CHARING

 My husband's mother came from a Charing family, that also had connections to other Kentish villages and towns. So there will be the odd mention of them where relevant.

The earliest archaeological evidence of human habitation in the parish comes from a recently discovered early Roman cemetery, which contains high-class burial goods; there is also evidence for Roman buildings in the vicinity. 

Charing was given to the Church of Canterbury by Egbert II, King of Kent between 765-780, and the manor remained the property of the archbishops until Henry VIII took it from Archbishop Cranmer in 1545. 

Lying as it does, just below the Pilgrim's Way route to Canterbury Cathedral, and connected to the main road from Folkestone to London, it seemed a logical place for the Archbishops of Canterbury to build residence. And so they did - next door to the church stands the remains of the the manor house, known as the Archbishop's Palace. 

 In the Middle Ages, a road from London to Canterbury and the coast, passed through the village.  A market grew up outside the manor gates, and the present settlement was largely in place by the fifteenth century. In the eighteenth century some elegant houses were built. Small alehouses gave way to large coaching inns, but these declined in importance with the coming of the railway in 1884.

So, we'll start with the actual village. The main A20 from Ashford to Maidstone, effectively cuts the village in half, but nearly all the important buildings lay on the same side of the church, which makes exploration easy. As I parked in the Market Place, outside the church, I'll start there.

No 4 The Market Place was the old Poor House, and has a small window (outlined in white) through which alms were given to poor travellers. The garage to the east once housed the manual fire engine.

Elizabethan Court Formerly the Swan Inn, contains a medieval timber building, enlarged in brick in the 17th century and later. It was probably an inn from the 13th century when we know the archbishops owned an inn in the village. The name, 'The Swan', is an early one. The large iron bracket carried the sign

Wakeley House was built by Edward Wakeley in 1718. It is one of a number of elegant dwellings of this period in the High Street, and has finely decorated window heads.

No 61 (Venture Works) This is opposite Old School House, and was a corn chandlers. The Cackett family, who lived there early in the 20th century, had first a bicycle and then an early motor car business. They were credited with building a motorbike named the 'Invicta'. Note the early petrol pump. 

That's the house on the right, and Alfred's workshop on the left. The house is now called Venture House.  And here comes the family connection......My husband's aunt (mother's sister), was married to oine of Alfred Cackett's sons. 

 

Ludwell House dates to the early 18th century. A monument to Elizabeth Ludwell, who died in 1765, is in the church. She was a generous benefactor to Charing, providing money for a schoolmaster; a trust fund still provides for students. 

The 'Wady & Brett' Shop is a medieval building. It originally faced School Road, which was the main early medieval through-road from Maidstone to Ashford past the church. The road was later moved north and then south of the village, until the A20 was created in 1928 cutting through the lower part of the village.

Peirce House has a well documented history. In the Middle Ages the house was at least twice its present size, but half the open hall and the entire parlour end were demolished. In the early 16th century the Brent family added the fine porch and doorway. Margaret Brent married George Nevill (Lord Abergavenny) around 1501, and the spandrels over the porch doorway contain the arms of the Brents (left), and the crossed staples badge of the Nevills (right)

Attached to Peirce House, is Peirce cottage (above), of a later date. Peirce House has been divided into two cottages.

Over the door are the arms of the Brents and Nevilles, celebrating the 1501 marriage of Margaret Brent to George Neville, Lord Abergavenny.

Nos 27 & 29 were built in the early 16th century as a row of shop units. Note the unusual survival of the original shop windows and doorway behind the name board 'Sherbourne House'. Upstairs there may have been workshops, probably used by leather workers or weavers. In the 17th century the north end became a dwelling.

Ah, a quick delve into the mysterious interweb, revealed that this is a Grade II listed 18th. Century coaching inn with 20th. century 'amendments'. It was formerly the King's Head Public House

These two plaques are either side of the door in the building above. Lovely building - deserves some history

So there's just this one then....................

Ok, so now I'll walk back down Market Place towards the church (mind the guy chopping dead branches off the conker tree!) and take a look at what's left of the Archbishop's Palace and what else surrounds the church.

The history of the palace goes back to the 8th century. In AD 788 Kenulph of Kent granted land at Charing to Christchurch Priory at Canterbury to build a residence. The residence evolved over the centuries into a complex of buildings based around a hall. 

The remaining  buildings of the palace have been converted into dwellings, so the courtyard is a no-go area. Best you can do is stand in the gateway and take a quick peek. There are some cottages built into the wall alone the edge of the market place, and you can get a quick glimpse of the Big Barn and the roofs of other houses over the high wall which runs along the churchyard. There's also a couple of younger buildings at the back of the church.

Because I can't get a proper look at anything, I've just put all the pictures here.

The private apartments of the archbishop face the main gates which give onto the former market place. By tradition whenever an Archbishop of Canterbury visits Charing he enrobes at the Palace (by permission of the current owner) before walking to the neighbouring parish church

The very large great hall of the palace is now a barn, the top of which can be seen from the churchyard. 

It is thought that both Henry VII and Henry VIII stayed at the palace on numerous occasions. In 1520 the Palace hosted some of the 4000 men and women of Henry VIII's entourage as they journeyed to the king's famous meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold near Calais.

The Charing estate remained in the hands of Canterbury Priory until 1545 when Archbishop Cranmer exchanged it with Henry VIII. The crown rented out the manor house, which became a farmhouse.

In 1559 Archbishop Parker tried to reassert church control over the palace and become both tenant and farmer of the Charing estate but the palace was instead sold to Sir Richard Sackville. It has been in private hands ever since.

Tucked behind the church on Vicarage Close are two historic buildings, the oldest dating to the 14th century and thought to be the oldest building in Charing. The second building, the current vicarage, dates to the 15th century and was originally the church hall before being converted into a dwelling.

Opposite the palace, is the village recreation ground, and a pretty memorial garden to Charing's own V.C., Corporal Frederick George Coppins.

There are two unusual itams embedded in the paving of the garden. One is a replica of his Victoria Cross....

The other is an unusual, huge, horizontal sundial. Can't work out how it works, but nevermind - it's quite a feature.

And so to the church..............

The church of Ss. Peter & Paul is a handsome building, with lots of interesting things inside. In 1590 a fire destroyed the roof and a large portion of the interior. According to reports at the time, the fire was started when someone fired a gun at a pigeon on the roof of the church, which caused the roof timbers to catch fire.

(above) the very elegant clock, and below, the West entrance, which is closed, but a sweet little arrow directs you arounf the corner to the south porch.

A long nave. but the clerar windows make it very light. There are few plaques in the nave, but the Royal Tank Regiment memorial plaque caught my eye.

Every pew has a long tapestry cushion runner. They're all different, and have either scenes from the Bible, or local references

In the late 15th century the Lady Chapel was built on the south side of the chancel by Hugh and Amy Brent, replacing an earlier chapel. It became known, not surprisingly, as the Brent Chantry, though it later passed to the Deering family.

The altar is surrounded by tomb slabs to members of the Dering family. The Derings have been Lords of the manor of nearby Pluckley for years. Most of the ledger slabs are unreadable, however, this one caught my eye. It is to the memory of Catherine, wife of the Reverend Edward Dering, and daughter of William Levet Esq., who attended King Charles I on the scaffold of his execution.

The Archbiishop's throne, for when he is in attendance. He still has the right to enrobe at the palace, before walking across the courtyard to the church.

St. Edmund's side chapel is dedicated to St.Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), who was once rector of this church, and who is patron saint of Sussex. 

The parish chest. It would have had 3 locks, witrh the vicar and two vergers holding a key each, to prevent theft or fraud.

The Charing Clock. Unfortunately, it was placed in a very dark corner under the tower, and I couldn't get a good view of the description. I'll find out about it and update later. 

This is by no means the end of exploring Charing. I will have a very sad tale to relate at a later date, regarding a close member of my husband's family, the parish church, and the village lake. But I don't have the necessary pictures yet, so that will have to wait.