THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1901

XI. RINGWOULD.

WITH OXNEY AND KINGSDOWN.

Ringwould is a pleasant place, and has very charming surroundings, whether approached through the sylvan scenery of Oxney woods or over the breezy downs from Walmer. Ringwould probably takes its name from the ring of ancient trees that crown the highland near the church, and under which the ancient dwellings of Ringwould street nestle.

Oxney Bottom.

On the Dover side of the village the main Deal road leads up from Oxney Bottom, a lane depression which runs Dover-wards as far south as Martin vale. Oxney, which may be noted in passing as the smallest parish in the Dover Union, consists of but 313 acres, being the property of the Banks family, who have held it for many years. In the year 1801 this little parish contained but 11 inhabitants, and in 1831 the number had dwindled to 7. In 1841 however, when W. J. Banks, Esq., was the owner of Oxney Court and estate, there were returned 4 houses and 30 inhabitants, and then number from time to time varies in accordance with the number of the Banks family that happen to be in residence. The ruins of the ancient church of St. Nicholas still stand near the Court, and although long disused for worship, a few months ago the remains of W. J Banks, Esq., were interred there. During the last fifty years a great deal has been done to beautify and make this place desirable as a residence; the lodge on the roadside is very pretty, while the well-wooded domain around the mansion, through which the Deal road passes, is delightfully shady and pleasant on the hottest day. The trees on either side run up straight and tall, the ancient Scotch firs looking well in their ivy wreaths, while a restful “alone with nature” feeling is inspired by the sportive gambles of the conies in the undergrowth and the coo-coo of the wood pigeons in the tree tops.

On the Fringes of the Village.

Emerging from this enchanting piece of the road, we come upon a reminder that, purely rural as the spot is, it is only a measurable distance from town life, the mile stone registering “Deal 4 miles, Dover 5 miles." Making pace towards the former, the rising road, still belted with plantations, brings us to the out skirts of the village of Ringwould, where pretty cottages, two detached and two paired, flank the road. To the west the land has been deeply excavated in times past, right up to the road extensive chalk digging having taken place for road-making purposes, after which the quarry has been used for the site of a row of cottages the sheer chalk in the rear having been pierced with caves for domestic use. The day of those cottages has gone, the land has been cleared and the caves in the white-faced cliff remain to suggest questions to the curious passer-by. Right opposite these caves is an extensive garden, in which there are some dozen bee boxes, from which the industrious honey gathering community are busy coming and going between the hives and the adjacent field of flowered clover, which seems to afford to them loads of honey. From a pleasant-spoken little girl we learned that the bees belong to Mr. Gardner, the shoemaker, and we also gathered from an older head that the now departed cottages and caves in the chalk quarry had also belonged to the Gardners, who appear to have been a well-to-do family in Ringwould when Charles I. was King, and have continued in the place ever since, a member of the family being now sexton of the parish.

Ringwould Centre.

Another little stretch of leafy hedges, and we are in the heart of the village, where on the side of the road next the church is the “Five Bells.” while the side next the sea is appropriately occupied by the “Lord Nelson." These places of entertainment for man and beast, supported partly by villagers and largely by horse, foot, and cycle visitors, seen to thrive. Just beyond them is the village green, bounded on the land side by the road and the village carpenter’s workshops. In the future, when Ringwould develops into a suburban place, which as a limb of the Cinque Port of Dover it probably will do when some enterprising builder discovers its advantages as a salubrious spot with a sea view, this village green will be the market place. Te avoid raising unwarrantable expectations however, it should be said that the day of Riugwould’s development is not yet at hand, for the population is but ten more than it was sixty years ago. There are houses on the roadside and houses round the green, but the cluster of houses known as Ringwould Street margins a road that branches at right angles to the landward from the “Five Bells.” These dwellings are not in regular ranks, but stand in open order, some close to the road, some back in gardens, and some sideways, altogether ignoring the straight-laced regularity which the modern builder introduces. By the side of the village smithy a pretty path from the street leads up to the churchyard.

Ringwoulders of the Past.

We never like to leave a village without paying a respectful visit to the

“Long low graves

Where some have stones set over them

And some the green grass waves.”

Ringwould has an unusually largo number of memorial stones set up in its burial place. One of the oldest decipherable is in memory of Thomas and Jane Gardner, who were born in the reign of Charles I. and died in the reign of William and Mary. There are other stones to the memory of members of the same family, of which the present parish sexton, as before mentioned, is a descendant. Although there are many inscriptions in the graveyard, there are few scraps of original poetry on the stones, but here is one copied from a stone erected to the memory of Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Saffery, of Folkestone, and daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Adkins, of Ringwould, who died in the year 1707:-

"While you were on the raging main

The Lord did think it best

I should not longer here remain,

So took me to His rest;

Therefore grieve not, my husband dear,

While you do her remain;

I trust in God we both shall meet

In heaven once again."

There is near to the west door of the church a handsome monument to the memory of the Rev. M. E. Benson, fifteen years rector of Ringwould, who died March 27th, 1881. Near this is a stone in memory of William Sole, who had held the office of Parish Clerk of Ringwould forty-two years, who died January 15th, 1870, at the age of 82. Space does not permit of a larger selection from the inscriptions in the churchyard, but a few memorials inside the church are worthy of notice. On a slab on the floor of the belfry is an inscription to the memory of Thomas Laming, fifty-five years bell-ringer, add twenty-one years captain of the belfry, who died 1897, aged 75 years. Inserted in the wall at the west end of the church are some ancient brasses, formerly in the floor of the church, but owing to being much worn, were placed here for better preservation. One is to John Upton, 1530. There is a small figure to William Abere, and to Alys and Ann, his two wives, 1500, with two figures and a group of children. In the floor of the nave is a slab in memory of members of the Jeken family, of Oxney, being dated 1715 and 1720. In the chancel are several tablets in memory of members of the Monins family, including one to the memory of the late Rev. John Monins, patron and rector of Ringwould for forty-two years, who died 1853, aged 68 years. There is also a memorial to the Rev. Richard Eaton Monins, the father of the present Lord of the Manor, J. H. Monins, Esq., J.P., and there is in the north aisle a beautiful stained glass window in memory of Mrs. Richard Eaton Monins. On the south wall is a tablet to the memory of the Rev. George Gibbs, for many years rector of Ringwould, who died 2nd March, 1802. In the east end of the north aisle is a stained glass window in memory of the Blogg family, formerly of Oxney Court. There is also in the chancel a mural tablet to the Rev. Richard Dowling, rector, who died in 1679.

Ringwould Church.

The history of the Church is not clearly defined. It was probably built about the time of the Conquest. There is, in the west end of the churchyard, an old yew tree, which experts believe to be eleven centuries old. The material of the Church is flint and stone, and the style early English and perpendicular. The tower, which is built of flints and red bricks, is probably of much later time. It bears a date in figures of iron 1628. In the tower are five bells, from which, evidently, the neighbouring inn took its name. These bells, being very much worn where the hammers struck, were recast on the occasion of the late Queen Victoria's Jubilee, in 1887. The tenor bell, which weighed 5cwt. 3qrs. 71bs., bore the inscription “Ecclesiae dedit Fransiscus Dering, 1638.’’ Bell IV., which weighed 4cwts. 2qrs. 10lbs., was incribed “I.W., 1638.” Bell III., which weighed 4cwts. 1qr. 17lbs., was inscribed “Johannes est Nomen eius.” Bells Nos. II. and I. weighed 3cwts. 2qrs. 17lbs. and 3cwts. 28lbs. respectively, but had no inscriptions. These bells were re-cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London, 1887, by the direction of the Rev. Canon Nisbet, and Messrs. J. H. Moore and H. Maxted, churchwardens. In the chancel of this church, on the south side, are two unequal sedilia, the north aisle, which is more modern than the nave, is divided from the latter by three arches springing from octagonal piers. There was formerly a west gallery which has been removed. The south porch is also evidently an addition. On the wall by the inner door is part of an ancient sundial. The Church Register dates from 1575. The interior of the Church is now very beautifully kept and so is the churchyard, the only want seeming to be a larger vestry, the present one being exceedingly small. This church has the advantage of an efficient company of bell ringers, who take great pride in the manipulation of the bells. The rectory is in a charming situation, east of the Church facing the Downs and the Goodwin Sands, the present rector being the Rev. M. C. Baynes, M.A. The patron is J. H. Monins, Esq.

The Ancient Yew Trees.

We mentioned one ancient yew tree which stands at the north west end of the Church. There was formerly another, evidently its fellow tree, which had to be cut down some years ago, it being too near the Church. It was when that was felled that an expert was consulted as to the age of the trees, and he was of opinion that the pair had flourished eleven hundred years. There are other yew trees within the sacred ground but not so old. It is presumed that these and other yew trees were planted at a time when yew was used for making bows that were employed as weapons of national defence, and when the village green was the practising ground of the archers, who, in this dependency of the Cinque Ports, were organised to defend the coast or to garrison Dover Castle.

Kingsdown—Ancient and Modern.

Before leaving this interesting parish we must step across the Downs to the hamlet of Kingsdown, which, although originally a part of Ringwould parish, has now its own church, and other institutions which constitute it an independent community. This fishing hamlet lies about a mile from Ringwould, and probably was a place of some importance even before Ringwould became a village. The Romans are supposed to have occupied it, and during the many centuries when these narrow seas were the seas of maritime warfare, the men of Kingsdown, no doubt, did more lively work than catch and cure Kingsdown herrings. The boatmen of this place have long had a capstan to draw up their small crafts on the beach, and at the present time Kingsdown is a station of the National Lifeboat Institution, and a rendezvous of the coast guards. In the year 1850 it was formed into a separate ecclesiastical district, and the church of St. John the Evangelist was built by the late Mr. William Curling at a cost of £4,500. Prior to that, the same benefactor had built a school there, and Mrs. Curling herself occasionally attended to instruct the children. Another benefactor, Mrs. Clark, in memory of her husband, Mr. T. S. Clark, in 1873 opened a Reading Room there for the use of the villagers.

Houses and Land.

The parish of Ringwould together with Kingsdown, consists of 1604 acres of land, 192 houses, and a total of 239 holdings. The principal landowners are F. Seath, the BroadIeys, J. H. Monins, Major Banks, Thompson and Son, Carter’s Exors, Prescott’s Heirs, Sir Robert Reid, and the Youngs. The rateable value is £2,771. The most valuable agricultural land is in Ringwould, but the houses are divided, 108 at Kingsdown and 84 at Ringwould.