Addenda and corrigenda to volume 2

The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2. Originally published by W Bristow, Canterbury, 1797.

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'Addenda and corrigenda to volume 2', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2, (Canterbury, 1797) pp. 568-578. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol2/pp568-578 [accessed 18 March 2024]

In this section

ADDITIONS, &C. TO VOLUME II.

CHESILHURST.

PAGE 2. CHESILHURST is sometimes spelt Chislehurst. It contains about twenty-five hundred acres, the cultivated land is almost wholly arable; there are about two hundred acres of waste land in it. There are upwards of one hundred houses in it, and more are now building.

Page 13. Camden-place is now occupied by William Lushington, esq. M. P. for the city of London.

PAGE 15. Town-court farm was sold by the executors of Nathaniel Rossey, esq. to Mr. Edward Hodsoll, whose son of the same name died possessed of it in 1794.

PAGE 16. The seat of the Farringtons was built in the reign of king James I. by Thomas Farrington, esq. of Lancashire.

HAYES.

PAGE 22. Is about twelve miles from London. It contains about one thousand acres of cultivated land, which are divided in equal portions of arable and pasture, but the latter has been for some years gradually increasing; there are between two and three hundred acres of waste. There are sixty two houses in it.

PAGE 23. Baston-court became the property of the Woods, Richard and Anthony Wood being coheirs in gavelkind, alienated it in 1762, to John Luxford, esq of whom it was purchased in 1795, by James Randall, jun. esq. the present proprietor.

The manor of Pickhurst, alias Heaver, lies near the bounds of this parish, next to Beckenham. In 1693, it was the property of Matthias Wallraven, whose grandson, Peter, in 1757, alienated it to William Cowley, and he sold it in 1765, to Mariabella Eliot, sister of Mr. J. Eliot, the present proprietor. The mansion of it is occupied by John Bowdler, esq.

PAGE 26. A school house was erected in 1791, and a master and mistress appointed, to teach all the poor children in the parish to read, and the girls to work, the expence of which, except from the aid of Mrs. Lloyd's and Mrs. Harrison's benefactions, have been defrayed by voluntary subscriptions.

Sir Samuel Lennard, anno 1617, gave forty shillings per annum, to be distributed on the anniversary of the Popish plot, among such forty poor persons as should be present at a sermon, to be preached on that occasion at West Wickham church, ten of the said poor persons to be of this parish of Hayes.

An acre and an half of land was given to this parish, but by whom unknown.

PAGE 29. John Till, the present rector, is LL.B.

WEST WICKHAM.

PAGE 29. This Parish is bounded towards Surry by that of Addington. There are about twenty acres of waste land in it. On that part of what is usually called Hayescommon within this parish, is the intrenchment, mentioned page 41, to have been thrown up by Sir Christopher, in the reign of queen Elizabeth. The present number of houses is about seventy.

PAGE 30. The house, now occupied by Mr. Whitmore, and the property of Mr. Waller, was before that the property and residence of that amiable writer, Gilbert West, esq. who died in 1756, and was buried in this church.

PAGE 34. In Lyson's Environs, vol. iv. page 552, is an engraving of West Wickham-court.

PAGE 35. In the nave of this church is a memorial for Sir Thomas Wilson, in 1775; and for Elizabeth his wife, in 1779.

KESTON.

PAGE 38. The road from Keston Mark to Leavesgreen, as now altered, is by the bath, whence it winds round the west side of Holwood. The road formerly from the bath to the eastward, is now a private road to Mr. Pitt's house; all that part of the hill from the new road being inclosed.

CHELSFIELD.

PAGE 84. The Hamlet of Greenstreet-green is within this parish, almost adjoining to the boundary of Orpington.

ORPINGTON.

PAGE 97. The VILLAGE of Orpington is situated about a mile from the southern, and half that distance from the northern boundary of it. The Croston woods are, for the most part, in the parish, and its western boundary runs through them, and in continuation, divides the farm house of Towncourt, which is partly in this parish, and partly in Chesilhurst, and is at present possessed by Mrs. Hodsoll, mother of Miss Matilda Hodsoll. The soil is in general light, some sandy, and some gravelly; but about Crofton it is a cold clay and swampy. The parish contains about sixteen hundred acres. There are two farms of some account here—Patten-grove, belonging to Sir John Dixon Dyke; and Perry-hall, to Sir Richard Glode.

PAGE 112. In the list of the vicars of Orpington, correct thus—

James Whitehouse, inducted 1732, obt. 1755.

Francis Fawkes, A. M. inducted 1755, resigned 1794.

John Till, A. M. inducted 1774, resigned 1778.

J. Pratt, inducted 1778. Present vicar.

ST. MARY CRAY.

PAGE 112. The village of St. Mary Cray extends from the northern almost to the southern boundary of the parish, which is somewhat more than half a mile; there is however some interval between it and the hamlet, called Reynold Smith's, where the parishes of Orpington and St. Mary Cray join, consisting of about thirteen or fourteen houses. It is said to contain about seventeen hundred acres; the soil is light and free from chalk.

PAGE 119. Mr. Berens is now out of the direction of both these companies.

PAGE 122. There is no glebe land belonging either to the vicar or rector. See the augmentation to this chapel above, page 112.

FOOT'S CRAY.

PAGE 135. Two thirds of this parish are arable. The present number of houses in this parish is only twentythree, which may be accounted for from a considerable part of this village, situated on the road leading from the high London road to Chesilhurst being in that parish, the inhabitants of which being at a great distance from their own, generally christen their children in this church.

Notwithstanding the general soil of this parish is gravelly and light, yet it bears tolerable good crops of corn, being for the most part arable. The parish is small, containing only about seven hundred and fifty acres, and bounds irregularly with that of Chesilhurst, towards the south and south-west. There is a good modern sashed house in that part of the village which turns off to Chesilhurst, it was the property of Mrs. Manning, widow, who sold it to Richard Wright, esq. who now resides in it.

PAGE 137. Line 23. For Cleve read Cleeve.

Page 138. Mr. Harene married the daughter of Salisbury Cade, esq. of Greenwich, by whom he has a son and daughter.

PAGE 139. There are two bells in the steeple of this church, the north isle is a kind of chancel, formerly belonging to the Walsingham's. In a vault underneath it were buried Bourchier Cleeve, esq. and his wife of Footscray-place, but there is no monument or even memorial over them. There are about ten acres of glebe contiguous to the parsonage house, and about thirteen more in the parish of Chesilhurst, purchased by the governors of queen Anne's bounty, to which two hundred pounds was added by private donation for the augmentation of this rectory.

PAGE 141. In the list of the rectors of Foot's Cray read thus:

John Rowland, A. M. ind. June 1660, obt. 1680. William Smith, 1747, obt. 1765.
Isaac Hunt, clerk, 1690. Benjamin Skinner, 1765, obt. 1766.
John Hancock, clerk, presented 1691, obt. 1700. William Gwyn, June 1766, re-fig. 1768.
John Whittell, 1720, obt. 1726. Thomas Moore, A. M. 1768, thepresent rector.
Richard Lucas, inst. July 26, 1725, obt. 1747.

NORTH CRAY.

PAGE 142. The soil of this parish is rather a light sandy loam, except in the brooks, which are moorish with a sharp burning gravel underneath, the uplands towards the woods are a stiff clay. The parish is about a mile and a half in length, and contains about one thousand acres of arable and pasture land, besides the woods.

PAGE 156. Mr. Madocks purchased Mount Mascal in 1781, and Vale Mascal in 1782. He was buried at Wrexham, in Denbighshire.

Line 14. Shovel Blackwood, esq. now resides at Camberwell, in Surry.

PAGE 158. In the south-east part of the church-yard is a vault, in which lie Jeffry Hetherington, esq. and the reverend William Hetherington his brother, both owners of North Cray manor as before-mentioned, over it is a handsome marble monument.

Page 161. The present parsonage-house was built by the reverend Mr. Moore, the present rector, but chiefly at the expence of the Hetherington family, to the amount of seven hundred pounds, the reverend Mr. Hetherington giving besides two acres of land for this purpose.

There are in North Cray and Ruxley about forty acres of glebe.

In the steeple of the church there are two bells.

Page 162, line 4. Mr. Hotham was only curate of this parish.

BEXLEY.

PAGE 172. General James Pattison purchased Blendonball of Mr. Scott, and is the present owner of it, and resides in it.

PAGE 176. Mount Pleasant is now inhabited by Francis Dashwood, esq. the owner of it. Beyond which, almost adjoining to Crayford-street, but in this parish, is a handsome sashed house, built not many years since; it belongs to Shovel Blackwood, esq. but is occupied by James Templar, esq.

The house and buildings of the farm called Wantsum, is situated within this parish at the north east boundary of it, next to Crayford, (see p. 265), though part of the lands belonging to it are likewise in that parish and Dartford, it belongs to Shovel Blackwood, esq.

ERITH.

PAGE 227. THE PARISH is in length about four miles, and in breadth two and a half.

PAGE 246. Mr. Wheatley has issue by Margaret his wife five sons and two daughters.

PAGE 255. The following is the account of Lesnes abbey, by Dr. Stukeley, as printed in the Archæologiæ, vol. i. p. 44. It stands on a pleasing prominence, half way down the hill towards the marsh; above is a very large and beautiful wood of oak. The major part of the original house or seat of the founder is now left, being the present farm-house. The buildings of the religious are towards the south, but very little remaining. There were two grand gateways into the first court, one to the west, another to the east, but both long since destroyed.

The building of the mansion-house is according to the style of that time, very good, stone below, timber stud work above; a noble large hall, with a curious roof of chesnut; near the upper end is a very old fashioned stair-case of much timber, but grand; this leads up to the chantry and lodging rooms of the founder, and his successors, the priors. Beyond the hall is a parlour, on the right hand of it the kitchen and offices. South of the dwelling is the church, built of stone, only the north wall is remaining, and that ruinous, but enough to give one a just notion of the whole in its original state. There were cloisters on the south side of the church, the outward wall thereof only now remaining. There seems to have been a vault under the west end of the church: south of the cloisters was the refectory or hall of the canons. The lodgings, kitchen, offices, and I suppose the sub priors apartment, only the outward walls remaining. The whole area of the church cloisters, lodgings, &c. is now a kitchen garden. They told us they had dug up from time to time the foundations of the buildings, with many coffins of stone, corpse and monuments. A tomb stone still remains on the east side by the wall. These were of the canons, who were always buried along the cloisters. Doubtless many fine brasses and monuments of great persons buried in this church are now no more.

Most of the north side of the church is standing. In this abbey the founder died the year after he entered into Religion on July 14, 1179. He was interred on the right side of the altar in the choir.

CRAYFORD.

PAGE 264. The circumference of the parish is about nine miles. There are about four hundred acres of waste on Bexley and Northumberland heaths within it, six hundred acres of marsh, and one hundred and fifty acres of wood, the rest arable, which bears tolerable good crops.

Line 25. For Howbury, read Howbery.

PAGE 265. It is allowed that there is a peculiar excellence in the water here for the bleaching of linen cloth.

PAGE 275. The present Miles Barne, esq. is the son, (not the grandson) of Miles Barne, who married Miss Elwick. Lady Mary Verney Fermanagh has taken a long lease of May-place, and has laid out 7000l. in the enlarging and modernizing of it, the lawns round it are laid out with great taste, and the prospects from it are very beautiful and extensive.

PAGE 277. Mr. Blackwood knows nothing even of the name of Marshal's-court, or place, was I to hazard a conjecture, it would be that the Old-place-house lately pulled down near the bridge was once so called, the scite of which still belongs to Mr. Blackwood.

PAGE 278. I have been misinformed in relation to Mr. Blackwood's having sold Howbery, &c. under an act of parliament, the act wholly related to his estates elsewhere. He bears for his arms, Argent, saltier sable, on a chief gules, three tresroils slipt of the field.

Page 278. Line 9. For Arpylton, read Appylton.

PAGE 281. In Crayford church there are three chancels, the middle one belongs to the rector, the side ones to the owners of Newbery and Howbery manors respectively, who repair them. In the year 1700 the church and chancel, then much ruined and decayed, was repaired at the sole charge of Sir Cloudesley Shovel.

DARTFORD

PAGE 287. THE VALLIES in this parish are more fertile than the uplands, being more inclined to loam; behind Baldwins, and towards Stanhill there is some land, a stiff clay, and part of the priory farm bordering on the marshes is a good mould, but the amount of both is not much.

PAGE 287. Of the marsh land one hundred and forty acres lie on the western, or other side of the creek, next to Crayford, and there are about one hundred acres of meadow on the sides of the river; above the town there are about three hundred acres of wood, five hundred acres of waste on Dartford-heath, and fifty on the Brent.

PAGE 288. The fish at present caught in Dartford creek, are trout, roach, dace, gudgeons, eels, and remarkable fine flounders; the fishery belongs to Sir Charles Morgan, but no notice is taken of its being private property, every one fishing at his pleasure in it.

At the entrance of the town from London is an old seat, which formerly belonged to the family of Faussett, and afterwards to the Bucks, two female coheirs of which name sold it to Mr. John Tasker, of Dartford, the present owner of it, but it is at present occupied as a boarding school for young ladies.

PAGE 293, line 8. For Mentestrum, read Menthestrum.

PAGE 316. Mr. Fielder, at his death in 1782, by his will gave his estate at Stanham to his sister Mrs. Mary Henley, of Dartford, who now owns it.

PAGE 325. The bishops lessee of the parsonage was Basil Francis, esq. lately dead, the lease is now held in trust for his children.

PAGE 326. The vicar is entitled to the tythe of wood, stock, turnips, after pasture, the tythe of Dartford saltmarsh, containing four hundred and forty-four acres, and other usual small tythes.

WILMINGTON

PAGE 330. ON THE SOUTH of the mansion of the Bathurst's, at Barn-end, was situated the house inhabited by the Langworth family, who were benefactors to the poor of this parish, much of the garden wall of these premises is standing; the estate belongs to Mr. Thomas Plummer, late of the Strand, in London.

PAGE 331, line 10. Add, but Richard Leigh, esq. resides in it.

PAGE 338. From the remains of arches in the south wall of the present isle, it is plain there was one southward of it, that extended the whole length of it, the east end is remaining, and is made use of as a vestry room. In the north wall of the chancel, as may be seen in the churchyard. There was antiently a door, which seems to have communicated with stairs leading to a rood lost, of which a beam, which now marks the separation between the nave and the chancel, was probably a part.

In the church-yard, on the south side is a vault, and tomb over it, for the family of Hobbes; another like for the family of Perry, of this parish. On the north side a vault, and monument over it, for Edward Fowke, esq. of Hawley, obt. 1789, and his wife, Esther, daughter of Holland, &c. At a small distance another vault, for the family of Neve, of London. Near the west bounds of the church-yard, a larger vault, over which is raised a monument, similar in its design to that erected in Chelsea church-yard, for Sir Hans Sloane, being a marble urn entwined by a serpent, and a covering over it, the inscription for Sir Edward Hulse, bart. first physician to king George II. obt. 1759, æt. 77, and for his lady, obt. 1741. It was made about 1746, when her remains were brought from Essex, and interred here; several others of the family are deposited here likewise. In the east end of the church-yard are four altar tombs for the family of Langworth, one of whom was a benefactor to this parish, and against the east wall of the chancel is affixed a monument with an urn over it, for one of this family.

SUTTON

PAGE 357, line 11. For Frazer, read Fraser.

DARENT

PAGE 367. There seems to be a vein of chalk which runs across this parish, along the hill from St. Margaret's northward, as far as Blackdale.

There are between eleven and twelve hundred acres of land in this parish, besides the woodland, which is two hundred acres.

PAGE 368. Line 10. Admiral Ward bequeathed his house here to his daughter, Elizabeth, who, soon after she became of age, sold it to Mr. Fowke.

Line 13. This house, with the estate belonging to it, was sold by the assignees in February, 1797, when it was bought by one of them, Mr. Atkinson, a hemp merchant.

There is a hamlet called Gills, in the southern part of this parish, amonst the hills, the prophrty of which, though formerly of some account, is now split into so many parcels, as not to be of any consequence worth mentioning.

PAGE 380. The glebe belonging to the vicarage does not amount to four acres, of which two are contiguous to the ruins of St. Margaret's chapel.

STONE

PAGE 394. Cotton manor, at Mrs. Simpson's death, in 1777, came to Mr. Richard Simpson, who died in 1796, when it came to Baptist Simpson, esq. the present owner of it.

SWANSCOMBE

Page 414. The manor of Combes, alias Alkerdyn, is now usually known by the latter name.

PAGE 415, line 20. The above mentioned manor devolved, on lord Teynham's death, to the other two sisters of Mary Wilhelmina his wife, the surviving daughters and coheirs of Sir Francis Head, soon after which it was sold to Mr. William Levett, of Northfleet, as he did to Mr. Bowham Hayes of this parish, who sold it to Mr John Bayley, who died in 1794, leaving a large family, and they conveyed it by sale, in 1795, to David Powell, esq. the present owner.

Page 416. Ingress, as it is now both called and spelt, was formerly written Ingries. Mr. Calcraft, who was like, wise lord of the manor of Northfleet, agreed to sell Ingress free from all manorial rights over it. These rights he afterwards laid claim to, which Mr. Rorbuck resisted, and on a trial had at the assizes at Maidstone, was confirmed in them.

Page 418. The church has three isles; there are six bells.

SOUTHFLEET

Page 422, line 17. The lands in this parish, approaching near Longfield, are very hilly, and much covered with flint stones.

Page 425, line 11. For Lautana read Lantana.

Line 12. For abortinum read abortinum.

Line 13. For Rheseda read Reseda.

PAGE 435. Joseph Brooke died in 1792; his widow in 1796.

Page 436. There are six bells.

PAGE 439. The present rector, Mr. Rashleigh, has laid out a considerable sum in modernizing and making the parsonage house more commodious, however he may have spoiled the antient venerable form of it.

LONGFIELD

PAGE 441, line 21. For Clenopodium read Clinopodium. Line 22. As to Longfield-downs—there are no open uninclosed downs here now, though there are several fields, inclosed since Gerarde's time, which bear that name.

HARTLEY

PAGE 452. Hartley-bottom is on the eastern side of this parish, not the western.

PAGE 457, line 2. For Walker read Walter.

RIDLEY

PAGE 458. The soil of this parish is various, for though it abounds with chalk, yet there are some stiff clays intermixed likewise with many flints. It is nearly surrounded by the parish of Ash, except on the north east, where it joins to Meopham.

PAGE 461. The church is neat; there has been lately a small pointed turret, built on the west end of the body of the church.

ASH

PAGE 463. The hamlet of Westyoke lies more than a mile to the north-west of the church; that of Hodsoll-street, two miles east of the church, contains the greatest number of its inhabitants.

This parish, in its irregular shape, is much intersected by the parish of Stansted towards the south; it surrounds three sides of that of Ridley to the north east, and bounds to Meopham in two places.

PAGE 472. The church is neat and plain within, and has been new paved and pewed within these six years. There are six bells.

KINGSDOWN

Page 475. This parish is more than four miles long, and two and a half broad; it is much covered with coppice woods, having full seven hundred acres in it; much of the land in this parish is a strong heavy tillage land.

The church is situated in the wood, about a mile westward of the village, and a little to the eastward of Hever.

FARNINGHAM

PAGE 510. This parish is on an average about five miles long, and about a mile and a quarter in width.

There is a handsome house (white and sashed) near the corner of the road, leading to Sutton; it was built some few years ago by Mr. Harris, a surgeon, whose daughter now owns it, but the Rev. Mr. Marmaduke Lewis resides in it.

PAGE 523. Mr. Nash's mausoleum, in Farningham church-yard, was not finished till after his death, by his executors, in 1785; besides Mr. Nash, the remains of his brother, Dr. John Nash of Sevenoke, Mrs. Allen their sister, and the wife of John Allen, her son, are deposited in it.

EYNSFORD

PAGE 527. This parish contains about two thousand five hundred and fifty acres of land, of which the woodland, pasture and meadow are not more than four acres. The soil of it is but thin and poor.

PAGE 535. The church has fix bells.

LULLINGSTONE

PAGE 540. The parish of Lullingstone contains upwards of one thousand acres; of which six hundred and ninety are park, three hundred and seventy arable, twenty woodland, and the rest meadow. Some part of the arable is stiff strong land, the rest of the upland is chalk. There are only three houses in the parish.

Lullingstane contains three hundred and forty acres of arable and nine of wood; there is no house in the parish, the soil is almost the whole chalk. The remains of the chapel were pulled down some few years ago.