For the Love of the British Isles: BISHOPSBOURNE

St Mary's church, in the small picturesque village of Bishopsbourne. Situated at one end of the 'The Street', it is five miles south of Canterbury in the Elham Valley. The church has recently undergone renovation work, which has seen a complete re-decoration inside, including restoration of the mediaeval stained glass.

This is the old school building, Grade II listed. Dated on gable end 1871 M K B. (Matthew and Fanny Bell, who owned Bourne Park) Victorian Jacobean style school building.

It is understood that The Old School House was built by Matthew and Fanny Bell of the Bourne Park House estate, and served as a National School for boys and girls. It is believed that the building continued as a school until the early 50’s.

Interestingly, the war memorial cross outside the church was erected by one family in memory of their son.

This cross is erected by Major Philip and Gertrude Durham, the parents of Edward Durham, Captain Rifle Brigade, grandson of Matthew and Fanny Bell of Bourne Park, who fell at Fauquissart, France, 26th. November 1914.

On the rear - To the glory of God and in gratitude for the honoured memory and noble example of those who have given their lives for their God, their King and country in the Great War 1914-1919 RIP

Other names are on the war memorial in the church.

1911 lychgate

The west window was designed in 1874 to commemorate a former Rector

Curiously, this tomb has a screen built across the middle of it!

Hooker was the Rector from 1595 until his untimely death in 1600. He played a major part in the development of Anglicanism as the 'middle way' between the two extremes of Protestantism and Catholicism. His eight volume work ‘The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity’ includes a commentary on Cranmer's ‘Book of Common Prayer’ as well as reasoned arguments about the governing of the Church and its relationship to the State. Hooker was buried in the Chancel of the church, and a memorial to him can be seen on the south wall.

William Sydney Smith Mulcaster (1825–1910) was a British Military Officer who achieved the rank of Major General, primarily serving within the Indian Staff Corps.

Born in 1825, he was the son of Captain Sir William Howe Mulcaster (1783–1837), a distinguished Royal Navy officer who served in the War of 1812, and Sophia Sawyer Van Cortlandt.
His grandfather was Major General Frederick George Mulcaster of the Royal Engineers.
He had a brother, William Edward Mulcaster (1820–1887), who also became a general.

He died on January 10, 1910, at approximately age 85 in St Leonards, Hastings Borough, East Sussex

Major General Frederick George Mulcaster (c. 1740 – August 18, 1797) was a distinguished British Army officer in the Royal Engineers

Born around February 27, 1739/40.He passed away in 1797, not 1830. His second wife, Mary Juliana Auchmuty (1750–1830), died in 1830.

He served as a Major General in the Royal Engineers and was based in North America and the Caribbean.
He served as a Surveyor General in East Florida, with surveys recorded around 1773–1774.

lieutenant-general, colonel-commandant royal engineers, and inspector-general of fortifications, eldest son of Major-general G. F. Mulcaster, of the royal engineers, was born at St. Augustine, East Florida, on 25 June 1772. After passing through the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, he received a commission as second lieutenant in the royal artillery on 2 June 1792, and in June 1793 was transferred to the royal engineers.

He was promoted first lieutenant in November 1793. He was sent to Portsmouth, and early in 1795 was appointed assistant quartermaster-general in the south-western district. He laid out the encampments at Weymouth, which were frequently visited by George III and the royal family. He sailed for Portugal on 1 Jan. 1797, and after making a military survey of the seat of war, he served successively as military secretary to General Hon. Sir C. Stuart and Lieutenant-General Fraser. On 11 Sept. 1798 he was promoted captain-lieutenant, and went to Minorca, where he was commanding engineer at the siege of Cindadella in that island at the end of the year. He was actively employed in the operations in the Mediterranean until 1801, and was military secretary successively to Sir C. Stuart, General Fox, and Lord Roslyn. He acted as colonial secretary of Minorca after its capture, and as judge of the vice-admiralty court in the Mediterranean. He held the latter appointment for nearly two years.

In June 1801 he was appointed undersecretary to Lord Chatham, master-general of the ordnance. On 21 Sept. 1802 he was promoted captain, and in December 1803 he was appointed commanding royal engineer and inspector of the royal gunpowder factories at Faversham and Waltham Abbey. On 25 July 1810 he became brevet major, and on 1 May 1811 regimental lieutenant-colonel. In January 1812 he went to the Mauritius as commanding royal engineer of that island and of Bourbon and dependencies. He remained there until 1817, and acted as surveyor-general of the colonies and temporarily as colonial secretary, and took charge of Bourbon at a time of peculiar difficulty and delicacy, the lieutenant-governor having been superseded.

He received the thanks of the governor for restoring peace in Bourbon by his judicious conduct. He was promoted colonel on 7 Feb. 1817. He returned to England in July the same year, and was placed on half-pay on reduction of the corps in August. He was made a K.C.H. for his services, and received the reward for distinguished service. He returned to full pay on 15 April 1824, and was promoted major-general on 27 May 1825. He served in various capacities on the staff at home, and on 16 July 1834 was appointed inspector-general of fortifications. He was promoted lieutenant-general 28 June 1838. He resigned the office of inspector-general of fortifications in July 1845, and died at Charlton near Canterbury on 28 Jan. 1846. Mulcaster married first, on 2 Sept. 1804, Mary Lucy, daughter of John Montrésor of Belmont, Kent, and of Portland Place, and secondly, on 10 Sept. 1822, Esther Harris of Petham, near Canterbury, and had by her one son, Frederick Montrésor.

Captain Sir William Howe Mulcaster, CB, KCH, KTS was an officer in the British Royal Navy who played a distinguished part in the Anglo-American War of 1812, in particular in the Engagements on Lake Ontario.

In October 1814, he married Sophia Sawyer Van Cortlandt (1789–1841), the youngest daughter of Colonel Philip Van Cortlandt (1739–1814) and Catherine Ogden (1746–1828) and a descendant of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the first native born Mayor of New York City and the Schuyler family, at Duloe in Cornwall. Colonel Van Cortlandt was an American of Dutch descent who had refused to take the colonists' side in the American War of Independence. Having lost his substantial property in America, he left with the evacuation of New York City and sailed to England with his wife and family in 1783.

Mulcaster and his wife Sophia had at least seven children, but only four survived into adulthood. His two surviving sons, William Edward Mulcaster (1820–1887) and William Sydney Smith Mulcaster (1825–1910), both became generals.

In 1831 he received a knighthood and became Naval aide de camp to King William IV.

He died at Guilford Lawn in Dover on 12 March 1837 of complications of a severe wound he received in the War of 1812

World War I memorial:

Private Frank Coveney ADAMS 1611
Born: Blean, near Canterbury, Kent, England
Enlisted: 6-2-1916, Cootamundra, New South Wales
Occupation prior to Enlistment: Labourer
56th Battalion Australian Infantry
Killed in Action 3-12-1916, France aged 37years
Son of Julius John Adams, Langham Park, Bishopsbourne, Kent

only one I've researched so far.

Born in Greenwich, London, England on 15 JUL 1884 to John Theodore Prestige and Annie Worringham. Sir John Theodore Prestige married Iris Evelyn Rosamand Radclyffe and had 2 children. He passed away on 8 NOV 1962 in Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Kent, England.

The engraving over this door, M.B. 1853 probably refers to Matthew Bell

Matthew John Bell. (1840-1902) Eldest son of Matthew and Fanny Bell; Captain in 13th Light Infantry. Retired as a captain in 1869, shortly before his marriage in 1870 to Kathleen Reilly, the daughter of a Dublin barrister. They had one son and two daughters, but Matthew John died after a long illness in 1902 before inheriting the Bourne estate.

Edward Shurland Bell, second son of Matthew and Fanny Bell. (1841-61), born 1 September and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster, 29 September 1841; died unmarried, 16 April 1861

Charles George Bell (1843-85), third son of Matthew and Fanny Bell. born 6 September and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 26 October 1843; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1861); an officer in the 23rd Foot (Ensign, 1863; Lt., 1868; ret. 1873), who was apparently subsequently a planter in Ceylon; married, 17 July 1875 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Frances Emma Honoria (later k/a Fanny Beresford) (c.1851-1921), died at sea on his passage home from Ceylon, 18 May 1885, and was buried in the Red Sea

And here are the parents - Matthew and Fanny. Matthew was the only son of John Bell (1764-1836) and his wife Jane. Educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1834; BA 1838; MA 1841) and Grays Inn (admitted 1836). JP and DL (from 1852) for Kent; High Sheriff of Kent, 1850. An officer in the East Kent Yeomanry (Capt., 1853). Landowner, farmer and hop-grower. He was a trustee of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the Rochester Bridge Trust, and a director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. He married, 13 June 1839 at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Westminster (Middx), Fanny Cecilia Bigge (1815-1908),

Flagstone marking the family vaults for the Aucher and Beckingham families.

Memorial to John and Robert Foote. Largely indecipherable, so it may take me a while. For starters, this: Foote, John, possesses Sturry manor and parsonage, Hawe manor, in Herne, Charlton Park seat, in Bishopsborne,

I found this, mostly about Robert Foote, the son of John, but because the dates on the tablet are so indistinct, I can only presume these are the right men:

John Foote died 1800 at only 45, and the property was inherited by his son Robert, at the age of 17. Robert married Charlotte-Augusta Keppel in 1802 aged 19. She was the daughter of the Bishop of Exeter, and her grandfather was Earl of Albemarle. The Keppels had come to England with William 3rd in 1688. She was born in 1771, so was 12 years older than him. They had one son, Keppel Robert Edward Foote in 1811, who died in 1851. He and his wife Helen or Ellen (nee' Whitfield, who he married in 1834 ), who died in the same year, had no children. In 1843 he was described as a wine and brandy merchant of 35, Seething Lane, in the City of London, and in 1841 he and his wife were living in Guilford St, St Pancras with a staff of 1. Robert was High Sheriff of Kent in 1815, and a Gentleman of the King's privy chamber. The Foote's link to the King - in itself surprising for relatively obscure country gentlemen - most likely arose via Edward Foote.

Robert and Charlotte-Augusta Foote by the 1840's were living in reduced circumstances in Bedford Place, Sidmouth, Devon, where Robert died in 1845, and his wife in 1852. In the 1851 Census, she still referred to herself as " Earl's granddaughter" so was presumably fairly snobbish. Robert Foote's death certificate refers to him as "Gentleman of the Queens' Privy Chamber". They clearly clung to their Royal connections.

The main house in Charlton Park, was formerly known as Charlton Place, and is Grade II listed, Now used as a wedding venue.

The sanctuary walls are lined with beautiful tiles, as is the floor. The wall ones are enhanced with gold.

Walls around the altar covered in mosaic tiles, many of gold, by or in the style of William Morris and William de Morgan and depicting natural shapes, leaves and grapes.

Thomas Hirst Died 29 Jan 1901 at age 76 in Sondes House, Bishopsbourne. He was Rector of Bishopsbourne, Kent, 1874-1901

The blue panel on the left depicts the coat of arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury. A little more digging established that these are the arms of John Morton (c.1420-1500), an English prelate who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1486 until his death in 1500. Henry VII appointed him as Archbishop on 6th October 1486 and Lord Chancellor of England in 1487. In 1493 he was created Cardinal of the church of St. Anastasia in Rome by Pope Alexander VI. He died at Knole House in Kent, on 15 September 1500 and was buried at Canterbury Cathedral. He built Morton's Gateway at Lambeth Palace, his London residence.

Statue of Richard Hooker

Lt. Col. Air Commodore Francis Henry Humphrys GCMG GCVO KBE CIE of Charlton Park (24 April 1879 – 28 August 1971) was a British cricketer, colonial administrator and diplomat.

After graduating from Oxford in 1900, Humphrys joined the Worcestershire Regiment and served in the Second Boer War. Following the war he was seconded to the Indian Staff Corps, and in October the same year he left his regiment and was transferred to the Indian Army. He was seconded to the Political Service and spent most of this part of his career in the North-West Frontier Province, although in 1918, towards the end of the First World War he returned to Europe and served with a temporary commission in the newly formed Royal Air Force. In 1919 he returned to India, first as a political agent and then, in 1921, as deputy Foreign Secretary in the Government of India. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in the 1920 Birthday Honours.

Following the Anglo-Afghan "Treaty of Kabul" of 22 November 1921, in early 1922 Humphrys was appointed the first British Minister to the Amir of Afghanistan, Amānullāh Khān. In November 1928 a rebellion began in Jalalabad and tribal forces marched on Kabul, and in early 1929 Humphrys supervised the evacuation by air of several hundred Europeans in what became known as the Kabul Airlift. In the 1929 Birthday Honours Humphrys was given the additional knighthood of Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)

Later in 1929 Humphrys was appointed to be High Commissioner in the Kingdom of Iraq, then under British administration. Following the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty (1930), which Humphrys signed for the United Kingdom, on 3 October 1932 Iraq became an independent kingdom and Humphrys became the first British Ambassador to Iraq.

In 1935 Humphrys retired from the diplomatic service and was appointed chairman of a Sugar Tribunal, which resulted in the creation of the British Sugar Corporation, of which he was chairman from its formation from 1936 to 1949. He was also the director of several other companies and was the chairman of the Iraq Petroleum Company from 1941 to 1950.

Rachel Bushell, Christopher’s widow, received his Victoria Cross from HM King George V at Buckingham Palace on 11 May 1919.

In 1931 Rachel moved to Hookers Green (named after Richard Hooker, one-time rector), Bishopsbourne. For 15 years Rachel was the churchwarden at St. Mary the Virgin, Bishopsbourne, and she became strongly involved in the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) to the extent that she was awarded an MBE in 1959 for services to that organisation.

John McDivitt d.1839. All I have found so far is this:

Dr John McDivitt, 'Statistics of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital', The Medical Annual, or, British Medical Almanack, (1839), 179. He wrote this article as one of the physicians to the hospital.