Pictures of Chilham Pictures of Chilham Pictures Accommodation Towns Attractions Reviews Facts Map Upload Here you will find an attractive collection of Tudor black and white half-timbered houses assembled around a central village square. The impressive gates to Chilham Castle stand in the square, and peeping between the houses at the northern end of the square, is the clock-face tower of the Church of St. Mary. It is the most atmospheric square, and it is therefore unsurprising to learn it was featured in the film 'The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders' in around 1965. Another historic aspect of the village is that it is said to be the last resting place of one of Julius Caesar's men. Julliberrie, was a captain in Caesar's army, he is said to be buried in a long barrow to the south of the village in the Valley of the Stour. The barrow is 150 foot long, is also supposed to be the spot where the Ancient Britons drove back the Roman army. The romantic Jacobean mansion known as Chilham Castle was built for Sir Dudley Diggs, Master of the Rolls for James I, in 1616.

It was designed by Inigo Jones, and the gardens were laid out by Capability Brown in 1777. In the grounds of the mansion you can see the original Norman Keep and Curtain walls of the earlier 12th-century castle. Leaving behind the historic nature of Chilham, in recent times, certainly until well into the mid-nineties, it was the home of the British Jousting Association of Great Britain. It was a superb venue for lively events featuring knights in armour, in pitched battle for my ladies favour. Now all this is gone, the castle has been sold into private ownership to become an equestrian centre with a cross country course. The parish Church of St.Mary dates from the 15th-century and is built of flint. It has an outstanding nave and chancel, decorative windows and a magnificent font supported by five columns. There is a white marble monument by the sculptor Sir Francis Chantry (1781-1841), who left his fortune to found a famous art collection. In the quiet churchyard you can see a lofty War Memorial and tombs and graves from past centuries.

Chilham is a place of extraordinary serenity, it is both picturesque and pleasant, a lovely place to spend a perfectly peaceful day or a quiet, romantic weekend. Planning a visit to Chilham? Please support the Pictures of England website by booking your Chilham hotels & accommodation through this site. a Historic City in the county of Kent (5.5 miles, 8.8 km, direction NE of Chilham) Canterbury is an exquisite joyous place, it is submerged in history and is considered to be the birthplace of English Christianity. It glows with an abundance of charm, mostly..... a Historic Market Town in the county of Kent (6.1 miles, 9.8 km, direction NW of Chilham) There is record of settlements in the area in pre-historic times, it is known that the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons both established villages... in the county of Kent (10.8 miles, 17.4 km, direction N of Chilham) This is a busy Kentish coastal holiday resort which has sandy beaches and safe shallow waters, thus the beach is ideal for sunbathing and to swim from...

in the county of Kent (12.8 miles, 20.6 km, direction SE of Chilham) This delightful seaside resort is one of the five original Cinque Ports, it can trace its noble history all the way back to AD732 when it was granted a charter by the Saxon King Ethelred... in the county of Kent (16.2 miles, 26.0 km, direction NW of Chilham) This is the port to which Nelson's body was brought home following his untimely death after his glorious victory at the Battle of Trafalgar... Canterbury Royal Museum & Art Gallery (2 Pictures) (5.5 miles, 8.8 km, direction NE) The Canterbury Royal Museum is housed in a magnificent Victorian building of russet brick and impressive black and white timber..... (5.6 miles, 9.0 km, direction NE) .. Canterbury Cathedral (159 Pictures) (5.6 miles, 9.0 km, direction NE) This magnificent cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years. It was the scene of Thomas a' Becket's murder.....

(11.4 miles, 18.3 km, direction E) .. (12.4 miles, 20.0 km, direction NW) .. Reculver Towers & Roman Fort (11 Pictures) (13.5 miles, 21.7 km, direction NE) Standing sheer on a dramatic headland the twin towered west front of the 12th-century Church of St. Mary at Reculver is the..... Leeds Castle (305 Pictures) (14.7 miles, 23.6 km, direction W) Listed in the Domesday Book, this castle has been a Norman stronghold, a royal residence for six of England's medieval queens, a..... Chilham Castle (The Gatehouse Record) Goodall, John, 2011, The English Castle 1066-1650 (Yale University Press) p. 128, 475-6 Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern: Folly Publications) p.

24-5 Cooper, Nicholas, 1999, Houses of the Gentry, 1480-1680 (Yale University Press) p. 19, 20, 33 Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 113 Brown, R.Allen, 1989, Castles from the Air (Cambridge University Press) p. 85-7 King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 228-9 Guy, John, 1980, Kent Castles (Meresborough Books) Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p. 207-8 Smithers, David Waldron, 1980, Castles in Kent (Chatham) Newman, John, 1976, Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (Harmondsworth) p.

273-5 Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol. 2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p. 613 Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p. 104 Braun, Hugh, 1936, The English Castle (Batsford) p. 44-8 C.H(ardy), 1916, Chilham Castle Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co) Gould, I. Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Kent Vol. 1 p. 412 online copy Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p.

8 online copy King, Edward, 1804, Munimenta antiqua or Observations on antient castles (W.Bulmer and Co) Vol. 3 p. 154-66 online copy Hasted, Edward, 1798 (2edn), The history and topographical survey of the county of Kent Vol. 7 p. 263-292 online transcription Grose, Francis, 1785 (new edn orig 1756), Antiquities of England and Wales (London) Vol. 3 p. 20-4 online copy Periodical Articles Charles Hollwey, 2015-16, 'From Chilham via Caernarfon to Thornbury: The rise of the polygonal tower' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol. 29 p. 263-85 Brown, R. Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 11541216' English Historical Review Vol. 74 p. 249-280 (Reprinted in Brown, R.

Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 90-121) view online copy (subscription required) Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol. 70 (Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)) p. 19-64 Wood, M., 1935, 'Norman Domestic Architecture' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 92 p. 167-242 esp 190 online copy Clapham, A.W., 1929, The Archaeological Journal Vol. 86 p. 302-6 online copy Clapham, A.W., 1928, 'An Early Hall at Chilham Castle' Antiquaries Journal Vol. 8 p. 350-53 Hussey, A., 1924, Country Life Vol. 55 p.

1000-06 Hussey, A., 1911, 'Chapels in Kent' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 29 p. 228 online copy 1794, The Gentleman's Magazine Part 2 p. 909-10 (plan not in Gomme) online copy Guidebooks 1987, Chilham Castle (English Life Publications; Derby) Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.) Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) (lists sources for 1272-1422) p. 265 Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers) Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1909, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 4 p.

55 online copy Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc. Kent County Council, December 2004, Kent Historic Towns Survey (Kent County Council and English Heritage) view online copy Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant. It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation. The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England , County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence . All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology , the Castle Studies Group and others. Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link . Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here . The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance. Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link . Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design. Local History of Chilham COULD YOU OPEN T HE DOOR ON OUR PARISH HERITAGE?

The Parish of Chilham is brimming with history. Youï¿½ve only got to look at the buildings, many of them 500 or even 600 years old. Our heritage, however, consists not only of the buildings but of the people who have lived and worked in them over the centuries. Where could you learn about these families, where they lived, what they did for a living, when and how their houses were built and altered as time went by or what roads they took to nearby towns? The answers to many of these questions exist but are at present not easy to get at, as they are buried in historical archives held by various organisations and individuals in the Parish. Work has started on the cataloguing of all the records, pictures and maps that are held by the Chilham Society and in another substantial archive but this is only the first stage. Other villages in Kent have set up successful Heritage Centres, where selected material relating to their buildings, families and earlier history are exhibited on a permanent basis for the benefit and interest of the local people and as an attraction for visitors. With the wealth of history in our Parish, should we not consider having our own Chilham Parish Heritage Centre?

The first step would have to be a careful study of the feasibility of the project, to look into such questions as the premises where it might be located, the security of the exhibits, the type and presentation of the material, the finance needed and, in due course, the management of the Heritage Centre. There is already a small core of interested people who would be able to make some contribution towards the Feasibility Study but a Project Leader is urgently needed to manage and direct the study in its entirety, to ensure that all the angles are covered and, above all, to see it through to a conclusion. Anyone, whether they live in the Parish or not, who feels that they could devote some time and thought to this leadership role or would like contribute to the work of the Feasibility Study, is invited to contact Tom Reed (01227 730258) A Chilham Parish Heritage Centre would be an asset to the Parish but it needs a leader and a supporting cast to get it off the ground.

The ï¿½Frenchï¿½ Mill at Chilham The LOST LANDSCAPES GROUP sought to generate a greater knowledge and understanding of the history of the local landscape surrounding the North Downs Way and amongst others, visited Chilham Mill and Juliberrieï¿½s Grave. Landscapes, past, present and future cannot be seen in isolation, but constantly change, develop and evolve, mainly as a result of human activity. For instance, Mid Kent Water are now using the Chilham Mill complex for water extraction, a far cry from the production of flour, etc., which had gone on previously for well over a thousand years. The ever-changing environmental situation, such as global warming, should disturb any complacent assumptions that the water now extracted at the mill will flow with detached reliability from our taps for centuries to come. Anyway, the question had been asked ï¿½ Why is Chilham Mill sometimes referred to as a ï¿½Frenchï¿½ Mill?

ï¿½ some clues follow In the 11th century, 1086 to be precise, the Domesday Book, an Inventory of England, unique in medieval history and thanks to the Norman Conquest, says that there were 6 ï¿½ mills in Chilham! Odd, until you learn these are mill wheels, almost certainly all part of one mill. The ï¿½halfï¿½ is explained by a seventh wheel under construction. There were also 5 ï¿½ mills in Chartham. Camdenï¿½s Brittania Kent described the valley of the Rive Stour from Ashford to the sea as very marshy and susceptible to frequent flooding. This was 1586. In 1778 Hastedï¿½s Kent referred to the Chilham Corn Mill as - ï¿½Long known by the name French Mill.ï¿½ There is a well documented record of a mill in Chartres in France in a remarkably similar environment to that in Chilham ï¿½ marshy and subject to flooding.

It was constructed on huge wooden piles with little or no permanent foundation, built to last 100 to 150 years at most. The timber piles rotted away in the waterlogged soil. Floods were a recurring danger. Vibrating machinery and intermittent heavy loading weakened the structure. Friction between the grinding stones might spark off a fire which could spread with an explosive force through the dust-laden air. Sagging floors and walls were strengthened with iron straps. The intentional burning of mills was not unheard of in order to get a replacement from the Lord of the Manor. A Health and Safety initiative a little before itï¿½s time? Since history books provided almost too much information about us and society over the many centuries during which those French Mills were no doubt at the centre of local economies, a very few inadequate but revealing insights during a limited period must suffice. Remember that ï¿½educationï¿½ was a privilege of the very few ï¿½ the Lords and the Clergy, the Aristocracy and Administrators, and few others. From school we remember St. Thomas Becket, also the Black Death which slashed the population by up to fifty percent, (including the newly consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury).

School did not tell me that this bubonic plague, in the long term, undermined labour-intensive arable farming, raised wages and even led to occasional paid holidays! ï¿½Tis an ill wind. Matthew Parris, a monastic chronicler of that time declared ï¿½The case of historical chroniclers is hard, for if they tell the truth they provoke man, and if they write what is false they offend God.ï¿½ Journalists of the gutter-press face no such dilemmas today. Around that medieval period the Bishop of Lincoln forbade the clergy to haunt taverns, to share in drinking bouts, or to mix in the riot and debauchery of the life of the Baronage. Needless to say such prohibitions are witness to the prevalence of the activities they denounce. The afore-mentioned press could have managed a six-page spread ï¿½ except that most people couldnï¿½t read.

Threads of decency existed, including the activities of a certain St Francis of Assisi, who, whilst striving to reconcile knowledge with orthodoxy (science with religion today perhaps), preached real sanctity against false sanctity, combated the teaching of lies with the teaching of truth, enjoyed a mystical piety and an imaginative enthusiasm. According to Greenï¿½s ï¿½Short History of the English Peopleï¿½, Francisï¿½ life falls like a stream of tender light across the darkness of the time, and mentions that in the frescoes of Giotto and the verses of Dante we see him take poverty as his bride! Any current parallels? Francis sought a complete reversal of the monasticism experienced hitherto, seeking personal salvation in effort for the salvation of his fellow man. A revolutionary reformer of his time if ever there was one. A modest booklet introduces tourists and others to a brief history of Chilham and the Castle and reflects diverse and conflicting interests at a ï¿½higherï¿½ level --- Isobel, widow of the Earl of Athol, died in 1292, Chilham passing to her son John who, living up to the fashion of the period, was executed for treason.

Edward II thereupon granted Chilham to Bartholomew de Badlesmere, but Badlesmere very shortly lost his head for the same reason as his predecessor, and his estates, including Chilham, reverted to the Crown. Edward III, possibly repenting his fatherï¿½s over-indulgenced with the axe granted Chilham back to Bartholomewï¿½s son Gyles de Badlesmere who died childless. Margery his sister married Lord Roos, and their heir had the misfortune to support the House of Lancaster and was executed on the accession of Edward IV ï¿½ and so on. It may be that those who ran the village in these troubled times, including the Miller at the French Mill, made sure they reflected any changes amongst their ï¿½bettersï¿½. To keep his job the Miller might amend his politics, his allegiances and not least, his religion to maintain his position.

He might suggest to his apprentice ï¿½ ï¿½Make sure you keep your mouth shut lad and when His Lordship is around, no more of that pulling a forelock a bit to the Left, or youï¿½re out.ï¿½ We can be thankful that all such prejudices were left firmly in the Middle Ages! Peasant families who worked plots on the Manorial Estates would hand over produce in lieu of rent and make themselves available for work, as required by His Lordship, at harvest time for instance. Menfolk would be trained to serve in any military adventure. Incidentally, game birds were the property of the Lord of the Manor and anyone caught killing a pheasant for instance, risked having a hand or arm cut off. Not surprisingly, simmering discontent led to the peasants revolt of 1381 when, according to the historian Dr. A. Jessop ---- ï¿½No tenant could take his corn to be ground anywhere except the Lordï¿½s Mill.

It is easy to see what a grievance this would be at the time, and how the Lord of the Manor, if he were really unscrupulous or extortionate, might grind the faces of the poor while he ground their corn.ï¿½ So, for centuries, Chilham Mills were usually managed by the Lord of the Manor as agent of Crown or Church. The Miller retained a proportion of the grain as payment or tax. The peasants used the mill on a first come first served basis with the proviso that the Lord enjoyed precedence and he alone paid no tax. And quite right too ï¿½ said every Lord of the Manor! Chilham Mills would have been hugely important to the locality and itï¿½s economic structure. Mills of French design may have existed here from the 12th to 18th centuries. Itï¿½s good and lucky that the present mill is being well looked after, ï¿½Frenchï¿½ though it isnï¿½t.

An all-party parliamentary committee has been discussing our heritage, history and archaeology, etc., and a Conservative MP speaking on TV reported their conclusions ï¿½ That much had been lost or destroyed forever, but that what is left must be identified and saved before that too is lost. Humanity has a million issues to deal with and they are being talked about interminably, but the key is to take decisive action, otherwise our grandchildren and their grandchildren will not only learn of our lack of foresight and complacency but will curse us for our lack of drastic and serious action. Two and a half thousand years ago Confucius suggested ï¿½ STUDY THE PAST IF YOU WOULD DEVINE THE FUTURE ï¿½ so the Lost Landscapes Group, anxious to take good advice, moved a short distance to Juliberriesï¿½ Grave. ï¿½There is a lovely places in the woods by Chilham in the Count of Kent, above the River Stour, where a man comes across an irregular earthwork still plainly marked upon the brow of the bluff . . . . . . Where the British stood against the charge of the Tenth Legion, and first heard, sounding on their bronze, the Arms of Caesar.

Here the River was forded . . . . . . here the Barbarian broke and took his way, as the opposing General has recorded, through devious woodland paths, scattering in the pursuit! Here begins the great history of England. Is it not an enormous business merely to stand in such a place?ï¿½ Hillaire Belloc And as todayï¿½s visitors peer at the almost indistinguishable mound, overgrown, neglected and hardly reflecting Bellocï¿½s words, we get a glimpse of todayï¿½s unenthusiastic respect for a rare prehistoric monument, more important for the earliest progress of Stone Age men and women than the Roman Legions, the most effective killing machines to date. Juliberries Grave at Chilham Amongst various myths and legends it is suggested that a Roman general Juliber is buried here. In fact itï¿½s a Neolithic, New Stone Age, burial mound. In archaeological terms a Long-barrow.

Over several centuries treasure seekers, now more aptly referred to as grave-robbers including Wildman, occupant of Chilham Caste in the early 18th century, dug randomly into the long-barrow, recording nothing of any scientific interest or value. More skillful excavation, examination and recording in 1936 ï¿½ 1938 revealed - Humanly struck flint cores, flakes and scrapers and a fine but damaged polished flint axe of a type characteristic of the Nordic Regions of Scandinavia, North Germany and Holland. There in use at about 2000 BC. About AD 50 Romans used the mound for four burials, originally marked by a cairn of flints. And eight late 4th century Roman coins. The 1987 hurricane felled several large trees in the vicinity revealing more Neolithic flint material and small piece of human skull and bone. Very recent field walking around the long-barrow has produced even more flint cores, flakes, blades and scrapers ï¿½ mostly Neolithic. Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic peoples inhabited this Stour River Valley and itï¿½s surroundings.

We have the evidence, stone tools and artefacts. The earliest of our ancestors, who could have been here a couple of hundred thousand years ago or more, were hunter-gathers, leading a nomadic existence in a wilderness environment. Small groups moved along coasts and river valleys, exploiting local food sources -ï¿½plants, berries, roots, animals, fish, birds, creating temporary shelters where no caves existed. They made and used tools of stone, bone, wood, antler and any other raw material that met their needs. Little other than flint has survived, and whilst there was a gradual evolution in hand-axe manufacture for instance, they knew little of crops and livestock, whilst pottery and metal were unheard of. It was during the Mesolithic and more particularly the Neolithic, the latest Stone age that change accelerated. They benefited from an additional migration of peoples from Southern Europe who proved culturally ahead, so that small settled communities developed, tilling the land and harvesting crops, keeping and breeding livestock, domesticating horses and dogs, cooking with pots and pans, building shelters and homes, hunting with ever more sophisticated weapons and tactics, using spears and harpoons, bows and arrows, nets and snares.

All subscribing to a more secure existence and healthier and longer lives ï¿½ for humans at least. Homo Sapiens, man who is wise, had evolved into the dominant species. Until then it had been a case of adaptive evolution for all species, including humans. We are unique in that we have not only eliminated mammoths, sabre-tooth tigers and a million other species, but are now rushing headlong towards eliminating ourselves and most of us are beginning to realise it but are not yet doing what we must to reverse the trend. It seems that our Stone Age ancestors did not abuse their dominance except where survival was threatened. They respected other living creatures and the environment they all shared ï¿½ perhaps something from which we could learn. As mentioned elsewhere Stone Age peoples were not encumbered by such modern civilised essentials as Celebrities, Cosmetic Surgery, Beckham, Nationalism, the 100 Share Index, Nuclear Weapons and Third World Debt, to mention a few. Clearly, they co-operated and depended on each other to a high degree, whilst individuals stood out and were respected for their wisdom, creativity, experience and leadership and deserved special treatment in death as well as life.

What more prestigious than a Long-barrow, a lasting monument for real heroes and heroines of their time. Who would qualify for such honour today? Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and a few others would qualify to join St Francis of Assisi, but their lives were monument enough anyway. I am indebted to a young lady who, many months ago, asked if I would talk to a group about Palaentology. I readily agreed but hurried home to consult the dictionary on both the spelling and what it meant! Simple really ï¿½ the study of extinct organisms, from fossils to humans. Glad I was asked, not least for the need to reassess what we mean by civilisation and progress. I have developed a considerable respect for our Stone Age friends. A famous prophecy by the Cree Indians seems appropriate ï¿½ ï¿½Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.ï¿½ I submit that ï¿½Homo Sapiens Sapiensï¿½, man who is doubly wise, assumes too much by far.

Today, he is less wise and civilised than our Stone Age friends, who thought quickly and acted decisively where necessary, in the interests of the community! ï¿½Iï¿½ll Be Dead By Then!ï¿½ My Father never said ï¿½ ï¿½Donï¿½t talk about religion, politics or the environment. It only causes troubleï¿½. At considerable risk Iï¿½ll mention the last-named. Every month and sometimes every week, evidence is emerging which links carbon emissions with a very real threat of disasters affecting not only people, but all life on Earth. In the journal ï¿½Natureï¿½, scientists have made it clear that a whole variety of plant and animal species are already doomed. Every extinction has knock-on consequences for other life forms. It canï¿½t be an exact science but the indications are that from 15% to a frightening 37% of a whole range of land plants and animals will be well on the way to extinction, not in the next 500 years, but in the next 50 years.

Even more recently a large group of scientists warned that Arctic temperatures have risen in the last 50 years at almost twice the speed of the global average. A further rise of up to 7ï¿½ C could occur by the year 2100. Permafrost, once regarded as the most solid foundation for any development, is thawing. In several countries with boundaries fringing the Arctic, buildings are subsiding or collapsing. The wildlife including polar bears and seals are in increasing trouble from the inevitable ecological disturbance, the shrinking habitat and of course, humans. Globally, since records began in 1861, the seven hottest years of all fell in the 1990ï¿½s. Carbon dioxide levels are at the highest ever and increasing. The Greenland Ice Sheet, which was retreating by one metre per annum up to 2000 is now retreating ten metres annually. There hasnï¿½t been too much concern so far that sea levels have been rising by centimetres each year, but if that ice sheet were to melt substantially, sea levels could rise by metres ï¿½ over six metres in the worst case scenario. The consequences would be disastrous for hundreds of millions.

The Association of British Insurers faced on a billion pounds of flood claims in 2000. Our neighbours in France experienced an unprecedented heat wave in 2003, when fourteen thousand died. The total across Europe was thirty five thousand. Scientists agree that if they had not understood what was causing climate change and global warming, we might have been beyond the point of no return already! Clearly, every activity which subscribes to pollution must be curbed or stopped locally and globally whilst there is still time. My Dad always insisted that present generations didnï¿½t own the planet, but had a responsibility to look after it for the future. Which reminds me that about thirty years ago I attended just one more annual office ï¿½promotionï¿½ interview with ï¿½Sirï¿½, and since I was damned with faint praise as usual, I gently guided the discussion on to future world environmental problems and their implications. After a short factual summary I awaited ï¿½Sirï¿½sï¿½ response. The poor chap said ï¿½ ï¿½I donï¿½t think I shall worry too much about that ï¿½ I shall be dead by thenï¿½!

Iï¿½m afraid I wagged a disapproving finger at him and reminded him ï¿½his children and their children would not be dead by thenï¿½. That finished the interview, and ï¿½Sirï¿½ hoped I had learned something from the chat. I expressed the fervent hope that we had ï¿½both learned something from the chatï¿½, beamed at him, and exited. Which probably demonstrates how to get, or not get, promotion. Oddly enough Iï¿½ve no regrets whatsoever. You see, I too have grandchildren. Don Poole 2005 'Chilham The Unique Village' By George Mabbitt 1988, is a comprehensive and insightful study by a local man fascinated by life in Chilham. His final paragraph entitled 'Reflections' serves as a reminder to us all of our collective responsibilities in caring for our world. It is published here, in Adobe PDF format, by kind permission of his son who still lives locally.

Click here to download: Chilham the Unique Village 450kb DEREK CARLAW MARCH 2007 Sir Winston Churchill once famously described the Soviet Union as ï¿½a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigmaï¿½. On a more parochial level much the same words might be applied to the well-known painting which purports to show the 1878 Australian cricket team playing in the grounds of Chilham Castle. The picture features in numerous publications and, despite the absence of any contemporary written references, a variety of cricket historians and assorted pundits have persuaded themselves that the match took place. Yet the evidence shows conclusively that the Australians never played at Chilham. The only ï¿½evidence ï¿½ to indicate otherwise is the picture itself and, as we shall see, that is in truth no evidence at all. Apart from any other consideration, the painting depicts the castle not as it was in 1878 but as it appeared almost one hundred years earlier. A great deal of cricket was indeed played in the grounds of Chilham Castle in 1878 but not in that location and not against the Australians.

Although the Kentish Gazette mentions an abortive attempt to stage a match in September, the nearest the Australians came to taking the field anywhere in Kent was their fixture at Hastings. The original painting is in the National Library of Australia in Canberra, part of the Rex Nan Kivell Collection. There is a copy in the Harris Room at the St Lawrence ground in Canterbury, another in the Wetherspoonï¿½s pub in Ashford. The picture appears in Kent Cricket. A Pictorial History by the late E.W. (Jim) Swanton and the late Christopher Taylor, former Joint Honorary Curators of Kent CCC, in William Webbï¿½s Kentï¿½s Historic Buildings in at least one guide to Chilham Castle and in Jack Pollardï¿½s The Formative Years of Australian Cricket 1803-1893 where the game is described as having been a ï¿½private affairï¿½. In January 1991 the National Library of Australia chose it for the cover of their monthly magazine and in the same year it featured in the local history journal Bygone Kent.

Here it was asserted that ï¿½A great deal of publicity was focusedï¿½ on the match played in ï¿½what was described as a halcyon summerï¿½. Printed Sources Although the scorebook has not survived the tour was well documented. The teamï¿½s matches are recorded in the 1879 Wisden, in both Lillywhite annuals for the year, in Scores & Biographies and were much written about in the London sporting press. The Kent and Sussex local press also reported extensively on the Australiansï¿½ activities. Books were published at the end of the tour, by the organiser and joint team manager, John Conway, and by an Australian journalist P.E.Reynolds who accompanied the team for all or part of the trip writing under the name of ï¿½Argusï¿½. A quite remarkably detailed diary cum scrapbook of the tour was kept by one of the team, Tom Horan, who later became one of Australiaï¿½s leading sports journalists. This book subsequently came into the possession of Mr Frank Tyson and in 2001 was published in a limited edition by the Association of Cricket Statisticians.

Collectively these sources make it possible to plot the whereabouts of the team on every day from their arrival on May 14 to their departure on September 19. And every night. On nine occasions they were still on a train at midnight, hard on Horan who was unable to sleep on the move. There is also information on train times, hotels, banquets, sightseeing trips, even the colour of the horses taking the team to their Nottingham hotel and the name of the man who drove the four-in-hand to their match against the Orleans Club at Twickenham. The team played 43 matches in the United Kingdom, only two of them South of London - v Eighteen of Hastings & District on August 26-28, v Sussex at Hove on August 29-31. There were fifteen weekdays on which they were not actually on the field. Six were spent travelling, on three of them they were in the North.

May 28 was devoted to sightseeing in London, on June 5 they saw Harry Constable win the Derby on Sefton and June 19 is specifically described as a rest day although the teamï¿½s star bowler Fred Spofforth preferred to play at Maldon for C.I.Thorntonï¿½s Xl. July 24 and September 4 were partially free but on both days they caught evening trains from London. We do not know precisely what all the tourists did on May 25 but they were staying at the Horseshoe Hotel, Tottenham Court Road in London and two of their number, the professionals Charles Bannerman and Billy Midwinter, were in Ireland from May 23 to 25 supplementing their incomes by playing for the United South of England Xl alongside W.G.Grace and his brother Fred against Fifteen of Dublin University. Artistic Licence Pictures of imaginary cricket matches were not unusual.

Two examples are W.H.Masonï¿½s 1849 painting of Sussex v Kent at Brighton and Sir Robert Ponsonbyï¿½s 1887 picture of England v Australia in which the Prince and Princess of Wales (later Edward Vll and Queen Alexandra) are shown at Lordï¿½s with several of the future Kingï¿½s mistresses, among them Lily Langtry, seated nearby. Both matches took place only in the artistï¿½s imagination. Even Albert Chevallier Taylorï¿½s classic study of the 1906 Canterbury Cricket Week features a non-striker (William Findlay) who did not play in that year. The Chilham painting is different. It is unique in that it shows the scores.

Inscribed on a low crenellated wall in the foreground is ï¿½First Australian team to visit England to play a single innings cricket match against Willsherï¿½s Gentlemen at Chilham Castle, Kent, August 1878.ï¿½ On the left hand crenellation is written ï¿½Australia 182ï¿½ and below it the name of John Conway the manager (actually joint-manager) followed by all twelve of the tourists ï¿½ F.R Spofforth, F.E.Allen (sic), A.Bannerman, H.F.Boyle, W.Murdoch, T.W.Garrett, W.Midwinter, T.P.Horan, D.W.Gregory captain, G. H. Bailey, J. M.Blackham, C.Bannerman. Here already is something which does not make sense. Billy Midwinter could not have played for the Australians in August 1878. The only cricketer ever to play for Australia v England and for England v Australia, he was born in the Forest of Dean and emigrated to Australia with his family at the age of ten.

He played for Australia in the inaugural Test Match at Melbourne in 1877 and that summer returned to England to play as a professional for Gloucestershire, county of his birth. He was therefore already in England when the team docked and had played for Gloucestershire prior to their arrival. Nevertheless he appeared for the tourists in their first eight fixtures and on June 20 was ready to play in the ninth against Middlesex at Lordï¿½s. Some versions of the story have him padded up and about to open the batting, others place him in the nets or merely in the pavilion. Enter W.G.Grace accompanied by brother E.M and burly wicketkeeper Arthur Bush. Loudly asserting a prior claim on his services, they virtually kidnapped Midwinter and hustled him off to the Oval to play for Gloucestershire v Surrey. There was an almighty and quite fascinating kerfuffle but all that need concern us here is that Midwinter did not play again for the 1878 Australians or indeed for anybody else that year after August 16 when a thumb injury ended his season.

Lord Harris The wording on the right hand pillar is ï¿½Willsherï¿½s Xl 159 and below it (some names are barely decipherable) ï¿½ Hon.G.R.C.Harris, J Keen, I Cook, P.Markham, T.Swenny (or Swiner), F.M.Sulley, A.Myres, S.Mills (or Myles), T.Myres, P.Setterfield, F (or P.) Bowen (or Bonni). Here is a glaring anomaly. The first named is clearly one of the most influential names in the history of cricket, George Robert Canning, Fourth Baron Harris but he had ceased to be an ï¿½Honï¿½ on succeeding to the title in 1872. The next Hon.G.Harris was not yet born. Of the rest, none ever played for Kent, for the Chilham Castle team or for any of the teams who played at the Castle in 1878. Nor do any of their names appear in the 1881 census as living in Chilham apart from a 45 year-old farm labourer called Edward Cook.

Charles Stewart Hardy The owner of Chilham Castle in 1878, Colonel Charles Stewart Hardy, was a future President of Kent County Cricket Club and, like Lord Harris, a member of the Club Management Committee which in January 1878 had resolved not to offer the Australians a fixture. Hardyï¿½s own team ï¿½ known variously as ï¿½Chilham Castleï¿½ or ï¿½Charles Hardyï¿½s Xlï¿½ ï¿½ undertook a regular programme of matches in July and August against local clubs, Army teams and other country houses including Lord Harrisï¿½s nearby Belmont. These games were renowned for sumptuous lunches and considered sufficiently important to merit printing the full scores, not merely in the local press, but in London sporting papers such as Bellï¿½s Life. The 1878 programme comprised at least 27 matches, played not at the location indicated in the picture, but in the lower park where a pavilion had been built into the old park wall A photograph, appearing to date from no later than the mid 1880s, exists of a match in progress on this lower park ground.

How then to account for the Australiansï¿½ supposed opponents being ï¿½Willsherï¿½s Gentlemenï¿½? Willsher and its variants are common names in Southern England but the prime candidate must be Kentï¿½s Edgar Willsher, by 1878 virtually retired from major cricket but still one of the most famous bowlers in the history of the game. Charles Stewart Hardy employed several professional cricketers. but Willsher was not one of them. A benefit match for Willsher has been suggested but he had already had benefits from MCC and Kent and at the time was head bowler at Princeï¿½s ground in Chelsea. In any case, with one, possibly two, exceptions, the Australian tour was a co-operative venture with the participants each contributing ï¿½50 (some sources quote ï¿½100) to cover expenses with profits shared equally. No figures were published but each was rumoured to have made between ï¿½700-ï¿½800 with manager Conway pocketing around ï¿½1200.

In an already overcrowded itinerary, it is hard to see why the visitors would give up time, still less hard earned money, for the benefit of an English professional to whom they had no obligation. The Painting Despite the amount written in the past about both match and picture, until discrepancies were pointed out by the late Mr Charles Will of the Chilham Society and Mr Michael Peters F.R.I.C.S. Honorary Archivist at Chilham Castle, it seems to have escaped notice that the Castle is portrayed as it appeared in the 18th century not in 1878. The painter has apparently copied an engraving by William Watts from Seats of the Nobility dated 1785, adding the players and spectators, some of them watching from open windows. Even the shadows across the windows have been replicated, but the small pinnacled outbuilding and adjoining crenellated wall shown in the painting had vanished by 1878, replaced by a substantial service wing erected by Charles Stewart Hardy's father in 1863, which does not appear.

The trees surrounding the keep and along the mansion walls have not grown in the intervening 90 plus years and the artist seemingly failed to notice, at the bowler's end of the wicket, the huge holm oak (still dominating the site) which, at the time of the supposed match, was already about 90 years old ! To accommodate the match, the space available has been painted to appear rather larger than it is. In fact the boundaries would have been very short, hardly conducive to a proper game of cricket. If the crenellated wall in the foreground ever existed, there are no traces of it now; the artist seems to have placed it upon the 18th century ha-ha which cuts across the park at about this point. It is unlikely that the artist ever actually saw the Australians. The fielding side wear red and white striped caps and sashes. Several sources including Horanï¿½s scrapbook and a famous, still much reproduced, cartoon of Spofforth in the July 1878 issue of Vanity Fair, confirm that the tourists wore blue and white striped caps, sashes and blazers. Matching caps for a scratch ï¿½homeï¿½ side seem unlikely.

The captain David Gregory and wicketkeeper Jack Blackham sported conspicuous bushy black beards. By August 1878 the tall, thin Mephistophelean Spofforth was probably the most recognisable cricketer in England after W.G.Grace. There is no obvious attempt to show any of them in the picture. The batsmen appear even less like the Australians. They look distinctly rustic, wearing low crowned ï¿½billycockï¿½ hats, out of fashion among cricketers for a decade or more, and brown boots. One has brown pads, the other a brown waistcoat. Perpetuating the Myth Writers still surface from time to time apparently believing that the game took place as some sort of unofficial extra fixture, notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Two eminent cricket historians, knowledgeable enough to know better, have suggested that the match took place on the next Australian tour in 1880. Even ignoring the date inscribed on the wall, Conway, Gregory, Allan, Charles Bannerman and Bailey only toured once. The 1880 tour was similarly well documented; the teamï¿½s only appearance in Kent (just) was at Crystal Palace.

In an attempt to keep the myth alive it is sometimes suggested that some of the Australians may have played at Chilham ï¿½ in other words the team might have played two matches in one day. This is nonsense. There were only twelve original tourists, reduced to eleven with Midwinterï¿½s abduction. To cover for injuries, manager Conway, who had played first-class cricket in Australia, and a number of expatriate Australians were from time to time drafted in but usually only singly. Three substitutes were brought in for the final game of the tour at Sunderland and on four other occasions, all in the North of England or in Scotland, there were two. The ï¿½Centenaryï¿½ Match A ï¿½centenaryï¿½ cricket match, ï¿½The Lord Massereeneï¿½s Xl v a Kent Xl ï¿½, was staged for charity in, somewhat eccentrically, 1987 rather than 1978. At the time Viscount Massereene and Ferrard owned Chilham Castle and the programme featured the painting on the front cover.

Included was a note that the game ï¿½is not amongst the officially arranged matches and therefore was no doubt a private affairï¿½. In notes provided for the occasion, Kentï¿½s Joint Curator the late Chris Taylor stated that the 1878 match ï¿½was arranged by Lord Massereene, the father of the present title holderï¿½ - quite an achievement for a child aged five, who at the time was living at the family home in Ireland. The Massereene family moved to Chilham in 1949. In conversation, Taylor subsequently informed the writer that he understood Lord Massereeneï¿½s grandfather played in the match which had taken place when the match at Hastings finished early. On the face of it, had Lord Massereene been visiting rural Kent in 1878, this sounds plausible. Lord Harris was one of five Kent players in the Hastings Eighteen and in his autobiographical A Few Short Runs mentions the match as his first encounter with the Australians. Several such extra matches were played to fill up time during the tour. One was staged at Hove in the very next fixture when Sussex lost in two days.

But they were invariably played on the original ground and in any case the facts do not fit. Local papers carry full accounts of the match which was much interrupted by rain ï¿½ far from being a ï¿½halcyon summerï¿½ most of 1878 was wet, cold, and miserable. According to the Hastings & St.Leonardï¿½s Independent the last Hastings wicket fell at 4.30pm There was no train from Hastings to Ashford (change for Chilham) between 4.15 and 7pm. Hardly time to stage a match from scratch let alone score almost 350 runs. In any case, according to Horanï¿½s diary, the team caught the 9pm train from Hastings to Brighton for their meeting with Sussex on the following day. A further complication; Chilham Castle played a home match with Lees Court that day. Dealing with the Masseerene connection, it is not clear why or how the then Lord Masseerene could or would stage a match at Chilham Castle which at the time was the home of someone else, Charles Stewart Hardy.

The Masseerene family would not acquire the Castle for 70 odd years. As for his playing in the match, he is on record as having scored nineteen for the North of Ireland v I Zingari at Belfast in 1877 but his name is conspicuously absent from Willsherï¿½s Xl as listed on the wall in the picture. Seldom on Sundays A Sunday match might seem a possibility to modern eyes but in Victorian times organised cricket on the Sabbath was virtually unknown apart possibly from very minor matches, usually on common land. The Australians were in the North of England on the first three Sundays in August and at least part of Sunday August 25 was taken up by the journey from Scarborough to Hastings via London. Of all people, Lord Harris is among the least likely to have played on a Sunday and it is equally unlikely that Charles Stewart Hardy, a pillar of the church, would allow the use of his land. And of course, there could be no gate money. The Australians themselves went to considerable lengths to emphasise their equality with the English in terms of behaviour and are no more credible as possible Sabbath breakers.

Final Mystery The question remains ï¿½ Who painted the picture and, more bafflingly, why? The signature 'W.A.N.' on the picture has been provisionally linked by the National Library of Australia Pictorial Section to William Andrews Nesfield (1793-1881), a distinguished water colour artist with a penchant for cascades and waterfalls. The painting however is oil on canvas with not a drop of water in sight and Nesfield had abandoned serious painting in favour of up-market landscape gardening. He had a hand in the design of St Jamesï¿½s Park and parts of Kew Gardens but not, so far as is known, the grounds of Chilham Castle. He would have been 85 in 1878. There is one, albeit tenuous, link which might provide a clue to ï¿½Why?ï¿½ Nesfield had a son, a distinguished architect who also painted and had designed some of the gardens at Doddington Place not far away. He was educated at Eton as were Lord Harris and Charles Stewart Hardy. However unlikely it seems, could the painting have originated as an obscure in-joke among Old Etonians?

It might at least explain Harris still being shown as an Hon. Unfortunately for the theory Nesfield juniorï¿½s initials were WEN. Other possible explanations are even more unlikely. An illustration for a long forgotten short story? Possibly if it were a pen and ink sketch but not a 38cm x 50.7 cm oil painting. The same applies if it was an advertisement for a match which never took place. And how to explain the scores or the absence of press coverage? Barring miracles, it seems that, so far as ï¿½Why?ï¿½ is concerned, the riddle will remain wrapped, the mystery unsolved and the enigma unexplained. Readers who have bravely persevered this far are unlikely to be surprised to learn that the tale has a further twist. There is another picture. Attributed to T.Bristow, it shows the 1878 Australians v the Gentlemen of Kent & Surrey ï¿½near Favershamï¿½.

The background is nondescript but again the fielders wear red and white caps, most of the objections to the Chilham picture apply and in the same way the game can only be a figment of someoneï¿½s imagination. The painting, said to have been at one time at Lordï¿½s, appears in full colour in Sir Jeremiah Colemanï¿½s The Noble Game of Cricket and in monochrome in Neville Cardusï¿½s English Cricket. Could this perhaps provide a clue? Was there a lucrative niche market for such pictures among gullible collectors? Sources & Bibliography Cashman Richard ï¿½The Demon Spofforth New South Wales University Press,1990. The Cricketer September 1923 page 10. Harris, Lord. - A few short runs. J.Murray 1921. Haygarth, Arthur ï¿½ Cricket scores & biographies Vol X1V.

Longmans & CO, 1895, reprinted Roger Heavens, 2003 James Lillywhiteï¿½s Cricketersï¿½Annual.1879 John Lillywiteï¿½ Cricketersï¿½ Companion 1879 Moyes A.G. ï¿½ Australian cricket, a history. Angus & Robertson, 1959. Pollard, Jack ï¿½ The formative years of Australian cricket 1803-1893 - Angus & Robertson, 1987 Reynolds, P.E. (Argus) ï¿½ The Australian Cricketersï¿½ Tour of Australia, New Zealand & Great Britain, 1878 ï¿½ Sydney 1878, reprinted J.W.McKenzie, 1980. Swanton, E.W. and Taylor, Christopher H. - Kent cricket a photographic history 1744-1984 Birlings, 1985, 2nd edition, Geerings, 1988 Tyson, Frank, editor- Horanï¿½s diary.

The Australian touring team 1877-1879 ï¿½ Association of Cricket Statisticians & Historians, 2001. John Wisdenï¿½s Cricketerï¿½ Almanack, 1879. Contemporary national and local papers including The Australasian, Bellï¿½s Life in London. Hastings & St Leonardï¿½s Independent, Hastings & St Leonardï¿½s News. Kentish Express, Kentish Gazette, Kentish News, Sussex Times, The Times, Westminster Gazette The back lawn of the castle as it was at the time The Victorian service wing is behind the big holm oak (planted 1816) which would have stood mid-wicket Photo kindly given by Michael Peters Archivist at Chilham Castle 'Aspects of Chilham' Fire Brigades & Fire Marks On the front wall of old buildings, there is sometimes displayed a fire mark - an old metal plate (or a fake modern one) showing the badge of a company which used to provide insurance against fire. Before municipal & county fire brigades became the norm, some insurance companies ran their own.

It is often said that, long ago, when few houses displayed names or street numbers, these fire marks identified the buildings where the relevant company's brigade would fight a fire ï¿½ presumably leaving all others to burn to ashes. Such alarmist tales were not discouraged by insurance companies ï¿½ they did no harm to business ! However, the prime purpose of a fire mark was advertising - to attract more insurance premiums. Confronted with a burning building, surely no brigade would refuse to help if the fire mark of its own company was nowhere to be seen (perhaps obscured by smoke or dislodged by the consuming blaze). Every fireman would be more concerned with dousing smoke & flame (& saving lives & property) than looking for a small metal label on the building's wall. The essence of insurance has always been mutual assistance. In 1890, when fire broke out in the vicarage stable at Selling, both Faversham's brigades, (the Kent Fire Office & the Sun Insurance Office) turned out.

Minutes of a Kent Fire Office meeting dated 26th April 1808 tell us that ï¿½Expenses are incurred by extinguishing fire regarding property not insured by the Institutionï¿½ This company was founded at Sittingbourne in 1802. One of its founding directors was James Wildman (owner of Chilham castle 1794 - 1816). The rate for insuring Mr Wildman's castle was fixed at 2s 3ï¿½d per cent (about 11.5p) By comparison, the rate for churches was 2s 9d % (just under 14p) & for thatched farmhouses 4s 7d % (about 23p) Chilham castle's fire pump used to be displayed to visitors in its own fire station within the park. The fire pump, we are told, went to Challock, when the building was sold off & became a dwelling ï¿½ lately it has been offered for sale again.

Nowadays, regardless of fire marks & private fire pumps, we all depend upon the bravery & expertise of Kent Fire & Rescue Service, including of course Chilham's own dedicated brigade. Let us thank God for such people. Chilham Genealogy Resources & Parish Registers | Kent Historical Description Direct link to this description CHILHAM is a village and parish, close to the junction of the road from Canterbury to Ashford and to Maidstone and the river Stour, with a station on the Ashford and Ramsgate branch of the South Eastern and Chatham railway, and is 6 miles south-west from Canterbury, 8 north-east from Ashford, 7 south-east from Faversham and 65 from London by rail and 54 by road, in the Southern division of the county, lathe of Scray, hundred of Felborough, union of East Ashford, Canterbury county court district, petty sessional division of Ashford, rural deanery of West Bridge and archdeaconry of Canterbury. The village is lighted with gas by a company. The church of St.

Mary is mostly of flint, in the Perpendicular style, with some earlier portions, and has a tower containing a clock and 8 bells: there are two monuments and traces of brasses: the church affords 800 sittings. The register dates from the year 1558. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £520, including 23 acres of glebe, with house, in the gift of Lieut.-Col. Hardy, and held since 1900 by the Rev. William George Elnor M.A. of St. Catherine's College, Cambridge. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels in the Hamlets. The poor have £29 yearly, derived from Consols and land left by various persons, and distributed at the discretion of the Chilham trustees. Chilham was the scene of numerous conflicts between the Britons and Romans, and many Roman remains have been from time to time discovered on the spot where the castle now stands. When the Romans gained a permanent settlement in Britain, they made this place one of their “Castra stativa,” or permanent encampments.

The early Saxon kings seem to have had a castle near the site of the present mansion. Withred. King of Kent (649—725) resided here and made it a place of great strength A curious athletic contest used formerly to take place here annually on the 19th of May, when two young men and two maidens between the ages; of sixteen and twenty-four ran a tye at Old Wives Lees, on which occasion the winning pair were entitled to £10 each, left by will, in 1638, by Sir Dudley Digges kt.: this custom has become obsolete, and the money is now added to the funds of the National schools. Chilham Castle, the property and seat of Lieut.-Col. Charles Stewart Hardy D.L., J.P. lord of the manor, is a structure of flint, chalk and stone, dating originally from the Norman period, and covering an area of 8 acres; the park, which adjoins that of Godmersham, is a mile in length and 400 acres in extent, and affords a view over the Vale of Ashford: courts leet and baron are held here. J. C.

Kay esq. of Godmersham Park, and Lieut.-Col. Hardy and Frederick Neame esq. of Luton, Faversham, are the principal landowners. The soil is loam and chalk; subsoil, chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, fruit and hops. The area is 4,375 acres of land and 23 of water; rateable value, £8,155; the population in 1901 was 1,321. National, erected in 1862, for 84 boys, 70 girls & 96 infants; average attendance, mixed 130, & 60 infants. Shottenden (mixed), built in 1864, for 36 children, average attendance, 20.

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Question: In which English county is Chilham Castle?
Answer: Kent