to Hopday whose Son is the instant Possessor of it Bredmer or Berdmer is the last place worthy any Consideration It is partly situated in Folkston and partly in Cheriton that there was a Family of this Name was most certain For in ancient Deeds and Court Rolls of Valoigns who was Lord of Cheriton after Scotton I find frequent mention of severall of this Name who held Land of this Family But in the Book of Aid I find William de Brockhull held the fourth part of a Knights Fee in Cheriton which was this in the twentieth year of Edward the third From this Name by Elizabeth Heir of Thomas Brockhull it came to be the possession of Richard Selling Esquire and here it rested untill the Beginning of Henry the eighth and then it was passed away to Edmund Inmith a Retainer to Thomas Lord Clinton who gave it to his second Son Edmund Inmith and he was extinguished in two Daughters and Coheirs one was married to Reyner and the other to Baker who in her Right shared this place and in the Reign of King James passed it away by Sale to Ben who holds the instant Possession of it G. G. G. G. DEptford in the Hundred of Blackheath and Lath of Sutton at Hone so called from the deep Channel of Ravens-purg'd The River that here slydeth into the Thames was heretofore called West-Greenwich from the turning of the River Thames in such a crooked Compass and the green Meddows adjacent Gislebert Magminot or Magminiot for he was a great Favorite to William the Conquerour was one of those eight Barons and Trustees that were joyned to John de Fiennes for the sure Guard of Dover Castle and were assigned competent Lands for the maintenance of that Service his Castle or Scite of his Barony hath been long time buryed in its own Ruines yet some remains of Stony Foundations make me conjecture it stood nere Says Court in Bromfield upon the Brow of the Thames Bank neere the Mast Dock where the Skeleton of Sir Francis Drake's Ship was layd up and in a very short time nothing left of her but the Fame of her Captain and Steersman cannot perish so long as History shall last But to return to the former Subject it may appear by the Quire of Dover Castle transmitted on Record in the King's Exchequer that it had the Reputation of a Barony and these Knights Fees were held of it Pevinton Kanc. duo Feeda Militum Estswale Kanc. unum Feedum Militis Davinton Kanc. duo Feoda Militum Cuckleston alias Cuckston Kanc. unum Feodum Militis Waldeswareschare Kanc. 3. Feoda Militum Leckhamsted-Bucks unum Feodum Kennington-Hert duo Feoda Militum Gothurst Northampton unum Feodum Militis Hertwell-Northampton duo Feoda Militum Brandiston-Suffolk duo Feoda Militum Hecchesham-Surrey duo Feoda Militum Whitfield Kanc. unum Feodum Militis Coudham-Kanc duo Feoda Militis Bredinghurst Kanc. unum Feodum Militis Thornham Kersoney tria Feeda Militum Bingbery Kanc. tria Feeda Militum Brickhill-Buck unum Feodum Militis Haec sunt Feoda de Baronia de Magminot quae tenentur de Willielmo de Say quae ipse tenet de Rege per Baroniam Et reddunt Wardam ad Castrum Dovoriae Per 32. Septimanas You may find mention of Walkelme Magminot in the Catalogue of the Lord Wardens But the Daughter and Heir of this Line was married to Say from whom it came to be called Says-Court which Name it still retaineth And was by reason of the Commodiousnesse of the Meadows belonging to it and Stalls there erected made a place in the Time of the late King for feeding Sheep and Oxen served by Composition for the Kings House William Duke of Suffolk held the Mannor of West-Greenwich and one Messuage in Deptford Anno 29. Hen. 6. by West-Greenwich which was ment by that which we now call Deptford Strand and by Deptford is ment the upper Town where a fair strong Stone Bridge lately erected doth acknowledge the sole Royal bounty of K. Charles by this Inscription This Bridge was re-edified at the only charge of King Charles in the fourth year of his Reign Anno Dom. 1628. In former Times it w as repaired at the Charge of the Contry adjacent For I find by a Record in the Tower Esc Anno. 20. Edw. 3. n. 66. Quod Reparatio Pontis de Depeford pertinet ad homines Hundredi de Blackheath non ad homines Villarum de Eltham Moding-ham Wolwich The Treasurer of the Navy hath here a commendable and convenient House for his Residence at the Dock to view the building and repayring the States Ships and what is most expedient for the Manufacture of Cordage Anchors and other Provisions for Ships by which means the Town is so greatly increased in small Tenements and the Statute for Cottages excepting Market-Towns and such places as are used for building of Ships that for number of Inhabitants and Communicants it may compare with diverse Counties in the Kingdome which great Increase of the Parish caused them to new build another Isle on the North-side the Church to which the East-Indian Company of Merchants were good Benefactors And the Chancel enlarged with beautifull Additions partly at the Cost of Sir William Russell Knight and Baroner Treasurer of the Navy and the circumspection of Doctor Valentine the late learned and worthy Incumbent of the place Adjoyning to the Church The Company of Navigators and Seamen incorporated by King Henry the eighth have a Hall or House for their meetings and Consultations Certainly the use of this Society is most considerable and commendable for the Common-wealth upon all Occasions may from them receive necessary Intelligence of all the Roads Waterings Depths and Conveniences of most part of the Maritime places in the Known World One thing more I have to mention and that is Hacham which was in K. Hen. the seconds Time the Seat of Hacham lying upon the Confines of Kent and Kent-fields or Kent-lands within this County as Kent-Hatch in Westerham is the very out-side of this Shire As that place towards Surrey called Kent-House designs the Bounderies of this County between Bekenham and Croydon Divers Inquisitions taken since that time have found Hacham to be in Kent And I believe the Mannor of Bredingherst before mentioned was formerly in this Shire which is now slipt into Surrey
second granted them to Sir Robert Belknap the Judge upon whose Attainder they were granted in Fee to Robert Ballard Esquire Pincernae suo his grand Boteler That is the Mannors of Westcombe and Spittlecombe in Greenwich two Watermills in Detford with their Appurtenances in Charlton and Writle-mersh after which that Name continued a long time in this place of whom you may read more among the Sheriffs of Kent untill about the fourth of Philip and Mary Westcombe was altenated by Nicholas Ballard to John Lambert Esquire whose Successor Thomas Lambert not many years since alienated it to Hugh Forth from whom it is lately gon over by Sale to Mr ...... Biddulph of London Soon after the Conquest this Greenwich was parcell of the Possessions of the Bishop of Liseux in France and bore Service to Odo then Bishop of Baieux and Earl of Kent After the Mannor belonged to the Abbot of St. Petres of Gaunt in Flanders till such time as King Henry the fifth seising into his Hands by occasion of War the lands of the Priors Aliens bestowed it together with the Mannor of Lewsham and many other Lands also upon the Priory of the Brotherhood to the Monks of Shene which he had then newly erected to which it remained till the Time of King Henry the eighth who annexed it to the Crown unto which it now belongeth and is called the Honor East-Greenwich Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were both born here and King Edward the sixth a Miracle of Princely Towardnesse ended his Life in the same House King Edward the third 1376 in the fifty first year of his Reign founded the Religious House of Friers Aliens or Dominican Friers Sir John Norbury Knight high Treasurer of England is reckoned a Benefactor to the same after the Dissolution of this House and its Annexion to Shene by King Henry the eighth Another House of observant Friers was erected here by King Edward the fourth as we read in Jo. Rosse Circiter Annum Regni Edwardi quarti venerunt Fratres observantes Ordinis Minorum ad Greenwich habebant Cantariam Capellam Sancti Crucis And King Henry the seventh builded that House for them adjoyning to the Pallace which is yet there to be seen There are moreover in the Town two Colledges or Almes houses for the Sustentation of poor Persons the one builded by William Lambert Esquire which he named the Colledge of Queen Elizabeths poor People and as the Prying Adversaries of out Religion then observed was the first Protestant that built an Hospital The other standing by Thames-side was founded by Henry Howard Earl of Northampton Lord Privy Seal Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports and Knight of the Garter And inlarged and Beautified the Castle which is famous in the Spanish Fables from whence there is a most fair and pleasant Prospect open to the River winding in and out almost redoubling of it self the green Medows and Marshes underlying the Citty of London and Country round about Described by Berkley in his Euphormio And also for a L'env'oy to Greenwich you may read the Verses of Leland the Antiquarian Poet adjoyning to Greenwich Blackheath of which the Hundred taketh the name so called of the colour of the Earth or Bleacheath of the high and cold Situation for bleak signifieth cold Also Campus Martis it may well be called for besides the Burthen of the Danish Camps it hath born three rebellious Assemblies One in the time of King Richard the second Moved as shall be farther declared in Offham by John Tylar whom William Walworth then Maior of London slew with his Dagger in Smithfield and thereupon upon the Tradition comes that the City had given them for an Augmentation to their Eschochen a Dagger in the Dexter-point or Canton so to be born by them for ever Jack Cade that Counterfeit Mortimer and his Crew conducted the second who araying themselves here and passed to London where they did to Death the Lord Say and others and executed their malice upon the Records and Monuments of the Law Burning down the Office of Armes which was then kept at Cole-Harbour burning destroying their Rolls Registers and Books of Armory Their main Drift and Design being to bring in Parity And their Insurrection was here assembled by Michaell Joseph Black-smith and the Lord Audley under the Reign of King Henry the seventh at which time they and their Complices received their just Desert the Common Numbers of them being discomfited and slain and the Leaders themselves taken drawn and hanged Of this last there remaineth yet to be seen upon the Heath the place of the Smith's Tent called commonly his Forge and of all there the great grave-Hills of such as were buryed after the overthrow These Hills in the West-Country upon diverse Champions and Plains where is no small Store of the Like are called Barowes of the old English word Burghes which last word melted into Buryings being a Spring of the old Stock we do yet retain alive The first and last of these Commotions were stirred of Griese the Common people conceived for the Demand of two Subsidies Of which the one was unreasonable because it was taxed upon the Polls and exempted none The other was unseasonable for that it was exacted when the heads of the common people were full of Perkin Warbeck The third and middlemost grew upon a grudge that the People took for yielding the Dutchie of Aniou and Maine to the King of Sicily The coming of whose Daughter after that the King would needs have her to Wife notwithstanding his precontract made with the Earl of Armenac was not so joyfully embraced by the Citizens of London upon Blackheath wearing their red Hoods Badges and blew Gowns as in Sequele the Marriage and whole Government it self was known to be detested of the Country Commons by bearing in the same place Harnesse Bowes Bills and other Weapons Thus far the Story of Blackheath proves but sad and tragical That which remains is of a more glorious and splendid condition consisting of Ovations and Triumphs for when the Emperour of Constantinople came to require Aid against the Turks King Henry the fourth with all Princely respect went to meet him at this place and so conducted him to London And when King Henry the fifth returned from his victorious Conquest of France the Lord Maior and Citizens of London went forth in their best Equipage to attend his Reception at this place at which time the King made many Knights Bannerets And K. Hen. the eighth that excelled in all Triumphal matters met Anne Cleve daughter to the Dake of Cleve Graveney in the Hundred of Boughton was in the year of our Lord eight hundred and eleven by Archbishop Vlfred bought of King Kenwolfe as the Book of Christ-church sets it forth ad opus Ecclesiae Christi to the repair of the Cathedral In the year of Grace eight hundred and thirty Werhardus a Priest of much Power in England by the injunction of the Arch-bishop gave Graveney
to the Monks of Christ-church which had been before snatched away and then passed under the Notion of thirty two Hides and if you will see how it was rated in Dooms-day Book it is thus there represented Graveney est Manerium Monachorum est de Vestitu eorum quod Richardus Constabularius tenet in Feodo de Archiepiscopo tamen reddit firmam Monachis pro 1 Sulling se defendit This Mannor by the Successive Proprietaries was held in Fee of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury Here was a Family called Gravenell who were Lords of this Mannor which John de Gravenell dyed possest of in the fifty sixth year of Henry the third Afterwards I find the Fevershams a Family so called held it Richard Feversham was seised of it at his Death which was in the thirteenth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 100. But deceased without Issue-male so that his only Daughter Joan matched to John Boteler became his Heir This John Boteler was high Sheriff of Kent in the twenty second year of Richard the second But dyed likewise without Issue-male so that his Estate here which devolved to him by Female Right by the same Fate was carried away to John Martin one of the Judges of the Common-Pleas who married Ann his Sole Heir and this Man lyes buryed in Graveney Church under a Fair Stone inlaid with Brasse and his Pourtraicture insculped thereon with this Inscription affixed Hîc jacet Joannes Martin Justiciarius de communi Banco qui obiit 24 Octobris 1436 Anna Uxor ejus From Martin the Propriety of that Estate here which had been diverse years entituled to this Name went by Purchase into Pordage of Rodmersham in which Family the Possession hath for several Generations been constantly resident Gravesend in the Hundred of Toltingtrow was anciently the Possession of a Family called Cramavill who had likewise very considerable Possessions in East-Kent Henry de Cramavill held it at his Death which was in the fifty fourth year of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 8. And Joan Wife I believe of Henry de Cramavill was seised of it at her Decease which was in the eighth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 53. After this Family was gon out I find the Lord of the Fee to be Reginald de Cobham who was in Possession of it at his Death which was in the forty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 15. and in Ages of a lower Step another Reginald Cobham was seised of it in the seventh year of Henry the fourth and from him by the Heir Generall it came down to Braybrook and by the Heir general of that Family it was transmitted to Brook of the County of Somerset from whom descended the infortunate Henry Brook Lord Cobham who being attainted in the Beginning of King James forfeited this Mannor to the Crown in whose Revenue it lay involved untill the late K. Charles granted it to his Kinsman James Duke of Lenox upon whose late Decease it is now become the Inheritance of his Son Esme Duke of Lenox now in his Minority Milton neer Gravesend in the Hundred of Shamell was an Ingredient which made up that Estate which fell under the Signory of the Montchenseys Lords and Barons of Swanscamp Warren de Montchensey obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor of Milton in the thirty seventh year of Henry the third and he had Issue William de Montchensey who held it at his Death which was in the fifty second year of Henry the third and left it to Dionis his Female Inheritrix wedded to Hugh de Vere by whom she having no Issue that might transmit the Possession to his Family the Interest of it was by Joan Sister and Coheir of the abovementioned William knit to the Patrimony of her Husband Aymer de Valence Earl of Pembroke whose Son William de Valence dying without Issue Isabell his Sister and Coheir being wedded to Lawrence de Hastings afterwards Earl of Pembroke united it to his Demeasn and his Grandchild John de Hastings about the beginning of Richard the second passed it away to Sir Simon de Burley who being attainted of high Treason in the tenth of his Rule because according to his Oath being Knight of the Garter and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports he endevoured to underprop like some Butteresse the sinking Prerogative of his Master against the onsets of some of the ambitious Nobility it escheated to the Crown And then the aforesaid King in the fourteenth year of his Government granted it to John Holland Earl of Huntington and he not long after conveyed it by Sale to Reginald Cobham whose Widow Elizabeth was remarried to William Clifford Esquire and he in her Right I find was possest of it in the ninth year of Henry the fourth But after his Death it reverts to Braybrook who had matched with Joan the Heir general of Cobham and he determining likewise in an Heir general matched to Brook of the West-country it devolved with Cobham to acknowledge the Signiory of that Family but continued not long in their Possession for about the Beginning of Edward the fourth I find it in the Tenure of Robert Brent from whom it descended to his Son William Brent who in the eighth year of King Henry the seventh conveyed it to Sir Henry Wiatt and from him did it come down to his Grandchild Sir Thomas Wiatt who being attainted in the second year of Queen Mary it escheated by Confiscation to the Crown and then it was granted to George Brook Lord Cobham and went along with that Family untill the beginning of King James and then Henry Lord Brook having embarked himself in the unhappy Design of Sir Walter Rauleigh was atrainted of high Treason and his Concernment in this Mannor was forfeited to the Crown and was not many years after by the above-mentioned Prince granted to Mr. George Tucker of Gravesend whose Grandchild Mr. George Tucker hath lately passed away all his Interest here to Mr ...... Hamon of Queenhith in London Parrocks is likewise situated within the Circle of Gravesend and had owners of that Sirname as is evident by an ancient Record which testifies that Robert de Parrock Pat. de An. 52. H. 3. Memb. 10. obtained a Market weekly on the Saturday and a Fair yearly to endure for the Space of three Days viz. the Vigil the Day of St. Edmund and the day after in the fifty second year of Henry the third Afterwards this Mannor was linked to the Revenue of the Crown but whether it was thus annexed by Sale or by Exchange I confesse I am ignorant only I find by the original Patent that in the sixth year of Richard the second it was granted to Sir Simon de Burley upon whose Attaint in the tenth year of the abovesaid Prince it devolved to the Crown and Richard the second not long after setled it on the Abby of St. Mary Grace on Tower-Hill in whose Revenue it remained
John Proude who was unhappily slain at the Groll in the year 1628 whilst he did vigorously pursue the Quarrel of the States General at that Siege against the Capital Enemy of their Religion and Liberty the Spaniard and Mary espoused to Sir Edward Partrich for his first Wife but dyed without any Issue surviving by him Sir John Proud left only one Daughter called Ann who was first wedded to Sir William Springate and secondly to Mr. Isaac Pennington eldest Son to Isaac Pennington Lord Maior of London in the year 1643 in Right of which Alliance he at present holds this Mannor of Goodwenston Goodneston by Wingham vulgarly called Gonston lies in the Hundred of Wingham and was formerly parcell of the Patrimony of Hastings Earl of Pembroke bequeathed to him by his Kinsman John de Hastings who was first Husband to Juliana the Heir generall of Roger de Leybourn John de Hostings held it at his Death which was in the forty ninth year of Edward the third and so did his Son John de Hastings after him and brings a pleading for it in the fourteenth year of R. the second After them the Malmains were possest of it who had some Estate here before which they had by Purchase from Pine and Beauchamp about the Beginning of Edward the third and in this Family did it remain untill Henry Malmains about the year ........ deceased without Issue-male and then by Agnes his Daughter and Heir marryed to Thomas Goldwell it came to own the Jurisdiction of that Name and Family but was not long fastned to it for he ended likewise in a Female Heir called Joan who was wedded to Thomas Took of Bere Esquire and so by her it was united to the Revenue of this Family and here rested untill that Age which came within the Circle of our Grandsathers Knowledge and then it was passed away to Henekar from which Name in Times almost of our Cognisance it went away by a Revolution like the former to Kelley who conveyed it to Engham descended from the noble Family of the Enghams of Woodchurch who flourished so many Ages at Edingam and Pleurinden in that Parish Bonnington in this Parish is the ancient Seat from whence the numerous and Knightly Family of Bois did as from their originall Fountain issue out into Fredville Betteshhanger Haukherst and other parts of this Countie and do derive themselves from John de Bosco who is mentioned in the Battle-Abby Roll of those who entered this Nation with Will the Conquerour and certainly they have not been much lesse at this place then 17 Descents as the datelesse Deeds of several of this Family who writ themselves of Bonnington do easily manifest Nor hath it yet deserted the Name or departed from the Possession of Bois being at this present part of the patrimony of Sir John Bois to whose paternal Arms the late King for his eminent and loyall Service perform'd by him at Donnington Castle added as an Augmentation upon a Canton Azure a Crown imperial Or. Rolling is a third place in this Parish to be taken notice of It contributed a Seat as well as a Sirname formerly to a Family called Rolling Thomas Rolling held some Lands in Lease at his Death which was in the fisteenth year of Ric. the second Rot. Esc Num. 143. which Lands belonged to a Chauntry in St. Peters Church in Sandwich and lay in Eastry near his Mannor of Rolling After this Family was worn out the Idley's who had large Possessions about Mepham Cobham and Higham as appears by the Inquisition taken after the Death of John Idelegh in the forty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 58. Parte secunda were by Purchase seated in the Possession and preserved it untill the Reign of Henry the eighth and then it was alienated to Butler of Heronden in Eastry from whom in the Beginning of the raign of Q. Eliz. it went away to Roger Manwood Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer whose Son Sir Peter Manwood in our Fathers Remembrance alienated it to Dickenson from whom not many years since it was brought over to be the Possession of Master .......... Richards Godmersham in the Hundred of Felborough was given to the Monks of Christ-Church in Canterbury by Beornulfus King of the Mercians in the year of Grace eight hundred twenty and one free as Adisham and it was at the Request of Arch-bishop Vlfred to supply the Covent both with Food and Raiment which Grant Arch-bishop Egelnoth who it seems had some Interest in the Place in the year one Thousand thirty and six did fully confirm And in the year one thousand three hundred fourscore and seven Thomas Arundell Arch-bishop of Canterbury with the especiall Licence of Richard the second appropriated the Tiths of the Rectory of Godmersham to the Church of Christ-church to the Support and Maintenance of the Fabrick of the Church abovesaid If you will see what Value was set upon this Mannor in the Time of the Conquerour I shall afford you a Sight of it out of Dooms-day Book Godmersham says that Register est Manerium Monachorum de Vestitu eorum in Tempore Edwardi Regis se defendebat pro VIII Sullings est appretiatum XX. lb. sed tamen reddit XXX That is it paid a Rent of thirty pound to the Church Yolands and Ford are two other little Mannors in this Parish which acknowledged themselves anciently to be parcell of the Inheritance of Valoigns And Robert de Valoigns dyed possest of these and much other Land in this Track in the nineteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 41. Henry de Valoigns this mans Son was Sheriff of Kent in the fourteenth of King Edward the third and he had Issue Waretius de Valoigns and Stephen de Valoigns who planted himself at Gore-Court in Otham and is represented in Record to be one of the Conservators of the Peace for this County in the twenty ninth and thirty first years of Edward the third but Waretius de Valoigns determined in two Daughters and Coheirs one was matched to Fogge and the other to Thomas Aldon Son of Thomas de Aldon who was one of the Conservators of the Peace in Kent in the tenth and twelfth years of Edward the third and he in her Right was entituled to the Possession of these places And in this Family did it for diverse years continue untill the ordinary Mutation of Purchase rowled them into the Inheritance of Austin to which Name the Title remained constantly linked untill that Age we style our Grand-fathers and then they were by Richard Austin passed away by Sale to Broadnix so that they are now by paternal Right devolved to Thomas Broadnix Esquire in whose Estate the instant Propriety of them does lye involved Egerton in Godmersham was a Mannor which formerly swelled the demeasn of the noble Family of Valence who were Earls of Pembroke Aymer de Valence Earl of Pembroke held it at his Death which was in the
seventeenth year of Edward the second as appears Rot. Esc Num. 75. And leaving no lawfull Issue this upon the partition of his Estate increased the Revenue of John Comin Earl of Badzenoth in Scotland who had married Joan one of his two Sisters and Coheirs But long it remained not here for he deceased without any Issue-male so that Joan his sole Daughter matched to David de Strabolgie Earl of Atholl became his Heir and he in her Right was found to be invested in the Possession in the first year of Edw. the third as is manifest Rot. Esc Num. 85. And from him did it devolve by Descent to his Son and Heir David de Strabolgie who in the seventh year of Edward the third by Deed setled it on his Kinsman Sir Henry de Hills which Katharine his Widow and Countesse confirms the twentieth year of that Prince Gilbert de Hills lieth buryed in Godmersham Church and as appears by his Pourtraicture in his Armour was a person of Eminence in that Age wherein he flourished and from him and Sir Henry de Hills did issue forth many eminent and worthy Successors who were Proprietaries of this Mannor untill that Age which fell within the Precincts of our Crandfathers Memory and then it went away by Sale to Scot a Cadet or younger Sprig of the Scotts of Scotts-Hall the Heir General of which Family was Mrs. Dorothy Scott who being lately matched to Mr. Daniell Gotherson he in her Right is now though not without a signal Contention at Law with some collateral Pretenders to the Title peaceably planted in the Possession of it Godmersham as the Records of Christ-church inform mee had the Grant of a Market to be observed weekly on the Tuesday and a Fair yearly upon the Thursday and Friday in Whitson Week by the Prior of Christ-church in the Reign of Edward the third Goudherst in the Hundred of Marden with the inherent Mannor of Bedgebury were the ancient Patrimony of a Family of no cheap Account in this Track which as it chose one of these Mannors for its Seat so did it derive its Sirname from thence likewise and was called Bedgbury and certainly were of a very high Ascent in their Extraction For in a Deed without Date one John de Bedgebury demises some parcels of Land to William de Comden of Comden House in this Parish and the Seal affixed to this Deed is a Cavalier on Horseback armed like one of the Knights Templers which argues that he lived before the Suppression of that Order and assumed that Impresse out of his particular Affection to them or else which was customary in those Times out of some signall and solemn vow to maintain the Temple of our Saviour from the Assaults and barbarous Impressions of Infidels which these persons were by their Oath and first Institution oblieged vigorously to defend also John de Bedgebury this man's Successor paid respective Aid for his Lands at Goudherst and likewise for his Mannor of Bedgebury at making the Black Prince Knight in the twentieth year of Edward the third and left these above recited Mannors to his Son John de Bedgebury who dying without Issue his Sister became his Sole Inheritrix who by matching with Thomas Colepeper of Bayhall in Pepenbury Sheriff of Kent in the eighteenth year of Richard the second fastned the Propriety of these places to the Interest of this Family where they continued undivided but in the thirty eighth year of Henry the eighth Court Shingley was by Thomas Colepeper alienated to Stephen Darell but Goudherst and Bedgebury were not plucked away from this Family by this Alienation but continued united to their Estate so that at this Day they own Thomas Colepeper Esquire for their Proprietary Combwell was a Priory of Black Canons under the Rule of St. Augustin and was founded by Sir Robert de Thurnham and dedicated to the Honor of St. Mary Magdalen Their Revenue lay scattered in Marden Stapleherst and Goudherst in which last there was an obscure Cell or Convent of Nuns which had their principal Subsistence by their Charity whose Ruines are yet visible though their Revenue was so narrow that no Record informs us where it was situated Upon the Dissolution in the Reign of Henry the eighth this devolving to the Crown that Prince in the thirty fourth year of his Government granted it to Sir John Gage one of the Justices of the Peace both for Sussex and Kent and his Successor conveyed it to Colepeper who immediately after passed it away to William Campion Esquire Ancestor to Sir William Campion who was offered up a Sacrifice to the Cause and Quarrel of the last King at Colchester in the year one thousand fix hundred forty eight and in his Heirs is the Interest of this Mannor at this instant resident Finchcocks is a third place of note in this Parish made more eminent in that it was the Mansion of a Family of that Sirname whom although I find invested in the Possession of this place ever since the fortieth year of Henry the third yet do I not discover that any of the Family was illustrious by any important undertaking or famous by any eminent Office The next Family which stept into the Possession was Horden of Horden and he became Proprietary of it by Purchase about the Beginning of Henry the sixth one of which Family was Edward Horden Esquire who was Knight of the Greencloth to Edward the sixth Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth who dyed without Issue-male and left his Estate to be shared between two Daughters and Coheirs Elizabeth matched to Mr. Paul Bathurst descended from Bathurst Street in Nordiam and Mary espoused to Mr. Delves of Fletchings who in her Right carried away Horden where certainly the above-recited Family had flourished under a noble Estimate for Edward Horden the last of this Name was issued out from William Chichley second Brother to Henry Chichley Arch-bishop of Canterbury and for some considerable Service performed to the Crown had the Augmentation of a Regal Diadem upon a Canton added to his paternal Coat by Queen Elizabeth But to proceed Finchcocks by the above-mentioned match devolved to be the Possession of Bathurst and so owns it self at this Day to be the Estate of this Name and Family Patenden is another place which gave Seat and Sirname to a Family of no vulgar Repute in this County and was seated in its Possession as appears by original Deeds and other old Records as high as the Reign of Edward the first and where in the twenty ninth year of Henry the sixth there was issued out a Commission to Gervas Clifton Esquire then Sheriff of the County to return all those who did portare Arma antiqua Amongst the Register and Catalogue of those who were then returned Patenden is recorded who was Lord of this place and from him did the Propriety of this place by Descent glide down to his Successor who in those Times we style our Fathers passed it away by Sale
conveyed to the Peckhams where it hao not long made its Residence but the Title by purchase like an Orbe never much in repose rowled it self from Thomas Peckham into Vane where for some years it has rested The Mannor of Moateland◠shall be the last mentioned though not in the above specified Survey yet in mine in Relation to this Parish The first Family that I track in the Record to be Possessors of it were the Bakers of East-Peckham in which Name the Propriety of it lay wrapt up till Richard Baker did devest himself of his Right and passed it over by Sale to Burgesse where it had not long dwelt but the same Change untwined it For Thomas Burgesse alienated it to Henry Leigh and in his Successor till a clearer Ray of more Modern Intelligence directs me to believe the Contrary I think the Possession is resident There are two other Seats of Venerable Account in this Parish The Mannor of the Rectory is the first which in the year 1287. was by Thomas de Inglethorp Bishop of Rochester as the Records of that Church signifie appropriated to the Knights of St. John otherwise called the Knights Hospitalers and remained locked up in their Demeasne until the publique Suppression snatched it away and united it to the Crown where it lodged until the second year of Edward the sixth and then it was granted to Sir Ralph Vane whose Descendant about the middle of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to Roger Twisden Esquire Captain of a Troop of Kentish Gentlemen at the Camp formed at Tilbury to oppose the Hostile Eruptions of the Spanish in the year 1588. And from him it is now come by Descent to be possest by his Grandchild that learned and accomplished Gentleman Sir Roger Twisden of Roydon Hall Knight and Baroner The second is Fish-Hall the Mansion formerly of John de Fisher so called because he was invested with a Priviledge by Gilbert de Clare Earl of Glocester and Lord of the Lowey of Tunbridge to have the Fishing freely and uncontrouledly within his Jurisdiction or as far as it did extend so that from this Immunity or Franchise his Posterity contracted the Sirname of Fisher and for some Ages did the Right of it remain interwoven with the Demeasne of this Family till Richard Fisher sold it to John Vane Esquire from whom the same Revolution not long after transported it to Rivers of Chafford and now the Title is ingrafted into a yonger Branch of that Family Halling in the Hundred of Shamell has nothing remarkable in it but the Mannor of Langridge aliâs Bavent for so it is written frequently in Records and indeed not without some Reason to support the Orthography for in Times of elder Prescription it gave both Seat and Sirname to a Family that had that Appellation and there is some Track or Print yet of the Ruines of a Mansion-house in that Feild which is at this Day called Bavents and Roger de Bavent died in possession of it in the thirty first year of Edward the third and when this Name was worn out the next which we find in Succession to be Proprietary of it was Langridge a Branch spouted out from that Stem of Langridge which was anciently planted in the County of South-hampton And when this Family was decayed and vanished and had left nothing to evidence to us that it had once a Being here but the adopting this Mannor into its Name the Possession went into Melford and here after it had had some short abode it abandoned this Family and cast the Interest of it into the Patrimony of Raynwell whose Successor after some short Flux of Time as appears by the Book of Aid kept in the Exchequer sold it to Robert Wotton in the seventeenth year of Henry the seventh and he suddainly after alienated this and other Lands to Whorne of Cuckston nor was the Title any length of Time lodged in this Name for a Fate of the same condition with the former carried it over to Vane from whom it flowed away in the same Current and by Sale emptied it self into Barnewell nor was it lesse permanent there for the same inconstant Tide wafted it down to Nicholas Lewson and Sir Richard Lewson his Grand-child desirous to wrap up all his Interest within the County of Stafford alienated his Kentish Lands to several persons and sold those which were part of his Demesne here to Barber The Mannor of Halling it self was given to the Church of Rochester by Egbert King of the West Saxons in the year of our Lord 838. and has continued parcel of the Churches Patrimony in an uninterrupted Succession of Time till the year 1643. and then the Title was raveled and discomposed Halden in the Hundred of Blackborne and Barekley has nothing worthy in it that may oblige a Remembrance but only Hales-place from whence as from their Fountain the several Streams of the Hales that in divided Rivulets have spread themselves over the whole County did originally break forth But where this Hales-place is now placed or in what Angle of the Parish it is situated I confesse I cannot instruct my self unlesse it be that Great House which was the Original Seat of the Scots before they planted at Congerherst in Haukherst and which Reginald Scot sold to Sir Edward Hales Indeed it is often mentioned in the Pedigree of Hales and likewise in the Deeds of that Family as lying in Halden which is evidence enough that there was such a Mansion in this Parish though peradventure through Neglect and Disuse and by altering its Possessor it have at present lost its Name Halstow in the Hundred of Hoo was anciently part of the Barony of Bardolph but did not long rest here for Isolda the Daughter and Co-heir of Hugh de Bardolph being married to Henry Lord Grey this was thrown into that Scale with other Demesnes of vast Estimate which did after swell the Revenue of this Baron into a huge Dimension But as all sublunary matters have the Fate of an uncertain inconstancy written in indelible Characters upon them so had this for Richard Lord Grey this mans Successor sold it to John Lord Cobham and he died possest of it in the thirty sixth year of Edward the third from whose Heir an equivalent Vicissitude resigned it up to the illustrious Family of Zouch and William La Zouch extracted from the Zouches of Haringworth in the County of North-hampton died actually possest of it in the fifth year of Richard the second and after the Title had been some years knit to the Relation and Interest of this Family it was at length torn off by the rough Hand of Time and by Sale surrendered up to Norris from whose Heir by as quick a Transition it conveyed it self over to Sir Edward Hales Grand-father to Sir Edward Hales Baronet now surviving Halsted in the Hundred of Codsheath was the Inheritance of a good old Family called Malavill who were of no contemptible Account in this part of the
the twentieth year of Edward the third and when after some expiration of Time this Family began to find the common Sepulcher which wairs upon all Humane Glory Decay and Oblivion the Martins a Name of generous extraction in this Track stept in and by Purchase became Lords of the Fee and held it till the Name being contracted into Anne Sole Daughter and Heir of Jo. Martin by marriage with Roger Brent it was knit to the Patrimony of that Family and so for some years remained undissolved till the Union by Sale was broken and not long since passed over to Sir Thomas Bind where at present the Possession is wound up with the other Demeasne of that Family The Mannor of Beverley is a third place of Note in Harbledowne It was the Sear of the ancient Family of Beverley before they removed to Tancrey Island in Fordwich and having remained Proprietaries of it many Generations by Efflux and Descent it was guided down to William Beverley Esquite from whom the Title ebbed away and in whom the Name determined for he deceasing without Issue Male Beatrix was his only Daughter and Heir who was matched to Thomas Norton Esquire by which Alliance the Title of this place became inter-woven with his Inheritance and continued clasped up in it until the middle of the Raign of Queen Elizabeth and then it was conveyed to Merseday in which Family it had a setled Residence until some sew years since the Mutation of Sale brought it to one Mr. ....... Richardson for its Proprietary Lanfranck Arch-bishop of Canterbury in the year 1071. Founded an Hospital at Harbledowne for Lepers employed afterwards to the Use of aged people William Wittlesey Arch-bishop of Canterbury in the year 1371. founded a Chauntry here and dedicated it to the Honor of St. Nicholas which Foundation in the year 1402. Was by Arch-bishop Arundell fully ratified and confirmed Nether-Hardres in the Hundred of Bridge and Petham is eminent for two Places situated within the Precincts and Ambuts of it The first is Hepington which certainly was anciently the Chichs of the Dungeon in Canterbury for I have seen a Record wherein Nicolas Mesingham releases his Right in this and divers other Lands confining on Canterbury to Tho. Chich. But let it be granted it was theirs certainly the Title was very volatile and incertain for I find the Foggs when they expired to be next in Possession of it which was as high as the entrance into the Raign of Hen. the fourth And here for some Ages the Title fixt it self till at length the Fatality of Time passed it over by Sale to Hales one of whose Successors has lately sold the Mansion House to Sir Thomas Godfrey but still preserves the Propriety of the Mannor it self in his Name Lindeshore but vulgarly called Linsore is the second Place that Objects it self to a Consideration In the eighth of Edward the third an Original Fine represents it to be Thomas de Garwinton's and here many years the Possession was resident till Joan his Niece became by Reason her Nephew Thomas Garwinton Grand-child to this Thomas de Garwinton died without Issue the Heir General of this Family and she being married to Richard Haut a Cadet of the Hauts of Hautsborne alias Bishops-Bourne made this part of their Demeasne but this Name not long after concluding in Margery Haut Sole Daughter and Heir to Richard Haut she being made the wife of William Isaack of Blackmansbery in Bridge involved this in her Husbands Revenue to which after it had been some time united it was by Sale from this Family carried over to John Brent Esquire and this Name some narrow Distance of Time after resolving into a Daughter and Heir called Margaret who was married to John Dering this became part of his Estate and so continued till his Successor not long since sold it to Young of Canterbury Vpper or High Hardres call it which you please is placed in the Hundreds of Bridge Petham and Lovingborough and gave name to a Family which certainly was of Saxon-extraction being compounded of two Saxon words Erd which signifies Earth and Reys which signifies Rivulets or small Drils of water And more to establish this Opinion the Record of Doomes-day Book informs us that Rodbertus de Hardres held half a Sulling or Ploughed-land in Liminge in the twentieth year of William the Conqueror this man was Ancestor to Philip de Hardres who was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the Raign of King John and his Son Philip de Hardres was a man of that Eminence under the Government of Henry the third that he matched with Grace Daughter and Heir of Stephen de Harengod and I have seen an old Deed which bears the form of a Latine Will wherein this Stephen settles his Mannor of Elmested and other Lands in this Track upon this Philip de Hardres which Deed though not dated certainly relates to the Time of his Decease which was in the one and fortieth of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 23. But though this Mannor gave Sirname to Hardres yet I find some others had an Interest in it or at least some part of it before it absolutely and solely came to confesse the Signory of this Name Oliver de Bohun obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands at High Hardres in the first year of Edward the first which was renued to Nicolas de Hadlow or Hallow who had not long before purchased the Inheritance of the above said Family at this place in the one and twentieth year of the above mentioned Prince but about the latter end of Richard the second I find this Family quite dislodged from this place and the Sole Demeasne and Propriety wrapped up in the Family of Hardres one of whom by Name Henry Hardres was one of the Justices of the Peace for this County in the Time of Henry the fourth and Henry the fifth and from him is descended Sir Richard Hardres now Lord of this Mannor who by a Title riveted and incorporated into him by a Chain of many uninterrupted Descents does now claim the Signory of it Southcourt is another little Mannor in Upper Hardres which in elder Times was entituled to the Propriety of Garwinton a Family of signal Estimate and deep Root in this Track for in an old Pedigree of Isaac I discover that Thomas and William de Garwinton were in the List of those Kentish Gentlemen that accompanied Henry the third in his Expedition into Gascony in the thirty seventh year of his Raign which Design by the ill Conduct of his Affairs and worse Managery of his Arms was very ruinous and full of dysaster to that Prince But this Family about the eleventh year of Henry the sixth as I have shewed in Bekesbourne being extinguished without Issue the Heir General brought this Mannor to be possest by Haut from whom some two Descents after the same Fatality brought it to be enjoyed by Isaac in whom the Propriety was resident until
granted both these Places to Sir Edward VVotton one of his Privy Councel whose Grand-child Sir Thomas VVotton was by King James invested with the Dignity and Title of Thomas Lord VVotton of Marley and was by Thomas Lord Wotton his Son settled in Marriage upon his Daughter Katherine VVotton with Henry Lord Stanhop Son and Heir apparent to Philip Earl of Chesterfeild and is at this instant in relation to the former settlement devolved in Abeyance to her Son the Right Honorable Philip Stanhop the present Earl of Chesterfeild Hern in the Hundred of Blengate has nothing memorable in it but Haw-house a Limb or portion of that wide Demeasne that the eminent Family of Apulderfield held in this Track and when this Name that had been deeply rooted in Antiquity Hern had a Market procured to be held there weekly on the Monday and a Fair yearly upon the Vigil and Day of St. Martin by the Archbishop of Cant. in the twenty fifth of Ed. the third as appears Cart. Num. 31. and had spread to a large extent in the Latitude of it was circumscribed in a Daughter and Heir called Eliz. matched with Sir Jo. Phineux this Seat was made by Female Interest an Addition to the Income of this Family and here it remained undivided from it till this Name determined in John Phineux Esqu issued from a younger Line of this Family who left only one Daughter and Heir married to Sir John Smith Grandfather to Philip Viscount Strangford who in relation to that Right this Match has invested in him is now the instant Proprietary Seas or At Seas Court is likewise involved within the Sphere and Limits of this Parish it was in Records anciently styl'd so though now through Disuse it be languished into an Intermission having lost its Name and the Estimate of a Mannor likewise For a Succession of some Ages it owned the Name and Interest of At Sea till Fate and Time that are the common Sepulchre of Families by Sale gave up the Fee-simple an Age or two since to Knowler whose Heir does yet entitle himself by Right of his Predecessours purchase to the Possession of it Hernehill in the Hundred of Boughton has two Places in it which may make it remarkable First Durgall Stroude which was in Times of higher Track the Martin's a very noble and illustrious Family in this Territory whose capital or principal Seat was at Graveney not far distant and here after it had flourisht by the Decursion of some Ages it fell into a Daughter and Heir called Margaret Sole Daughter and Heir to Matthew Martin who was married to William Norton of Cokesdish in Feversham and in her Right did he become Proprietary of this Mannor from whose Heir Thomas Norton the Property or Fee-simple was by Sale transferred into the Possession of Sir John Wild of Canterbury to whose Heirs General the Propriety of this Mannor does at present relate Secondly there is another Seat in this Parish vulgarly called Apes Court alias Lockley but indeed in truer Orthography writ Epes-Court a place so despicable that it had not been worth the Memoriall but that in all the circumstances of probability the Epes's of Canterbury assumed if not Seat yet at least Sirname from thence and it is the more possible because the Epes's have been ancient Tenants to the Church of Canterbury for the Mannor of Seas-alter divided by a neer Distance from this place in Ages of a more modern Date the Nevinsons were the Lords of the Fee and certainly this was their ancient Mansion before they were transplanted to Eastry this being sold in the Raign of King James by Sir Roger Nevinson to Sir John Wild of Canterbury in whose Heirs General Dudley Wild Esquire his only surviving Son being lately deceased without Issue the Possession continues fixed Hever in the Hundreds of Somerden and Ruxley had in elder Times a Castle See more of this Family at Northfleet which was the Capital Seat or Mannor built by Thomas de Hever who had liberty by the Charter of Edward the third granted to him in the fourth of his Raign not only to embattle his Mansion here but likewise had Free-warren annexed to his Lands in this place William Hever deceased without Issue Male and left only two Daughters and Co-heirs Joane married to Reginald Cobham of Sterborough and the other wedded to Brocas whence in Records it is sometimes called Hever Cobham and Hever Brocas and when the Cobhams went out the Bullens were the immediate Purchasers for Geffrey Bullen purchased this Place and his Grand-child Sir Thomas Bullen Knight of the Garter and Earl of VVilts lived here who was Father to Anne Bullen Wife to Henry the eighth and as he had here his Habitation so likewise he has here his Sepulcher and lieth emtombed in Hever-church but when his Son George Viscount Rochford upon pretence of some black Crimes acted against the Majesty of Henry the eighth fell under the Censure of High Treason this upon his Attainder or Conviction was escheated to the Crown and began to be reputed a Mansion of some Estimate when Anne of Cleve for some Time lived here and made it her residence but in Times subsequent to this I find it eminent for nothing till King James granted it to Sir Edward Waldgrave whose Successor yet possesses it Heys in the Hundred of Rokesley was formerly under the Jurisdiction of the Squirries a Family under a signal Notion of Eminence in this part of the County and was concluded some Ages within their Patrimony till it was bounded by two Daughters and Co-heirs one of which called Dorothy was married to Richard Mervin the other styled Margaret matched to Sir William Cromer who in Right of their Father Thomas Squirrie who held Heys in the eighteenth year of Henry the sixth entituled themselves to vast Possessions in these parts but this Mannor upon the Division accrued to Mervin and in his Posterity some years it found an abode till by Sale the Interest was transmitted to Peche but Sir John Peche deceasing without any Issue Male his only Daughter Elizabeth married to John Hart Esq extracted from the Harts of the County of Hertford was found to be his Heir and in Relation to that Mixture or conjunction does this Family yet continue Proprietaries of it Hinxhill in the Hundreds of Chart and Longbridge was part of that Estate which belonged to the Family of Strabolgie Earls of Atholl but whether or not it devolved to Alexander Balioll Earl of Atholl by Isabell his Wife one of the Co-heirs of Richard de Dover Lord of Chilham is altogether incertain because no Record that I ever yet saw reaches beyond the above mentioned Alexander this mans Son was John Earl of Strabolgie and Athol who having forfeited it in the Raign of Edward the first whilst he endevoured to buoy up the Liberty of his Country of Scotland which then seemed to be sunk in its own Ruines being trampled upon by the succesful Attempts of
augmented the Revenue of that Priory Yet there is an ancient Seat in this Parish called Rumpsted which never was couched in the Spiritual Patrimony for it had anciently Owners of that Appellation Sir William de Rumpsted held this and a Castellated Mansion in Sevenoke of that Denomination in the Raign of Edward the first and he had Issue Sir John Rumpsted possest of this place and Rumpsted in Sevenoke and as the Tradition asserts educated Sir William Sevenoke Lord Mayor of London in the year of Grace 1418. In Ages of a nearer Descent to us that is in the third year of Henry the sixth I find Richard Peverell to have enjoyed it And in Times subsequent to these the Peckhams but their Possession was very frail for in the Raign of Queen Elizabeth I find it to be in Figge a Name of no despicable Character in this Parish but it was very transitory here likewise for about the Beginning of King James the Title was interwoven with the Interest of Thompson who in our Fathers Remembrance conveyed it by Sale to Mr. ...... Taylor Fruiterer to the abovesaid Prince and his Discendant not many years since alienated it to Mr. Stringer of Goudherst I. I. I. I. ICkham in the Hundred of Downehamford was given by King Offa to Christ-church and to the Monks of that Covent in the year 781. under the Notion of fifteen Plough-lands and was for a Supplement of Dyet This Donation in the year 958. was confirmed by Athelward Odo the Arch-bishop of Canterbury being then present and attesting the Ratification In the Time of Edward the Confessor when the first Design of Doomesday Book was started it was rated at four Sullings or Plough-lands nor did it fall in that Account when that generall Register was perfected which was in the twentieth year of the Conqueror defending it self at the same Estimate and upon the Appraisment was valued at thirty pound And here it was fastned until King Henry the eighth finding the Revenue of the Church was diffused into too wide a Latitude and Circumference contracted it by a general Dissolution into a narrower Orbe and having rent off this Mannor from the Ecclesiastical Demeasne like an Excrescence sprouting out from a luxuriant Stem he ingrafted it again by his Letters Patent on the Dean and Chapter of Christ-church and they settled it by Lease on Edward Isaack a Noble Confessor for the Protestant Religion in the Raign of Queen Mary when so many were sent to Heaven like so many Elias's Flammeis vecti Quadrigis in Chariots of fire who rather chose to desert his Country then abandon his Religion and to lose his Estate rather then to debauch or relinquish his Conscience as his Epitaph on an old Tablet affixed to a Pillar contiguous to his Grave-stone in the Nave of Christ-church at Canterbury does instruct us Upon his Recesse this was seized upon by the Crown and Queen Mary by Grant united it to the Revenue of George Lord Cobham whose infortunate Grand-child Henry Brooke being attainted in the Raign of King James that Monarch restored his Estate forfeited here to Robert Cecill Earl of Salisbury his Brother in Law whose Son Robert now Earl of Salisbury holds the instant Possession of it but hath lately alienated some part of it to Mr. Roger Lukin of London Apulton is a second Mannor in Ickham written in old Deeds Apylton as being the Inheritance of a Family of that Name for in an old Deed of Reginald de Cornehill that was owner of Lukedale in Littlebourne not far distant one William de Apylton of Ickham is a Witness but whether this Family was knit by any Relation to the Noble Family of the Apyltons of Essex and Suffolk I am incertain Afterwards the Denis's were possest of it and one John Denis of Apulton in Ickham who was Sheriff of London in the year of Grace 1360. Founded here a Chauntry in the Raign of Edward the third as appears by an old Manuscript in the Hands of Mr. Thomas Denne lately deceased and was called Denis Chauntry and the Lands which relate to it are at this Day styled Denis Lands After this Family was worn out I find one Adam Oldmeade by the private Deeds to be in the Raign of Henry the fifth and Henry the sixth owner of it from whom before the latter end of that Prince it came over by Sale to Bemboe and from him to Hunt in which Family it made no long stay For about the latter of Henry the seventh I find it alienated to Dormer a Branch of the Dormers of Buckinghamshire and from this Name not many years after it went away to Gason a Name very ancient in this Parish and here likewise was the Possession of as brief a Date for Dormer by Sale passed it away to Hodgekin whose Ancestors were formerly possest of Uffington in Gonston and transmitted it by Sale to Ashenden and here likewise was the Title very variable for within the Circle of fourscore years it acknowledged not only this Family but Rutland Winter and d ee to have been its Successive Proprietaries from the last of which not many years since it was by Sale carried off to Frostall in which name it is still resident The Mannor of Baa in this Parish had anciently Possessors of that Sirname as appears by an old Fragment of Glass in the Church Windows whereon is superscribed this incoherent Inscription Hic ...... Ba ..... and at the Pedestal of another antiquated Portraiture Thomas de Baa After the Baas the Wendertons of Wenderton in Wingham were possest of it for several Generations until William Wenderton about the Beginning of Henry the eighth passed it away by Sale to Hugh Warham Esquire Brother to the Arch-bishop and he gave it in Dower with Anne his Daughter matched to Sir Anthony St. Leger Lord President of Ireland whose Descendant Sir Warham St. Leger passed it away to Mr. ...... Denue of Denne Hill in Kingston whose Heir Mr. Thomas Denne late Recorder of Canterbury almost in our Memory alienated it to Curling Before I leave Ickham I must inform the Reader that Peter de Ickham was born in this Parish a man whom both Ball in his Centuries and Pitseus in his Track de Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis do highly magnifie for a man of eminent Literature whither I refer my Reader Ivie-church in the Hundred of St. Martins and Aloesbridge contains sundry Places within its Confines not to be entombed in silence The first is Capells-Court the Seat of a Family of that Sirname and were written frequently At Capell and in Latin de Capella and were a Family certainly of signall Account in Kent as appears by their Land which lay scattered in Linton and Boxley where John de Capell held Land called Tattellmell in that Parish in the thirty seventh year of H. the third as appears by a Charter of Inspection of that Prince wherein he confirms Land to the Abby of Boxley which bordered on the Land of John de Capell at Tattellmell
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
by his Successor sold to Henry Chichley Arch-bishop of Canterbury who gave it as Dower to his Niece Florence Chichley married to Jo. Darrell of Cale-hill and he assigned it for the Lively-hood of his second Son whose Posterity have ever since enjoyed it Here was also in this Parish the Mansion of the Chitcrofts a Family of worth and eminent degree Their Blazon was precisely the same with the Colepepers of Bay-hall not far distant as if they had been a Cadet of the same House This is a matter which falls within the Cognizance of my Profession and because I meet with diverse ancient Houses in this County which did the like as well as in other Counties I cannot leave it without setting down such Notes and Observations as have been made upon it having met with so many Examples of that kind in the Survey of this Province For instance St. Nicholas of St. Nicholas in the Isle of Thanett in the very Eastern part of the Shire and Peckham in the Western side of this County bear the same very Coat Armour because peradventure they held Land of the Lord Say to whose Arms they did desire their own might be assimilated Tutsham of Tutsham-hall in West-Farleigh and Eastangrave of Eastangrave in Eden Bridge bear both alike Brenley of Brenley in Boughton under Blean and Ratling of Ratling in Nonington have no distinction Peyforer of North-court in Eseling and Lenham of Lenham lay claim to an Identitie of Impresse or Coat Armour and lastly so did Watringbury of Watringbury and Savage of Bobbing-court Now the Reason of this neere similitude was to preserve the Memory of those though otherwise of different Families who had given them Education or else by particular Feoffments had endowed them with Land or lastly as an acknowledgement of the Service and Fealty they owed them because they held their Lands by some petty Rent Charge or Homage of some principall Mannor of which they whose Coat-Armour they had thus imitated were Proprietaries West-Langdon lies in the Hundred of Bewsborough and was a Mannor belonging to the Abbey of West-Langdon which was founded by Sir William de Auberville of Westenhanger Knight to the Honour of St. Mary and St. Thomas the Martyr of Canterbury and filled with white Cannons or Cannons Praemonstratenses in the time of Richard the first Hugh de Auberville the Founder's Son and Sir William Auberville Son to this Hugh were Benefactors to this House and this last Sir Williams only Daughter and Heir being married to Nicholas de Crioll of Bellaview nere Limne Hill brought this Monastery to be under the Patronage of the Criolls whose Demeasn upon the Dissolution being made the Incom of the Crown it here resided till Queen Elizabeth granted it with all the priviledges annexed to it in the thirty third year of her Rule to Samuel Thornehill of London Esquire father to Sir Timothy Thornehill upon whose Decease his Lady Dowager had West-Langdon assigned to her by Right of Jointure as being enstated before upon her in Marriage East-Langdon in the Hundred of Cornilo did in elder Times augment that Patrimony which fell under the Signiory of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury In the year of Grace 824 Ulfred then Arch-bishop of Canterbury exchanged this Mannor and Eythorne with the Monks of Christ-church for the Mannor of Berham as the Records of that Priory discover to me and being thus united to their Demeasne it lodged there untill the Government of Henry the eighth and then upon the Suppression of the above mentioned Cloister it was surrendered up with the Remainder of its Revenue into the Hands of that King and he in the thirtieth year of his Government granted it to Mr. John Masters and Mr. Thomas Masters of Sandwich from whom it is now by Descent devolved to be the Inheritance of his Descendant Richard Masters Esquire Apulton and Southwould are two small Mannors which are seated within the Limits of East-Langdon and were scarce worth any memorial but that they were formerly marshalled under the Demeasne of the eminent Family of Male-mains in whom the possession was seated till Henry Malmains being embarked in the rebellion of Simon de Montfort against Hen. the second had expiated that Defection with the forfeiture of his Estate had he not been pardoned and absolved by the Mediation of the Abbot of Langdon to which Covent in Gratitude his Son and Heir Sir John Malmains in the sixth year of Edward the third gave for ever * Apylton and Southwood I find upon a second Survey lie both in Waldershare Apylton and Southwould the last of which was in the first year of Richard the third exchanged by the succeeding Abbot with * It is probable the Ancestor of Monins purchased Mansuers Langdon of Mansuer a Family in East-Kent Robert Monins Esquire for Mansuers Langdon These three places upon the Suppression of this Abby were by Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his reign exchanged with Tho. Arch-B of Canterbury but were re-assumed by the Crown by another exchange 1 mo Eliz. though Southwould or Southwood was unjustly snatched away from Edward Monins Esquire in whose revenue it was found at the dissolution upon pretence it had been the former demeasne of the Abby of Langdon The Borough of Marton or Marton-street so called by Contraction but more truely Marshtown is circumscribed also within the Limits of East-Langdon and gave Name to a Family which from the Situation of the place did borrow their first Appellation and were in old Registers and other records written de Marisco And that it was frequent to mould a Sirname from the Site of the place and after to communicate it to their posterity as well as from the place it self is most evident for Gilbert de Marisco who was Lord of Wolwich in the reign of Edw. the first did assume that Sirname from the Situation of that place which was environed in a considerable part of it with moist and watery Mersh-land and so from the low level of this Borough did the Marshes now possessors of this place or the more principal part of it by right of Inheritance grown hoary and reverend by a prescription and possession of above three hundred years as appears by their own private Evidences in elder Times contract the denomitation of de Marisco which in Ages of a more modern Pedigree was melted by Usage Custome and common Consent into the instant Sirname of Marsh Langley in the Hundred of Eyhorne was in elder times the Inheritance of a Family called Ashway Will. de Ashway is by the book styled Testa de Nevil represented to have held it and have paid an auxiliary supply for it at the Marriage of Isabel Sister to Henry the third in the twentieth year of his reign After this Family was withered and shrunk into decay the Lords Leybourne were entituled to the Signory of it and Will. de Clinton Earl of Huntington held it at his death which was in the twenty eighth year
of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 59. in right of his Wife Juliana Sole Heir of Roger de Leybourn Lord of Leybourne Castle and she after him likewise was in possession of it at her decease which was in the forty third year of Edw. the third Rot. Esc Num. 47. But this after her departure for want of Heirs either direct or collateral escheating with a wide and opulent patrimony to the Crown it made its aboad there untill Rich. the second in the Beginning of his reign granted it to Sir Simon de Burley Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports and Knight of the Garter who being infortunately attainted in the tenth year of Rich. the second this Mannor by escheat reverts to the Crown and that Monarch in the eleventh year of his reign grants the Custody of Langley Park to William Arch-B of Cant. which his Grand-father K. Edw. the third had in the ninth year of his reign by a special Grant indulged to Will Lord Clinton and Julian his Lady licensed to be inlarged with 200 Acres of Land but the Mannor it self was granted to the Dean and Canons of St. Stephens in Westminster in the twelsth year of his reign as appears by an Inquisition taken at that time Rot. Esc Num. 159. and amply confirmed in the twenty first year of the abovefaid Prince as appears Pat. 1. Memb. 35. Parte tertia and remained folded up in their revenue until the general Suppression in the reign of H. the eighth dislodged the Title and planted it in the Crown and then that Prince by a new Concession made it the demeasn of Leven Buffkin descended from an ancient Family of that Name in Sussex and his Successor in our Fathers memory passed it away to Nat. Powel Esq and he not many years since demised his Interest in it by Sale to Sir Edw. Hales Knight and Batonet from whom it is now descended to his Grandchild Sir Edw. Hales of Tunstall Baronet Brising is another Mannor in Langley worthy the remembrance even in this that it gave Seat and Sirname to a Family of that denomination Sarin de Rising held in the twentieth year of Edw. the third and paid respective Aid for it at making the Black Prince Knight In times of a more modern Character the Astrys were invested in the possession And Jo. Astry held it at his decease as appears by an old Will in the fourth year of Edw. the fourth of this Family was Ralph Astry who was Sheriff of London in the first year of Richard the third and likewise William Astry who dyed seised of it in the thirty fifth year of Henry the eighth but after his Exit the Title was of no longer date in the Tenure of this Family for the Vicissitude of purchase about the Beginning of Edw. the sixth brought it from this Name to own the Signory of Leven Buffkin Esq one of the Justices of the Peace of this County and in his posterity did it reside until those Times which were of our Fathers Cognisance and then it was conveyed by Sale to Powel from whom not many years since the same revolution hath devolved it back into the possession of the instant proprietary Mr. Leven Buffkin Lee in the Hundred of Blackheath in Barbarous old Latine written Laga was the residence of an ancient generous Family called Bankwell and there is a place in this parish called Bankers by Corruption of the Name which in Orthography of more Antiquity and Truth was written Bankwells from whence certainly at first issued this Sirname In the thirty first year of Edward the first John de Bankwell had a Grant by the King's Charter to have Free-Warren to all his Lands in Lee Levesham and Bromley And in the return of John de Shelving High Sheriff of Kent in the sixteenth and part of the seventeenth year of Edward the second of all the Knights and men at Arms in this Connty William de Bankwell is mentioned in the second degree he dyed the twentieth year of Edward the third and left Thomas Bankwell his Heir who in the thirty fifty year of that Prince's Government deceased possest of Lee and a very large proportion of other Land in Modingham Sherfholt now I think corruptly called Shrawfield Littlecroft Bankers both in Lee Bromley Levesham Eltham Chiselhurst Detling Langshot and Wickham by Bromley and left three Sons according to the Custome of Gavelkind Heirs to his Inheritance which were John William and Robert Bankwell but upon the distinguishing the Estate into parcels Lee Bankers and Sherfholt now corruptly called Shrawfield fell to be the patrimony of John Bankwell and in this Mans Lineage did the Inheritance of these places divers years reside till the Name was circumscribed in a Female Heir who being wedded to John Arrapon brought this place to be an adjunct to his Inheritance And here I confess for want of information either from publick or private Record I am at a losse and cannot discover whether by Arrapon it was sold to the Crown and from the Crown transmitted to Woodvill or else immediately passed away by sale to Richard Woodvill Earl River who enjoyed it but upon his Son 's untimely death on a Scaffold at Pomfret being by the malice and subtlety of Richard the third blasted with an Aspersion of Treason that fatal Stroke which separated his Head from his Body divided his Estate here from this Name and Family and united it by Escheat to the Crown In whose Revenue it was resident until King Henry the eighth as is manifest by the original Patent granted it to Sir Thomas Wroteley In times of a more modern Aspect that is about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth I find it in the Tenure of Thomas Sackvill Lord Buckhurst but how it devolved to him I confesse I know not and from him it descended to his Grandchild Richard Sackvill Earl of Dorset who exchanged it with King James whose Successor King Charls sold the Royaltie and Fee-simple of it to Ralph Freeman Lord Maior of London who gave it in Marriage with his Daughter and Heir to Sir George Sonds of Leeze-Court in Shelvich Knight of the Bath who by a Right derived from that Match is the present Lord of Lee and its two Appendages Bankers and Shrawfield Leeds Town and Castle lies in the Hundred of Eyhorne and were by William the Conquerour in the twentieth year of his Reign as appears by the Text of Dooms-day Book assigned to Hamon de Crevequer whom he had constituted one of the Trustees to assist his Cousin John de Fiennes in the Conservation and Guard of Dover Castle who chose this for the Capital Seat of his Barony of Crevequer or decrepito Corde for so it is rendered in Latin and of Chetham near Rochester for of that place likewise he and his posterity sometimes writ themselves Barons and here erected a stupendous Castle which because it was environed with Water was called the Moat Hamon de Crevequer married Matilda Sole Daughter and Heir of William
James Driland of Davington and so this place became appropriated to the Interest of that Family but shortly after Constance Daughter and Heir of this man married Walsingham of Chiselhurst whose Son James Walsingham passed it away by Sale to Robert Atwater of Putwood in Otteringden and he not long after concluding likewise in a Daughter and Heir called Mary she by her Marriage with Robert Honywood Esquire a younger Branch of the Honywoods of Elmsted knit this Place to the Patrimony of that Family and Robert Honywood this Mans Son gave it in Dower with his Daughter to Thomson descended from the Thomsons of Petham There are two other Mannors in Lenham of Signal Estimate the First is West-Shelve written likewise Middle-Shelve it was parcel of the Estate of Bertram de Criol and by Joan his Daughter and Heir was linked to the Revenue of her Husband Sir Richard de Rokesley from whom the Fate of Female Interest devolved it on Thomas de Poynings and to this Family was it for many ages fastned till Sir Edw. Poynings extracted lineally from this Man in the fourteenth year of Hen. the eighth was found to have died both without lawful Issue and without Alliance and so this Name being both in the direct and collateral Line extinguished the Crown laid claim to this Mannor as de Jure escheated and in the seventeenth year of his Government Henry the eighth granted it to John Mills where after the possession had for some Time continued it was by Purchase brought into the Inheritance of Darel by whose Female Heir it is now brought to own the Signorie of Wilkinson Shelve Cobham is another Mannor in Lenham which in elder Times was folded up in the Inheritance of the Lords * See more of this Family at Roundall in Shorne Cobham of Sterborough Castle of which Family was Richard de Cobham made Knight Banneret by Edward the third as appears Pat. 15. Edw. tertii Parte secunda Memb. 22. and having continued many Descents constant to the Interest of this Family it did at last devolve to Thomas Lord Cobham of Sterborough who dying in the twelfth year of Edward the fourth without Issue Male Ann his only Daughter and Heir brought it to be parcel of the Patrimony of Edward Lord Borough of Gainsborough from whom the Propriety of it did flow down to his Grand-child Thomas Lord Borough who conveyed it by Sale to Mr. John Pekenham in the twenty fifth year of Q. Elizabeth and he was possest of it but untill the thirty fifth year of that Princesse and then an Alteration like the former made it the Demeasn of Boteler in which Name after it had remained until the fifth of K. Charles it was alienated by Sale to Sir John Melton whose Son John Melton Esquire hath lately conveyed it to Mr Salomon Adye Sindall is the last place of Account in this Parish of Lenham which as appears by the Evidences of this place was in the Raign of King John and Henry the third the Inheritance of a Family of that Sirname and as appears by some old Rolls and Armorials were Gentlemen of prime Note in this Track but continued not long owners of this Mansion for in the twenty third year of Edw. the third I find it in the Hands of Fulk de Peyforer and in this Family did it fix until the latter end of Edward the third and then it was passed away to Henman in which Name the Interest of this Place from the fiftieth year of the above Prince by a derivation of several Descents until this present year 1658 hath been successively resident Leveland in the Hundred of Feversham gave Seat and Sirname to a Family of that Denomination for I find that Giles de Badelesmer of Badelesmer not far distant was pardoned by Hen. the third for matching with Margaret de Leveland the Heir of this Place without the Kings especial License as is manifest Pat. 40. Hen. 3. Memb. 8. But he deceasing before her she was remarried to Fulk de Peyferor who in her Right died possest of this place in the fifth year of Edward the first but she had no Issue by neither of these two eminent persons so that Rafe de Leveland was her next Heir who had the Custody of the Palace of Westminster and the Fleet and after his Deeease Stephen de Leveland held both these places as his Brother and Heir This Stephen had a Daughter and Heir called Joan first wedded to John Shench and secondly to Edward de Cheyney who in her Right had the Custody of the Fleet and Palace of Westminster But John Shench was her Son and Heir who by a Right derived to him by Descent and Succession held both the Fleet and Westminster and was in the Possession both of them and Leveland at his Decease as an Inquisition taken after his Death in the twenty third year of Edward the third does signifie and left Margaret his Daughter Heir not onely to his Estate at Leveland but likewise to those Offices of Trust which it seems were in those Times hereditary and usually lincked together But this Family of Shench was not so entirely invested in the Signory of Leveland but that a considerable Proportion of it augmented the Patrimony of Northwood for Robert de Northwood held an Estate here at his Death which was in the thirty fourth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 70. and so did Richard de Northwood and Thomas Brother of the said Richard as appears by an Inquisition taken in the thirty fifth of the abovesaid Monarch Rot. Esc Num. 13. Parte secunda But before the latter end of Edw. the third both these Families had offered up their joynt Interest here to Richard Lord Poynings and he died possen of it in the twelfth year of Richard the second Rot. Esc Num. 148. and left his interest here to be enjoyed by his Kinsman Robert Poynings from whom an uninterrupted Line of Descent brought it down to Sir Edward Poynings who died in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and there being none after a serious Inquisition taken in the fourteenth year of that Prince who could establish any Claim or pretence either in respect of any direct or collateral Affinity to his Estate the Crown by Escheat was entituled to this Mannor and here the Propriety was lodged until King Henry the eighth before mentioned granted it to Sir Robert Southwell who in the second year of Edward the sixth conveyed it to Sir Anthony Aucher and he not long after passed it away to Sir Anthony Sonds great Grandfather to Sir George Sonds Knight of the Bath now instant Lord of the Signory of it Lewsham in the Hundred of Blackheath was a Mannor which belonged to the Priory which was erected here but who was the Founder is unknown Onely thus we find that King Henry the third by a new Inspection confirmed it with all the Franchises and Immunities annexed to it as appears Cart. 13. Hen. tertii Memb. 9.
together by a noble and generous Resistance against the Furious Impressions and Onsets of the Duke of Guise and the French Army who then pressed upon it with a straight and vigorous Seige But to go on after this Place had continued in the Name since the time of the first Concession even till ours it was lately by Sir Anthony Aucher of Bourne sold to Sir John Roberts of Canterbury East-Leigh was the Mansion of a Family which took their Denomination from hence and there is mention in the Book of Aid of William de Leigh and Robert de Leigh who held Land of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury by Knights Service in the twentieth of Edward the third when this Family was vanished and had deserted the Possession of this place which was about the Beginning of Edward the fourth the Allens who came from Borden and Sedingbourne were ingrafted into the Inheritance but enjoyed it not long for in the Age subsequent to the first Purchase it was alienated to Fogge who by as short and sudden a Vicissitude disposed of his Right in it to Cobbe of Cobbes-court not far distant in which Family the Title was as brief and as incertain as in any of the former for by them after a Possession of some few years it was alienated to Salkeld descended originally from the Salkelds of the North-riding in York-shire and Bishoprick of Durham Sibeton vulgarly called Sibton and Sifton is another Mannor which is contained within Lyminge It was of higher Calculation the Patrimony of Tibetot a Family of no mean Account both in the Counties of Leicester and Nottingham And Robert Tibetot was possest of it at his Death which was in the seventeenth year of Edward the third but after this Man I find no farther Remembrance of any of his Stock or Posterity at this place so that it seems his Son sold it to VValter Leigh or at Leigh of East-Leigh in this Parish who was likewise concerned in an Estate in Hertfordshire where he was conservator of the Peace in the first year of Richard the second and in this Family did it reside many years after For Tho. Leigh held it in Possession at his Decease which was in the seventeenth year of Henry the sixth but after his Death it was passed away to Allen where the Inheritance stayed not long for from them it went away by Sale into the Patrimony of Sir Jo. Hales who was Baron of the Exchequer in the raign of Henry the eighth whose Posterity an Age or two since alienated their Interest here to Salkeld Limne in the Hundred of Street in ancient Records written Limen is improved into a high Estimate from those many reliques and places of Antiquity which lie scattered within the Limitts of it And though now it carry with it an uncouth and desolate Aspect yet it was more flourishing in elder Times when Prince Edward Son to King Henry the third being then Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports at this place exacted an Oath of Fidelity of the Barons of the same to his Father against the Maintainers of the Barons War And at this Place or some other member of the Franchise to which the Court is adjourned from Shepway the Limenarcha or Lord Warden receiveth his Oath at his first Entry into his Office Berewick in this Parish was upon the Suppression of the Priory of Christ-church by King Henry the eighth re-enstated on the Arch-deacon of Canterbury who had here a Castellated Mansion long before that tempestuous Dissolution seated upon the Brow of a Hill and affording a delightful Prospect into France The Pages of Dooms-day Book represent it thus rated to us in the twentieth of William the Conquerour In Limwarled in Hundred de Strate habet Willielmus de Edesham de terra Monachorum 1 Manerium Berwick de Archiepiscopo quod tenuit Godridus Decanus pro Dimidio Sullingi se defendebat nunc similiter est appretiatum XI lb. Court at Street celebrates the Memory of the noble Family of Hadloe or Haudloe who as is manifest by ancient Records were in Times of a very high Ascent Lords of this Mannor * Nicholas de Hadloe is in the Rol of those Kentish Worthies who accompanied Richard the first to the Siege of Acon Nicholas de Hadloe had a Charter of Free-warren to all his Lands in Kent and the Grant of a market weekly and a Fair yearly to his Mannor of Court at Street in the forty first year of Henry the third John de Hadloe is in the Register of those Kentish Knights who accompanied Edward the first into Scotland and for his remarkable Service at the Seige of Carlaverock was made Knight and Banneret by that Prince in the twenty eighth year of his Raign In the tenth year of Edward the second a Licence or Patent was granted to John de Hadloe and Mawd his Wife to fortifie and embattle diverse Castles and Mannors in which this was couched In the first year of Edward the third he was summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron and left this Mansion thus solemnly ennobled to Nicholas de Hadloe in whom the Male-line expired so that Alice one of his Daughters and Coheirs upon the Partition of the Estate brought this to be the Patrimony of John Colvill and he in her Right held it at his Decease in the seventeenth year of R. 2 d. as appears Rot. Esc Num. 9. And from him did an uninterrupted Clew of paternal Succession transport it to Edward Colvill Esquire who in the thirty fifth year of Henry the eighth alienated it by Sale to Edward Thwaits Esquire and from him it did descend to Edward Thwaits who in the eleventh year of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it by Sale to Edward Jackman and in this Family did it reside until that Time which fell within the Circle of our Fathers Remembrance and then it was passed away to Sir William Hewett who upon his Decease by Testament setled it upon his third Son the instant Possessor Mr. Will. Hewet Bellaview Otterpoole and the Appendant Mannor of Wellop are all circumscribed within the Verge of Limne The first of which was both an eminent and ancient Seat of the Criolls before they translated themselves to Ostenhanger by matching with the Heir of Auberville and the two last were wrapped up in that Revenue which was as an Appendage both to support and enhaunce the Grandeur of it and went collectively together with Joan Daughter and Heir of Bertram de Crioll to Richard de Rokesley in the twenty third year of Edward the first and remained with this Family but untill the next Age and the same Vicissitude carried them off by Joan his Sole Inheritrix to Thomas de Poynings in which Name the Propriety resided untill the twelfth year of Henry the eighth and then they devolved by Successive Descent to Sir Edw. Poynings but he dying without any legitimate Issue and there being none of his Alliance that could by any collateral Affinity pretend any visible or manifest
Fremingham died seised of it in the thirtieth year of Edward the third and when this Family went out the Pimps of Pimps-Court and Nettlested by Purchase became Lords of the Fee from whom the same Fare brought it to acknowledge the Signory of the Isleys of Sundrich and here it continued till Sir Henry Isley in the Raign of Q. Mary being attainted of High Treason it became Confiscated to the Crown and She in the second year of her Government granted it to Sir Walter Henley Knight of Coursehorne in Cranbroke in whose Name and posierity the Possession has remained Successively planted till this Day Seventhly Chillington is not to be omitted because I find it in the Register of those Lands which acknowledged the Lords Cobham for Lords of the Fee And when John de Cobham had obtained a Charter of Free-warren in the seventeenth year of Edw. the third to all his Lands in Kent The Mannor of Chillington is Recorded in the Catalogue amongst them After them it came as the Court-rolls and private Evidences of this place inform me to acknowledge the Signory and Jurisdiction of the Mapelysdens of Digons and remained circumscribed in their Revenue till Queen Mary began to weild the English Scepter and then George Mapelysden being entangled beyond all retreat in the unsuccessfull Expedition of Sir Thomas Wyat miscarried in that Attempt and lost his Estate by Forfeiture to the Crown and Q. Mary granted it to Sir Walter and Gervas Henley Esquire who not long after sold his Interest in it to Nicholas Barham Esquire Serjeant at Law to Queen Elizabeth and his Successor alienated this place to Hawle of Wye whose Grandchild Mr. George Hawle lately deceased held the Fee-simple of it Lastly within the Ambute or Limits of Maidstone stands an ancient Castellated House called the Moate It did in times of great Antiquity relate to that Patrimony which confessed the Signory of the noted Family of Leybourne for Roger de Leybourne obtained the Grant of a Market weekly on the Tuesday and a Fair yearly to continue three Dayes at the Feast of St. Cross in the fifty first year of Henry the third as appears Pat. 51. Hen. tertii Memb. 10. But before the beginning of Edw. the third this Name was withered and shrunk into Decay at this place and then Bartholomew Lord Burghurst or Burwash Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and one of the first Founders of the Order of the Garter came to possesse it and Inhabited here in the twenty ninth year of Edward the third and possessed the Signory called Shofford on which the Castle stands and which one John de Shofford held by Knights-Service in the twentieth year as appears by the Book of Aid of Edward the third After the Lords Burghurst the Woodvills were possest of it and removed from Grafton in the County of North-Hampton where they had long continued and lived here A fair Monument of Woodvill on the North-side the Chancell of Maidstone-Church affirms it and when King Henry the sixth created Richard Woodvill Constable of the Isle of Wight a Baron of this Nation and elected him into the Order of the Garter his Style was Lord Rivers Grafton and De la Moat which Act of Grace and Favour mollified a Sentence and Fine of 1000. lb. imposed upon him for matching with Jaquet Daughter of Peter of Luxenbourg Earl of St. Paul Widow of John Plantagente Duke of Bedford without the Kings Licence But when King Edward the fourth had married Elizabeth his eldest Daughter being widow to Thomas Marquesse Dorcett he created him Earl Rivers and Lord of the Isle of VVight which Titles he had observed were concomitant in some of the Styles of the Lords Rivers or de Ripariis who were the Ancient Earls of Devon and assumed to bear in an Escocheon of pretence upon his own Atchievement the old Coat ascribed commonly to Baldwin de Ripariis Earl of Devon viz. Gules a Griphen Segreant Or which I note for Criticks in Armorie to descant on and return to the Historie of the Place When this good man for so he was noted to be was miserably massacred by Robert Ridisdale Captain of the Lewd People of North-Hampton-shire who took him at Edgcot-Field and struck off his head at North-Hampton Their Will being their Law and Mischief Minister to their wild Designs all his seven Sons who survived him died without Issue and then Sir Henry VVyat becomes owner of this place Grandfather to Sir Thomas VViat afterwards his Successor in the Possession of it whose dysastrous Tragedy is presented at Boxley upon whose untimely Exit Hugh VVarham in the second year of Queen Mary by Grant from the Crown enters upon it from whom Alderman Rither afterwards Lord Maior of London and known by the Name of Sir VVilliam Rither Purchased and Repaired it and left it to his Daughter and Coheir the Lady Susan Caesar whose eldest Son Tho. Caesar Esq and his Mother concurring together disposed of their Right in it by Sale to Sir Humphrey Tufton Knight second Son to Sir John Tufton Knight and Baronet and Brother to Nicholas Tufton Earl of Thanett who was Father to John the present Earl There was a Family Sirnamed de Maidstone whose Blazon upon a Monument in Vlcombe Church is Sables a Cheveron between three Cups covered Argent Crowned Or VVilliam de Maidston the Kings Valect being sent to the Court of Rome with certain Instruments and other expresses deceas'd in his Journey as appears Pat. Anno quinto Edwardi primi prima Pars. Pinenden-Heath confines upon Maidston and is eminent for the Punishment of Malefactors and the frequent Assemblies of Free-holders who here convene to elect such Persons for Knights of the Shire as may represent the County in Parliament But it was in elder times more famous for that great Convention of English and Normans who met there in the fourth year of Wil. the Conquerour to decide the great Controversie which then broke forth between Lanfranc Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and Odo Earl of Kent touching some Lands and Priviledges which the said Arch-Bishop alleaged were by an unjust Usurpation by the above-said Odo ravished away from the Church which because it gives us a full Prospect of that exorbitant and wide power which the Clergie of those times did entitle themselves to I shall endevour to pourtray it in as Brief and narrow a Landskip as I have pencill'd it out by Textus Roffensis an old Book in Manuscript so called where it is more voluminously represented At Pinenden-Heath says Textus Roffensis in the fourth year of William the Conquerour there was an Assemblie of the gravest and discreetest of the English and Normans by a signall Decision and Debate to deternine of that Controversie which did formerly arise between Odo Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent touching some Lands and Priveledges which were detained from the Church by the said Earl and Lanfranc Arch-Bishop of Canterbury The said Dispute or Debate lasted three Dayes after the
expiration of which the said Arch-Bishop recovered severall Lands which he the said Odo and his Tenants then held which were Herbert the Son of Ivo Turold of Rochester Ralph de Curva-Spina and Hugh de Montfort with all the Franchises belonging to them as namely Sac and Soc Toll and Theam Infangtheof and Outfang-theof Flymena Firmth Grithbreach Forestall Heinfare and Cersett the last of which because none of our Interpreters of the dark and obscure Terms of the Law do explain I shall It was a Rent-charge of a certain Proportion of Corn in the ear paid at the Feast of St. Martin with all other Customes greater or less both on the Land and on the Water and it was tried and proved by all the honest and wise Men both Normans and English who were present that as the King himself holds his Lands quiet and free in his Demeasne so the Arch-Bishop holds all his Lands whoily quiet and free in his Demeasne In the presence of these it was shewn by many and most evident Reasons that the King hath no Customes in the Church of Canterbury but onely three which are these If any man digg in the Kings High-way or cut down any Tree to stop it if any man shall be apprehended and found Culpable whilest they are in doing such things whether Pledges be taken of them or not yet by prosecution of the Kings Officer and by Pledges they shall amend what is unjustly done The third Custome is If any man commit Blood-shed on the Kings High-way if whilst he does it he be apprehended and imprisoned he shall then make amends unto the King But if he shall not be apprehended but depart without giving any Pledge the King may not in Justice require any thing of him And it was at the same time farther determined that if any Person did commit Blood-shed or Manslaughter in places which were within the Liberties of the Church of Canterbury from the time that the Church left off to Sing Alleluiah to the Octaves of Easter that then he should make amends onely to the Arch-Bishop And it was likewise shewed at the same Time that whosoever should commit the Crime of Childwitt that is of Bastardy if it were in Lent the Arch-Bishop should have the whole Satisfaction but if out of Lent then he should have onely half of it There were present at this Assembly Goisfrid Bishop of Constance the Kings Substitute Ernost Bishop of Rochester Egelric or Agelric Bishop of Selsey and Chichester a Man of deep insight in the Constitutions Ecclesiastical and of so great an Age that he was brought in a Wagon for his Discussion and Declaration says Textus Roffensis upon the known Laws Usages Franchises and Customes of Holy Church Hugh de Montfort William de Arces Richard de Tunbridge and lastly Haymo Sheriff of Kent Town Malling and East Malling lie in the Hundred of Larkfield and were both Mannors which related to that Revenue which made up the Patrimony of the Nunnery of Town Malling which was founded by Gundulphus Bishop of Rochester about the year 1090 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and had the Church it self which was likewise named after the blessed Virgin and the Chappel of St. Leonards not far distant Though this Gundulphus was the Founder yet Haimo de Heath as appears by the Records of Rochester aws an eminent Benefactor to it about the year 1339. Both these Mannors upon the Suppression having augmented the Revenue of the Crown they rested there untill the fourth year of Edward the sixth and then they were granted in Lease for Life to Sir Hugh Cartwright and upon his Decease they were passed away upon the same Condition to Pierpoint and he conveyed them to William Brook Lord Cobham whose Son Henry Lord Cobham being attainted in the second year of King James they were re-assumed by the Crown and after granted in Lease to Sir Humphrey Delind a Man furnished with a liberal stock both of divine and humane Learning and he passed away his Interest to Sir Robert Brett but the Fee-simple continued with the Crown until the twenty first of King James and then they were granted for ever to John Rayney Esquire which Concession was fully ratified by King Charles to whom the Profits of these Mannors were assigned when he was Prince towards the Support of of his Court in the second year of his Raign to Sir John Rayney now of Wrotham Knight and Baronet which Sir John is lineally descended from John Reignie for so the Name in old Deeds is written who held the Mannor of Edgeford in Devon and Smitheley-hall in York-shire in the Raign of Edward the third still the Possession of this Family Which John was originally extracted from Sir John de Reignie who as is manifest by the old Rolls and Registers of this Family held the Mannor of Newton in Cumberland in the raign of Henry the third West-Malling had a Market granted to it on the Saturday by Henry the third at the Instance of the Lady Abbesse of that place to whom and to the Nuns of this Cloister the Vicar of East-Malling was Jure Loci always Confessor Parrocks and Ewell are two appendant Mannors involved in the Mannor of West-Malling whose Fee-simple was passed away to John Rayney Esquire when the other was linked by Grant to his Demeasne Ex autographis penes Jo. Reyney Millit Baronetum the last of which lay in Brenchley and was in Lease many years from the Nunnery to Hextall whose Female Heir brought it to VVhetenhall and Sir Richard VVhetenhall in the twelfth year of Q. Elizabeth sold it to George Lord Cobham and his Son Henry Lord Cobham alienated it to Sir Thomas Fane Ancestor to Mildmay Earl of VVestmerland whose Lease being lately expired it is now come to confesse Sir John Reyney Knight and Baronet for sole Proprietarie Borough Court in East-Malling was parcell of the ancient Demease of the noble Family of Colepeper of Preston in Alreâ—ford and was found united to their Revenue at the Death of VValter Colepeper Esquire which was in the first year of Edward the third and in this Family did it continue involved for sundry Ages till allmost in our Grand-fathers memory it was by Sale conveyed away to Shakerley descended from the Shakerleys of Shakerley in Lancashire but it made no long aboad here for in the Age subsequent to that wherein it was purchased this Family resolved into a Daughter and Heir who was matched to Beauley descended from the Beauleys of Beauleys Court in VVouldham who brought Borough Court along with her into the Possession of that Family and left it to her only Daughter and Heir Mary Beauley who by matching lately with Mr ....... Basse of Suffolk hath made it parcel of his Interest and Propriety Marden is not parcell only of the Hundred of Middleton or Milton but an Appendage of the Mannor also but because they are divided by so remote a distance from the above-mentioned place they in
Rokesley by whose Sole Inheritrix likewise called Joan it was linked to the Demeasn of Sir Thomas de Poynings from whom the Clew of Descent guided it down to Sir Edward Poynings who dying in the twelfth of Henry the eighth without any lawfull Issue or any visible kindred that could pretend a Title to the Estate it lapsed to the Crown and Henry the eighth granted it to Thomas Lord Cromwell upon whose attainder it being again escheated Queen Mary in the first year of her Rule granted it to Edward Lord Clinton who in the last year of that Princess passed it away to Mr. Henry Herdson whose grandchild Mr. Francis Herdson conveyed it by Sale to Mr. Henry Brockman in whose Grandchild Mr. James Brockman the instant Inheritance is fixed Blackose is another little Mannor in Newington which as Sadrach Petit's Inquest an Authentick Manuscript informs me was as high as the raign of Henry the third the Possession of Nicholas de Morehall a Family who were owners of much Land at Folkstone and elsewhere in this Track and in this Name did it continue untill the latter end of Richard the second and then it was transmitted by Sale to William Edwy who paid a proportionate Aid for it at the Marriage of Blanch Daughter of Henry the fourth in the fourth year of his raign from whence much of our Land in Kent which was rated at the same Time and upon the same Design hath assumed the Appellation of Blanch-Lands After Edwy went out which was in the raign of Edward the fourth it became the Possession of Wreake and Thomas Wreake as the abovesaid Sidrach Petit who lived in that Age instructs me exchanged it with Will. Warham Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and continued annexed to the Demeasn of that See until the great Exchange made by Tho. Cranmer in the twenty ninth of Henry the eighth with that Prince and then it was made the Demeasn of the Crown and after some brief abode there was granted away to John Honywood Esquire Newchurch in Romney Mersh gives Denomination to the whole Hundred wherein it is situated and dilates and spreads it self into several places which call for some Remembrance The first is Peckmanston which was as high as the Rayes or Light of any Evidence can direct to a Discovery the Inheritance of the Lords Leybourne and was annexed to that vast Revenue which they entituled themselves to in this County and so continued till Sir Roger de Leybourne left this with much other Land to his Sole Daughter and Heir Juliana married to William Lord Clinton Earl of Huntington who dyed in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third but without Issue by this Lady who deceasing likewise not long after the Crown upon a Serious and solemne Disquisition discovering none that upon the Stock of any collateral Alliance could pretend to her Estate seised upon it as an Escheat and King Richard the second in the eleventh year of his Government granted it to the Abbey of Childrens Langley amongst whose Revenue it rested till the Dissolution of that Covent and after that King Henry the eighth by royal Donation planted the Possession in the thirty fifth year of his Raign in Sir Thomas Moile a Gentleman in those Times of principal Estimate in this County and of the Privie Councel to that Prince from whom by Amy his Daughter and Coheir it came suddenly after to be the Inheritance of Sir Thomas Kempe who in the raign of Queen Elizabeth sold it to Thomas Smith Farmer of the Customes to that Princesse and he bequeathed it to his third Son Sir Rich. Smith by whose Daughter and Coheir the Title and Right of it at this instant is lodged in Mr. Barrow of Suffolke Est-Bridge in this Parish is a second place which exacts our Remembrance This with Honychild in St. Maryes Parish likewise in Romney Mersh did anciently belong partly to the Abby of Bradsole ailà s St. Radigunds in Dover and partly to the Knights of St. Jo. which upon the general Suppression in the twenty ninnth year of H. the eighth of all religious Cloisters and Seminaries were swallowed up in the Demeasne of the Crown and lay there till E. the sixth granted them in Lease to Cuthbert Vaughan Esq who afterwards in the fourth year of Queen Elizabeth purchased the Fee-simple of them of the Crown and upon his Decease which happened not long after disposed of Honychild to his Son in Law Roger Twisden Esquire and Est-Bridge Sir Will. Twisden â—old Honychild to Sir Will. Sydley Grandfather to Sir Charles Sydley the instant Owner to his Wives Son Richard Dering Esquire in Right of which original Donation Sir Edward Dering of Surrenden Dering in Pluckley Baronet great Grandchild of this Mr. Richard Dering is present Possessor of this Mannor of Est-Bridge Thirdly Silwell in this Parish is not to be omitted it was in elder Generations an Appendage or Limbe which made up the Body of that plentifull Income which appertained to the Abbey of Boxley in this County and upon the Dissolution was with much other of the Church Demeasn by Henry the eighth granted to Walter Henley Esquire after created Sir Walter Henley and one of the Privy Councell to Henry the eighth and Edward the sixth But as though there had been some fatall malediction which like original Sin did cleave to the Possesssion he left no Issue-male to enjoy that large Patrimony he had thus archieved but concluded in three Daughters and Coheirs Elizabeth matched to William Waller of Grome-Bridge Helen first married to Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury Esquire Secondly to Sir George Somerset and Thirdly to Thomas Vane of Burston in Hunton Esq and then Anne wedded to Richard Covert of Slaugham in Sussex Esq who shared by these matches and alliances a considerable part of his Inheritance in which this Mannor of Sylwell was involved Newington in the Hundred of Milton has the Addition of Lucies prefixed before it to distinguish it from Newington in the Hundred of Street It was the Ancient Patrimony of the Noble Family of Lucy the first whom I find amongst Records of deep Antiquity was extracted out of Normandy within the Precincts of which Province or upon the Verge and Margent of it there is a Signory of that Name yet existent G. de Lucy so he is written in the most authentick Copies of the Battle Abby Roll entered England with William the Conqueror Fulbert de Lucy and in some old Registers written Sir Fulbert changed his Name of Lucy into that of Dover when he was by William the Conqueror made one of the Assistants to John de Fiennes in the Guard of Dover-Castle having fifteen Knights Fees assigned to him in that Track for the Support of his Dignity and Trust * See Seldens Titles of Honor pag. 644. William de Dover was one of the Magnates or Peers who was Teste to the Charter of Maud the Empresse whereby she creates Miles of Gloucester Earl of Hereford Hugh de Dover was Sheriff
of Kent the eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth and fourteenth years of Henry the second Sir Richard de Lucy was Lord chief Justice and Protector of England in the Raign of the above mentioned Prince of whom I have more largely discoursed at Lesnes in Erith * Ex veteri Rot. penes Edo Dering Mil. Baonettum defunctum Aymer de Lucy was with Richard the first in Palestine at the Seige of Acon and in Memory of some Signal Service manifested there in that holy Quarrel added the Crosse Crosselets unto his Paternal Coat which was before only three Pisces Lucii that is Pike Fish Geffrey de Lucy was frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the Raign of Edward the first as the Rols of Summons which relate to that King's Time now preserved in the Tower sufficiently inform us This Geffrey with his two Brothers Aymery and Thomas de Lucy were engaged with Edward the first at the Seige of Carlaverock in Scotland in the twenty eighth year of his Raign and there received the Order of Knighthood They were Sons to Geffrey de Lucy who was constituted High Admiral of England in the Time of Henry the third as appears Pat. 8. Hen. 3. Memb. 4. William and Anthony Lucy both of this Family were frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Barons in the Raign of Edw. the third In the sixth year of Edward the third Geffrey de Lucy who held Lucy's at his Death which was in the twentieth year of that Monarch had a Charter of Free-warren to this Mannor which priviledge was renued and confirmed by Henry the sixth to Sir Walter Lucy in the 27. year of his Raign in which year he dyed and left his estate here to his Son Sir Jeffery Lucy who with his Sole Daughter and Heir Mawd Lucy transmitted this Mannor to her Husband Sir William Vaux of the County of North-Hampton whose Son Thomas Vaux alienated it about the twenty seventh year of the Raign of Henry the eighth to Sir Roger Cholmeley a younger Branch of the Cholmeleys of Cholmeley in Cheshire from which Family in our Grand-fathers Memory it was by Sale passed away to Sead and from Sead by as quick a vicissitude it came over by purchase to Osborne by whom not many years since it was sold to Pagitt of London Tracies is a second place in this Parish which comes within this List it was in elder Times the Inheritance of a Family of that Appellation John de Tracy was Teste to an old Deed of Richard de Lucy which I have seen wherein he demises some Land to William de Frogenhall the Deed is without Date but by the Antiquity of the Character seems to commence from the Raign of Henry the third Whether these Tracies were extracted from the Tracies of Devon and Gloucestershire or not I cannot positively determine because these of Kent bore a different Coat from the other as appears by all old Ordinaries Vid. Argent two Bends between nine Escollops Gules After the Tracies had left the possession of this place which was about the Beginning of Henry the fourth the Colepepers of Bedgebury were by purchase seised of the Fee-simple of it but staid not long in the Fruition of it for in the Raign of Henry the sixth the Cliffords of Bobbing Court not far distant from whom by Sale in the Raign of Henry the eighth it fell under the Signory of Thomas Linacre Priest Frogenhall in this Parish likewise was a Branch of that wide Demeasne which lay diffused in this Territory and did acknowledge it self to be of the possession of the Ancient Family of Frogenhall whose Seat was in Frogenhall in Tenham but whether this were the Land which I mentioned to be by Deed transmitted to William de Frogenhall in the time of Henry the third by Sir Richard de Lucy I cannot positively determine though it was probable it was and that afterwards as was usuall in those Times to perpetuate the Memory of the Possessor William de Frogenhall fixed his own Name upon it And in this Family did the Possession continue till Thomas Frogenhall concluded in three Co-heirs of which Elizabeth was one who matched with John Northwood of Milton and so linked it to the Inheritance of that Family where it had not long remained when a semblable Fatality brought this Family likewise to expire in Daughters and Co-heirs so that this place came by Joane one of them to be the Fee-simple of Sir John Norton but was not long resident in this Family for he about the Beginning of Henry the eighth conveyed it to Thomas Linacre Priest above mentioned who dying in the seventeenth year of the above-recited Prince gave both Tracies and Frogenhall for ever to augment the Revenue of All-souls Colledge in Oxford The Mannor of Newington it self belonged as an Ancient Manuscript now in my Custody informs me to a Nunnery which was erected here in this Parish but by whom it was founded or endowed is unknown only this Manuscript I mentioned before rehearses a direful Tragedy which it cites as is pretended out of Thorn the Chronicler of St. Augustins and other old Manuscripts It was this Divers of the Nuns being warped with a malitious Desire of Revenge took the advantage of the Night and strangled the Lady Abbesse who was the Object of their Fury and passionate Animosities in her Bed and after to conceal so execrable an Assassination threw her Body into a Pitt which afterwards contracted the traditional Appellation of Nun-pitt but this barbarous offence being not long after miraculously discovered the Manuscript does not intimate how King Henry the third in whose Time this Tragedy was acted seised this Mannor into his Hands and having by Consent of the Church transmitted the Nuns who were culpable to the secular power by Death to make expiation for this Crime he sent the Guiltless Nuns into Shepey and after filled their Cloister with seven secular Canons four of which not long after as if some secret Impiety had lurked in the Wals of the Covent murdered one of the Fraternity upon which the King seises this Mannor again into his Hands which he had before given back to the support of this new instituted Seminary two parts of which laying in the Hamlet of Thetham by the two guiltlesse Canons with the approbation of Henry the third were assigned to the Abby of St. Augustins though some Writings more Ancient affirm them to be given under the Notion of two Prebendaries to that Covent by William the Conqueror and the other five parts of this Mannor were by the abovesaid Henry the third granted to his Lord Chief Justice Sir Richard de Lucy whose Son Almericus de Lucy saies the Manuscript did in the year 1278. exchange them with the Monks of St. Augustins And thus was this Mannor fastned to the Patrimony of the Church and so continued till the General Dissolution in the Time of Henry the eighth disunited it and linked it
old German practise is also asserted by Tacitus And that it was customary amongst the Danes Several Urns discovered in Jutland and Sleswick not many years since do easily evince which contained not only Bones but many other Substances in them as Knives peeces of Iron Brass and Wood and one of Norway a Brass guilded Jews-harp When this Custome of Burning of the Dead languished into Disuse is incertain but that it began to vanish upon the Dawning of Christianity as Vapors and Mists scatter before a Morning Sun is without Controversie but when the Light of it did more vigorously reflect like a Meridian Beam on all the gloomy Corners and Recesses of Paganism and Infidelity then this Use of Urn-Burial was wholly superseded and found a Tomb it self in the more sober and severer practise of Christianity And thus much shall be said concerning these Urns digged up at Newington The Mannor of Levenoke in this Parish ought in the last place to be taken Notice of but the Deeds being dispersed into the Hands of those who are Strangers both to this County and my Design I cannot give the Reader that satisfaction in this particular that I aime at Only thus much I can inform him that by an old Court Roll in the Hands of Mr. Staninough of this Parish lately deceased I discovered that in the Raign of Edward the third and Richard the second it was the possession of John Beau Fitz and it is probable by the Heir General of this Name it devolved to Arnold of Rochester and more to fortifie this some ancient Country people at my being there did assure me they had it by Traditional Intelligence from their Predecessors That that Knight purchased it of one Arnold but of that there is no certainty only this is positive that about the latter end of Henry the eighth that Knight enjoyed it and in this Name it remained until almost our Memory and then it was conveyed to Gouldsmith and he alienated it to Barrow whose Descendant having morgaged it to Mr. ...... Alston of London he very lately hath transplanted all his Right by Sale into Mr. ........ Lisle of Middlesex now deceased Nockholt in the Hundred of Ruxley was a Branch which was incorporated into the Revenue of the Lord Say William de Say died possest of it in the twenty third year of Edward the third and from this man was it transmitted to his Grand-child Geffrey Say who concluded in a Sole Daughter and Heir called Elizabeth who was married to William Fiennes Esquire and so in her Right was Nockholt united to the possession of this Noble Family from this man was Richard Fiennes descended who enjoyed this Mannor successively from him and married Joane the Sole Female heir of Thomas Lord Dacre of Hurstmonceaux in Sussex who was extracted from Edward Lord Dacre who was summoned to Parliament by the Title of Lord Dacre of Hurstmonceaux in the Raign of Edward the second and in her Right was this man summoned to Parliament by the Name of Richard Fiennes Lord Dacres in the Government of Henry the sixth And here did both the Barony of Dacre and the Inheritance of Nockholt continue till Gregory Fiennes Lord Dacres deceased in the thirty sixth year of Queen Elizabeth and left by Testament Margaret his Sister matched to Sampson Lennard Esquire he having no Issue Heir to his large possessions amongst which this Mannor was involved from Sampson Lennard who was created Lord Dacres in the second year of King James it is now come down by Successive Inheritance to be the instant Patrimony of his Grand-child Francis Lord Dacres the present Baron of Hurstmonceaux There are two other Mannors in this Parish but of small importance called Brampton and Shelleys-court or at Ockholt both which had Owners who engrafted their own Sirname upon them There is a recital in the Book of Aide of one John de Brampton who held Land at Nockholt and Ditton in the Raign of Edward the first From this Family Brampton came by a Female Heir to be the Inheritance of Petley who about the latter end of Henry the sixth conveyed it to Oliver alias Quintin and hath been for almost two Hundred years as appears by the Evidences now in the Hands of Mr. Robert Oliver of the Grange in the Parish of Leybourn in the Tenure and Possession of that Name and Family Shelleys Court called in the Evidences likewise at Ockholt was as high as the Raign of Edward the third as the originall Deeds now in the Hands of Mr. Rob. Austin of Bexley inform me the Inheritance of Shelley and remained united to the Possession of that Family till the Government of Queen Mary and then by Sale the whole Demise was passed away by Sir John Champneys Lord Maior of London by William Shelley the last of this Name at this place from whom it devolved to his Son Sir Justinian Champneys who left it to his Son Mr. Richard Champneys Esquire and he almost in the Remembrance of that Age we live in alienated his Concernment in it to the present Possessor Mr. Gooday of Suffolk Nonington in the Hundred of Wingham and Eastry hath diverse places in it of considerable Repute The first is Fredville called in old Deeds Froidville from its bleak and eminent Situation Times of an elder Inscription represent it to have been the Possession of Colkin vulgarly called Cokin who it is probable erected the ancient Fabrick and brought it into the Shape and Order of an Habitation this Family was originally extracted from Canterbury where they had a Lane which bore their Name being called Colkins Lane and likewise had the Inheritance or Propriety of Worth-gate in that City William Colkin founded an Hospital neer Eastbridge which celebrated his Name to Posterity and was called Colkin's Hospital he flourished in the Time of K. John and was a liberal Benefactor to the Hospitals of St. Nicholas St. Katharine and St. Thomas of Eastbridge in Canterbury as is recorded by Mr. William Somner in his Survey of that City Page 116. But to proceed John Colkin dyed possest of Fredvill the tenth of Edward the third and in his Posterity was the Title resident untill the latter end of Richard the second and then it was conveyed to Thomas Charleton and he by a Fine levyed the second of Henry the second transplants his Interest into John Quadring in whose Name it made its aboad untill Joan Quadring the Heir General of Thomas Quadring this man's Successor carried the Title along with her to her Husband Richard Dryland and he about the latter end of Edward the fourth alienated it to John Nethersole who by Fine levyed in the second year of Richard the third conveyed it to William Bois Esquire descended from I. de Bosco or de Bois so written in some old Copies of the Battle Abby Roll and in others R. de Bosco or de Bois who entered into England with William the Conquerour which William had Issue Thomas Bois who dying in the
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
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
Throuley Boughton Malherbe and Wormesell and held of Queen Court and Ospringe de died possest of both these places in the twenty fifth year of Edward the third as appears Rot. Esc Num. 43. and left them to his Kinsman Sir Nicolas Loveine though some part of the Demeasne belonged to Poulteney until the ninth year of Edward the fourth which Sir Nicholas obtained a an Exemplification by Patent in the thirty eighth year of Edward the third how many Knights Fees which lay divided and dispersed into severall places belonged to his Mannor of Ospringe this Sir Nicholas had Issue Nicholas Loveyne and Margaret Loveyne Nicholas her Brother deceased without Issue and so Philip St. Clere of Aldham St. Clere who had matched with this his Sister became his Heir and she was found to be possest of these places at her Death which was in the tenth year of Henry the fourth and in her Right did it descend with Queen Court which was leased out by Nich. Loveyne to Nicholas Potin who was Sheriff of Kent the twenty first of King R. the second and held his Shrievalty at this place to Thomas St. Clere who held it at his Decease which was in the twelfth year of Edward the fourth Rot. Esc Num. 46. But after his Departure I do not find it long knit to the Demeasn of his Family for about the beginning of Henry the seventh I find it in the Possession of William Cheyney of Shurland Esquire and from him was the Title of Ospringe and Queen Court derived by successive Right to his Grandchild Henry Lord Cheyney who about the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth passed them away to Mr. Rich. Thornehill Great Grandfather to Mr. Richard Thornehill Son and Heir of Colonel Richard Thornhill who is at this instant Proprietarie of it Plomford and Bavell are two little Mannors in Ospringe which belonged partly to the Nunnery of the Minster in Shepey and partly to the Abby of Feversham which upon the Suppression of those two Cloisters were granted by King Henry the eighth to Thomas Colepeper Esquire and he not long after alienated them to Sir Thomas Cheyney whose Son Henry Lord Cheyney passed them away in our Grandfathers Memory to Greenstreet of Clacksfield in Borden and are still wrapt up in the Inheritance of that Family The Maison le Dieu here at Ospringe was founded by Lucas de Vienna for the Knights Templers and was one of those Mansions where they reposed themselves in their progresse towards their other Demeasne which lay spread into East-Kent and Romney Mersh The Revenue which was to support this Seminary lay at Lurdenden in Challock and at Hokeling Radymersh Ryde and other places in the Isle of Shepey In the twenty fifth of Henry the third Roger de Lingsted had a Grant of these Lands for Terme of Life as likewise of all the Fishery Messuages Reliese Revenue and Homage appertaining to them as appears Pat. Anno 25. Henrici tertii Memb. 30. In the forty second and fifty first of Henry the third there was a Confirmation of Land and Priviledges to this House and in this Condition it continued partly under the Knights Templers and in lower Ages under the Knights Hospitallers untill the Tempest of the generall Dissolution shook it into that neglected heap of Ruines wherein at present the ancient Fabrick is visible Elverland in this Parish is a Mannor which for many Generations hath been annexed to the Demeasn of St. Johns Colledge in Cambridge Selgrave now corruptly called Selgrove is another Mannor in Ospringe It was a Branch of that large Inheritance which lay scattered ore the Face of this Territory and acknowledged the Dominion of the noble Family of Norwood Roger de Northwood held it at his Decease which was in the thirteenth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 25. And transmitted it to his Son Roger de Norwood after whom I do not find the Possession was long permanent in this Family for about the latter end of Edward the third Ralph de Spigurnell was concerned in it as Proprietarie and he bequeathed it to his Wife Elizabeth Spigurnell who sold it to John Winchelsey and the Convent of Christ-church in Canterbury in the sixteenth year of Richard the second in whom the Fee-simple continued untill it was wrested away by the Generall Dissolution in the raign of Henry the eighth and then that Prince passed it by Grant to George Barley who not many years after alienated his Interest in it to Sonds of Throuley from whom in our Fathers Memory it came by Sale to Cleve Ospringe had anciently a House or Maison le Dieu so called because it was a Receptacle for Leprous people and other persons afflicted and assaulted with Diseases which in Times of elder Inscription were still esteemed to be imposed by the Finger of the Divinity and this had a Confirmation of ample Immunities and Liberties by Patent in the forty seventh and which were renued in the fifty first year of Henry the third Otford in the Hundred of Codsheath was given to the Church and Sea of Canterbury by Offa King of the Mercians in the year 785 to expiate the Guilt of that Blood which he had before drawn from the Veins of Aleric and his Kentish Men in a Battell waged at this place in the year 774 and which was aggravated because those he had slaughtered had their Names enrolled in the Register of Christians And which was granted in the originall Donation ad Pascua Porcorum to the Pannage of those Hoggs that fed in the Arch-bishops Chase and in the Revenue of this Sea was the Interest of this Mannor treasured up till about the Beginning of the Rule of Henry the eighth and then some envious Eyes looking about with Regrett and Desire upon the Diffused Patrimony of the Church William Warham Arch-bishop of Canterbury to extinguish both the passions of these men and their ravenous Appetite together about the twelfth year of that Prince's Raign exchanged this Mannor for other Lands and so it became incorporated into the Revenue of the Crown There was a Chantry founded at Rye-house in this Parish by Henry de Apulderfield in the forty sixth year of Edward the third as appears Pat. Anno. 46. Edwardi tertii Parte secunda Memb. 19. Whose Revenue upon the Suppression was by Henry the eighth granted to Palmer which Family had been of deep Antiquity before in this Parish and from whence the Palmers of Snodland and likewise of Howletts in East-Kent were originally descended but it seems the security of this royal Patent could not rescue it from being sold some years after to Bosvill whose Descendant now holds the instant Fee-simple of it Otham in the Hundred of Maidstone was a Branch of that Demeasne which did in this Track acknowledge the Signiory of the ancient Family of Valoigns William de Valoigns is mentioned in the Book called Testa de Nevill to have paid Aid for Lands at Petham Ashford and Otham in the twentieth year
legible wherein at the Foot of it there is mention of one Edward Filmour so he was written in that Age from whom it is probable though now the Name by Time and prescription be in the last Syllable of it something violated the present Sir Edward Filmer eldest Son to that Learned Loyal and Worthy Person Sir Robert Filmer lately deceased is primitively extracted and this is confirmed by their own private Evidences which represent them for many Cenerations even till this present Possessors of this Place and wherein the Name is frequently written Filmor aswel as in latter Escripts Filmer There is another Mannor in Ottringden which anciently was reputed so though now by Disuse and Intermission it hath lost that Estimate and is called Hall-place by a very Ancient Court-roll Sans date now in the Hands of Mr. Paine It is represented in those Times when it had Tenants and Services belonging to it to be the propriety of one Roger Rev and in that Roll there is mention of one Thomas Franklin who held some Lands of this Mannor by paying yearly the Tribute or Rent-service of one Red Rose as the Symbol of his Homage And now for want of farther Light from the Ancient Deeds and Evidences I must make a leap to the raign of Henry the seventh and then I find Eugenius Cock in the nineteenth year of that Prince sels it to John Bunce of this Parish Gentleman in which Family the possession rested until very lately it was by Sale alienated to Mr. Paine Monkton is the last place in this Parish of Note It belonged before the suppression to the Nunnery of Davington and was given to that Cloyster by Matthew Son of Hamon Atfrith upon the first Erection of it which was in the thirty ninth year of Henry the third Upon the suppression and final Dissolution ' of this Covent of Davington by Henry the eighth it was by that Prince granted to Sir Thomas Cheney whose Son the Lord Henry Cheyney so fugitive is the Tenure of Church-Demeasne in the entrance into the raign of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to Godden who so small a space was resident in the possession that he hath only left us Notice that he sold it to William Lewin descended from the Lewins of Norfolk whose Son Sir Justinian Lewin concluded in a Daughter and Heir who was matched to Rogers of the County of Somersett and so in her Right it became interwoven with his Demeasne but remained not long thus involved in the Interest of this Name for in our Memory he deceased and left only a Daughter and Heir who is lately matched to Charles Cavendish Lord Mansfeld eldest Son to William Lord Marquess of Newcastle so that Monkton in his Ladies Right is now united to his Inheritance There are two Chappels in the Parish Church of Ottringden that on the North-side of the Chauncel is called Ottringdens Chappel where the Remains of several of the Ottringdens St. Legers Auchers and Lewins lie enterred that on the South-side is termed Bunces Chappel where the Ashes and Reliques of several of that Family slumber who were of no contemptible Note in this Parish where they had a Mansion which in old Evidences is called Bunces Court which hath been in their possession as appears by their own Deeds some Hundreds of years and from hence are the Bunces of Throuley likewise originally issued forth P. P. P. P. PAdlesworth in the Hundred of Lovingborough is so obscure and inconsiderable a Village that it should not have filled a place in this Register but that it was a portion of that wide Estate which lay spread over the Face of all the adjacent Territorie and acknowledged it self to be under the Jurisdiction of the Criolls Bertram de Crioll died about the middle of Edward the first and left Joan his Sole Heir who had been before matched to Sir Richard de Rokesley of Rokesley Court in Northcrey and so Padlesworth became the Rokesley's but did not long cleave to that Name for he expired likewise in two Female Co-heirs whereof one of them called Joan was matched to Thomas de Poynings and he left Issue Michael Poynings from whom it came down to his descendant Robert Poynings who passed it away by Sale to Fogge of Sene in Newington in which Family the Title for many Descents lay involved even until our Fathers Remembrance and then it was alienated to Dynley who is the instant Lord of the Fee Padlesworth in the Hundred of Larkefeild was as high as the raign of H. the third the Possession of a Family called Chetwind who immediatly after exchanged it with Hamon de Gatton for the Mannor of Hocklin in the County of Bedford but kept it not long for after it had continued some smal Interval of Time in this Family it was alienated to the Noble Family of Huntingfeild after whom succeeded Bele and then it went away by Sale to Bullock who by the same Devolution surrendred the possession to Diggs where it had but a very transitory aboad for he conveyed it away to Peckham from whom the ordinary Mutation made by Purchase brought it to own the Propriety of Vineley who translated his Interest by Sale unto William Clifford of Bobbing-court and he about the beginning of Henry the fixt fixed the Title and Possession by Sale in Robert Bambergh Where it is to be noted that this quick and suddain Revolution of the Title of this place in those Families which intervened between Huntingfeild and Bambergh happened in lesse then a Circle of fifty years as appears by the original Conveyances now in the Hands of Mr. Marsham But to advance in that Discourse where I broke off Robert Bambergh above-mentioned was not long settled in his new Acquists but he deceased and left it to his Daughter and Heir who was matched to Nicolas Wotton Esquire from whom in a direct Line it came down to Thomas Lord Wotton who settled it in Marriage upon his Daughter and Co-heir Katherine Wotton with Henry Lord Stanhop eldest Son and Heir apparent to Philip Earl of Chesterfeild and this Lady hath since passed it away to my Noble Friend John Marsham of Whornes-place in Cuckeston Esquire from whose Deeds and Papers I have drawn my present Intelligence Patricksbourn in the Hundreds of Bredge and Pet-ham in Ancient Records hath still the Addition of Cheyney annexed to it for indeed it was the first and original Residence of the Cheyneys before they translated their Habitation to Shurland in Shepey by matching with the Heir of Shurland Alexander de Cheyney is registred in the Catalogue of those Kentish Gentlemen who accompanied Richard the first to the Siege of Acon In Testa de Nevill an Ancient Book kept in the Exchecquer there is mention of Gulielmus de Casineto so they are written in Latine that is William de Cheyney who paid respective supply in the twentieth year of Henry the third at the Marriage of Isabell that King's Sister for his Lands at Patriksbourn Cheyney
Alexander de Cheney Grand-child to the above-said Alexander Rotulus Pipae de scutagio Walliae An. 42. Henrici tertii is enrolled in the List of those eminent Kentish Persons who in the forty second year of Henry the third accompanied that Prince when he marched from Chester to suppress the emotions of the Welsh Sir Alexander de Cheyney this mans Son was with King Edward the first in his victorious and triumphant Expedition against the Scots in the twenty eighth year of his Raign as appears by the Rolls of those Kentish Gentlemen who were embarked in that succesful Design with that Prince and from this Alexander did the possession of this place by an undisordered and even Thread of Descent through all the Mazes of Time transmit it self to Henry Lord Cheyney and he having by his excess and exorbitancy embezelled an Estate of vast Extent and Grandeur amongst the Rest passed this away in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth to William Partrich Esquire whose Grandchild Sir Edward Partrich in that Age which was within the Verge of our Remembrance alienated it to Mr. Arnold Brams Howletts in this Parish with Hode in Patricksbourn also were the Ancient Demeasne of Izaack and there is a Chancel in the Church which formerly bore the the Name of Izaacks Chancel John Izaack in the twentieth year of Edward the third as appears by the Book of Aide paid an auxiliary supply for his Lands at Patriksbourn at the investing the Black Prince with Knighthood John Isaack his Son lies entombed in Patricksbourn Church with this Inscription upon his Grave-stone Orate pro Animabus Joannis Izaack Armigeri Ceciliae uxoris eius qui obiit ...... Anno Domini 1443. Thomas Izaack as the private Annals of this Family do discover to us had a Command in France under the Duke of Bedford where he performed exemplary Service against the French The last of this Family at this place was Edward Izaack Esquire who determined in two Daughters and Coheirs Mary who was matched to Thomas Apylton of Waldenfield in Suffolk and another first wedded to ...... Sydley and after to Sir Henry Palmer to whose Son she gave Howletts as being upon the Division of her Fathers Estate made her Inheritance from whom Sir Henry Palmer now of St. Martins-hill in Canterbury is descended who hath lately alienated Howletts to Sir Robert Hales Knight and Baronet Peckham in the Hundreds of Twyford and Littlefeild is distinguished from the other first by its Bulk and Dimension this being called commonly great Peckham and then secondly by its Situation being styled in Records East-Peckham It was given to the Church of the Trinity that is Christ-church in Canterbury by Queen Edgiva to the Monks of that Covent ad Cibum for a support of their Diet and Alimony in the year of Grace nine hundred forty and one and if you will see how it was rated in the great Register of Domes-day Book take here a View of it Peckham saies that Record Tempore Edwardi Regis se defendebat pro VI. Sullings and so forth Peckham in the Time of Edward the King that is the Confessor went for seven Plough-Lands and defends it self now that is in the Time of the Conqueror after the same Estimate and was rated upon the Appraisement formerly at twelve lb. but now is stated at eight And thus regulated was it for many Ages fastned to the Patrimony of the Church until the Dissolution in the raign of Henry the eighth unloosned the Cement in the twenty ninth year of that Prince who afterwards about the thirty sixth year of his Raign grants this and divers other parcels of the Church-Demeasne to Sir Thomas Wiatt who not long after by Livery and Seisin passes away his Right in it to George Moulton Esquire but because there was a Fine and Recovery wanting the Sale was imperfect so that he had it only in Abeiance as the Law styles it or in Expectance so that the Crown in the second of Queen Mary upon the Defection and Attaint of Sir Thomas Wiat finding this in the Tenure of Moulton seised upon it as parcel of Wiats Estate because it had not been before legally conveyed And here it rested till Queen Elizabeth in the second year of her raign granted it to Anthony Weldon Esquire one of the Justices of Peace for this County under the raign of Queen Mary at which Time he became eminent by his vigorous opposing Sir Thomas Wiat in that Design he was then embarked in and in this Family though not without some Struglings and Conflicts at Law about the Title does the Propriety of this Mannor at this instant reside There is an eminent Seat in this Parish called Roydon-Hall which was before called Fortune but was of no great Account until about the beginning of Henry the sixth and then Roydon of Suffolk came into this County and seated himself here and erected this Pile upon which he fixed his own Name which it hath been known by ever since though it hath changed its Possessor for this Family was extinguished in a Daughter and Heir called Elizabeth who was the only surviving Issue of Thomas Roydon Esquire who by matching with William Twisden Esquire made it the Inheritance of William Twisden Esquire Great Grand-father to Sir Roger Twisden Knight and Baronet who obtained a Charter of Free-warren from the late King to reduce a certain proportion of Ground into a Parke which is that the House is surrounded with at present though the House owe much of its Magnificence and Splendor to the Care and Expence of his Grand-father Roger Twisden Esquire and his Father Sir William Twisden Knight and Baronet Alban vulgarly called Auburne is another place of eminent Consideration in East-Peckham This with Black-pits in this Parish was anciently the Inheritance of a Family called Pollard for John the Son of John Pollard in the thirty forth year of Edward the first demises it to Alban de Wandesworth who it is probable erected some Mansion House upon it from whence Posterity took the Advantage to adopt it into his Sirname and from him did it devolve by successive Right to his Grandchild William de Wandesworth who dying without Issue gave it to his Widow Mabell Wandesworth who was remarried to Richard Ryner and they both by a joint Concurrence in the second year of Richard the second passed Albans and Black-pits away to John Mew yet I find a Family called Onley interessed in some part of both these Mannors which was purchased of William de Wandeshine in the raign of Henry the third and in this Family was the Title lodged untill the second year of Richard the second and then Joan Only in whom the Name and Possession both concluded alienated her Proportion to the abovesaid John Mew nor was some parcell of both these Mannors free from the claim of a Family called Goldsmith for in the ninth year of Richard the second Richard Goldsmith does devest himself of all Concernment in it
hold in Knights Service of him and his Successors which was very usual and customary for the Arch-bishops and other great Prelates to do until King Edward the first growing jealous of the Power and Grandeur of the Clergie who endeavoured by their Bounty and magnificent Donations to oblige both the principal of the Nobility and Gentry and chain them up by these extraordinary Engagements to their Devotion caused the Statute called Quia emptores Terrarum in the one and twentieth of his raign to be made which restrains and supersedes for the future all new Creations of Mannors But to proceed VVilliam de Cobham being thus enstated in this Mannor in Gratitude to the first Donor altered his Name from Cobham to Pluckley Sir Richard de Pluckley this mans Grandchild flourished in the raign of King Stephen and Henry the second and founded the Church at Pluckley and from this man did VVilliam de Pluckley lineally branch out in whom the Male-Line concluded so that Agnes his Daughter and Heir by matching with John Surrenden Esquire cast Pluckley into the Possession of that Name and Family where it had not long sojourned when the same Vicissitude brought it over to Haut for James Haut wedded Joan Heir General of John Surrenden and so became Possessor of Pluckley but in this Name the Title was as volatile and mutable as in the former for this man went out in Daughters and Co-heirs one of them was wedded to Gouldwell and Christian the other was matched to John Dering Esquire in whose Right he was entituled to the Signory of Pluckley Now if you will inquire where lay the ancient Land of Dering if my Assertion might be credited I should affirm that it was at Stamford by Hieth where they were Lords of some part of the little Mannot of Heyton for by an old Roll I find that Normanus de Morinis married Kineburga Daughter and Heir of Deringus and his Son as was Customary in those Times called himself Deringus de Morinis and matched with Elveva Sister and Heir of Alanus de Heyton and so was invested in the Propriety of the Mannor of Heyton from whom it successively came down to Richard Fitz Dering who was Son of Dering and great Grand-child to this man who was the first who deserted the Sirname de Morinis and assumed that of Dering and died possest of the Mannor of Heyton in the forty second year of Henry the third And from this Richard Fitz Dering is Sir Edward Dering Baronet now lineally extracted who is the instant Lord of Pluckley and Surrenden Dering where Sir Edward Dering Knight and Baronet not many years since deceased raised that elegant Structure as eminent for its Magnificence and Beauty as it is for its Contrivance and Curiosity Pevington was formerly a Parish and had a Church dedicated to St. Mary though it be now languished into Dis-use and grown an adjunct to Pluckley The Patrons as well as Proprietaries of it were the Pevingtons a Knightly Family who borrowed their Sirname from hence The first whom I meet with is Sir Ralph de Pevington who flourished here in the raign of King John and King Henry the third and was Father to Sir William de Pevington who likewise died possest of this Mannor in the fifty fourth year of Henry the third from whom descended John and William Pevington who dying without Issue in the seventh year of Henry the fourth Amabilia their Sister matched to John Gobion became their Heir and she lies buried in the Church of Austin-Friars at Canterbury and is mentioned to have been a liberal Benefactresse to that Cloister about the Time of her Decease which was 1405. and had Issue by him Julian their only Daughter who was about the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth matched to William Brent from whom descended Thomas Brent in whom the Name and Male-Line together was extinguished so that Margaret Brent matched to John Dering was the visible Heir of his Estate amongst which this Mannor of Pevington was enwrapped which came down in Right of this Alliance to Sir Edward Dering Knight and Baronet who upon his Decease gave it after the Death of his Mother the Widow Dowager of Sir Anthony Dering to Mr. Henry Dering the eldest Son by his last Lady Malmains in Pluckley was the Inheritance of a Family of that Sirname Eleanor Wife of John de Malmins died seised of it in the fourteenth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 51. And after by Court-rols I discover Henry Malmains to be possest of it from whom it descended to Richard Malmains who died as the Date upon his Tomb-stone in Plukley Church discovers to us in the year 1440. and left John Malmains his Heir after whom I descry no farther mention of this Family at this place The next Family which succeeded in the Inheritance was Dering not by any Right derived from Haut for they had espoused the Heir of that Name before Malmains was extinguished nor could it be by any Female Heir atchieved for there were but two Co-heirs of this Branch of Malmains who were wedded to Monins and Gouldwell And if it be answered that Dering married the Heir of the eldest House To that I answer that Nicholas Malmains who was of the elder Line deceased in the twentieth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 15. and left only a Daughter and Heir who was matched to William de Grandison so that it is evident by the Premises that this Mannor of Malmains devolved to Dering the instant Proprietary not by any match of Haut or of this Family it self by any Female Heir or Coheir of Malmains but by Purchase only Shurland is the last place of Account It hath been the Patrimony of Betenham of Betenham in Cranbroke for many Hundred years Stephen de Betenham is mentioned in Court-rols which take their Rise or Date from the Government of Hen the third and certainly this is that Stephen de Betenham which is mentioned to be one of the Recognitores Magnae Assisae an Office of very great Importance in elder Times in those Pipe-rols which relate to the raign of King John and from this Stephen hath the Title of this place by a constant and even Chain of Ages threaded together into an unbroken Succession come down to Mr. Betenham who holds the present Signory and Possession of it Plumsted in the Hundred of Lesnes was in the year of Grace 960. given by King Edgar to the Abbot and Convent of St. Augustins in Canterbury as Thorne their Chronicler testifies under the Notion of four ploughed Lands which afterwards Godwin Earl of Kent violently tore from their Patrimony and setled upon his Son Tostius but it was restored to that Seminary by William the Conqueror and remained fastned to their Revenue until the rough hand of Henry the eighth by a publick suppression unlinked it and then it was by that Prince in the thirty sixth year of his raign granted to Sir Edward Boughton of
History since even the very Ruines of the Ruines themselves have now got an unknown enterment Helburgh is an ancient Seat in this Parish The first that I find possest it was Nicholas Tingewike originally descended from Tingewick in the County of Buckingham and who likewise held large possessions at Dartford and he dyed seised of it in the fourteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 182. After this Family deserted the possession the Pines became its Proprietaries of which Family was James de la Pine who was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty sixth and twenty seventh years of Edward the third and was in the possession of this place at his Decease which was in the thirty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 13. And left it to his Son Thomas Pine after whom I meet with another James Pine who about the Beginning of Henry the fourth passed it away to Cheyney and in this Family did it reside untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then the Lord Henry Cheyney who then began to retail himself and his estate out to Ruine in parcels alienated this to Maycott whose Son Sir Cavaliero Maycott that eminent Courtier in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and King James in the entrance of that Prince into his Government passed it away to Sir Christopher Clive and he immediately after conveyed it away to Contry vulgarly called Cuntry whose Son Mr. Thomas Contry almost in our memory cast it by Sale into the possession of Sir Edward Masters of Canterbury whose Son Richard Masters Esquire is entituled to the instant possession of it Reinham in the Hundred of Milton with Mere-court was in the reign of H. the first the patrimony of the noble Family of Camville Robert de Camville was engaged with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon in Palestine Robert de Camville his Son Rot. pipae de An. 41. Hen. 3. was an Assistant to Henry the third in the forty second of his Rule when he marched from Chester against the Welsh Geffrey de Camville was frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of Edward the first After this Family was worn out the noble Family of Leybourn of Leybourn Castle was entituled to the Inheritance Henry de Leybourn held it in the twenty eighth year of Edward the first and so did Thomas de Leybourn in the thirty fifth year of that Prince's Government Rot. Esc Num. 10. And so did his Brother likewise William de Leybourn who held the greatest part of it at his Death which was in the third year of Edward the second and transmitted it to his Kinsman Roger de Leybourn in whom the Male-line determined and he left it in Dower to his Wife Juliana de Leybourn who held it at her Death which was in the third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 86. And after her Decease it was enstated on his and her Daughter and Heir Juliana de Leybourn who for her vast Income merited the Title of Infanta of Kent and she married for her first Husband Iohn de Hasting a Kinsman of Laurence de Hasting but he dyed without any Issue by her upon whose Exit she was espoused to William de Clinton Earl of Huntingdon Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports who likewise deceased without any posterity by her in the twenty eighth year of Edward the third after whose Decease she continued a Widow untill her Death which was in the forty third year of the above-mentioned Prince Rot. Ese Num. 57. And is styled in the Escheat-roll Comitissa de Huntington which fortifies the former Assertion that she continued in the State of Widowhood till her dissolution upon whose decease the Crown upon an exact and solemne Inquisition discovering none that could inforce any Claim either directly and lineally or else by collateral deduction entitled it self to her estate as legally escheated and that Prince in the fiftieth year of his reign grants it to the Abbey of St. Mary Grace on Tower-hill where it was fixt until it was by the Suppression wrested away and then K. Edward the sixth in the second year of his reign granted it to Sir Thomas Cheyney Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports and one of the Privy Councel to that Prince whose Son Henry Lord Cheyney in the thirteenth year of Q. Elizabeth passed it away by Sale to Samuel Thornhil Esquire who upon his decease gave it by Testament to his second Son Sir Iohn Thornhil not many years deceased whose eldest Son Charles Thornhill Esquire is the present Heir to the propriety of it Silham is a second place considerable It was the Mansion formerly of a Family of no despicable extraction whose Sirname was Donett John Donett dyed possest of this and part of the Mannor of Reinham in the thirtieth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 57. And left them to his Son Iohn Donett who likewise was in the possession of them at his Death which was in the thirty sixth year of the above-named Prince and had Issue Iohn Donett in whom the Male-line failed so that his Lands at Reinham and Silham devolved by Margery his Sole Daughter and Heir to Iohn St. Leger Esquire Sheriff of Kent in the ninth year of Henry the fourth and was descended from Hugh St. Leger who was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae an Office of a very great Latitude and Circumference of power in elder Times in the second and seventh years of King Iohn In the St. Legers the possession of these places rested not long for not long after that Interest which he had in Reinham to Cheyney and Silham to Bloer Cheyney transmitted his Concernment with that part of Reinham that related to the Priory of Leeds to Sámuel Thornhill Esquire who disposed of it upon his death as is abovesaid but Christopher Bloer determined in Olympia Bloer his Heir General who brought it over to Mr. Iohn Tufton in the reign of Henry the eighth from whom it is now come down to the right honorable Iohn Tufton Earl of Thanett who possesses the present Signory of it Reyersh in the Hundred of Lerkefield though a Village of no great Account in it self Carews Court in Reyersh was for many descents the Inheritance of a Family of that Sirname and remained locked up in their Demeasn until the twelfth year of H. the sixth and then Nich. Carew demises it by Deed to Tho. Watton who upon his Decease setled it on his Nephew Will. Watton and from him the Thread of many descents hath guided the Title down to the instant Proprietary Mr. Will. Watton of Addington yet is disengaged of its original Obscurity by the splendor and eminence of those who successively possest it The first whom I find concerned in it was Hugh de Crescie originally in all probability extracted from Crescie who is mentioned in the Battle Abby-roll and he dyed seised of it in the forty seventh year of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 42. After
the hand of Robert Duke of Normandy his eldest Brother and afterwards to fortifie this Design started out into an open Defection and seised upon this Castle of Rochester but William Rufus with so much Expedition and Courage crushed these Attempts that they became abortive for in the year 1088. he besieges his Uncle Odo in this Fortress and presses upon him with so much Vigor and Animosity that he forces him to surrender to discretion but though he took not away his Life he did that of his Liberty and sent him Prisoner to Tunbridge-castle not under the Notion of Bishop of Bajeux for that would have infringed and invaded the Franchises of the Church but under that of the Earl of Kent After this there was by the mediation and umpirage of Robert Fitz Hamon and Henry Earl of Warwick a Composition made between William Rufus and Gundulphus Bishop of Rochester the Result of which was this The Prince was to confirm the Mannor of Hedenham to this Sea and the Bishop to ballance this Concession with something which had the Face of Retribution was to expend sixty pound in some additions to the Castle and accordingly erected the great square Tower a Morsel which hath been too hard for the Teeth of Time and by the vastness of the instant remaining Skeleton witnesses the strength of it to Posterity when it was in its primitive Grandeur before the Rage of War and the Fury of Elements threw it into this wild Disorder and Confusion yet it is even in this shattered Condition a better Alphabet to the Memory of the Bishop its first Founder then his own Monument or Repository for that lies entered in forgotten and neglected Ruines but this still preserves his Name and is called Gundulphus's Tower And being thus improved and fortified with these new Accessions it is not to be wondered at that this Piece was of that signal Estimate in elder Times that King Henry the first by the Advice of his Councel in the year 1126 granted the Custody of this Castle and the Office of Castellan annexed to it to William the then present Arch-bishop of Canterbury and his Successors with free liberty to erect a Tower that is another Fortresse equivalent or Correspondent to Gundulphs Tower which before was erected for the Defence of this City and Castle In Times succeeding to these that is in the year 1215 William de Albineto or Albiniaco in the Latine of those Times and written D' Albinet in the Usage of ours was Governour of this Fortresse for the factious party of the mutinous Barons who were then in actual Arms against King John but this Prince invested it with a formal Leaguer and after the bloody Debate of a three Moneths Siege forces the above-mentioned D' Albinet to a Surrender wherein though the Virtue of the Opponent was considerable yet it was ruinous to him and the Event hath left us Faith enough to believe that Strength without the Concurrence of a Loyal Principle which may support it is like an Egyptian Reed which ordinarily runs into the Fingers and wounds them which lean upon it In the year after this the Nobility then combined and in Arms against King John finding that their Forces were much empaired and diminished by severall unsuccesful Encounters with that Prince and that they must be forced to resign themselves up to those rigorous Conditions that he would impose upon them called in Lewis the Dolphin of France who landing in the Isle of Thanett with a considerable Army advanced to Rochester and by the concurrent Assistance of the Barons who had united their strength with his made such a furious Onset upon this Castle that like a Tempest which bears down all before it he carried it by Assault In the year 1264. broke out that fatal Contest between Simon Montfort Earl of Leicester and Henry the third the Foundation or Original of which was this That Earl being the great Assertor of the English Liberty against the turbulent Eruptions of Forrainers endeavoured to tear away those Strangers that being placed too near the Royal Throne had obstructed and forelaid all the Avenues and Passages both to the Heart and Eare of that Prince and this dismal clashing like the Collision of two Flints was productive of so wasting and destructive a Fire that it had like not only to have consumed the Crown and Scepter but likewise to have cast the whole Kingdome it self into a heap of Flame and Ruines some Sparks of which were darted hither For this Earl about the Time above specified begirt the City and Castle of Rochester with a powerful Army and that he might multiply all Advantages to himself which might inforce his Design and intercept the Succour intended the Besieged he burned the Bridge whose Frame was then made up of Wood and destroyed a Fortress that was placed upon it which was compounded of the same Materials and having effected this he pressed so hard upon the Castle that he not only pillaged the adjacent Church and Abby but likewise subdued the outward Ward or Gate and had certainly by an absolute Conquest at chieved the whole had not King Henry arrived most opportunely and by a succesful encounter wrested both Earl Warren who had so vigorously maintained it and that likewise from the Impressions of his Fury After this I find little of Moment to have been acted at this place only I find the Castle to have been deposited in the Hands of several eminent Persons who were extracted from Families whose Blood was of as noble a Tincture as any in this County and these held it under the Notion of Castellani or Guardians of it an Office of a very important Concernment in elder Times The first of which who was entrusted with it was William St. Clere whose Ancient Seat before his Successor by the Match of the Coheir of Aldham removed to Ightam was at Woodland in Kingsdown and he died in the Tenure of this place in the forty eighth year of Henry the third After him I discover Robert de Hougham Lord of Hougham by Dover to have had the Custody of it and he died invested in this Office in the second year of Edward the first and in the next year after Robert de Septuans from whom the Harfleets of East-Kent are descended had the Care and Command of it In Times of a nearer Approach to us I find William Keriel or Criol was entrusted with the Care and Government of it and was possest of this Charge at his Death in the first year of Henry the fifth After whose Exit the Custody was committed to Thomas Lord Cobham and he held it at his Decease which was in the eleventh year of Edward the fourth But after this it began so to languish away into its own Ruines that it grew rather an Object of Pity than of Envy and rested amongst the Mannors of the Crown untill King James in the seventh year of his Reign granted that goodly Skeleton of the Castle
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
the rudenesse of the Words which are here transcribed out of the East Window where they stand engrossed in an antiquated Character Margareta La Famma Gillam de Brockhilla fio Fera sata Shapella From hence branched forth the Brockhills or Brockhulls for anciently they were written so both ways both of Cale-hill and Aldington Septuans in Thurnham But the Male Line fayling here in Thomas Brockhull Elizabeth his Sole Daughter and Heir brought it to be possest by Richard Selling in which Family after the Interest of it stayed untill allmost our Fathers Remembrance it was by the same Devolution carried off to acknowledge the Propriety of Tournay Sandhurst in the Hundred of Selbrittenden was with much other Land granted by King Offa in the year 791 to Christ-church in Canterbury But Betherinden was always of temporal Interest for it afforded both Seat and Sirname to a Family of this Denomination and John de Bethrinden dyed seised of it in the year of Edward the third But not long after did it reside in this Family for this Name expired in a Female Inheritrix who was matched to Finch who united this Seat to his Demeasne and here it lay untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was rent off by Sale and placed in Pelham and from this Name a Mutation of the same Circumstance took it away and in our Fathers Remembrance annexed it to the Inheritance of Fowl and remains still with the Descendants of that Family Aldrinden is a third place of Account in Sandhurst had Owners of that Sirname of whom Roger de Aldrinden as the private Deeds of this place do inform me was the last in the Male descent who left it to his Daughter and Heir Christian Aldrinden and she in the twenty second year of Edward the third passed it away to John Sellbrittenden who not long after alienated it to Thomas Bourne and he held it as appears by an old Court-roll in the first year of Richard the second and from him did it by the Chain of Descent passe along untill it arrived at John Bourn who dying in the fourth year of Edward the fourth settled it by Will on Joan his Female Inheritrix matched to Thomas Allard and by this Alliance did it descend to his Son Henry Allard who had Issue John Allard who alienated his Right in it by Sale to John Twisden Gentleman in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth from whom it came down to his Successor Mr. William Twisden who about the Beginning of King James sold it to Mr. Thomas Downton Esquire Father of Mr. Richard Downton of Istleworth Esquire Justice of the Peace for the County of Middlesex now Proprietary of it Combden is another Mannor in this Parish which was anciently possest by Fulk de Ballard that Fulk who as appears by the Book called Testa de Nevill in the Exchequer paid a respective supply for Land in Sandhurst at the marriage of Isabell Sister to King Henry the third in the twentieth year of that Prince but not long did the Propriety of this place rest in this Family for in the reign of Richard the second I find it in the Possession of the Whitfields an ancient Family descended from Whitfield in Cumberland of which Stock was Sir Ithan de Whitfield who in behalf of the Barons then knit together in an hostile confederacy against their Prince as an old French Manuscript informs me tue Borough-bridge 15. Edwardi secundi il est oit contre le Roy defended Borough-bridge against Edward the second And ever since the Government of that Prince above-mentioned was this place constantly fastned by the Thread of many Descents to the Patrimony though not of this Family yet of this Name until Sir Ralph Whitfield deceasing not many years since bequeathed it by Will to his Daughter Mrs. Dorothy Whitfield who hath now brought it by Marriage to be the possession of John Fotherly Esquire Here is a place in this Parish which however it be now under a cloudy and obscure Character was in Ages of a higher Gradation the Inheritance of the Noble Family of Twisden and certainly here they lived when they writ de Denna Fracta and from them it hath borrowed the Title of Twisden-street or Borough which it retains to this Day Indeed Twisden in the Original Saxon imports no more but the broken Valley or the Vale distinguished into two peeces Shadockherst in the Hundreds of Blackborn Chart Longbridge and Ham was the Inheritance of a Family called Forstall and sometimes written at Forstall which were of no contemptible Extraction in this County for in several Ancient Deeds I find John at Forstall and Richard at Forstall to be Witnesses and it is probable they were Possessors of this Mannor though the private Deeds reach out to our View no higher discovery then the reign of Henry the fifth for in the third year of that Prince's reign Joan Forstall passes it away by Deed to Stokys vulgarly called Stokes and in that Family was the Interest of it many years clasped up until at last the ordinary Vicissitude of Purchase brought it to be the Demeasne of Randolph who had an Estate likewise about Burham near Maidstone And from this Name about the beginning of King Edward the sixth it went away by Sale to Sir John Taylor who in the twenty fifth of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to John Taylor Esquire Ancestor to Thomas Taylor Esquire who is now invested in the Possession of it and from whom I confesse I have received my Intelligence concerning those who were the former Proprietaries of it Criols-court in this Parish was one of those Seats which related to the Patrimony of Bertram de Crioll and he died seised of it in the twenty third year of Edward the first and left it to his Son John de Crioll who deceasing about the beginning of Edward the third without Issue it devolved to Joan his Sister and Heir who was matched to Sir Richard de Rokesley but he likewise determined in Agnes Rokesley who was one of his two Female Co-heirs and she by matching with Thomas de Poynings entituled that Family to the possession of that wide Estate which devolved to her in Right of her Mother and from him did it descend to his Successor Sir Edward Poynings Son of Robert Poynings a man very eminent in the Government of Henry the seventh For this Sir Edward in the first year of his Rule immediatly after he had triumphed over Richard the third in Bosworth-field was chosen one of his Privy Councel to manage the publick Interest of the Nation Afterwards he most vigorusly opposed James Lord Audley and his Cornish Squadrons being then in Defection to Henry the seventh in the tenth year of his reign And this Sir Edward held it at his Death which was in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth though his Office was not found until the fourteenth of that Prince and then it being discovered that the whole Stock and Lineage
of this Family were extinguished and that there were none who were legally begotten for Sir Thomas Poynings was his natural Son that either in a direct or collateral Line could pretend a Title to his Estate it escheated to the Crown And Henry the eighth afterwards passed it away by Grant to William Taylor whose Sutcessor Mr. Thomas Taylor passed it away to George Taylor and he had Issue Mr. John Taylor who concluding in Anne his Sole Daughter and Heir she by a Match with Whitfeild annexed it to the Demeasne of that Name from whom again not many years since it came over by Sale to More who very lately hath alienated it to Mr. Thomas Taylor Esquire Mincing-court vnlgarly so called but Originally and in Old Records styled Minikens-court is likewife circumscribed within the Verge of Shadock herst It was parcel of that Income which did support in elder Times the Hospital of St. Jacobs in Tanington by Canterbury which was founded to be a Receptacle of Leprous Women and confirmed by Hubert Arch-bishop of Canterbury about the beginning of King John and to this Covent did it relate until the reign of King Edward the sixth and then though it had not been torn off from the Revenue of the abovesaid Hospital by the violent Hand of Henry the eighth yet it was alienated by that Prince and in the second year of his Rule it was granted to Robert Tatteshall Esquire to hold of his Mannor of East-Greenwich tantum per Fidelitatem Servitii and from him immediatly after it came over by purchase to Sir Edward Wotton And when Cardinal Poole visited Kent in the year 1557. he was found invested in it and from him did it by paternal Delegation devolve to his Successor Thomas Lord Wotton who setled it upon his eldest Daughter Katherine upon her Marriage with Henry Lord Stanhop Son and Heir to Philip Earl of Chesterfield and this Lady not long since hath alienated her Interest in it to Mr. Thomas Harfleet of Canterbury Stalesfeild in the Hundred of Feversham was a Limb of that vast Revenue which fell under the Jurisdiction and Signory of the Knights Templers and is registred under that Notion in that Book kept in the Exchequer styled Liber de Terris Templariorum And in Mr. Robert Glovers Church-Notes of Kent there is in this Church represented the Pourtracture of a Chevalier maled in Armour whose Face is only visible and that pourtracted with a long Beard which induces me to believe that it was the Effigies of some eminent Person of this Order for in all the Sculpture and Imagery of the Knights Templers both Ancient and Modern they are still delivered to Posterity under that Representation And Peter Auger falling under the Censure of a Knight Templer in the fourth year of Edward the second though Valett to that Prince because he nourished a long and diffused Beard was absolved and discharged by his Master by satisfying the publick that though he wore a long Beard he was no Knight Templer But to advance in my Survey After that fatal Tempest which was conjured up by the Magick of the Court of Rome and its Emissaries had in the second year of Edward the second shook this Order into a total Dissolution this Mannor which lay clasped up in their Revenue was united by Royal Concession to the Demeasne of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem and there it dwelt untill the general suppression in the reign of Henry the eighth dislodged it and threw it into the possession of the Crown where it lay involved until King Edward the sixth in the fourth year of his Government by Grant planted the Propriety in Sir Anthony St. Leger and he immediatly after passed it away to Sir Anthony Aucher who was afterwards slain bravely disputing the Interest of the English Nation at Calais against the Assaults of the French and his Successor about the beginning of King James alienated it to Salter from whom it is now come down to Sir Nicholas Salter who is entituled to the instant Fee-simple of it Darbies-court in this Parish gave Seat and Sirname to a Family which was known to the World by no other Denomination and certainly was a Family of generous Account in this Track for in very ancient Registers and Rols of Kentish Gentry I find this Coat to be borne by this Name videlicet Partie per Cheveron embattelled Or and Azure three Eagles counterchanged And of this Family was John Darby Esquire who was Sheriff of London in the year 1445. and built the South-Isle of St. Dionis Back-church near Lime-street where the Windows represent to our View the above-mentioned Coat as the best Index to the Memory of so munificent a Benefactor But to proceed Before the beginning of Henry the fourth the Propriety of this Mansion was by Sale conveyed from Darby to St. Leger where its aboad was of as brief a continuance for the Male-line failing in Thomas St. Leger Esquire who bought it by Joan his Daughter and Co-heir wedded to Henry Aucher Esquire it came over to be the Inheritance of that Family and in their Revenue was constantly fixed until the Age and Remembrance of our Grand-fathers and then it was alienated to Sir Michael Sonds of Eastry from whom by hereditary Right it devolved to Sir Richard Sonds of Throuley who in his Life-time passed it away to his Son and Heir Sir George Sonds now of Leeze-Court in Shelvich Knight of the Bath to whom the Possession of this Mannor at this instant is entituled Stamford in the Hundred of Folkstone is in it self a small obscure Village but made eminent by containing within the Limits of it Ostenhanger a Seat of as much Account and Eminence as any in the County The Demeasne which related to it was divided between the two noble Families of Crioll and Auberville Bertram de Crioll was Sheriff of Kent in the twenty seventh year of Henry the third and is written in the Pipe-roll of that year of Westenhanger a Name coincident with the other Sir William de Auberville lived at the Borough of Westenhanger when he founded the Abby of West-Langdon in the Time of Richard the first he had Hugh de Auberville who likewise as appears by the Leiger Book of that Covent being a liberal Benefactor to that Cloister was his Son and Heir and he had Issue Sir William de Auberville in whom the Male-Line determined and he had only a Female Inheritrix espoused to Nicholas de Crioll whether of a. Younger House or else a Younger Son to Bertram de Crioll above-mentioned I cannot discover Bertram de Crioll had Issue Bertram de Crioll who dyed possest of a great Proportion of Ostenhanger in the twenty third year of Edward the first as appears Rot. Esc Num. 48. And left it to Joan his Daughter married to Sir Richard de Rokesley who upon the Decease of her only Brother John de Crioll without Issue became his Sole Heir This Sir Richard de Rokesley was one of those
Grand-child who died possest of it in the forty second year of King Henry the third and left it to his Son Peter Dering who likewise held this Mannor almost all the reign of Edward the first and from him did it descend to his Son and Heir Richard Dering who was Brother to Sir Robert Dering who was one of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem and this Richard about the eighth year of Edward the second passed it away to William Scot of Smeth from whom by an uninterrupted and unbroken Clew of many Generations was the Possession carried down to those Scots who were Proprietaries of it in that Age wherein our Grand-fathers flourished and then it was demised by Sale to Smith which Family it still confesses for Possessors Stansted in the Hundred of Wrotham represents to our Remembrance an Ancient Family called Grapinell who were once Owners of this place and flourished here under the Scepter of Henry the third and Edward the first but going out in Daughters and Co-heirs Margeria one of them by marching with William de Inge who was a Judge in the raign of Edward the second knit this Mannor to the Inheritance of this Family and he died seised of it in the fifteenth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 42. and left it to his only Daughter and Heir in an old Pedigree called Isolda but more truely Joan for in the Inquisition taken after the Death of Eudo la Zouch to whom she was matched which was in the twentieth year of Edward the second Rot. Esc Num. 31. it is found that he held this Mannor in Right of his Wise Joan Sole Heir of William de Inge. And from this Eudo did Thomas la Zouch Baron of Haringworth descend who died possest of it in the sixth year of Henry the fourth Rot. Esc Num. 17. and so did his Son Henry Lord Zouch who was the last of this Name who was possest of this place at his Decease which was in the twenty sixth of Henry the sixth After the Zouches the Colepepers were by purchase from them entituled to the Possession and Richard Colepeper was found to hold it at his Death which was in the second year of Richard the third and from this Family about the beginning of Henry the seventh it passed away to Thomas Leigh whose Son John Leigh gave it to his natural Son Richard Leigh in the year 1575. and he not long after alienated it to Bing of Wrotham from which Family it is very lately carried away to William James of Ightam Esquire one of the Justices of the Peace of this County a Person who for his Affection to Learning and Antiquity cannot be mentioned without an Attribute Soranks in this Parish was the Seat of a Family which borrowed its Sirname from hence and had the Repute of a Mannor in the reign of Edward the third For Roger de Sorancks held this Mannor as is evident by the Book of Aide kept in the Exchecquer in the twentieth year of Edward the third by Knights Service of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury But after the reign of that Prince it was not very constant to the Interest of this Name for about the beginning of Richard the second I find it in the possession of Thomas Mortimer Lord of the Mannor of Mortimers in Cowling and he in the twentieth year of the abovesaid Monarch passed it away to William Skrene and when this Name was worn out at this place the Family of Wood was ingrafted in the possession and rested there until the latter end of Henry the seventh and then it was by Thomas Wood passed away to Robert Barefoot in which Family the Title was as transient for Thomas Barefoot this mans Son in the third and fourth of Philip and Mary alienated it to Henry Fanshaw who almost in our Fathers Remembrance conveyed the Fee-simple unto Launce Stansted had the Grant of a Fair obtained by William de Inge the Judge in the ninth year of Edward the second to be held yearly for the space of three Dayes at the Assumption of the Virgin Mary as appears Cart. 9. Edwardi secundi Num. 40. Stapleherst in the Hundred of Twyford was as appears by Ancient Deeds and Inquisitions as to some part of it folded up in the large Patrimony of Fremingham whose capital Residence was at Fremingham or Farningham where I have treated more largely of them but when the Male-line of this Family determined in John de Fremingham Joan his only Sister matched to John Isley Esquire Son of Isley was found to be his Heir in the second year of Henry the fourth and in her Right Roger Isley Son and Heir of this John entered upon it and from him the Land here by a successive Thread of Descent was wafted down to the Noble but infortunate Sir Henry Isley of whom more presently but another parcel of this Mannor did acknowledge the Signory of Pimpe of Nettlested and William Pimpe died possest of it in the year of our Lord 1375. as part of his Knights Fee called Pimps and in his Line did the Title flow constantly along until it devolved to Reginald Pimpe Esquire who about the twelfth year of Henry the seventh demised it by private Deed to John Isley Esquire from whom it came down to his Grand-child Sir Henry Isley who being entangled too fatally in the ruinous Design of Sir Thomas Wiat was in the second year of Queen Mary attainted and his Interest in this Mannor connscated to the Crown which was granted out of it again that present year to Sir John Baker Ancestor to Sir John Baker Baronet who is still entituled to the Propriety Isley had formerly in this place Boxley Abby was formerly concerned in some Demeasne likewise here at Stapleherst as appears by an Inquisition taken in the third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 134. which upon the suppression of that Abby it was with the Mannor at Boxley relating to that Convent by Henry the eighth granted to Sir Thoma Wiat who being attainted in the second year of Queen Mary it escheated to the Crown and then it was by that Princess the same year granted to her Atturney General Sir John Baker whose Successor Sir John Baker of Sisingherst now enjoyes it as couched in his Mannor of Stapleherst Newsted is a Mannor in this Parish which was annexed to the free Chappel erected at this place by Hamon de Crevequer and invested with ample Privileges which Donation of his and all the Franchises united to it was confirmed as appears by the first Book of Compositions kept in the Registers Office at Rochester in the forty first year of Edward the third But when the Statute in the first year of Edward the sixth had overturned all Chauntries this Mannor was swallowed up in the Revenue of the Crown and then the abovesaid Prince by his Royal Concession planted it in the Patrimony of Sir Edward Wotton Ancestor to Thomas Lord Wotton of Boughton Malherbe who setled it
in Marriage on Katharine-Wotton his eldest Daughter and Co-heir espoused to Henry Lord Stanhop and she by her Feoffees in Trust hath demised the Fee-simple to Mr. Robert Oliver of Leybourn Loveherst is another Mannor in this Parish was parcel of that Estate which by its Income supported the Priory of Leeds and upon the Suppression was by Henry the eighth granted to Sir John Gage in the thirty fourth year of his reign and he in the thirty sixth of that Prince demised it to Thomas Colepeper Esquire who not long after alienated it to Thomas Wilford Esquire from whom about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth it passed away by Sale to Mr. John Baker in whose Descendants the Title is yet resident Engeherst presents it self next to our View it is now vulgarly called Henherst in Ages of an higher Ascent Engeherst for some old Deeds without Date bounding some Land in this Parish of Stapleherst make it situated juxta Terras Osberti de Hengherst supra Dennam de Engherst and from this Den or Vally did that Ancient Family called Engherst or Hengherst take the first Extraction of its Name who bore as appears by several Seals for their paternal Armory Barrie of six peeces and having continued in the possession of this place for many Descents at last the Inheritance was transmitted to Henry Hengherst and he in the twenty third year of Henry the sixth by his Feoffees in Trust setles it on his Kinsman John Nash and in his Family I find it in the reign of Edward the fourth and Henry the seventh and here for want of clearer Intelligence I must leap to the reign of Queen Elizabeth and then the Fee-simple was invested in Roberts and from this Family about the latter end of that Princess it went away by purchase to Moodye who in our Fathers Memory alienated it to Samuel Ovenden by whose Daughter and Co-heir Elizabeth Ovenden it is now come to own the Heirs of her late Husband Mr. Partrich Tindall Spilsill-court is the last place of Account in this Parish it was as appears by very Ancient Deeds the Residence of a Family of that Name which before the end of King Edward the second was crumbled into Decay and then the Stangraves succeeded in the Possession for Robert de Stangrave at his Decease held some Estate at or in Spilsill in the twelfth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 52. But about the latter end of Edward the third this Family was likewise mouldered away and then it came to own the Signory of Maynie descended from Walter de Meduana or Maynie a man of that Repute as appears by the red Book in the Exchecquer Fol. 84. that he held twenty Knights Fees in this County but Mayneys situated in Bredgar was the Ancient Seat of this Name who having possest for so many Successions and Descents this Seat did not many years since transplant their Interest in it by Sale to Sharpeigh by whose Daughter and Heir it is now become the Inheritance of Mr. George Thompson of London Swalcliff in the Hundred of Blengate was given by Eadbald King of Kent as Thorn the Chronicler of St. Augustins informs me to the Cloister of St. Mildred at Minster in Thanett and was when her body was translated by King Canutus to the Abby of St. Augustins in Canterbury brought over along with it and knit to the Patrimony of that Cloister and the Monks of that Covent granted it away to be held in Fee by a Family which took its Denomination from thence and were called Swalclive and they held it the twentieth year of Henry the third as Testa de Nevill informs me and paid an auxiliary Contribution for it at the Marriage of Isabell that Prince's Sister but before the end of Edward the first this Family was expired and then the Family of St. Lawrence was setled in the Possession Thomas de St. Lawrence held it as appears by the Book of Aid kept in the Exchequer in the twentieth year of Edward the third at making the Black Prince Knight and dyed possest of it in the twenty second year of that Prince Rot. Esc Num. 9. And from him did it descend to his Grandchild Thomas St. Lawrence who setled it in Marriage with Katharine his Daughter and Heir matched to Sir William Apulderfield who determining in Daughters and Coheirs Elizabeth one of them espoused to Sir John Phineux Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench brought it to confesse the Signory of that Family but he deceasing without Issue-male Jane his only Daughter and Sole Inheritrix being matched to John Roper Esquire this Mannor became by this Alliance inoculated into his Patrimony and was resident in this Name untill the Beginning of King James and then it was conveyed to Mr. Benedict Barnham by one of whose four Daughters and Coheirs its Right and Title devolved to Soam of Suffolk who not many years since alienated his Concernment in it to Perry who hath lately transmitted it by Sale to Gould In the year 946. King Eadred gave Land at Swalclive to Heresigus one of his Servants and he again gave it to the Abby of St Augustins conditionally that a place of Sepulture might be reserved for him within their Cloister Snave in the Hundreds of Aloes-Bridge Ham and Newchurch was as high as I can discover a Portion or Member of that Patrimony which confessed the Signory of Haut and so continued untill Joan Daughter and Coheir of Sir William Haut being made the Wife of the unhappy Sir Thomas Wiatt a man of an unstained though an unsuccesseful Virtue this by Female Right became parcel of his Demeasne but when he and his Patrimony were demolished by that impetuous Gust of Misfortune which sunk them both into a heap of Ruines in the second year of Q. Mary this upon his Conviction of high Treason being escheated to the Crown that Princesse in the third year of her Government passed it away to Sir Henry Sidney Knight of the Garter and Lord Deputy of Ireland whose Successor the Right Honorable Robert Earl of Leicester not many years since conveyed it to Sir George Stonehouse Snavewick in this Parish was anciently wrapped up in the Demeasn of the Abby of St. Augustins but being pared off in the general Suppression by the rough Hand of Henry the eighth It was in the thirty fifth year of his reign granted for Life only to Sir Walter Henley but upon his Decease it returned to the Crown and lay there untill the late King Charls about the Beginning of his reign granted it to Mr. Patrick Black a Scotchman who not long after granted it in Lease to Sir Edw. Yates of Barkeshire and conveyed the Fee-simple in Reversion to Mr. Rob. Austin now of Hall-place in Bexley Swanscamp in the Hundred of Acstane hath contracted an eminent Character of Reputation since Sueno or Swain fixed here his Camp when he invaded England to expiate by a plenary Revenge that Blood which in so prodigal an Effusion
old Rentall discovers to me and farther none of the ancient Evidences do reach the Patrimony of Thomas Champneys and he makes it over in part to Sir William Wroth of Enfield and he in the second year of Richard the second alienated all his Right and Interest in it to Thomas Lovell but some part remained unsold untill the nineteenth of the abovesaid Prince and then it was wholly invested by Sale from Robert Champneys in the aforesaid Thomas Lovell and he by his Feoffees in Trust as namely John Osborne John Arnold Richard Marshall and John Atsheath conveyed it in the eleventh year of Henry the fourth to Thomas Theobald or Tebald and Mawde his Wife and so by this Purchase did it become the Inheritance of this Family and made its aboad here untill the twenty fourth year of Henry the seventh and then John Theobald alienated it to William Porter which Family it is probable were concerned in it before for in the tenth year of Edward the fourth I find John Alphey releases by Deed his right in Hall to William Porter Esquire and from William Porter abovesaid did the Title slow down in the Chanel of paternal Right to Mr. Andrew Porter who concluding in a Daughter and Heir called Elizabeth it is now by matching with her become the Patrimony of Mr. Peter Stowell Register of the Diocesse of Rochester Stidulfe is a third Mannor in Seale which afforded both Seat and Sirname to a Family so called Robert de Stidulfe is mentioned in Deeds without Date to have held this and much other Land in Seale In the thirty sixth year of Edward the third I find Reginald Stidulfe of Stidulfe accounts with Thomas Champneis for Land held of his Mannor of Hall And lastly I discover that William Stidulfe about the eleventh year of Henry the sixth by Sale conveyed it to William Quintin whose Son William changed the Name of Quintin into Oliver upon what Grounds I have discovered at Leybourn and in this Name was this Mannor lodged untill the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth and then it was passed away to Richard Theobald whose Son John exchanged it with his Kinsman Stephen Theobald who dying without Issue-male left two Coheirs Katharine matched to Edward Michell and Margaret wedded to David Polhill who shared his Inheritance and this upon the Division of the Estate augmented the Revenue of Michell and his Descendant Mr ....... Michell is now the Heir apparent of it Sedingbourn in the Hundred of Milton hath several places in its confines remarkable whereof Bayford and Goodneston first claim our Notice the last of which had a Castle whose Banks and Ruines are yet visible it anciently acknowledged the Family of Nottingham who likewise in elder Times were possest of Bayford for Proprietaries Robert de Nottingham flourished in the reign of Edward the first and dates several of his Deeds in the Beginning of that Prince's Rule apud Castellum suum de Goodneston Robert de Nottingham his Successor was Sheriff of Kent the forty eighth year of Edward the third and held his Shriovalty at Bayford in Sedingbourn in which year he dyed and was found to have held at his Death Lands at Sharsted Pedding in Tenham a place called Newland and another called la Herst Higham in Milsted Bixle in Tong now called Bex and lastly Goodneston and Babford now named Bayford in this Parish all which descended to his only Son John Nottingham whose only Daughter and Heir Eleanor Nottingham was matched to Simon Cheyney second Son of Sir Richard Cheyney of Shurland who brought all this spreading Revenue to acknowledge the Signory of this Family and the Coats of Cheyney and Nottingham viz. Azure six Lions Argent a Canton Ermin and Gules two Pales wavee Argent stand empaled in Milsted-church in coloured Classe But this Alliance though it much enhaunsed by additional improvement the Patrimony of Cheyney yet could not so strongly entwine the Interest of Bayford and Goodneston with this Name but that about the latter end of Henry the sixth they were conveyed away by Sale to Lovelace for Richard Lovelace of Queenhith in London a younger Branch of the Lovelaces of Bethersden made his Will the first of Aprill 1465 and there ordained that his Feoffees should make an Estate of his Mannors of Bayford and Goodneston in Sedingbourn which he had purchased of Cheyney to John Lovelace his Son and Heir which accordingly was performed and he invested in the Possession of them and from him did they by Descent devolve to his Crandchild Thomas Lovelace of Kingsdown who in the tenth year of Queen Elizabeth passed them away to Mr. Ralph Finch from which Family they went away by the same Revolution almost in our Fathers Memory to Alderman Garret of London who had Issue Sir John Garret of the County of Hertford whose Widow Dowager the Lady ..... Garret by right of Jointure now enjoys the Profits of both these Mannors Chilton is another Mannor in Sedingbourn which had Owners of this Sirname who likewise held another Mannor of this Name in Ash both which places William de Chilton held at his Death which was in the thirty first of Edward the first but after his Exit it did not long confesse the Propriety of this Family for about the Beginning of Edward the third it was demised by Sale to Corbie and Robert Corbie was possest of it at his Decease which was in the thirty ninth year of that Prince Rot. Esc Num. 9. and he had Issue Robert Corbie whose Sole Daughter and Heir Joan Corbie espoused Sir Nicholas Wotton twice Lord Maior of London by whom this Mannor and much other Land came by a fruitfull Augmentation to swell the Inheritance of this Family yet I find the Interest in Chilton was not solely lodged in Corbie for by ancient Deeds I discover that an old Family called Maris was concerned in some part of it likewise John de Maris held a Knights Fee in Wicheling and much other Land at Herietsham the twentieth year of Ed. the third as likewise the Mannor of Ackmere in St. Mary Crey in Castle-guard of Dover-castle and his great Grand-child William Maris was Sheriff of Kent the twenty first year of Henry the sixth and was Esquire to Henry the fifth and afterwards to Cardinall Kemp and lyes enter'd in Preston Church with so much of the Inscription left as may instruct the Reader that his Ashes slumber beneath the Tomb-stone yet before his Decease he had alienated his share in this Mannor to Nicholas Wotton Esquire from whom the united Interest of this place came down to Thomas Lord Wotton who not many years since setled it in Marriage on Katherine his eldest Daughter matched to Henry Lord Stanhop Son and Heir to Philip Earl of Chesterfeild lately deceased who still enjoyes the propriety of it In the year 1232. Henry Bishop of Rochester as Thomas Rudborne a Monk of St. Swithens in Winchester does relate came on a Sabbath Day with much exultation out of Sedingbourn Church
and desired the people to express their Joy because on that Day by the efficacious prayers of the Church Richard the first formerly King of England and many others were ransomed from the Flame and Torment of Purgatory In Sedingbourn Church there was a Monument of Sir Richard Lovelace inlayed richly with Brasse who was an eminent Souldier in his Time and Marshal of Calais under Henry the eighth with his Pourtraiture affixed in Brass which the Injuries of Time and the Impiety of Sacrilegious Mechanicks have utterly dismantled and defaced Selling in the Hundred of Boughton did in Ages of the highest Discovery acknowledge the Signory of the Putots and William de Putot was in Possession of it at his Death which happened in the thirteenth year of Henry the third After the Putots the Lords Badelesmer were invested in the possession Guncelin de Badelesmer was possest of it in the twenty ninth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 50. and left it with a spatious Inheritance to his Son Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer who having involved himself in a ruinous Combination with some others of the mutinous Nobility against Edward the second lost both his Life and Estate in that unsuccesful Defection but this Mannor was restored to his Son in the second year of King Edward the third and was known by the Name of Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer but did not long enjoy his new acquired Inheritance for in the twelfth year of the above-mentioned Prince he died without Issue and left his Estate to be shared between four Sisters and Co-heirs whereof Margaret the eldest was espoused to Sir John Tiptoft and he in her Right entered upon the possession of this place and died possest of it in the thirty third year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 39. from whom the Title came down to John Tiptoft created Earl of Worcester in the year 1450. and invested afterwards with the Office and Dignity of Lord Treasurer and Lord Constable of England but asserting too eagerly the Cause and Quarrel of the House of Yorke he was crushed and overwhelmed with that weight with which the Partisans of the Lancastrian Faction did endevour to sink and oppresse the Supporters of that Family and was offered up a Victime to the successful Fury of Richard Earl of Warwick who being an Apostate of the House of Yorke was the principal Engine upon whom the Designs and Interess of the Lancastrian Party then moved Upon the untimely Death and attaint of this Earl which was in the year 1570. this Mannor was annexed to the Revenue of the Crown and though Edward Tiptoft this mans Son was the next year after his Fathers unhappy Exit restored by Edward the fourth both in Blood and Dignity yet I do not discover any Restitution made of Selling so that it rested in the Crown until Edward the sixth in the fourth year of his reign granted it to Sir Anthony St. Leger who immediatly after passed it away to Sir Anthony Sonds of Throuley one of the Justices of the Peace of this County and Gentleman of the Bed-chamber to this Prince and his Father Henry the eighth from whom it is now come down by Paternal efflux of the Title to Sir George Sonds Knight of the Bath who is entituled to the present possession of it Oven-court in this Parish anciently gave both Seat and Sirname to a Family which was known by that Denomination but whether they were extracted from the Owens of Wales and contracted this Name of Oven by vulgar Acceptation no Record does manifest certain it is they were as appears by old Rentals and other Muniments possessors of this place as high as the reign of Henry the third The next Family which after this was worn out did step into the possession was Drilond of Cookes-ditch in Feversham a Name of generous Extraction for in the reign of Edward the third John the Son of Stephen de Drilond demises some Land at Crouchfeild in Feversham by a Deed bearing Date from the twenty fifth year of that Prince to William de Makenade and in that Instrument he writes himself Knight After Drilond was extinguished which was about the beginning of Edward the fourth the Foggs became Proprietaries of it and remained for divers years Lords of the Fee until at last the alternate Devolution of Purchase brought it to be the Inheritance of Crouch where it did not long fix for in the year 1588. Giles Crouch alienated it to Michael Sonds Esquire afterwards Knighted from which Family in our Fathers Memory it was conveyed by Sale to Franklin from whom the same Devolution hath brought it now to Lambe who holds the instant Signory of it Before I passe from Selling I must inform the Reader that the greatest Honour which this Town acquired was that it was the Cradle of William Selling bred up amongst the Monks of Christ-church who obtained Licence from the Chapter of that Covent to travel into Italy and prosecute his Studies at Bononia where he arrived to that perfection of Knowledge that he was advanced to be Prior of Christ-church and was after sent by Henry the seventh in whose Eyes his Worth was very visible as his Embassador to the Pope Those incomparable Books which were placed in the Library which related to the Covent by his Care and Munificence amongst which was Tullies invaluable Tractate de Republica not long after his Death by an Accidental Fire found an unhappy Sepulchre in their own Ashes He died as full of Fame as of Years in the year of Grace 1494. And hath his Epitaph registred by the industrious Pen of Mr. Somner in his Survey of Canterbury Smerden in the Hundreds of Calchill Blackborne and Barckley did Anciently relate to the Arch-bishop of Canterbury and was part of that Revenue which did keep up the Grandeur and Magnificence of that Sea rescuing it from all cheapness and contempt which induced John then Arch-bishop of Canterbury this being so eminent a part of the Spiritual Patrimony to obtain a Grant of a Market to be observed here weekly on the Monday as appears Pat. 6. Edwardi tertii Num. 47. But the principal place which was alwayes of secular Interess within this Parish is Romden which was the Patrimony of an Ancient Family called Hengherst and in more modern Times Henherst who were entituled to large Demeasnes at Woodchurch Stapleherst Yalding and other places in this County but made no long aboad here at Romden for William Son of Osbert de Hengherst so he cals himself in his Deed without Date demised it to John de Calch and in this Family it continued until the latter end of Richard the second and who after Calch succeeded in the Inheritance because I can collect no farther Knowledge from original Evidences I confess I am ignorant so that I am forced to leap over divers Kings reigns into that of King Henry the eighth and then in the twenty fourth year of that Prince I find that John the Son of Stephen
Rogers alienates it by Sale to Stephen Drayner and it is probable Rogers purchased it of Norton which Family as appears by the Feudaries Book held much Land here at Smerden and at or near Romden But to return In Drayner the Interest of this place was fixed until the seventeenth of Queen Elizabeth and then William Drayner passed it away by Sale to Sir Roger Manwood and he in the eighteenth year of that Princess alienates it again to Martin James Esquire Remembrancer of the Exchecquer and from him by the Devolution of successive and paternal Right it is now come down to acknowledge the Propriety of Mr. .... James Snergate in the Hundred of Aloe bridge celebrates the Memory of an Ancient Family styled Alarar Gervas Alarar was Captain and Admiral of the Fleet of Ships set forth and furnished by the Cinque-ports in the fourteenth year of Edward the first and Gervas Alarar was his Grand-child whose Widow Agnes Alarar was in possession of it at her Death which was in the forty second year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 1. But before the end of Henry the fourth this Family was shrunk into an Expiration and then Walter Moile who was a Judge in the reign of Henry the sixth succeeded in the Possession and he by a Fine levied in the thirtieth year of Henry the sixth demises it to Hugh Brent from whom about the latter end of Edward the fourth it was conveyed to Cheyney and in this Name it was fixed until Henry Lord Cheyney in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth alienated it to Henry Nevill Lord Aburgavenny who in the twenty ninth year of Queen Elizabeth dying without Issue-male Mary Nevill was found to be his Sole Inheritrix and she by matching with Sir Thomas Vane knit this Mannor to his Patrimony and his Son Francis Vane created Earl of Westmerland in the twenty second of King James alienated it in our Fathers Memory to Jackman who not long after sold it to Sir Edward Henden one of the Barons of the Exchecquer who upon his Decease gave it to his Nephew Sir John Henden whose Son and Heir Edward Henden Esquire now enjoyes the Signory of it Smeth in the Hundred of Bircholt hath in the Limits of it Scots-hall which is now and hath been for divers Descents the Inheritance of eminent Gentlemen of that Sirname whom I dare aver upon probable Grounds were originally called Balioll. William Balioll second Brother to Alexander de Balioll frequently writ his Name William de Balioll le Scot and it is probable that upon the Tragedy of John Earl of Atholl who was made prisoner by Edward the first and barbarously executed in the year 1307. whilst he endevoured more nobly then successfully to defend the gasping Liberty of Scotland against the Eruptions of that Prince this Family to decline the Fury of that Monarch who was a man of violent passions altered the Name of Balioll to that of their Extraction and Country and assumed for the future the Name of Scot. That the Sirname of this Family was originally Balioll I farther upon these Reasons assert First the ancient Arms of Balioll Colledge in Oxford which was founded by John Balioll and dedicated to St. Katharine was a Katharin-Wheele being still part of the paternal Coat of this Family Secondly David de Strabogie who was Son and Heir to the infortunate Earl abovesaid astonished with an Example of so much Terror altered his Name from Balioll to Strabogie which was a Signory which accrued to him in Right of his Wife who was Daughter and Heir to John Comin Earl of Badzenoth and Strabogie and by this Name King Edward the second omitting that of Balioll restored Chilham-castle to him for Life in the fifteenth year of his reign Thirdly the Earls of Bucleugh and the Barons of Burley in Scotland who derive themselves originally from Balioll are known at this instant by no other Sirname but Scot and bear with some inconsiderable Difference those very Arms which are at present the paternal Coat of this Family of Scots-hall Having thus traced out the Name I shall now represent a Scale of those eminent Persons who have either directly or collaterally been extracted from Scots-hall Sir William Scot who was knighted the tenth of Edward the third was Lord Chief Justice and Knight Marshal of England in the reign of that Prince Sir Robert Scot was Lieutenant of the Tower in the year 1424. Sir John Scot was Comptroller of the House one of the Privy Councel to Edward the fourth and Marshal of Calais Thomas Scot who was first Bishop of Rochester next of Lincolne Provost of Beverley Arch-bishop of York Lord Chancellor of England and Privy Councellor to King Edward the fourth altered his Name from Scot to Rotheram as being the place of his Education and Nativity but it is probable originally issued out from this Family Sir William Scot who was Son to Sir John above-mentioned was Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports Sir John Scot his Son was knighted by the Prince of Castile for signal Service performed by him against the Duke of Gueldres Sir Reginald Scot was Captain of the Castle of Callis Sir Thomas Scot was Commander in Chief of the Kentish Forces who assembled upon the plains by Northbourn to oppose the Spanish Invasion in the year 1588. All of which were either directly or collaterally Predecessors being of the same Family to Edward Scot now Proprietary of Scots-hall Esquire who was Son and Heir of Sir Edward Scot who was made Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of K. Charles Thevegate is a second Mannor in this Parish which was in elder Times the Inheritance of Gentlemen of no mean Account in this Track Robert de Passeley or Passelew for they are promiscuously so written was Treasurer of England under Peter de Rivallis in the reign of Henry the third as Mat. Paris in the Life of that Prince does record Edmund de Passeley was with Edward the second at Borough-Bridge in the seventeenth year as the Pipe-roll of that Time discovers and probably was instrumental in the Defeat given there to the Nobility then in Arms against that Prince and from him this Mannor did descend to John Passeley Esquire who in the reign of Edward the fourth determined in Elizabeth his sole Heir matched to Reginald Pimp Esquire who likewise had the Fate to conclude in a Female Inheritrix called Ann who was wedded to Sir John Scot of Scots-hall and Shee united Thevegate to the Revenue of that Family and from him is the Right of it by Descent transportted to his Successor Edward Scot of Scots-hall Esquire Smeth had the Grant of a Market procured to it by the Arch-bishop of Canterbury in the tenth year of Edward the third Shepebourn in the Hundred of Wrotham was the Patrimony of an ancient Family called Bavent whose principal Estate lay in Sussex and Surrey Adam de Bavent in the twelfth year of Edward the first obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Mannor
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
her Brother is now entered upon it Brabourne is the second place of Account The first whom I find possest it was Baldwin de Betun Earl of Albemarle Falcatius de Brent who so vigorously asserted the Cause and Quarrel of King John against his Barons and afterwards merited very much of his Son Henry the third at the Battle of Lincolne where a considerable part of those Forces which Lewis the Dolphin of France had transported into England to support the Confederacie of the Seditious Barons was dissipated and discomfited But afterwards all National Animosities being charmed into Slumber by a general Peace he desiring still to improve the Flame of War since from that he expected both Heat and Light seised on the Castle of Bedford which was not wrung from him without the Expence of much Blood and Treasure to expiate which Crime his Estate here and else where was in the fifth year of Henry the third forfeited to the Crown as being the Price of so great an Insolence And then the abovesaid Monarch granted it wholly to Baldwin de Betun Earl of Albemarle and Hawis his Daughter and Co-heir brought it to her Husband William Mareschall Earl of Pembroke but Gilbert Mareschall this mans Successor dying without Issue Roger de Bigod Earl of Norfolk in Right of Mawde his Mother who was his Sister and Heir entered upon it and he in the eleventh year of Edward the first gives it to Otho Lord Grandison After this Family was worn out I find by an ancient Court-roll one Walter de Pevenley or Pemley possest of it in the reign of Edward the third and he it is possible erected the House which in old Deeds is written Pevenley or Pemley-court But before the beginning of Henry the sixth this Family was extinguished and gone and then the Ashe's were the succeeding Proprietaries a Family which before were Lords of much Land in this Track and in ancient Deeds were written de Fraxino from their Habitation near some place planted with those Trees and it is probable derived their Descent from Thomas de Esse who was one of the Recognitores Magnae Assisae in the fourth year of King John as appears by the Pipe-rols of that Time and certainly to this Name did a considerable part of the Fabrick of the House owe its first Original as appears by the Coat in divers of the Windows videlicet Azure three Cheverons Argent In fine after this Seat and Mannor had for many years been resident in this Family it was about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth alienated to Sir ...... Boswell whose Grand-child dying without Issue his Sister the Lady Margaret Boswell is now become the Heir General of this place Rumpsted and in very old Evidences written Rumpshot was the Inheritance of a Family which was known by that Sirname It is superfluous to inform the World how many by old Deeds are represented to have been possessors of this place amongst whom Sir William de Rumpsted is most eminent who flourished here in the reign of Edward the third and as the constant and successive Tradition of the Inhabitants of this Parish is was Foster-father to William de Sevenoke who was found a desolate and forlorn Orphan in the hollow Body of an Oake and received both Reception and Education from the Charity and Benevolence of the above-mentioned Person In whose Lineage the propriety of this place did not long after settle for by an old Court-roll I find it in the reign of Henry the sixth in the Tenure of Nisell but this Family not long after determining in a Female Heir she by matching with Bere brought it to acknowledge it self to be of the Interest of this Family but staid not long in the Name for about the beginning of Henry the eighth it was made by purchase the possession of Peckham from whom not many years after by the same fatality it went away to Bedell Nicholas Bedell in the third and fourth of Philip and Mary demised it to John Stacy of Hollenden and John Stacy in the fourth and fifth of Philip and Mary conveyes it to Richard Lone and his Successor Mr. Richard Lone hath very lately by Sale transmitted his Interest here to Thomas Lambert formerly of West-Combe in Greenwich Esquire Knoll is the last place of Account in Sevenoke It had in Times of elder Inscription the same Owners with Brabourne and Seale not far distant as namely Falcatius de brent Baldwin de Betun Earl of Albemarle William Mareschall Earl of Pembroke and Roger de Bigod Earl of Norfolk who in the eleventh year of Edward the first granted it with Seale and much other Land which devolved to him in Right of Mawde his Mother who was Sister and Heir to her Brother Gilbert le Mareschall Earl of Pembroke to Otho de Grandison and in his Descendants did it continue until the beginning of Richard the second and then it was conveyed by Sir Thomas Grandison to Geffrey de Say yet I do not find that the possession of this place was entirely planted in Grandison for an Inquisition taken after the Death of Reginald de Cobham in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 62. Parte primâ represents him to have had some share or concernment in it yet how ever it were thus broken into parcels the Inheritance of this Mannor was wholly after this placed in Geffrey de Say as appears by some Court-rols which commence from the reign of Richard the second but he determining in Daughters and Co-heirs Joan one of them upon the Division of his Estate brought this as an Addition to the Patrimony of her Husband Sir William Fiennes and in this Family when the possession had had a Respite until the reign of Edward the fourth it was by Sir William Fiennes passed away by Sale to Thomas Bourchier Arch-bishop of Canterbury who added much of Pompe and Magnificence by a new Supplement or Superstructure to the ancient Pile or Fabrick and dying bequeathed it to the See of Canterbury as a convenient Pallace for his Successors but when William Warham Arch-bishop of Canterbury in the reign of Henry the eighth saw that the Grandeur of this Mansion was looked upon both with an Eye of Emulation and Envy by the Laity of those Times he to allay that Murmure and Regret in the twelfth year of the abovesaid Prince exchanged it with the Crown and here it rested until Edward the sixth in the second year of his reign granted it to Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset Protector of the Realm in the Minority of that Prince Who being convicted of Felony in the fourth year of that King it escheated back to the Crown and then it was in that year by a new Grant setled on John Dudley Duke of Northumberland but he being intoxicated with the Fumes of Ambition broke out into such treasonable and seditious practises against the Right and Title of Queen Mary that they could not be explated but with the Losse of his
Life and Forfeiture of his Estate and then this Seat upon his unsuccessful Exit returning to the Crown it was by the abovesaid Princess granted to her Cousin Reginald Poole Cardinal for his Life and a year after as he should by Testament dispose After his Death it reverts again to the Crown and then Queen Elizabeth in the third year of her reign grants it to Robert Dudley Earl of Leiceister and he the same year resigning it back into the Hands of his Soveraign it was by Lease made over to John Lennard of Chevening Esquire but the Fee-simple was by Royal Concession invested in the seventh year of Queen Elizabeth in Thomas Sackvill Lord Buckhurst and his Grand-child Richard Sackvill Earl of Dorset almost in our Remembrance conveyed the Fee-simple reserving it yet still in Lease to himself and his Heirs paying such a Rent-charge as is there specified for ninety and nine years to Mr. Richard Smith vulgarly called Dog-Smith who upon his Decease not many years since setled the propriety of it for ever upon St. Thomas Hospital in Southwarke The Honour of Sevenoke was granted by Queen Elizabeth to her Kinsman Henry Carey Lord Hunsdon in the first year of her reign from whom it devolved to his Grand-child Henry Carey Earl of Dover he passed it away by Sale to Richard Sackvill Earl of Dorset who alienated his Interest in it to Mr. Richard Smith who upon his above-mentioned Decease gave it with Knoll which both were exchanged and so united to the Royal Demeasne by William Warham to the Hospital of St. Thomas in Southwarke Kepington is the last place considerable in this Parish which was wrapt up in that Demeasne which owned the Signory of the Lords Cobham of Cobham as appears by an Inquisition taken in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 62. Parte secundâ and after a Decursion of several Descents came by the Heir General of this Family to be possest by Brook whose Descendant about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth conveyed it to Burges and by his Sister and Heir it came over to Hanger who alienated it to Cowper and he not long since to Mr. Thomas Farnaby Spelherst in the Hundreds of Somerden Codsheath and Watchling stone hath many places in it of Repute First Grome-bridge which is a Chappel of Ease belonging to Spelherst and is dedicated to St. John it is in old Registers written Gromen-bridge and Gormen-bridge from some Saxon who was anciently Owner of it as Godmanchester in Huntingtonshire upon the same Account in old Orthography bears the Name of Gormonchester a Saxon having been possessor of it of that Denomination This Mannor in elder Times confessed the Dominion and Title of the Noble Family of Cobham Henry de Cobham and Joan his Wife obtained a Market to be observed weekly on the Thursday and a Fair three Dayes yearly videlicet the Vigil the Day of St. John Port-latine and the Day after as is manifest from an old Charter which I have seen whose Date commences from the fourteenth year of Edward the first the Market and Fair were kept where now the new Chappel is erected by the piety and expence of that Worthy Patriot John Packer Esquire late one of the Clerks of the Privy Seal After the Cobhams were departed from the possession of this place the Lords Clinton became by purchase Proprietaries of it and John de Clinton who was often summoned to fit as Baron in Parliament in the Time of Richard the second died possest of it in the twenty second year of that Prince Rot. Esc Num. 16. from whom the Title flowed in this Family until the latter end of Henry the fourth and then it was passed away to Waller of Lamberherst where and in Sussex they were before Masters of very ample Possessions for Thomas Waller and Katharine his Wife granted to Thomas Waller of Lamberherst his Father Richard Brenchley and John Brook all his Lands Messuages and Tenements in the Villages and Parishes of Rotherfeild Witheham Wadhurst Lamberhurst Little Horsted Alfricheston and Bucksted together with the moiety of the Advouson of the Church of Little Horsted as appears Claus 11. Richardi secundi in Dorso Memb. 35. Richard Waller Esquire was Sheriff of Kent the sixteenth year of Henry the sixth and kept his Shrievalty at Grome-bridge and was before Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in the twelfth year of that Prince This is that renowned Souldier that in the Time of Henry the fifth took Charles Duke of Orleans General of the French Army Prisoner at the Battle of Agin-court brought him over into England and held him in honorable Restraint or Custody at Grome-bridge which a Manuscript in the Heralds-Office notes to be twenty four years in the Time of which his Recess he newly erected the House at Grome-bridge upon the old Foundation and was a Benefactor to the repair of Spelherst Church where his Arms remain in Stone-work over the Church-porch but lest such a signal peece of Service might remain entombed in the Sepulchre of unthankful forgetfulness the Prince to convey the Memory of this glorious Action to Posterity assigned to this Richard Waller and his Heirs for ever an additional Crest videlicet the Arms or Escocheon of France hanging by a Labell on an Oake with this Motto affixed Hae Fructus Virtutis This Richard was great Grand-father to William VValler of Grome-bridge Esquire Sheriff of Kent the twenty second of Henry the eighth and he was Father to Sir VValter VValler who was Grand-father to Sir VVilliam VValler now possessor of Winchester-castle and Father of Sir Thomas Waller which Sir Thomas almost in our Fathers Memory passed away Grome-bridge to Thomas Sackville Earl of Donset whose Grand-child Edward Earl of Dorset not many years since conveyed it to John Packer Esquire Father to ...... Packer Esquire now possessor of this place There was a Chauntry founded at Grome-bridge in the thirty eighth year of Henry the third by VVilliam Russell and Hawis his Wife as appears by the first Book of Compositions in Registro Roffensi Hollands in this Parish next cals for a View It was in Ages of a very high Date the Patrimony of a Noble Family of that Sirname and are in the Chartularies of this Parish recorded to have been great Benefactors to the Church of Spelherst and were allied to Thomas Holland Earl of Kent who matched with Joan Daughter of Edmund of VVoodstock but before the beginning of Henry the sixth this Family was worn out and vanished and then the VVallers stepped into the possession in which Family the Right of it did many years reside until it was in our Fathers Memory alienated to Thomas Sackville Earl of Dorset from whose Successor it passed away by Sale to Lindsey and from him not many years since the like Revolution carried it off to Caldicot Ferbies is another Seat of no vulgar Consideration in Spelherst if we consider that it gave Sirname to a Family of important Account in this
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
is another place of Account in Stockbery It was in Times of an elder Inscription written Godsted as giving Seat and yielding a Sirname to a Family so called William de Codested alias Godsted held it at his Death which was in the twenty seventh year of Edward the first and had Issue William de Codested who was likewise in possession of it at his Death which was in the Enjoyment of it in the ninteenth year of Issue Richard de Codested who was in the Enjoyment of it in the ninteenth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 43. which was the time of his Decease and from him it descended to John de Codested styled by the vulgar John de Cowsted who bare for his Arms Gules three Leopards heads Argent which was assumed by Higham who about the beginning of Richard the second matched with the Sole Heir of this Family and in this Name it remained until the beginning of Henry the sixth and then it was partly by Sale partly by marching with a Daughter of this Family enstated upon Petit in which Family the Title of this place was fixed and permanent until those Times which came within the precincts of our Grandfathers Remembrance devolved it to O borne but Edward O borne not many years since determining in Mary his Sole Heir she by espousing of William Fagge hath knit it to that Revenue which now confesses his Descendants for proprietaries Stodmersh in the Hundred of Downhamford was innobled anciently by being parcel of the Revenue of the Saxon Kings of Kent and rested in their Demeasne until Lotharius one of the Kentish Kings made Godd his Heir and as Thorne records in his Annals setled it on the Abby of St. Augustins and remained successively interwoven with the Patrimony of that Convent until the publick Suppression in the reign of Henry the eighth rent it away and then that Prince in the thirty seventh year of his reign granted it to John Masters and he upon his Decease setled it on his Son Mr. Thomas Masters and he dying without Issue-male left it to his Daughter and Co-heir Elizabeth Masters who by matching with Mr. William Courthop knit the propriety of it to his Inneritance and he had Issue Mr. Thomas Courthop who in Right of this Alliance is now entituled to the instant possession of it Stroude in the Hundred of Shamell was granted in the eleventh year of Henry the third by the same Prince Magistro Fratribus Militiae Templi Solomonis that is to the Knights Temples who had here an eminent Mansion which from its being of their possession hath ever since acquired the Name of the Mannor of Temple After the suppression of this rich and magnificent Order in the second year of Edward the second upon what pretences and colourable Insinuations I have discovered in my Description of Temple Ewell this Mannor was united to the Crown And though a principal part of the Lands which related to this Order in this County before their Dissolution was by that Act of Parliament called Statutum de Terris Templariorum setled on the Knights Hospilaters yet this was lodged in the Royal Revenue until the twelfth year of Edward the third and then he conferred it by Grant on Mary Countess of Pembroke who about six years after bestowed it on the Abbess and Sisters Minorites of the profession of St. Clare at the Abby of Denney in Cambridgeshire to which place she had removed them from Waterbeach where they were first planted by her And here did this Mannor reside until another Tempest more fatal and ruinous then the former arose in the reign of Henry the eight which like a Whirl-winde ravished it away from the Revenue of the Church and then that Monarch in the thirty second year of his reign made it the propriety of Edward Elrington Esquire But it seems the Title of Church-Land is stuck so thick with the Curses of the first Donors that it becomes like a Moath received into a Garment which like an ingrateful Guest commonly destroyes the House which entertained it and so it was here for in the same year it was granted the abovesaid Person alienated it to George Brook Lord Cobham whose infortunate Grandchild Henry Lord Cobham was enwrapped in that obscure and mysterious Design of Sir Walter Rawleigh which was muffled up in such a complicated Veile of that magical Mist called Reason of State and other Intrigues of wrested policy that it remains dark and perplexed until this Day indeed the Crimes of this unhappy Gentleman were by the mercenary Tongues of some Lawyers who were in pension to the Interest of those who then steared the Helm of State and who like some Trumpeters knew how to sell their Breath to the best advantage aggravated and multiplied to that Bulk and Dimension that he was convicted of high Treason in the beginning of King James and though he lost not his Life he did that of his Estate here at Stroude which was by the abovesaid Prince conferred by Grant on Robert Cecill Earl of Salisbury principal Secretary of Estate in Respect he had matched with Elizabeth Brook Sister to this infortunate Lord from whom it descended to his Son the Right Honorable William Cecill Captain of the Band of Pensioners to his late Majesty and Earl of Salisbury who in our Fathers Memory passed it away to Mr. Bernard Hide Esquire one of the Commissioners of the Custome-houes to the late King Charles and he upon his Decease gave it to his third Son Mr. John Hide who not many years since alienated it to James Duke of Lenox from whom after some brief possession it was conveyed to Mr. Blague whose Son Mr. Izaack Blague by Descendant Right is now entituled to the Propriety of it The Chappel of St. Nicholas in Stroud was by Gilbert Glanvill Bishop of Rochester with the Consent of the Prior of Rochestor William Arch-deacon of the same See and likewise of the Parish Priest of Frendsbury within the Precincts of whose Village Church and Congregation it was in elder Times circumscribed erected and improved into a Mother-church and that for these two Reasons First it was divided by too great Distance from the Church of Frendsbury And secondly the Inhabitants began to multiply to that Number that it was probable that in Decursion of Time the above recited Church would be in no Capacity for the Reception of so great a Conflux and therefore it was judged convenient by the Authority of that Age to establish Stroud into a Parish independent to Frendsbury and assign to it not only a Church-yard for the Sepulture of their Dead but likewise a Competency of Tiths exceptâ solummodo Decimatione Bladi that is I conjecture the Tithery of Grasse only excepted for the Support of the Incumbent for the Time being as the Records of the Church of Rochester inform us Shorham in the Hundred of Cods-heath hath several places within the Verge of it which may deserve our Notice The first is
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
Q. Elizabeth whose Son Mr. William Hewson of London transmitted Haly with Sawters by Sale some few years since to Mr. Edward Badbie Grandisons is the last place remarkable in this Parish It was the ancient Inheritance of the noble and illustrious Family of Grandison before Otho de Grandison who was Governour of Jersey for life by Grant from Edw. the first in the fifth year of his Reign did transplant himself to Seale which he had purchased in the thirteenth year of that Prince William de Grandison this mans Son was likewise Lord of this place to whom K. Edward the second assigned the Value of 44 lb. yearly Rent out of his Mannor of Dartford in Exchange for the Mannor of Iden and other Lands in Sussex and from this Man did the Signory of this Mannor accrue by Descent to his Grand-child Sir Thomas Grandison who dying without Issue in the forty ninth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 62. left it partly to John de Northwood who had married Agnes his Sister and Co-heir and partly to Margaret his Lady Dowager who died possest of it in the eighteenth year of Richard the second but after her Exit the Title was not long permanent in Northwood for in the twenty first year of the Prince abovesaid Richard Fitz Allen Earl of Arundel held it and died that year possest of it And here I confess for want of Light and just intelligence I must make a Leap to the Reign of Henry the sixth and then I find it in the Tenure of Richard Nevill Earl of Warwick and it is probable it devolved to him by the Heir of Beauchampe After his Decease it became the Possession of George Duke of Clarence who had matched with Isabel his Daughter and Co-heir by whom he had Issue Edward Plantagenet Earl of Warwick who was offered up on an early Scaffold to the waking suspitions and weary Jealousies of those two politick Princes Henry the seventh and Ferdinand of Castile being invited to an escape from his long Duress in the Tower by the Arts and Stratagems of that eminent Impostor Perkin Warbeck But indeed those who have calculated this Action and surveyed the whole Scene of this Tragedy have discovered that his nearness to the Crown as being the last Relick of the Male-Line of Plantagenet was the cheiefest Ingredient in the severe Sentence of this infortunate Gentleman After his expiration this Mannor came over to be the Patrimony of his Sister Margaret Countess of Salisbury who was matched to Sir Richard Poole by which marriage this Mannor was annexed to his Demeasn and he had Issue by her Henry Poole who with his Mother was attainted in the Reign of Henry the eighth upon whose fatal Shipwrack Grandisons was in the thirty fifth of that Prince placed by Grant in his Brother Geffrey Poole who not long after passed it away to Sir Thomas Moile by whose Daughter and Co-heir it came to be the Inheritance of Sir Thomas Kempe and he about the tenth year of Q. Elizabeth conveyed it to Mr. Jo. Mabbe who not long after transmitted it by Sale to Sir Christopher Heron who about the beginning of K. James alienated his concernment here to Cole by whom not long after it was demised to Sir Thomas Smith second Son of Customer Smith of Westenhanger in the Heirs and Descendants of which Name and Family the Possession is still resident Hackstaple is likewise within the Bounds of this Parish and was as high as the reach either of private or publick Evidence can bring down any light to our knowledge the Killingworth's and here for an indivisible succession of Ages did the Possession fix and reside until at last the common Fate of Families brought this Name here at Hackstaple to find its interment or Grave in a Daughter and Heir for George Killingworth had an onely She-Inheritrix whose name was Elizabeth and she was matched with Christopher Eglesfield Gentleman so that Hackstaple in her right was intermingled with the Demeash of this Family and here some years did it by this Conjugall Knot appear fastned till lately the Possession received an alienation for Francis Eglesfield of London Son to Christopher Eglesfield some few years since sold it to Mr Christopher Searle T. T. T. T. TAningnton is situated in the Hundred of Bredge and Petham and in Times of a very ancient Inscription did own the Name and acknowledge the Signory of a Family called Wallis Richard de Wallis held it in the twenty first of Edward the first and as it appears by the Pleas of that year had a signal Contest with the Prior of St. Gregories in Canterbury about his Right to the Presentation of that Church After Wallis was worn out it fell under the Signory of a Family called Mesingham but it seems was not long resident in their Possession for about the beginning of Richard the second Nicholas Mesingham releases to Thomas Chich all his Interess and Right in Tanington and other Lands situated in Heckington and other places but here likewise was the Possession as brief and inconstant for before the Expiration of the Reign of Henry the fourth I find it by purchase from Chich and Wallis setled in the Tenure of Geo. Ballard and he died seised of it in the eighth year of Henry the sixth and in this Family did continue until the reign of Edward the sixth and then it was alienated by Nicholas Ballard Esquire to Sir James Hales of the Dungeon from whom the right by Successive Delegation is now transmitted to Sir James Hales the instant Lord of the Fee Terstan in the Hundred of Twyford was involved in the Revenue of the Crown until Eleanor Q. of England exchanged this and West-Farleigh with the Monks of Christ-Church for the eminent Port of Sandwich which Exchange Edward the first as appears by the Records of that Cathedral by his Charter fully strengthened and confirmed Yet though it was prop'd and supported by that Authority yet it could not be so fastened and riveted into the Ecclesiastical Patrimony but that that storm which arose in the reign of Henry the eighth tore it away and then that Prince in the thirty fifth year of his rule passed it away to Sir John Baker from whom it is now devolved by successive right to his descendant Sir John Baker of Sisingherst Knight and Baronet and he hath lately passed it away to Mr. Jasper Cleyton of London Barham Court in this Parish re-presents to our remembrance that it was once the Mansion or ancient residence of the noble and illustrious Family of Barham this Name was in Times of a very reverend Inscription written Fitz-Urse Randal Fitz. Urse was one of those four who were concerned in the Assassination of that turbulent and ambitious prelate Thomas Becket Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who though peradventure for his violent invasion made upon the royal prerogative of his Soveraign Henry the second might have deserved the Guerdon of an exemplary Death yet the manner of taking
or Sedingbourn Tong in the Hundred of Milton was anciently called Thewng and Thawng which import as much in Saxon as Thong in English for the common Opinion derived from a universal Tradition and that asserted and justified by an uninterrupted Assent of elder Times is That Vortiger the British King gave Hengist and Horsa as a Symbol and Pledge of his Affection so much Land to erect a Fortress on as could be environed and circumscribed by the Hide of a Beast cut into Thongs which accordingly was performed and the Castle thus established in Memory of the original Donation was in the Saxon Dialect styled Thwangceoster or Thong-castle and this Story is made more probable and plausible because Matthew of Westminster affirms that Aurelius Ambrosius by many provocations endevoured to engage Hengist and his Saxons to a Battle at Tong in Kent and that there was a Castle here the Fragments and Remains of some Fortifications near the Mill do easily evince though they lie now gasping in so deplored an heap that only the Rubbish of its Ruines are discernable yet certainly in elder Times it was a Fortress of Importance for the Moat of the Castle is yet so wide and deep that it contributes Water enough to drive a Mill. But to proceed After the Conquest it constantly acknowledged the powerful and eminent Family of Badelesmer and Bartholomew Lord Badclesmer obtained the Grant of a three Dayes Fair at St. Giles to be observed at Tong as appears Pat. 9. Edwardi secundi Num. 57. But when he by his Defection in the sixteenth year of Edward the second had forfeited this and the residue of his Patrimony to the Crown this by the indulgent favour of Edward the third was in the second year of his reign restored to his Son Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer who died possest of it in the twelfth year of the abovesaid Prince and left it to his Brother Giles de Badelesmer who dying without Issue it accrued upon the Division of the Estate to be the Portion of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March and Vlster who had matched with Elizabeth Widow of William Bohun Earl of Northampton and Sister and Co-heir of the abovesaid Giles and he in the fifth year of Richard the second was found in her Right to have died possest of it as appears Rot. Esc Num. 43. and from him it descended to his Grand-child Edmund the last Earl of March who being embarked in that War which was commenced by Henry Lord Percy Sirnamed the Hotspur of the North against Henry the fourth made Shipwrack of his Estate here at Tong and was seised on as an Escheat by the Crown and lay involved in the Royal Revenue until Henry the sixth in the twenty seventh year of his reign granted it to Sir Thomas Browne of Bechworth-castle both Controller and Treasurer of his Houshold but his Son Sir George Browne in the eleventh year of Edward the fourth surrendered it back to the Crown for the Benefit and Use of Cicely Durchess Dowager of Yorke Mother of the abovesaid Prince After whose Decease it reverts and flows back into its ancient Channel and was esteemed a Limb of the Royal Patrimony until the first year of King Edward the sixth and then it was by that Prince granted to Sir Ralph Vane as a Guerdon of that eminent and signal Service he performed in Scotland when he was employed thither with Sir Ralph Sadler by King Henry the eighth and he not long after conveyed his Interest here to Sir Rowland Clerke and from him in the fourth year of the abovesaid Prince it passed away by Sale to Salomon Wilkins in which Family it remained until the latter end of Queen Elizabeth and then it was alienated to Mr. William Pordage of Rodmersham Ancestor to Mr. Thomas Pordage who still is in possession of it Cheeks-Court is a second place of Importance in Tong it was anciently written Checks Court as indeed affording both Seat and Sirname to a Family which in very old Deeds and other Monuments is frequently named At Check and sometimes de Checkâ—ell In the reign of Edward the second I find William de Cre entituled to the possession but held it not long for in the ninth year of that Prince I find the Signory invested in Peyforer who died that year possest of it as appears Rot. Esc Num. 43. But before the latter end of Richard the second this Family determined to Julian Peyforer a Sole Heir who brought it along with her to her Husband Thomas St. Leger of Ottringden Esquire who concluding in two Daughters and Co-heirs matched to Ewias and Aucher his Estate came in the renth of Henry the fourth to be shared by those two Families who not long after passed away their right here and in Elmeley to Cromer in which Family the Propriety remained until the Beginning of King James and then it was sold by Sir James Cromer to Allen. Throuley in the Hundred of Feversham was the capital Mansion of the Gattons for Hamon de Gatton had it in possession at his decease which was in the twentieth year of Edward the first Ex Autographis Georgii Sonds Militis and Elizabeth Gatton was found upon the Inquisition to be his Sole Heir who married William de Dene and so by this Alliance it came to own the possession of that Family and this William had a Charter of Free-warren granted to his Lands here in the tenth year of Edward the second and after him Thomas de Dene held it at his Death which was in the twenty third year of Edward the third And William de Dene by right from him possest the Inheritance whose Daughter and Coheir Benedicta Dene being married to Iohn Shelving it went into the patrimony of that Family which shortly after determined likewise in Daughters and Coheirs one of which called Joan was matched to Iohn Brampton alias Detling of Detling-court and so it was made a Limb of his Domeasne but here it stayed not long neither for this Name quickly sunk into a Female Heir known by the Name of Benedicta Brampton alias Detling who was wedded to Thomas At Town who had much Land about Charing but Throuley being in his Wifes right incorporated into his Revenue he transplanted himself into this Parish and here erected a Seat which he adopted into his own Name and called it Town-place but suddenly after he concluded in three Daughters and Coheirs Eleanor married to Richard Lewknor of Bodshead in Challock Benet married to William Watton of Addington and Elizabeth wedded to Will. Sonds of Sonds-place at Darking in Surrey who divided Towns Estate and Throuley with Town-place it self upon the partition sell to be the Lot or portion of Richard Lewknor who sold them to Edward Evering from whom by Mary his Daughter and Heir married to Iohn Upton of Fever ham Town-place went into the possession of that Name and from Vpton by Sale it was carried over to Shilling where after some few years the Title had rested
it was by a Revolution of the same Nature and Semblance transplanted into Sonds from which purchase Sir George Soâ—â—s Knight of the Bath now derives his Right and Inheritance in the Mannor and Signory of Town-place VVilderton in Throuley was eminent formerly for being marshalled under the Revenue of Giles Lord Badelesmer Father to Bartholomew Lord Badelesmer who by his opposing of Edward the second at Leeds Castle forseited this and his Life together to the offended Justice of that Prince but when his Sons Barth and Giles Lord Badelesmer were by Edward the third restored to their former Dignity and likewise to a principal part of his Estate this was folded up in that Restitution for when these above-mentioned Brothers deceased without any lawfull Issue their Sisters were found to be their Coheirs and Margery one of them being married to William Lord Rosse brought this to a piece of his Revenue from whom by Sale it went into the possession of Lewknor of Bodshead in Challock And when this Family was devested of it the Inheritance was by purchase setled in Evering descended from the Everings of Everings-court in Alkham by Dover where after it had some years found a continued Residence the Name and Title dissolved together for Edward Evering left only Mary Evering his Sole Heir who matching with John Upton Gentleman that Alliance fixed Wilderton in the Possession of that Name and part of it was in some years subsequent to this Match sold away to Arnold Terrey of this Parish but the Residue is yet constant to the Interess of Mr. Vpton of Feversham a person in whom the Scholler and Gentleman are so evenly mixt as to a Composition of Perfection that it is yet a Question which of them is the most predominant There was a religious House in Throuley which was a Cell to St. Bertins at St. Omer in Flanders but when Henry the fifth perceived the ill Consequences of having Fraternities and other religious Cells and Covents in this Nation which had in a manner their dependances upon other States contrary peradventure in Interess and Affection to this he suppressed this and many other of the like Condition and out of their Ruines and Revenue he erected the magnificent Monastery at Shene whose first Foundation entitles it self to his Piety and Munificence Thurnham in the Hundred of Eyhorne was the Patrimony of an ancient and Knightly Family of that Sirname made more eminent by the production of Sir Robert de Thurnham a person of considerable Account in the reign of Richard the first which Prince he accompanied to the holy War having before his designing himself to that Quarrel disposed his Estate to pious Uses whereof this at Thurnham was setled on the Colledge of Lingfield in Surrey and having thus disroabed himself of his secular Inheritance he with much Vigor and Alacritie assumed the Crusado or Vow to rescue the Sepulcher of our Saviour out of the possession of Infidels which resolution he so nobly prosecuted that he offered up his Life as an Oblation to the Justice of that cause which he had before so generously asserted After his Decease this remained cloistered up in the patrimony of the Colledge of Lingfield untill the general suppression and then growing parcel of the royal Revenue it lay there until King Edward the sixth granted it to Sir Edward Wotton whose Anceftor Sir Nicholas Wotton was invested long before in some part of this Mannor which did acrue to him in the reign of Henry the fourth by Joan Sole Heir of Robert Corbie and from this Sir Edward above mentioned was it entirely transmitted to his great Grand-child Thomas Lord Wotton who having setled it in Marriage on his eldest Daughter Katherin Wotton matched to Henry Lord Stanhop she by Sale hath lately given up her right to Mr. ..... Godden of London Binbery is an eminent Mannor in this Parish which as high as the Testimony of any either publick or private Evidences can instruct me did own the Signory of Northwood Roger de Northwood held it at his Death which was in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third and so did his Successor Roger Northwood in the last year of Henry the fifth But after this I do not find it long constant to the Interest of this Family for about the beginning of Henry the sixth I find by some ancient Court-rolls that it was passed away to Iohn Thwaits and he in the eighth year of that Prince conveyed his right in it to William Gascoigne in which Family the Title continued until the beginning of Edward the fourth and then it was transplanted by Sale into Cut or Cuts and in this Name the Interest of this place was constantly lodged until the beginning of King James and then it was demised to Sir Samuel Lennard of West-Wickham whose Son Sir Stephen Lennard is at this instant by paternal Right invested in the possession of it There was a Dysastrous Accident happen'd here at Binbery and it was this as the Tragedy is represented to us out of the old Evidences of the Lord Wotton The Lady Northwood in the Time of Edward the third standing on the precipice or hanger of a Hill to see a Fox digged out which had earthed himself there the Foundation being loose and Sandy sunk under her and the hanging Hill shot down so much earth upon her that she was stifled to Death with the unequal pressure e're they could disengage her from that weight which crushed her into this early Ruine Upon the Brow of the Hill not far removed from this place are the Ruines of an ancient Fortress called Godward Castle which Mr. Darell in his Tract De Costellis Cantii conjectures might borrow its Name from Godar dus a Saxou whereas it is more probable it did extract its etymology from the goodness and eminence of its situation as those Intrenchments at Stowting derive their Denomination from their tenable force and fortitude and certainly this is adequate to reason and its own elevated position it being so setled that it did not onely secure the way which led from the Roman Colony at Newington by Rainham but it is possible was a speculatory station much in use amongst the Romans to survey the Approaches of enemies in the Valley below Aldington Septuans in Thurnhem was the Cradle of an ancient Family of that Sirname * Ex Rot. penes Ed. Dering Mil. Baronettum defunctum Robert de Septuans is inserted in the Register of those noted Kentish persons who were engaged with Richard the first at the Siege of Acon * See Rot. Pipe de Scutagio Wallia Rob. de Septuans his Son was embarqued with Henry the third in his expedition against the Welch in the forty second year of his Reign Sir Rob. de Septuans was his Son and Heir who was honoured with that Dignity by Edward the first for his exemplary Service performed at the Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of that Prince and he
we style the Lowy of Tunbridge and is a small Territory within it self called in old Latine Records Districtus Leuca de Tunbridge and was formerly subservient to the Dominion of those noble Persons who were Lords of the Fee The first of which was Richard de Clare Earl of Brionie in Normandy to whom it was by William Rufus granted upon this emergent Occasion This Richard was an earnest Abettor and supporter likewise of the Designes of this Prince upon his Brothers Territories in Normandy and so by consequence an active partisan of his which made the Breast of Robert Duke of Normandy to boile with such Animosity and passion against Him that the Flame of his Hatred kindled the Flame of a War which could not be extinguished but by the Depredation of this Earl's Estate and the utter subversion of his Castle of Brionie which was left an Heap of Flame and Ruines which caused William Rufus to risent his Calamitous Condition with so much Regret and Commiseration that he granted him as much Land here at Tunbridge as would spread into a League both in the Extent and Longitude of it and in the Breadth and Latitude of it likewise and Gemeticensis reports that this Richard brought over the Rope with which he was to measure it in the same Ship which transported him and his Retinue From this Richard who founded the Castle the right of Tunbridge was by Descent translated into his Son Gilbert de Clare the first Earl of Hertford and here did the Signory many years find a residence till Isabel Sister and Coheir of Gilbert de Clare by matching with Hugh Audley brought this to be the Inheritance of that illustrious Family where it had not long remained but Margaret Daughter and Heir of Hugh Audley by marrying with Ralph Stafford made it a Branch of their patrimony nor did it depart from this Family till the Vanitie of Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham embarked him in that Design which the Malice of Cardinal Wolsey aggravated with those Circumstances of Hatred by blowing of wild Conjectures into the Ears of Henry the eighth who was naturally a jealous Prince and emulous of any new blooming Glory that he was stained with the black Tincture of Treason which sunk him into an untimely Sepulcher and his Estate by forfeiture into the possession of the Crown Edward Duke of Buckingham being thus convicted in the twelfth year of Henry the eighth there was a great Controversie started forth in the thirteenth year of that Prince's reign as appears by our Law-books in the Parliament then convened whether or not there were ground enough in the Crimes objected against him to establish an Attainder upon and it was carried in the Affirmative that there was upon which this Castle with all the Mannor of Dachhurst alias Hilden-borough with all the appendant Services and Quit-rents united to them did escheat to the Crown and remained there until Queen Elizabeth dissevered the Mannor of the Castle from her Interest and made it by Grant the possession of her Kinsman Henry Lord Hunsdon whose Son George Lord Hunsdon about the beginning of King James passed it with his Daughter and Heir to Thomas Lord Berkley who conveyed it to Sir John Kenedie from whom not long after by the same Conveyance it fell under the divided Signory of Ferrers Gosson and Johnson and they by a mutual Consent sold their Interest in it to Sir Peter Vanlore by whose three Daughters and Co-heirs matched to Sir Henry Zinzin Sir Alexander Sterling and Robert Crooke Esquire it is now divided between those three Families Although the Onsets of Time and the Assaults of Enemies together hath thrown the Beauty and Strength into such a rude Confusion that it now lurks in its own Rubbish yet formerly it was eminent for being the Scene of much Feude and Contention between the Kings of England and the Barons then in Arms against them In the year 1088. Odo Bishop of Bajeux and Earl of Kent making a Defection from William Rufus to those Barons who sought to support the Title of his eldest Brother Robert placed one Gilbert in this Castle for the Defence of it which enforced that King to invest it with a Siege and compelled the Castellan to a Surrender and afterwards having taken Odo himself imprisoned him in this Fortress from whence he afterwards made a successful Escape In the year 1215. Falcatius de Brent during the Military Contests King John had with his Nobility by Force wrung this Castle from the Earl of Gloucester and maintained it for some Time with signal Evidences of Magnanimity to the Kings Behoof and Use In the year 1231. upon the Decease of Gilbert the then Earl of Gloucester seised the Wardship of his Heir and entrusted the Custody of this Castle to Hubert de Burgh Earl of Kent This occasioned an eager and impetuous Contest between the King and Richard Arch-bishop of Canterbury the Arch-bishop pretended because the Castle held of his See therefore he de Jure ought to have the Custody of the Heir in his Wardship To which the King replyed that the whole Earldome held of him and that he might commit the Custody of the Lands to whomsoever he pleased This caused the Arch-bishop boyling with much Heat and Passion to Appeal for Redress to Rome where he managed this Controversie with that vigorous dexterity that the Pope issued out a solemn determination on his behalf but his Decease in his Journey homewards superseded the Execution of the Papal Sentence The above-mentioned King Henry in the year 1259. granted Licence to Richard de Clare Earl of Gloucester to wall and embattle his Town of Tunbridge in these Words in that Charter Claudere Muro et Kernellare which latter Word being made Latine out of the French Charneaux imports that indented Form of the Top of a Wall which hath Vent and Crest commonly called embattelling very serviceable to the Defendants within not only to annoy the Enemy but likewise to shroud and secure himself from the Fury of any outward Assault This Mode of Fortification was in elder Time with much Caution prohibited within this Nation out of a Jealousie that it might foment any inward Sedition and was therefore amongst many other Articles inquirable before the Escheator de Domibus Kerneliatis But the War breaking out not long after this between the King and Simon de Montfort to whose Interest the Earl of Gloucester was by a Solemn Combination closely united the Grant of the above-mentioned King was made ineffectual and not the least Symptoms of the intended Wall are at this instant visible In the year 1263. the War growing hot between Henry the third and Simon de Montfort the King sets down before Tunbridge-castle and forces it to snrrender to discretion and therein found amongst others the Countess of Gloucester From whence I collect that in those Times it was esteemed if not the only yet at least a principal Mansion of those great Lords of Tunbridge the
with his Hand supported that Prince when he first went out of his Ship to Land in Sussex afterwards when in the twentieth of that King's Government there was an universal Survey taken of each Mans particular Demeasn thoroughout the Nation who was of any Account or Eminence which we call Dooms-day Book there is a recital of the above mentioned Robert de St. Leger to have held Lands at Ulcomb which the Evidences of this Family do inform us were taken from a Pagan Dane whom he before had conquered and who inhabited at this place Guy de St. Leger as Mr. Fuller discovers to us in his Ecclesiastical History was appointed by William the Conquerour to be an Assistant Knight to Adelmere one of the Monks of Ely Raefe de St. Leger is registred in the Roll of those Kentish Gentlemen who accompanied Richard the first to the Siege of Acon and as the Inscription on his Leaden Shroud in the Vault of this Church does signifie was engaged in the Holy Quarrel fifteen years Another Rafe St. Leger and Hugh St. Leger were Recognitores magnae Assisae in the second year of K. John Sir Rafe de St. Leger Sir Jo. de St. Leger and Sir Tho. St. Leger were with Edw. the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his Reign and for their signal Atchievements there received the Order of Knighthood Indeed in times subsequent to this there was scarse almost any noble and generous undertaking but the Annals of our English History represent a St. Leger concerned and interessed in it And for their Collateral Alliances by which they became knit in Consanguinitie to several illustrious Families none in that particular have been more Successeful then themselves Sir Thomas St. Leger second Brother to Sir Rafe St. Leger married Anne Dutchesse of Exeter Sister to King Edward the fourth and so became twisted into the Family of that Prince by a Nearness of Alliance as he had before been taken into his Bosome by a union of Friendship by whom he had only Ann his Daughter and Heir who was wedded to Sir George Manners L. Rosse from whom the Earls of Rutland are in a direct Line branched out Sir James St. Leger this mans Brother matched with Anne one of the Co-heirs of Thomas Boteler Earl of Ormond from whom the St. Legers of the County of Devon were extracted out of which Stem was Sir William St. Leger who was Lord President of Munster in Ireland one thousand six hundred forty and two Sir Anthony St. Leger Father of Sir Warham was Lord Deputy of Ireland which place he managed with much of Prudence and Magnanimity his second Son Sir Anthony St. Leger Father to Sir Anthony St. Leger now of Wierton House in Boughton Monchensie died Master of the Rolls in Ireland which Office he discharged with a great deal of Faith and no less integrity Thus have I in Landskip pourtraied this noble Family which in an undivided Chain of Descent was setled at Ulcomb from the Conquerour's Time even till of late and then Sir Anthony St. Leger alienated his right in it which was grown reverend by a prescription of so many Ages to Serjeant Clerk of Rochester Father to Mr. Francis Clerk descended from Henry Clerk who was second Brother to Sir John Clerk who took the Duke of Longuevil prisoner at the Battle fought between Bomy and Spours The Church of Ulcomb belonged to Christ-Church in Canterbury and being Snatched away was restored by K. Edmund in the year 941. And about 430 years since was made a Collegiate Church by Stephen Langton Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and the Head thereof was called Arch-presbyter Boycot is another Mannor in Ulcomb which afforded both Seat and Sirname to a Family of that Denomination as appears by several old Deeds some of which are without Date which remember Stephen de Boycot John de Boycot and Alexander Boycot which last flourished here in the Reign of Edward the third and Richard the second and from him did it by paternal Delegation devolve to John Boycot and he had Issue John Boycot and Stephen Boycot one which sold his Proportion which accrued to him by the custome of Gavelkind to Richard Hovenden and the other by the like alienation transmitted his Interest in it to William Adam from whom it came over by Donation to Thomas Glover as is specified in the Deed of Sale by which the above-mentioned person in the first year of Henry the seventh alienates it to Richard Hovenden After Hovenden was crumbled away it came by purchase to be the possession of Clerk of Wood-Church the last of which Name which was entituled to the Inheritance was Humphrey Clerk Esquire who in the ninteenth of Q. Elizabeth alienated it to Thomas Sands and he in the twentieth year of the abovesaid Princess conveyed it to the Lady Elizabeth Berkley whose Grand-child Mr. ....... Berkley Esquire is now proprietarie of it Kingsnoth is the last Mannor in Vlcomb It was part of that Demeasn which related to the Abby of Feversham and continued united to its patrimony until the publick Dissolution filed it off and then it became the Interest of the Crown until Henry the eighth in the thirty second of his reign granted it to Sir Anthony St. Leger Knight of the Garter Lord Deputy of Ireland and one of his Privy Councel whose Son Sir Warham St. Leger in the tenth year of Q. Elizabeth conveyed it to William Isley Esquire who not long after passed it away to Anthony Sampson who in the twenty first year of Q. Elizabeth alienated it to James Austin and he in the year 1599 sold it to Robert Cranmer who dying without Issue Male Anne his Daughter and Heir brought it along with her to her Husband Sir Arthur Harris of Crixey in Essex who upon his Decease gave it to his second Son Mr. John Harris and his Son and Heir Mr. Cranmer Harris of Lincolns Inne enjoys the instant Inheritance of it Vp-Church in the Hundred of Milton was in elder Times in the Register of those Lands Mannors and Hereditaments which owned the dominion of the illustrious Family of Leybourn Rog. de Leybourn in the fiftieth year of H. the third had a Grant to hold his Lands at Hartlip Reinham and Up-Church by the fourth part of a Knights Fee and from him did the Clew of successive Descent in a continued Track transport it to his Great Grand-child Juliana de Leybourne Widow of John de Hastings not Father of Laurence de Hastings E. of Pembroke as some have erroneously printed but his Kinsman and next of William de Clinton Earl of Huntington whom she survived and died possest of this Mannor in the forty third year of Edward the third and as the inquisition after her Decease informs us without any Issue or kindred who might supersede the Interest of the Crown by pretending a direct or Collateral Title to her Estate so that King Edward the third by escheat became invested in this Mannor
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
Attorney General to Henry the eighth and he died possest of it in the thirty third year of that Prince and left it to his Son Sir James Hales who not long after alienated it to Sir Thomas Moile Chancellour of the Court of Augmentations who erected almost all that stupendious Fabrick which now so obliges the Eye to Admiration and left it to Sir Thomas Finch who had married Katharine his Daughter and Co-heir a Gentleman who merited a calmer Fate and a Nobler Tomb for after many gallant Archievements performed at Newhaven in France he suffered Shipwrack in his return to England and left it to his Son Sir Moile Finch who very much inlarged Eastwell-court with both sumptuous elegant and convenient Additaments and left it in Dower to his Widow Elizabeth Finch Daughter and Heir of Sir Thomas Heneage first created Viscountess Maidstone by King James and after Countess of Winchelsey in the year 1638. by King Charles from whom both the Honour and East-well descended to her Son Thomas Earl Wenchelsey and from him to his Son the Right Honorable Heneage Finch now Earl of Winchelsey and Viscount Maidston Since I am so happily engaged to a Discourse of this eminent Family of Finch I shall discover in Landskip the deep Antiquity of their first Extraction They were originally descended from Henry Fitz-Herbert Chamberlain to King Henry the first who married the Daughter and Heir of Sir Robert le Corbet and had Issue by her a Son named Herbert and he was Father to Herbert Fitz-Herbert who by his first Wife Lucy Daughter and Co-heir of Milo Earl of Hereford and Lord High Constable of England had Issue a Son named Peter Fitz-Herbert from whom the Herberts Earls of Pembroke originally issued out and by his second Wife Matilda after his Deeease remarried to the Lord Columbers he had Issue Matthew Fitz-Herbert who was one of the Magnates or Barons at the compiling of Magna Charta and was one of the powerful Partisans of King John at the making the accord between that Prince and his Barons at Running-Mead between Windsor and Stanes his Son likewise called Matthew Fitz-Herbert was the fourth Baron mentioned in the Roll of that Parliament which was convened at Tewksbury The alteration of this Name into Finch was about the tenth of Edward the first at which Time Herbert Fitz-Herbert purchased the Mannor of Finches in Lidde of which being entire Lord as he was not of Netherfeild he assumed his Sirname from that as many other Families fell in that Age under the same Mutation and borrowed Sirnames from those places which were wholly under their possession and Signory In the eighth year of Edward the second there was a Supersedeas issued out mentioning that Herbert Fitz-Herbert called Finch was a Ward in the twenty eighth year of Edward the first and so could not personally serve with the King in his Wars in Scotland and therefore was released of his Escuage for all his Estate in Kent and Sussex which together with some of the ancient Patrimony and several Knights Fees at Netherfeild in Sussex and elsewhere are not yet departed from this Noble Family Westwell in the Hundred of Calchill was confirmed to the Monks of Christ-church in Canterbury for a supply in their Diet in the year 1241. But it seems they were questioned Quo Warranto they possest this Mannor and after a Solemn Decision per patriam it is affirmed and attested in the Confirmation of the abovesaid Prince that it was enstated upon them by his Predecessors and continued afterwards unquestionably parcel of the Demeasne of the Cloister abovesaid until it was resigned by the Monks of Christ-church into the Hands of Henry the eighth and so it rested in the Crown until not many years since it was granted to Sir Nic. Tuston of Hothfield The Parsonage anciently belonged to the Arch-bishop of Canterbury until Thomas Arundell the Arch-bishop gave it in the year 1397. to the Monks of Christ-church to counterpoise those vast expences which they were to be at in re-erecting the Nave or Body of the Cathedral called Aulam Ecclesiae by Eadmerus which Simon de Sudbury plucked down and had intended that it should like a Phoenix have rose more glorious out of its Ashes but was intercepted in his Design by a suddain Death being beheaded by Wat Tiler and the confluence of his impious and barbarous Complices This Church thus appropriated was confirmed to the Monks abovesaid in the year 1400. by King Henry the fourth and upon the suppression was re-enstated upon the Dean and Chapiter of Christ-church by Henry the eighth Ripley-court is a Seat of good Antiquity in this Parish and more eminent because it afforded a Sirname to Gentlemen of good Ranke in this Track of which Number was Richard de Ripley who died seised of this Mannor in the thirtieth year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 91. and in an old Deed is called Miles Archiepiscopi that is he held this Mannor of the Arch-bishop by Knights Service but before the latter end of Edward the third this Family was vanished and then the Brockhuls and Idens succeeded in the possession the last of which was a Family of great Antiquity and no lesse Revenue about Iden in Sussex and Rolvenden in this County For in the year 1280. as appears by a Fine levied that year John the Son of Thomas de Iden passes away Lands to John de More And of this Family was Alexander Iden Esquire Sheriff of Kent in the thirty fourth year of Henry the sixth who in the twenty eighth year of that Prince slew Jack Cade who had borrowed the disguised Person of Mortimer excited thereunto as was the Opinion of those Times by the Suggestions of Richard Duke of Yorke to fathom the Peoples Affections to that man in the strength of whose Title he intended in the future to claim the English Diadem But the Attempts of Cade being disappointed by the formerly infatuated but now disenchanted Multitude's deserting of him who began to risent his Fraud and Imposture upon their total Dissipation shrowded himself in some of those Grounds which belonged to Ripley-court and lay not far distant from Hothfeild and were then in the Tenure of VVilliam Iden Justice of the Peace and Father of the abovesaid Alexander where being discovered he was by that Worthy Person offered up a Sacrifice to the Justice of Henry the sixth But I have digressed I now return After this Seat had for so many Descents been the Residence of this Family and the Cradle and Seminary of many Worthy Persons who had been subservient and ministerial to the Honour and Interess of this County by their Magnanimity and Prudence it went away from Iden by Sale to Darell and George Darell in the last year of Edward the sixth conveyed it to Baker Ancestor to Mr. ...... Baker of VVindsor now proprietary of it Diggs-court is another eminent Seat in this Parish which was the Mansion of the Noble Family of Diggs or
Digge who promiscuously writ themselves in elder Times sometimes of Barham and sometimes of VVestwell as appears by many of their ancient Evidences and other Muniments yet extant In the reign of Edward the third there was one Adomarus de Digge who frequently writ himself of Westwell but whether it were he that was the Judge or not I cannot positively aver In fine after this place had for many Ages acknowledged the Signory of this Family it came down to John Digge in whom the Male-line ended so that his Female Heir being wedded to Henry Aucher annexed it to the Revenue of that Family and from him hath the Title by a Thread of many years been guided down to Mr. ...... Aucher Dean-court may be registered likewise in the Catalogue of the principal Mannors of this Parish It was in Times of elder prescription the Inheritance of Hussie who likewise was entituled to the possession of Dean-court in Wingham now the Mansion of the Oxendens by purchase from this Family Henry Hussie a man of great power as appears by that large Estate he was Lord of both at Wingham Lenham Boughton Malherbe and elsewhere died possest of this Mannor in the eighteenth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Numb 36. and from him did it in an even and an undivided Current glide along in this Name until the latter end of King Henry the eighth and then it was passed away by Sale to Milan in which Family the propriety of this place is now resident Nash-court is the next place in Westwell that cals for our Survey in old Deeds I find a Family that sometimes writ At Ash and sometimes Nash into which the former Name resolved who were possessors of it In Times of a lower Step that is in the thirty second year of Edward the third as appears by the close Roll of that year Rot. Esc Num. 94. Alanus de Hanekin held it but before the latter end of Richard the second this Family had quitted the possession by Sale to Brockhull of Calchill and was not long after that is about the twelfth year of Henry the fourth by Henry Brockhull conveyed to John Darell Esquire Sheriff of Kent in the eleventh year of Henry the fourth and Brother of Sir William Darell under-Treasurer of England and in this Name it was permanent until the last year of Edward the sixth and then it went away by Sale to Sharpe of Nin-house in great Chart and hath been now for five Descents resident in that Family Beamonston vulgarly called Beamston is partly situated in West-well and partly spread into East-well but the greatest part of the Demeasne is circumscribed within the Bounds of this Parish And in the twentieth year of Edward the third as appears by the Book of Aide was held by Thomas at More at making the Black Prince Knight But before the fourth year of Henry the fourth this Family was extinguished for at the Marriage of Blanch that Prince's Daughter as appears by the Roll of Blanch Lands kept in the Exchequer John Amias was possest of it and paid respective Aide for it as having purchased it of At-More and in this Name did it reside until the reign of Henry the seventh and then it was conveyed by Sale to John Moile Esquire Father to Sir Thomas Moile who left this with much other Land to Katharine his Daughter and Co-heir matched to Sir Thomas Finch in Right of which Alliance it is now devolved to be the Inheritance of his great Grand-child Hencage Finch the instant Earl of Winchelsey Perytowne lies likewise within the Limits of Westwell and is registered in the Catalogue of those Lands that William de Aldon died possest of in the thirty fifth year of Edward the third and continued chained to the Inheritance of this Family until about the twenty seventh of Henry the sixth it was passed away with much other other Land to Cardinal Kempe who setled it in the twenty eighth year of that Prince on his newly erected Colledge of Wye and rested there until the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth and then it was resigned into the Hands of that Prince and he in the thirty eighth year of his reign granted it to Thomas Cawarden or Carden Esquire and he not long after conveyed it by Sale to Sir John Baker of Sisingherst whose Successor Sir John Baker Baronet hath this present year 1657. alienated it to Nathaniel Powell of Ewherst in Sussex Esquire Woditon or Wolton is the last place of any Note in Westwell It was originally parcel of the Inheritance of a Family called Wolton or Woditon Ivo de Woditon held it in the year 1236. and left it to his Son John de Wolton who had Issue Richard de Woditon or VVolton a man of principal Note in the twentieth year of Edward the third who held both this Mannor and VVoditon by Berham which he held of the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury by Knights Service at making the Black Prince Knight And in this Man's Successors did the Propriety constantly reside until the latter end of Henry the sixth and then some part of it was conveyed to John Hampton and he about the beginning of Edward the fourth passed it away to Richard Rasel who died possest of it as appears by his Will in the twentieth of that Prince but there was some part remained unsold until William Wolton dying 1540 ordered it by his Deed to be passed away to Feoffees in Trust to discharge Debts which accordingly was performed and the Remainder conveyed to Rasell in the Descendants of which Name and Family the entire proprietie is at this instant remaining Werehorne in the Hundreds of Ham and Blackbourne was partly under the Jurisdiction of the Church and partly under the Signory of temporal and Lay Proprietaries that Moitie of it which was of secular Interest belonged to a Family called Bedford Rich. de Bedford obtained a Grant of a Market to it weekly on the Tuesday and a Fair of three days continuance at the Feast of St. Matthew as appears Cart. 52. Henrici tertii Memb. 12 which was renued and confirmed to the abovesaid Person in the eighth year of Edward the first and he in the seventeenth year of that Prince died possest of it as is manifest Rot. Esc Num. 20. But after him it was of no long date in the Tenure of this Family for in the reign of Edward the second I find it in the possession of Hugh de VVindlesore or VVindsor but was not long chained to their Patrimony neither for about the beginning of Edward the third it was alienated to Moraunt of Moraunts Court but about the beginning of Richard the second Sir Thomas Morant Son of VVilliam Moraunt Sheriff of Kent the twelfth and thirteenth year of Edward the third to whom that Prince issued out a Mandate that but one Bell should be rang in any Steeple towards the Sea-Coast in Kent determined in a Female Heir who was matched to James Peckham of Yaldham Sheriff of Kent
to Clerke and so in all their Deeds subsequent to this Match have written Clerke alià s Woodchurch ever since But as all Families have their Descent and Period as well as Gradation and Ascent so had this for after this Mannor had for so many hundred years continued in this Family which had been productive of Men which had been planted in places of the greatest Eminence by which they were obliged to perform Service to their Country it came down at last to Humfrey Clerk Esquire who about the year 1594 passed it away by Sale to Walter Harlackenden Esquire by whose Daughter and Heir called Deborah Harlackenden it was united to the Revenue of Sir Edward Hales Knight and Baronet upon whose late Decease it is now descended to his Grand-child Sir Edward Hales Baronet who is entitled to the instant Signory of it Pleurinden in this Parish is a Branch of that Estate which fell under the Signory of the ancient and Knightly Family of Engham very frequently in old Deeds and other Monuments written Edingham and sometimes Hengham In a Deed wherein there is mention of a Match between ....... one of the Co-heirs of Sir Stephen de Penchester and Henry de Cobham and wherein some Land is conveyed over to Cobham there are these Persons recorded to be Testes to it William de Savage William de Oure Otho de Grandison and Roger de Hengham The Deed is very ancient and though not confined to any strict or precise Date yet commences from the reign of Edward the first and from this Roger did Vincent Engham Esquire lineally descend who in the ....... year of Q. Elizabeth passed it away by Sale to Roger Twisden Esquire Grand-father to Sir Roger Twisden Baronet in whom is fixed the instant Propriety of it Tounland is another Mannor in Woodchurch which had anciently Owners of that Sirname Rafe de la Thun died seised of this Mannor and other Lands in Woodchurch the forty third year of Hen. the third After him I find Richard de Tunland possest of it in the reign of Henry the third and Edward the first and had Issue Thomas de Tunlâ—nd who died seised of it in the fifth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 13. and left it to his Son and Heir John de Tunland who was an eminent Benefactor to the priory of Leeds to which Covent he added this Mannor to improve their Revenue at the time of his Decease which was in the forty seventh year of Edward the third and here it remained until the Dissolution and then it was granted by Henry the eighth to Thomas Lord Cromwell and after his Attaint in the thirty second year of his reign being escheated it was in the thirty fifth of Henry the eighth regranted to Sir Thomas Moile Chancellor of the Court of Augmentation and he in the thirty sixth year of Henry the eighth passed it away by Sale to William Goodwin and Tho. Ancos and they not long after alienated their Right in it to Lucas in which Family it continued but until the Beginning of Q. Elizabeth and then it was conveyed by Sale to Thomas Godfrey whose Son James Godfrey in the tenth year of Q. Elizabeth transferred it by the like Devolution to Mary Guldford and she again in the eleventh year of that Princess demised it to Richard Guldford and he not long after sold it away to Shelley of Michelgrove and John Shelley as I find by a Court Roll relating to this place held it in the eighteenth of Q. Elizabeth and in the Descendant of this Name and Family is the Inheritance of it if I be not misinformed at this instant placed Henherst is the last place considerable in Woodchurch which was the possession of a Family of that Denomination of whom I have spoken at Stapleherst where they enjoyed another Mannor of this Name and of which Family this here was but a Cadet or younger Slip and was written sometimes Henherst and as often in old Deeds Engherst and continued Owners of this place until the reign of Henry the seventh and then it devolved to Sir Thomas Hengherst who was the last of that Name which held this place for he dying without Issue Male Humfrey Wise who had matched with his Daughter and Heir in her right was invested in the Inheritance of it but he deceasing likewise without Issue Male his sole Inheritrix united it by marriage to the Revenue of her Husband Mr. Robert Masters Great Grand-father to Mr. Edward Masters of Canterbury in whom the propriety of this place is at this prefent continued Henden likewise is an Appendage to Woodchurch from whence certainly the Name of Henden originally streamed out though it be brought down to our Times in so crooked and perplexed a Chanel that we cannot discover it in all the wandrings and Digressions of it though the Family was made more conspicuous by Sir Edward Henden one of the Barons of the Exchequer to the late King Charles who for his clear speculation and insight into the deepest and most mysterious Intrigues of the Municipal Law of England was commonly called the Picklock of it But this is a Diversion The ancient Proprietaries of Henden represented to us by the eldest Records were the Lords Burwash very frequently written Burghherst and Bartholomew Lord Burwash had a Charter of Free Warren granted to Henden in the eighteenth year of Edward the third And when this Family had deserted the Possession of this place the next which successively held it were the Capells of Capells Court in Ivie-Church and Richard Capell died seised of it in the fifteenth year of Richard the second and here after it had been for some Generations fixed the Name resolved into a Daughter and Heir who was matched unto Harlackenden and so it became twisted into the Revenue of that Family and so remained till Deborah Harlackenden the Heir General of Walter Harlackenden a Branch of this Stock by being wedded to Sir Edward Hales Knight and Baronet Grand-father to Sir Edward Hales now of Tunstall Baronet wound it up in the Demeasn and Interest of that Honourable Family The Borough of Harlackenden is situated in this Parish and has been for many hundred of years the Patrimonial Demeasn of that Name and Family as appears by a Tomb in the Church of Woodchurch whose Inscription signifies that one of them lies enterr'd there a little after the Conquest and though the Character be in the proportion and Shape of it very much like that which was in use in the reign of Hen. the fourth and Henry the fifth and so makes the Truth of it disputable yet to this 't is answered that there was an old Tombstone there before with the same Inscription upon it insculped peradventure in a Saxon Character or such an one as was proportionate to that time in which that person died who lies there entombed which being decayed his Successors to perpetuate and inforce the Memory of so ancient a Predecessor fixed this
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
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
lies entombed under an Arch in the Southwall with his pourtraicture insculped in a Marble in Minster Church whose Tomb is become the Scene of much Falshood and popular errour the vulgar having digged out of his Vault many wild Legends and Romances as namely that he buryed a Priest alive that he swam on his horse two miles thorough the Sea to the King who was then neer this Island on Shipboard to purchase his pardon and having obtained it swam back to the Shore where being arrived he cut off the head of his said Horse because it was affirmed he had acted this by Magick and that riding on hunting a twelvemoneth after his horse stumbled and threw him on the Scull of his former Horse which blow so bruised him that from that Contusion he contracted an inward impostumation of which he dyed and in memory of which an Horse Head is placed at his Feet which fictitious Story is rent into the disunion of so many absurd circumstances that I shall represent to the Reader the Foundation on which this fabulous Natrative was formerly established which is no more but this Sir Robert de Shurland above-mentioned being Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports and a man of eminent Authority under Edward the first obtained Grant of priviledge by Charter to have wrack of Sea upon his Lands confining on the Sea Shore neere Shurland now the extent of this Royaltie is evermore esteemed to reach as far into the Water upon a low ebb as a man can ride in and touch any thing with the point of his Launce and so you have the explication of this marvel and the couching either of whole Creatures or part of them at the Feet of worthy personages is most frequent both now and in elder Times that these inanimate Representations might be the Symbols or Hieroglyphicks to intimate to posterity those Virtues which were resident in them when alive But to proceed the abovementioned Sir Robert de Shurland having improved his Reputation with many noble and worthy Actions left That only to perpetuate his Name to posterity having no Issue-male to continue it for he left only one Daughter and Heir matched to W. de Cheyney of Patricksbourn Cheyney who was son and heir to Sir Alexander de Cheyney who is in the Inventory or List of those Knights Bannerets who were ennobled with that Dignity by E. the first at the Siege of Carlaverock in the twenty eighth year of his reign and in Right of this Match dyed possest of it in the eighth year of E. the third Rot. Esc Num. 58. And from him did it come down to his great Grandchild Sir John Cheyney who was Knight of the Garter and frequently Knight of this Shire in sundry Parliaments under the Government of Henry the fourth in the first year of whose reign as our Chronicles inform us he was sent Embassador to several forreign Princes to represent to them the Reasons or Motives which induced him to assume the English Diadem and in the first and second year of that Prince he was chosen Speaker of Parliament Sir William Cheyney another of this Family of Shurland was first a Judge and secondly Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench in the reign of Henry the fifth but the greatest Honour this Mannor atchieved was when it came to be possest by Sir Thomas Cheyney who was Knight of the Garter Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports Constable of Quinborough Castle and one of the Privy Councel to Henry the eighth and he had Issue Sir Henry Cheyney created Henry Lord Cheyney of Tuddington by Queen Elizabeth who having exchanged this Mannor of Shurland with that Princesse it remained with the patrimony of the Crown untill the second year of King James and then it was by royal Concession from that Prince made the Inheritance of Philip Earl of Montgomery and after of Pembroke upon whose late decease it is now come to confesse the Signory of his second Son Mr. James Herbert Kingsborough is another Mannor in this Parish whose Name tacitly intimates to us that it was involved formerly in the Revenue of the Crown and was the place which the Inhabitants frequented not only for the holding of a Court for the choice and election of the Constables of the Island but likewise here assembled to nominate and appoint those Wardens or Bailiffs that were to take Cognisance or Charge of the passage called King ferry which divides the Island and the main Land of me County this Mannor after it had for many Generations layn folded up in the royal Demeasne was by Queen Elizabeth granted to Mr. Henry Cary who about the Beginning of K. James passed it away to Swaleman whose Descendant is still entituled to the propriety of it Leisdon next offers it selfe up to our view which was parcel of that estate which acknowledged the noble and ancient Family of Grey or Rotherfield in Sussex for its ancient Owners The first which made this Family eminent was John de Grey who was frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of Edward the third and dyed possest of this Mannor in the thirty third year of that Prince Rot. Esc Num. 38. And so did Robert Grey his Successor in the second year of Henry the fourth After his Exit I do not find it long constant to the Signory of this Name for about the Beginning of Henry the sixth it was alienated to Lovell and by virtue of this purchase Sir William Lovell held it at his Death which was in the twenty third year of Henry the sixth After this Family had abandoned the possession the Cheyneys of Shurland were by purchase planted in the Inheritance and remained setled in the Fee-simple of it untill Sir Henry Lord Cheyney exchanged it with Queen Elizabeth Nuts called so vulgarly but in the ancient Court-rolls named Notts as being the Inheritance of a Family called Nott is a little Mannor in Leisdon which after it had for many descents acknowledged no other proprietaries but this Family about the Beginning of Edward the fourth was rent from them by purchase and transplanted into Bartholomew a Family which were Owners anciently of much Land about Lingsted Throuley and other places in that Track and continued Masters of this Lordship untill the reign of Henry the eighth and then it was conveyed to Sir Thomas Cheyney whose Son Sir Henry Cheyney about the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth passed it away to Sampson a Family which had been possessors of Sampson-court not far distant many hundred years and were descended from William Sampson who was frequently summoned to sit in Parliament as Baron in the reign of Edward the first From Sampson it was again in our Fathers Memory carried off to Oâ—borne in the Descendants of which Family the right is still fixed Werdon is the last place of Account in this Island It was in times of an elder Inscription involved in the Inheritance of Savage of Bobbing and in the twenty third year of Edward
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
which menaced it upon the removal of the Body of St. Mildred in the year 1116 obtained from Henry the first a Charter to hold a Market weekly at his Mannor of Minster which by disuse and intermission shrunk into neglect and oblivion But the greatest blow which was given to it was the final suppression of the abovesaid Abby and then it was rent from that Covent and came to own the Signory of the Crown and was lodged in its revenue untill the ninth year of King James and then it was with the appendant Mannors of St. Johns St. Peters and St. Laurence granted to Sir Philip Cary and John Williams Esquire whose Sons and Heirs Sir John Williams and John Cary Esquire do now divide the Inhetitance of it Sheriffs-court in this Parish but more anciently styled in old Records Sheriffs-hope was the possession of Reginald de Cornhill who had the Custody of this County so long that it was almost hereditary to him so that he lost his own Name and assumed that of le Sheriff from whence this place borrowed the Appellation of Sheriffs-hope but this could not so fence-in the title or chain the possession to this Family but that about the Beginning E. the third it came to confesse the Corbies for proprietaries and Robert de Corbie held it at his death which was in the thirty ninth of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num 9. and had Issue Robert Corbie in whom the Male-line was wound up so that Joan his Daughter and Heir by matching with Sir Nicholas Wotton twice Lord Maior of London annexed it to the demeasn of that Family and from him did the title by an unintercepted Current of Descent glide down to Thomas Lord Wotton who setled it in marriage upon his eldest Daughter Katharine Wotton wedded to the Lord Henry Stanhop and she not many years since conveyed it by Sale to Mr. Hen. Paramour lately deceased Brother to Mr. Thomas Paramour now Lord of the Fee Monkton is a Mannor that almost from the first Infancy of Christianity in this Island was wrapped up in that demeasn which was under the Signory of the Monks of Christ-church in Canterbury and as the Book of Christ-church informs me was given to that Church by Ediva or Edgiva mother of Edmund and Eadred or Edred both Kings in the year 961. And if you will see how it was rated in the Conquerours time the Pages of Dooms-day Book will inform you Monkton says that Register est Manerium Monachorum sanctae Trinitatis that is Christ-church est de Cibo eorum in tempore Edwardi Regis se defendebat pro XX sulling is nunc se defendebat pro X VIII est appretiatum XL lb. This upon the surrender of the patrimony of Christ-church by the Monks of that Cloister into the hands of Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth year of his reign was by him not long after enstated on his new erected Dean and Chapiter of Christchurch and continued untill these Times annexed to their Revenue Monkton had Liberty to keep a Market weekly which was obtained by Grant from Henry the sixth in the seventeenth year of his Rule by John Salisbury then Prior of Christ-church Stonar is the last place to be taken Notice of in this Island and although it be a Parish now without Inhabitants and a member of the Cinque-ports belonging to Sandwich and hath not enough left of its former Buildings to direct you to its original Situation yet was it formerly a Haven-Town and had a Fair held there yearly five Days together before the Feast of the Translation of St. Austin which was granted to this place in the year 1104. In the reign of William Rufus about the year 1090 there arose a Suit in Law between the Londoners and the Abbot of St. Augustins to whom this Mannor was given with the residue of that revenue which belonged to the Nunnery at Minster by King Canutus upon the translation of the Body of St. Mildred to that Cloister as touching the right of the Haven of Stonar wherein by the favourable Aid of the Prince the Citizens as Spot Chronicler to that Abby reports had the overthrow But the utter ruine and subversion of the Town happened in the year 1385 about the ninth of Richard the second at what time the French with 18 Sail of Gallies designing to infest the Maritine parts of Kent landed and layed this Town of Stonar in Ashes which ever since hath found a Sepulcher in its own Rubbish And accuses the bad Government of Sir Simon de Burley the then Lord Warden of the Cinque-ports and Constable of Dover-Castle as cheif Author thereof For when his demands were utterly refused and denyed and not suffered to have the inestimable Ornaments and Riches of St. Thomas Beckets shrine and the Jewels of St. Augustins removed to Dover-Castle upon pretence of safe-keeping them there then he grew slack and remisse in securing the Sea-Coast and Isle of Thanett so that when the Abbot of St. Augustins had raised a considerable Strength of his Tenants about Northburn and bending towards the Island endeavoured to have passed over at Sandwich Sir Simon de Burley would not permit him so that he was constrained by a long and redious March all Night to go about by Fordwich and Sturrey into the Island and made such vigorous resistance that the Enemies fled to their Gallies without doing any farther prejudice to the Islanders Then Sir Simon procures the King to send out his Mandate under the great Seal of England requiring all that had Lands or belonged to Sandwich to be Commorant there and to find competent Arms according to the Quality of their Estates and Faculties upon pain of Imprisonment and Forfeiture of all they had to loose And sends in the Kings Name to the Abbot to remove with his Forces from Thanet to the Guard of Sandwich as a place of more Importance But the Abbot saith Thorne that continued the Chronicle of Spot neither astonished with the power of the Enemy nor seduced with the Inticements or terrified with the Menaces of the Traytor Burley remained in the Island to defend his own and his Tenants possessions After this there is nothing observable at this place untill the Suppression of the Abby of St. Austins and the Resignation of its Revenue into the hands of Henry the eighth when this Mannor with the rest of their demeasn having improved the patrimony of the Crown it was in the fourth and fifth of Philip and Mary granted to Nicholas Crispe Esquire from whom it is now descended to Mr. Nicholas Crispe his Successor the instant Lord of the Fee There was in elder times a Guard assigned for the security of the passage between Sandwich and Stonar for I find that Ed. the second granted VVill. Turke for Life in the seventh year of his reign the passage between Stonar and Sandwich and the Perquisites and Emoluments emergent from it which Grant was in the eighteenth
founded by William de Iper of Flanders advanced by King Stephen to be Earl of Kent in the year 1145 K. Richard the first as the Register of this Abby denotes was a great Benefactor to the Covent who were originally transported hither from Clarevall in Burgundy upon the Suppression the House with the Demeasne adjacent was in the thirty second of Henry the eighth granted to Sir Thomas Wiat Father to Sir Thomas Wiat one of his Privy Counsel a man of an unbroken though a calamitous Virtue who thinking it a lesse stain to forfeit his Estate then to debauch his Consience stuck close to that Sacramental Covenant by which he and the rest of the Councel had oblieged themselves to Henry the eighth to preserve as much as in them lay his two Daughters Mary and Elizabeth from confederating with any forreign Alliance and so engaged in that Design which over set him and sunk him and his Patrimony into that Ruine we find him and it lost at present for upon his Attainder Queen Mary in the second year of her Reign granted out his Estate as if it were by Retail to several sons but this Mannor and some other small peices were given back to the Lady Joan Wiat his Widow for the support of her self and Family and this is all which of that vast and wide Revenue of his which lay scattered in this and other Counties is held by his Posterity at this Day Wevering in this Parish is a Mannor held by Knights Service and Waretius de Shelving Son of John Shelving and Hellen de Bourn Daughter and Heir of John de Bourn held it by this Tenure to find a Horse for the Kings Army in Wales Cum uno Sacco Brochiâ pro Esquilar ipsius Domini Regis so it runs in the Latin Record taken in the third year of Edward the third after this mans Decease John de Shelving was this mans Heir and in his Right enjoyed this Mannor though it was not wholly his till he married Benedicta Daughter and Coheir of Robert de Hougham who likewise held some part of it and then he transmitted it entire to his Son William Shelving whose Sole Daughter and Heir being married to Edward Haut of Hauts Place in Petham who was Sheriff of Kent in the eighth of Henry the fourth this and an opulent Demeasne beside became interwoven with the Revenue of that Family and here the Possession seemed to be laid up till Sir William Haut of Hautsbourn this mans great Grandchild dyed and left only two Coheirs Joan matched to Sir Thomas Wiat and Elizabeth married to Sir Thomas Colepeper of Bedgebury so wavering by this Alliance accrued to Sir Thomas Wiat from whom in the twenty fourth year of Queen Mary it was by forfeiture torne away but was in the twenty fourth year of Queen Elizabeth restored with the Mannor of Boxley to the Lady Joan Wiat Widow of the abovesaid Sir Thomas and her Son George Wiat for three Lifes the Reversion was sold by King Charles to Mr. Stephen Alcock who alienated the Fee Simple to Sir Francis Wiat. Vinters is contained also in Boxley it gave Seat and Sirname to as noble a Family and of as deep Antiquity as any in this Track Roger Vinter lived here who was one of the Conservators of the Peace for the County of Kent in the eighteenth year of the Reign of Edward the third he deceased in the forty seventh of the abovesaid Princes Government and John Vinter was his Heir who sold Vinter to Fremingham in the tenth year of Henry the fourth from whom it was conveyed by a Female Inheritrix to Isley of Sundrich and here it rested till Sir Henry Isley being folded up in the same attempt with Sir Thomas Wiat upon the blasting of that Designe forfeited his Interest in it to the Crown Queen Mary granted it to Cutts who some years after devested himself of his right in it and by Sale disposed of it to Sir Cavaliero Maycott who suddenly alienated it to Covert who transferred it by the like Devolution about some five and twenty years since to Sir John Tufton Knight Baronet whose second Son Sir Charles Tufton upon the late Decease of his Brother Sir Benedict Tufton is the present Lord of the Fee I had almost forgot to mention which certainly must much improve the Honour of this Place that King Edward the second in the fifteenth year of his Reign lying at Boxley Abby granted the Charter to London to elect yearly one of the City at their own pleasure to be their Maior Boughton Malherbe in the Hundred of Eyhorne did very probably take its Denomination from a Family of that Sirname who were of eminent Account in the County of Devon for I find Sir William de Malherbe was witnesse to a Deed of Reginald de Mohun by which he gives much Land to the Abby of Axminster as appears Pat. 14. Hen. tertii Memb. 33. parte prima In the Reign of Henry the third by several old Deeds I discover it to be marshalled in the List of those Lands which confessed Robert de Gatton Son of Robert de Gatton who was one of the Recognitores magnae Assisae in the second year of King John to have been its Proprietarie and he dyed possest of it in the forty eighth year of Henry the third and left it to his Son Hamo de Gatton in whom the male Line determined so that this Mannor upon the Partition of his Inheritance devolved by Elizabeth his Daughter and Coheir to be the Patrimony of William de Dene who obtained a Charter of Free-warren to his Lands here in the renth year of Edward the second but he not long after enjoyed the Benefit of this priviledge for he conveyed it to Robert Corbie who in the thirty sixth year of Edward the third had Licence by this Princes Grant to build after a fortified Mannor the Terms are Kernellare Turrellare that is to make Cranies and Loopholes to discharge Crossebows and other missile Weapons and to embattel with Towers and Curtain Walls the Mannor House at Boughton from him it descended to Robert Corby his Son and Heir who dyed and left only one Daughter and Heir Joan marryed to Sir Nicholas Wotton twice Lord Maior of London and so by Female Right this Mannor became the Possession of this Family and in a continued Series was it carryed down from Sir Nicholas to Thomas Lord Wotton not many years since deceased whose Lady Dowager Mary Daughter and one of the Coheirs of Sir Arthur Throgmorton of Paulers Perry in the County of North-Hampton as parcel of her Joynture did lately before her Decease enjoy it Colbridge Castle lay in Boughton Malherbe under the Hill towards Headcorne and hath found a Sepulcher now under its own Rubbish King Henry the third in the forty third of his Reign granted Licence by his Charter to Sir Fulke Peyforer to fortifie and build after a Castle-like Manno this Mansion House at Colbrge it
came after to be the Possession of Roger Lord Leybourne and from him did descend to Juliana Leybourne his Sole Heir who matching with William Clinton Earl of Huntington made it his Inheritance but he deceasing in the twenty eighth of Edward the third without Issue and his Lady after dying and leaving no visibleor avowed Alliance knit to her by the indisputable tye of Consanguinity to claim it it escheated to the Crown and K. Richard the second in the twenty first of his Reign granted it to the Royal Chappel of St. Stevens in Westminster where it remained till the Dissolution and then it was granted in the second year of Edward the sixth to Sir Edward Wotton from whom by a successive Right of Descent it was transmitted to his great Grandchild Thomas Lord Wotton of Marley whose Widow the Lady Mary Wotton does at this instant possess it Lastly Chilston is an eminent Seat and Mannor likewise situated within the Precincts of this Parish In the fifty fifth year of Henry the third Henry Hussey had a Charter of Free-Warren to his Mannor of Chilston and his Grandchild Henry Hussey died seised of it in the sixth year of Edward the third and in this Family was the Inheritance in an undivided Succession resident till our Grandfathers Memory and then Henry Hussey by Sale translated the Proprietie into John Parkhurst whose Successor Sir William Parkhurst alienated it to Richard Northwood whose Son Mr. Oliver Northwood by the same transmission passed it over to Cieggat he very lately disposed of his Concernment in it to Mr. Manly of London who very lately hath conveyed it to Mr. Edward Hales Grandchild to Sir Edward Hales of Tunstal Knight and Baronet Buckland in the Hundred of Feversham was as Sidrach Petits Inquest into the Mannors of Kent informs me as high as the Reign of Henry the third the Possession of John de Buckland who it seems extracted his Sirname from hence and is likewise mentioned in Testa de Nevil to have held Land in this Track in the twentieth year of Henry the third But before the end of Edward the second this Family was vanished from this place and immediately after they were gone out the Frogenhalls of Frogenhall in Tenham were entituled to the Possession and Richard Frogenhall was seised of it at his Decease which was in the thirty fourth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 37. and from him did it descend to John Frogenhall Esquire who was with Edmund Brook Lord Cobham then Ceneral of the Kentish Forces under Richard Earl of Warwick at the Battle of North-Hampton where the House of Lancaster by that vigorous Assistance the Kentish men that day afforded the House of York received so fatal a Wound that all the Art of the Lancastian Partisans could hardly ever after close it and this Man had Issue Thomas Frogenhall who about the Beginning of Henry the seventh passed it away to Gedding and Thomas Gedding in the twenty fifth year of Henry the eighth held this Mannor and conveyed it by Deed to Henry Atsea of Herne and he in the thirtieth of Henry the eighth was possest of it at his Death and from him did the Thread of Descent guide the Title down to his Grandchild William Atsea who in the tenth year of King James conveyed it by Sale to ....... Saker of Feversham Gentleman whose Son Mr. Christopher Saker in our Fathers Memory alienated it to Sir Basill Dixwell of Terlingham in Folkstone Knight and Baronet who upon his Decease about the year 1641 gave it to his Kinsman Mr. John Dixwell Esquire in whom the Possession is still resident Buckland by Dover is situated in the Hundred of Bewsborough and was a Branch of that spacious and wide Demeasn which made the Patrimony of Hamon de Crevequer so considerable in this County and he held it at his Decease which was in the forty seventh year of Henry the third Rot. Esc Num. 33. Afterwards I find the Wilghebies or Willoughbies invested in the Possession and Thomas de Willoughbie was seised of it at his Decease which was in the seventh year of Edward the second But the Title had no long residence in this Family for in the Reign of Edward the third I find it in the Tenure of Barrie of Sevington for Agnes Wife of William Barrie was possest of it in Right of Dower as appears by an Inquisition taken after her Death in the forty eighth year of Edward the third Rot. Esc Num. 7. After the Barries were worn out the Callards or Calwards now vulgarly called Collard became Lords of the Fee a Family of deep Extraction in this Track and who were in elder Times entituled to the Possession of Land and Houses in Canterbury as appears by a Composition made between the Monks of St. Austins and those of Christ Church in the forty first of Edward the third recited by Mr. Somner in his Survey of that City Pag. 192. wherein it is mentioned that the Abby of St. Austins had purchased Land and Houses of Iohn Calward But to proceed after this Family had for divers Descents held this Mannor in a fair repute John Callard Esquire being one of those who accompanied Sir Henry Guldford of this County to serve Ferdinand of Castile in his War commenced against the Moors where for some Signal Service performed against those Infidels he had this Coat assigned to him and his Posterity by Clarenceux Benolt vid. Girony of six pieces Or Sables over all three Blackmores Heads decouped in our Fathers Memory they surrendred the Possession of this place by Sale to Fogge who not many years after passed away his Concernment in it by the same conveyance to Mr. William Sherman of Croyden Esquire Steward both to George Abbot and William Laud Successively Arch-Bishops of Canterbury Dudmanscombe is another Mannor in this Parish which in elder times made up the Revenue of the Priorie of St. Martins in Dover and continued annexed to that Cloister until the general Suppression and then being torn from the Church it was again exchanged with Thomas Cranmer Arch-Bishop of Canterbury by Henry the eighth in the twenty ninth of his Reign and so remained wound up in the Demeasn of that Sea untill that ruinous and fatal popular Tempest which arose in these Times supplanted it and cast it into the Possession of a secular Interest Burham in the Hundred of Lark field is in Doomsday Book written Burgham and was in the twentieth year of William the Conquerour held by Ralph de Curva Spina In Ages of a lower Approach to us I find it under the Signorie of Jeffrey de Say and he died possest of it in the twenty third year of Edward the first Rot. Esc Num. 48. and for the future remained so chained to the Propriety of this Family that it was esteemed Parcel of their Barony of Birling and when Jeffrey Lord Say in the Reign of Richard the second ended in two Female Coheirs one matched to John Lord Clinton
I find that in the seventh year of that King's Raign the said Lord Cobham sold the abovesaid Mannor to Sir Robert Reade then Serjeant at Law but after Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas who concluding in three Daughters and Coheirs Dorothy matched to Sir Edward Wotten of Boughton Malherbe Katharin wedded to Sir Thomas Willoughbie second Son of Christopher Willoughbie Lord Willoughbie of Eresbye and Margaret married to Sir Iohn Harcourt of Elnal in the County of Stafford this Mannor of St. Maries in her right descending to this Family the abovesaid Sir Iohn and the Lady Margaret his Wise did in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth exchange the said Mannor of St. Mary Hall with Iohn Wiseman Gentleman for the Priory of Ronton in the County of Stafford since which Time the said Mannor hath continued in the Name of Wiseman and is at this instant in the Possession of Sir Thomas Wiseman of Riven Hall in the County of Essex Knight Newland is a Mannor Situated in St. Maries which was as high as can be traced by any Track of Evidence the Inheritance of Somer vulgarly now called Somers Richard le Somer made his Will as appears by the Records of Rochester in the year of Grace 1347 and died seised of this Place Lands in Halstow Higham Leigh and elsewhere and from him did it come down by the Channel of Descent to John Somer who was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Raign of Henry the sixth who was a great Benefactor to the Priory of Christ-Church in whose Cloister the Armes of this Family remain insculped in Stone as a Memorial of his Beneficence the last of this Family who held this place was Sir William Somer who was thrice employed as publick Embassador to forraign States by Queen Elizabeth and he deceased without Issue Male so that his two Daughters matched to Sir Alexander Temple and Sir James Cromer became his Coheirs but this Mannor of Newland upon the Petition was united to the Demeasn of Temple whose Heir hath lately passed it away to the Treasurers of the Chest for sick and mained Seamen at Chetham Mershham in the Hundred of Chart and Longbridge was given by Siward and Mawde his Wife to the Monks of St. Augustins for support of their Diet which Concession of their's was afterwards confirmed as appears by the Book of Christ-Church by the Royal Authority of Edward the Confessor and so remained wrapped up in the Demeasn of the Church till the Dissolution of that Covent and then it fell into the Revenue of the Crown and King Henry the eighth in the thirty third year of his Raign settled it on the newly erected Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Quatherington in this Parish vulgarly called Quarington was the ancient Residence of the Blechendens till William Blechenden by marriage with Agnes Daughter and Coheir of ....... Godfrey of Aldington became in her Right Master of Simnells in that Parish and so left his Habitation at Mersham to enjoy his new Acquists at Aldington certainly they were very anciently Seated if not at this place yet in this Parish for I have seen the draught of a Pedigree knit together by Clarenceux Cooke wherein they are brought down from Nicholas de Blechenden who flourished here at Mersham in the Raign of Edward the first though I confesse the Evidences of Quarington reach no higher then Will. Blechenden who is made in the Pedigree to be Grandchild to the abovesaid Nicholas and who flourished in the Raign of Richard the second after the Blechendens the Cleggates of Canterbury became in our Grandfathers Memory to be Lords of the Fee but not long after alienated their Right in it to Eastday of Saltwood from whom the like Current of Succession wâ—fted it over to Knatchbull from whom the Right descended to Sir Norton Knatchbull a Person who for his Favour and Love to Learning and Antiquitie in Times when they are both fallen under such Cheapness and Contempt cannot be mentioned without an Epithete equivalent to so just a merit Mepeham in the Hundred of Totingtrough was given to the Monks of Canterbury for their supply of Dyet by Ediva the Queen Mother of the two Kings Edmund and Eadred as appears by the Book of Christ-Church in the year of Grace 861. Upon the suppression of that Fraternitie it increased by its Addition the Revenue of the Crown but it was suddenly after in the twenty ninth year of Henry the eighth restored to the Church and so continued till these infortunate Times chained it to the Patrimony of the See of Canterbury whose Arch-Bishops it seems had a speciall Regard to this place for William Courtney one of them re-builded the Church which by the Onsets of Time was shrunk into Dilapidation and Rubbish and erected likewise some Alms Houses here for the support and maintainance of the poor of this Parish The Mannor of Dodmore lies within the Circuit of Mepeham and was as high as the Beam of any Deed can discover to me the Possession of the noble and Knightly Family of Huntingfield Sir Peter Huntingfield by his Deed sans Date does demise it to his kinsman Walter Huntingfield and he by Deed likewise without any Date affixed to it passed it away to John Smith and he in the forty seventh year of Edward the third conveyed his Right in it by Sale to Richard Ideleigh from whom the Ideleighs of Easture in Chilham and Rollingin at Goodneston in East-Kent originally branched out But here the private Muniments of this place by whose Light I have walked break off so that I must make a Gap in my Intelligence and skip into the Raign of Henry the eighth In the ninth year of whose Government I find by the Court-Rolls of this place one Thomas Cavendish Esq to be possest of it from whom about the second year of Edward the sixth it went away to Henry Taylor afterwards within the Circuit of thirty years it was the Possession of John Giffard then of Walter Powre of Brenchley and after him of Henry Collins who in the year 1604. demised his Interest in it to Walter Kipping Gentleman of Kippings-Cross in Tuydley where they were resident before about five hundred year and now it is made by Dorothy Kipping his Daughter and Coheir part of the Patrimony of my Worthy and Ingenuous Friend Edward Darrell Esquire Dean-Court is likewise Seated within the Verge of Mepeham It was in elder times a Branch of that wide and opulent Estate which was marshal'd under the Signory of Twitham Alan de Twitham is enrolled in the Catalogue of those Kentish Gentlemen who were with Richard the first at the Seige of Acon Bethram de Twitham held it at his Death which was in the third year of Edward the third after Alanus de Twitham died seised of it in the twenty fifth year of the above-said Kings Raign and his Son Theobald de Twitham after him enjoyed it at his Death which was in the fourth year of Richard the second