# Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey/Kent/Notes on the Churches L-N

Churches: A-B • C-D • E-K • L-N • O-R • S-Z See also Supplement: Kent
​186. Lamberhurst.—Is partly in Sussex, under which county see also the Note. The church stands in Kent.—In this parish are the remains of Bayham Abbey and of Scotney Castle. Of the former, founded, temp. K. Richard II, by Æla de Dene (Kilburne), about A.D. 1200 (Hasted), little now exists, though sufficient to show that the church must have been a fine building, the east end terminating in a semi-hexagon. According to another authority, the individual, who, about A.D. 1200, removed hither the religious establishment first placed at Otham, was Robert, nephew of Mich. de Turnham, Ralph de Dene having been the founder of Otham. Brockley in Deptford was the place first proposed for the new monastery, which finally was ​fixed at a spot called Beaulieu in Bayham. The monks were of the Premonstratensian Order. (Monast. VI, 910.) About 1770 or 1780, possibly earlier, the roof of the abbey church was entire, but the steward of the estate, unknown to the owner, pulled it down for the purpose of using the timber in repairing the farm premises on the property, to the eventual destruction of the building.
Of the ancient castle of Scotney a small portion only is standing, whereof a round tower bears much resemblance to one at Ostenhanger.
187. Langdon, East.—Of this church the turret for two bells at least is late Norm., but the building is very unattractive.—Here is "a most curious antient pulpit cloth, of crimson velvet, richly embroidered, with the words 'Jesu Maria' plentifully worked on it, and two large female figures in gold embroidery kneeling before two altars, with a book on each, with a scroll issuing out of their mouths, and underneath this imperfect inscription, Orate po ana Johs ... od ..." (Hasted.) The pulpit cloth is formed out of an old popish vestment; it is in tolerable preservation, and might be easily restored in a drawing; it well deserves to be copied.
188. Langdon, West.—At what period this church was desecrated I do not discover; most probably on the suppression of the abbey by K. Henry VIII. Some ruins still exist, but merely walls covered with ivy.—A.D. 1660 Sir Thomas Peyton of Knowlton provided timber, with the intention to repair the church, but in the night the country people stole the whole, together with the pulpit, pews, &c., which still remained in the ruined building. (Hasted.) Both East and West Langdon churches are mentioned in (Val. Eccl.) as then existing; and the latter name yet appears in the (Clergy List). An abbey was founded here A.D. 1192 by Will, de Auberville. The church of Oxney (near Deal) was granted to it "anno regni regis Edwardi tricesimo" (i.e. K. Edward I, A.D. 1302-3). A charter (undated) of Gunnora de Shoveldone (Sholdon) and Dionisia de Newsole bestows the chapel of Newsole upon the abbey. (Monast. VI, 897, 899.) For a notice of Newsole see Colred, in which parish it was situated.
189. St. Laurence.—"Ramsgate, alias Romansgate." (Kilburne.)—The church is described as possessing a central tower ornamented with an exterior arcade. Originally it was one of three chapels to Minster, and was made parochial with the others. ​The cemetery was consecrated A.D. 1275, when the right of burial was granted with certain reservations in favour of the mother church. Brasses: Nich. Manston, 1444; woman with armorial bearings. At Manston, of which the mansion is converted into a farm-house, was a chapel, of which "the remains are very considerable" (there is no intimation when it was erected). "At a small distance from the church" (of St. Laurence) "to the eastward are the remains of a small chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, now converted into a cottage. There was a chantry founded in it, for the support of which several lands hereabouts were given," &c. (Hasted.) For Nich. Manston's memorial see (Monum. Brasses, 67.)
190. Lee.—Brass: Eliz. Couhyll, 1513. (Reg. Roff.)
191. Leeds.—"Ibi duo arpendi vineæ: there are two arpents of vineyard." (D. B.)—Bishop Goldwell (of Norwich) is stated to have founded a chantry in the south part of the nave of Leeds church, temp. K. Henry VII. (Monast. VI, 215.) For a similar establishment in Great Chart church see the Note on that place.—The priory, or abbey, of Leeds was founded by Rob. Crevecceur and his son Adam (Lambarde), A.D. 1119 (Hasted). In addition to the castle, which is still occupied as a residence, the place contains Battle Hall, a house not far from the church, quite distinct from the priory, which has remains indicating it to have been some religious building.—According to Kilburne, of the castle, " the outmost gates" and the site of the ancient mill only are in the parish of Leeds, the remainder lying in Bromfield.
"De hoc manerio habet abbas S. Augustini dimidium solinum, pro excambio parchi episcopi baiocensis. The abbot of St. Augustin's has half a sowling of this manor in exchange for the park of the bishop of Bayeux." (D. B.) It is not stated what land the abbot gave in exchange, but we know that Bishop Odo possessed a park at Little Bourne.
192. Leigh.—Anciently called Leuga or Lega, perhaps because situated within the "Leuga de Tonebrige;" i.e. "The Lowy." Hasted however says that Leuga in Saxon signifies a feeding or pasture; on which matter see the Note on Tonbridge. At this day the level meadows westward of Tonbridge town toward Leigh are named "The Lew." Leigh must formerly have been a very extensive parish, Bidborough, as well as Penshurst, having been taken out of it. Compare the Notes on those two places. Brasses in the church: John Stace, 1591, a small recumbent figure over an inscription: another, a small square with neither ​name nor date; an angel with a trumpet summons a female figure, who appears, at half length, rising with joined hands, and a scroll proceeding from her mouth, "Behold, O Lord, I come willingly," in black letter; beneath is an altar-tomb with the upper slab removed, containing a corpse wrapped in a shroud, which is tied closely above the head, from whence a long end is pendant, giving to the body in some degree the shape of a fish, vesica piscis; the whole bearing a strong resemblance to a similar subject in a mural painting, which was discovered in the early part of 1845 in the church of Mid-Lavant, Sussex. In Leigh church are some remains of linen panelling, only remarkable for an ornamental border, which is not usual.
193. Lenham.—The church consists of chancel, nave, north aisle with a chancel reaching about half way up the other, late Perp. vestry on the north side of the chancel, and square west tower with battlements and stair turret. Both chancels seem to be E.E. with alterations. In the principal chancel are sixteen oaken stalls in sound condition, but neglected. The piscina here is rather curious, being in a Tudor-arched recess about three feet wide, if not more. In the wall of the chancel is the effigy of a priest, as in a coffin, and inserted resting on the right side. Also a handsome oak lectern, with linen panelling on the sides. The font is Dec. and good. Of the remainder of the church some is Dec., some Perp. The pulpit is elaborately carved in oak, probably dating early in the seventeenth century. The churchyard is entered by a lych gate. On the south side of the chancel of this church is a stone seat, or rather chair, with solid arms, and a cinquefoil-headed canopy, the back being a recess in the wall. On the left hand is a lower seat, very small, and totally devoid of ornament. The Lenham seat, though remarkable, is less completely a chair than one remaining in the Saxon church of Corhampton, Hants, which is a genuine arm-chair, formed of solid slabs of stone, and detached from the wall, apparently coeval with the edifice, to which it belongs. Its position was across the southern extremity of the altar rails, but it has been placed within them, nearer to the eastern wall.
It is observed (Val. Eccl.) that the vicar of Lenhani provided a priest to serve the chapel of Royton; which (according to Harris) was founded by Rob. de Royton, on the family estate of the same name in this parish, about the end of the reign of K. Henry III. The ruins of the chapel are mentioned by Hasted. Royton Farm is still commonly called "Royton Chapel;" but I could ​not ascertain at Lenham whether any remains of the chapel are yet visible.—Lenham is asserted to have been bestowed by Kenulfe, king of Mercia, and Cudred, king of Kent, upon St. Augustin's, Canterbury, A.D. 804; the gift being confirmed by Ethelwulfe, king of Kent, A.D. 850, and ratified by Edgiva, wife of King Edgar, temp. Archb. Dunstan. (Lambarde.)
194. Leveland.—This small parish is a rectory annexed to that of Badlesmere, which it adjoins.
195. Lewisham.—Brass: Geo. Hatteclyff, 1514. (Reg. Roff.)—A charter of King Edward, dated in 1044, after reciting the grant of Leuesham by Elthrude to the (abbey) church of St. Peter at Ghent, confirms to the latter all its possessions, naming Lewisham, Greenwich, Woolwich, Modingham, Cumbe, and places in Andred, namely, Æschore (Ashurst?), Æffehaga, Wingindene, Scarendene, Sandherste, together with the churches, cemeteries, tithes, &c.; but how many, and which, of those places then possessed churches we have no means of ascertaining. "Praefatae aecclesiae de Gant concedo atque mea regia auctoritate confirmo manerium de Leuesham, cum omnibus sibi pertinentibus, uidelicet, Greenwic, Wulewic, Modingeham, atque Cumbe, et cum uallibus etiam in Andreda eisdem maneriis adiacentibus, scilicet, Æschore, Æffehaga, Wingindene, Scarendene, Sandherste, et cum aecclesiis, cimiteriis, decimis, redditibus, in campis et in siluis, in pratis et pascuis, in aquis et paludibus, in piscariis et piscationibus, in molendinis et in omnibus suis appendiciis: I grant, and by my royal authority confirm to the aforesaid church of Ghent the manor of Leuesham, with all pertaining to it, namely, Greenwic, Wulewic, Modingeham, and Cumbe, and with the vales also in Andred belonging to the same manors, namely, Æschore, Æffehaga, Wingindene, Scarendene, Sandherste, and with the churches, cemeteries, tithes, dues, in plains and in woods, in meadows and pastures, in waters and in marshes, in fishmarkets and in fisheries" (or perhaps, see Note on Badlesmere, "in fisheries and in fishings) in mills, and in all their appendages." (Cod. Dipl. IV, 80.) That the term "adjacentibus" signifies belonging, rather than adjoining, to seems a clear inference from the mention of "Sandherste," identical, we can only understand, with the parish of that name, which is situated about forty miles diagonally across the county from Lewisham. Kilburne says that Sir John Merbury, kn., founded at Lewisham a priory for black monks as a cell to Ghent, temp. K. Henry III. Another, apparently, but perhaps not really, ​different, statement is, that Elthrude, niece of K. Alfred, bestowed this manor upon the abbey of St. Peter at Ghent, "upon which it (Lewisham) became a cell of Benedictine monks to that house." After his suppression of alien priories, K. Henry V gave this cell to his recently-erected priory at Shene (or Richmond), in Surrey, A.D. 1414. (Monast. VI, 987.)—It may be observed, that the charter above quoted and a donation of land at Waltham with the church to Chertsey Abbey in Surrey, are the only examples I have noticed, though several may have been overlooked, in the first five volumes of the Codex Diplomaticus of churches being named in connection with the places forming the subjects of the documents.
196. Leybourne.—On the northern side of the north aisle of this church is a curious niche, much ornamented. It has a quatrefoil in the head, below which are two trefoiled arches divided by a shaft.
197. Lidsing.—An ancient endowed chapelry in the parish of Gillingham, to which church it is annexed.
198. Liminge.—(A.D. 1291) "Ecclia de Limmingg cum capella;" and it is named in (Val. Eccl.) with the chapels of Stanford and Paddlesworth; which connection still subsists. The latter place has a church assigned to it in (D. B.) but as Stanford has not, to that very possibly may have belonged one of the three churches mentioned in (D.B.) under "Leminge."—The earliest notice discovered of this church is in a charter of Uuihtraed, king of Kent, A.D. 697: "basilicæ beatæ mariæ genitricis domini quæ sita est in loco qui dicitur limingæ: of the church of the blessed Mary, the Lord's mother, which is situated in the place called Liminge." (Cod. Dipl., I, 50.) It is repeatedly named in subsequent records in that collection. Liminge church is said to be dedicated to St. Mary and St. Eadburgh. (Kilburne.)—A Benedictine monastery was founded here by Eadburgh (or Ædilberga, Bede), sister of King Eadbald, and widow of Edwin, king of Northumberland (Kilburne); at some period after A.D. 633, when her husband was killed. (Bed. Hist. Eccl., 1. 2, c. 20.)—Somner gives a deed from Caenulf, king of Mercia, and his brother Cuthred, king of Kent, A.D. 804, granting to the abbess of St. Mary, Limming, "ubi pausat corpus beatæ Eadburgæ" (where rests the body of St. Eadburga) "land belonging to the church of St. Mary then standing in the western part of the city, in occidentali parte civitatis," namely, Canterbury. The charter is also in (Cod. Dipl., I, 230.)
​199. Limpne.—(A.D. 1291) "Ecclia de Limme cum capella." Some considerable remains exist here of Studfall Castle, which are deemed Roman, though not exhibiting the undoubted evidence of red mortar.—In attempting to identify the Roman Portus Lemanis or Limenis of Antoninus, the Lemannis of the Notitia, and the Lemavius of the Peutingerian Tables. Somner, (Rom. Ports and Forts in Kent, 87, et seq.), argues at some length in favour of Romney, Old or New; but, inasmuch as he bases his argument on the supposition of an error in the distance to Lemanis from Durovernum, Canterbury, as that distance is given in our copies of the Itinerary of Antoninus, his reasoning will hardly be deemed very conclusive. The Roman walls existing at Limpne, with the absence of any such vestiges at Romney, may justly be regarded a strong testimony in favour of the former locality.
"In the year 893 the great (pagan, i.e. Danish) army passed from the eastern kingdom (of the Franks) toward the west at Boulogne, where it embarked, so that with all their horses they were transported in one voyage. They landed at the haven of Limme with 250 vessels. That haven is on the east side of Kent, at the eastern boundary of the great forest called Andred, which is at least 120 miles long from east to west, and thirty miles broad; the river we have named runs from that forest. They brought their ships upon that river as far as the forest, viz., four miles from the outer part of the estuary, and there stormed a certain fort in the marsh inhabited by a few villans, and half finished. Not long after Hæstenus landed with eighty ships at the mouth of the Thames, and built himself a fort at Middeltune; but another" part of the "army" did the same "at Apuldre." (Gibs. Chron. Sax. 91.)
The river alluded to is considered to have been the Rother, which now disembogues at Rye in Sussex, after skirting, but not entering, the county of Kent. The above description appears to imply, that the river spoken of was the natural drain of the eastern portion of the forest, which can apply to no stream of the district but the Rother, because that alone, though rising in Sussex beyond Rotherfield, runs toward the sea in this direction. Every other stream, which can ever have possessed the smallest pretensions to be the river of the Saxon Chronicle, joins the Medway, therefore takes a totally different course. And though the Rother now enters the sea at Rye, there seems sufficient evidence, that its ancient channel, turning ​north-eastward from Newenden, passed between the upland and Romney Marsh, falling into the sea at or near the present town of Hithe, thus forming the Roman "Portus Lemanis." (See this question discussed or noticed repeatedly in Holloway's History of Romney Marsh, 8vo, London, 1849.) A name identical with that of the Saxon Chronicle, "Limenaea," occurs in several documents preserved in Kemble's (Cod. Dipl.), where, from the connection, no other river than that above mentioned can be signified. The earliest of these allusions is A.D. 700 or 715. But the identity, now contended for, appears to be established by two deeds, temp. K. Edward I and K. Edward II, quoted by Mr. Holloway, in which, at that (comparatively) late date, the river is called the "Limene." The first, A.D. 1277, concerning the "Borough of Mayfield," contains the following sentence; "Martinus de Webb tenet quartam partem unius rodæ apud la Limene et debet quadrantem ad festum S. Michaelis—Martin Webb holds the fourth part of a rod on the Limene, and owes a farthing at the festival of St. Michael," (ut sup. 83.) The second deed is the appointment, 14th of K. Edward II, or A.D. 1320, of John de Ifeld, John de Malemeyns of Hoo, and Rich. de Echinham to inspect the marshes between the towns of Apuldre and Robertsbridge on each side of the river Limene. Consult the Note upon Midhurst, Sussex, for another Rother in that county.
Gibson imagines (Chron. Sax. Nominum locorum caplicatio, 38) that Hæestenus' fort was at Middleton in Essex, in which county the only place of that name I find mentioned is a parish, which is stated to lie "about a mile south-east from Sudbury" (Morant's Essex, II, 275), that is, on the border of the river Stour, which divides Essex from Suffolk: so that the locality will by no means answer for the spot intended in the Saxon Chronicle. If from the expression "the mouth of the Thames" we must seek a place on that river above the junction of the Medway, Milton near Gravesend may be suggested, whereabouts the Thames begins to expand in width. In (D.B.) that place certainly is called "Meletune," while Milton near Sittingbourne is "Mideltune;" but the spelling was so arbitrary and variable in those times, that no conclusion can safely be drawn from such premises. However the subjoined quotation will show, that the opinion of Kilburne, from what evidence he states not, was in favour of the last named Milton, wherein I am disposed to agree with him. "Hasting, the Danish Pirat (in the year 893) fortified a Castle at ​Kemsley Down in this parish (long since demolished);" under "Milton neer Sittingborne." See also the Note on Estraites.
200. Linsted. Formerly a chapel to Teynham. (Hasted.) In (Val. Eccl.) called a Donative Perpetual. In (Clergy List) a vicarage.
201. Linton.—Harris mentions effigies, which he styles marble, of several Maneys in this church; also that there was a chapel here called Welldish's, but he assigns no locality for it. See the Note on East Farleigh.
202. Longfield.—The manor and courtlodge with an estate belonged to the archdeaconry of Rochester; and Hasted adds in a note, "The courtlodge is situated adjoining to the west side of the churchyard. It is a strong antient building, with arched doors and windows of hewn stone."
203. Loose.—Anciently reckoned but a chapelry to Maidstone, being so named in (Val. Eccl.) under the valuation of Maidstone College, together with Debtling.
204. Luddenham.—This is by Hasted considered to be the place described in (D.B.) under the name of "Cildresham;" but I deem the matter very doubtful, and should rather apply that appellation to Sheldwich, which see.
205. Ludsdown.— On an altar tomb is the brass figure of a man in armour. (Harris.) Dode, now a part of this parish, was formerly a rectory. It appears to have been esteemed parochial about the twelfth century. See the latter part of the Note on Rochester. Dode church is alluded to under the title of "Dowdes Chapel" by Hasted, who adds in a note: "The ruins of the walls of this chapel are still visible in a field belonging to Buckland Farm in this parish," Ludsdown, "about a quarter of a mile from the house." (Hist. of Kent, I, 474 fol.) Recent information from records states this chapelry to have been annexed to that of Paddlesworth near Snodland, which see, 1 March, 1366. Ruins of the chapel are yet in existence.
206. Lullingstone. This manor is in (D.B.) divided into several holdings. Anciently there were two parishes of the same name, between which Hasted attempts a distinction, by calling the mother church Lullingstone, and the chapelry Lullingstane, but elsewhere confounds them. From an old document entitled "Ordinatio capellæ de Lullingston," and dated 8 Oct. 1412, it appears that all the inhabitants, save two and their families, had removed from the chapelry, wherefore Rich. Bp. of Rochester, with consent of the patrons, united it to the ​mother church "till the inhabitants should return." In this document both are called "rectories," and, though the spelling of the name varies repeatedly, the same name is applied indifferently to both church and chapel. Tho. Bp. of Rochester consolidated the two on the 23d April, 1712, when the mother parish is styled the rectory of Lullingstone, the chapelry the vicarage of Lullingstaine. (Reg. Roff.)—The younger Thorpe (Cust. Roff.) states the existence in 1769 of the ruins of the chapel, which he says were built of flint and Roman bricks. Those ruins were still visible in Hasted's time, without the north gate of the park.—In (Val. Eccl.) Lullingston appears as a chapel to Lullingstone, and is called "Free."—"This parish has no village, there being but two houses in it besides Lullingstone House. The church is a small building, but fitted up exceedingly neat and elegant. In short, it appears more like a nobleman's costly chapel than a common parish church, and affords an example worthy the imitation of the patrons of other churches." (Hasted.) This was written about 1778.
Effigies: Sir John Peche, constable of Dover Castle &c. under K. Henry VIII ; Sir Percivall Hart, black marble, 1580; Sir George Hart, alabaster, 1587; with others later. Brasses: William Peeche, 1487; Alice Baldwyn, 1533. (Reg. Roff.)
207. Lydd.—(Val. Eccl.) declares the church to have then belonged to Tintern Abbey in Wales.—Brasses: John Montelfont, vicar, 1420; John Thomas, 1429; Robert Cokyram, 1508; Raffe Wilcocks (wife lost), 1555; Thomas Harte and wife, 1557; Peter Godfrey and wife, 1556 and 1560; William Dalet, 1598; Thomas Godfrey and wife; effigy of a knight in armour, said to be Sir Walter Menel, temp. K. Edward III. Formerly a chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, stood at the Ness in this parish, which is mentioned in a will of A.D. 1510. (Hasted.)—Langport is the name of a manor, or rather two manors, Old and New, in Lydd, whence is derived the title of the hundred. (Harris.)—Either there was a church formerly at Langport or, which perhaps is most probable, the name was occasionally applied to the whole parish; for the parson of the church of Langport is mentioned in the (Chartulary of Lewes Priory), temp. Rich. Archb. of Canterbury, and Pope Alexander III; about A.D. 1180. The name "Lamport" appears in (D.B.) signifying both the manor and the hundred to which it gave its title.
208. Maidstone.—(A.D. 1291) "Ecclia de Maidenstane, ​note, cum capella." Harris states that the original parish church was St. Faith's; while Hasted calls the latter only a free chapel, adding in a note, "Part of this is now a dwelling-house, and the rest of it has been converted into an assembly-room." (It is no longer applied to the latter purpose.) In (Val. Eccl.) St. Faith's appears as a chapel annexed to the rectory of the parish church, under the valuation of Maidstone College. It is also mentioned under the same circumstances in the accounts of the "Ministers" (i.e. the receivers for the crown of the rents of the dissolved religious houses) for the third year of K. Edward VI, A.D. 1549; but the existence of a churchyard of St. Faith's, as there declared, implying a right of burial, proves a higher character than that of a mere chapel-of-ease. What is now termed St. Faith's churchyard consists of three acres and a quarter of land, where very many interments have been disturbed. The remaining building is about 110 feet long by 35 broad. If the most ancient church would be found in the most ancient quarter of the town, that may be represented by St. Faith's, in which neighbourhood Roman relics have been more frequently discovered than elsewhere. (Poste's Hist, of Maidstone College, 41, 42, 103, 145.)
The existing parish church of Maidstone is very large, entirely in the Perp. style, though containing one Dec. window, which apparently was in such good preservation that it was replaced from an earlier building. The stalls, designed for the members of the college to which the church was attached, still remain in the chancel.—A monastery of Grey Friars was founded here by K. Edward III. (Tann. Notit. Monast. Kent, XXXVIII, 2, in Monast. VI, 1513.) The site of the monastery is said to have been in the angle between King-street and Gabriel's Hill. (Poste, utsup. 136.) The college was erected by Archb. Boniface, A.D. 1260, when it was styled a hospital; it was pulled down by Archb. Will. Courtenay, and rebuilt A.D. 1395, as a college of secular priests. (Lambarde.) For a fuller description of the parish church, as well as of the college, consult the (History of the College of All Saints, Maidstone, by Beale Poste, Lond. 1847.) This work corrects Lambarde's loose statement by distinguishing between Archb. Boniface's foundation of the hospital of Newark at the entrance of the town from Wrotham and that of Archb. Courtenay in 1395, with which Newark was incorporated. The chapel belonging to the latter, after having been ​very long desecrated, is now the district church of St. Peter, but has been altered from its original condition.—The above-named History notices the chapel of Loddington, a place included within the present parish of Maidstone, but which, though said to have been esteemed a rectory, is not alluded to in either (A.D. 1291) or (Val. Eccl.) Vestiges of the church were visible not many years since. (Poste, ut sup. 105.) Loddington lies two and a half or three miles south of Maidstone, and the estate comprises 800 or 900 acres.—The town of Maidstone possessed likewise two small chapels, St. John's and St. Anne's: the former, mentioned in a document of A.D. 1540, seems to have stood on the east side of Stone-street, about one hundred yards from the bridge over the river Lenn; the site of the latter was near the outlet of the town toward Rochester. (Poste, ut sup. 48, 51, 52, 67.)—"The meadows opposite the palace and college" (i.e. on the farther side of the river Medway) "are called the Park Meadows, a name derived from a park, pleasure ground, or garden of some extent, which the archbishop formerly had here." (Poste, ut sup. 119.)—About the year 1822 a small image of bronze and a lamp, both Roman, were dug up in the garden at Newark. (Poste, ut sup. 106.)—A description of All Saints Church has been published by Mr. J. Whichcord jun., 4to, Lond. 1845.
209. Mallings, The—The churches have been placed one opposite to each parish, because (D.B.) describes one Malling as the property of the Archb. of Canterbury, the other as belonging to the Bp. of Rochester; and to the present day East Malling has remained a peculiar of the archbishop, though being, like West Malling, within the diocese of Rochester: And it may here be remarked, that such notices should never be overlooked, especially when a difficulty occurs in identifying any place mentioned in (D.B.), because they will sometimes, though not always, render considerable assistance; as in the present case.—The churches of St. Mary (the Abbey) and St. Leonard are mentioned about A.D. 1249. (Reg. Roff., 481.)—Newhithe Chapel on the Medway in the parish of East Malling, and St. Leonard's Chapel in West Malling are both alluded to in (Thorpe's Cust. Roff.).—Under the estimation of the possessions of St. Mary's Hospital in Strood (Val. Eccl.) notices the chapel of St. Blase in Malling, but I find no other account of it.
East Malling Church.—Brasses: Tho. Selby and wife Isodia, 1479; Rich. Adams, vicar, 1522. (Reg. Roff.)—Larkfield, whence the hundred is named, lies within this parish. (Harris.)
​210. Malling, West.—The Church consists of chancel, nave, and square west tower with a short spire. The chancel is E.E., the nave modern, the tower Norm. perhaps partially rebuilt, the upper part having recently been renewed. In the south wall of the chancel are visible arches of, apparently, sedilia, but between them and the east end the wall is occupied, and one of the arches cut off, by a large monument of the sixteenth century.—Brasses: Will. Millys, 1497 (1479, Reg. Roff. and 1486, Harris); part of a female.
Of Malling Abbey there are considerable remains, comprising portions of Norm., E.E., Dec. and Perp. date. In the pavement of the brewhouse belonging to the residence is a grave slab, bearing a cross in low relief. The grand gateway is entire. The front is Perp., but examination will show this work to be only a facing. The chapel annexed to the gatehouse, now the wash-house of the cottage, has Dec. windows, but the south door and the attached stoup are Perp. A copper occupies the south-east angle of the ancient chapel.—The abbey or nunnery was founded by Bp. Gundulph (Lambarde) A.D. 1078, and burnt temp. K. Richard I. (Kilburne.) In 1090 according to Hasted, who states that the chapel of St. Leonard was annexed to a cell; but implying that it existed previous to the erection; of the abbey.—The tower of St. Leonard's "is still standing, and looks like a castle." (Harris, about A.D. 1720.) That tower yet exists (1849), and may do so for centuries, being most assuredly a Norm. keep, and as certainly never part of a church, though possibly the first floor might have been used as a chapel, but the interior presents no distinct indications that such was really the fact.
About A.D. 945 Edmund, king of the Angles and Mercians, granted this place to Burhric, Bp. of Rochester, for the good of K. Edmund's soul, and in augmentation of the revenues of the monastery of St. Andrew, Rochester. The property having been lost in the Danish wars, it was given by K. William I to Odo, Bp. of Bayeux, but was recovered A.D. 1076 in the county court at Penenden. (Monast. III. 380.) The Saxon charter will be found (ib. 383.)
211. Maplescomb.—The place bearing this name, formerly of sufficient importance to possess its own rectorial church, is now merely a farm within the parish of Kingsdown near Wrotham, though still united as a curacy to that rectory. In (A.D. 1291) "Ecclia de Mapelescombe" is mentioned separately from ​Kingsdown; as it is likewise in (Val. Eccl.), where "Mabscombe" is described as a rectory, but valued only at five marks, and discharged from king's tenths. It should be observed, that the manor of Maplescombe was of such consideration, as to be named more than once in (D.B.) The ruins of the church still exist, (1849) in a large field, south of the house upon the estate. The building was very small, having no aisle, the east end being semi-circular, and the west end having no window. The coigns were not dressed, but formed with larger flints than elsewhere; the wall, at the lower part, is three feet thick. A hole in the wall, as if stones had been picked out, in the usual position of the piscina, suggests that this church possibly contained one. The ruins are overgrown by bushes within and without, the interior having been lowered beneath the level of the pavement. Within recollection two baskets of bones, collected here, were carried for re-interment in Kingsdown churchyard. The name is vulgarly known as "Mapscombe," nearly the same with the spelling of (Yal. Eccl.), as above.
212. St. Margaret's, Darent.—In a document, bearing date in A.D. 1522, to the church of Darent is annexed a chapel "vulgariter nuncupata (vulgarly called) Sancte Margarette Hillis, Grensted, Southedalent, Gillis, et Hillis." (Reg. Roff.) In the description of Darent, toward the close of the last century, it was said, "There are still remaining here the flint walls of an antient building, most probably the church or chapel of South Darent, now used as a malt-house, the building of which stands due east and west." (Hasted.) Unless Thorpe (in his Cust. Roff.), (see the Note on Darent), is wrong in stating South Darent to have been joined with Horton Kirby parish, I conceive Hasted in the above passage, especially compared with the following quotation from him, can only mean St. Margaret's.—The chapel of Helles is named in a decision of Archb. John Peckham, A.D. 1292.—St. Margaret Helles seems, from various old records, "as to its temporal jurisdiction, to have been once a parish of itself, distinct from that of Darent, having within its bounds the several hamlets of Hilles, Grensted, South Darent, and Gills. However, as to its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, it was always accounted but as a chapel to Darent, having the above hamlets within its precincts." It was united with Darent in 1557 (by Cardinal Pole, Harris), after which it was suffered to fall into ruins. Of a portion of the tower then existing it is added, "In the remains of this building there are many Roman bricks, and part of an arch is ​turned entirely with them." (Hasted.) He gives a small view, exhibiting a round tower-arch or doorway, and two round-headed windows, side by side, high up in the tower.
213. St.Margaret's, Rochester.—In the time of Walter, Bp. of Rochester, this church belonged, as a chapel, to the altar of St. Nicholas (in the cathedral; and see the Note on Rochester). The first constitution of the vicarage of St. Margaret's endows it with the small tithes of Neshenden (given to St. Margaret's by Robert de Amando), Great and Little Delce; and St. Margaret's is styled a parish. (Reg. Roff.)
It is clearly stated (Text. Roff.) that, about the twelfth century, a chapel existed at Nashenden, dependent on the church of St. Margaret. See the Note on Rochester. Nashenden is now known simply as a farm in the parish of St. Margaret. The above is, so far as hitherto discovered, the only notice of the chapel of "Hescindena," or Nashenden..—Brass: a chalice with I II C, 1540, Sir James Roberte, Prest. (Reg. Roff.) Beside this there is a plate of Tho. Cod, vicar, dec$^d$ 1465. (Monum. Brasses, 147.) The church of St. Margaret was entirely rebuilt, with the exception of the chancel, not many years ago.
Johannes Wryte, clerk, 28th of K. Henry VIII, gives " unam peciam terre vocatam Culuerhawe" (a piece of land called Culverhawe) in this parish in trust to certain persons, who shall permit "omnes parochianos, heredes, et assignatos in futurum pacifice gaudere predictam peciam ad ambulandum, currendum, ludendum omnia jocalitia sive sagittandi, quoties et qualitercunque eis placuerit: All parishioners, their heirs and assigns in future, that is for ever, peaceably to enjoy the said piece for walking, running, playing all games or shooting with bows, whensoever and howsoever it shall please them." (Reg. Roff.)
It is reported, that about A.D. 1690, or rather earlier, a crown or coronet, set round the edges with small precious stones, was dug up in St. Margaret's churchyard. (Harris.) Hasted refers to this story, but incorrectly, as it is delivered by Harris.
214. St. Martin's.—Bede states, (Hist. Eccl., 1. 1, c. 26) that a church had been built "near the city [Canterbury] to the east; prope ipsam civitatem ad orientem," in honour of St. Martin by the Romans; that Bercta (Bertha) daughter of Charibert, king of the Franks, and, Christian, queen of Æthelbert, pagan, king of Kent, frequented the church for her devotions; and that Augustin and his companions used it for all religious purposes until the king, after his conversion, gave them licence ​for building or restoring other churches. In the walls of the present fabric, particularly of the chancel, are Roman bricks; which however can only intimate, at most, that some materials from the original Roman building might have been used in constructing the existing church. (See Bloxam's Goth. Archit. 5, and 33 note $^l$ .)—A bishop of St. Martin's acted as suffragan to the archbishop for a long period, but the office becoming vacant in Lanfranc's time, he would not fill up the appointment, but instead thereof instituted the archdeaconry of Canterbury (Somner): or rather revived the office, which is mentioned as existing in earlier times. The font here is very curious. It is composed of several pieces of carved stone, but the pattern, though generally alike, does not join correctly; which however more probably may have been caused by the pieces being wrought separately, perhaps by different individuals, without a previously prepared model or drawing, than that the font should not have been placed here originally. See the remarks on the font in St. Anne's Church in the Note on Lewes, Sussex. In this parish, at the Moat, anciently the Wyke, was formerly a chapel, which was licensed by Rich. Oxenden, prior of Christ's Church, A.D. 1333. (Harris.) There was also a park at the Moat. (Hasted.)
215. St. Mary Church.—Brasses: Matilda Jamys, 1499; Will. Gregory, 1502. (Hasted.) Under the title of "Romney Marsh" St. Mary's is attached to Old Romney. (Clergy List.)
216. Meopham.—The Textus Roffensis, f. 144, (or Hearne's edition, 110 to 115) contains the will, written in Saxon, of an inhabitant of this place; which is given, with a translation, by Harris (Hist, of Kent), who, from the name there mentioned of the then Bishop of Rochester, computes the date to be in the later half of the tenth century. From the value of the bequests and the property he possessed in distant places, the testator appears to have been a person of considerable wealth and importance. The will names the church, "mynstre," of " Wolknestede," apparently as in the neighbourhood of Meopham. If it did stand in that vicinity, possibly the modern Nutsted may be meant; but if the spot must be sought farther off, it may perhaps be recognised in Godstone in Surrey, the distance of which is not sufficient to constitute an insuperable objection, and of which the early appellation, as will be observed from the List of names, bears much resemblance to that of the Saxon will. N.B. In very ancient documents, e.g. the Saxon Chronicle, the ​term "mynstre" generally, if not always, signifies not a church merely, but a monastery.
217. Mereworth.—The site of the old church is occupied by the stables of Mereworth Castle. (Gust. Roff.) The present church is an incongruous building in what perhaps would be called the "classic" style.
Brasses: Will. Shosmyth, citizen of London, and wife Juliana, 1479; Sir Tho. Nevell, 1542. (Reg. Roff.) These were noticed in the old church.
218. Merlea MERLEA. (D. B.)—describes a church in a part of the manor of "Bogelei, which is denominated Merlea." This, the last quotation below proves, is the estate now called Marley, in the parish of Harrietsham. Adam, the occupant under K. William I, (who is stated in D. B. to hold Bogelei under the Bishop of Bayeux), gave the tithes of Marley to Anschitill, archdeacon of Canterbury (he is named in D. B. likewise as archdeacon), who, with Eudo brother and successor of Adam, gave them to the priory of St. Andrew in Rochester. At the dissolution of religious houses possession was confirmed by K. Henry VIII to the newly-created dean and chapter of Rochester; to which all the said tithes now belong (Hasted); principally, if not entirely, from the Rochester records. "Robertus filius Hamonis dedit terrain de Merelaue, scilicit dimidiam virgatam: Robert son of Hamo gave the land of Merelaue, namely, half a virgate;" (Spelman says that a virgate of land varied from twenty to forty acres); which is mentioned apparently as having formed part of the "terra Eudonis dapiferi" above spoken of. (Reg. Roff., 195). In another document "Merile" is expressly declared to be "in parochia de Herietesham." (Ib. 410.)
219. Merston.—In 1455 this parish was so devoid of inhabitants, as to have no cure of souls; wherefore licence of non-residence and excuse from duties was granted to the incumbent by the bishop, save on the festival of St. Egidius, the patron saint. (Reg. Roff.) From the above period therefore must be dated the gradual decay of the church. However, notwithstanding this, Merston is estimated as a chapelry in (Val. Eccl.) Hasted asserts, that it was considered only a chapel to Shorne. The (Clergy List) still names it, but as a sinecure rectory.
220. Midley.—Of this church ruins only exist, whence it appears to have been very small. The manor with a church under the title of "Midelea" is mentioned in (D. B.) so ​immediately after places in the hundred of Eastry, viz., Ham and Chillenden, that I greatly doubt it signifying Midley in Romney Marsh, situated a little south-west of New Romney; especially since "Midelea" is stated to have comprised a wood of ten hogs. "Ibi æccla et x acræ prati, silva x porcorum." (D.B.) Still the matter is uncertain, because the entry is so made, that the hundred last written may not be intended to include Midelea.— Hasted applies the Domesday description to Midley. He adds, that the church, from the vestiges of it, was "built mostly with an antient yellowish brick, and some few stones intermixed." (Val. Eccl.) notices the parson, but not the church, of Mydley; as a rectory it still stands in the (Clergy List), with a population of 53, but "no church."
221. Milstead.—The church comprises a west tower, nave with south porch, chancel, and on the northern side a private chapel now belonging to the Tylden family. The tower is Perp., but the outside walls of the building have been too much altered to show the style or date. The Tylden chancel has a pair of lancet windows; the two arches opening thence to the church are pointed; and the ornaments on the capitals are Tr. Norm., which is likewise the case with some capitals appearing in the opposite wall. There is a north door, but closed; and the windows retain small portions of coloured glass.
222. Milton.—near Canterbury. Reckoned a chapel-of-ease to Chartham. (Harris.) It now appears as a separate benefice, in different patronage from Chartham. (Clergy List.)
223. Milton.—near Gravesend. See the latter part of the quotation from the Saxon Chronicle in the Note on Limpne. (Val. Eccl.) names Milton as a rectory. The church of "Mildetona" is mentioned in a document of K. Henry I, together with "the tithe of whales captured within the diocese of Rochester: et decimam balenarum que capte sunt in episcopatu Rofensi." (Text. Roff., 170.)
"Here was a free chapel or hospital under the government of some regular friars, which was granted to Sir Henry Wyat" (at the dissolution of religious houses). (Tann. Notit. Monast., Kent. XLI, in Monast. VI 764.)
224. Milton.—near Sittingbourne. (D.B.) alludes to "the churches of this manor," but specifies neither the number of them nor their sites.—The parish church is a spacious building with a low square tower. Various parts seem to have been rebuilt, when the old stones were worked up again with partial ​alterations. The north aisle is Norm.; some small portion of the church is E.E., a larger is Dec. The north wall contains herring-bone masonry, with some resemblance to Roman bonding courses, but the material is stone, not brick. There are pieces of Roman bricks in the walls among the flints, and in the east wall is one fragment with Roman red mortar adhering to it. In the south chancel are three paving tiles with patterns of various colours, two tolerably perfect, the third is much defaced, merely exhibiting patches of light blue; apparently they are Venetian, though by some supposed to be Moorish. In a small lateral chapel, now the vestry, of "The Mayor's Chapel" at Bristol, a large proportion of the pavement is composed of small variegated glazed tiles, of which the pattern varies, but none are equally elegant with those of Milton.—On an altar-tomb is a small brass of a man in armour, temp. K. Edward IV(?), and in the vestry, loose, are two other figures from the same tomb, one an armed male, the other a female; also, a shield of arms, loose, belonging to the above-named tomb.
The church of Milton (Middeltona) was granted, together with that of Faversham, to St. Augustin's, Canterbury, by K. William I. (Monast. I, 144.) There is no note, whereby to distinguish which of the three Miltons in this county is intended, but from the nearer propinquity it may be presumed that this place is signified, particularly as to this day the dean and chapter of Canterbury are patrons of the living, which is not the case with either of the other Miltons.—At Northwood Chasteners in this parish was a free chapel, erected by Stephen de Shepey, with licence from the Archbishop. No date is given, but it must have been previous to K. Richard I, in whose reign the estate was possessed by another family. (Harris.)
225. Minster in Sheppey.—In this church are brasses of Sir John and Lady de Northwode, which are noticed for some curious particulars in (Monum. Brasses, 24, 42, 44, 53.) In 1833 the effigy of a knight was exhumed in Minster churchyard, from a depth of five feet below the surface. It is of Purbeck (q. Weald?) marble, its date the fifteenth century, and is now preserved within the church. For a general description, and notice of the peculiarities consult (Archæol. Journal, VI, 351...358.)—The monastery at this place was founded by Sexberga, daughter of Ercombert, king of Kent, and mother of King Egbert, (she was afterwards canonised, Lambarde) for seventy-seven nuns about A.D. 675. (Monast. II, 49.) Hasted gives the date ​between 664 and 673; adding, that the establishment was re-edified A.D. 1130, and filled with Benedictine nuns. About A.D. 1720 portions of the nunnery were yet "standing." (Harris.) The original name of this island signified "Sheep Island." "Insula, quæ vocatur Scheapieg, quod interpretatur insula ovium." (Asser's Alfred, by Wise, 5.)
226. Minster.—in Thanet. There can be no reasonable doubt that this is the place entitled "St. Mildred's" in (D.B.) Among the possessions of the church of St. Augustin the description of the property in Thanet hundred commences thus; "Ipse abbas tenet Tanet manerium, quod se, &c.; the abbot himself holds Thanet manor:" the name of St. Mildred's being added as if in a parenthesis. Both Lambarde and Hasted consider St. Mildred's identical with Minster. Apparently the latter name was established in A.D. 1291, for in the (Taxation of P. Nicholas), under the deanery of Westbere, occurs "Ecclia de Menstre cum capella," together with "Vicarius ejusdem;" the "Ecclia Sancte Meldrede" elsewhere mentioned being the church so designated in the city of Canterbury. In (Val. Eccl.) we have "Ecclia de Mynster, cum capellis Sancti Lawrencii, Sancti Petri, et Sancti Johannis;" wherefore it was then deemed the mother church of the Isle of Thanet. (D.B.) speaks of "a priest" at St. Mildred's.
It is affirmed, that an abbey was founded here in A.D. 596 (or speedily after), and (at a future period) called St. Mildred's, after Mildred, granddaughter of Penda, king of middle England, who was the abbess A.D. 680. (Lambarde.) Another version is, that the abbey was instituted about A.D. 670 (Tann. Notit., Kent, LX), by Domneva or Domnena daughter of King Edgar, who placed here her daughter Mildred, afterwards canonised, as abbess over seventy nuns. (Monast. I, 447.)—Here is a large cross church with the tower at the west end. The chancel and transepts are E.E., the major part of the remainder of the building Tr. Norm. The chancel is groined as far as the transepts, which also were designed for groining, but not completed. The church well merits examination.—Under an ogée canopy is an ancient tomb of Edile de Thorne. (Hasted.) At the abbey farm are some considerable remains of old buildings, which are all Norm., with the exception of some Perp. alterations.—Bede states, that Augustin and his associates landed in the Isle of Thanet, asserting it to be separated from the mainland of Kent, "a continenti terra," by the river" Vantsuma," or Wantsome, which was ​about three furlongs, "stadia," broad, and fordable, "transmeabilis," only in two places; opening to the sea at both ends. (Hist. Eccl., l. 1, c. 25.) Another authority informs us, that Thanet is the Saxon name, that applied by the Britons being Ruim: "Insula, quæ dicitur in Saxonica lingua Tenet, Britanico autem sermone Ruim." (Asser's Alfred, by Wise, 7.)
227. Molash.—A chapelry annexed to Chilham. (Clergy List.)
228. Mongeham, Little.—"Mundingeham" of (D. B.) belonged to St. Augustin's, and is declared to have been held, one part by the abbot himself, "ipse abbas," another by the monks; the whole having been one manor in the time of King Edward, although one portion paid land-tax, "geldavit," and the other did not: the latter was the property of the monks, and where the church stood. Hasted deems the entire Domesday description to apply to Little Mongeham, resting upon the statement, in conjunction with a second, in (Thome's Chronicle), that the manor, specially named as "Parva" Mongeham, was given to St. Augustin's Abbey by Aldric, son of Widred, king of Kent, A.D. 761.—The church is destroyed, but when it was desecrated is uncertain. "The foundations are remaining in a little pasture-close, near the farm-house of Little Mongeham manor." (Hasted.)—In (Val. Eccl.) the church is not actually named; which is the case with Great Mongeham and other places; but it is implied. Little Mongeham continues to appear in the (Clergy List) as a rectory, both Mongehams being in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
229. Monkton.—"Ecclia de Monketon cum capellis de Byrchynton et Wodde eidem annexis." (Val. Eccl.) Of these chapels the latter no longer exists.—Harris mentions twelve stalls in Monkton church.—It is likewise said to possess "an antient spiral staircase" of wood, and a brass of a priest. (Hasted.)
230. Nettlested.—(Val. Eccl.) mentions this church, "cum capella de Bermynget, alias West Bermling;" and it stands now, 1850, in the (Clergy List) "Nettlestead, R., with West Barming, R.;" respecting which matter consult the Note on Banning.—Temp. K. Edward III there was a park at Hylth in this parish. (Hasted.)
231. Newenden.—This church is such a mere fragment of the original structure, as to render a detailed description hardly practicable. The font is ancient, and very curious, being square, ​with carving on the sides. It has been accurately engraved for the Oxford Architectural Society. Beside the remarkable font, there is a good screen, Dec., with some Perp.—The size of this church was reduced under a faculty, A.D. 1700, when the steeple and chancel were pulled down. (Hasted.) The part afterwards used as a chancel was the south aisle, where the communion table stood, separated from the nave by a screen; which derangement has been corrected only within a few years.—"Here is a market yielding forty shillings, less by five pence, and a wood of forty hogs—Ibi est mercatus de xl solidis, v denariis minus, silva xl porcorum." (D.B.) The mention of a market, especially of such value, proves that Newenden was a place of considerable importance in the reign of K. William I. The "wood of forty hogs" also appears an evidence that the manor must in those days have extended beyond the present small parish of Newenden, which is now almost entirely cleared land, and, from the nature of the soil, was perhaps less covered with wood in A.D. 1086, than the contiguous districts. Beside Newenden no other spot is named within the hundred of Selbrittenden, which now includes the adjoining, much larger, parish of Sandhurst, whereof about a tenth part, if not more, consists of woodland. A priory was founded at Losenham, then and at present the principal estate in the parish, A.D. 1241, by Sir Thomas Alcher, or Fitz-Aucher (this is Dugdale's version of the name, differing from Camden's, as given below), for Carmelite Friars (Hasted), their first establishment in England. (Lambarde.) The site was in what is now orchard, eastward from Losenham House. Portions of walls remained above ground about A.D. 1800, and in forming drains in 1843 or 1844, the foundations were cut through, and found to be three feet in thickness.
Newenden is supposed by Camden to be the successor of the Romano-British city of Andredesceaster, which, at or about A.D. 490, was razed by Ælla, the founder of the South Saxon kingdom, so completely, that he did not leave a single inhabitant alive. Henry of Huntingdon (Savile's Her. Angl. Script, post Bed. Frankfort, 1601, 312) describes this as a very strong city, "urbem munitissimam;" that the Britons had collected there as thick as bees, "quasi apes;" and that the defence was well conducted, as likewise most obstinate. Finally however the citizens, subdued by hunger, could resist no longer, when men, women, and children were slaughtered by the Saxons in revenge ​for the severe loss they had sustained. The chronicler adds, that the town was so utterly ruined, it was never afterwards rebuilt; only the bare spot was pointed out to passers-by as the site of a very noble city. Camden deems Newenden the scene of these occurrences, saying, that Andredecester remained thus desolate, till, temp. K. Edward I, certain Carmelite Friars erected there a monastery at the cost of Sir Tho. Albuger (at Losenham, the knight's own residence, Monast.), whence a town sprung up, which was called Newenden—that is, the New Town in the Valley. However, the quotation from (D.B.) in the early part of this Note clearly proves, that Newenden, first, bore that appellation, and, secondly, was a place of consideration, at the period of the Survey, or about 160 years previous to the period, assigned by Camden for the origin of both the name and the importance of the locality; consequently his entire statement and his theory appear but "the baseless fabric of a vision."
Eastward from Losenham House, at the extremity of the upland portion of that estate, where it subsides into level meadows, is a spot called "the Castle," manifestly the site of a fortification; (which was destroyed by the Danes, A.D. 892. Kilburne.) The traces of a ditch, inclosing a high mound, which we may presume to have been the keep, together with much more space, were very distinct about twenty years ago, and are so now, I am informed. But previous to that date cultivation had altered the appearance of the remains, even within my own recollection. The extract below (from 215 of Harris's History of Kent, published about A.D. 1720) shows, that the indications of the ancient fortification were at that period very considerable:—
"Castle Toll: this is a raised piece of land, containing, I guess, about eighteen or twenty acres of land; on the east side it hath the remains of a deep ditch and bank, which seems to have gone quite round it. Near this Toll towards the north-north-east ​lies a piece of ground" [this must be the part noticed above as, probably, the keep, and the only portion of the ancient fort now existing], "raised much higher than the Toll is; this was encompassed with a double ditch, the tracks of which are still to be seen in some places; and within the line is, I believe, about five or six acres of land; on the north and south sides of the uppermost vallum, very eminent still" (sic). "When Dr. Plot visited this place in the year 1693, he saith in some manuscript papers of his, which I have the favour to peruse, that they were then very lofty, and he was informed by an antient and sober countryman, who had often ploughed upon this hill, that both the mounts or tumuli, and the valla were then at least four foot lower than when he first knew the place: and therefore no wonder if I found them much lower yet, when I visited the place. And the plough and the usual deterrations will in time reduce them to a level."
Dr. Harris's anticipation is completely fulfilled, and every vestige of the original ramparts has long been swept away; but, from my intimate acquaintance, formerly, with the entire locality, I feel persuaded, that those ramparts were purposely removed for the improvement of the valuable land where they stood, not gradually worn down by successive ploughings, although this removal may have taken place beyond the memory of any individual now living. The above description, coupled with the surviving marks, leaves no doubt respecting the origin of the appellation, "the Castle," or "Castle Toll." But, clear as may be the fact of the existence here of an ancient fortress of some kind, there is not the smallest sign to betoken Roman masonry at or near the spot; nor indeed any masonry whatsoever; the foregoing quotation moreover implying, that the ramparts were formed of earth merely, and the soil being perfectly free from all fragments of ruined walls: consequently this place will not answer for the site of Andredesceaster.
In the marshes (so called generally, but it is sound land, though occasionally covered with water, in the event of high floods, from the River Rother), not far from Newenden eastward, from a ditch which had been an ancient channel of the Rother, in the year 1822 was dug out a large vessel, fifty-four or fifty-six feet long, but narrow in the beam. It was lying with the stern up the country, and at about the distance behind, at which it might have been towed, was a small boat. The larger vessel was partially buried under the bank of the ditch, having eleven ​feet of earth between the gunwale and the surface. It was very strongly built, but without a keel. Imbedded in the alluvial soil, with one end resting upon the side of the vessel, were found two oak trees, which evidently had been felled by the axe, not by the saw. There was a fireplace on board, whereupon were ashes consolidated into a hard mass. In or near the ship were discovered two human skulls, two or three rude earthen vases or jars, a small one of glass, some leather shoes (the soles cut "right and left," very broad at the fore part, and very narrow at the heel), and a few other articles. For an account, written at the time, with measurements taken, for the Society of Antiquaries, see (Archæologia, XX.) It is to be regretted, that, in consequence of the above mentioned curiosities having fallen into the hands of an unqualified person, they did not attract the attention which really they deserved; and that, on the early death of the proprietor, the whole were dispersed, and, very probably, speedily destroyed as valueless.
Newenden standing first, according to the plan of these Notes, of those localities, for which claims have been advanced to be the site of the ancient Anderida, or Andredesceaster, taken and sacked by the Saxons, as already stated, about A.D. 490, this seems to be a proper place for some brief remarks upon the question; which the writer has entered into more fully elsewhere. See Archæol. Journal, IV, 203 et seq. and V, 229.
The credit of representing the lost Anderida has been conjecturally assigned to eight different spots; but the pretensions of two only of those eight appear sufficiently important to deserve notice here; those two are Newenden, and Pevensey in Sussex.
In the former parish there certainly are vestiges of old fortifications, but no traces of any, beyond simple earthworks, are to be discovered: and although I am persuaded, that the very scanty remains, now alone visible, are but a small portion of the original fortress, according to the description (in Harris's Hist. of Kent, 215), quoted above, of its condition at the end of the seventeenth century, the obliterated part must also have been of ​earth, since to such only will Harris's account apply, and, if masonry had been removed, fragments would still have been perceptible in the soil; whereas there is not the smallest sign to betoken the presence of masonry, whether Roman or of any other period, at or near the place.
Another, as I conceive very strong, objection to this spot as the site of Anderida lies in its situation; it being the extreme point of a tongue of upland, with a valley and a stream on either side of it. Immediately beyond the ancient fort the two valleys unite, and form a wide expanse of marsh, or meadow, land, sound indeed, but intersected throughout by ditches, and still liable (at least was so within twenty years) to be occasionally overflowed during high floods. The "Castle Toll" stands at the edge of the smaller valley, which at that place is rather narrower, at least on that side of its stream, than it is higher up; but even there the stream, which is too insignificant to be styled a river, and the marsh ditches totally prevent any communication with the upland beyond, to the north, in the parish of Rolvenden. And though the present condition of the locality is, of course, utterly unlike what it was during the existence of Anderida, still that circumstance strengthens, rather than invalidates, my argument; because we may safely assume as a fact, that, at the early period referred to, what is now on all sides valuable grazing land, was a mere morass, impracticable to a disciplined army, so that the only egress from the fort would have been westward along the tongue of high ground already mentioned. Now surely it does not require a military education, or military experience to see, that a position, such as that just described, is about the very last to be selected by such masters in the art of war as the Romans; neither will any advocate of Newenden, it may be presumed, contend, that the Romans would be contented with ramparts of earth alone, which those at Newenden were, for one of their important and permanent stations, although they might be satisfied with such defences for their temporary camps. Camden's assertion (Gibson's edition, 258) that Anderida laid waste after its devastation by the Saxons, till Sir Tho. Albuger erected a monastery there temp. K. Edward I implies, that the latter establishment stood on or very near the site of the ancient city; whereas the priory stood near Losenham House, little, if any, less than a mile from the "Castle Toll:" whence arises a strong suspicion, that Camden wrote without having personally ​inspected the place. It may be added farther, that about Losenham House, indeed anywhere in the parish of Newenden, beside the spot above mentioned, there is no appearance of military works.
A few observations may be added on, probably, the latest public advocacy of the pretensions of Newenden by Mr. William Holloway, who argues at some length (Romney Marsh, 23 to 40) in favour of the idea suggested by Camden. Mr. H. quotes the words of his authority thus: "Newenden, I am almost persuaded, was that haven I have so long sought after . . . Anderida, &c." (compare with the extract above from Gibson's Camden.) Such language appears to indicate, that at first Camden himself felt no certainty on the subject, although afterwards, if he wrote what is cited as from him in the preceding note, he seems to have almost persuaded himself that his conjecture was fact. Moreover, as previously noticed, a part certainly of Camden's statement is disproved by good evidence: compare a former part of this Note comprising the Domesday description of Newenden, and remarks thereupon.
The general drift of Mr. Holloway's argument upon the subject we are considering may be reduced somewhat to rule thus:—Proposition: To discover the site of an ancient city and port, not far from the southern coast of Britain, and on the boundary of the forest of Anderida. 1. An extensive fortification is recorded to have existed, and traces of it are even now visible, at Newenden. 2. This can have been inhabited only in very early times. 3. Newenden is "situated on the southern sea coast of England;" and, 4, "on the border of, or in, the forest of Anderida" (ut sup. 32.) 5. Also Newenden was a port at the period referred to. Ergo, Newenden is the spot required. Q. E. D.—One grand defect in this reasoning has been overlooked, namely, that the character of the city required is disregarded. It appears to me, that it is assumed to be simply a British city, whereas it was Romano-British, the authority for which, namely, the addition of 'ceaster' or 'cester' to the name, perhaps few will ​dispute, none can overset. Now whether the latter title would be applicable to the Newenden remains may be submitted to any impartial judgment after pondering the considerations urged here, and in (Archæol. Journal, IV, 205.) Neither can it be allowed, that the situation of Newenden answers satisfactorily to the very slight intimation we possess of that of the place sought for. That it was a port in early times I am ready to admit; but, when that was the case, its outlet was distant many miles to the north-east, at either Hithe (Limpne) or Romney, according to Mr. Holloway's own showing; and I would ask whether that condition agrees with Gildas's statement, adduced by Mr. H., of the position of Anderida: "In littore oceani ad meridiem: on the sea coast to the south?" Then again, as to the connection of Newenden with the forest; it can scarcely be said to stand "on the border," when it must have been surrounded by wood on all sides, except, perhaps, in the very channel of the estuary.
We may now review the arguments in favour of Pevensey being the locality in question.—Here are stone walls undoubtedly of Roman construction still standing, in a remarkably perfect state, round the greater portion of the original circumference, and inclosing a space, which seems too extensive for merely a simple solitary fortress, though not more than would be required for the security of the inhabitants, if a large settlement, in fact a town, was established under its protection. A plausible objection indeed has been offered, that the area within the walls of Pevensey is not sufficient to have contained the number of people, who, according to Henry of Huntingdon's description, assembled there during the siege by the Saxons. That chronicler says, that "the Britons collected as thick as bees," but since he does not assert that they all clustered within the walls, while he does mention such vigorous and repeated assaults upon the rear of the besiegers, as necessarily inferred a very strong native force on the outside, it is not straining Huntingdon's language to consider, that the words just quoted comprehend the two parties of Britons, namely, those without the walls, as well as those within.—Another sentence of the chronicler also demands a few observations: "Because the strangers," Saxons, "had suffered such losses there, they so utterly destroyed the city, that it was never afterwards rebuilt. Quia tot ibi damna toleraverant extranei, ita urbem destruxerunt, quod nunquam postea reædificata est." Now at first ​sight these expressions may be supposed to declare, that the entire city was levelled with the ground; whereas in fact they possess no such exclusive meaning. It may be granted, that the Saxons absolutely annihilated the population, so that, if any individuals did escape the slaughter, they never reoccupied their former abode. But, admitting this circumstance, and that the Saxons succeeded in so far overthrowing the ramparts of Andredesceaster, as to obtain complete possession of the place; we have here, without requiring anything farther, a sufficient exemplification of the above account; for the victors, after unrestrictedly glutting their vengeance upon the surviving inhabitants, as we are expressly assured they did, sparing no age nor sex, and consuming all the dwellings within the defences, were not very likely to undertake the needless and, to them, most difficult, laborious, and tedious operation of demolishing the remaining walls.
An additional probability—in this discussion we can hope to produce nothing farther—in favour of Pevensey may be found in the fact, that that part of our island was certainly more frequented by the Romans than the district around Newenden; and that Roman relics have been recognised in the immediate vicinity. 1. For the numerous vestiges of the Romans in southern Sussex see Horsfield's History of that county passim. Consult also the Index of the present work. The Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester mentions a line of road from Regnum (Chichester) eastward through Mutuantonis (by some conjectured to have been where Lewes now stands) to the Roman stations on the Kentish coast; and a Roman road may still be traced in this direction, not improbably the very road just alluded to, of which the course is precisely such as would lead to Pevensey. (Sussex Archæol. Collections, II, 74, 75.) For farther evidence of Roman occupancy in this county see also the same volume (171-175, 313-315); and particularly (257), for 2. A description of the foundations of a Roman villa at East Bourne, which was partially uncovered A.D. 1717, and more completely traced in December, 1848.
In corroboration of the suggestion (Arch. Journal, IV, 214), that Pevensey Level might have been a wooded morass at the period of the destruction of Andredecester it may be stated, that recent railroad works have ascertained the subsoil of Romney Marsh, at least in the neighbourhood of Apledore, to which alone my information extends, to be full of buried timber (like the Fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, where stacks of ​bog timber may be seen), indicating the land to have been once a forest. And if such was the case there, we may well imagine the same of the analogous district of Pevensey Level, which latter moreover, being far less extensive than Romney Marsh, and comprising a wide mouth with branches behind running up into the interior country, was thus more generally surrounded by high land, and therefore more liable than the other to the encroachments of the adjoining forest.
One grand desideratum yet remains toward the elucidation of this disputed subject the site of Anderida: namely, excavations, carefully and judiciously conducted, to the roadway of the former streets within the Roman walls at Pevensey, in search of human bones, fragments of the old dwellings, pottery, or other objects, which might explain the customs of the former inhabitants, as well as the probable cause and period of the desolation of the ancient town.
232. Newington near Hithe.—The "Neventone of (D.B.) with a church must be Newington near Hithe; but it is there described as adjoining, "adjacens," a manor in the hundred of Besbrough. Newington itself is now in the hundred of Folkstone.—The chapel of St. Nicholas, standing at the extremity of the town of Hithe (under which it has already been mentioned) was actually in the parish of Newington. The ruins existed in 1574, when it was used as a barn. It was desecrated at the Reformation. (Lambarde.)—A.D. 1771 the vicarage of Newington was united to the rectory of Cheriton. Brasses in Newington Church: Tho. Chylton, wife, and three children, 1501; John Clarke, vicar, 1501; Rich. Rigge, and three wives, 1522. The case of the font is of carved oak. At Blackwose, or Canon's Court, was a cell of Premonstratensian Monks to the Priory of Lavendene, Bucks; but it being deserted, and the monks wandering about the country, the general Chapter of the Order united it to St. Radigund's. (Hasted.)
233. Newington near Sittingbourne.—The "Newetone" in Milton hundred of (D.B.) is sometimes supposed to have been the town in the Isle of Sheppey afterwards called Queenborough; but the fact of it comprising a wood feeding thirty hogs, and a ​small one "ad clausuram," which is explained to signify "for fencing," would appear to fix the description to Newington. A similar entry occurs with regard to the manor of Wingham—A very interesting church, chiefly Dec., but a part Perp.—A priory for nuns was founded here soon after the Domesday Survey was taken, but the prioress having been discovered strangled in her bed, the nuns were removed to Minster (in Sheppey) by the king, who seized the lands belonging to the priory. Afterwards K. Henry II, by the advice of Thomas-à-Becket, placed here some priests as secular canons. (Hasted.) The story of the prioress being murdered, as above, is related by Stevens in his continuation of Dugdale's Monasticon from Thome's Chronicle, col. 1931; as likewise another, of seven priests being placed here by K. Henry II, when one of them was murdered by four others, after which offence the two who were innocent gave their portions of the endowment to St. Augustin's Abbey, the remainder escheating to the King. (Monast. VI, 1620.)
234. St. Nicholas.—Originally a chapel to Reculver (to which it, with All Saints, is annexed in Val. Eccl.), was constituted a parish (and endowed by Archb. Rob. Winchelsea Somner) A.D. 1296, when it was united with All Saints, which had previously been a chapel to St. Nicholas. All Saints was soon after desecrated, and fell to ruin. The church of St. Nicholas has semicircular arches between the nave and the south aisle. (Hasted.)
235. Nockholt.—This place lying within the manor of Orpington, the rector of Orpington presents to the living. It was once esteemed only a chapelry to Orpington, but is now parochial, though merely a perpetual curacy. (Hasted.)
A small building attached to the church of Reigate, Surrey, contains a library, wherein is preserved an ancient MS. volume, consisting of Chronicles compiled by Stephen Birchington, a monk of Canterbury (about A.D. 1350). Among some few miscellaneous entries is one relating to the erection and endowment of a chapel at Ocolte, now Nockholt, by Ralph Scot, The above-mentioned volume is inscribed
"E Libris Biblioth. Pub. de Reigate in Comit' Surr. Donum Guliel. Jordan de Gatwick Arm$^r$. 7 Junii 1701."
"(One) of the books of the public library of Reigate in the county of Surrey. The gift of Will Jordan of Gatwick Esq., 7 June, 1701."
​The writing of the MS. having partially become very indistinct, it is proportionally difficult to decipher, but through the kindness of Albert Way Esq. I am enabled to present the following copy of the entry concerning Nockholt. Eor the convenience of readers the words are released from the contractions of the original, and it will be observed, that in one instance the baptismal name of a person introduced is too much defaced to be ascertained. An English version will be appended, wherein occasionally, of necessity, the apparent meaning is given, rather than a close translation attempted. Though not precisely contemporary, this record is sufficiently near the date of the foundation of Ocolte chapel to be perused with interest.
"Temporibus Anglorum Regis Henricii tercii filii regis Johannis qui in Anglia regnabat LVI annis et diebus xx erat quidam Radulfus Scot manens in parochia de Chelesfeld iuxta altam stratam regiam inter Farnbergh et Halstede iacentem, ubi crux est uocata Scoctes (sic) Crouch. Qui quidem Radulfus de loco illo se transtulit apud Ocolte, terras et varias ibidem possessiones emendo, quandamque construendo ibi mansionem vocatam la Halle. Propter quod locus ille uocatur Scoctes (sic) Ocolte. Et quia præfatus Radulfus et cæteri inhabitantes dictum locum, pro diuinis audiendis officiis apud Chyuenyngam et alibi circumquaque se a parochiali ecclesia sua de Orpynton diuertebant; et quia ob loci distanciam a dicta parochiali ecclesia multa ibidem animarum contingebant pericula, ii et Radulfus Scot, et quidam Her . . cus(?) Goldsmyth, a deo, ut creditur, inspirati, in area viridi apud Ocolte, uocata Herelepe, ubi diebus festiuis cominunis accessus laicorum fiebat per inhabitantes dictum locum, quandam capellam in honore beate Katerine uirginis de suis construis (sic) bonis fecerunt. Primo lapide per dictum Radulfum in ipsius capelle posito fundamento. Et post construccionem dicte capelle ipse Radulfus Scot, de terris sibi acquisitis, de modica area iuxta cimiterium pro domibus capellani ibidem, ac etiam de quadam crofta sua ex opposite dicte capelle situata pro construccionem domorum ad colleccionem decimarum reponendo ibidem dotauit capellam eandem libere, et donavit in perpetuam elemosinam possidendum. Postmodo idem Radulfus Scot dictam capellam ix$^{mo.}$ die Maij anno Domini M$^o$. CC$^o$. octogesimo primo tempore fratris Roberti Kilwardeby, tune Cantuarie archiepiscopi de eius licencia consecrari et dedicari in honore beate uirginis Katerine, non obstante ​appellatione rectoris de Orpynton interposita in hac parte ad sedem apostolicam, sicut fert."
"In the times of the king of the English, Henry III, son of King John, who reigned in England fifty-six years and twenty days, there was a certain Ralph Scot abiding in the parish of Chelsfield near the royal highway lying between Farnborough and Halsted, where is the cross called Scot's Crouch. Which Ralph indeed removed himself from that place to Ocolte, by buying there lands and sundry possessions, and by constructing there a certain mansion called the Hall. On which account that place is called Scot's Ocolte. And because the aforesaid Ralph and others inhabiting the said place for hearing divine offices wandered to Chevening and elsewhere in all directions from their parish church of Orpington; and because through the distance of the place from the said parish church many perils of souls befell there, they and Ralph Scot, and a certain Her—(?) Goldsmyth, inspired by God, as is believed, in a green space at Ocolte called Hareleap, where on festivals took place a common assemblage of laity by those inhabiting the said place, caused to be erected out of their own goods a certain chapel in honour of St. Katherine, virgin; the first stone being laid by the said Ralph in the foundation of his own chapel. And after the completion of the said chapel this Ralph Scot, out of the lands he had acquired, out of a moderate-sized close near the cemetery for the house of the chaplain there, and also out of a certain croft of his situate opposite the said chapel for the erection of buildings for the collection of tithes to be stored therein, freely endowed the same chapel, and gave to be possessed in perpetual alms. Afterwards the same Ralph Scot (procured) the said chapel, on the ninth day of May, A.D. 1281 (9 of K. Edward I), in the time of brother Robert Kilwardeby, then archbishop of Canterbury, by his licence to be consecrated and dedicated to the honour of St. Katherine the virgin, notwithstanding the appeal of the rector of Orpington interposed in this matter to the apostolic see, as he alleges."
The above circumstantial detail of the transaction bears evidence to its own authenticity, and affords some insight into the customs and proceedings of that early period. Unluckily Stephen Birchington's relation was not known till too late for a visit to ​Nockholt. However within the last fifty years, or thereabouts, the roads in the neighbourhood spoken of have been so much altered, that the name of Scot's Crouch at least is probably lost.—"The parish of Nockholt is within the manor of Great Orpington, to which this is an appendage." The name is derived "from the old English words noke, a corner, and holt, a wood; a derivation which aptly expresses the situation of this place at the noke or corner of a wood." (Afterwards:) "Shelley's is another small manor here, which was antiently called the manor of Schottis, alias Ockholt; which last name it had from its situation among the oaken woods. (Note:) Ac in Saxon signifies an oak, and holt a wood, the a in ac being frequently changed into o."—Thomas Shelle possessed this manor in the reign of K. Edward I, writing himself De Schottis alias Ockholt. (Hasted's Kent, I, 126, 128, fol.) The first curate of Nockholt recorded by Hasted is Will. Galle, 1550. It is evident that Hasted was unacquainted with the Reigate MS., but, notwithstanding the discrepancy between his two derivations of the name, the account he gives is not altogether devoid of interest. His information respecting the appellation "Scot's alias Ockholt" was obtained from an independent source, and therefore may be regarded as confirming Birchington's statement as to the origin of that title. While Hasted's assertion, for which he must have had authority, that Thomas Shelle possessed part of Nockholt temp. K. Edward I, shows that Ralph Scot or his descendants must have alienated at least a portion of their property there not very long after the consecration of the chapel, as narrated above, 9 of K. Edward I.
236. Nonington.—Anciently a chapelry to Wingham, from which it was severed A.D. 1282. (Kilburne.) "Capella de Nonyngton cum capella de Wymelingewelde eidem annexa." (A.D. 1291.) The church comprises nave and north aisle, with chancels to both, and tower at the west end of the aisle. Parts of the walls are late Norm., but the greater portion of the building is E.E., retaining some original windows, with a square-headed Dec., and others Perp. inserted. At the east end of the chancel are three lancet windows, the sill of the middle one being considerably higher than those of the others. The south door of the nave is good E.E., with a miserable porch. The tower and aisle equal the length of the nave, including the chancels of both.—On a stone are the figures of John Hamon and two wives, 1526. Brass: wife of Era. Wilford, 1581. (Hasted.)
237. Northfleet.—The church of Northfleet is named in a ​deed by Archb. Anselm, temp. Bp. Gundulph. (Text. Roff., 154, &c.)—Brasses: Petrus de Lacy, rector, 1375 (1374, Cust. Roff); Will. Lye (half-length, Cust. Roff.), 1391; Tho. Brato and wife Jone, 1511 (omitted in Cust. Roff); man in armour and lady (Sir Will. Rikhill, Cust. Roff.) (Reg. Roff.); another of an unknown lady is alluded to in (Monum. Brasses, 87).
Norton.—This manor in the hundred of Faversham, held under the Bishop of Bayeux, is readily identified in the present parish of Norton near Faversham; but (D.B.) states, that it contained three churches. From (Reg. Roff.) we learn that Norton was granted, at what date is not said, but certainly early, by Fedea or Eudo de Niwenham (Newnham), to the monks of Rochester. The deed of "Hugo de Niuueham," bestowing the church of "Northtuna," is printed in (Text. Roff, 180). If, which possibly is the fact, the above-named was the Eudo mentioned in the Note on Merlea, it may be presumed that he was living at the time of the Domesday Survey. The benefice of Norton, though within the diocese of Canterbury, is still in the patronage of the Bishop of Rochester. From the connection evidenced by the above grant, Newnham; and from contiguity, Linsted, Luddenham, and Teynham are places, at one or other of which it may be conjectured, that the two unassigned churches might stand. Hasted asserts, that Norton was given to the priory of Rochester toward the close of the reign of K. Henry I.
239. Nortone.—This manor belonged to the archbishop, and laid in "Roculf," i.e., Reculver, hundred. The description runs thus: "The estate consists of twenty-six ploughlands. In the domain are two ploughs, and ninety-two villans with forty borderers have fifty-nine ploughs. Here is a church, and ten acres of meadow. A wood of fifty hogs. In the time of King Edward the entire value of this manor was £24 5s., and afterwards the same, and now it pays the archbishop £50 14s. 2d., and the archdeacon twenty shillings. Of this manor Vitalis holds from the archbishop two sowlings, and one yoke, and twelve acres of land, and has there five ploughs, and twenty-nine borderers, and five serfs, and seven salt-pans of twenty-five shillings and four-pence. Here is a church, and a small dene of wood. Altogether it is worth £14 6s. 6d.—Terra est xxvi carucatarum. In dominio sunt ii carucæ, et xcii villani cum xl bordariis habent lix carucas. Ibi æcclesia et x acræ prati. Silva l porcorum. In totis valentiis T.R.E. valuit hoc manerium xxiv libras et v solidos, et post tantundem, et modo ​reddit archiepiscopo l et xiv solidos et ii denaria, et archidiacono xx solidos. De hoc manerio tenet Vitalis de archiepiscopo iii solins et unum jugum et xii acras terræ, et ibi habet v Caracas, et xxix bordarios, et v servos, et vii salinas de xxv solidis et iv denariis. Ibi est æcclesia et una parva dena siluæ. Intra totum valet xiv libras et vi solidos et vi denaria." (D.B.) Hence it appears that the manor was extensive and valuable, possessing two churches in different portions, and containing some considerable quantity of wood; but I am utterly unable to ascertain any place in the neighbourhood of Reculver which can be the Nortone of (D. B.)
* ↑ It seems to me, that Hasted is a very unsafe authority for such matters, and that he is too apt to make incorrect assertions merely upon his own supposition.
* ↑ The following is the entire passage in Camden (as rendered by Gibson) relating to this subject:0151" Newenden, which, I am almost persuaded, was the haven so long sought for, called by the Notitia Anderida, by the Britons Caer Andred, and by the Saxons Andredsceaster; first, because the inhabitants affirm it to have been a town and harbour of very great antiquity; next, from its situation by the wood Andredswald, to which it gave the name; and lastly, because the Saxons seem to have called it Brittenden, i.e., 'a valley of the Britons;' from whence Selbrittenden is the name of the whole hundred adjoining." After an account of the destruction by the Saxons "as Huntingdon tells us" he states that for many ages after nothing but ruins appeared, "till under Edward the First, the Friars Carmelites had a little monastery built here, at the charge of Thomas Albuger, kn.; upon which a town presently sprung up, and, with respect to the old one that had been demolished, began to be called Newenden, i.e., 'a new town in a valley.'" (Gibson's Camden, I, 274.)
* ↑ As a doubt has been thrown upon the genuineness of these skulls, I will add, that my recollection of the condition in which they were first beheld does not enable me to vouch for them; but having visited the spot repeatedly during the process of exhumation, I am satisfied that the other objects were found there, as pretended; and I much question whether the party, who undertook the operation, was likely to have, or capable indeed of having, concocted an imposition of the description suspected.
* ↑ Mr. Holloway indeed (History of Romney Marsh, Lond. 1849, 24) quotes Camden as saying in a note, " The inhabitants show the plot where were situated the town and haven." I found no such words in Gibson's edition of Camden ad voc. Newenden, as will be perceived by referring to my quotation from Camden in the early part of this Note. But admitting Camden to have written as above, his expressions may mean only, that the inhabitants showed the site of some ancient, large settlement, which Camden inferred to have been Anderida. And besides, granting the existence of a tradition to that effect, no credit could be given to it, as descending uncorrupted through a period exceeding a thousand years, and through people of different races and languages.
* ↑ It may have been observed, that the quotation from Camden in the note to page 109, and referred to in the text pp. 109 and 112, places the foundation of Losenham priory in the reign of K. Edward I. This appears to have been an oversight of that writer, since other authorities agree in giving a different date of that event, namely, Lambarde, as in page 108, A.D. 1241, or 26th of K. Henry III (which year would end 28 Oct. 1242), according to Monast. VI, 1571.
* ↑ K. Henry III began his reign on the day of his coronation, 28 Oct. 1216, nine days after he succeeded to the right to the throne. He died 16 Nov. 1272.—Sir H. Nicolas on Regnal Years. (Chronology of History, 291.)— A. W.