Richard Kilburne, a Topographie Or Survey of The
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Richard Kilburne A topographie or survey of the county of Kent London 1659 <frontispiece> <i> <sig A> A TOPOGRAPHIE, OR SURVEY OF THE COUNTY OF KENT. With some Chronological, Histori= call, and other matters touching the same: And the several Parishes and Places therein. By Richard Kilburne of Hawk= herst, Esquire. Nascimur partim Patriæ. LONDON, Printed by Thomas Mabb for Henry Atkinson, and are to be sold at his Shop at Staple-Inn-gate in Holborne, 1659. <ii> <blank> <iii> TO THE NOBILITY, GEN= TRY and COMMONALTY OF KENT. Right Honourable, &c. You are now presented with my larger Survey of Kent (pro= mised in my Epistle to my late brief Survey of the same) wherein (among severall things) (I hope conducible to the service of that Coun= ty, you will finde mention of some memorable acts done, and offices of emi= <iv> nent trust borne, by severall of your Ancestors, other remarkeable matters touching them, and the Places of Habitation, and Interment of ma= ny of them. For the ready finding whereof, I have added an Alphabeticall Table at the end of this Tract. My Obligation of Gratitude to that County (wherein I have had a comfortable sub= sistence for above Thirty five years last past, and for some of them had the Honour to serve the same) pressed me to this Taske (which be= ing finished) If it (in any sort) prove servicea= ble thereunto, I have what I aimed at; My humble request is; That if herein any thing be found (either by omission or alteration) substantially or otherwise different from my a= foresaid former Survey, you would be pleased to be informed, that the same happened by reason of further or better information (tend= ing to more certaine truths) than formerly I had. Those differencies, and the rectifying of the same, are contained in a parcell of this Tract (towards the end thereof) which I now added; That thereby Correction may be made of my for= mer Survey, which will be more conveniently portable (for ordinary use) than this. What is found defective herein, be pleased not to im= pute to wilfull errour; But either to misappre= hension, or misinformation (both which I en= deavoured to avoid) And as to the distances of Parishes (herein specified) be pleased to know <v> that I meane the same by a straight line from Church to Church, taking the Station for the view at Newenden, being the middle of the South-side of the County, as they stand in the best Map thereof extant, made by Ma= ster Phillip Symonson (sometime Resident there= in) which I the rather doubt not to call the best for that (by comparing the same with o= thers) I finde it so to be; and the like Cha= racter (in effect) was long since set upon the same, by that Learned, Judicious and Laborious Gentleman, William Lambard, Esquire, whose Monument of Piety and Charity, in this County Directory to the peaceable Government of the same, and painfull and able performance of his Perambulation thereof, have rendred and will perpetuate his Memory Famous. The last whereof hath left very little matter of addition (but much of imitation) both for my self, and all others that shall succeed him in works of this nature, which was the principall cause that I endeavoured brevity herein, being unwilling too far to lengthen this Tract with repetition of what hath been better set forth by others, though in works of this nature all ingenuous persons know, much use must be made of the la= bours of our Predecessors. (There being no o= ther way to enable treating of matters long be= fore our being) Now that the Errata’s of the Presse may first be corrected by what is at the end <vi> of this Tract (for that purpose) prepared, before the Tract be read, and that (in reading the same) other smaller errours of the Presse may also be corrected, and that the passages herein may be well weighed, before censured, and the veile of love cast over what is (either in truth or in the Readers conceit) defective, or mistaken, is the humble desire of, His Countries and your Servant, Richard Kilburne. <vii> The Contents of this Book. A Generall description of Kent. page 1. A particular description of the severall Pa= rishes therein Alphabetically. page 8. A description of Canterbury. page 300 The two divisions of Kent, and how to divide each of them from the other in any Map of the County page 303. The five Laths, and severall divisions of Justices in the same, viz. Sutton at Hone. page 304 Aylesford. page 307 Scray. page 310 St. Augustine. page 313 Shipway. page 315 The Bailiwicks and extents of the same Alphabeti= cally. page 319 The hundreds and extents of the same Alphabeti= cally. page 330 Townes (not being hundreds) having Constables of themselves, and the extents of the same Alphabe= tically. page 348 The Liberties in Kent, and extents of the same, and directions of writs of Habeas Corpus & Sheriffs <viii> Warants to the same Alphabetically. page 351 The direction of Writs of Habeas Corpus to the City of Canterbury. page 357 The Principall Rivers in Kent, and the courses of them. page 366 The Corporations in Kent. page 369 The Market Townes, and dayes of the Markets. page 370 The Months and dayes of the same, when the Fairs are kept. page 371 The Attendants at the Assises. page 373 The dayes of the Quarter Sessions and Attendants at the same, viz. The West division page 375 The East division. page 376 The Diocess of Canterbury, and the *Deanrie and *sic Parishes in the same Alphabetically. page 377 The Diocess of Rochester, and the Deanries and Parishes in the same Alphabetically page 380 The Saints to whom the Churches were dedicated Alphabetically. page 382 Parishes ending in one termination Alphabeti= cally. page 386 The Sheriffs of Kent in the last five Centuries. page 388 The Judges, dayes and places of Assises in the last Century. page 398 Directions to amend my former Brief Survey of Kent. page 415 1 <sig B> A TOPOGRAPHIE: OR, Survey of the County of KENT. This County of Kent is scituate at the South-east part or corner of England, and is bounded to the River of Thames towards the North, to the German Ocean to= wards the North and East, to the narrow Seas toward the East and South, to the County of Sussex towards the South and West, and to the County of Surrey towards the West. The length thereof (in a straight line) from the West 2 part of Leusham to the East part of Saint Peters in Thanet is about 52. miles. But in the middle length thereof from the West part of Brasted to the East part of Ringwold; it is but about 47. miles. And through the middle of this County from Newen= den-Bridge in the South, to the furthest part of the Isle of Grean in the North, the breadth is about 27. miles. The circumference of the County is thus, viz. from the West end of Deptford, to the East end of the North Foreland in the Isle of Thanet, (round by the river of Thames and the Sea) (being the North side of the Coun= ty) is about 61. miles, but in a straight line, the same is but about 51: miles. From thence about to the corner of Dengenesse (being the East side) is about 38. miles, But (in a straight line) the same is but about 31. miles. From thence about to th’ end of Cowden (being the south side) is about 39. miles, but in a straight line, it is but about 33. miles. And from thence about to the aforesaid end of Dept= ford (being the west side) is about 24. miles, but in a straight line the same is but about 21. miles. So the whole circumference (round about this Coun= ty) is about 162. miles, but in the straight lines aforesaid, the same is but about 136. miles. I finde severall derivations of the names of this Coun= ty, viz. of the antient name Cantium, and the now name Kent, but (with submission to better judgments) I ra= ther adhere to their opinion, that conceive the names to be derived from the scituation of the place (viz. in a nook or corner of England, antiently called a Kant or Cantel.) The Inhabitants of this County were sometimes cal= led Eskins, which name arose by Eske (second King of Kent) raigning over them many yeers, but (his memory vanishing) the name also vanished. 3 The aire of this County, (other than the weald, and the marshes and places adiacent thereunto) is accounted very healthy; but the marshes, for the most part unheal= thy, and the weald, and places adjoyning to the marshes not generally so healthy as the most part of the rest of the County. The commodious scituation of this County may justly compare with (if not exceed) any other part of the Na= tion (the same being scituate neer) (but some little distance from) London (the cheif City) and the Thames (that Soveraign River of Britaine) watering the North side thereof about 33. miles in length: The German and narrow Seas, watering the North East, and South sides thereof about 73. miles in length, and the River of Ro= ther likewise watering the South side thereof about 11. miles in length. It also having severall good rivers and rivulets in the bowels of the same, and more especially (towards the West parts thereof) Ravensborne watering the same 9.