THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1901

XX. WOOTTON

Wootton is a small village on the western border of the Dover Union, about seven miles from Dover, and nine from Canterbury. It is romantically situated on hilly ground, with a wide sweep of beautiful country northwards, interspersed with mansions and-well wooded parks; westward lies the open, elevated table land of Swingfield Minnis, which leads away to splendid views of sea and land towards Folkestone, and to the south undulated lands lead up to the ridges that join Ewell Minnis, and overlook the Alkham Valley. There are three main ways of approach to the village of Wootton; up the London road from Dover about six miles, and turning west opposite West Court, a cross road of about a mile leads to the village. From Folkestone the road comes over Swingfield Minnis, and from the Canterbury main road through Broome Park.

Village Characteristics.

This village has always been small, and although it manifests little growth it shows no sign of decay. In the year 1801 the population was 107; in 1831 it had grown to 128, and in 1841 the number was 157, dwelling in 20 houses. Now the population is 181. The area of the parish, too, is small—not quite 1000 acres. After leaving the level land that margins the London road, there is a dip into a pretty amphitheatre-like hollow, and then a sharp rise leads up to the village, where the most conspicuous object is the roadside church which looks very charming in its mantle of ivy, and its setting of yew and chestnut trees. Another principal feature is Wootton Park and the mansion called Wootton Court. The mansion as it now stands is barely half a century old, and looks much newer—too new to harmonise with the surroundings, but parts were built in the reign of King John. The road through the village is very pretty, and there are curious nooks and peculiar trees that will reward visitors on the lookout for photographic bits. There is here also a Nonconformist Place of Worship recently erected. The village has no school, but a little to the west, at Selstead, is a handsome school and schoolhouse for the parishes of Wootton, Denton, and Swingfield, built in 1871. The village has its inn, the “Endeavour,” and a, Post Office with telegraph wire attached. The principal houses are Wootton Court and the Rectory. The farms are Hill-house, Pickleden, Stepstile, Wootton Street, &c., and there is a blacksmith’s forge and a carpenter’s shop as auxiliaries to agriculture, which is the main local industry.

Wootton History.

The old-world aspect of Wootton suggests a rich fund of history, from which we will proceed to draw. Anciently there was in this parish, in addition to the Manor of Wootton, the borough of Gedding, and it is recorded that in the year A.D. 800 Cenulf, the King of Mercia, with his wife Cengitha, gave to Archbishop Athelard and the Church of Christ, at Canterbury, Geddinge and Wodetone, consisting of four ploughlands, free from all encumbrances and services excepting the charges for repelling invasion and the repair of bridges and castles, and in confirmation of this gift the King placed a turf from the parish of Wootton on the altar, and the King further, on account of his ignorance of letters, made upon the same the sign of the holy cross. About 270 years later, in the time of Lanfranc, the Manor of Woditon, as it was then called, was allotted to the Archbishop, from whom it was held by knight’s service in the reign of King John by John de Gestlinge. About the middle of the next reign, of Henry III., the Manor was held by a family that took their name from the soil, the owner then being Ivo de Woditon, and it is supposed that he or his immediate descendants rebuilt Wootton Court, which was originally built by John de Gestlinge. In the subsequent reigns of Edwards II. and III., John de Ore and Richard de Woditon held the Manor jointly. The family of Woditon, afterwards spelled Wootton, continued to hold their portion of the lands till the year 1460, and from that time the family of Harfield were the lords of the manor until 1547, when Leonard Diggs came into possession and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Diggs, both of whom were noted mathematicians. This Thomas Diggs was also a civil engineer, and in the early part of his life had been engaged in reclaiming land from the sea in the Netherlands, but, coming to succeed his father in the estates at Wootton his attention was called to Dover Harbour, which two engineers, John True and Ferdinand Porns, had successively been engaged upon, but had failed to give satisfaction. He wrote a memorial to Queen Elizabeth on the great advantage it would be to the nation to have a good harbour at Dover, and accompanied his memorial with plans, in which he sketched a deep water harbour which would have been about twice the size of the present new Commercial Harbour. One of the arguments which Diggs advanced in favour of his scheme was that it would reclaim a large quantity of land on the sea front, which would yield a large revenue in ground rents to aid in the harbour maintenance. His plan, which was greatly curtailed, resulted in the formation of the Pent and the outer harbour, and fully realized his idea as to grand results which for a long time have been a valuable source of revenue. Thomas Diggs, of Wootton was engaged 20 years on the Dover Harbour Works, and during that period he made a good serviceable harbour at a cost of £7,000. This Thomas Diggs was the father of Sir Dudley Diggs, of Chatham Castle, who was a prominent politician and Member of Parliament immediately prior to the Commonwealth. The manor passed next to Thomas Arundel, who soon after sold it to Richard Vincent. Edward Gage, from Sussex, became the owner in 1589, and in 1606 it was sold to John Coppen, of Bekesbourne, and it passed to his son John, who married the daughter of Thomas Gibbon (the author). The only son of the last-mentioned John Coppin dying without male issue, the property was carried by marriage to the Brydges family, who possessed it until recent years. The Rev. Tymewell Brydges, who owned the estate and was Rector in 1785, re-built the mansion of Wootton Court, and laid out the grounds as a park. The present owner is Mr. G. J. Murray, J.P., and he formerly resided here, but the court is now let to Mr. H. G. Underhill, and is used as a high-class gentlemen’s school. Geddings and Wickham Bushes are also ancient manors in this parish. The former was given to Christ Church, Canterbury, in the year A.D, 800, and remained church property till the time of Henry VIII. Wickham Bushes was the property of an ancient family named Gyldford, and its successive owners were Champnies, Diggs, Coppin, Brome, Hammond, Rogers and Ackerman. Geddings is now divided amongst several owners.

The Church and its History.

The ancient church, itself a memorial, and the graveyard round it crowded with memories of the past, suggest a rich vein of Wootton history. The edifice consists of a nave and a chancel, with a tower at the west end, now charmingly mantled with ivy. The whole church is built with flints, with stone dressing. The age of the building is entirely a matter of conjecture. The present structure is in the early English style, and no doubt dates from the time that was in vogue, but seeing that these lands were given to the church as long ago as A.D. 800, it may be presumed that some sort of Church existed here at a very early period of the Saxon era. The church was always appendant to the manor until the year 1630, when John Coppin, at his death, then occurring, devised the advowson to his eldest son, the Rev. Thomas Coppin, and the manor to his youngest son John. By the death of the former, the amity of possession was restored, and the living is still in the gift of the owner of Wootton Court estates. The building looks as though the hand of time had dealt gently with it, and that the hand of the restorer had not been often engaged upon it. In the Eighteenth Century, however, it was in need of repair, and funds appear to have been scarce, for to raise the necessary means two of the three bells which formerly hung in the tower were sold, and only one now remains. In the south-east part of the nave is a plain ponted piscina, and another in the chancel, and there are stone seats in the chancel wall. The poor box bears date 1662, and the register from 1546. The Church is now in a good condition, having been repaired by public subscription in 1878-9, and the chancel was restored in 1881, when five stained glass eastern windows were inserted, and a richly carved alabaster reredos erected. The Church has 200 sittings, and the whole interior is kept in a manner which tells of the loving care of its present Rector, the Rev. W. P. Grey Field, M.A. The circumjacent graveyard, with its great array of tombstones, is neatly kept by the Parish Clerk, Mr. Austen Deal. On the interior walls are several memorials. One pathetically interesting records the characteristics of two brothers of the Brydges family, who both died in the year 1780, the one aged 69 and the other 68. The inscription on the marble slab, which is on the north wall, runs thus:

“Near this place lies interred ye body of John Bridges, Esq who died April 22, 1780, aged 69. Also the body of Edward Brides, F.A.C., who died November 19, 17S0, aged 68. These two brothers, after having received a liberal education, chose a life of retirement, which they passed together, being united by strong affection and by a common benevolence of heart which mutually inspired them to daily promote the well-being of all around them. The infinite sorrow which the inhabitants of this village and extensive neighbourhood discovered at their death speaks at once to the heart of their uncommon virtues and renders the pomp of epitaph useless.”

These two brothers were the joint owners of the manor of Wootton, and resided together at Wootton Court. John died a bachelor, but Edward left a widow, Jemima, daughter of Dr. William Egerton, Prebendary of Canterbury. She lived at Wootton 29 years after the death of the brothers, dying at the age of 81 years. On another marble slab is the following:—

“In the adjoining family vault are deposited the remains of John William Egerton Bridges, K.T., Lord of the Manor of Wootton, patron of the Refectory, Major in the British and Colonel in the Portuguese service, late M.P. for Armagh, born 5th June, 1764, died 4th September, 1837."

On the north wall, near the door, is a tablet containing a list of all the Rectors of Wootton from the year 1311 till 1893, the number of names being 40, commencing with Will de Ofiington, who is buried in the Church, and ending with the Rev. Henry Arthur Thorne. One notable Rector in the list is the Rev. Edward Coppin, who was ejected under the Bartholomew Act, and retired to Bekesbourne, where he died in 1689, and was buried in this church. There is in the floor of the aisle, near the chancel, a grey slab, on which is engraved in letters still very clear :—

"Here lieth the body of Edward Coppin, or Bekesbourne, formerly Minister of this Parish, who departed this life 30th July, 1689, aged 67 years."

We were much struck by the array of well-preserved memorial stones in the churchyard, many of the eighteenth century, which form a collection of records such as few parish graveyards afford.

The Land and the People.

We have traced briefly the history of Wootton lands and people. At the present time the ownership of the 1,019 acres is divided between some ten persons, the principal ones being G. J. Murray, Esq. (who purchased the manor from the Bridges family in 1867), the Willats Trustees, Sir Percy Oxenden, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The total rateable holdings is 59, and there appear to be 27 dwelling houses separately rated. The gross rental of the parish is £1,190. and the rateable value £1,007 15s. 6d.