The white horse and the motto 'Invictus' on the Kentish flag, are to be seen everywhere throughout the county. The word 'Invictus' means 'Unconquered'.
Following the Norman invasion in 1066, peasants in Kent refused to acknowledge Duke William's rule and ambushed his men near Strood.
In return for them ceasing their protests and accepting his authority, the Duke pardoned them, and permitted them to use the white horse emblem and the motto of 'unconquered'.
A BALLOON FLIGHT
ALDINGTON
ASHFORD
AYLSFORD
BARHAM
BETHERSDEN
BIDDENDEN
BILSINGTON
BONNINGTON
BROADSTAIRS
BROOKLAND
BURMARSH
CHATHAM DOCKYARD
CHILHAM
CLIFFSEND AND PEGWELL BAY
DEAL & WALMER
DENTON
DOVER
DUNGENESS & THE R.H.D.R.
EASTWELL
EGERTON
ELHAM
ETCHINGHILL
EYNSFORD
FAVERSHAM
FOLKESTONE
GOUDHURST
GRAVENEY
HAM STREET
HERNE BAY
HEVER CASTLE
HIGH HALDEN
HYTHE
IVYCHURCH
KINGSNORTH (ASHFORD)
LYDD
LYMINGE
LYMPNE
MAIDSTONE
MARGATE
NEWCHURCH
NEWNHAM
OFFHAM
OLD ROMNEY
OTFORD
PALMARSH
PEDLINGE
PHILIPPINE VILLAGE
RECULVER
ROLVENDEN
ROLVENDEN LAYNE
RUCKINGE
SANDLING
SANDWICH
SELLINDGE
SISSINGHURST
SITTINGBOURNE & KEMSLEY LIGHT RAILWAY
SMALL HYTHE
SMARDEN
ST-MARY-IN-THE-MARSH
TENTERDEN
TUDELEY
WEST HYTHE
WEST MALLING
WHITSTABLE
WOODCHURCH
YALDING
Over the centuries, Kent has been home to many famous - and infamous people. But some of the more unusual residents are wallabies, who have been spotted around the Bethersden and Tenterden areas.
A BALLOON FLIGHT OVER EAST KENT
Something I love is hot-air ballooning. The following pictures were taken on a flight over East Kent, in particular, the Elham Valley, early one evening.
This is Broome Park, between Canterbury and Dover, where the flight started.
If you walk from the main door of the church towards the High Street, you will pass through Middle Row. These old buildings were originally the Butcher's Shambles, and very fine they are too.
During the Commonwealth the poet’s three surviving brothers - William having been killed at Carmarthen - Capt. Thomas, Col. Francis and Capt. Dudley Posthumus Lovelace went to America, and after the Restoration Francis Lovelace was Governor of New York 1669-72.
The new owner of Lovelace Place, Richard Hulse (or ‘Captain Hulse’ as the Parish Records call him), in his youth travelled extensively (and perhaps fought) on the Continent. He settled in Kent and married first Clara Toke of Godinton and secondly Mary daughter of Sir William Clerke of Wrotham, one of the sureties for Richard Lovelace in 1642 (Clerke was eventually killed, together with Sir William Boteler, at Cropredy Bridge in 1644.)
From the Spanish Armada to the Falklands Crisis ships built, repaired and manned from Chatham secured and maintained Britain’s command of the world ocean’s and the global position it has today.
It is also home to the Viking Long Ship 'Hugin'. This was a gift from the Danish government in commemoration of the 1500th anniversary of the A.D. 449 migration from Jutland (modern Denmark) to Kent of Hengist and Horsa, Jutes who became leaders of the Anglo-Saxon invasion. The ship is a replica of the much later ca. 890 Gokstad ship. Horsa was killed in battle, but Hengist later became the first King of Kent.
The Underpass itself has very attractive murals, depicting the kinds of ships which have sailed into Dover over the years. 
Back out into the sunshine, and still in the square, is the Old Dover Bank. Now the original was built on the former site of the monastery church of St. Martin-Le-Grand, using flints taken from the walls. It was partly destroyed by enemy shelling during World War II, and rebuilt in 1957/8
St, Martin's Priory is the heart of Dover College. The Priory of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Martin of the New Work, or Newark, commonly called Dover Priory, was a priory at Dover that was variously independent in rule, then occupied by canons regular of the Augustinian rule, then finally monks of the Benedictine rule as a cell of Christchurch Monastery, Canterbury.
The Light Railway, as it is known locally, is the world's only narrow gauge railway, running a fully-scheduled service, mostly by steam. It does, however, have a diesel loco that is used to haul the daily School trains during term time. Lucky those children who use it every day to go to school!
Maybe Diccon is buried alongside the tomb of Sir Walter; it is not entirely inconceivable that his body was placed in the same tomb.
The tomb above, and the rest of the Darell Monuments (below), were brought to St. James, when their original house, the church of St. Mary in Little Chart was hit by a doodlebug in 1944 and destroyed. The Monuments have been restored as much as possible. The tomb is that of Sir John Darell (1386-1509 - they are the dates given on the script, but really - 123?) Actually, reading further, it should have been died 1438, which would have made him 52, a far more reasonable age!
Faversham has more than a share of old pubs.
FOLKESTONE
The Incredible, sorely missed, Dave Sutch. Pity he couldn't get the help he so needed
Sir John's memorial is overshadowed by a quite wonderful alabaster Tudor monument to the Culpeppers. Four generations of the family are commemorated in this lovely memorial, carved in 1599. In an upper niche is Sir Thomas Culpepper, Sheriff under Edward VI. Beneath Sir Thomas is his son Alexander with Mary, his wife.
Sir Alexander Culpepper was an influential nobleman who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. The queen is known to have visited him at Bedgebury. Beneath Sir Alexander is a likeness of his son Anthony, with his wife Ann, who was the daughter of the Mayor of London. At the bottom of the memorial are carvings of their sixteen children. kneeling in suitably reverential attitudes of prayer.
flag mast at the entrance to the pier
THE PHILIPPINE VILLAGE (no longer there)
The Philippine Village used to lie on Romney Marsh, midway between Rye and Brenzett. It was set up to import crafts from the Philippines, and supply them with much-needed money. It was a bright, sparkling place, full of colour, and had shops and a nice tea rooms. This is one of the highly-decorated 'Jeepneys' a sort of local Phillippine cross between a taxi and a bus. The only thing left now is the tea rooms, now a cafe. (Jo's Cafe - highly recommended)
Reculver declined as the Wantsum Channel silted up, and coastal erosion claimed many buildings constructed on the soft sandy cliffs. The village was largely abandoned in the late 18th century, and most of the church was demolished in the early 19th century. Protecting the ruins and the rest of Reculver from erosion is an ongoing challenge.
The light there is fantastic, and so it was the obvious choice for me to go and try out my new camera!
ROLVENDEN
Although it's just a village on the A28 that you drive through on the way to somewhere else, Rolvenden was once upon a time by the sea, and is worth stopping to see in its own right. Full of traditional Kentish weatherboarded houses, and with a stunning church at the end of the main street, and a nice little motor museum, don't just dismiss it. Also, there's a stop on the Kent & East Sussex heritage railway not too far from the village centre.
Oh, and Lady Jane Grey, the Queen of 9 Days, lived at nearby Halden Place.
Sissinghurst is a rather pretty village in between Biddenden and Goudhurst. It is famed mostly for Sissinghurst Castle, the former home of Vita Sackville-West, and its world-renowned gardens.
SMALLHYTHE
On the other side of the footpath, the land rises steeply through the churchyard up to the church at the highest point. Mausoleums have been excavated into the side of this steep bank, which means of course, that normal graves cannot be dug from the top down!
One of the best known stores in town is Webb's - their two premises house ironmongers, haberdashers and homewares and the main shop has a very unique entrance
This was where the fire reached everything to the left of this picture was burnt to the ground.
A BALLOON FLIGHT OVER EAST KENT
Something I love is hot-air ballooning. The following pictures were taken on a flight over East Kent, in particular, the Elham Valley, early one evening.
This is Broome Park, between Canterbury and Dover, where the flight started.
Broome Park, now a golf club, lays on the edge of Barham, in the Barham Downs. This elegant 17th. century mansion was designed by Inigo Jones.
In 1911, it was sold to Lord Kitchener, who had a cupboard built into the panelling of his study so that he could hide whenever he spotted a lady approaching the house, in case she turned out to be a suffragette!
It does have the most exquisite formal gardens
the verdant Kent countryside
looking down on Lyminge
ALDINGTON
Aldington is the next village along from where I grew up.
Not being on a major road, it has managed to retain its quiet aspect, and has a very good community spirit. The wide-reaching views are stunning.
The village revolves around Reynold's Field, the Village Hall and the Walnut Tree Inn opposite. The village school and a couple of local shops are visibly within reach too.
The “Walnut Tree Inn” was built during the reign of Richard II (1377-1399) in the year of the crusades.
The pub has retained its historic interior and the food is worthy of the surroundings.
During the Napoleonic wars Aldington was the stronghold of the Aldington Gang, an infamous band of smugglers that roamed the marshes and shores of Kent plying their nefarious trade. The gang’s prolific leaders, Cephas Quested and George Ransley, both natives of Aldington, made the “Walnut Tree” their headquarters and drop point for their illicit contraband. High up on the southern side of the inn is a small window through which the gang would shine a signal light to their confederates up to Aldington Knoll.
After the death of their leader, the gang was taken over by one George Ransley, members of whose family still live in the area. Ransley and several others were eventually captured and tried for murder. They were sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to transportation to Tasmania for life. Sadly, one of them was an ancestor of mine (Thomas Gillham)
After the death of their leader, the gang was taken over by one George Ransley, members of whose family still live in the area. Ransley and several others were eventually captured and tried for murder. They were sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to transportation to Tasmania for life. Sadly, one of them was an ancestor of mine (Thomas Gillham)
The “Walnut Tree’s” association with lawlessness did not end with the demise of the smugglers for as late as 1904 the inn was centre of the cock fighting contests.
Opposite the pub, lies Reynolds Field. A large expanse given in perpetuity to the youth of Aldington, by Captain Jack Wells Reynolds in remembrance of his son. If you enlarge the photo above, you can read all the details. I don't need to reprint it here.
As teenagers, we played football out here - our village (Lympne) youth club against Aldington Youth Club. The village hall, just out of shot to the right of the field, was one of three village halls, together with Lympne and Sellindge, where Saturday night dances were held on consecutive weeks. And of course, it simply wasn't true that if you were under age you could get served beer out of a small window round the back of the Walnut Tree. Someone made that story up - honest! The local police officer, Danny, would maintain control by boxing your ears and threatening to tell your Dad, who, if he did, would then repeat the punishment on the basis that if Danny had done it, we must have earned it!
Ford Maddox Ford, who lived in Aldington for a while, wrote a poem called 'Aldington Knoll', The Knoll is a grassy mound just outside the village, and the poem tells how the landowner wanted to level it, but nobody would do it because of a local legend that anyone who disturbed it would meet a sticky end.
Eventually, a man from outside the village did it, and he dug up a skeleton and a sword before he died.
Aldington Knoll
THE OLD SMUGGLER SPEAKS
A L'INGTON Knoll it stands up high,
Guidin' the sailors sailin' by,
Stands up high fer all to see
Cater the marsh and crost the sea.
Al'ington Knoll's a mound a top,
With a dick all round and it's bound to stop,
For them as made it in them old days
Sees to it well that theer it stays,
For that ol' Knoll is watched so well
By drownded men let outen Hell;
They watches well and keeps it whole
For a sailor's mark — the goodly Knoll.
Farmer Finn as farms the ground
Tried to level that goodly mound,
But not a chap from Lydd to Lym'
Thought that job were meant for him.
Finn 'e fetched a chap fro' th' Sheeres,
One o' yer spunky devil-may-keeres,
Giv him a shovel and pick and spade,
Promised him double what we was paid.
He digged till ten, and he muddled on
Till he'd digged up a sword and a skillington —
A grit old sword as long as me,
An' grit ol' bones as you could see.
He digged and digged the livelong day,
Till the sun went down in Fairlight Bay;
He digged and digged, and behind his back
The lamps shone out and the marsh went black,
And the sky in the west went black from red,
An' the wood went black — an' the man was dead.
But wheer he'd digged the chark shone white
Out to sea like Calais light.
Al'ington Knoll it stands up high,
Guidin' the sailors sailin' by,
Stands up high for all to see
Cater the marsh and crost the sea.
H.G. Wells, who based several of his books in this part of Kent, had a different take on Aldington Knoll. In his fantasy story, Mr. Skelmersdale in Fairyland, he reveals that the Knoll is the home of elves!
It is said that from the top of the Knoll, you can see the towers of 36 churches.
The history of Aldington has not always been good. Even ignoring the Ransley gang of smugglers, it has a far darker point of history.
Down a little path from the top of Knoll Hill, lies the ruin of a small chapel and hermitage. It is hard to get to, as it lies at the foot of a steep bank. And indeed, when you reach it, there is little to see - just a few broken down stone walls, and the remains of a well. There are several other footpaths down to it, but the shortest one is on private land.
This was the home of Elizabeth Barton, the servant girl from Tudor times, who became known as the Holy Maid of Kent.
History now shows that she was probably a pawn in the political shenanigans of the reign of Henry VIII, but at the time she was revered by common folk as someone who saw visions during 'ecstasies'. These were more probably something like catatonic attacks, or epileptic 'absences'.
She spoke out against Henry's divorce from Catherina of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn. She urged Henry to mend his ways, or suffer the loss of his kingdom.
As her reputation grew, she was arrested and incarcerated in the Tower of London. Some of her followers admitted (probably under torture), that they had controlled her and her visions, and in 1533, they were all executed at Tyburn
St. Martin's church lies quite a distance from the village centre, down a quiet lane, and at the back of a farmyard, behind a very old barn. Probably yet another example of 'village drift' caused by the Black Death. It's quite an imposing building, but I have yet to find it open.
In 1511 Erasmus of Rotterdam a famous theologian and scholar was made the vicar of Aldington by Archbishop Warham. Erasmus spoke Latin and Dutch and no English , therefore could not preach to the English congregation and resigned one year later.
The main door has what were once, some really attractive carvings above and to the sides, and, unusually, a holy water stoup built into the wall. There is a niche above the door, but no statue in it.
ASHFORD
Ashford is my home town. Once a busy little market town, in recent years it has been developed out of all recognition. On the whole, it's going to be very hard for me to say much in praise of the town that is nearest to my home as it is now. But in the past, it was an important place, with much social history.
Ashford was, for a short time, the home of Jack Cade. Don't know who he is? See here:
The town lies within a large bend of the Great Stour, and appears to have developed around ford or river-crossing, as the name stems from 'a ford by an ash-tree'
When I was a kid, we looked forward to going into Ashford once a month in the sheep lorry, when Dad went to the livestock market. The market then was at the bottom of Bank street, and there used to be pens where the cattle could be held and loaded directly onto trains. This made the town a very busy place.
Then, as a teenager, it was a wonderland of dance halls (the Corn Exchange), cinemas (the Odeon and the Cinema), coffee bars (Tiffany's on East Hill was our one of choice - even if we did tell our parents we went to the BonBon!), and boys with big motorcycles!
Then, in the mid-70s came the Inner Ring Road, and the town died....................
This one-way system has much the same effect as a city wall in places like York, Chester and Canterbury. Everything within the centre was cut off from the outside world, and there was no room within those bounds for further development.
As the population grew, residential development happened outside the 'wall', businesses followed and eventually that meant the supermarkets moved to where the people lived and worked. The market, too, moved to the outskirts, and that sounded the beginning of the long slow decline.
Since then, subsequent Town Councils have piled bad decision upon bad decision....................
However, the central part of the town, the oldest part, is quite picturesque. Here you can see the parish church of St. Mary, as seen from the Lower High Street, looking towards Middle Row.
Middle Row was originally the butchers' shambles, which fronted onto where the original market was held.
Anyway, let's start with Ashford Borough Councils attempt to brighten up the town centre. They invited local artists to paint on the many blank walls, and there is a trail map you can download to follow. I've not done it yet - these are just one or two I spotted as I strolled round
This one points towards the railway station, where you can at least catch an HS1 Javelin to London, even if the Eurostars no longer stop here.
Sad to see the Odeon all boarded up and down at heel. It was never one of Odeon's more spectacular buildings, but it did still have some of its' Art Deco points inside. It struggled on as a bingo hall for a while, but now is rapidly falling into disrepair.
These empty picture frames are in Elwick Place, outside the new cinema. The cinema itself, looks like it is scaffolding covered with hessian sacking.
Whether this is art, depends on your point of view. It's called 'Loose Ends 206' by Andy Welland. It's on a wall facing the Bright City Church, so it's relevant I guess.
The disused windows of the Coachworks entertainment venue, giving a bright outlook to the car park. The site was formerly that of the coachbuilding firm Croford Carriages, who counted Harrods and the Royal Household amongst their customers.The inspiration for the Coachworks name comes from a firm of coachbuilders which was based here for 30 years f
Pretty planters brightening up an otherwise quite dreary railway station frontage
This is called 'The Flume' - unimpressive and ignored by most people
The fountain in the Lower High Street, is centred around an old locomotive wheel, displaying pride in Ashford's railway heritage. The railway works were once the largest employer in the area. Can't remember when I last saw it playing. It's lovely when it's working and safe for children (and Dogs) to paddle and play in.
Mr. Doodle has designed a wall elsewhere in the town, but this is he taking time out for a well-earned beer
This is the painting on the rear wall of the Odeon, overlooking the car park. More than one bodice-ripper was watched when it was a cinema.....
This one shows Ashford Windmill, which is just off Hythe Road in Willesborough, and the Hubert Fountain in Victoria Park
One of the left-over 'snow dogs' from a previous art trail, has taken up residence in the Vicarage Lane car park.
The bandstand in the centre of town. Seldom used......................
The World War I tank. Ashford was among 265 UK towns to be awarded a tank after WWI. This was due to the amount of war bonds that had been purchased. Today, it is one of seven that remain in the world and the only one still on public display. It is also Grade II listed and a registered war memorial.
When I was young, it had been fitted with an electricity substation inside. This saved it. During World War II, these gifted tanks were recalled by the Government to be melted down for the war effort. The Ashford tank was left in place because it was the substation for the town, including the nearby barracks. Thankfully, it has now been restored, become a listed monument, and had a protective roof put over it. 
The tank is a 'female' variant, weighing over 26 tons. It could only move at 7 mph.
One of the few banks that is still in Bank Street, and in its' original building. Wonder how many people miss the lovely view of the parish church through it's archway?
The Whitfeld Hall and Institute, founded in 1873 to the memory of Mr. Henry Whitfeld, and used for public meetings.
I can't remember what this building used to be, but each window has a different head above it, and my gory older brother used to say they were the heads of all the criminals that were executed on that spot.
Not so long ago, County Square shopping mall was almost doubled in size as part of a regeneration move, and the biggest space was taken by the Debenhams department store. Now Debenhams are no more, and the building just stands there empty.
This whole area of roads is a 'shared space' where no one form or traffic, be it wheeled or pedestrian, has a right of way. That in Ashford is particularly nasty. The ground is covered with almost identically coloured bricks, (except at one end where there is a ludicrously haphazard colour scheme), that makes it difficult to understand where you're supposed to drive or walk. Even where there are pedestrian crossings, these are so poorly marked that it must give visually impaired pedestrians nightmares. This system is another reason for the lack of footfall in this area
The flower tubs in Elwick Place proudly bear the civic arms. The three ash sprigs represent three early civic areas, - East Ashford Rural, West Ashford Rural and Ashford Urban. There is wavy line representing the rivers, and a single lion ship representing the Cinque Ports of the area.
Strangely, I rather like this bridge. It leads from Elwick Place, across the railway to Victoria Way, which in turn gives access via a little bridge over the River Stour to Victoria Park.
Victoria Park was purchased by Ashford Urban District Council in 1898 from the Jemmett Family, who owned a bank in the town.
The Hubert Fountain in Victoria Park was commissioned for the International Exhibition of 1862, the successor to the 1851 Great Exhibition.
The visitors to the exhibition in 1862 would have also been entertained and delighted by the fountain’s original water operated organ, which contained sixty-four whistle pipes set at different pitches. This no longer exists
After the exhibition, the fountain was purchased by John Sawbridge Erle-Drax, along with two cast-iron stags, to sit among the gardens of his family home, Olantigh Towers in Wye. Unfortunately Olantigh Towers burned down in 1903. It was at this point that the Earl-Drax family began selling the house’s contents and assets, and the fountain became available.
After the fire of 1903, the Chairman of the Urban District Council, Mr George Harper, made a request of the council to purchase the fountain and place it in the recently completed Victoria Park. However, the Council were dissuaded by the purchase, transportation and installation costs, and refused.
Eventually, in 1911 George Harper decided to make an anonymous offer to purchase the fountain and the two accompanying stags. This was under the condition that it be turned on every year on July 23rd, his birthday.
The Council finally agreed, and on the 24th July, one day after his 71st birthday, it was presented to the park by Mr Harper’s niece, Miss Miles. Mr Harper was unfortunately too ill to attend the unveiling, and tragically some three weeks later, committed suicide.
The fountain is listed Grade II*.
The fountain has undergone two major restorations, and during this time, the two stags disappeared. The Council set about trying to find them. They failed, but managed to find other stags which now adorn the park.
This gate marks the site of the former Ashford Livestock Market
This statue commemorates Princess Marie of Edinburgh, the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. She was born in 1875 at Eastwell Manor and went on to marry King Ferdinand, the last king of Romania, where she died in 1938. The statue was presented in 2018 on behalf of the Romanian Government.
Strangely pleasing juxtaposition of large Victorian villas and ultra-modern street lamps in Elwick Road
The War Memorial Gardens are a place of peace and quiet. The memorial itself is relatively plain, but is of great personal interest to me, as amongst the names inscribed on it are those of one ancestor of my step-father, and two members of my maternal grandmother's family
The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin. Despite the big board outside saying church open - visitors welcome, all the doors were locked. I shall return at a later date to look around inside.
Lovely autumn tree in the churchyard.
Apparently, this is the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus Unedo). I've never seen it before, and this example looks as though it's very old. It sits in the corner of the churchyard. It seems the fruits are edible, if a little grainy, and they take so long to ripen, the tree starts flowering again before they're ready.
And so to the interior of St. Mary's. I took a lot of pictures today, so I'm going to load them all in, and then work through them methodically filling in the information I have in my notes. I may be some time :D
Beautiful Royal Coat of Arms hatchment. Too high up to read properly, but I think it's CharlesI
Very old Parish chest
View down the nave to the Sanctuary
Ornate ceiling in the nave
The west door and window
One view of the elaborately carved pulpit.
By contrast, a simpler font
The other side of the pulpit, showing the stone stairs
The slab covering the vault of Lord Viscount Strangford. (Smythe family)
Two memorial tablets to members of the Jemmett family, who were killed in action during 'the First Small Disagreement' (sorry John, couldn't help borrowing your catchphrase!)
There are three magnificent memorials to the Smythe family in St Mary's church, Ashford.
Sir Richard Smythe (1563-1628), 5th son of Thomas, is shown on his own dressed in armour. Like his father he was also a customs officer. He owned and substantially rebuilt Leeds Castle nearby. He married Elizabeth Scott (1564-1584) She was widow of John Knatchbull.
He then married Jane White (d. 1607) in about 1585, she was about 16 at the time. He finally married Mary Boyle.
He had a son and 4 daughters in total, by the 3 wives.
Sir Richard Smythe (1563-1628), 5th son of Thomas, is shown on his own dressed in armour. Like his father he was also a customs officer. He owned and substantially rebuilt Leeds Castle nearby. He married Elizabeth Scott (1564-1584) She was widow of John Knatchbull.
He then married Jane White (d. 1607) in about 1585, she was about 16 at the time. He finally married Mary Boyle.
He had a son and 4 daughters in total, by the 3 wives.
Thomas Smythe (1522-1591) was from Wiltshire. Son of a substantial Yeoman and Clothier, John Smythe (d.1538).
He was a business man in London, and became Queen Elizabeth's customs officer. He became known as "Customer Smythe" and became very rich. He became Lord of the Manor of Ashford, and the Queen bestowed on him the manor of Westenhanger.
He married Alice Judde in about 1555 and they had 13 children (one son died as infant), including Richard and John, whose monuments are located nearby in the church.
His son Thomas was first governor of the East India Company. Towards the end of his life he fell under Queen Elizabeth's displeasure as he was unable to meet her Majesty's demands for larger and larger payments. Through constant vigilance the Government tried to keep track of Smythe’s activities and hold his profit within reasonable bounds; nevertheless his total profit for the period when he was farmer of the customs has been estimated at £48,000.
His epitaph described him as a patron of literature, and his name occurs in the dedication of Richard Robinson’s translation of John Leland’s book on King Arthur.
He was a business man in London, and became Queen Elizabeth's customs officer. He became known as "Customer Smythe" and became very rich. He became Lord of the Manor of Ashford, and the Queen bestowed on him the manor of Westenhanger.
He married Alice Judde in about 1555 and they had 13 children (one son died as infant), including Richard and John, whose monuments are located nearby in the church.
His son Thomas was first governor of the East India Company. Towards the end of his life he fell under Queen Elizabeth's displeasure as he was unable to meet her Majesty's demands for larger and larger payments. Through constant vigilance the Government tried to keep track of Smythe’s activities and hold his profit within reasonable bounds; nevertheless his total profit for the period when he was farmer of the customs has been estimated at £48,000.
His epitaph described him as a patron of literature, and his name occurs in the dedication of Richard Robinson’s translation of John Leland’s book on King Arthur.
Sir John Smythe (1557-1609), heir to Thomas, is shown kneeling with his wife Elizabeth Fineaux (married 1576) they had 8 children, of which only 3 survived, viz. Elizabeth, Thomas and Catherine. He held various posts such as a J.P. for Kent from 1584, and sheriff in 1600.
His heir, who was to become Viscount Strangford, was only nine years old when his father died.
His heir, who was to become Viscount Strangford, was only nine years old when his father died.
the beautiful east window.
Beautiful reredos behind the main altar.
Mosaic flooring in the Sanctuary.
the families who have been
associated with the church over the centuries and who are commemorated by monuments
within, include the Fogges and the Smythes. The former is supposed to have
wanted to create a college of priests here, but by the late fifteenth century
such foundations were going out of fashion.
In the 15th century,
between about 1470 and 1490, the church was extensively renovated and partially
rebuilt by Sir John Fogge, treasurer to Edward IV, who was Lord of the Manor of
Repton, about one mile from the church.
This is his tomb. The plaque below gives more information about him.
Most of the brasses in the church have vanished, or are damaged. This one to the Countess of Atholl is more or less complete. Took me awhile to work out which Countess of Atholl, but it turned out to be Elizabeth.
| Elizabeth de Ferrers, Countess of Atholl | |
|---|---|
| Also Known As: | "Elizabeth /de FERRES/", "Elizabeth /Ferrers/" |
| Birthdate: | circa 1336 |
| Birthplace: | Groby, Leichestershire, England, United Kingdom |
| Death: | October 22, 1375 (34-43) Ashford, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
Memoruial tablet to the parents of Sir John Furley, who founded the St. John's Ambulance Service.
The church sits in a square, with pretty brick walkway around all sides, lined with old buildings. This is now the Ashford Town Museum, but was formerly the old grammar school, and is an Historic Building of Kent.
It was erected by Sir Norton Knatchbull, MP, after whom the current boys' grammar school is named, in 1630. The school remained on this site until 1870, and the interior is pretty much preserved as it was.
This one, on the corner of Middle Row and the High Street, I remember as being a coffee bar called the 'Mocha Bar', where you sat on high stools and had lime-flavoured milk shakes! It is No.1 Middle Row, and was originally the Market House, where commercial activity was controlled, and tolls were paid.
The oldest part of the building dates from the late 14th. century, and was once used as a jail. Here they imprisoned a Lollard, John Brown, for insulting a priest by sitting on his robe on a barge trip.
*Lollards were followers of a Christian reform group led by John Wycliffe, who opposed the bureaucracy and excessive wealth of the Catholic Church.
The remarkable pargetting was added in the 17th. century
At the bottom of the Lower High Street, stands the Twinning Stone. Ashford is 'twinned' with Bad Munstereifel, an historic spa town, in Germany.
The Ashlon sculpture stands outside International House, by the domestic railway station. I rather like its depiction of ash leaves and water.
If you take a gentle stroll along the river, past the Sports Centre and the Civic Centre, you will find a very pleasant park alongside it.
Yes, it's called the Civic Park - as good a name as any.
This is Ashford's beacon. The crown at the top, surrounding the flame holder, depicts train wheels, representing the town's huge railway building tradition.
The base is engraved with Ashford's motto 'With Stronger Faith'. This is taken from Richard Lovelace's poem To Locasta, Going to the Warres'. If you want to know more about Lovelace, I've already covered him in the chapter on Bethersden, where he was born, and lived.
Carry on along the river, and the path comes out on East Hill, right by what is left of Pledge's Flour Mill. Now partly demolished following a fire, it was a water and steam driven flour mill built on the site of an earlier one. After Rank Hovis McDougall moved out of Ashford, the remaining building became a night club for a while.
Despite having been granted planning permission to turn it into flats, it has been left to decay and is now derelict. Heartbreaking to see the once-proud mill in such a state.
The riverside walk continues on the other side of Mace Lane, where this seat has been erected, along with a stone monument, commemmorating two regious martyrs, executed in 1557 for their beliefs
'Bloody Mary' - the catholic Queen Mary I, carried out a steady stream of extermination of Anglicans. She signed the death warrants of 10 men locally. Six were burnt at the stake at Martyrs Field in Wincheap, just outside the Canterbury City Walls, on 15th. January 1557, two more were burnt at Wye, just outside the church on the next day, and two more, Nicholas Final and Matthew Bradbridge, the following day here in Ashford.
Just on the outskirts of the town centre, is the old town churchyard. It's very little used now, because there's a bigger, more modern one just up the road. However, it is multi-denominational, and somewhere in there are some important graves. I need to explore more (when it's not raining). Meanwhile, the attractive Victorian lodge is now a residence.
This is the wall of a house in Park Street. During the English civil war
this part of Kent was largely in the hands of the Puritans and the church
suffered greatly from their attention. When it comes to the parish church of St. Mary, the fine collection of coloured glass was
smashed, the altar pieces burned and monuments destroyed. The window traceries were damaged and have been re-assembled into a wall around a house in Park Street.
North Street is a pretty pedestrianised street lying just off the centre of the High Street. It's an electric mix of Georgian and Tudor.
A lot of the older buildings at the end of North Street nearest the town centre, were rebuilt after World War II, and the new buildings have, to an extent, been renumbered. This means I haven't been able to determine which was No. 4 pre-war.
But apparently Frederick Forsyth, best known for writing thrillers,
such as The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File, grew
up there. His father had a furriers on the first floor, and his mother had a dress shop below. He went on to become the
youngest pilot in the R.A.F., later joining Reuters as a war correspondent.
Below is Hopewell House. The former house of Francis Epes, who founded a town in Virginia in 1635, America, and named both it and his house after the ship he sailed to America on.
The elegant Masonic Temple. This is the birthplace of
Sir John Furley, who founded the St. John’s Ambulance Service in 1877.
The small Tudor house below, is currently an Indian restaurant - in fact, I can't remember when it wasn't, despite changing hands several times.
So..... the High Street. This is the George Hotel. This is Ashford's oldest still serving pub, first referenced in a will of 1533, began as a coach staging post.
High above the little sweet shop-cum-tobacconist-cum-newsagents is this little plaque which celebrates Henry Harrison, who apparently invented the water pump!
Dr. John Wallis, mathematician, who is partially responsible for the development of infinitesimal calculus (bane of my school days!) was born in College Court in 1616. His father was the vicar of St. Mary’s. The buildings here have long since been demolished, but they stood by the entrance to Vicarage Lane Car Park. College Court now, is modern bungalows for elderly residents.He went on to serve as Chief Cryptographer for parliament and the Royal Court from 1643 to 1689, and is credited with introducing the symbol for infinity.
And finally...............I love this sign. 'Vicarage Lane Halt' sounds so much better than 'car park'. The design of the sign harks back to the old railway station signs, and is a tribute to Ashford's railway history, which started when the railway arrived in Ashford in 1842. Gradually, Ashford became the centre of five railway lines.
In 1847, South Eastern Railway built huge railway works, complete with its' own 'Newtown' for its workers. The railway works lasted until 1962.
In 1996, Ashford station was renamed 'Ashford International', with the advent of the Eurostar service to Paris. Sadly, it no longer stops there.
Footnotes: Stephen Hills, a noted architect who was born in Ashford in 1771, emigrated to America, and designed the original Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, which burned to the ground on February 2, 1897.
Long since gone, is the Royal Oak Hotel, which once stood at the bottom of the High Street, which closed in 1912 and was demolished in the early 70s to make way for the Inner Ring Road. It was here that Annie Oakley stayed whilst touring England, and gave shooting displays to the public.
AYLSFORD
The name stems from a tribal chieftain, Aegel, whose settlement was at Aylsham, and denotes a ford crossing the Medway at this point.
Aylesford seems to have attracted famous battles throughout British history; Hengest the Jute fought the British leader Vortigern here in 455 AD, King Alfred defeated the Danes in 893 AD, and Edmund Ironside did likewise in 1016, pursuing the fleeing invaders all the way from Otford and killing many by the time they reached Aylesford. And the royals kept coming; William the Conqueror took Aylesford manor for himself after the Norman Conquest.
Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village shop and other amenities including a hairdressers, estate agents, two restaurants, a chiropodist and a coffee shop are located on the high street.
Due to the village's location on its banks, the River Medway has been a key influence on its development. It was also the place where one of the earliest bridges across the Medway was built, believed to be in the 14th century (although the wide central span seen today is later). Upstream from Rochester Bridge it became the next bridging point. The river was navigable as far as Maidstone until 1740, when barges of forty tons could reach as far as Tonbridge. As a result wharves were built, one being at Aylesford. Corn, fodder and fruit, along with stone and timber, were the principal cargoes.
There's a lovely green park between the car park and the village, right next to the bridge, and a handy path from there into the centre of the village. The village has been by-passed, so will remain unspoilt.
The one time vicar in Aylesford, was the Rev.Thorndike, father to the actress Dame Sybil Thorndike, and the author Russell Thorndike, he of the Doctor Syn stories, about a vicar in Dymchurch.
BARHAM
This pretty village stands on the major road that connects Dover, Canterbury and Folkestone, at the head of the beautiful Elham Valley. It contains many historic buildings, and as yet, I've not had time to explore it fully.
Because of its' position, high on the Barham Downs on the main road between Dover and London, it has been used as a military staging post over the centuries, from William The Conqueror to the Napoleonic Wars.
The parish contains 77 listed structures, not only buildings but walls, a footbridge and -
...a 1936 classic telephone kiosk.
...a 1936 classic telephone kiosk.
It provided the home for one of the four knights who, in 1175, murdered St Thomas Beckett in Canterbury Cathedral. As a result the family adopted the name of this village and descendants with that family name can be found in many countries of the world.
The parish church of St. John The Baptist stands on a hill, overlooking the oldest part of the village
For a start, this is the Old Valley Road, now just a quiet lay-by.
In Spring, the village is alive with spring daffodils. They line the main road for about a mile outside the village and right through the centre. They also adorn Church Lane, Old Valley Road, and just about every open green space.
BETHERSDEN
Bethersden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England, 5 miles west of the town of Ashford. Located on the main road, A28, between Tenterden and Ashford. The suffix 'den' means a woodland pasture, and in this case, was one belonging to Beaduric.
Entering Bethersden from the A28, along Forge Hill, the first building to strike you is this one - formed from two oast houses and a barn. Currently the offices of Stratford's Property Management Services., these buildings were once part of the Thorne Estate.
The Thorne Estate is owned by the Peter Adams Trust.
Peter Eric Adams was an enthusiastic educationalist both as a learner and teacher who was liked and admired by his pupils. His interests also included Conservation and travel.
Following the death of his Mother he inherited The Thorne Estate, Bethersden.
Peter was the last of the line and by his Will left his net estate on Charitable Trust.
His wishes are reflected in the Grants offered by The Peter Adams Trust for Conservation, Personal Improvement, Community Benefit and anything else (including towards Transport costs) which is for the individual or common good.
Following the death of his Mother he inherited The Thorne Estate, Bethersden.
Peter was the last of the line and by his Will left his net estate on Charitable Trust.
His wishes are reflected in the Grants offered by The Peter Adams Trust for Conservation, Personal Improvement, Community Benefit and anything else (including towards Transport costs) which is for the individual or common good.
Next, you come to this monument, on the corner where a road goes off towards Pluckley. I've been past it many times, and always assumed it was some sort of war memorial, or marker for some notable being. Nope, it's all to do with Bethersden Marble and the monarchy.
Bethersden has long been associated with the material known as Bethersden Marble which was quarried until the 19th century and used in many of Kent's churches and cathedrals. Large slabs of it also came into use laid across the sticky Wealden clay to provide decent causeways for the pack horses laden with woollen goods that made Bethersden a household name for over 400 years. The name 'marble' is misleading because it is a limestone packed with fossilized gastropod shells which polish well, hence the use of the term.
Originally erected in 1935 to commemorate the 25th. year of the reign of King George V, it was updated and refurbished in 2012, to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Continuing along The Street, you find this is the original part of the village, which has grown considerably since World War II, and there are many old, and beautiful houses, both large and small, with the main part of The Street, culminating at the war memorial by St. Margaret's church.
The memorial, of course, is crafted from Bethersden marble, as is the south porch of the church. It's a typical Kentish parish church, a style I always find very attractive, with a large clock on the side of the tower facing the oldest part of the village.
Right, the interior: I'm going to leave the connection to Richard Lovelace to the end of this article, as I've got quite a lot of information about him to sift through. But meantime, we'll take a look at the varied and beautiful stained glass here.
The east window seems a little too small for the size of the wall. It is by C E Kempe and Co and dates from 1914. It shows the Crucifixion with St Augustine and St Margaret.
To the north is the Frid Chapel - owned by the house of the same name whilst the south chapel is the Lovelace chapel built as a chantry chapel in 1460. Its east window has a fine 1960s window of Our Lady and Child with local farming scenes. It is signed by Wippell`s of London. The Frid family are still reflected locally in Frid Cottages (formerly a farmhouse), Frid Wood, and Frid Farm.
The chapel belonged to the owners of Frid Manor; in that case it may have been built by the Darells of Calehill. In the late sixteenth century Frid came to the prominent Bethersden family of Gibbon one of whom, Lidia, married in 1608 Edward Chute of Old Surrenden. For the next century the North Chapel was the Chute Chapel, and Old Surrenden was known as Surrenden Chute to distinguish it from Surrenden Dering.
Lidia died in 1631, aged 46, and a small brass on the wall of the Frid Chapel commemorates her “the dearely belooved wife of Edward Clint of Bethersden Esq.” Edward was the grandson of Henry VIII’s standard bearer, Philip Chute, who acquired Old Surrenden in 1553. Edward Chute (or Choute) was in his time described as a “right worthy gentleman”; he took a prominent place in Kentish affairs, in 1635-6 was High Sheriff of the county and died in 1640.
The Bethersden Choutes became extinct with the death in 1721/2 of Sir George Choute, whom Charles II had made a Baronet in 1684.
Lidia died in 1631, aged 46, and a small brass on the wall of the Frid Chapel commemorates her “the dearely belooved wife of Edward Clint of Bethersden Esq.” Edward was the grandson of Henry VIII’s standard bearer, Philip Chute, who acquired Old Surrenden in 1553. Edward Chute (or Choute) was in his time described as a “right worthy gentleman”; he took a prominent place in Kentish affairs, in 1635-6 was High Sheriff of the county and died in 1640.
The Bethersden Choutes became extinct with the death in 1721/2 of Sir George Choute, whom Charles II had made a Baronet in 1684.
In the south aisle is the MacMichael window showing Christ surrounded by hop bines. This commemorates Arthur William MacMichael M.A., 1885-1960 Canon Emeritus of Canterbury Cathedral, his wife Elizabeth Helen Royale (nee Newboult) M.B., B.S., 1899-1983, and their son Nicholas Hugh F.S.A., 1933-1985, Keeper of the Muniments of Westminster Abbey.
The Millennium window by the John Corley Studios - a wavy green tree beneath medieval fragments.
Today, the village is best known for the rocking horse makers, Stevenson Brothers. They make all their horses (and other animals) by hand, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is known to have bought several for her grandchildren etc.
You can't miss the works - just look up to the roof!
And so to the Lovelace Chantry - the small south chapel. Here's a couple of monuments from the chapel that require a little more investigation on my part.:
The Lovelaces are Bethersden’s most famous family; William Luvelaz is the earliest recorded member and occurs as witness to a Bethersden deed not later than 1247. The family prospered in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in industry and commerce in the City of London and by marriage.
In Elizabeth I's reign the head of the Bethersden branch was William Lovelace, Serjeant-at-Law, who bought the ancient site of the Grey Friars in Canterbury. A highly successful lawyer, Serjeant Lovelace (died 1576/7) was a well-known figure in Kent and to him was dedicated the earliest printed treatise on growing hops: A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden (1574). Sir William Lovelace, the heir of Serjeant Lovelace, lived partly in Canterbury and partly in Bethersden where he was buried in 1629.
Sir William outlived his only son, also Sir William, who had been killed in Holland in 1627.
The younger Sir William’s eldest son was Richard Lovelace the Cavalier poet, courtier and soldier. At the end of April 1642 Lovelace, “reputed the handsomest man in England”, in company with Sir William Boteler of Teston near Maidstone, presented to Parliament the ‘Kentish Petition” for the restoration of the Anglican Liturgy, the maintenance of the bench of Bishops and ‘a good understanding between King and Parliament.’ As a similar petition by Sir Edward Dering (of Surrenden Dering) and the learned Sir Roger Twysden had three weeks before been declared seditious, and had then been burnt by the Common Hangman, Boteler was committed by the House of Commons to the Fleet Prison, and Lovelace to the Gatehouse Prison, Westminster.
The younger Sir William’s eldest son was Richard Lovelace the Cavalier poet, courtier and soldier. At the end of April 1642 Lovelace, “reputed the handsomest man in England”, in company with Sir William Boteler of Teston near Maidstone, presented to Parliament the ‘Kentish Petition” for the restoration of the Anglican Liturgy, the maintenance of the bench of Bishops and ‘a good understanding between King and Parliament.’ As a similar petition by Sir Edward Dering (of Surrenden Dering) and the learned Sir Roger Twysden had three weeks before been declared seditious, and had then been burnt by the Common Hangman, Boteler was committed by the House of Commons to the Fleet Prison, and Lovelace to the Gatehouse Prison, Westminster.
Lovelace petitioned the Commons for his liberty, and late in June 1642 was released on personal bail of £IO,000. Unable, without forfeiting his bail, to fight for Charles I, he instead supplied his brothers with money. Lovelace is known to have been at Bethersden at various dates between 1642 and 1647, when he was selling his property there piece by piece to Richard Hulse of Great Chart (see memorial above, to his daughter). In 1645 and 1646 he was in the Low Countries, serving apparently as a Colonel in the French army, and was wounded at Dunkirk in 1646. After his return to England, he was among the Royalists defeated and captured by Fairfax at Maidstone in 1648. Once again he was imprisoned in London; where he died, aged less than 40 in 1657. He is buried in the churchyard of St Bride’s, Fleet
Street. But you won’t find a memorial for him here. The church
was destroyed in the Fire of London, a few years after Lovelace’s burial.
Whilst in prison, he wrote his most famous poem - "To Althea From Prison"
When Love with unconfinèd wings
Hovers within my Gates,
And my divine Althea brings
To whisper at the Grates;
When I lie tangled in her hair,
And fettered to her eye,
The Gods that wanton in the Air,
Know no such Liberty.
When flowing Cups run swiftly round
With no allaying Thames,
Our careless heads with Roses bound,
Our hearts with Loyal Flames;
When thirsty grief in Wine we steep,
When Healths and draughts go free,
Fishes that tipple in the Deep
Know no such Liberty.
When (like committed linnets) I
With shriller throat shall sing
The sweetness, Mercy, Majesty,
And glories of my King;
When I shall voice aloud how good
He is, how Great should be,
Enlargèd Winds, that curl the Flood,
Know no such Liberty.
Stone Walls do not a Prison make,
Nor Iron bars a Cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an Hermitage.
If I have freedom in my Love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above,
Enjoy such Liberty.
The new owner of Lovelace Place, Richard Hulse (or ‘Captain Hulse’ as the Parish Records call him), in his youth travelled extensively (and perhaps fought) on the Continent. He settled in Kent and married first Clara Toke of Godinton and secondly Mary daughter of Sir William Clerke of Wrotham, one of the sureties for Richard Lovelace in 1642 (Clerke was eventually killed, together with Sir William Boteler, at Cropredy Bridge in 1644.)
Nearby Ashford's motto: 'With Stronger Faith' is taken from his 1649 poem 'To Lucasta, Going To the Warres'.
Tell me not (Sweet) I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To war and arms I fly.
True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.
Yet this inconstancy is such
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee (Dear) so much,
Lov’d I not Honour more.
BIDDENDEN
Biddenden (Bidda's woodland pasture) is a pretty village, lying between Maidstone and Tenterden. It is largely untouched, with the majority of the buildings lining the main road being of Tudor and medieval heritage.
The village sign depicts conjoined twins, known as the Biddenden Maids.
Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst (or Chalkhurst), commonly known as the Biddenden Maids, were a pair of conjoined twins supposedly born in Biddenden, Kent, England, in the year 1100. They are said to have been joined at both the shoulder and the hip, and to have lived for 34 years. It is claimed that on their death they bequeathed five plots of land to the village, known as the Bread and Cheese Lands. The income from these lands was used to pay for an annual dole of food and drink to the poor every Easter. Since at least 1775, the dole has included Biddenden cakes, hard biscuits imprinted with an image of two conjoined women.
Although the annual distribution of food and drink is known to have taken place since at least 1605, no records exist of the story of the sisters prior to 1770. Records of that time say that the names of the sisters were not known, and early drawings of Biddenden cakes do not give names for the sisters; it is not until the early 19th century that the names "Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst" were first used.
Edward Hasted, the local historian of Kent, dismissed the story of the Biddenden Maids as a folk myth, claiming that the image on the cake had originally represented two poor women and that the story of the conjoined twins was "a vulgar tradition" invented to account for it, while influential historian Robert Chambers accepted that the legend could potentially be true but believed it unlikely. Throughout most of the 19th century little research was carried out into the origins of the legend. Despite the doubts among historians, in the 19th century the legend became increasingly popular and the village of Biddenden was thronged with rowdy visitors every Easter. In the late 19th century historians investigated the origins of the legend. It was suggested that the twins had genuinely existed but had been joined at the hip only rather than at both the hip and shoulder, and that they had lived in the 16th rather than the 12th century.
In 1907, the Bread and Cheese Lands were sold for housing, and the resulting income allowed the annual dole to expand considerably, providing the widows and pensioners of Biddenden with cheese, bread and tea at Easter and with cash payments at Christmas. Biddenden cakes continue to be given to the poor of Biddenden each Easter, and are sold as souvenirs to visitors.
In 1331 the export of unwashed wool was prohibited by King Edward III. He encouraged weavers from Flanders to settle here, thus bringing their weaving and dying techniques to England. Biddenden and some of its neighbouring villages soon became an important centre of the Broadcloth manufacturing industry. The majority of the high street was built during this period, and the stone paved footpath was built from Biddenden to Tenterden to take the traffic.
Many of these old houses were built to house weavers. Hence the long windows.
Despite being at the junction of two busy main roads, the village buildings are largely untouched, with the High Street lined with Tudor buildings on one side, and a mixture of Tudor and Georgian buildings on the other. Halfway along, on the wall of West House, is a depiction of the Two Maids
All Saints church stands at the end of the old part of the village, on sharp bends which take the road around the outside of the graveyard. Unfortunately, it wasn't open today, but I have established when it will be, so I will return when possible.
I strolled around outside. Last Sunday was Remembrance Sunday, so the churchyard, which contains the village war memorial, was full of poppies. Many of them were knitted by the locals, and the wreaths are from the Royal British Legion of course.
BILSINGTON
Bilsington (Bilswit's farmstead) lies on the Tenterden to Hythe road, just north of Romney Marsh.
There's a priory dating to 1253, and a strange obelisk standing high on a hill.
In 1825 Sir William Cosway purchased the priory estate. He was a politician who was very interested in the plight of the farm labourers, and in 1830 paid the sum of £150 to help 4 Bilsington families to emigrate to America , he also built the school. On 10th June 1834 he was on the London to Brighton coach when it turned over and he was killed. As a memorial, his family built the 52 ft high obelisk. The obelisk was struck by lightning in 1967 and has recently been restored to its former glory.
BONNINGTON
(Buna's farmstead) Tiny group of scattered dwellings on the edge of Romney Marsh, although it used to be big enough to host a post office, there never was an actual village of Bonnington! The equally tiny church of St. Rumwold now lies at quite a distance from the remaining houses, down a very narrow lane. It actually lies within the parish of Bilsington, which has its' own church, so it was 'given' to Bonnington. The church only has a capacity of around 100. Out the back is a very pretty view of the Royal Military Canal, including a wartime pill box.
I was fascinated by this little organ - obviously manually-operated, as there's no electricity to the church. A kind gentleman called Mr. Peter Christie has pointed me towards the National Pipe-Organ Register, which has all the details of it.
If you would like to know more, all the details are here - NPOR
St. Rumwold was a 7th. century child saint, of whom very little is known. He was reputed to have been born in Northampton, the son of the King of Mercia. He is reputed to have preached a sermon to his parents on his second day, and died on the third.
The area had very strong connection to the Aldington Gang of smugglers. Although Bonnington is mentioned in the 11th century Domesday Book, little is known of its early history, other than the fact that for several centuries it was owned by the Knights Hospitaller. In the 19th century, smuggling was a significant activity in Bonnington, but this declined rapidly with the capture of the infamous Ransley Gang.
From at least the time of Queen Elizabeth I of England, if not before, an old oak tree known as the Law-Day Oak, has played a significant role in the governance of Bonnington parish. In earlier times, the Law-Day Oak provided the setting for the Leet Court to hear local pleas, and to this day the Bonnington Annual Parish Meeting is held under the branches of this ancient oak.
The churchyard is now the final resting place of entertainer Paul O'Grady. I hope that this will not mean an endless train of 'grave tourists', disturbing the absolute peace and quiet of St. Rumwolds
BROADSTAIRS
The site was originally known as
Bradstow, meaning a wide place. In the 14th century, a small fishing community
grew up at the base of the cliffs. It was called Broadstairs after a set of
steps leading up the cliffs to a Saxon shrine on top.
Beautiful little harbour town, much loved by Charles Dickens, visited every year for over two decades from 1837. He stayed originally at the Royal Albion Hotel on Victoria Parade along the top of Viking Bay, before going on to live at Fort House, later renamed Bleak House in his honour.
Betsey Trotwood was inspired by Dickens' friend Mary Pearson Strong, with whom he would take tea.
the home of the Clangers..............animator Oliver Postgate lived in Chandos Square
There is not only a beautiful staircase (below) to take you from the top of the cliff down to the beach, but a lift too!
The clock tower was built for Queen Elizabeth's silver jubilee in 1977, to replace a previous one, marking Queen Victoria's 1897 Diamond Jubilee, which burnt down in the 1970s
The bandstand was opened in 1892 by Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Louise
The weather vane on top of the clock tower, appropriately bears a viking ship, for Viking Bay.
Edward Heath was born in Albion Road (where I parked my bike this morning!), the son of a carpenter. His grandfather had a small dairy business, and later worked as a porter at Broadstairs Railway Station.
This arch is York Gate. The history of York Gate is a reflection of Broadstairs history itself, going back all the way to the 15th Century when one George Culmer built an arch over the dirt track that lead down to the fishing harbour. Naturally the town back then was merely a small fishing village known as Bradstowe, and this track would have been well-used by the many boatmen and shipwrights working out of the little harbour. The Culmers, a well-known land-owning family, continued to play an important role in the development of Broadstairs down the centuries. What we know now as the Culmers' Allotments, just up the way from York Gate, were originally bestowed to the poor of the parish to grow food on in the 1700's.
In 1540, the Culmers funded and built a sturdier stone version of the York Gate, incorporating two heavy wooden doors that could be closed to defend against storm tides. We can recognise the pointed arch structure, with grooves for the portcullis to this day. In previous centuries the gate went on to offer protection against smugglers and also enemy seafarers during the French Revolution. These days we are not so vulnerable to such threats but the arch continues to feel like an entrance to the town from the harbour.
Just the upper side of York Gate is a tiny cinema that seats just 111 people
The old lifeboat station, no longer in use. Lifeboat duties are now covered by the much larger and faster boats based in Margate and Ramsgate.
The giant deckchair on the harbour arm - used as a fundraiser for the Pilgrim's Hospice.
High above the town, stands Fort House, since renamed Bleak House in honour of it's most famous occupant! The flint building, bottom left of this picture, is the Tartar Frigate, reputed to be the first ever pub in Broadstairs. At one time frequented by former Prime Minister, Edward Heath, who lived locally, it was said to have been built around 1600 AD, although the current frontage dates it to the 18th. century.
There is a steep footpath just opposite the old lifeboat station, that takes you up to Bleak House. It's well-worth the walk, just for the retaining wall, which is decorated with anchors from lost ships and seashells from all over the world
Just to remind you that this is Bleak House.........................................
The anchor of the 'Thomas Lawson', a seven-masted schooner that was lost off the Scilly Isles in 1907
BROOKLAND
Brookland is a tiny village on Romney Marsh, just off the A249 from Brenzett towards Rye. The name means 'land by marshy ground'. Very appropriate, as it lies on the edge of Romney Marsh. Thankfully, it was by-passed a few years ago, so now is quiet and unspoiled.
Romney Marsh was the centre of the smuggling trade, and the 'Battle of Brookland' in 1821 between the notorious Aldington Gang and the Excise men was one of the most violent skirmishes of its' kind ever held.
The parish Church of St Augustine has the unusual, if not unique, feature of an entirely wooden spire being separate from the body of the church. Popular myth is that the steeple looked down at a wedding service to see such a beautiful bride marrying such an unpleasant groom that it jumped off the church in shock. A more popular story is that one day a virgin presented herself to be married and the church spire fell off at the unusual occurrence. And it is said that it will remain on the ground until another virgin marries there.
Another legend is that the architect didn't have a big enough piece of paper when he drew up the plans for the church, so he drew the steeple alongside the church, and that's how the builders built it!
In fact, it is separate as the weight of the tower on top of the church could not be supported by the marshy ground.
The wooden framework inside the tower, which supports the bells, is said to consist of timbers taken from nearby wrecks. When it was built in around 1260, its huge timbers were exposed, but in the 15th century the entire structure was covered in wooden cladding in three layers one on top of the other (like stacked cups) much increasing the height of the structure.
The cedar cladding we see today dates from 1936.
The clock was installed in the curious little tower to the right of the door in 1955 to commemorate the part played by the people of Brookland in the Second World War.
The north porch is mainly
constructed of timber and has curious half doors, a little like a Wild West
saloon! The Church Guide says that at one time, the upper gates were discarded and kept inside the church while the lower ones were
surmounted with spikes to keep horses from jumping the gate to enter the church
during a service.
Inside, the church is as pretty as the outside, and still retains its box pews. The church is entered through rural stable doors, and is light and airy, with very few alterations over the years.
The Norman lead font is still in use. Made in the 1100s, it is one of only 30 such fonts in Britain. On it are two sets of scenes, one depicting the labours of the month such as scything, pruning, threshing and hunting and the other set showing the signs of the zodiac. The names of the months are in early French, seemingly confirming its country of origin. It is generally assumed to have been brought back from one of the many cross-channel raids during the 13th. and 14th. centuries. However, after the Conquest, French
was the language of the nobility of England as well, and England had a thriving lead uindustry in the west of the country.
Such fonts were once a "budget" item
and that there were many more of them in the mediaeval period than there are
today; but that they were often melted down for their metal - not least for the
manufacture of musket balls!
The simplicity and irregularity of the interior, are entirely in keeping with the curiousness of the bell tower outside. There is no chancel arch, and the aisles differ in the number of arches between them and the nave. On both sides the aisles lean alarmingly due to long-standing problems with uneven settlement of the subsoil. Apparently, the south aisle already leans beyond its point of theoretical collapse - and the church is still subsiding! The whole gives the impression of a warmth and fragility seldom found in a parish church.
Of course, it has one of the Romney Marsh Mosaics, that can be found in several of the churches.
Three generations of a military family serving in India
Now, although the postal address for this place is Brookland, the Woolpack lies at some distance from the village, just off the A259, on the Hook Wall, once one of the 'inns' or walls that helped to drain the marshes and now the road that leads to Midley.
The Woolpack, dating from 1410, retains many of its original features such as wattle-and-daube walls and a low,
beamed ceilings. Its name comes from its popularity with ‘owlers’ - wool smugglers who used the inn as a base
for their lucrative trade.
It remains very little changed inside, from it's huge inglenook fireplace, where you can sit and have your meal (don't do it when it's raining though, because the chimney is open to the skies!), to its uneven brick and tiled floors, it's the unspoilt charm that tourists adore. (and me - we're off for dinner there this evening)
Local brewers, Shepherd Neame, seem to be commissioning new inn signs for all their pubs. This one, for the Woolpack in Brookland, is particularly attractive.
BURMARSH
(Burgher's marsh) This was originally marshland belonging to the burghers, or citizens, of Canterbury. From early Christian times, the land here was owned by the Monastery of St. Augustine in Canterbury.
Now a thriving village, when I was young, Burmarsh was little more than a couple of rows of mostly 'tied' cottages, housing the local farm workers. It was very much in the centre of the local wool industry. Needless to say, the church is right next to the pub, the 'Shepherd And Crook' being thus appropriately named. The pub itself, stands on a corner of the road called 'Shearway'.
The Romans are known to have extracted salt here.
All Saints church is a typical village church, and rather pretty. When I was a lot younger (14), in 1962 we travelled round ringing a peal in all the church towers on the Marsh, to celebrate 10 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Burmarsh was one of my favourites.
CHATHAM DOCKYARD
Chatham, being part of the ever-growing Medway conurbation, has precious little to recommend it, apart from the wonderful Historic Dockyard, Set in an 80-acre estate with stunning historic architecture, historic ships and museum galleries. The Dockyards are built around a remarkable
collection of historic buildings dating to the 17th century.
Chatham Dockyard played a vital role supporting the Royal Navy for over 400 years. The dockyard was established
by Elizabeth I in 1568 and closed in 1984.
There was little more than a
small village here until the 16th century when warships began to take advantage
of the sheltered moorings off Gillingham. Elizabeth I decided to create a
dockyard to service the fleet, and the Royal Naval Dockyards at Chatham were
born.
The dockyards were initially only used for refitting vessels but later expanded to become a centre for shipbuilding. The dockyards needed to be defended, and Fort Amhurst was begun in 1756. Late fortifications were added to protect from attack by land. Fort Pitt was added in 1806, and a third ring of forts from 1859.
CHILHAM
The village of Chilham (Cilla's settlement) is in the valley of the Great Stour River and beside the A28 road 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Canterbury. It is centred around what is probably, the most perfect market square in Kent, where until recently, a traditional annual May Day celebration took place. It has been much used by film companies over the years. At each end of the square are its major buildings: Chilham Castle and the 15th-century parish church, dedicated to St Mary. It is believed that Thomas Becket was buried in the churchyard. The village has a number of period houses such as the former vicarage, which dates from 1742. The castle was owned by the Viscounts Massereene and Ferrard until its sale in 1997. As of 2013 it is owned by Stuart Wheeler, founder of the spread-betting firm IG Index.
As you can see, the residents of Chilham all park in the centre square, but you can still find a space occasionally, if you are lucky. Which led to a very strange conversation:
I found a space for the bike, and was taking my helmet off, when this gorgeous car pulled in next to me. Middle-aged guy, nearly as gorgeous as his car, gets out.
Him: "I'm sorry"
Me (puzzled) "sorry, why?"
Me: (looking at my motorcycle) : "And you're apologising to me?"
(It was an Audi R8 RS Coupe BTW)
The Pilgrims Way originally passed through the square on its' journey from Winchester and London to Canterbury, and today, its' 20th. century successor runs through the churchyard.
The White Horse pub (below) dates to the 16th. century.
As regards the White Horse pub, during alterations in 1956, two complete and perfectly preserved male skeletons were found under the kitchen floor - at a depth of two feet. General supposition is that they were either soldiers who fell in the battle at Chilham during the Wat Tyler rebellion, or the much older remains of men buried in the pre-Christain era.
The skeletons now rest in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Chilham, where they were given a Christian burial by the vicar after the coroner's inquest had pronounced them to be Ancient Bones and not the result of undetected crime!
The statue above represents pilgrims walking the Pilgrim Way to Canterbury
There has been a castle at the site of Chilham, on the edge of a wood, in the heart of Kent, since the late 7th century, when Wihtred, King of Kent, signed a treaty here. Of that early fortresses little is known. There was a stone-built castle here at the time of the Norman invasion, and a much larger castle centred on a stone keep was built in 1171 by Fulbert de Dover, who used Henry II's royal mason as his architect. The keep is remarkably complete, missing only its parapets.
King John gave Chilham to his illegitimate son Richard, who married a Dover girl.
It has changed hands many times, having been home to a host of colourful and sometimes eccentric families.
It has changed hands many times, having been home to a host of colourful and sometimes eccentric families.
The castle was briefly occupied by the Dauphin of France in 1216 as part of an abortive attempt by rebellious British nobles to place him on the throne. It then passed through several owners including the Earl of Atholl and the Roose family.
The keep is all that remains of the original castle, tucked in behind the house created by Sir Dudley Digges in 1616. The destruction of so much of the medieval fortifications was not due to war, but the actions of Sir Thomas Cheney, Treasurer to the King's Household under Henry VIII, who pulled down much of the medieval castle and carted away the stones to rebuild his other house.
The house was remodelled several times, making it into a rather intriguing mix of architectural styles, ranging from Regency to Victorian Gothic, to a peculiar Victorian interpretation of the original Jacobean style
The house was remodelled several times, making it into a rather intriguing mix of architectural styles, ranging from Regency to Victorian Gothic, to a peculiar Victorian interpretation of the original Jacobean style
It is sometimes claimed that the 18th-century parkland at Chilham was landscaped by Capability Brown. This is not strictly true; Brown was employed at Gatton Park in Surrey, then owned by the brother of Chilham's owner, Robert Colebrooke.It seems likely that Robert Colebrooke used ideas he saw at Gatton Park, for when a later owner finally did persuade Brown to come to Chilham in 1777 the famous landscape designer said there was little to do here. Presumably, his style had already been implemented.
Apparently, the gateway to the park was designed by Inigo Jones.
The church of St Mary, Chilham, was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 but has a history going back perhaps as far as the 7th century. In the 12th century, the church was owned by the French abbey of St Bertin, a Benedictine monastery at St Omer. It later passed into the hands of Syon Abbey, based at Isleworth in Middlesex.
The church is famous as the last known resting place of the shrine of St Augustine. When the Abbey of St Augustine in Canterbury was destroyed during the English Reformation, the gilded shrine containing the saint's body was removed from the abbey and brought to Chilham church. Here it stayed until 1541 when it disappeared. Several attempts to determine what happened to the shrine have proved unsuccessful, and its whereabouts remain a great historical mystery.
The interior of St Mary's is notable for some very fine memorials, many to members of the Digges family of Chilham Castle. The finest of these is the very grand monument to Mary Kemp, Lady Digges, who died in 1631. She was the wife of Sir Dudley Digges, who had the current Chilham Castle built beside the old Norman keep above the Stour.
The Lady Digges memorial depicts four seated muses, representing the four cardinal virtues of Patience, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. The virtues are seated about a tall classical column that rises to 11 feet in height.
In the north aisle is a poignant memorial depicting two children of the Hardy family, who owned the castle from 1861-1918. The unusual feature of this memorial is that there is a carved battledore and shuttlecock at the children's feet, making this the only known example in England of a church monument depicting children's toys. Originally made to stand in the castle it was presented to the church in 1919.
There is also an interesting carved and painted memorial to Lady Margaret Palmer, sister of Sir Dudley Digges. Lady Margaret died in 1619 and her flowery epitaph is worth reading
The Digges family memorial, with the family vault beneath, is located in the south-east chancel aisle. At the west end of the church is another family memorial, to the Dick family. On a wall tablet nearby is a memorial to Frederick Dick, with the intriguing inscription that he was 'shot by an unseen hand'.
Within the nave is a very worn table. This comes from the village school, which used to be located in a small chamber above the south porch. The table is much scored with the graffiti of generations of schoolboys; one carving bears the date 1733.
In the north-east corner of the church is a rough sarcophagus of Purbeck Marble. This sarcophagus, of unknown date, was discovered underneath the north transept. It was hoped that it might prove to contain the lost shrine of St Augustine, but when it was opened in 1948 it was found to be empty.
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James Beckford Wildman was an English landowner and Tory politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Colchester from 1818 to 1826. His properties included plantations in Jamaica and Chilham Castle, England, which he sold in 1861.
CLIFFSEND & PEGWELL BAY
Cliffsend is an unremarkable hamlet on the coast road between Sandwich and Ramsgate. However, the coastline across the road is remarkable. This is Pegwell Bay, home to a complex mosaic of habitats of international importance for its' bird population. I remember in the 70s going there to watch a pair of nesting flamingos!
It is also home to the Viking Long Ship 'Hugin'. This was a gift from the Danish government in commemoration of the 1500th anniversary of the A.D. 449 migration from Jutland (modern Denmark) to Kent of Hengist and Horsa, Jutes who became leaders of the Anglo-Saxon invasion. The ship is a replica of the much later ca. 890 Gokstad ship. Horsa was killed in battle, but Hengist later became the first King of Kent.
The boat was built in Denmark from where it was sailed by 53 Danes to England in 1949. The ship landed at Viking Bay in Kent, before being moved to its current site. In 2005 the ship underwent repairs.
Pegwell Bay is surrounded by gentle chalk and flint cliffs. Until the building of the Hoverport in the late 60s, it remained very little changed for centuries. Thus it looked very much the same as it was when William Dyce painted it in 1858
Just a little inland, behind all the new houses that have been built at Cliffsend, you will come upon St. Augustine's Cross. I can remember when it stood at the junction of all the main roads onto the Isle of Thanet. Now, with the advent of new road systems and the new Thanet Parkway railway station, it stands peacefully in the corner of a field, sheltered from the traffic noise and pollution on the new road.
This 19th century cross of Saxon design marks what is traditionally thought to have been the site of St Augustine's landing on the shores of England in AD 597. Accompanied by 30 followers, Augustine is said to have held a mass here before moving on. It is also where an important meeting between St Augustine and King Æthelberht of Kent is said to have taken place nearly 1,500 years ago.
The cross was commissioned in 1884 by Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, at the time Minister for Foreign Affairs and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
He was inspired to erect it after hearing the story of a massive oak tree felled within living memory and known as the Augustine Oak, one of a group of trees fringing a field which he owned.
He was inspired to erect it after hearing the story of a massive oak tree felled within living memory and known as the Augustine Oak, one of a group of trees fringing a field which he owned.
According to local legend, under this oak in AD 597 the first meeting was held between King Æthelberht and the monk Augustine, newly arrived from Rome.
Augustine had recently landed on the Isle of Thanet, having been sent by Pope Gregory to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity and thereby re-establish the faith in a country in which it had faded with the fall of the Roman Empire.
Not far to the south-east was the stream in which, the legend tells us, Augustine baptised his first convert and which subsequently became known as St Augustine’s Well.
Tradition holds that Æthelberht was converted to Christianity and Augustine baptised him on Whit Sunday in AD 597. On Christmas Day of that year, according to a papal letter of AD 598, more than 10,000 baptisms were carried out.
Augustine had recently landed on the Isle of Thanet, having been sent by Pope Gregory to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity and thereby re-establish the faith in a country in which it had faded with the fall of the Roman Empire.
Not far to the south-east was the stream in which, the legend tells us, Augustine baptised his first convert and which subsequently became known as St Augustine’s Well.
Tradition holds that Æthelberht was converted to Christianity and Augustine baptised him on Whit Sunday in AD 597. On Christmas Day of that year, according to a papal letter of AD 598, more than 10,000 baptisms were carried out.
Standing over 7 metres tall, the cross carries carvings illustrating the Christian story on its west side: the Annunciation, the Virgin and Child, the Crucifixion and the Transfiguration. On the north side are the 12 apostles, on the south side 14 early Christian martyrs. The east side has runic ornamentation which continues nearly halfway down the shaft, the design then breaking into panels showing St Alban, St Augustine and Æthelberht.
A Latin inscription commemorating the meeting of Æthelberht and Augustine, composed by Dr Liddell, Dean of Christchurch, is carved into the base of the cross.
A Latin inscription commemorating the meeting of Æthelberht and Augustine, composed by Dr Liddell, Dean of Christchurch, is carved into the base of the cross.
DEAL & WALMER
Deal is simply an ancient word for a valley. Walmer, on the other hand, means Briton's Pool. This was probably a pool set aside for the sole use of the British Celts who farmed near Saxon settlements around Deal. The Britons often lived apart in their own communities.
Deal was settled as early as the first Roman invasion by Julius Caesar in 55 BC. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book, but Deal really began to prosper when it became part of the Cinque Ports association of important south coast towns and ports. In 1228 Deal was named a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports, a status which made it an important shipping port. Deal boatmen were granted the right to freely import goods in exchange for helping to provide what was, in essence, the only naval defence in England. From its link to the Cinque Ports Deal grew to become the busiest port in England during the medieval period. The peculiarity is that Deal does not have a traditional harbour. The Goodwin Sands provide a sheltered anchorage, so that larger ships could anchor and have their goods transferred to docks on shore by small tenders vessels. In 1672 a naval yard was
built, with repair facilities and storehouses covering 5 acres of land, again
boosting Deal's naval importance.
Deal barracks were built in
the late 18th century and developed into a Royal Marines depot, barracks, and
hospital. The East Barracks later served as home to the Royal Marine School of
Music.
Since the Music School of the Royal Marines left Deal, it has become a little flat and uninteresting. Well, apart from the fact that it has two castles, that is. Now that is being greedy. I haven't yet photographed either Deal Castle or Walmer Castle, but I've no doubt I will at some point. At one time, it had a third - Sandown.
Walmer, now a suburb of Deal, was noted as the place where Julius Caesar landed on these shores, initially in 55 BC, then again in 54 BC with more troops. In both instances, he only stayed a short while, then left.
However - the Romans arrived on these shores again in 43 AD and stayed for almost 400 years, having a profound effect on this country. We know that, from 'Monty Python - The Life of Brian' : After all, "What did the Romans ever do for us?"
Deal is not unattractive (apart from the hideous concrete pier), but it's nothing special either.
Having said that, I do like the wide grassy area between the sea and The Strand. Lined on the sea side with pretty white-painted beach huts, it features a beautiful bandstand.....
The plaque says it all, and the names of those poor musicians adorn the base. I won't get too much into the Irish Question, but suffice it to say this was just wrong. I generally had a lot of empathy with the Irish who wanted their country back, but c'mon. These weren't combatant soldiers. There were young students studying at the Royal Marine School of Music. The most they would ever have been was medics when they weren't playing music. The School has since closed and the Royal Marines have left Deal in their entirety.
.....and surely what is one of the more unusual RNLI lifeboat stations anywhere in the UK (technically Walmer, but it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins)
The motorcycle parking bay is easy to recognise............................
This fisherman statue by Jon Buck stands at the entrance to Deal Pier, and celebrates the large fishing fleet that used to launch from the beach. Sadly, the remaining boats are few
Deal Pier is the last remaining fully intact leisure pier in Kent. It is the third pier to exist in Deal and was opened in November 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh. The first, built in 1838, was designed by Sir John Rennie, although its wooden structure was destroyed during a storm in 1857. Originally intended to be 445 feet (136 m) in length, financial problems meant just 250 feet (76 m) was completed, which when opened, was just the sixth longest pier in the country.
In 1864, a second 1,100 feet (340 m) long pier designed by Eugenius Birch opened, with extensions in 1870 adding a reading room and a pavilion in 1886. It sustained impact damage several times during the 1870s and was acquired by Deal Council in 1920. A popular pleasure pier, it survived until the Second World War, when it was struck and severely damaged by a mined Dutch ship, the Nora, in January 1940. Permission to demolish the pier was authorised by Winston Churchill, which left just the shore-side toll house, itself later demolished in 1954.
The present pier, designed by Sir W. Halcrow & Partners, was opened on 19 November 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh. Constructed predominantly from concrete-clad steel, it is 1,026 feet (313 m) in length and ends in a three-tiered pier-head, featuring a cafe, bar, lounge, and fishing decks. The lowest of the three tiers is almost permanently underwater except for the lowest tide and has become disused. A notice announces that it is the same length as the RMS Titanic, but that ship was over 100 feet (30 m) shorter. The pier is a popular sport fishing venue.
The Tudor Cottage, originally built in 1623
A 'Sun' fire insurance plaque, denoting that the owners of this house in Beach Street had paid their dues and could expect help in the event of a fire.
St. George's, the parish church of Deal.
The War Memorial in front of the church. The names of the dead are engraved on the other three sides, but the front is dedicated to Deal's V.C. - Sub-Ltn A.W. St.C. Tisdall, the son of the incumbent vicar of St. George's at the time, who died rescuing others at Gallipoli in 1915.
The grave of Capt. Edward Thornborough Parker. Captain Parker was a protegee of Lord Nelson, and his aide-de-camp during the attack on Boulogne. He had a special place in Nelson's and Emma Hamilton's hearts. When he subsequently died from his wounds, Nelson paid all his medical expenses and gave £50 to erect a tomb over his grave.
The weathervane of the church is surmounted by the Crown of Edward VII
Deal has many narrow little alleyways such as this, that the fishermen used to take their fish from the beach into the centre of town and to the railway
The story of St Ethelburga's Convent in Deal is quite a fascinating one. It all began with an amazing lady called Catharine Impet Boys who created an orphanage in Middle Street, Deal, which is now known as Queen Anne House. Catherine’s hard work eventually led to Deal’s convent, and gave Deal St Mary’s Catholic Primary School.
Tiny sundial, high up on the wall of a house on the seafront
Huge anchor, beautiful mosaic compass, a small cannon supported by lions, and a boat called the Dover Belle - all in a pretty little garden area in front of Deal's Time Ball Tower.
The Deal Time ball is a Victorian maritime Greenwich Mean Time signal located on the roof of a waterfront four-storey tower built in 1820. It was established in 1855 by the Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy in collaboration with Charles V. Walker, superintendent of telegraphs for the South Eastern Railway Company. It was built by the Lambeth firm of engineers Maudslay and Field. The time ball, which, like the Greenwich time ball, fell at 1 pm precisely, was triggered by an electric signal directly from the Royal Observatory. Since being restored, it is now connected to the atomic clock at Rugby.
Before it became a time ball tower, the tower was a semaphore tower used to signal to ships at anchor in the Downs* or passing in the English Channel.
From 1821 to 1831, the Tower carried a semaphore mast, which was used by the Coast Blockade for the Suppression of Smuggling to pass information along the coast. The Blockade was under the auspices of the Navy, and was staffed by their personnel.
The Timeball Tower stands on the site of an earlier Shutter Telegraph. This was one of a chain of telegraph stations between the Admiralty in London and the Naval Yard at Deal. The telegraph line opened in 1796 and closed in 1814. Its purpose was to allow rapid communication between London and Deal, the latter being an important Naval anchorage during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805 news of the naval victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson was brought to Deal by the schooner HMS Pickle (after calling at Falmouth), and transmitted by the telegraph to the Admiralty in London.
From 1821 to 1831, the Tower carried a semaphore mast, which was used by the Coast Blockade for the Suppression of Smuggling to pass information along the coast. The Blockade was under the auspices of the Navy, and was staffed by their personnel.
The Timeball Tower stands on the site of an earlier Shutter Telegraph. This was one of a chain of telegraph stations between the Admiralty in London and the Naval Yard at Deal. The telegraph line opened in 1796 and closed in 1814. Its purpose was to allow rapid communication between London and Deal, the latter being an important Naval anchorage during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805 news of the naval victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson was brought to Deal by the schooner HMS Pickle (after calling at Falmouth), and transmitted by the telegraph to the Admiralty in London.
*The Downs is an area in the Channel, of relatively calm water between Deal and the Goodwin Sands. It has been used since time immemorial as shelter for ships from stormy weather. It past times, it was used by ships wishing to replenish their onboard supplies. Nelson would also use it to moor up and skip ashore for a night of passion with Emma Hamilton at the Royal Hotel!
Severe concentric
semi-circular towers rise up like a flattened stone wedding cake at Deal
Castle, one of Henry VIII's string of coastal castles built against the threat
of a French invasion. Built to take advantage of the new super-weapon, cannons,
Deal boasts 119 gun positions.
When Francis I, King of
France, signed an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, in 1538,
Henry VIII's England was threatened by the combined might of the two European
super-powers of the day. Henry's foreign policy had relied on playing off France
and the Empire against each other, but an alliance between the two put England
under immediate threat.
Henry's response to launch a
huge building project, erecting a series of forts along the English coast; the
largest such coastal defence project since the Romans built a series of
Saxon-shore forts over 1000 years previously.
Deal was one of Henry's new
forts, the largest along the Kent coast, and it remains the best-preserved,
giving us a unique insight into life in Tudor England. It may seem surprising
that Henry should build a fort at Deal; in fact, he built 3 forts within 2
miles, the others being at Sandown (now destroyed) and Walmer.
The reason was that the area
around Deal offered easy landing to an invasion force. To counter this
possibility Henry linked the three new forts with an earthwork interspersed
with bastions. The earthworks are long gone, but the Henrican forts at Walmer and
Deal remain.
One of the challenges for Henry and his military engineers was how to counter the threat of cannon, the 16th-century equivalent of a nuclear bomb.
Traditional medieval castle
structures, with their high, thick walls, and rectangular towers, would not
stand up to a bombardment of cannon-fire. Henry's designers also needed to give
the castle garrison opportunity to use their own artillery to maximum impact.
The solution, probably
engineered by Stefan von Haschenperg, was a concentric fortress, with a series
of curving walls in a flower pattern, overlapped to provide firing angles, with
the curve of the walls lessening the damage of a direct hit from enemy fire.
At the centre was a low,
sturdy tower, surrounded by a series of six semi-circular bastions, encircled
by a ditch and a curtain wall with six projecting lobes. Cannon were mounted at
each level, allowing simultaneous firing from the tower, inner bastions, and
outer bastions.
The fort was set down low to
the ground, thus giving the enemy less to fire at. The fact that the final
result looked similar to a Tudor rose symbol probably played a part in the
design process, but the main reason for the design was purely practical.
The threat posed by France
and Spain never came; The Spanish Armada passed close to Deal, but by that time
the Armada was already in disarray and posed no threat.
The only military action at Deal came during the Civil War, when Royalists took control of all three forts during an abortive 1648 uprising in favour of Charles II. They were only ousted with great difficulty. The castle was manned in the Napoleonic Wars, but again saw no action.
Mosaic set into the wall which surrounds the amazing kiddies' paddling pool on the seafront. Excellent for young children, as the sloping shingle beach is not conducive to paddling
Due to its' very wide open frontage, Deal beach is an excellent place to watch passing ships
Sad to see such a lovely Art Deco cinema in a terrible state of dilapidation
Weird!
If you carry on past the pier and walk as far as you can with the sea on your right, you will eventually come to a dead end. It's here that you will stumble across the Community Garden that marks the spot where Deal's third castle once stood - Sandown Castle. I love it here. It's a part of Deal that, other than dog walkers, very few people know about. There's a couple of beautiful Art Deco houses - one of which I would love to own.
my bike should be the other side of that wall! (I wish!)
the garden is surrounded by these benches. They're called 'Chatty Benches' and the idea is that you sit on them if you are open for a chat with any random person who chooses to join you! Such a lovely idea!
Now here's a thing - a drinks and sandwich van, completely covered in astroturf and little flowers to complement the beautiful gardens of Sandown Castle. They do a mean bacon bap too!
DENTON
A small village, just the Canterbury side of Hawkinge, which was one of the 'Battle Of Britain' fighter airfields during WWII.
To the southwest of the village is the Grade II* listed Jacobean timber framed Tappington (or Tappington-Everard) Hall which dates to the 16th century. The house is where the cleric Richard Barham (1788–1845), under the pen name Thomas Ingoldsby, wrote The Ingoldsby Legends. This is a collection of old stories told to him by his Kentish Parishioners, with a fictional twist.
Field Marshal Lord Kitchener was created Baron Denton, of Denton in the County of Kent, on 27 July 1914.
The Jackdaw is best known for featuring in the film 'Battle Of Britain', and it was used as it was the most notable pub near Hawkinge airfield, where the filming was centred. However, the pub was originally called The Red Lion, and only became the Jackdaw in 1962 because Whitbreads felt there were too many other Red Lions in the area. The Jackdaw name originates from the 'Jackdaw Of Rheims' in the Ingoldsby Legends, penned by local author, the Rev. Barham. The building itself dates back to 1645
Directly opposite the Jackdaw, is a small triangular green, upon which stands a stone memorial to the local men killed in the war
DOVER
The name comes from 'Dubra'. meaning The Waters, which refers to the River Dour here. The river was navigable well inland (Caesar sailed up it in 55 BC), but began to silt up in Norman times. The original settlement was known to the Romans as Dubris.
Dover is known as the 'Gateway to England', and its' main attraction is the majestic castle, sitting high on top of the famous White Cliffs, overlooking both the town and the Eastern Docks, where the cross-channel ferries ply their trade.
There has been a fortress on the site of Dover Castle since the Iron Age, and probably before. There was a Roman fortress, with a pharos, or lighthouse, that still stands, and later, a Norman motte and bailey with a giant earthwork that again, still is evident. The castle seen today, was begun in the 12th. century reign of Henry II.
At the other end of the harbour area, are the Western Docks, once the terminus of the boat-train service to France, the Western Docks have recently seen a return of the bigger cruise liners.
Between the two docking harbours, is the inner harbour, with a very pleasant promenade and a memorial garden, recognising heroes and events, not always military ones.
The sinking of the Townsend Thoresen Cross-channel ferry, Herald Of Free Enterprise, shook us all. We never thought it could happen. Despite having to cross the busiest shipping lane in the world, the Dover/continent ferries had always been so safe. I myself, lost count of how many times I'd travelled across with my motorcycle on Free Enterprise ships.
She was a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry which capsized moments after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on the night of 6 March 1987, killing 193 passengers and crew.
The ship left harbour with her bow door open, and the sea immediately flooded the decks; within minutes, she was lying on her side in shallow water. The immediate cause of the capsizing was found to be negligence by the assistant boatswain, who was asleep in his cabin when he should have been closing the bow door. However, the official inquiry placed more blame on his supervisors and a general culture of poor communication in Townsend Thoresen.
Now, Captain Matthew Webb. He was an English swimmer and stuntman. He is the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. In 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours. This made him a celebrity, and he performed many stunts in public. He died trying to swim the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls, a feat declared impossible.
Operation Fuller as a counter-attack to prevent the German 'Channel Dash'. The Channel Dash (German: Unternehmen Zerberus, Operation Cerberus) was a German naval operation during the Second World War using the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen warships. The memorial is a tribute to all the forces that took part
The above plaque is self-explanatory, I think
This one a fitting tribute to all the Merchant Navy Seamen who lost their lives during the wars
Memorial to Charles Stewart Rolls, yes, him of Rolls-Royce fame. He was primarily a keen aviator, who eventually died doing what he loved best - flying. He was only the second Briton to go up in an aeroplane (in 1908), and he became the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane taking 95 minutes on 2 June 1910. For this feat, which included the first eastbound aerial crossing of the English Channel, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.
The World War I army memorial, called 'Every One Remembered' by Mark Humphrey
This is the monument to all the people who have dared to swim the Channel.
And this one is to remember those who have helped make Dover famous. From left to right: Jamie Clark, who carried the 2012 Olympic Torch from the Stavros sailing ship onto the Dover lifeboat and thence onto British soil, Dame Vera Lynn, who apparently was famous for getting American birds to fly over the White Cliffs :D and Bond, James Bond, of course his biographer lived just round the corner in St. Margaret's Bay.
Next to these figures, a plaque in the ground and an embedded line, marking the start and finish of the North Downs Way National Trail, which forms 'an inspirational journey through Kent an Surrey' from Dover to Farnham
Finally, just off the seafront, stands the Royal Rifles Memorial, commemorating those who fell during the 19th. century Indian campaign.
Behind the monument, is the underpass leading under the very busy A20 main London road, and some very attractive Art Deco style lamp posts.
Before leaving the seafront, just walk across to the seaward side here, and you will notice a strange phenomenon - bubbles! This is where the River Dour, which flows through Dover, enters the sea, and the fresh chalk stream water meets the salty sea.. At high tide, they are not so noticeable, but at low tide, the bubbles come up through the pebbles!
Just behind the seafront, stands the elegant Camden Crescent.
It must have been desirable place to live, as it has two plaques in a very short row of houses., one to a footballer, and the other to our old friend Charles Dickens, who actually lived in a part of the crescent that has been demolished.
This is a statue to the miners of the Kent Coalfields which have all now disappeared. It used to stand outside Richborough Power Station, which was fed by coal from the Kent pits. It was moved to the seafront as a temporary placement, but has now been moved to a new Country Park at the former Betteshanger Colliery.
So, back to the town itself.....................
Town centre pub, the Lord Nelson, now modernised and called the Riverside Bar. At least they've left the mural in place! Nelson was a regular visitor to Dover, spending a great deal of time staying in nearby Deal.
In Market Square, now thankfully pedestrianised, is this unusual water feature that you can walk through. The water jets are so fine, it looks like smoke
At one corner of Market Square, stands this quaint house, which Dickens mentions in David Copperfield, as being where David sat on the doorstep and ate a loaf of bread!
In the opposite corner is the Dover Museum, which as well as being free to enter, is well worth a visit. Having deftly passed through the Gift shop (don't worry, they'll get you on the way out!), you enter the ground floor exhibition, which is dedicated to the archelogical finds they have turned up in Dover.
Up to the second floor, and this is where they have changing exhibits. Currently it is Games and Pastimes down through the ages.
Onward and up, and the top floor holds their prize exhibit. No, not the polar bear, but the oldest sea-going boat ever found! The Bronze Age remains are remarkable for something that's nearly 4,000 years old. It is much bigger than I expected to see, and the mud it was found in has preserved a large portion of wood and rope. It measures some 31ft. in length, but was probably longer than that, the rest not being found.
Each of the doors has something unusual above them.....
Walking up Cannon Street, you start to come across the curious and odd, and find a surprising number of medieval buildings still standing. The first of these is St. Mary's Church.
There was a church on this site in Saxon times, but this was largely rebuilt in the 19th. century. The church has major connections with the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports and is much used for ceremonial services.
This bear, found high on the all of a shop, apparently once graced a tobacco shop
And I have no idea what this carving is either on, or about (other than the date), but it is a fine piece nevertheless
Pass through St. Edmunds Walk, and you will find St. Edmund's Chapel, almost swallowed up by the newer buildings in the town. Measuring only 28ft by 14ft, this was the chapel for the cemetery of the poor, which was established by the monks at the nearby Priory. It was consecrated in 1253 by Bishop Richard of Chichester, latterly known as St Richard of Chichester. Richard himself died four days later at the
Maison Dieu, Dover's medieval pilgrims hospital located barely a hundred yards
away. Although his body was taken to Chichester for a ceremonial funeral, his
internal organs were buried in a cist in the chapel floor, now partly covered
by the reconstructed 20th century altar. Richard was later canonised, and the
chapel later became a place of pilgrimage. Today it remains the only place of
worship dedicated by one English saint to another. The chapel was dedicated by Bishop Richard of Chichester
in memory of his friend and teacher, St. Edmund of Abingdon, Archbishop of
Canterbury from 1233 until his death in 1240.
It could be said that this little chapel is perhaps miraculous. It physically survived the Reformation and Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. Its sanctity having been lost for more than 400 years, it is recorded that during that passage of time it fell into use as a store and smithy. Remarkably, it then failed destruction when very close buildings were destroyed by enemy action in WWII, and finally it escaped demolition in the 1960’s by a council, which did not realise its significance, eager on widening Dover’s town high street.
A few buildings remain of St. Martin's Priory. The Abbey was established in
1131 but disbanded during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Many of old abbey
buildings are incorporated into Dover College.
Tallis had become very overlooked until a few years ago. Then - deep joy - long came Classic FM, and a couple of their DJ's were very fond of playing this - his Spem In Alium (Hope in any other)
When I was a teenager, my parent bought me a battery-operated record player for my birthday. It had to be battery powered, because, at the time we had no electricity. They also arranged for relatives who would norrmally buy me a little gift for my birthday, to give me a little money instead. Deep joy - I had enough to go into town and buy 2 record albums. Albums were normally too expensive to buy.
Anyway, the first one I picked was 'Reminiscing' by Buddy Holly. The other one was Sir Malcolm Sargent (who was born in Ashford), conducting Elgar's 'Enigma Variations'. On the other side was Ralph Vaughan-Williams' 'Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis'. I so loved this piece of music, I looked for not only other Vaughan-Williams' compositions, but also anything by Thomas Tallis. This started a life-long love of the works of both.
Dover College opened there in 1871, and the Strangers' Refectory and Gatehouse were restored. Other remaining parts were converted to accommodate the school
As long as you report to the Bursar first, you are permitted to walk around the outside of these buildings
One former pupil of Dover College was Simon Cowell, who apparently was so badly behaved that he attended 16 schools, and eventually dropped out at age 16.
King Stephen was said to have died on a journey whilst staying at the Priory in 1154.He was buried in the Abbey at Faversham, one of only three monarchs to be buried outside of London, the others being Henry IV who is buried in Canterbury Cathedral, and, of course, Richard III, who until recently graced a car park in Leicester! Repaired and extended in 1231 after much damage in a fire of 1201, it was pillaged by the French in a raid in August 1295, during which a monk called Thomas de la Hale was murdered. Extensive repairs were made in the 1480s.
I wanted to explore Maison Dieu and Biggin Hall, but unfortunately, they are both closed and wreathed in scaffolding for restoration.
Maison Dieu was a 13th-century hostel for pilgrims coming from Europe to visit Canterbury.
However, here are a couple of points that I did manage to photograph.
The Zeebrugge Bell high up on the Maison Dieu, was presented by the King of Belgium, to commemorate the Zeebrugge Raid of 1918. The bell is rung at 12 noon on 23rd. April each year
The only bit of Biggin Hall I could get near enough to, was this - the door to the jail.
It's pointless me saying too much about these two buildings until I can get to see them inside and out, and show you what I'm talking about.
Next to the Maison Dieu and in front of Biggin Hall, stands the Town Hall
.....and in front of that, is the town war memorial. It is topped by a statue called 'Youth', and he in turn, holds aloft a cross.
The arms of the port and town of Dover are on the front of the memorial
In the pretty garden surrounding the memorial, is this plaque and a grappling iron that was one of many used to hold H.M.S. Vindictive against the Mole during the raid on Zeebrugge in 1918
Through the entire length of the town, from the hills behind to the sea, flows the River Dour. It is a fast-flowing, shallow, chalk stream of very clear water
It flows behind Maison Dieu, and along the edge of Pencester Gardens. In the middle of this small park, there is a bandstand which has a pathway of stone slabs surrounding it, on which are engraved notable events in the town.
For instance, did you know that in 1680, an earthquake badly damaged the castle walls? Nope. Neither did I - a bit before my time.
I walked round to the bottom of Castle Hill, and then turned around again. That will have to wait until I have time to ride up there. No way was I walking up there!
As I walked back, I came across this blue plaque on Castle Hill House.
The word nepotism springs to mind....
Across the road stands the ruined St. James church.
Now a quiet, contemplative spot, the Norman origins of the church are obvious. Built in the 11th. century, restored in the 19th. century, and bombed in the 20th. century. It was bombed in the First World War, restored, then bombed again in the Second World War. The tower collapsed, so the ruins were made safe, and it is now a listed ruin.
High up on the Western Heights, close to the Citadel, lies the remains of a church, once belonging to the Knights Templar.
The chapel, built in the 12th century, had a circular nave 10 metres (33 feet) in diameter and a rectangular chancel. It was discovered in 1806 during construction of the fortifications on Dover Western Heights, according to Matthew Paris the site of King John's submission to the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213.
At an early hour on the morning of the 15th May 1213, King John and Pandulph- the Papal Legate- left the House of the Templars and retired to the precincts of the Round Church. There, surrounded by Bishops, Barons, Knights and various Nobles of the Realm, King John took an oath of fealty to the Pope on his knees before Pandulph. The occasion was the surrender of the Crown to the Pope. King John then made his submission, in the House of the Knights Templar…to the Envoy….After this was done, King John then put into the hands of Pandulph, a Charter recording the Act.
The chapel, built in the 12th century, had a circular nave 10 metres (33 feet) in diameter and a rectangular chancel. It was discovered in 1806 during construction of the fortifications on Dover Western Heights, according to Matthew Paris the site of King John's submission to the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213.
At an early hour on the morning of the 15th May 1213, King John and Pandulph- the Papal Legate- left the House of the Templars and retired to the precincts of the Round Church. There, surrounded by Bishops, Barons, Knights and various Nobles of the Realm, King John took an oath of fealty to the Pope on his knees before Pandulph. The occasion was the surrender of the Crown to the Pope. King John then made his submission, in the House of the Knights Templar…to the Envoy….After this was done, King John then put into the hands of Pandulph, a Charter recording the Act.
This submission by John was one of the final acts that resulted in the dispute between him and his barons, that ultimately ended with the signing of Magna Carta.
And finally...................
the Swedish ship Gotheborg moored in the Western Docks back in 2015. Don't blame me, I didn't take these pictures haha, but I don't doubt she'll be back sometime and I'll try to get closer shots then. She's a 20th. century replica of an 18th. century original
And finally, finally, just for fun........................
and...not Dover, but relevant to the Gotheborg.........................
Two sailors who started drifting after losing their rudder have told of their surreal experience when a replica 18th-century merchant ship arrived to rescue them off the coast of France.
The largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship in the world, Götheborg of Sweden, was heading for its upcoming port stop in Jersey when it received a distress call from the MRCC (Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres) about a small sailing boat that was drifting after losing its rudder.
As the closest ship to the boat in distress, the 58-metre Götheborg answered the call and towed the sailing boat during the night of 26 April 2023.
The largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship in the world, Götheborg of Sweden, was heading for its upcoming port stop in Jersey when it received a distress call from the MRCC (Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres) about a small sailing boat that was drifting after losing its rudder.
As the closest ship to the boat in distress, the 58-metre Götheborg answered the call and towed the sailing boat during the night of 26 April 2023.
Imagine.................you put out a Mayday call for any boat or ship in the area to come to your assistance, and the closest one is an 18th. century Swedish merchantman. You rub your eyes and chuck that half empty bottle of whisky over the side, vowing never to drink again..................
DUNGENESS & THE RHDR
Dungeness takes its' name from Denge Marsh, one of the marshes now incorporated under the banner of 'Romney Marsh'. The -ness part of the name means a headland, cape or nose.
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in Europe, and is classified as Britain's only desert by the Met Office. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.
The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. After unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce the New Zealand bees at Dungeness in 2009-2010, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Hymettus, Natural England and the RSPB teamed up with the Swedish government in a second attempt and introduced 51 of them in 2012 and 49 in 2013 to the Dungeness Reserve. This will be continued each year to ensure a successful integration.
The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird reserve there, and every year thousands of bird watchers visit the peninsula and its bird observatory.
One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around. Unfortunately, one power station has been decommissioned, and the other is shortly joining it.
There have been six lights at Dungeness. At first only a beacon was used to warn sailors, but this was replaced by a proper lighthouse in 1615, when James I granted a license to erect a 35-foot high wooden tower on the spot. As the sea retreated, this had to be replaced in 1635 by a new lighthouse nearer to the water's edge known as Lamplough's Tower.
As more shingle was thrown up, a new and more up-to-date lighthouse was built near the sea in 1792 by Samuel Wyatt. This lighthouse was about 35 m (115 ft) high and of the same design as the third Eddystone Lighthouse.
In 1862 Dungeness became the first electrically powered lighthouse in England. Unfortunately, electrical engineering at that stage was too inefficient, and the electrical power was replaced by oil-fired lights once more. From the mid-19th century, it was painted black with a white band to make it more visible in daylight; similar colours have featured on the subsequent lighthouses here. This lighthouse was demolished in 1904, but the lighthouse keepers' accommodation, built in a circle around the base of the tower, still exists.
In 1901 building of the fifth lighthouse, the High Light Tower, started. It was first lit on 31 March 1904 and still stands today. It is no longer in use as a lighthouse but is open as a visitor attraction. It is a circular brick structure, 41 m (135 ft) high and 11 m (36 ft) in diameter at ground level. It has 169 steps, and gives visitors a good view of the shingle beach. It is Grade I listed.
The Trinity House arms on the side of Dungeness light No.5
As the sea receded further, and after building the nuclear power station which obscured the light of the 1904 lighthouse, a sixth lighthouse, Dungeness Lighthouse was built. The sea is still receding, so eventually, we will probably need a No.7, but with the advancements is modern technology, and satellite technology, we possibly never will.
a view from the main road to Dungeness across to the two power stations
Below is a picture of the railhead. This is where, every Thursday, a special train would come down via Lydd, to be loaded with spent nuclear fuel rods to go up north for re-processing
The Round House, which stands next to the Old Lighthouse, once three cottages for the resident lighthouse keepers.
Dungeness is home to some of the most unique flora and fauna in the country. However, one of my favourites is plentiful there - it's the lovely Sea Kale. The abundant white flowers on each plant emit a beautiful sweet smell, especially on a warm sunny day.
there is a profusion of banks of golden broom around the railway station
Common bugloss
when you see the size of some of the sea kale plants, growing on the shingle, you wonder how it survives with no visible soil to nourish it
the beautiful horned poppy
ragwort and bugloss growing side by side
I think this toadflax is probably an escaped cultivar
pink sea thrift is also very common
Dungeness lifeboat. The RNLI boat house stands right in the middle of the Dungeness Estate
Just visible in the picture below, to the right of the shack, is one of several narrow gauge tracks that were laid across the shingle banks from the sea to the roadway, to aid the landing of fish and hauling them over the stones.
There were two nuclear power stations at Dungeness, the first built in 1965 and the second in 1983. They are within a wildlife sanctuary deemed a Site of Special Scientific Interest and despite high safety risks posed by the station, birds do flourish in the warmer water created by the station's outflow
The older power station closed on 31 December 2006, while the newer station had its licence extended to 2018. It is now in the long process of decommission
The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
I've included this here, as an adjunct to Dungeness, because, although the 14 mile line runs right across Romney Marsh, Dungeness is the best place to get a good view of it. Here, the train approaches the terminus across the wide, open expanse of the Dungeness Estate, giving uninterrupted view of the working train. You can then get 'close up and personal' with the locomotive as it stands at the station for quite a while before commencing its return journey to Hythe. The station also has the largest car park on the Dungeness Estate, from where you can explore. It is opposite the defunct Lighthouse No.5 which can be visited, and has a nice little cafe, toilets and gift shop
Dungeness is also the furthest station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.
The RH&DR was the culmination of the dreams of two men; Captain J. E. P. Howey — a sometimes racing driver, millionaire land owner, former Army Officer and miniature railway afficionado and Count Louis Zborowski — eminently well-known racing driver of his day (famous for owning and racing the Chitty Bang Bang Mercedes) and considerably richer, even, than Howey.
The Count was keen to build a fully working express railway using the 15" gauge, and Howey — well known in miniature circles for owning large locomotives — was inspired by the vision also.
The official opening took place on 16th July 1927, with Hercules hauling that inaugural train from Hythe to New Romney.
The Light Railway, as it is known locally, is the world's only narrow gauge railway, running a fully-scheduled service, mostly by steam. It does, however, have a diesel loco that is used to haul the daily School trains during term time. Lucky those children who use it every day to go to school!
Actually, the name is a bit of a misnomer. Captain Howey, for a start, before planning permission was granted for the railway line, bought a field in Littlestone (about 1/2 mile from New Romney) and built a station on it. (now known as New Romney station). So really, I suppose, it should be the Dungeness, Littlestone, Dymchurch and Hythe Railway. But that doesn't sound as memorable as the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway.
EASTWELL
On the outskirts of Ashford, lies the small village of Eastwell. Most of the land is taken up by the medieval Eastwell Manor, once the abode of the local Lord, but now a posh hotel and spa.
Tucked away down a little known lane in a remote corner of the manorial lands, is a beautiful lake, and the ruins of St. Mary's church.
St Mary’s was once a fine medieval church on an ancient pilgrimage route to Canterbury and the shrine of St Thomas Becket. Situated within the grounds of Eastwell Park, all that remains is a 15th-century tower, a 19th-century mortuary chapel, built to house the romantic monument to Lady Winchelsea, which can now be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum, and a slender flint wall linking the two.
A picturesque lake created just to the east of the church in the 19th century brought about the collapse of the nave arcade, as the chalk columns sucked up moisture from the earth and crumbled.
In the 1940s, Eastwell Park was taken over by the army for tank training exercises. Shocks from nearby explosions didn’t help the vulnerable structure. But in February 1951, after weeks of heavy rain the nave roof collapsed and took the arcade with it.
Six years later the church was dismantled. The bells were sold for scrap. The monuments found a new home in the V&A. A sad end for this lakeside beauty.
In the 1940s, Eastwell Park was taken over by the army for tank training exercises. Shocks from nearby explosions didn’t help the vulnerable structure. But in February 1951, after weeks of heavy rain the nave roof collapsed and took the arcade with it.
Six years later the church was dismantled. The bells were sold for scrap. The monuments found a new home in the V&A. A sad end for this lakeside beauty.
Eastwell Manor and the church have a curious connection to the last Plantagenet king, Richard III...
Richard a bricklayer, or Diccon, as he was known locally, has a story that was laid out in a letter written in 1733 by local clergyman Dr. Thomas Brett.
The incumbent of Eastwell Manor at the time, the Earl of Winchelsea, stumbled across the fact whilst researching information on his own family, and those facts concurred with a tale handed down through his family.
Prior to Eastwell Manor being built, the site was occupied by Wilmington Manor, which was gifted by the Duke of Norfolk, before he died at Bosworth Field, to the Moyle family. Wilmington Manor was pulled down to make way for the new house of Eastwell Manor.
When Eastwell Manor was being constructed in the 16th. century, the owner, Sir Thomas Moyle became curious about the chief bricklayer, who, whenever they took a break, would take himself apart from the others and read books in Latin. After much questioning, Diccon told Sir Thomas that he had been raised by a schoolmaster, and that every quarter, a rich man, who always stressed that he was no relative to the boy, would come and pay for his keep and schooling, and see to his general well-being.
When he was about 15, the rich man took him to a 'fine great house', where he was introduced to a great man wearing a Star and Garter. Diccon's descriptions of these men point to them being the Duke of Norfolk (former owner of Wilmington Manor) and King Richard III. The man spoke to him kindly and gave him some money.
Later, he was taken to Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, where he saw Richard again. Richard told Diccon that he was his father, and that on the morrow he would be fighting for his crown, and that if he lost, he would lose his life also. The King said that if he won, he would acknowledge Diccon as his son, but that if he lost, Diccon was to tell nobody who he was, or of this meeting.
Richard had good reason to fear for Diccon's life. He had several illegitimate children, of whom he had acknowledged two, John and Katherine. After the battle of Bosworth Field, Henry VII, the victor, at first treated John well, but then subsequently imprisoned him for a long time before finally executing him.
Diccon apprenticed himself to a bricklayer, but never lost his love of reading and learning. Sir Thomas Moyle was deeply moved and offered him a living and a residence in the big house, but Diccon merely asked permission to build himself a one-room house in a field, where he lived quietly until his death in 1550.
Had Diccon been 16 at the time of Bosworth (1485), he would have been 81 at the time of his death. Quite an old man for those days, but far from impossible, given his good upbringing and the fact that Moyle probably took care of him for his life's duration.
There are further records of both a Plantagenet Well and a Plantagenet Cottage in the Eastwell area, and in the churchyard of St. Mary's is a memorial plaque on a tomb ascribed to Richard Plantagenet
Much has been made of the fact that this tomb probably pre-dates Diccon's death by 50-60 years, and people pooh-pooh the idea that it is indeed his final resting place, saying that it is almost certainly the tomb of Sir Walter Moyle who died circa 1480. I don't disagree...
.....but consider this - Sir Thomas Moyle firmly believed that Diccon was whom he claimed to be,. Therefore, when he died, would have felt a compulsion to honour him in some way. Building an overtly ostentatious tomb for an old bricklayer would have been both inappropriate and risky. There was still a great deal of ill-feeling towards the House of York even 60 years on. So how about a commemorative slab in the side of the local landowner's tomb?
Maybe Diccon is buried alongside the tomb of Sir Walter; it is not entirely inconceivable that his body was placed in the same tomb.
I can hear all the sceptics deriding this tale as hearsay and local myth....................BUT!
in the Eastwell Parish Registers, there is this entry: 'Rychard Plantagenet was buryed on the 22 daye of December 1550'
Scholars and experts have examined the entry, and declared it is not a forgery.
I certainly feel that there is more than sufficient local knowledge and belief to warrant further investigation. Now they have the proven bones of Richard III, if they exhumed a likely body, a DNA connection could easily prove the veracity of this intriguing tale.
Or maybe, it is better to let locals have their mystery, and let sleeping Plantagenets lie
*The ruins are now maintained by the Friends of Friendless Churches, a national charity, both as a place of pilgrimage and a historic monument. It is my place of peace and quiet contemplation.
EGERTON
Tiny little village, just about 1,000 residents, lying on the Greensand Ridge, not too far from Charing. The name is derived from the Saxon Eegheard’s ton. Evidence of a Second Century Roman burial site with pottery sherds was discovered at Coldharbour Farm to the West of the village. However, the oldest structure must be the round barrow in the field to the east of the village, which is a scheduled Ancient Monument, and thought to be of Bronze Age origin (2500-701BC). However, even older archaeological finds include a Neolitthic (4000- 2201 BC) adze near Field Mill to the north of the village, a Neolithic axe at Munday Bois to the south of the village and a Late Mesolithic (10,000- 4001BC) pick at Kingsland Farm, also to the south. Being on the Ridge, gives it wonderful views over the surrounding countryside.
The village clusters around the grade I listed church of St. James, which has the oldest 36-branch chandelier in the world
The church is quite impressive, and stands in a well-kept, pretty churchyard next to the village green.
The entrance is approached through an arcade of pollarded trees, that form an archway when in full leaf
I'd never heard of him before finding this tomb, but it seems he was an extremely important person, who held high offices, both secular and religious.
I'm not going to put all the details here, because there's so much, it will fill up all of my pages! However, if you do want to know more, there's a full biography of him here
There is a house which used to be the village bakery, and which still bears the sign on the wall.
ELHAM
(Eel meadow - a water meadow where eels are trapped)
Elham is a very pretty village, laying between Folkestone and Canterbury, which can trace its' history back to the Domesday Book of 1087. It is well worth taking a walk around the village. Afterwards you can always take a break at the Abbot's Fireside, which was built in 1614, and was formerly called the Smithies Inn.
The Duke of Wellington used the hotel as his headquarters whilst preparing his final battle with Napoleon at Waterloo, although it was then called the Smithies Arms. King Charles II and the Duke of Richmond hid from Cromwell's Roundheads in the main fireplace, during a clandestine visit to England during their exile.
Although a very small village, Elham at one time had 4 inns and vineyard! Three of the inns were on this part of the High Street. The New Inn has gone - now existing only as a small row of houses. The Abbot's Fireside, as you can see, is still there, and, on the other side of the street, the Rose And Crown still stands.
Apparently, Baroness Orczy based her character, The Scarlet Pimpernel, on a real person who used to stop there and dine, while he waited for a fresh horse to carry him to France, where he really did rescue French Aristocrats from the guillotine!
Just off the main road, opposite the Abbot's Fireside, is St. Mary's Road, which leads to Church Square, and the church, of course.
The King's Arms was built in the middle ages, but the medieval framework is now hidden behind the tiled facade.
One of Elham's more notable residents was Audrey Hepburn, formerly Audrey Ruston, who both lived, and went to school there. She and her mother lived in Orchard Cottage, Duck Street.
ETCHINGHILL
Etchinghill is a small village on the main road between Lyminge and Beachborough Park. It is fairly unremarkable on the surface, but does deserve further investigation.
It used to have a small cottage hospital, which first became an old folks' residence, and then was demolished (except for the chapel) to make way for housing.
It does still have a pretty pub though.
EYNSFORD
Eynsford (Aegen's ford - a crossing of the Darent) is a pretty village in the lovely Darenth valley. Its ancient ford and a hump-backed medaieval bridge across the river are still in use. You will find the ford by turning off the main street opposite the church, on the road to Lullingstone and Crockenhill.
Although there are double yellow lines on the road, nobody seems to care if you park alongside the road. Lorries and coaches have to splash through the ford, as the bridge is only wide enough for light vehicles.
The riverside is a nice place to linger, with a broad lawn of grass, a good place to picnic and watch the ducks, and children can paddle in the shallow water.
The last time I was there, it was warm and sunny, the depth marker on the ford indicated a depth of just under 12", and the water was full of children, splashing about in the river with its' two little weirs.
FAIRFIELD
Fairfield means fair, open land. Appropriate as St Thomas Becket Church in Fairfield stands alone in a field on the Marsh, surrounded by water courses and sheep. A causeway was built in 1913, and until then the church was more often than not surrounded by water during the winter and spring.
Fairfield, the village it once served has long since disappeared, but the church has survived and is now part of a parish which includes the villages of Brookland, Brenzett and Snargate.
The church is dedicated to St Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. The church was built as a temporary structure of timber lath and plaster in c1200 to support the local farming community. From the outside it looks rather severe – the 13th century timber frame was encased in brickwork in the 18th century, and its immense roof covered in red tiles.
But entering the interior is like going back in time – the Georgian interior feels as though little has changed for over 200 years.
In 1912 the fabric was in a very poor state and a complete rebuilding within the timber framework took place. However, the inside of the church was, fortunately, left untouched. It is Georgian, with a three decker pulpit, box pews and texts boards. The pews are still painted white with black linings.
Services are held there on the first Sunday of every month. It is quite difficult to find. If you head from Brenzett on the A258 towards Hastings, you will come to a sharp left hand bend. If you turn right there (where it says 'Jo's Cafe) and follow the narrow lane, you will eventually see it out in the fields on the right.
FAVERSHAM
Faversham means a wright or smith's settlement. The old name for the stream which flows through Faversham was the Fishborne ('fish stream')
Faversham is the only town in the United Kingdom to be granted the privilege of using the Royal Arms of England (the three lions) and it can be found all over the town. In some places, it is as the Cinque Port coat-of-arms which has the front half of the three lions joined to the stern of three ships. The town has upwards of 500 listed buildings, and is the oldest market town in Kent, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.
The Creek is navigable at high tide, which has resulted is a previous ship-building industry and a former fishing fleet.
the Guildhall, which stands in the Market Place, and which still operates a daily street market. The weather vane on top has a dragon on it. The Guildhall was originally built in 1574, and rebuilt in 1814.
This is a median sundial, painted on the side of the Guildhall in 2012. It's actually pretty useless as a timepiece, as the only time it shows accurately is midday, when the shadow of the gnomen falls over the central diamond.
This is the Old Pharmacy, a former apothecary's shop from 1240, still displaying its' shop sign of a mortar and pestle
The beautiful town pump, in the market square, dates from 1855, although a pump has stood here since 1635..
small roundabout at the junction of Market Street, Preston Street, and East Street
This is the oldest shop in Faversham, now enclosed within a later building, but still showing it's beautiful woodwork
The gateway to the church of St. Mary of Charity. It is dated 1533 on one side and 1862 0n the other.
the Masonic Hall
A curious tree stump, which has been carved with a representation of the Abbey
The real Abbey Road!
Standard Quay, on the waterfront of the Creek, is now full of quirky shops and little eateries, whilst the Creek itself is home to quite a few houseboats and a couple of Thames barges
Oyster Bay House, a former fertiliser factory
Arden's House was once the scene of a murder in 1551. A former mayor of Faversham, Thomas Arden was murdered by his wife, Alice, and her lover. They eventually succeeded after several botched attempts, but were caught and executed.
Now...............there is a known play from Tudor times called Arden of Feversham that to this day, remains anonymous. It was performed in Faversham back then, by a travelling theatre troupe, called 'The Lord Chamberlain's Men', one of whom was William Shakespeare.
Did he write the play? If so, was he assisted by local man, Christopher Marlowe? Consider.........
There are similarities in the writing style between this play and Macbeth
Shakespeare sourced a lot of his material from Raphael Holinshead's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland which has a long passage about this murder.
The quality of the play is certainly up to Shakespeare's standard, and few writers at the time exhibited such subtly of language
Computer analysis by Newcastle University and the Institute of Renaissance Studies concluded that large sections of the play were undoubtedly by Shakespeare
It is known that Shakespeare stayed in Faversham for a while, with the acting troupe, for whom he often wrote plays
In the play, (but not in real life) the two murderers who carried out the deadly deed were called Blackwill and Shakbag!
The play was published by Edward White, who was also Shakespeare's publisher.
Too many coincidences?
Why did the above portico remind me of Lego bricks?
His brother, Charles II was housed temporarily in a house 3 doors down!
Hops - a sure sign that this was a brewery. Faversham is home to Shepherd Neame, the oldest family-owned brewery in the country. Founded in 1698, it is still owned and run by the Neame family.
Opposite the Shepherd Neame brewery experience, is this rare Victorian postbox, still in use today.
The New Royal Cinema. It was built originally as an Odeon cinema, changing its' name to The Classic in 1967, and then the New Royal
As well as the Royal Arms, and those of the Cinque Ports, there are more than a few Tudor roses to be found
N.B. As a small addendum, I photographed these hollyhocks in the churchyard in Faversham.
According to folklore, hollyhocks were once called "outhouse flowers". These tall flowers were grown around outhouses to hide the privy. The practice was so common that the sight of hollyhocks told guests where the outhouse was located.
'Folca's Stone' - the stone was the meeting place of its' Hundred (a Hundred is an area of land that would support 100 families, or alternatively, an area that could supply one hundred men-at-arms). The stone acted as a landmark at which people of the jurisdiction met.
I went to school and art college in Folkestone, and spent some very happy teenage years there, so forgive me if a few personal memories creep in here and there
Over the past few years, Folkestone has become known for its' Creative Quarter', which is based around the Old High Street and Tontine Street. But public works of art are to be found everywhere.
The Guildhall (town hall, museum and tourist information centre)
The parish church of Folkestone is dedicated to St Mary and St Eanswythe. It was also my school church, where we would hold our annual church service. Eanswythe was a Kentish Anglo-Saxon princess, born around 630AD who founded Folkestone Priory, the first nunnery in England. I have not yet refreshed my knowledge of the interior of the church, but the graveyard has one or two notable inclusions
Human remains were first discovered in a lead container inside the north wall of the Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe in 1885.
It is thought the remains were hidden there to escape being destroyed during the Reformation in the early 16th Century which changed England's official religion from Catholicism to the new Protestant faith.
In 2020, Kent archaeological and history experts, working with Queen's University in Belfast, confirmed that the remains were almost certainly those of St Eanswythe.
The Diocese of Canterbury is seeking applications from designers and artists to create a new reliquary for Eanswythe's remains, as the current container is no longer suitable.
Dr Andrew Richardson of Isle Heritage said they were looking to commission the creation of a new reliquary "fit for a Kentish royal saint".
"One that will protect and preserve these relics for generations to come," he added.
The weeping ash...........
At this cross the Mayor of Folkestone was elected annually, as far back as the reign of Edward III (1312-1377).
Next to the cross is stone plinth bearing the remains of rather lovely old sundial
The British Lion is said to be the oldest pub in Folkestone, and stands on the Bayle. However, although the inn claims to have existed since 1460 under the name of the Priory Arms, no firm evidence has come to light of the existence of that alehouse.
The first mention of the British Lion is not until 1782. This would mean the Black Bull in Canterbury Road predates it by 40 years, the original Royal George in the harbour by 65 years and the Red Cow in Foord Road by 100 years. Yet none of these was actually Folkestone's first pub. Apparently, the "Cheker" in what is now Church Street has the strongest claim, as it is mentioned in town records in 1525. It remained on that site until the mid-19th century when it moved for the final time into George Lane. In 1997, the pub enjoyed another new lease of life, when it was transformed by Caroline Godden into the Thistle & Shamrock.
The two cottages next door are interesting................
Another house on the Bayle bears this symbol. Nope. No Idea
The Bayle Garden pond is home to the protected Great Crested Newt.
From the Bayle, you can walk down a steep flight of steps, known as the Bayle Steps, to either the harbour or the Old High Street. Halfway down, is this blue plaque
All the buildings in the Old High Street also have these plaques, explaining their past history - but nobody asked me about the 60s :) Jimmy Godden's rock shop, the ladies' underwear shop which was run by a very strange old man, the Greek Cypriot club and the Acropolis coffee bar, where you could buy certain 'substances', if that was your thing, are all long gone. At the top there used to be a cinema, a cafe with an excellent juke box, and the Earl Grey pub, much used by squaddies from the Shorncliffe camp and which had a special feature of a punch-up every Saturday night
the entrance to the 'creative quarter' at the junction of the Old High Street and Tontine Street.
Well, yes, if anyone knows the way to the Warren, it must be the Bunnies. The Adders are pretty familiar with it too!
Just inside the arches which lead to the harbour and the Sunny Sands, is an old building called The Bethel. I won't repeat what this picture explains perfectly
As part of the Triennial public art show in Folkestone, six of these little houses were placed around the place. I only found two of them so far.
This is the Folkestone Mermaid............................but, why has she got feet?
The East Cliff Pavilion. Used to go to some good rock and roll gigs here. Local band the Rocking Edwardians were very good, and often used to double up on the same bill as Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets or Screamin' Lord Sutch and the Savages.
Dave Sutch remains as the only politician to have achieved his manifesto without ever having sat in Parliament. He first stood as representative and leader of the National Teenage Party (and of course, later as leader of the National Loony Party), and he had three promises:-
1). To have national 24 hour pop music radio stations, so we didn't have to put up with the often terrible reception from Radio Luxembourg
2). at least 12 hour, possibly 24 hour opening for pubs, and
3). lowering the age of majority for voting to 18.
Well, guess what.........................
From the first time I saw him step out of that coffin on stage and for his resolution alone, he will always be my hero.
The Incredible, sorely missed, Dave Sutch. Pity he couldn't get the help he so needed
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I love the fact that one of the buildings in the harbour has photos of the local fishermen, past and present.
The Grand Burstin Hotel was built in the 70s with investment from a Polish refugee, after whom it is named. It stands on the site of the earlier Royal Pavilion Hotel, and part of the old hotel was incorporated in the design.
This huge house stands majestically at the top of the Bayle steps, but can really only be appreciated from the harbour side down below. It's called Shangri-La, and one of my school friends used to live there. I can tell you with some authority, that the view from the tower room across to France is totally amazing!
Now, once upon a time, ferries used to sail from Folkestone to France, and amongst these was the Boat Train. The train used to come down from London to Folkestone Junction (later called Folkestone East) and then run down the Tram Road and across the harbour viaduct to the boats. One section of the viaduct comprised a swing bridge to allow taller boats into the inner harbour. Now it has been turned into a pretty walkway, but the railway tracks have been left in situ.
The harbour station has been restored, and still has its' original signage in both English and French. It is now a pleasant place to stroll, with occasional pieces of art to ponder. Once out of the station, heading out towards the harbour arm lighthouse, there are little bars and cafes in the summertime
This one is called 'Rug People' by Varga Weisz. The name came from the fact that it originally stood on a piece of rug until it was moved to its current position. It represents the many faces of those who travelled to Folkestone in search of asylum, as well as those en route to France and the battles of World war I
Indeed I was! Who would want to be anywhere else?
a tropical picnic ground just off the harbour, on the shingle beach
old, worn, wartime defences
............and then there was Antony Gormley. This is one of his cast iron bodies from the 'Another Time' series. You have to search it out though. There is a set of steep and slippery steps going down from the middle of the harbour arm, and there he is, looking wistfully out across the bay towards Dover.
The doorway denotes that this is what little remains of the 1843 Royal Pavilion Hotel that was replaced by the Grand Burstin - sadly now not so grand
Carol Ann Duffy, erstwhile Poet Laureate, was much influenced by Wilfred Owen. These plaques, along the wall of the Road of Remembrance, are from her poem 'An Unseen'
I watched love leave, turn, wave, want not to go,
depart, return;
late spring, a warm slow blue of air, old-new.
Love was here; not; missing, love was there;
each look, first, last.
Down the quiet road, away, away, towards
the dying time,
love went, brave soldier, the song dwindling;
walked to the edge of absence; all moments going,
gone; bells through rain
to fall on the carved names of the lost.
I saw love’s child uttered,
unborn, only by rain, then and now, all future
past, an unseen. Has forever been then? Yes,
forever has been.
The words of Tennyson on the memorial at the top of the hill............
Walk, climb, stagger up the Road of Remembrance, and at the top you are greeted by the impressive war memorial, and, at the entrance to the famous Leas, the Step Short Arch. The name is taken from the command given to WWI soldiers to 'step short' to manage the steepness of the hill down to the harbour, where they would embark for war in France. Plaques around the arch tell the stories of some of these soldiers
The Leas is a very popular place for a stroll. The cliffs below are interrupted by the Leas Cliff Hall, the Zig-Zag Path and the Leas lift, which is about to be renovated and put back into working order, I understand.
When I was a teenager, we used to run down the steps to the Rotunda pleasure park, or to use the roller rink, or one of the three swimming pools. (2 indoor and 1 enormous outdoor lido style seawater pool) All are sadly gone now. After swimming, we used to use the lift to get back up to the Leas. Now don't laugh, but........our favourite was the Olympic sized outdoor pool. It used chlorinated seawater, so it was very buoyant, heated - and so big that on a sunny day, it got even warmer. The top diving board was so high, you could look down on the roller rink next door. But despite all this, if it was raining, we used the indoor rock pool across the road. Nope, no idea why, but we all did it!
A great landslide in 1784, created a new belt of land between the cliff and the beach, and the whole area was landscaped in the 19th. century.
Little Switzerland
This is an amazing place, which lies on a plateau halfway up (or down) the cliffs. It's a small piece of land above the Warren Country Park, which carries a small caravan park, and a nice little cafe. Sitting outside on the lawn, looking out to sea is delightful on a hot sunny day.
It can only be reached by vehicle from below, or on foot from up the top by the Valiant Sailor pub
There was one curiosity I found.....now, I'm not going to say this has been misappropriated, but it is marked 'Westminster City Council' . So who is Lord Roy Adams?
Well, since 1985, he has been drummer for the Climax Blues Band. He has also performed with Roy Wood, Ruby Turner, the Steve Gibbons Band, Tony Christie and is a favourite drummer amongst touring American artistes such as Chuck Berry .
As a final note..........here in Ashford, we have the William Harvey Hospital, and the William Harvey pub. Similarly, Folkestone's boys' grammar school is also named for him. But who was William Harvey?
William Harvey was the medical pioneer who first described the circulation of the blood. Harvey's father was a jurat and later, mayor of Folkestone, and young William was educated here before going on to Kings School in Canterbury and then to Cambridge University. Harvey's mother is buried in the parish church of Saint Mary and St Eanswythe.
GOUDHURST
Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about 12 miles (19 km) south of Maidstone. It stands on a crossroads (A262 & B2079), where there is a large village pond. The land surrounding the pond, is known as The Plain, and the building behind the pond, is the village hall.
The word Goudhurst is derived from the Old English guo hyrst, meaning Battle Hill, or the wooded hill on which a battle has been fought. The name apparently commemorates a battle fought on this high ground in Saxon times. Whichever road you take from the crossroads, will be a steep one! The church is often known as the Cathedral of the Weald.
There are a remarkable 217 listed buildings in Goudhurst, including five oast houses. Goudhurst was a centre of the
Wealden iron trade from the 15th century and had a thriving weaving industry.
It was also at the centre of a hop-growing region. Opposite the churchyard is a
row of old weavers' cottages. Flemish weavers came to Kent around 1330, and the
cottages were built about 20 years later in 1350. Weavers based here became
wealthy by weaving broadcloth.
Next to the weavers' cottages, stands the Old Lime House. The figures (crudely carved and known locally as Adam and Eve and the Soup Tureen) were added by Thomas Apps, who had a lime store and builders yard here.
The Flemish weavers brought more than weaving skills to Goudhurst; they brought a taste for beer brewed with hops and a knowledge of how to brew it. They started planting small hop gardens and within a few generations, the Weald was covered in hop farms. For hundreds of years, hop-picking was an annual event, with workers from London descending on Goudhurst each year to pick hops. Which is why the village sign features fruit and an oast house.
The oast house stands at the crossroads in the middle of the village, next to the Old Bank.
In 1341, the Archbishop
decreed that the Rector of Goudhurst should recieve an annual tithe
including herbs sown in gardens. This led to a dispute as to whether hops are
grown in gardens or fields. the vicar wished for a greater tithe, and tried to
claim a part of all hop production, he lost the argument. However the hop
fields are known locally as 'Hop Gardens'.
During the Tudor period, the
Kentish Weald was known as the 'black country' for its thriving iron mining
industry. Sir Alexander Culpepper's forge at nearby Bedgebury cast the cannon
used to fight the Spanish Armada.
By the 18th century, the iron
industry had died, and this area of Kent was a centre for smuggling. The
infamous Hawkhurst Gang ruled the Goudhurst area under the leadership of George
Kingsmill, a native of Goudhurst. The residents of Goudhurst decided to fight
back against the Hawkhurst Gang's reign of terror and formed a militia under
William Sturt.
Kingsmill swore to defeat the
militia, and on Monday 20th April 1747 the
gang marched on the town. Women and children took refuge in the church, and in
a battle that raged through the churchyard and the neighbouring Star and Eagle
pub, three smugglers including Kingsmill's brother George were killed and
others of the gang were captured and imprisoned in the church vestry.
Kingsmill was eventually
captured and executed at Tyburn in London, but his body was brought back to
Goudhurst where it was hung in chains. The 'Battle of Goudhurst' broke the
power of the Hawkhurst Gang forever.
This is the Star and Eagle Inn. Originally called the Star & Crown. Passages
from the cellars to the church next door, were supposedly used by the gang of smugglers.
Church House, which stands next to Church Cottage, both listed. Originally a cloth hall, the building was subsequently a Tavern, a barracks for the anti-smuggling Militia band at Goudhurst and the base of William Rootes Snr's. Bicycle business c.1900 from which developed the Rootes motor group. Picture shows just how steep the hill down to the centre of the village is
Halfway down the hill, on the other side of the road, is the curious basement to a house called 'Spyways', a 14th. century residential building. Not been able to establish what or why it is as yet.
And so to St. Mary's church.....
The church's location made it a perfect spot for a lookout
during both World Wars. From the top of the tower, which rises to exactly 500 feet above sea level, on a
clear day it is said you can see 51 churches and even spot the Canary Wharf
Tower in London.
The tower which was built in the early 1300's was struck by lightning in 1637 and caught fire. The fire was so intensive that the bells melted, and the tower had to be rebuilt.
During the Second World War in 1940 the church was damaged by two parachute mines, which exploded destroying most of the windows. The church tower was used by the Home Guard as an observation platform.
There's an attractive small side door on the north side
But the main entrance is through the west door, below the tower. This opens into a generous porch, which contains this beautiful mosaic.
The most interesting monument
by far is that of Sir Alexander Culpepper and his wife, which dates to 1537. This
is one of just 80 surviving wooden effigy tombs in Britain.
This monument is a tabletop
tomb, with painted wooden effigies of the deceased in beautifully detailed
period costumes. The couple lies side by side. Sir Alexander is clad in a red
and gold surcoat over armour. His head is bare.
His wife is portrayed in a
black dress with a red cloak over, and an ornate headdress of the style
familiar to anyone who has viewed Elizabethan portraits by Hans Holbein. The
knight was known as 'Ould Sir Alexander'. The memorial is raised up, but some
kind soul has thought of visitors and provided a small step-stool so that you
can climb a few steps up and get a very good vantage point to investigate the
effigies.
Carved into the window jamb immediately above the Culpepper tomb is a small scene depicting kneeling members of the family with a likeness of St George slaying his dragon, and a Virgin and Child. This carving has been dated to 1537.
The church houses many memorials to the Culpepper Family. Their iron foundries at Bedgebury cast guns used against the Spanish Armada.
Other members of the Culpepper family are remembered with memorials in the Lady Chapel, sometimes called the Bedgebury Chapel. Here you can see the oldest memorial in the church; the brass of John Bedgebury (d. 1424), who may have fought at the Battle of Agincourt.
Bedgebury is one of the oldest manors in England, with a
grant dated AD 815. After John de Bedgebury's death, the manor of Bedgebury passed to the
Culpepper family.
The first Culpepper of
Bedgebury was Sir John, whose brass memorial, dated 1480, is beside the altar.
He is shown wearing armour of the plate and mail type.
Sir John's memorial is overshadowed by a quite wonderful alabaster Tudor monument to the Culpeppers. Four generations of the family are commemorated in this lovely memorial, carved in 1599. In an upper niche is Sir Thomas Culpepper, Sheriff under Edward VI. Beneath Sir Thomas is his son Alexander with Mary, his wife.
Sir Alexander Culpepper was an influential nobleman who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. The queen is known to have visited him at Bedgebury. Beneath Sir Alexander is a likeness of his son Anthony, with his wife Ann, who was the daughter of the Mayor of London. At the bottom of the memorial are carvings of their sixteen children. kneeling in suitably reverential attitudes of prayer.
On the south wall of the
sanctuary is another memorial, an Italian marble one of William Campion (d.
1665). In 1722 the Campion family donated the candelabra that still hangs in
the nave.
There is also a wall memorial tablet to another William Campion, who died in 1702. William Campion (6 February 1640 – 20 September 1702) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1689 and 1702.
Campion was the son of Sir William Campion of Combwell, and his wife Grace Parker, daughter of Sir Thomas Parker of Ratton Sussex. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and admitted to Middle Temple in 1657.
Campion was elected Member of Parliament for Seaford in 1689 and held the seat until July 1698. He was then re-elected for Seaford in December 1698 and held the seat until 1701. In 1701 he was elected MP for Kent and held the seat until his death in 1702. Campion died aged 62
Here are a few more random shots taken in the church, including the pulpit and the font.
Altogether a very beautiful church, which is being well looked after.
GRAVENEY
The meaning of 'the graven river' was originally given to the stream which ran through a broad ditch.
I must admit, Graveney is a tiny place on one of my favourite rides, but I have never stopped to explore it. The road I use passes right by the parish church, and it's an easy place to stop and use the church as background for a motorcycle picture I fully intend to investigate it further though
The church commenced life in Norman times, but the majority of it is 14th. century.
In 1970, when improvement works were being undertaken by Kent River Authority to drainage channels (Hammond Drain and White Drain) in Graveness, an Anglo-Saxon clinker-built boat was found in the mudflats. The boat was carefully removed by the National Maritime Museum to be conserved and stabilised by the Mary Rose Trust.
It was a cross-channel cargo vessel, reconstructed as some 13.6 m (45 ft) long and 3.4 m (11 ft) wide and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in draught. Later studies, including dendrochronology determined that it was built from oak, in the mid-890s. It was abandoned in the mud in 950AD. It was also found that one of the last cargos it carried was hops. Other remains include fragments of quern-stones made from Mayen lava, located in the Rhineland, Germany.
The Battle of Graveney Marsh was the last ground level battle fought on British soil; there were no fatalities and one flesh wound. It was fought on 28 September 1940 and the participants were the crew of Ju88 twin engine bomber that had been forced to crash land and London Irish Rifles who had been billeted in nearby Seasalter.
The marshes are the homes to many wildlife species, including lapwing, brent goose, golden plover and marsh harrier.
See? I thought it might be an interesting place to learn about!
HAM STREET (Orlestone)
Orlestone has the origin in Ordlaf's farmstead and Ham Street derives from Hem - water meadow. Ham Street was once just the road through Orlestone, the church for which now lies at some distance from Ham Street, which is where the village has migrated to.
Ham Street is a pretty ordinary village, just south of Ashford. It does, however, have one point of interest - the Johnsons Corner Memorial. You can find this at the lower end of the village, where the road through the village joins the A2070 Ashford to Brenzett road.
Lieutenant William “Bill” Johnson was the pilot of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, known as Spare Parts, which was part of the 711th Bombardment Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group, of the United States Army Air Forces.
On Thursday, April 13, 1944, having ordered his crew to abandon the plane, which had been heavily damaged over Europe, Lt Johnson intentionally crashed to the south of Hamstreet to avoid killing villagers.
When the village received a bypass in the mid 1990s, a junction off the road towards Hamstreet, close to where he crashed, was named Johnson’s Corner. A memorial was also erected in his memory.
Update: the memorial is being refurbished. It's now a lovely, peaceful place to sit, even though it's on the edge of a busy road.
The memorial to commemorate the 100th. anniversary of the 1914-18 war stands by the main carpark in the centre of the village
Hamstreet is twinned with the little town of Therouanne in France. Therouanne was once a city with a cathedral which was sacked by the troops of Henry V. The stone cannonball was a gift from the mayor of the twin town, presented with the words 'You can have your cannonball back!
N.B.: See also Orlestone on the Kent2 page, as the names are irrevocably interlinked
HERNE BAY
The meaning of Herne is a corner. So the likelihood is that the original settlement grew up on a corner or angle of land. These days, the coastline there is relatively straight.
The town rose to prominence as a seaside resort during the early 19th century after the building of a pleasure pier and promenade by a group of London investors, and reached its heyday in the late Victorian era. Its popularity as a holiday destination has declined over the past decades, due to the increase in foreign travel and to a lesser degree exposure to flooding that has prevented the town's redevelopment.
The town of Herne Bay took its name from the neighbouring village of Herne, two kilometres inland from the bay. The village was first recorded in around 1100 as Hyrnan.
One of the oldest buildings in Herne Bay, dating back to 1385, is the Ship Inn, which served as the focal point for the small shipping and farming community which first inhabited the town. During this time, passenger and cargo boats regularly ran between Herne Bay and London and boats carrying coal ran from Newcastle. From Herne was easy access by road to the city of Canterbury or to Dover, where further passage by boat could then be obtained across the English Channel to France.
During the 1840s, steamboats began running between Herne Bay and London. During the early 19th century, a smugglers' gang operated from the town. The gang were regularly involved in a series of fights with the preventive services until finally being overpowered in the 1820s.
In the 1830s, a group of London investors, who recognised Herne Bay's potential as a seaside resort, built a wooden pier and a promenade on the town's seafront. This and the subsequent building of a railway station led to the rapid expansion of the town. In 1833, an Act of Parliament established Herne Bay and Herne as separate towns. In 1837, Mrs Ann Thwaytes, a wealthy lady from London, donated around £4,000 to build a 75 feet (23 m) clock tower on the town's seafront. It is believed to be the first freestanding purpose built clock tower in the world.
There is a blue plaque on the house where Ann Thwaytes lived, further along the seafront
In 1912, the first "Brides in the Bath" murder by George Joseph Smith was committed in Herne Bay. During World War II, sea-forts (the Maunsell Forts) were built off the coast of Herne Bay and Whitstable, which are still in existence. The coastal village of Reculver, to the east of Herne Bay, was the site of the testing of the bouncing bomb used by the "Dam Busters" during the war.
A statue to Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, the inventor of the bouncing bomb, proudly graces the park just off the sea front
On the same lawn, opposite Barnes Wallis, there is an old red phone box and an old red postbox - now emblems of bygone time
The original wooden pier had to be dismantled in 1871 after its owners went into liquidation and sea worms had damaged the wood. A shorter 100 metres (328 ft) long iron pier with a theatre and shops at the entrance was built in 1873. However, it was too short for steamboats to land at. The pier proved to be unprofitable and a replacement longer iron pier with an electric tram began to be built in 1896. At 3,600 feet (1,097 m), this pier was the second longest in the country, behind only the pier at Southend-on-Sea.
1963 marked the end of steamboat services from the pier. In 1970, a fire destroyed the pier's pavilion and plans began to replace it with a sports centre, which was opened in 1976 by former Prime Minister Edward Heath. The centre section of the pier was torn down by a storm in 1978, leaving the end of the pier isolated out at sea. It has not been rebuilt due to the cost; however, residents and businesses in the town have campaigned for its restoration. The sports centre was demolished in 2012, leaving a bare platform.
the isolated seaward end
the sea end of the landward piece
Herne Bay has a culture trail that you can follow, and along the seafront are statues of people important to the town, and various commissioned sculptures.
the perpetual calendar
There are several of these pretty mosaics, each one covers a different aspect of the town. This one shows information about the Grand Central Bandstand
A stone carving of a turk's head knot, much used by seamen in sailship rigging
A giant compass
A boy sitting on the wall, with his boat
A tribute to aviator Amy Johnson, lost when her plane crashed into the sea off Herne Bay in 1941. Her body has never been found
To the right of the clock tower and the Neptune car park, is the tiny Neptune Gardens. Again, part of the town culture trail, it is dedicated to the seafarers
The local council need to refurbish all these plaques on the culture trail. They are becoming illegible, and that's a shame for the artists who worked so hard creating the sculptures.
There are also quite extensive and very pretty, formal gardens between the clock tower, the bandstand, and the pier
This is Waltrop Gardens, named for Herne Bay's 'twinned' town.
The pump is in full working order, and you can refill your water bottle with tap water freely
This monument was given to the town by Major Horatio Davies, sheriff of London and Middlesex, as a golden jubilee memorial of Queen Victoria's reign (1887).
A beautiful terrace of Georgian houses...................
sadly, the further from the centre of the seafront you walk, the more dilapidated the buildings become. It's a shame really. And not just on the front. A lot of the town has a tired look to it. A sign of our times, I fear. This is Crockham House, once a fine residence, now split into flats and looking little sorry for itself
One house I do like though, is this one. Now a house, but it is very obvious what it once was, and it was very obviously the work place of somebody very skilled at his craft in gold leaf work. I hope it is always cared for.
it even makes the door arch smile. Looks a bit like Eddie Izzard to me
In Mortimer Street, you will meet this loving couple .....
The United church is quite impressive with a lovely green door. It is used as an entertainment venue, and on the wall of the adjoining building is a charming mural
Go further long Mortimer Street, and there are two delightfully decorative houses, separated by a white horse (well it is Kent after all). These are Portland House and Providence House.
Curiously shaped house at one end of an alleyway..................................
.......................and at the other end? A pub called the Divers Arms, and a sign informing you how far it is from there to the North Pole
A man-made breakwater, known locally as 'Neptune's Arm', forms a harbour for small boats, although it was actually built to protect the town from flooding. You can walk along the top of it, although it is not recommended on a windy day!
The Central Bandstand is that and so much more. It's a beautiful building, wrapped around a lovely central courtyard. There's a nice cafe, and a stage that is used for various entertainments.
Almost opposite the bandstand, look up - there's two owls perched on the roof top!
No, I don't know why either!
HEVER CASTLE
Hever is famous for its
castle which was started in 1272 when Sir Stephen de Penchester was given
permission by Edward I to convert the manor house into a castle. The gatehouse,
outer walls and the moat were constructed soon after.
In 1462 the manor was bought by Sir Geoffrey Bullen, who had been Lord Mayor of
London in 1459. The Bullen family progressed in society by marrying into the
Howard and Sackville families . Sir William Bullen converted the castle into
more grand living quarters, and about this time changed the family name from
Bullen to Boleyn, a much more aristocratic name. The most famous occupant Anne
Boleyn was married to Henry VIII in 1533 and subsequently executed in May 1536. Sir Thomas, Anne's father died in
1538 and was buried in St Peters at Hever . As there were no other
heirs, the King took over the castle, and gave it to Anne of Cleves until she
died in 1557.
The castle became more and more run down, and in the 1700's the
local Groombridge Gang of smugglers used the castle to
store contraband .
In 1903 the castle was bought by William Waldorf Astor an American millionaire.
He was made a naturalised Briton and was created Viscount Astor
of Hever . He restored the building, built the tudor village, and created the magnificent
gardens.
HIGH HALDEN
High Halden is a village on the A28 road between Ashford and Tenterden, 3 miles (5 km) north of the latter town.
A very large quantity, fifty tons, of oak was used as the material to build the tower and spire of the 10th–14th-century church, St Mary the Virgin, in 1470–1490. The large pub, The Chequers on the Green, circa 1620, is known to have been used by smugglers and the various gangs such as the "Hawkhurst and Cranbrook gangs" that were active in the mid-18th century. The parish is recorded in the Domesday Book and parts of a Norman manor house can be seen at Tiffenden Farm
The village green, opposite the Chequers, has a magnificent tree at its' heart. It is particularly glorious in Autumn
The green also hosts the village beacon, and the main village bus stop, which at times of celebration or remembrance, takes on a dignity of its' own.
HYTHE
Hythe is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway (derived from Sheep Way) on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place.
The town has Medieval and Georgian buildings, as well as a Saxon/Norman church on the hill and a Victorian seafront promenade. The church of St. Leonard is particularly interesting for the large ossuary in its' crypt. The Town Hall, a former Guildhall, was built in 1794, its fireplace designed by the Adam Brothers.
Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square)
As an important Cinque Port Hythe once possessed a bustling harbour which, over the past three hundred years, has now disappeared due to silting. Hythe was once the central Cinque Port, between Hastings and New Romney to the west and Dover and Sandwich to the east.
The most famous episode of
Hythe's role in defending the realm came in 1293 when a French invasion force
of 200 men was met by a force of townsmen and so badly defeated that the French
fleet took sail and left.
In 1348 the black death afflicted Hythe, and in 1400 the plague further reduced the population.
Hythe is also the birthplace of Mackeson Stout. The Fremlin brewery was once the largest employer in the town. The malt house still exists and now hosts an indoor market of antiques and collectibles.
The Royal Military Canal, known locally as 'Pitt's Ditch' runs parallel to the High Street, and has been turned into a very fine walkway and attraction. It was
begun in 1804, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, and runs 28 miles from
Seabrook, near Hythe, to Hastings along the old line of the cliffs bordering
Romney Marsh.
The 30 feet wide canal is now bordered by shady
trees and a pleasant footpath runs along beside the waterway.
There are two statue groups surrounding information boards along this walk. One, by the bridge leading to Lady Walk, depicts two 'navvies' digging the canal, the other, a little further along, shows two soldiers of the Napoleonic era, who would have been tasked with defending the coast along the canal.
IVYCHURCH
Ivychurch is a huge parish (NOT named for a church covered in ivy, but from the Ive Circe 'The church on the isle in the waters'), although the village itself holds less than 200 people. It lies on the old road from New Romney to Ashford, and the focal point is its very large church, which is dedicated to St. George, and known locally as 'The Cathedral Of The Marsh' The church lies behind the pub, the Bell Inn, which used to act as a central point for local activities until the church was altered so that it could be used.
There is a local legend that, about 200 years ago, the Rector arrived at the church to conduct the Sunday service but was turned away by a local, who told him there wouldn't be a service, because the pulpit was full of baccy, and the vestry was full of brandy! Apparently, the Rector just nodded and went home to enjoy a roast dinner! Not an unusual tale of the Marsh for its' time. It's no wonder that Russell Thorndike found so much inspiration for his tales of Doctor Syn.
When I say it's a large church, I'm not kidding. It's huge! It may not look it from the above picture, but trust me! There are indications that the church was built on the site of an earlier one.
(below) there is a parvis chamber above the South door.
Just a few descriptions for now, but I have a lot of notes and research to sort through.
This is another of the Marsh churches which has a Marsh Mosaic
The sanctuary
The Lady Chapel in the North Aisle. The east window here has been infilled, but the tracery remains visible. I think that makes it quite an attractive feature. There are traces of a 14th. century wall painting on the wall to the right.
Beautiful painting on panel
The church these days has a very small congregation that is catered for by seats in the Chancel. The pews have been cleared from the central nave, and the space is used as a village hall and community area.
The equivalent space in the North Aisle is now a museum of local rural agricultural artefacts. The floor here is very old bricks, and boards have been laid to walk on, as they're very uneven. Local legend declaims that the tiles were removed when Cromwell stabled his horses in the North Aisle!
The North Aisle was once used as the village school, although the altar remained in situ. The collection of artefacts was once the personal collection of Eli Frith, a local farmer. My father was shepherd to the Friths at one point in time.
This is a coffin barrow. You can see how uneven the brick floor is
A coracle would come in very handy when the Marsh is flooded!
The George III hatchment is a bit larger than most, and square rather than lozenge shaped. It's in very good condition.
Some of the intriguing agricultural implements on display in the North Aisle
Lovely old embroidery, which is apparently chenille-work from France. The sheet below explains it all
A hudd - a kind of wooden umbrella to protect the priest from the weather whilst performing a service at the graveside.
I didn't photograph the font, as it is quite plain and no rain is forecast! That's important, because the steps are carved from a very porous stone, which apparently get damp when rain is expected......
KINGSNORTH (Ashford)
There are two places in Kent called Kingsnorth, but the one documented here is now a suburb of Ashford. A transcript of the Domesday Book of 1086 indicates that there was a settlement at Kingsnorth controlled by the Manor of Wye. The original meaning is a detached piece of land belonging to a royal estate.
Not a lot of great significance, the village does boast a tiny little house, known as Mouse Hall, a Grade II listed building which dates from the 15th. Century
and next door, the church of St. Michael & All Angels.
Memorial to the Kingsnorth Fallen of World War I
And this one, is the Roll Of Honour of all those who served in the same war
LYDD
Lydd was originally a port
and fishing centre, with sea-going vessels navigating the estuary of the River
Rother. In 1287 a huge storm blocked the river mouth and changed the course of
the Rother. The harbour became farmland, and the once-prosperous port turned
into a quiet town on the marsh. The fishing vessels moved to Lydd-on-Sea, 3
miles away.
The area around Lydd was famous as a centre for
smuggling in the 18th century, then in the 19th century, the military training
ground of Lydd Ranges was established west of the town. The explosive 'Lyddite' was developed here.
The impressive parish church of All Saints stands at one end of the High Street, and is called locally 'the Cathedral of the Marshes'. It is the longest parish church in Kent at 199 feet and has one of the tallest towers at 132 feet. It once had (Cardinal) Thomas Wolsey as rector.
All Saints served as a trigonometry point for the 18th century Anglo-French Survey linking the Paris Observatory and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
To the right of the door, stands this tribute stone to a 17 year old local lad who was drowned at sea, after falling from the rigging. The history of the ship, correctly H.MS. Barrosa, can be found here: HMS Barrosa log
The Effigy below is reputed to be that of Sir Walter De Menyl, Lord of the manor of Jacques Court, Lydd. The Farmhouse still stands on the outskirts of town between the railway station and Lydd Airport
At the other end of the town, the now deserted Roman Catholic church of St. Martin Of Tours.
There are plans to build several houses at the rear of the church, but to leave the church itself intact. It would be a great shame if this attractive building were allowed to deteriorate and fall into disrepair
Lydd has a small churchyard attached to the church, and a larger town cemetery lies nearby. Sadly, a large portion of it is very neglected and overgrown. In one corner, the broken down stone wall reveals a grave with a strange history.
It is the final resting place of a a soldier’s wife – there’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary in that, as Lydd is home to a military base, but her unusual name has attracted attention over the years and rumours spread that this mysterious woman may in fact have been a member of the Russian imperial family.
Lydd feels like a long way from anywhere; its position on Romney Marsh, not far from the spectacular bleak landscape of Dungeness, makes it an unlikely setting for rumours of a lost Romanov Grand Duchess.
There have been several people who claimed to be Romanov Grand Duchesses in the years after the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, the most famous of whom was Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Tsar Nicholas II had abdicated in 1917, bringing Imperial rule in Russia to an end and ushering in the short period of rule by a provisional government, which was overthrown later in 1917 by Lenin’s Bolsheviks. Nicholas and his family were exiled to Siberia, first to a house in the town of Tobolsk and later to Ekaterinburg. It was there, in July 1918, that they were murdered by Bolshevik soldiers. As the Romanovs were murdered during the confusion of a bloody civil war, and their bodies not discovered for 70 years, many rumours persisted that some members of the family had escaped.
In The Romanov Conspiracies, by Michael Occleshaw, which was published in 1993, Occleshaw investigates the theory that one of the Romanov daughters, Tatiana, was rescued from the family’s captivity in Siberia and may have later married an English officer before dying tragically young.
Larissa Tudor was the wife of an officer of the 3rd Hussars, Owen Tudor. They were married in London in 1923, after Owen had met her whilst serving with his regiment in Constantinople. Larissa had reportedly been working as a dancing girl in Constantinople, and Owen married her against the wishes of his superiors in the 3rd Hussars, which led to him leaving the regiment and instead taking up a post with a battalion based in Lydd.
By all accounts Owen and Larissa had a happy marriage, but their time together was limited by Larissa’s increasingly poor health. She died on 18th July 1926, and was buried in the local cemetery. Local people were intrigued by the grave of “My very beloved Larissa Feodorovna” and rumours began to spread that this mysterious, beautiful woman who had died so young had in fact been a lost Russian princess.
Tatiana’s mother Alix was known as Alexandra Feodorovna after her marriage to Nicholas, and the use of the name “Feodorovna” on Larissa’s grave is one thing that fuelled the rumours about her. In Russia, people use a patronymic name as well as their given name – a patronym being based on their father’s name. Alix’s patronym of Feodorovna translates as “daughter of Feodor”, and her daughters used the patronym “Nikolaevna” (daughter of Nikolai, or Nicholas). The use of the patronymic name “Feodorovna” is of course incorrect for Tatiana, but its link to her mother’s name was seen as significant. It was also mysterious: Larissa’s maiden name was Haouk on her marriage certificate, not Feodorovna, and her father’s name was listed as Adolph Haouk. The age given on Larissa’s gravestone does not correlate with the age given on her marriage certificate, either: in 1923, the year she was married, her age was given as 27, yet on her grave – she died three years later – her age is set in stone as being 28. In addition, neither of those ages correspond with Tatiana Romanov’s date of birth – she was born in June 1897, which would have made her 29 on 18th July 1926.
The 1991 discovery and exhumation of members of the Romanov family in woodland near Ekaterinburg, the place where the family was murdered in July 1918, did not stop the rumours of one or more family members surviving – analysis of the remains found that two of the Romanov children – the Tsarevich Alexei and one of his sisters – were not present. If anything, rumours of possible rescues or escapes intensified.
The discovery of the remains of the two missing Romanovs in 2006, close to where the rest of the family had been exhumed 15 years earlier, threw cold water over the long-running conspiracies, including Occleshaw’s. DNA testing indicated that the bones, which were found close to where the other bodies were discovered, were indeed from members of the Romanov family – thought to be Grand Duke Alexei and his sister Grand Duchess Marie.
As for Larissa - even if she wasn’t a Romanov princess – and she never claimed to be one – many details about her life are conflicting and it’s really not clear at all exactly who she was.
When the Bolsheviks took power in the former Russian Empire late in 1917, the new regime began a brutal campaign against the former social and political elites of the Tsarist era. Members of Russia’s aristocracy and nobility were stripped of their titles, estates and possessions, and were referred to as ‘former people’. Many were forced to do public labour in order to earn food rations, and some were murdered. Some were able to flee Russia – Perhaps Larissa was another Russian refugee who had attempted to escape the violence in her homeland, taking a similar route to Constantinople before meeting and falling in love with Owen Tudor there.
Poor Larissa died tragically young, of tubercolosis; although Owen Tudor later remarried, he continued to visit the grave of his first wife for the rest of his life. The plastic flowers on her gravestone were laid by him some time before his death in 1987.
Even though it’s now been proved that the occupant of this grave is not the Grand Duchess Tatiana, an air of mystery remains. Too many things about Larissa simply don’t add up, but whoever she really was, she seems to have found some happiness with an English officer before her early death.
LYMINGE
The name stems from it being the district around the Limen, which was the old name for the Eastern Rother.
The history of Lyminge goes
back much further, at least to the Roman period, when a villa was built close
to the site of the current parish church. Queen Ethelburga of Northumbria
founded an abbey here in about AD 633.
Lyminge used to be a stop on the now defunct railway line, and the old station building is still there. It has been repurposed as the village library, but they have cleverly kept the outside appearance the same, even down to it being painted in British Rail green and white
There has been continuous settlement since at least the 5th, century AD, and Lyminge is now a thriving village with a selection of shops and two doctor's surgeries. It is the source of the Nailbourne river, which emanates from St. Ethelburga's Well. St. Ethelburga was the widow of Edwin, king of Northumbria, and the daughter of King Ethelbert of Kent in the 7th. century AD.
LYMPNE
Well, this is where I spent my childhood. When we first moved there, it consisted of more or less just one main road, Stone Street, and a small council estate called Belcaire Close. It had an airport, a couple of small engineering businesses, a castle, roman ruins, church, post office, general stores, and one pub, (although there was a pub in the tiny hamlets at either end of the village). Now it is a lot bigger. The airport has gone, replaced by an industrial estate, there are more houses, there's Port Lympne Wildlife Park at what was once a big private house, the castle is used for weddings, and there's now just one general shop.
The Roman ruins, now called Stutfall Castle, are what's left of the shore fort they built, which they called Portus Lemanus, derived from the Lympne river. That was derived from the old British word for an elm tree. This in turn, gave its' name to Port Lympne. Now, of course, it stands some miles from the shoreline.
We moved to Lympne in 1952. At that time, Lympne Airport (almost opposite our house) was home to Silver City. They ran a small fleet of Bristol Freighters, taking passengers and their cars to first to Beauvais, and then to Le Touquet in France, from the wartime grass runway. Later, Silver City moved to Lydd, and a concrete runway was laid down for Skyways to operate their fleet of Avro 748s.
Here's a harkback to those days of noisy old freighters...........
There was also a very nice gentleman who gave pleasure flights in his brilliant blue DeHavilland Dragonfly
Some things have not changed though..................
The castle is actually a palace built by Archbishop Wolseley. My son was married there. When I was a child, it was a private residence, owned and lived in by a family who ran a stud farm. It then passed to an American family, and is now part of the Aspinall organisation, who also own Port Lympne. Its present good condition owes much to Scottish architect, Sir Robert Lorimer, who rescued it from ruination, and turned it into a single large house.
From the terraces at the rear can be seen the whole of Romney Marsh.
It stands bang next door to the parish church of St. Stephen.
When I was a teenager, I used to ring bells at the church. I rang No.3, but the treble bell used to really annoy me. It was cast at a later date than the others, and had a thinner, more reedy tone that used to make it sound out of tune with the rest. There was also a carillon, and an elderly gentleman called Mr Harman, the local builder, used to walk up to the church most evenings and play 'Now The Day Is Over'. Now, sad to say, the carillon appears to have gone, and the bell ropes no longer hang in the chancel, but are up a story in the belfry
Despite the lovely lych-gate, and the main entrance to Lympne Castle being just the other side of the war memorial, the former occupants of the castle found it necessary to have a private door in the dividing wall, right by the church door. There was also mounting steps built into the wall on the church side, just inside the lych-gate. I forgot to go and look to see if it still there (along with the bay tree that grew next to it.)
There is also this modern statue in the side Ladies Chapel. Unfortunately, there was nothing to explain it, or to say who it was by. It's obviously a mother and child, but from there, your guess is as good as mine.
At the other end of the private lane from the castle, at the top of Lympne Hill, which leads down steeply to the Marshes, stands the Shepway Cross. The Shepway Cross was built in 1923 for Earl Beachamp. The Cross is a memorial to a cross road. There is a plaque on the bottom which says: 'The right honourable Sir Robert Menzies, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, came to this ancient site on the 6th of August 1967 on his visit to Hythe'. It also has written: 'To the glory of God and in memory of the heroic deeds of the Cinque Ports.' On one side of the Cross is the virgin Mary holding Jesus. On the other side are two priests on either side of Jesus, who is being crucified. There is a shield on each side of the Cross.
The Shepway Cross was paid for and unveiled on 4th August 1923 (the same day that the Great War started in 1914) by Earl Beauchamp KG the then Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports upon ground donated free of charge by the then owner of Lympne Castle.
Most people (including most regrettably the inhabitants of nearby West Hythe and Lympne) seem to think that this monument exists to merely mark the spot where traditionally the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports held his Court for Shepway. It is invariably referred to as the “Shepway Cross” by those who are ignorant of its real purpose. Its true title should be the Cinque Ports War Memorial. Whilst it does reside on a spot traditionally used by the Cinque Ports Court, its purpose was to commemorate the great deeds of the men of the Cinque Ports in all British conflicts (with special emphasis on the Great War).
The beautiful house of Port Lympne, now owned by the Aspinall Foundation, has 15 acres of terraced gardens, and 300 acres of parkland, now home to the Port Lympne Wildlife Park.
When I was a child, the house was in a very sorry state, having been used as a billet for the nearby airfield. The one redeeming feature was a pair of white peacocks that flitted through the trees like noisy ghosts. My Dad and his brother, who both worked at a farm almost opposite the track down to the house, would take corn down to feed them, and care for them the best they could. The barracks huts still stand in the car park, slowly being reclaimed by nature.
The house, however, has had a wonderful restoration, as have the gardens, including the enormous Trojan staircase, with its' little rooms opening off either side, between the hedges.
MAIDSTONE
Maidstone is the old capital of Western Kent and appears to have developed in the vicinity of a stone marking an important meeting-place or Moot.
I have yet to do a full town visit to Kent's County Town, but today I went specifically to see the visiting Knife Angel and took the opportunity to stroll around Brenchley Gardens, the town's memorial garden, which stands behind the Maidstone Museum.
Unfortunately, the museum was closed today, as part of the period of National Mourning, but I will do a full town visit at a later date.
Meanwhile, here are a few shots of the memorials in the garden..................
The Elizabethan manor house which is part of the museum. The Brenchleys were a notable Kent family, going back several generations. Several held the position of Mayor of Maidstone.
Julius Brenchley was an ordained clergyman in the 19th. Century, and a highly renowned explorer. When Maidstone railway station was being built, he quickly snapped up a piece of land next door, to prevent it being built on, and to provide a green buffer between the railway and the town. He presented this land, Brenchley Gardens, to the town. When he died, his entire collection of artefacts that he had brought home from his explorations, formed the basis of the collection at Maidstone Museum.
There is a good write-up on Julius Brenchley here
The Lighthouse Centre, formerly St. Faith's church, which is playing host to the Knife Angel, stands in the corner of Brenchley Gardens. There is a rather lovely Victorian bandstand, which is still used in the summer months, and the below notable elements.
The cenotaph-style war memorial, which forms a focal point of Brenchley Gardens, was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens. It was unveiled in 1921, and honours the 6,866 officers and men of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment who died in the First World War.
The National Monument Against Violence and Aggression (The Knife Angel) on his visit to Maidstone:
As soon as you exit Maidstone East railway station to head into town, you are confronted by Iggy, the town's Iguanadon. In 1834 during an excavation along Queen’s Road, a fossilised bone was unearthed. After considerable research, it was found to be a piece of a partial skeleton of an Iguanodon.
There are other dinosaur replicas in the town, like this little one, outside the Maidstone Museum
Directly opposite Iggy, is Sessions House, built in around 1920. Combined judicial offices and courts etc.
To the left, is a wall - a huge, thick stone wall.
This is Maidstone prison, built in 1819, once home to some very bad men indeed, but now downgraded to category C. It houses foreign national men who have committed crimes.
Some of the more notorious inmates previously were, George Joseph Smith, serial killer, was hanged at Maidstone Prison in 1915. Éamon de Valera, Irish statesman, Taoiseach and President of Ireland, was briefly held at Maidstone Prison in 1917. John Vassall, British civil servant convicted of spying for the Soviet Union in 1962. That's all on top of hosting the Krays, of course.
It also once housed 'Slippery Sam', the nickname of Samuel Jackson, a notorious 18th. century smuggler who lived in a 15th. century inn on Stone Street in Petham. (The building is still there, although now a private house)
He bought the farmhouse aged 20 and it soon had a warren of tunnels underneath, used for storage and hiding places.
Sam earned his nickname after escaping from Maidstone Gaol by covering himself in axle grease and slipping through a small window to freedom.
Watch MoreHe bought the farmhouse aged 20 and it soon had a warren of tunnels underneath, used for storage and hiding places.Sam earned his moniker after escaping from Maidstone Gaol by covering himself in axle grease and slipping through a small window to freedom.
But in 1760, after shooting and killing a Revenue officer, he was hanged and gibbeted for two days at the age of 30.
Above the entrance to the Sessions Square complex, is the Invicta symbol of Kent.
The Invicta is to be seen all over Maidstone, as are references to Maidstone's former own regiment, the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, now amalgamated with other regiments.
If you walk from Maidstone East station diagonally across Brenchley Gardens, as you exit close to the Maidstone Museum, you will find this memorial stone:
The first civil war ended in 1646 with a Royalist defeat, and the King in custody.
By May 1648 there was a staunch Royalist rebellion after the county committee at Canterbury tried to block a petition calling for the return of King Charles I and the dissolution of the New Model Army, the parliamentarian army.
The Battle of Maidstone was fought in the Second English Civil War and was a victory for the attacking Parliamentarian troops over the defending Royalist forces.
Notice the quotation from Richard Lovelace. For more information about him, see the section on Bethersden.
There are many plaques all over the town. Some are self-explanatory, and those I shall just include as a picture, with no references or information
Just past this plaque, and the little dinosaur shown above, is the Maidstone Museum. That will have to wait for another time.
However, I will just note that the foundation stone was laid by Lady Bearsted in 1923. Lady Bearsted was formerly Dorothy Montefiore Micholls, and became wife of Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted.
Maidstone museum is housed in a Grade II listed building, with a modern extension. The original building is an Elizabethan manor house, formerly called Chillington Manor. If you look at the rear from Brenchley Gardens, it's Tudor origins are very visible. The museum houses several important collections.
In the courtyard are memorials to the Gurkha regiments who are based in Maidstone, and who have served in the British Army for over 200 years. They are incredibly brave and highly disciplined. 26 Victoria Crosses have been awarded to Gurkha soldiers.
Opposite the museum, is one of the entrances to Fremlin Walk. Fremlins were the owners of one of the largest and oldest breweries in the country. This shopping mall stands where the brewery used to be. Fremlins trade mark was an elephant. I can remember as a child, the tables in the Fremlins pub near our house being cast iron elephants with wooden tables on the backs.
The original entrance to the brewery at the bottom of the High Street, still exists, and has a black elephant over the arch, and a gold elephant on the weathervane
A brewery was founded in Earl Street in 1790. In 1861, it was acquired by Ralph Fremlin of Wateringbury, and went on to become the largest brewery in Kent. Eventually, it was bought out by Whitbreads.
Strangely, Ralph Fremlin disapproved of public houses, of which around 800 came with the business, and wanted to concentrate on brewing, which is why he sold out the commercial side to Whitbreads
This is the sign outside the Muggleton Inn in the High Street. It depicts Charles Dickens writing at his desk. Dickens referred to Maidstone in the 'Pickwick Papers' as 'Muggleton'.
The former Corn Exchange has been for decades now, known better as the Hazlitt theatre. It was named after William Hazlitt who was born in 1778. He grew up mixing with writers such as Wordsworth, Coleridge and Keats.
He became a writer himself, often expressing strong opinions, and married a lady journalist, Sarah Stoddart.
Opposite the theatre, you will see this elegant building, built in 1883, which has the head of Benjamin Disraeli over the door. Disraeli was MP for Maidstone, and became Prime Minister in 1868.
Behind the Hazlitt theatre, stands the Royal Star Arcade. This was once a rather exclusive hotel, where Princess Victoria often came to stay. Now it is lined with shops and cafes, which surround a glass atrium
Now for a few little oddities I spotted.........
This plaque was on the house where Andrew Broughton lived, in Earl Street.
Broughton was a member of the Kent county committee from 1643. He acted as attorney on behalf of the corporation of Maidstone during the First English Civil War. In November 1648 he was elected Mayor of the town. Two months later he was appointed Clerk of the Court at the High Court of Justice for the trial of King Charles I of England. As Clerk of the Court, it was Broughton who read out the charge against the king and required him to plead, and at the end of the trial declared the court's sentence of death
After the restoration of the monarchy, Broughton and several other regicides were given asylum in Switzerland
This building is the current Town Hall, built in 1762, which stands in what is now Jubilee Square, and which would have been the market place
Facing the Town Hall, and also undergoing restoration, is this statue of a young Queen Victoria. This was the gift of Alexander Randall in 1862, High Sheriff of Kent in 1861, and was sculpted by John Thomas, who worked on Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster.
Also opposite the Town Hall in Jubilee Square, partly known as Remembrance Square, is this cannon. The Russian Gun or Sebastapol cannon, was captured in battle during the Crimean War and was presented to the town in 1858 by Lord Panmure, the Secretary of War.
The Brenchley hostelry, named for Julius Brenchley again.
A very handsome bank building
Another plaque commemorating the Battle of Maidstone
Behind the town hall, pictures above, is a narrow road called Bank Street. Obviously at one time, there were several banks here. It's a road full of old, interesting buildings, although some of them are really run down now, I do need to try and establish what they once were.
Although this one looks as though it should be very old, I believe it was built in the early 20th. Century. It was formerly an insurance building, and later on the Post Office. The statues either side of the windows represent Lord Avebury , Sir Lawrence Washington, William Caxton, and Archbishop Courtenay.
If you're not familiar with some of the names above, here's a little run-down.
Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) was MP for Maidstone from 1870 to 1880. We have a lot to thank him for. Formerly, British workers were entitled to two paid days off a year - Christmas Day and Good Friday. He brought in the Bank Holidays, which gave the workers 6 days a year paid leave. Now, of course, it's 8 days.
Sir Lawrence Washington was MP for Maidstone in 1603. Some of his family emigrated to America, and a little farther down the line, in 1732, came the birth of George Washington, his great-nephew and First President of the United State of America.
William Caxton was the first English printer, translator and importer of foreign books into England. Born in 1422, his birthplace is disputed, but was somewhere south of Maidstone. Among the books he printed, was Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales'
Archbishop Courtenay went on to become Archbishop of Canterbury. He died in Maidstone in 1396 and in buried in Canterbury Cathedral. He was responsible for the building of All Saints parish church.
Under the jetty, there are a variety of symbols and the inevitable Invicta arms of Kent.
(below) a general view of the buildings in Bank Street.
Now a jewellers. presumably this was once a gun shop, although I haven't yet established any facts about it.
This one is currently undergoing some restoration, but the beautiful 17th. century pargetting shines through. I'll return later, when the scaffolding comes down, and get a better shot. Then you should be able to see the Prince of Wales insignia on the left, and the Royal Coat of Arms on the right. The partially obscured window between them is rather beautiful too.
Finally, at the end of Bank Street, we come across this modern building, with representations of old pre-decimal coinage on the front. This is Sunley House, a former Barclay's Bank.
If you're my sort of age, you'll remember the farthing with the little Wren on it, and the ha'penny with it's sailing ship. I'm sorry that it doesn't also show either the silver thrupenny coin, or the later bronze multi-sided one with the portcullis on it.
The river Medway is spectacular as it flows along the bottom of the High Street, past the rear of the Archbishop's Palace and the parish church. There is a very pleasant walk along the bank, down past Lockmeadow, once the market, and a children's playground. There is an attractive modern bridge over the river that takes you to very pretty gardens. (More of this walk later).
Where the busy roads converge to cross Maidstone Bridge, stands this 60 foot tall 'Waymarker', erected in 2009. It has an array of different coloured LED lights that flash after dark.
And this modern clock. It is made from steel that has been allowed to rust over time, thus giving it a rich brown patina.
The central war memorial stands just across the Maidstone Bridge. It depicts St. George having defeated the dragon, and was designed by George Frampton, who was also responsible for the statue of Peter Pan in the gardens of Kensington Palace.
So now, if it's a nice day, take a walk along the river bank down by Lockmeadow. As you pass the modern Law Courts on the left, there is a path along the front of the Entertainment centre, that leads to the children's play park, and the river bank.
The first thing you see will be this amazing stag. It's huge, and I certainly wouldn't want to lock horns with him! It was created by Edward Bainbridge Copnall in 1963 and was first unveiled by Princess Alexandra in Stag Place, near Victoria Station in London.
In 1997 it moved to Sevenoaks, and then in 2004 to here, in the Millennium River Park. At 21 feet tall, he took a lot of moving, so perhaps he will stay here now.
At this point, the walk takes you directly opposite the rear of the parish church and the Archbishop's Palace. Both are beautiful to look at.
Just past here, you come to the elegant Millennium Bridge, which takes you across the river to the Palace complex and beautiful gardens with artworks.
This one is called 'Morning Thoughts' (Alien Egg) by Ekkehard Altenburger.
This plaque is on the wall at the back of a lovely rose garden, and it lists all the people of Maidstone who donated the huge number of rose plants for the garden. Unfortunately, at this point I was running out of time, so I will need to return and complete the walk along the river.
And so to the Archbishop's Palace complex. Unfortunately, it wasn't open today, so that's another place to return to. It was built as a place for the Archbishop to rest on the long journey between London and Canterbury. Parts of it date from the 14th. century, others from the 16th. century.
During the late 14th-century, the Church of All Saints and the adjacent ecclesiastical college were founded.
The palace was given to Henry VIII, who then granted it to the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt: However, due to his son Thomas Wyatt the younger staging a revolt against Mary I, the palace was returned to the Crown.
Maidstone Palace was then given to the Astley family, who extended the estate further during the 16th-century much of which can be seen today.
Maidstone Palace was then given to the Astley family, who extended the estate further during the 16th-century much of which can be seen today.
This gateway was the entrance to the Palace from the river bank.
Under the arched gateway between the College of All Saints and the church, is this plaque, explaining how the Borough Council came into the ownership of the complex.
Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake was educated at Charterhouse School. Sent to Argentina at 18, he spent a year on a cattle ranch and returned with his first wild animal, a puma. On his return, he joined his father’s firm. He spent his spare time building up his collection of animals and working with travelling circuses.
Sir Garrard lived at Cobtree Manor where he used part of the estate to house his private zoo - the largest in the country. His magnificent collection included lions, tigers, bears and elephants. He opened Maidstone Zoo at Cobtree...between 1934 and 1954 where the public were invited to see his wild and rare animals and travel round the Park on a light gauge railway.
He was first elected to Maidstone Borough Council in 1912. Between 1915 and 1949 he was Mayor of Maidstone 12 times, High Sheriff of Kent 1956–1957 and served as a County Councillor from 1933–1937. He was knighted in 1936 in recognition of his public service and charitable work. He also began collecting carriages after realising that the horse-drawn vehicles of his childhood were being driven off the road by the rise in popularity of the motor car. He used to ride a horse at the head of the annual Maidstone Carnival procession, used his own horses and carriages for civic events and was a familiar figure around town driving in his yellow Rolls Royce. Maidstone’s most generous benefactor, as well as the Cobtree Estate, he also gave to Maidstone, The Old College Buildings in College Road, land at Ringlestone Estate, Carriages for the Museum and many silver pieces including the Chain of Office for the Deputy Mayor. Sir Garrard was undoubtedly a major benefactor to the town, as he also donated the buildings of the College of All Saints in 1950.
Across the busy road from the Palace, stands the Tyrwhitt-Drake museum of carriages, formed from the collection of the man above. The building was originally a tithe barn, which was used to stable the traveller's horses overnight, with accommodation for the servants above.
And so to the Parish Church of All Saints. It really is a magnificent edifice, with almost every window of stained glass, every wall packed with monuments and memorials, the floor totally taken up with table slabs for vault burials, and the walls of the chancel and sanctuary once resplendent with colourful painted scenes. (sadly some of these are a bit worse for wear, but hey! It's old!) NB some of the memorials were too high up, or too badly placed for me to be able to read who they are to.
This is known as the Maidstone Men memorial, and is in remembrance of those who died in World War I. Below the base of the cross, at the top of the pillar, are four small statues, standing on corbels. These figures are a knight, virgin and child, a king with a crown and sword and a warrior with spear and sword of flame. There is an inscription around the steps of the base. The memorial was paid for by a local family called Monckton, so is also known as the Monckton memorial.
This is the John Astley memorial. John Astley, died in 1596, and was cousin to Anne Boleyn. He was Master of the Jewel Office to Elizabeth I, and MP for Maidstone. The lower figures represent his son and his wife.
Memorial to Lt. Col. John Wallace King CB. 14th. Light Dragoons. Served in the Punjab. Died 1850. He committed suicide due to a disagreement with Sir Charles Napier, who overturned a court-martial decision in his regiment. He is buried in Lahore.
Unable to make out the wording on this one, or recognise the Coat of Arms.
Another one too high up to be able to read the dedication.
Memorial to Lt. Col. . Havelock KH and the men of the 14th. Kings Light Dragoons. The Havelocks were a renowned Indian Army dynasty. The memorial includes, unusually, the names of the soldiers killed alongside their commanding officer, which illustrates the close connection between Indian Army officers and their white soldiers.
Obviously a Royalist, but don't know who
Memorial to the West Kent (Queens Own) Yeomanry, 97 (Kent Yeomanry) and 143 (Kent Yeomanry) Field Regiments RA
Field Ambulances memorial
The war memorial panels for WWI (upper panels) and WWII (lower panels) inside the church.
At the east end of the South Aisle is St. Katherine's Chapel, which is used for mid-week services and private devotion.
There's a plethora of stained glass, but for me, this one tops the lot - the wonderful great West window.
(below) There is a side chapel, known as the Arundel Chapel, that is dedicated to Thomas Beckett, that has as its' main feature, a large tomb to the first Master of the College of Priests, John Wootton, who died in 1417. It is of national importance, because of its medieval paintings of Mary and the Archangel Gabriel. During the Battle of Maidstone in 1648, the anti-religious soldiers mutilated the figures.
On the wall opposite the Wootton tomb, is a memorial to John Day and his wife, depicting them holding hands over a skull.
It's a shame that the reredos obscures the magnificent east window, but it is a remarkable sculpture in itself. It was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, who died in 1897, and who was for nearly 20 years, architect and surveyor of the fabric at Westminster Abbey.
It was placed here by the Monkton Family, in memory of Herbert John Monkton, who died in the South African Campaign in 1902. The monument represents the Te Deum.
All of the walls in the Sanctuary are painted, including those surrounding the East window.
The Chancel is decorated with a complete scheme of oil-painted murals painted on a lime plaster. These date from 1907-1908
The North Aisle is known as the Kent Corner. The Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men (your title depends which side of the Medway you were born) was founded in London in 1897. The annual service used to be held in the church of St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe in London, which was destroyed in the Blitz. In 1997 it was decided to re-site it in the County Church of Kent. The Association holds occasional services here. The bell, presented by the Association, is from H.M.S. Kent of 1883.
The chapel at the end of the North Aisle, is known as the Holy Name Chapel. Here are kept the Books of Remembrance for the Fallen, and a few battle standards.
When the church was first built, this aisle was known as the Corpus Christi Chapel. The Corpus Christi Fraternity was a religious guild establishes in 1422 during the reign of Henry VI, for the regular observance of certain religious services, and for the relief of the members when they became sick or old. It was suppressed in 1547 during the Reformation.
On the north wall of this chapel, is the Karkaredg memorial, which dates from 1639, and shows Thomas and his wife, Anna, dressed in Puritan costume. In his will, Thomas left £3 a year for the supply of clothing to two poor widows of the parish.
..........and finally.......
The former Odeon cinema, looking a little time-worn these days.
The most famous shop on Gabriel's Hill, the Golden Boot has been selling shoes since 1790
The former Bell Inn at the top of Gabriel's Hill, once played host to Samuel Pepys in 1669
As soon as you see one of these Art Deco buildings, you know that, whatever it is now, it was once a Burtons shop
Pretty painted pargetting on this listed building, dated from 1680
Another town that was impossible to cover in just 3 hours. It is back on my list for another visit at some point.
MARGATE
Margate takes its name from a pool gate or cliff gap where there are pools
Margate is a typical British seaside holiday resort. Although over the past few decades it has been allowed to get a little run down and tatty, it is now on the up and up, with the building of the new Turner Centre for Contemporary Art, and a regeneration of the Old Town area.
The harbour arm is a pleasant place for a stroll in the sunshine, and the Old Town is full of quirky, independent shops and little cafes
Add to this the town's wonderful, almost flat, expanse of sandy beach, and the coming of a rejuvenated Dreamland pleasure park, and Margate will have a lot to offer in the very near future.
Meanwhile, here's some shots of the seafront, taken on the day of the annual Motorcycle Meltdown event.
the Jubilee Clock Tower on a quieter day! It was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. It has a time ball on the top, where the ball is hoisted and drops at exactly 1pm each day to enable shipping to set their chronometers.
It eventually fell into disrepair, but was fully restored and came back into use on the anniversary of Queen Victoria's birthday, 24th. May 2014.
looking across from the harbour arm towards Dreamland
the sands at low tide
The Turner Gallery & Droit House
The Turner Contemporary, is named for J.M.W. Turner, who loved the light at Margate, and who believed that art could be an agent of change. Turner lived at Sophia Booth's house (who we will meet again further down the page) between 1827 and 1847. After Sophia's husband Mr Booth died in 1833, Turner adopted the name Booth and lived at her guesthouse, becoming Sophia's long-term companion.
Droit House is a Grade II listed building and former customs house in Margate that was redesigned by William Edmunds. It was originally built in 1812 and rebuilt in 1828–30.
It was destroyed during the Second World War but was rebuilt in 1947. It is currently the tourist information office.On the wall of Droit House is a plaque commemorating the crews of the Margate and Ramsgate lifeboats in the evacuation at Dunkirk.
Unusual bench in the memorial gardens, and the Town War Memorial
The oldest building in old Meergate, built in 1525, the Tudor House was originally a yeoman farmer's house. It is a unique example of a ‘transitional house’ – bridging the gap between medieval open-hall and early-modern houses with two storeys throughout. The building was clearly of high status with distinctly ‘showy’ features. Many of these were advanced for its time, including glazed windows and two chimneys in an age when one would have been noteworthy.
Over the years, the building has been home to Master Mariners, Flemish weavers, Cordwainers, and farmers. A 1776 map shows a sizable farmyard surrounding the dwelling, including a malthouse which still exists to the rear. In the 18th Century, a maltings was built at the rear to make Barley Beer. Between the late 17th and 19th centuries, much of the land belonging to the house was sold off, and the building itself had been subdivided into 3 cottages by 1867.
The remaining site was purchased by the council in the late 1930s as part of a slum clearance scheme, and it was due for demolition before a local builder spotted the Tudor beams and alerted the Mayor, Alderman Cllr Claude Hosking. He funded the restoration, which was completed in 1951, using mostly Tudor construction methods and materials. The House was Grade 2* listed in the same year.
The Gardens have been lovingly restored with a Tudor Knot garden and box hedge squares with climbing plants on frames. At the moment it is closed for essential repairs, but beyond that, is generally open to the public
Over the years, the building has been home to Master Mariners, Flemish weavers, Cordwainers, and farmers. A 1776 map shows a sizable farmyard surrounding the dwelling, including a malthouse which still exists to the rear. In the 18th Century, a maltings was built at the rear to make Barley Beer. Between the late 17th and 19th centuries, much of the land belonging to the house was sold off, and the building itself had been subdivided into 3 cottages by 1867.
The remaining site was purchased by the council in the late 1930s as part of a slum clearance scheme, and it was due for demolition before a local builder spotted the Tudor beams and alerted the Mayor, Alderman Cllr Claude Hosking. He funded the restoration, which was completed in 1951, using mostly Tudor construction methods and materials. The House was Grade 2* listed in the same year.
The Gardens have been lovingly restored with a Tudor Knot garden and box hedge squares with climbing plants on frames. At the moment it is closed for essential repairs, but beyond that, is generally open to the public
Statue in College Square shopping centre. Sorry, I don't know anything about it yet.
Phyllis Harriet Wright Broughton was born in 1862 to a theatrical family and studied dance during her childhood. By 1880, aged 18, she was established in the Gaiety Company and went on to become the “toast of toasts among young London clubmen”. It was said of her that “if there were players of more genius at the Gaiety there was no more lovely woman.” From 1886 she was widely accepted as one of the most beautiful women of her day.
Phyllis Broughton became engaged to nobleman Lord Dangan, the eldest son of Earl Cowley, who was four years her junior. He then broke off the engagement and she sued him for breach of promise in 1888, four or five months after their engagement was announced. Phyllis obtained damages of £2,500. Actresses were infamous for their targeting of rich men at this time and Phyllis found herself on the wrong end of the press which speculated that she was copying another actress, May Fortescue, who received a large settlement from Earl Cairns in another breach of promise case.
At the height of her fame, a colliery owner named John Hedley fell in love with Miss Broughton and they were engaged. The wealthy son of a Northumberland coalmine owner, his affection for the actress was beyond question. In 1889, a few days before the wedding, however, Broughton jilted Hedley in a curt telegram cancelling the engagement.
Aged 55 in January 1917, Phyllis married Dr Robert Thomson, the previous owner of India House in Margate, and apparently a long term admirer, at the Parish Church of St James, Piccadilly.
Despite her betrothal and the passing of close to 30 years, John Hedley continued to send Phyllis Broughton a basket of fruit and flowers cut from the gardens at his house, Longcroft, week after week. His last gift was sent when Phyllis was dying. The two never met again after their engagement was broken but Hedley hugged the romance to the end, not only of Phyllis’s life, but of his own
'Ghost' sign for a Temperance Commercial Hotel
These two plaques are on the wall of the former police station, now the Margate Museum. The top one celebrates the towns that are 'twinned' with Margate, and the lower one is a Town Pride Award for 2002
the weather vane on top of the museum building
This was formerly the Crown pub and hotel. It was established in the 1830s and ceased trading in 1971.
Formerly a barber's shop, latterly the home of the local paper, the Thanet Times
Francis 'King' Cobb, baker, brewer and 'King' of Margate. He was an evangelical who was involved in the anti-slavery movement.
During his time Cobb owned a large part of King Street, buying up the buildings to house his brewery and all the essentials needed by an 18th Century gent including his personal hatter, tailor, stables and even his own bank
JMW Turner was not the only artist resident in Margate. The other was George Morland. His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, but after the 1790s he came into his own style. His best compositions focus on rustic scenes: farms and hunting; smugglers and gypsies; and rich, textured landscapes informed by Dutch Golden Age painting
Not really my taste, but I can see why he was well thought of.
Two more hostelries in the old town area.
Eric Morecambe married the daughter of a former landlord of the Bull's Head Hotel. She was a local beauty queen, and they were married until Eric's death in 1984
Eric Morecambe was not the only famous person to fall in love with a woman at the Bull's Head Hotel. J.M.W. Turner attended Thomas Coleman's school in Margate, and he fell in love with Elizabeth, the sister of one of his school friends. Turner went to London to further his studies, and later returned to Margate, with the intention of proposing to Elizabeth.
She, meanwhile, had become engaged to Richard Wiles, the innkeeper of the afore-mentioned hostelry.
Even Karl Marx visited.
Go on - I dare you - Sing it...............................
There are theories that the rhyme could be referring to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany who commanded the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars – successfully to a point, but ultimately with the legacy of having been pretty ineffectual against Bonaparte’s campaign.
The Old Kent Market occupies a site opposite the Turner Gallery
Statue of the Shell Lady of Margate by Ann Carrington, celebrating the life of Mrs. Booth, Turner's companion.
Booth was born in Dover in 1798 to German parents. She then moved to Margate where she married a local fisherman John Henry Pound in 1818. In 1821, he drowned at sea leaving her with her two sons Daniel and Joseph. Joseph died before he was six years old.
Later, she married John Booth and they opened up a guest house on the seafront of Margate. They had a son, John Pound Booth in 1826, but he died of cholera at the age of 10.
It was around 1829 that Turner started visiting Sophia’s guesthouse, the quality of light around that area intrigued him and inspired many of his paintings. After John Booth’s death in 1833, Sophia was a widow once again, and so she and Turner became life partners. While they never married, the two were known as Mr. and Mrs. Booth.
The sculpture stands at 12 feet tall and is composed of bronze. The sculpture is known as “The Shell Lady,” because it takes inspiration from the shell lady souvenirs sold at gift shops across Margate. The site of the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery was once the location of the famous guesthouse in which Turner stayed.
The lighthouse on the end of the harbour arm
This marble memorial is also on the harbour arm. Sadly, like a lot of Margate, it is very neglected and almost illegible, but commemorates the sinking of a lugger called the 'Victory', with the loss of nine lives. On January 5th 1857. The ‘Victory' had been to the aid of the crew of the American sailing ship Northern Belle. The disaster prompted a silver medal to be struck and given to those involved in the rescue, by Franklin Pierce, the President of the United States of America.
The northern belle was en-route from New York to London when it encountered a fierce blizzard that drove it partially on to rocks off the coast of Kent. The twenty eight men on board set the anchor to stop the ship from completely foundering, said their prayers, and waited for rescue. In the early hours of the morning three luggers from Margate, Ocean, Eclipse and Victory arrived on site and soon Ocean managed to get five men on board the sailing ship to help with the salvage, and make sure that the ship did not go further up onto the shore. Unfortunately the weather was worsening all the time. The wind was now a screaming gale, mixed with hail sleet and snow. Soon the anchors dragged, and the Northern Belle found herself completely stuck on the rocks with the crew in a very perilous situation.
The Ocean closed the wreck and managed to take off five of the crew, but the Victory was completely swamped by the heavy seas and disappeared, drowning all nine of its crew. The Ocean and Eclipse could do no more, so the crew of the Northern Belle had to stay where they were for the night, lashed to the rigging of the only mast left standing. Because of the wind direction, the lifeboats at Broadstairs a few miles down the coast, could not be launched, so they were hitched up to teams of horses and dragged two miles over the hills to a place where they could be launched in daylight. When dawn broke the lifeboats, ‘Mary White’ and Culmer White managed to make three trips between them, taking off all of the Northern belles crew and the men that Ocean had put aboard. One of the lifeboat men, George Emptage, made three trips to the stricken vessel, in part to persuade the Captain to leave. He was all for going down with his ship, but was eventually talked out of it.
The Gina Malick memorial garden. In summer 2001, Gina Malick tragically fell from the cliff top at Fort Hill. The young
girl’s mother campaigned regarding the safety of the area and to create something
positive from the tragic death of her daughter.
The coastal road at Margate boasted two wonderful entertainment complexes. The Lido, which I haven't covered yet, has been allowed to deteriorate to a deplorable condition, and it begins to look as though the Winter Gardens venue may follow.
I've been to some good gigs here (notably several Levellers concerts, and Ocean Colour Scene), and it will be a shame if this important venue disappears. It is now looking very shoddy in its' boarded-up state. It is covered by posters stating that the council are considering their options.......................sadly, this council does not have the best record in this respect
Didn't we see another blue plaque like this elsewhere.............................
It seems he also went to school here
Yeah, we all know Turner's work, don't we? But a lot of people only know his famous ones. This is one of .his lesser-known Margate ones
NEWCHURCH
Just south of Newchurch on Romney Marsh, is a small grave-like marker by the side of the road. It commemorates Pilot Officer Arthur William Clarke, who crashed near there during the Battle of Britain. He was just 20 years old.
NEWNHAM
Newnham is a tiny village between Doddington and Sittingbourne. It's not overly remarkable, with the exception of Calico House. This is a Grade II listed building, formerly the vicarage, described as 'new' in a will of 1617. It was later extended in the early 18th. Century, and the terracotta calico painting on the side of the house shows the date as 1710.
OFFHAM
Offham Village lies in a rural setting below the North Downs close to West Malling between Maidstone and Sevenoaks. It's a pretty village, with a well-kept village green, and a replica of a medieval quintain, which was used for training in jousting. The original dated back to the 1500's.The Quintain also features on the attractive village sign, along with the hops and fruit that the area is renowned for.
The target is on a rotating arm at the top and the jouster had to ride at it at speed, hit it with his lance and then swerve violently out the way of the heavy weight on the other end, which would swing around and knock him off his horse if he wasn't quick enough, much the same as his opposition's lance would do in a real joust.
OLD ROMNEY
The old name probably refers to the River Rother, which before 1287 emptied into the sea at New Romney. That's before the Great Storm of 1287 altered the course of the river to exit at Rye. It was originally navigable to Old Romney, but as it gradually silted up, New Romney was built as the local port, and Old Romney was left two miles inland
Another miniscule Marsh Parish. However, St. Clement's Church is an absolute delight, both in its' location and internally.
Old Romney lies a couple of miles inland from New Romney, on what was once an island in the middle of the Rother Estuary, before the river changed direction. It was noted in Roman times as Vetus Rumellenum, but by the time of the Domesday Book, New Romney had been established.
In 791 King Offa granted a
court to Romney, possibly heralding in the start of the Cinque Ports ,
and at the time it was a prosperous fishing and trading port. Old Romney and New
Romney were linked, with the port at New Romney moving further
away from the old town as the coastline spread into the English Channel. This
creeping away of the harbour continued, until the 1100's when the distance
between Romney and its harbour became too great, and the two villages
separated. The Cinque Ports first mentioned in a Royal Charter of
1155 originally consisted of the 'Ports' of Hastings , New Romney ,
Hythe , Dover and Sandwich , so we know that Old Romney had been
superceeded by this time.
The decline of Old Romney started at this point, but the natives
continued to reclaim the land from the Rother Estuary and the marshland to
provide rich and fertile farmland .
Old Romney reverted to a farming community , providing sheep and wool for
the wool industry in Flanders . Around 1300 Edward I set up a customs duty on
the export of english wool, which was in great demand in Europe. This was the
first permanent customs system established in England, and until it was set up
all trade in and out of England was free. Up to this point Old Romney was
shipping most of its wool abroad from its harbour at New Romney . The
trade continued after customs were set, and much wool was shipped out of the
country with a return traffic of brandy and tobacco.
1614 the export of all wool was made illegal, so the smugglers became
more violent and with the introduction of the death penalty in 1661 most became
armed. In 1698 the government decided to take action. An Act was passed
stopping people within 15 miles of the sea from buying any wool, unless they
guaranteed that they wouldn't sell it to anyone within 15 miles of the sea.
Also any farmers within 10 miles of the sea had to account for their fleeces
within 3 days of shearing, all of this effected Old Romney .
With the decline in smuggling in the 1730's the area continued to be
a farming centre, the number of people declined until today when there is only
the church and a handful of houses to mark the village.
Although one of the oldest churches in Kent, St. Clement's church has remained relatively untouched, but with the addition of pink painted box pews and a Georgian minstrels gallery. The pews were painted pink, when filming was taking place in the church. The white pews didn't work on film, so the pews were dulled down with pale pink paint. The film company promised to re-paint them white afterwards, but the parishioners voted to keep them pink!
It has featured in several films, with the money gained being useful for its' upkeep and protection
In 1967, during restoration, a workman came across a large flat stone half-buried by the porch. Thinking it was probably a long-lost memorial stone, he got permission to dig it up. It turned out to be the pre-reformation altar table.
Such items of church furniture had been banned in 1550, so it had presumably been buried to prevent its' destruction. A wooden frame was constructed, and it was returned to serve the purpose for which it had originally been installed.
The large Royal Arms of George III are dated
1800 - the lion has a particularly smug expression!
The church was built on an artificial mound, to protect it from flooding
Wander over to the far corner of the graveyard, and you will see the Wallingham Sewer - one of the original drainage channels of the Marshes. Old Romney lies just off the main A259, which was built on top of the Rhee Wall, one of the original 'innings' or walls behind which drainage channels were dug to drain the malarial swamps and reclaim the land. This is why the A259 is slightly raised above the level of the fields on either side. Despite being usually just called 'Romney Marsh', it is actually several 'inned' areas, such as Romney Marsh, Wallend Marsh, Denge Marsh and Pett Level.
This particular sewer, or dyke if you're a local, is lined with some very old pollarded willows, whose striplings are still used for basket making etc.
OTFORD
Otford, near Sevenoaks has the distinction of having the only roundabout in the UK to be granted listed status!
This may sound odd, but slap bang in the middle of this pretty village is a large roundabout which consists of a large, beautifully manicured duck pond, complete with duck house.
The pretty pond, which is circled by willow trees, is thought to date back to Anglo Saxon times, when it was possibly used as a drinking hole for local livestock. In 1951 it was repaired by villagers for the Festival of Britain and in 1960 a duck house was placed on the pond, which is fed from a spring by the village station. The pond was granted grade two listed status in January 1975 after plans to concrete it over were met with protest from villagers. The pond even has its' own pond keeper
This may sound odd, but slap bang in the middle of this pretty village is a large roundabout which consists of a large, beautifully manicured duck pond, complete with duck house.
The pretty pond, which is circled by willow trees, is thought to date back to Anglo Saxon times, when it was possibly used as a drinking hole for local livestock. In 1951 it was repaired by villagers for the Festival of Britain and in 1960 a duck house was placed on the pond, which is fed from a spring by the village station. The pond was granted grade two listed status in January 1975 after plans to concrete it over were met with protest from villagers. The pond even has its' own pond keeper
PALMARSH
Once a small hamlet, Palmarsh is now just a residential suburb of Hythe. It has no apparent historic points of interest - except one.
The Royal Military Canal runs at the back of the houses. At one point, there is a pedestrian bridge. An information board nearby, recommends crossing this bridge for an uninterrupted view of the sloping cliffs beyond, upon which, stands one of the famous sound mirrors used during World War II. This one was erected for trial purposes in 1922. A good source on information about them can be found here
However, I've not photographed it yet, but meanwhile the canal is exceptionally pretty along this stretch:
PEDLINGE
This tiny hamlet lies on the old A20 between Newingreen and Hythe, and consists of a farm and just 3 or 4 old houses.
This small chapel was built c1904 for the workers of the manorial Sandling Park Estate, near Saltwood, which had been acquired by the Rt. Hon. Laurence Hardy in 1897. Hardy was the local Member of Parliament between 1892-1918 and an evangelical lay churchman. Sandling Park is a large country estate consisting of woodland and farmland. (see under SANDLING for more info). A number of Laurence Hardy's descendents still live on or around the Estate today. Built of brick and timber, it replaced a temporary iron Mission Room that had been erected in 1897.
The Chapel is still consecrated, and a monthly service is still held there, as well as celebrations for the major Christian festivals. I've not yet had the opportunity to film inside, but I have been in there when I was a child, and remember it as being a very peaceful small space.
The Philippine Village used to lie on Romney Marsh, midway between Rye and Brenzett. It was set up to import crafts from the Philippines, and supply them with much-needed money. It was a bright, sparkling place, full of colour, and had shops and a nice tea rooms. This is one of the highly-decorated 'Jeepneys' a sort of local Phillippine cross between a taxi and a bus. The only thing left now is the tea rooms, now a cafe. (Jo's Cafe - highly recommended)
RECULVER
Reculver means a great beak or headland - and that's exactly what it is. The Romans called it Reculbium
It once occupied a strategic location at the north-western end of the Wantsum Channel, between the Isle of Thanet and the Kent mainland. This led the Romans to build a small fort there at the time of their conquest of Britain in 43 AD, and, starting late in the 2nd century, they built a larger fort, or "castrum", called Regulbium, which later was part of the chain of Saxon Shore forts. The military connection resumed in the Second World War, when Barnes Wallis's bouncing bombs were tested in the sea off Reculver.
After the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, Reculver became a landed estate of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent. The site of the Roman fort was given over for the establishment of a monastery dedicated to St Mary in 669 AD, and King Eadberht II of Kent was buried there in the 760s. During the Middle Ages Reculver was a thriving township with a weekly market and a yearly fair, and it was a member of the Cinque Port of Sandwich. The twin spires of the church became a landmark for mariners known as the "Twin Sisters", supposedly after daughters of Geoffrey St Clare, and the 19th century facade of St John's Cathedral in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, is a copy of that at Reculver.Reculver declined as the Wantsum Channel silted up, and coastal erosion claimed many buildings constructed on the soft sandy cliffs. The village was largely abandoned in the late 18th century, and most of the church was demolished in the early 19th century. Protecting the ruins and the rest of Reculver from erosion is an ongoing challenge.
Trinity House purchased the towers in 1809 and strengthened them so they could continue to serve as a visible landmark for sailors. To emphasize how drastically erosion has affected Reculver, it is sobering to think that the church originally stood almost in the centre of the Roman fort, while it now stands at the edge of steep sea cliffs.
ROLVENDEN
Oh, and Lady Jane Grey, the Queen of 9 Days, lived at nearby Halden Place.
Great Maythem Hall is a neo-classical house built by Edwin Lutyens on the foundations of a Georgian mansion. It was the Victorian home of Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of children's classics like Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden. Indeed, it is thought that Burnett modelled the Secret Garden after her own garden at Great Maythem.
The vicar of Rolvenden during the time of Lady Jane Grey's residence, the Rev. John Frankish, was one of the Kentish Marian martyrs who were burned at the stake in Canterbury in 1555.
SISSINGHURST
Originally, there were two hamlets - Rolvenden Streyte, which burned down in the 17th. century, during the Great Plague, and Rolvenden Layne, where the locals moved to after the fire. When the Streyte was rebuilt, they moved back, and the two hamlets gradually merged.
Just on the edge of the village, near Hole Park, stands a fully restored post mill on little hill. Sadly it is privately owned, so I was unable to get a good shot of it. It once featured in the Tommy Steele film 'Half A Sixpence'
ROLVENDEN LAYNE
Originally known as Leyne, this was a large tract of arable land. i.e. that which has lain fallow
Rolvenden Layne is more or less just a small adjunct to Rolvenden proper. Go down Maytham Layne at the side of the church in Rolvenden, and in a little under mile you arrive at this small outpost.
Rolvenden village originally consisted of the Streyte, located along what is now the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, which was almost entirely burned down in 1665, during the Great Plague (except for the church, pub and some farms). This caused the villagers to abandon the Streyte and move a mile down the hill to the common land of the Layne during the 1660s. Already located here was the Tudor house, now called Wesley House, where John Wesley later preached in the 18th century. The villagers later returned to rebuild the Streyte, resulting in the two small hamlets, the Streyte and the younger, smaller and quieter Layne that you see today.
In the middle of the hamlet, is a crossroads by the recreation field. On this crossroads, is a familiar red phone box. A lot of villages have bought their defunct phone boxes, and use them to hold a defibrillator, for emergency help in the community. Others, like the one in Aldington are used as book exchange points - a sort of mini library.
The one in Rolvenden Layne, however, houses something far more enchanting. It's a sound museum!
There is no electricity supply to the box, so you need to power it by means of a hand crank. You can then listen to countless recordings of people's memories of the area, history bytes, and even local musicians.
It's a lovely idea
RUCKINGE
Love this sign. Surmounted, as most of them are in Kent, with 'Invicta', the white horse emblem of Kent, the sign depicts the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, agriculture, and a depiction of a highwayman holding up a coach!
A small village, lying on the B2067 Ham Street to Hythe road. It's basically a 3 mile long, linear village, with little lying off the one road. Its main feature is its pretty 12th. century church
Ruckinge was also the home of Thomas Aveling, who was one
of the pioneers of the Traction Engine in the mid 1800s.
SANDLING
Although now just a part of Saltwood, near Hythe, Sandling Park was once a large and wealthy estate. The house was built in the 1790s and demolished in 1945 and replaced by a newer, smaller house. What does remain, are the two gate lodges - one on the road between Newingreen and Hythe has been completely subsumed by nature and can't be seen under the covering of ivy.
The other, on the A20 from Newingreen to Postling marks the entrance to Sandling Park, and is at its' most stunning in Autumn.
The park and gardens are open to the public on limited days.
SANDWICH
Sandwich is undoubtedly one of the prettiest towns in Kent. It is also one of the most historic, and has more 'Historic Buildings Of Kent' plaques than any other. From the 2,000 year old Roman Fort of Rutupiae (Richborough) on its' outskirts, to modern times, there is just so much to see
Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses and gates in the old town walls,
churches, almshouses and the White Mill. While once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea due to the disappearance of the Wantsum Channel. Its historic centre has been preserved. Sandwich Bay is home to nature reserves and two world-class golf courses, Royal St George's and Prince's. The town is also home to many educational and cultural events. Sandwich also gave its name to the food by way of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and the word sandwich is now found in several languages.
Above, is the Fisher Gate, the last remaining gateway into the old town. Giving access to the historic
quay, this gatehouse was erected in 1384, restored by the Cooper's guild in
1560 and again in 1955.
The River Stour runs through the town. It was once navigable for miles inland, and was one of the reasons Sandwich became a Cinque Port. It was once lined with busy shipyards and fishing docks.
Above is the Barbican Gate, which guards the toll bridge entry to the town. King Canute granted the monks
of Christchurch, Canterbury the right to operate a ferry here and charge a
toll; a practice that only ended in 1977.
You can still read the final toll charges on a board beneath the arch. They date from 1905 and contain charges like: "For every locomotive weighing 2 tons or under, having 4 wheels 1/-" If you're too young to know our old currency (pre-1971) 1/- is one shilling, the equivalent to 5p in today's money!
The road from Canterbury runs right through Sandwich to the Quayside. This is Strand Street. This street may boast more timber-framed buildings than
any other street in England. Most of these medieval and Jacobean houses are
still inhabited.
The Old Drum. In 1457, a force of 4,000 French soldiers launched a devastating raid on Sandwich, pillaging the town and murdering the mayor.
The area of the town from the Ramparts adjacent to the Canterbury Gate up to Bowling Street was largely razed to the ground. The destruction would have included Church Street St Mary's, home to The Old Drum. Said to date back to 1450, seven years before the carnage, it is thought to be Sandwich's first ever pub.
The Drum is designated as ‘An Historic Building of Kent’ and the property is now a private house. Its previous use is apparent from the cellar hatch in the front wall at the bottom left as you look at the front of the building.
This pleasant picnic area on the river bank, is The Butts, where archery would have been practised in medieval times. Henry V's archers honed their skills here before setting sail to France
and their famous victory at Agincourt.
the Delf river, which supplied a lot of the town's water.
Another former hostelry, the Malt Shovel Inn, a 15th century timber framed house, refronted in the 18th century. Note the wrought iron sign, and the bowing of the front window
These old alms houses, dating originally from 1287, can be rented as holiday lets.
This is one of 3 impressive churches in Sandwich. St. Mary's is still consecrated, but decommissioned as a church. This is St. Peter's, which stands in the middle of the town.
St Peter's is the guardian of an ancient Sandwich tradition. Every day at 8pm, the curfew bell rings out, signalling that the townspeople should cover their fires to make them safe for the night. This was once known as the 'pigbell', as it also informed people they could release their animals into the street.
A second bell, called the 'goose bell', was rung at 5am to tell householders to take their animals back indoors lest they be impounded.
The town pump. If you look over the wall, you can see the leat from the River Delf which supplies the water for the pump
The War Memorial, which stands by the entrance to St. Peter's churchyard, in the town square. Although originally commissioned for World War I, it also commemorates the dead of World War II, Korea, and the Falklands Conflict.
Welcome to Holy Ghost Alley - don't use it if you're claustrophobic, as it is so narrow, you almost have to turn sideways to pass through!
The Old Town Gaol, now 2 small houses and a shop. Passage through the building with studded timber framed walls leads to No 7 at the rear.
The Old Dutch House, formerly called the Shoemaker's House, is believed to be of Flemish design. hence the name. Dates from the late 17th. century, with slightly later doors and windows.
Very attractive building in Market Street. I'm sorry that I don't know more about it. The date on the wall translates to 1982, but that date pertains to the Estate Agents, not the building.
St. Clement's Church, the Parish Church of Sandwich, with its' stunning Norman tower, thus denoting that parts of it are at least over 1,000 years old. That Norman tower is one of the finest in England. The tower was originally
topped by a spire, but this was removed in the 1670s shortly after the towers
of both other Sandwich parish churches had collapsed.
Until 1683 it was custom in
Sandwich that the Mayor was elected in St Clements Church. So important was the
position considered that the townsfolk had the right to burn down the house of
anyone who refused the honour. Not surprisingly, no one declined the position.
St Clements also served as a
mustering point in times of trouble. If the moot horn was sounded, all able men
over the age of 14 had to immediately gather at St Clement's and report to the
Mayor.
There are patches of medieval tiles still visible in some places, and the colours of these have been replicated later, around the font
One of the unusual features of St Clements is
the roof, which is decorated with carved wooden angels
The Town Beacon, on the Quayside.
And the National Cycle Route mile marker
Unfortunately, the Sandwich Medieval centre, which stands here, on the Quayside, was closed this day. So I guess I'll just have to come back another sunny day! On the river next to the Medieval Centre, there is a boat under restoration. This is the 'Nicholas', a replica medieval cog.
The cog was a single mast, round bottom vessel that was built to be a merchant ship but, at times of war, converted into a fighting ship. The castles were added fore and aft and the long bow archers would create a formidable fire power.
It’s hard to believe that there is no example of a medieval cog on display anywhere in England. It is open to the public on some days, so hopefully, I will be able to watch the restoration taking place.
SELLINDGE
This name, and that of Selling, both mean a group of people living communally (i.e. hall-dwellers)
A typical Kentish sign, topped with the Invicta horse of Kent. The main body of the sign depicts an oast house, a windmill, a traction engine (marking the long history of the Sellindge Steam and Traction Rally which used to be held in a large field in Swan Lane annually, and the church of St. Mary the Virgin. There are also two swans. When I was young, there was a pub at the other end of the village, called the Swan. We all knew it as the 'Mucky Duck' because the sign depicted a black swan. Sadly the pub was demolished to make way for the bridge carrying the High-Speed railway line.
The sign is supported by bunches of hops and the cross-piece features runners carrying the Olympic torch through Sellindge in 2012
Being the next village along from the one I grew up in, I have fond memories of Sellindge, especially the Saturday night youth club dances! Sadly, Sellindge doesn't have quite the same history as Lympne, and it suffered from originally being on the main A20 Dover - London road. I have yet to explore the church (or whatever points of interest there are, but as a taster, here's a picture of Wellington Cottage, which as far as I have established, is more of a curiosity than historical.
The Domesday Book names Sellindge as Sedlinges, with two churches, a mill, 36 acres of meadow, and a wood for 6 pigs!
Sadly, the church of St. Mary was locked today, so I will need to return
Sissinghurst is a rather pretty village in between Biddenden and Goudhurst. It is famed mostly for Sissinghurst Castle, the former home of Vita Sackville-West, and its world-renowned gardens.
The name comes from 'Saxon's wooded hill' to distinguish this land from that owned by Angles at nearby Angley.
Vita Sackville-West, the poet and writer, began the transforming Sissinghurst Castle in the 1930s with her diplomat and author husband, Harold Nicolson. Harold's architectural planning of the garden rooms, and the colourful, abundant planting in the gardens by Vita, reflect the romance and intimacy of her poems and writings.
Sissinghurst Castle was the backdrop for a diverse history; from the astonishing time as a prison in the 1700s, to being a home to the women’s land army. It was also a family home to some fascinating people who lived there or came to stay.
Originally called Milkhouse Street, Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the smuggling and cockfighting activities of the Hawkhurst Gang.
SITTINGBOURNE & KEMSLEY LIGHT RAILWAY
The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway in Kent is a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale - a distance of just under 2 miles. The route is very unremarkable and utilitarian, but if you combine a ride on it with one of their special 'days' like a vintage car event for example, it's a pleasant way to spend a day.
This unique line was built in 1905 for the transportation of the raw materials required for the manufacture of paper at Kemsley Paper Mills, and, of course, the finished product.
Now, who remembers 'Spangles' sweets? The little square hard candies were individually wrapped in glossy striped paper, a different colour for each flavour.
This paper was made at Kemsley Mill, where, as luck would have it, my Uncle Pip worked. When I went to Grammar School, he supplied me with sheets of this paper to cover my school books - a different colour for each subject!
Smallhythe lies on the stream known as the Reading Sewer and was a prosperous harbour until late Tudor times. It is most notable for Smallhythe Place, once home to Dame Ellen Terry.
It stood on a branch of the Rother estuary and was a busy shipbuilding port in the 15th century, before the silting up and draining of the Romney Marshes.
Timber from the Wealden Forests was collected in Tenterden , then sent to Smallhythe for the building of ships. The River Rother flowing past here was of sufficient width and depth to accommodate the main warships of the period. The shipyards became famous from the 14th to the middle 16th century.
One of Henry VIII's warships 'The Grand Masters' was built in the shipyards of this port, and in 1537 Henry VIII visited the construction site to view the building of this great vessel.
One of Henry VIII's warships 'The Grand Masters' was built in the shipyards of this port, and in 1537 Henry VIII visited the construction site to view the building of this great vessel.
Small Hythe's quays and warehouses were destroyed in a fire in 1514 and were never rebuilt.
Smallhythe Place is a half-timbered house built in the late 15th or early 16th century. It was already three
hundred years old by the time its most famous owner, actress Ellen Terry bought
the property. Terry first saw Smallhythe in 1890, but it was not for sale, and
she had to wait until 1899 before she could purchase it.The house was originally called 'Port House' and before the sea receded it served a thriving shipyard: in Old English hythe means "landing place". It was the home of the Victorian actress Ellen Terry from 1899 to her death in the house in 1928. The house contains Ellen Terry's theatre collection, while the cottage grounds include her rose garden, orchard, nuttery and the working Barn Theatre.
Terry first saw the house in the company of Henry Irving, the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London's Covent Garden, with whom she shared a famous theatrical partnership for nearly 24 years. The house was opened to the public by Terry's daughter Edith Craig in 1929, as a memorial to her mother. The National Trust supported Craig in her running of the museum from 1939, and took over the property when she died in 1947. Smallhythe Place contains many personal and theatrical mementoes, including two walls devoted to David Garrick and Sarah Siddons. Other exhibits include a message from Sarah Bernhardt, a chain worn by Fanny Kemble, Sir Arthur Sullivan's monocle and a visiting card from Alexandre Dumas. There are also several paintings by the artist Clare Atwood, one of the romantic companions of Edith Craig.
In an adjoining room is a letter from Oscar Wilde begging Terry to accept a copy of his first play. There is also a selection of sumptuous costumes dating from Terry’s time at the Lyceum Theatre. In 1929, Craig set up the Barn Theatre in the house's grounds, where the plays of William Shakespeare were performed every year on the anniversary of her mother's death. This tradition continues to this day.
SMARDEN
Strangely the name translates as fat or grease pasture! What it actually means is rich pastureland, resulting in a good supply of milk and butter.
Smarden is one of those little villages which abound in Kent and Sussex. They benefit from being slightly off the beaten track, on roads that go from nowhere to nowhere of any importance.
It has a large accumulation of half-timbered, ancient houses clustered around a very pretty church. More than 100 of them are listed buildings. It has suffered little from being heavily featured in 'The Darling Buds Of May' TV series with David Jason et al. Although the houses vary greatly in size and design, the appearance of the village is unified by the roofs almost invariably being of the same rich red 'Kent Peg' tiles.
The main entrance to the churchyard, is through the corner of this house, forming a sort of lych-gate, leading from a small paved square open to the main village street.
The church of St, Michael The Archangel has a great deal to recommend it, but as it lays back off of very narrow lanes with sharp bends, you need to hunt about a bit for somewhere safe to park. I 'borrowed' a tiny corner of the pub car park - one of the benefits of being on my little 125cc motorcycle today, rather than the 650.
The parish church of Smarden is known as 'the Barn of Kent', a tribute to the width of its aisleless nave. The nave is 36 feet in width and is supported by a scissor-beam roof system of intersecting timbers.
It has many other interesting features, including some beautiful glass and wall paintings. There is an annual bequest of
John Handen, who left 6s 5d (32p) for the purchase of new bell ropes.
(above) beyond the sedilla (wall seats) to the right of the alter, is a rare wafer oven
These 20th century wall paintings, which replace lost medieval ones, use villagers as their models.
The churchyard is well-kept, and the war memorial is actually incorporated into the end wall, rather than being a free-standing monument.
Shepherd Neame, as well as being the oldest family-run brewery in the UK, are also amongst the best at ensuring that their public houses retain their age-related character and their wonderful inn signs. The Flying Horse is no exception, and retaining its' character is essential when the pub stands in the middle of a truly ancient village
Smarden saw high historical drama when 66 local men took part in Jack Cade's ill-fated 1450 rebellion against high taxes and prices.
SNAVE
Snave is a forgotten parish. The village has all but vanished, and St. Augustine's church was made redundant in 1983, and is in the care of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust. It's a little tricky to find, and is seen at its' best in Spring, when it is surrounded by hosts of golden daffodils. This area of the Marsh was renowned at one time for growing field upon field of daffodils. To cope with Marsh subsidence, the pretty 13th. century church has quite a few buttresses
The A2070 road now bisects what would once have been the parish of Snave, leaving the area around Snave-Wick isolated. It was here, that the court sat to adjudicate misdemeanours. I need to find far more information on this. But, in the meantime, I do know that close to the Snave-Wick court house was a bridge known as Hangman's Toll Bridge. Now long gone, it stood roughly where this culvert carries the water under the new road.
ST-MARY-IN-THE-MARSH
This tiny village lies in the heart of Romney Marsh, to the north of St. Mary's Bay.
The Golden Jubilee commemoration stone, just by the entrance to the church. At this point, three lanes leading into the village form a natural village centre, flanked by the church and the pub opposite
The Star Inn still sports its beautiful old Whitbread inn sign. Sadly most of these have now gone, whether it is because the pub has closed, or has been renamed and 'modernised'. at one time, you could collect little thin metal plates with all the old Whitbread inn signs on them, and I had quite a few when I was young.
The clock on the tower was erected in memoriam of those who died during WWI . There is a brass plaque to that effect in the church. However, due to the current pandemic, the church was only open today for private prayer, and I didn't want to impinge on anyone's privacy, so the church remained off limits to me
The grave marker of Edith Nebit, author of 'The Railway Children'. She didn't want a fancy funeral or a headstone, so her husband, Thomas Terry Tucker, carved out this simple wooden marker. There is a memorial plaque to her inside the church
John Sullivan, Master of the Merchant Navy fuel tanker S.S. Empire Gawain. Although he died in 1947, the fact that his grave bears a Commonwealth War Grave headstone would indicate that he died of illness or injury caused during wartime. The Empire Gawain was sold to Esso after the war, and renamed Esso Dakotah. It was finally scrapped in the 60s
You may think having an old Shepherd's hut in the churchyard a little strange. However, the village stands in the heart of the sheep country of Romney Marsh. The hut took me back to my childhood, as my father was a shepherd, or 'looker' as they are known on the Marsh, not far from here, and I slept in his hut on more than one occasion, on a pile of straw and sacks in the corner
TENTERDEN
Such a pretty town, rightly called 'The Jewel of The Weald'. The name actually means 'pasture of the men of Thanet'. Tenterden was originally the property of the manor of Minster in Thanet.
The town pump and the town Sign, which incorporates the Arms of the Cinque Ports*. Its riverside today is not navigable to large vessels and its status as a wool manufacturing centre has been lost.
* Cinque Ports were exempt from regular taxation, were largely self-governing, and were entitled to have a representative at royal coronations.
The town's name is derived from the Old English "Tenet Waraden", meaning a den or forest clearing in the forest which belonged to the men of Thanet.
In the above picture, you can see the tower of St. Mildred's parish church. It is well worth stepping back from the High Street, and paying it a visit. The construction of such a richly decorative church, one of the largest in the county, is said to have caused resentment within the Cinque Ports.
A bishop is said to have built it with the money or materials intended to have been used to maintain the sea wall at Sandwich.
This apparently caused the silting up of Sandwich harbour, and the creation of the Goodwin Sands! Trade then moved from Sandwich to Smallhythe, the port for Tenterden, and the money went with it
St Mildred was a 7th-century princess of Kent, who served as abbess of the nunnery at Minster-in-Thanet. Tenterden manor was granted to Thanet Minster around the time of Mildred's death.
It has a lovely selection of gargoyles all around
Horatia, the illegitimate daughter of Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, married the vicar, Reverend Philip Ward, here in 1822. Horatia was born in 1801. Lord Nelson died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and Emma Hamilton died in 1815.
To the right of the churchyard, there is a little brick path that leads to The Wonky House.
The A28 which runs through the town and serves as the High Street, links Margate/Canterbury/Ashford/Tenterden/Hastings.
Here is is a very broad, tree-lined avenue, with the War Memorial at the centre of town.
the top of the memorial bears the Invicta white horse of Kent one side, and the Cinque Port Arms on the other
There are a couple of plaques on posts in the grass near to the memorial, including one commemorating the mayor who planted the trees along the High Street.
There's a lovely old glass lamp outside the building that was Ridley the Chemists, now Paydens
At the top of Sayers Lane (which leads to Waitrose!), in a house covered with 'mathematical tiles'. In 1784, a tax was introduced on bricks, by George III to help fund the wars in the American Colonies. Because of this, a lot of new houses at that time were covered in ceramic tiles in order to avoid the 2/6d per thousand tax.
Next to the Town Hall, stands the old Woolpack Hotel, known locally as the 'Woolly', which was built in the 15th. century
The lovely Art Deco Embassy cinema opened in 1937, but closed in 1969 and became a shopping centre
As you approach East Cross, there is a large paved area, which is presumably privately owned. As this plaque on the adjoining wall makes clear.............................Not dedicated to the public, but maybe 'Dedicated To The One I Love'
Further on in East Cross, your eyes get drawn towards the beauty shop. It's not my taste, but when you're stuck at the traffic lights, it's a pretty thing to look at.
As you head further along the Ashford Road, past the house with the tower, mockingly referred to as 'Tenterden Castle'........The house was built in the late 1700s but the tower wasn't added until 1904, when it was owned by John Ellis Mace, who wrote a book called 'Old Tenterden', and whose father was Mayor of Tenterden in 1856. The house is now Grade II listed
.....................you come to the Old Meeting House, now the Unitarian Church, where Benjamin Franklin once worshipped in 1774. He came there to hear Joseph Priestley preach, who, as well as defining oxygen as a component of air, also invented carbonated water and so is to be thanked for our fizzy drinks!
Tenterden has a very attractive Recreation Ground and park at the East Cross end of town. It often plays host to travelling fairs, as well as being the location for all sorts of local festivals. It is also home for the Beacon, which was last lit a few weeks ago for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
There is a small garden with seating, between the Appledore Road and the Ashford Road, separate from the main park. There is a marker explaining how this little garden came about, and since 2001, that has been joined by a concrete block which contains a time capsule.
The park has public conveniences and a large children's playground. It also plays host to a travelling fair every summer, and various town festivals. It really is used as a community hub.
Crossing the road by the school, you will find a pleasant footpath between the school and the surgery. This runs parallel to the High Street for quite distance, eventually leading to Theatre Square.
Just as you turn into the square, over to the left is an old brick built hut. You can see immediately what it's original use was
On the opposite side of the road from the church, there is an alley called Bell's Lane. This is well-worth a stroll, as it opens into a picturesque lane of flower-covered old cottages, which includes Theatre Cottage, Theatre Square, Nelson Cottage and Playwright Cottage.
Now, Pebbles House. A remarkable house erected by a Dr. Mace, with a central doorway big enough for him to ride his horse through to the stabling at the rear! The last owner left it to the Town Council, together with the rear garden. This is now beautifully tended by the Council workers, and is called the Millenium Garden. It's an absolute haven of peace and quiet, flowers and birdsong, in a busy world.
Emerging from the garden, outside the White Lion pub is a very old waymarker, still mostly legible, at least on three sides.
Look at the buildings around here, and you will spot some lovely old lead drainpipes
Down by West Cross, at the bottom of the town, is the William Caxton pub, owned by Shepherd Neame, the oldest brewing firm in the country. (It's just changed hands, and is now called 'The Print House'). William Caxton, who printed the first English book in 1477, was possibly born in Tenterden
And on the opposite corner, stands a gatehouse to Heronden Hall that was seriously damaged by the Great Storm of 1987. As it is a listed building, it has thankfully been rebuilt, and adds character to these busy crossroads
Halfway along the High Street, you come to Station Road. Guess where that leads....................
The Vine pub at the top of Station Road, once had a sign pointing the way to the Railway Station. This was removed when British Railways closed the line through Tenterden.
I'm glad to say this sign has now been fully restored and once again points the way to the Station, now running trains for the Kent & Est Sussex Railway
Halfway down Station Road, at the back of a small car park, is a wooden building which houses the Tenterden Town Museum. It's free (although donations are always welcome) and worth a visit. You can't miss it - it has a mobile boiler and a chaff cutting machine outside!
The Kent and East Sussex Railway opened in 1900 when it was known as the Rother Valley Railway. It was a light railway, intended to operate only until operating profits could be generated to rebuild it using more permanent heavy rail techniques.
In 1923 the railway introduced a unique carriage; a pair of Ford buses linked back to back and fitted with rail wheels. The railway could not compete with the convenience of road travel and finally ceased operation in 1954. A charitable society was formed with the aim of restoring the railway to passenger service, and regular service began again in 1974.
The railway uses a mix of steam and diesel locomotives, including two 'Terrier' steam locomotives built in 1872. The line, which currently runs as far as Bodiam via Rolvenden and Northiam, is being extended to Robertsbridge (near Hastings) in East Sussex. The station is now quite a complex, with a cafe, shop and Colonel Stephenson's Railway Museum to enjoy, as well as the locomotives.
There is a path (Church Path) leading from the Station back up to the Church. I'm not saying it's steep, but if you're not fit, you'd do better to walk back up Station Road!
However, at the bottom of Church Path, just walk few yards up, and then on the right is a private road. You are permitted, however, to just go onto the road, where you will find a recently restored wishing well. This was originally made in 1863, and is now used to raise funds for the Savannah Charitable Trust, which provides an education for some of the poorest children in West Africa.
I'll just finish with a postbox 'topper' which has been a craze for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, leave you to admire the clever woolwork that has gone into its' creation:
TUDELEY
Don't know why, but the name Tudeley actually means 'Thieves Valley'.
The village is home to All Saints' Church, the only church in the world that has all its windows in stained glass designed by Marc Chagall. The East window was commissioned by Sir Henry and Lady D'Avigdor-Goldsmid in memory of their daughter Sarah, who died aged 21 in a boating accident in 1963. The other 11 windows were added later, the final ones being installed in 1985, the year of Chagall's death. Today the church also hosts the Tudeley Festival, an Early Music event which has been running since 1985.
The church lies up a lane off the B2017 between Tonbridge and Five Oak Green. The lane leads to a large car park, and a beautifully kept churchyard.
Inside, the church is small and relatively plain - with the exception of those breathtaking windows. The vibrant colours stain the plain flag floor in areas of pink, blue and gold. In the vestry can be found the original stained glass windows which were removed to make way for the Chagall ones. They can be backlit by the simple push of a button. But to me, beautiful though almost all stained glass is, they paled into insignificance against the Chagall windows.
Forgive my indulgence of displaying several of the windows!
With blues and purples on the north side, with yellows and oranges taking the full impact of the sun on the south, I've seldom seen such a beautiful concept
WEST HYTHE
A tiny hamlet lying on the banks of the Royal Military Canal, at the base of Lympne Hill, West Hythe once held far more importance than it does now.
The ancient parish church, dedicated to St Mary, is disused and in ruins. Nonetheless, it is listed as a Grade II monument, and is a structure monitored by English Heritage. It was constructed in the twelfth century and heavily rebuilt in the fourteenth century. The British Listed Buildings website reports that the church was burnt down in 1620. There is some evidence that St Mary's may have been, in origin, a minster church.
At the lower end of the hamlet, lies Botolphs' Bridge pub, and its' namesake bridge over the New Cut part of the canal.
Botolph's connection with the community is unclear, and the name may be derived from the saint's patronage of farming. It is also possible that the saint visited the area during one of his known preaching trips from his native East Anglia to the South Saxon people.
According to local legend, the name Botolph's Bridge is derived from the time of the Danish invasions of eastern England, or shortly thereafter, when Botolph's body was exhumed and carried to an unknown location by monks of Ikenhoe. The legend reports that the body was brought to West Hythe and there guided by a mysterious light from above to the only safe crossing of a deep drainage dyke, at the place now known as Botolph's Bridge. The legend is represented artistically on the pub sign of the Botolph's Bridge Inn.
Curiously, the bridge itself bears the motto of the Prince of Wales 'Ich Dien'
WEST MALLING
West Malling used to be called Town Malling, and the approach road from the A20 is still called Town Hill.
West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Norman keep built by Bishop Gundulf c.1080. He also built the White Tower of the Tower of London, the castles of Rochester and Colchester, and the Priory and Cathedral of Rochester. In c.1090 Gundulf founded St. Mary's Abbey in West Malling for Benedictine nuns. This historic site contains significant buildings from the Norman, medieval, Tudor and Georgian eras. There is also a Grade II* Listed 1966 abbey church which is used by the Anglican Benedictine nuns who have made Malling Abbey their home since 1916.
Other buildings of interest in West Malling include the Prior's House, once a residence for those with leprosy; Ford House, over 600 years old; a mainly Georgian High Street; the Swan Hotel, an 18th-century coaching inn (Grade II listed), and Went House, built c.1720 and noted for its elegant brickwork. Manor Park Country Park is just to the south of the town, close to St Leonard's Tower and Douce's Manor, whose grounds the park once comprised.
Whereas it used to be on the main road from the M20 towards Tonbridge, West Malling has now been by-passed, which makes it a very pleasant place to visit indeed. There's plenty of nice shops and places to eat.
The Abbey - the main part of which lies in ruins - has a charming waterfall, known as The Cascade, which lies outside the Abbey walls, and which is thus easy to view. It was once painted by JMW Turner.
It really hasn't changed much since Turner painted it!
After more than 900 years of occupation, the 12 remaining Benedictine nuns are threatening to leave the abbey if plans for 65 houses to be built opposite the abbey, as they feel it would intrude on their tranquility.
As explained on the board, Band 2 depicts a flight of Mosquito aircraft from West Malling airfield during World War II. Before he went on to lead the 'Dambusters' raids, Guy Gibson was Wing Commander at West Malling, and he reckoned it was the prettiest airfield anywhere in the UK
A fire insurance plaque on one of the medieval buildings, shows that the owners had purchased insurance, and in the event of fire, were entitled to assistance from the insurance company's own fire brigade.
That was a pretty heavy game of chess, by the looks of this plaque :)
Above, a Georgian portico somewhat resembling Lego bricks! I found a very similar one in Faversham
The old town brewery above, is now very smart apartments. It's nice seeing these old industrial buildings being preserved, even if they no longer represent the reason they were first built.
Ah...the sound of leather on willow......................the first recorded cricket match in Kent. It led to the first County cricket ground being established there.
The above two plaques are to be found at the entrance to St. Mary's Benedictine Abbey. Gundulf was Bishop of Rochester, whose see included West Malling.
At the bottom of the town stands the parish church of St. Mary The Virgin. The quite plain, but the quite imposing war memorial stands in front of it at the side of the road
I was surprised at how plain the church is inside. The only really remarkable thing is the tomb of Sir Robert Brett, his wife and only son, who predeceased them. Sir Robert died in 1620. The recent restoration goes to show how splendidly colourful churches must have been.
Henry, their only child is depicted kneeling by the heads of his parents. The statue of Death at the feet of the effigies, shows that the line died with them
With his guidance, HMS Minotaur successfully protected the rear of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. There is a transcript of Capt. Mansfield's log for HMS Minotaur at Trafalgar here:
They also fought at the Battle of the Nile, and that of Copenhagen
The town pump, restored for the Queen's Silver Jubilee
WHITSTABLE
Formerly White Staple (white post). Of course, those of you who have bewen watching the TV detective series 'Whitstable Pearl' will already know this. If you haven't, I can heartily recommend it!
This was the meeting place of the Whitstable Hundred, the white post probably acting as a landmark
On the North Kent coast, lies the small town of Whitstable, known throughout the world as the home of the Whitstable Oyster, which have been 'grown' there since Roman times. The small tidal harbour has an equally small fishing fleet these days, and Canterbury Council have been developing the disused harbour buildings as a destination full of interesting eateries - not just seafood. Sadly, shortly after it opened, half of the building burnt to the ground, putting some of the places out of business.
In 1830, one of the earliest passenger railway services was opened by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company. In 1832 the company built a harbour and extended the line to handle coal and other bulk cargos for the City of Canterbury. The railway has closed and the railway route, known as The Crab and Winkle Line, is now a cycle path which leads to the neighbouring city of Canterbury.
The town itself is cute and full of old buildings and unique shops.
(Bit of a *** to drive down the congested High Street though!)
Back to the harbour though, there is a small performance stage in the area where all the restaurants are, and this currently has a display in support of the people of Ukraine.
Pretty sculpture on the beach, celebrating Whitstable's maritime history, and the nearby yacht club.
This is an old Whitstable Oyster yawl, undergoing restoration. Oysters are what Whitstable is most famous for
This retired RNLI lifeboat, 'The Chieftain', can be hired for trips out to sea
The memorial below, celebrates Brett's long association with Whitstable harbour, and stands next to their aggregate plant on the harbour side. In 1884, Robert Brett worked for 3d an hour (1.25p in current currency), near Canterbury for a steam engine traction company. In time he was promoted to engine driver, and then moved on to set up his own sand and gravel quarry.
Robert Brett & Sons was incorporated in 1909 and went on to supplying flints and clinker to road construction firms.
Today, the Bretts are said to be worth over £72 million!
The unusual Harbour Buildings.
The oyster beds are only visible at low tide
On a clear day, you can see a couple of the Maunsell Forts out in the Thames Estuary, and the Vattenfalls Offshore Wind Farm, more commonly called the Kentish Flats Wind Array
Guess the name of this VERY narrow alley............................
Yep - you are right!
There must be a story behind the name of this building, but I've not come across it yet.
St. Alphage parish church
Seasalter Parish Hall (which is actually in Whitstable High Street)
Even Her Majesty likes Whitstable! One of the 'Catman' murals to be found locally
Probably the best known of the oyster houses. Note the prices in the window!
This mosaic was created in August 2002 by Oliver Budd, and celebrates the starting point of the old Crab & Winkle railway line, which ran from here to Canterbury. Part of it is now a cycle route, the rest is long gone. A replica of 'Invicta'. the original steam locomotive for the line, used to stand alongside the ring road in Canterbury. It has now been restored and is housed in the Whitstable museum in the High Street
Please do - there's plenty of pubs in the town that would welcome your company! Another 'Catman' picture
A peaceful place. This little garden and seating area stands opposite Harbour Buildings, and is a memorial to all the Whitstable Merchant seamen who have given their lives in service at sea.
And a final picture of the pretty little harbour
WOODCHURCH
Woodchurch has almost as many pubs as people! Well, it's got a few anyway. The village surrounds all 4 sides of a huge green open space, in one corner of which, is the old village pump. It sits about 6 miles from Ashford and is overlooked by the beautiful windmill, which commands extensive views over the Walland marshes to the English Channel coast. It is a fine example of a Kentish smock mill and was originally one of a pair of windmills standing on this site, known locally as The Twins. The mill is open throughout the summer and is accessible via a footpath that passes between the village pubs.
Woodchurch is renowned for its Rare Breed Centre, which stands far enough outside the village centre, down a road which bypasses the village centre, not to disturb its quietness.
YALDING
The village of Yalding is situated 6 miles south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. The name is recorded in
the Domesday book as the Saxon manor of Hallinges owned by
Aldret, and that it was given to Richard de Tonbridge by William the
Conqueror . The name had changed to Yaldinge by the time of the civil war
(1642 - 1648).
Being at the confluence of 3 rivers, it is sadly prone to flooding. I've yet to explore and photograph it, but there are some attractive old buildings there, so I marked it for a visit another time.
There are three bridges in the village; the Twyford Bridge (meaning twin ford, where there was originally a double crossing of the two rivers) is one of the finest medieval bridges in the south-east of England. Yalding was one of the principal shipment points on the River Medway for cannon, from villages of the Wealden iron industry. One iron master was John Browne from Horsmonden.
The wharf was later used for transporting fruit from the many orchards in the area.
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