Thomas Philipott Villare Cantianum, 2nd edition King’s Lynn 1776 <1> VILLARE CANTIANUM: OR KENT Surveyed and Illustrated. KENT, in Latin Cantium, hath its derivation from Cant, which imports a piece of land thrust into a nook or angle; and certainly the situation hath an aspect upon the name, and makes its etymology authentic. It is divided into five Laths, viz. St. Augustins, Shepway, Scray, Alresford, and Sutton at Hone; and these again are subdivided into their several bailywicks; as namely, St. AUGUSTINS comprehends BREDGE, which contains these Hundreds: 1 Ringesloe 2 Blengate 3 Whitstaple 4 West-gate 5 Downhamford 6 Preston 7 Bredge and Petham 8 Kinghamford and EASTRY, which con= tains these: 1 Wingham 2 Eastry 3 Corniloe 4 Bewesborough SHEPWAY is divided into STOWTING, and that into these hundreds: 1 Folkstone 2 Lovingberg 3 Stowting 4 Heane and SHEPWAY into these: 1 Bircholt Franchise 2 Streat 3 Worth 4 Newchurch 5 Ham 6 Langport 7 St. Martins 8 Aloes Bridge 9 Oxney SCRAY is distinguished into MILTON. comprehends 1 Milton 2 Tenham SCRAY. 1 Feversham 2 Bocton under Blean 3 Felborough CHART and LONGBRIDGE. 1 Wye 2 Birch-Holt Ba= rony 3 Chart and Long-bridge 4 Cale-hill SEVEN HUN= DREDS. 1 Blackbourne 2 Tenderden 3 Barkley 4 Cranbrook 5 Rolvenden 6 Selbrightenden 7 Great Bern= field ALRESFORD is resolved into EYHORN is divided into 1 Eyhorn 2 Maidstone 3 Gillingham and 4 Chetham HOO 1 Hoo 2 Shamell 3 Toltingtrough 4 Larkfield 5 Wrotham and TWYFORD. 1 Twyford 2 Littlefield 3 Lowy of Tun= bridge 4 Brenchly and Hormonden 5 Marden 6 Little Bern= field 7 Wallingston 2 SUTTON at Hone, does only comprehend the bailywick of Sutton at Hone, and that lays claim to these hundreds. 1 Axstane 2 Little and Lesnes 3 Blackheath 4 Bromely and Bekenham 5 Dartford and Wilmington 6 Rooksley 7 Codsheath 8 Somerden 9 Westram These hundreds were parceled out in such a proportion or number of boroughs, villages or tythings, containing ten housholders, whereof (as the Saxon laws and cus= toms inform us) if any one should commit an unlawful act, the other nine were to attach and bring him to reason. If he fled, thirty-one days were enjoined him to appear; if in the mean time apprehended, he was forced to restore the damage done; otherwise the free-borough-head (that is the tythingman) was to take with him two of the same village, and out of three other villages next adjoining as many, (that is, the tythingman and two other of the principal men) and before the offi= cers of that hundred purge himself and the village of the fact, restoring the damage done, with the goods of the malefactor; which if they sufficed not to satisfy, the free-borough or tythingman must make up the rest, and besides take an oath to be no ways accessary to the fact; and to produce the offender, if by any means they could recover him, or know where he was. Besides, every lord and master stood bo= rough for all his family, whereof, if any servant were called in question, the master was to see him answer it in the hundred were he was accused; if he fled, the master was to resign such goods as he had to the king: if himself were accused to be aiding or privy to his servant’s flight, he was to clear himself by five men, otherwise, to forfeit all his goods to the king, and his man to be outlawed. These links thus in= termutually fastened, made formerly so strong a chain to hold the whole frame of the state together, in peace and order, as all the mingled policies upon earth, all the interleagued societies of men cannot represent a straiter form of combination. As touching the other customs of Kent, they have been so fully discussed by Mr. Lambert, in his Kentish perambulation, that I shall not much insist in the discovery of them: only I shall something winnow the word Gavelkind, because from that it is pretended the tenure itself is derived. First, it is suggested, that the word Gavel= kind is amassed together in three Saxon monosyllables, that is to say, Gœf ele Kent: but how this custom should be originally established on three syllables, by the cor= ruption of time thus crouded and shut up in one word, is altogether ambiguous and mysterious; for, if we shall unveil the word of its Saxon habit, and put it into an En= glish dress, it will signify thus much, give all child, and how much nonsense lurks in that expression, I think is easily discernible: indeed the phrase should be, if we would at= tempt to spin any thing of advantage out of it, Gœf ele kendern, give all children; but how much of incongruity and incoherence lies wrapt up even in this, I believe is obvious enough; yet admit there was none, how four syllables, all of different vowels in their termination, should at length, by the depravation of language, be all confusedly shuffled and stived into this one word Gavelkind, will certainly appear to the most easy apprehension disputable enough. For my own particular, I am convinced (with submission to clearer speculations) that this word Gavelkind is derived from the saxon word Gabel, which in the Latin we render Census, and put into English signifies some rent-service, or tribute issuable from such and such land, on which it is fixed as a solemn evidence of some homage due to the prince or supreme magistrate, for that security which is received both in life and propriety by his defence and tuition. And certainly this is something proportionate to reason; for all Gravel-kind-land is held in the tenure of free-soccage, which is charged with this manor of rent-charge or imposition; and so in several Latin records is represented under the notion of Terra censualis. It is true, that by the ancient custom of Germany, called Land-skiftan, the lands of the deceased was by equal portions, to be distributed amongst all his sons, but 3 then it is as probable that this tribute of Gabel did accompany it, because the most es= sential part of this custom hath through the channel of many hundred years, flowed down to this present age, and is in force in sundry places in Germany at this instant: for though the hernelickeis or lordship, as they style it, descend patrimonially per jus dominatus, by the right of signory to the eldest son, yet all the land, exclusively from that, is equally divided between the cadets or younger brothers, only return= ing some inconsiderable rent-service to the prince, as a character of that feal= ty they owe him, for sheltering them in their several patrimonies by his mutual sup= port and protection, Certain it is when Hengist transported his saxons first into Britain, that custom of Land-Skiftan was wafted over with them, and was by him, allowed to his abettors and partisans when they were invested in their new acquisitions and possessions in Kent, as all other franchises and immunities were, which before in Germany they were by prescription endowed with, that they might more vigorously improve his designs up= on this island; yet still it is possible he reserved out of those demeans, thus by grant conveyed to his accomplices, some annual tax or gabel (though perhaps of a low and narrow value) as a signal acknowledgement that the superiority or sovereignty was solely lodged in him. There are two other customs which are properly calculated for the meridian of Romeney Marsh, and perhaps through inadvertency were not recited by Mr. Lam= bert, and they are these: first, the king had anciently no waste there, and secondly, he had no wrecks, but they were appropriated to those manors of the Marsh that con= fined the sea: and surely if we fathom their original, we shall find their foundation established on much of reason. For first, how could the crown entitle itself to any waste there, where the sea by its impetuous encroachments, did engage the inhabi= tants to cast up mounts, and erect banks in any place which they should find most proportionate to their defence, against the fury of so formidable an adversary; for the second, it is very equitable that they that are interested in an expence of that vastness, in which the public (by the obligation of necessary consequences) is so much concerned and wrapt up, should have something of emolument indulged to them by the careful munificence of the prince, to poise and balance those important disbursements, which the ill neighbourhood of the ocean does oblige them to, in fortifying the Marsh with perpetual defences and dams against its assaults and erup= tions. Having thus discovered something in relation to the customs of Kent, before I advance farther into the land, I shall represent what care our former kings have embarked themselves in, to secure the sea, by fixing sea-watches and other military guards upon all the avenues and inlets of the coast, to repress and check the attempts of any bold intruder, as if their own safety and indemnity were folded up in the secu= rity of this county. Touching then sea-watches upon the coast, there are three presidents, and a mandate from the king to the sheriff in a time of a more modern inscription, for performing the like service. The first, containing the watch by night, in record is styled Vigiliæ minutæ, which are due of right and custom to be made by the men of certain hundreds, as by the title thereof, and the writ for execution of the same may appear.