THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS-FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1901

XXX.—RIPPLE.

Ripple is a small Vvllage and a parish of 1,200 acres, about a mile from Walmer Station, on the Dover and Deal Railway.

Name and Situation.

In ancient records the name is written Ripply, and the aspect of the land is marked by many gentle undulations suggesting the idea of ripples, but whether the name was derived from that circumstance is a matter of opinion. The country is remarkably open, and with the exception of a clump of trees east of the church and a little plantation on the side next Walmer, there is no woodland. From the slight eminence on which Ripple Church stands, two other churches can be seen, Sutton and Mongeham, neither very far away, and formerly there was one at Little Mongeham, now fallen to decay. The proximity of these four places of worship suggest that there was a larger population on the land hereabouts in Medaeval times than there is now; but another theory is that monks erected these small country churches as works of piety, without regard to the needs of the population.

History of Ripple.

The traditional history of Ripple dates from B.C. 55, when Caesar invaded Britain. At a small distance northward of the Church are still traces of earthworks, which the Romans threw up for protection of one of their posts which formed the link of connection with their main camp on Barham Downs. There is also a place named Dane Pits near the Walmer boundary, where there is an entrenched oblong square enclosing about half an acre. This is supposed to be the remains of an encampment, but whether of Roman times or later, is open to conjecture. Within the past few months Mr. Turner, builder, of Deal, when excavating for flints in Ripple Vale, north of the schools, found human skulls, and more or less perfect skeletons, and some funeral urns in good condition, although most of the dead seem to have been buried without urns. The inference is that the Romans and Britons had a rather sharp engagement in this valley, and the Romans afterwards coming into possession of the battlefield, buried their own dead according to the custom of their nation, and were satisfied with merely covering the British dead with the loose flinty soil, from which, after a lapse of nearly two thousand years, they have been accidentally exhumed. The urns have been sent to the Beany Institute, Canterbury, and the human remains were reburied. In the interval from the going of the Romans to the coming of the Normans, history and tradition are silent respecting Ripple, unless it be concluded that the Dane Pits entrenchment was a relic of the war with the Danes. During the later Saxon times, the Manor of Ripple became part of the possessions of St. Augustine’s Monastery, Canterbury and about the year 1110 the revenue was assigned for the clothing of the monks. In the year 1313, the Abbot of Canterbury, as Lord of the Manor of Ripple, secured from the King’s Justices that regulation of civil liberty, known as the view of frank-pledge, by which the inhabitants over fourteen years of age, outside the rank of clergy, were bound by their pledged oaths, for each other’s good behaviour. Later, In the eighth year of Richard II, a return was made that the land in this parish belonging to the Monastery was 183 acres—of course, Norman acres—arable, and 52 acres pasture, which would be equivalent to about 650 English acres, something more than half the parish. These possessions remained with the Monastery until the 29th year of the reign of Henry VIII, when the Abbot and his brethren leased it to Henry Foche, then in the occupation of Ripple Court. He was brother of the Abbot—the last Abbott of Canterbury, for the Monastery was suppressed in the 30th year of the same reign. Four years later, the Manor of Ripple and other lands in the parish were granted to Archbishop Cranmer, who, however, soon after re-conveyed Ripple Manor back to the Crown, where it remained until the 42nd year of Elizabeth, when it was granted to John Hales, of Tenterden, who alienated it to John Gokin, (from Bekesbourne), who resided at Ripple Court, and his descendants for many generations. Subsequently, they wrote their name Gookin, and Thomas Gookin, of that ilk, who was lord of the Manor in 1621, left a small portion of land, part of the roadside waste than had been allotted to him, for building a poor-house, and one was erected, consisting of two dwellings, at the cost of the parish. Under the Elizabethan Poor Laws this was used as a Workhouse to keep employed those who had no other work to do. Subsequently they were, used as almshouses, and appropriated to such poor as were thought fit objects of the charity, but some fifteen years ago they were burnt down, although the land still remains, and is used for garden allotments. The last of the Gookins was Richard, who sold the Manor to Sir Abraham Jacob, of Dover, members of that family being Mayors of Dover at that period. From the Jacobs’ it passed to the Denews, and by marriage, to the Deedes family who owned it at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. At present, and for many years past it has been in the possession of the honourable Sladen family, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Sladen being the present lord of the Manor. Watling is another Manor in this parish. This was at an early period held as a knight’s fee by the de Sandwich family, after which it came into the possession of the Leybourne’s in the reign of Edward II, and subsequently became the possession of the rich Julianna Leybourne, who, on account of her great possessions, was known as the Infanta of Kent. She married three husbands, and surviving them all and dying in the 42nd year of Edward II, sine prole, (promoted) the estate went, as an escheat, to the Crown. In the reign of Richard II the Manor of Watling was granted to Sir Simon de Burley, Lord Warden, but he being attainted and beheaded in the year 1387, the Manor reverted to the Crown, when Richard II settled it on the Priory and Canon of Chiltern Langley, where it remained until the suppression of religious houses by Henry VIII. Then the Manor, coming into the King's hands was granted to William, Bishop suffragan of Dover, to hold for life or until he should be appointed to a benefice of the yearly value of £100. The Bishop of Dover, having in the 36th year of Henry VIII received a benefice, this Manor of Watling was granted to Sir Thomas Moyle, and by a succession of quick changes it passed to the Kempes’, the Shirleys’, the Crawfords’ and the Rands. Alter their time the estate was not spoken of as a Manor. Mr. Nordash Rand sold it to Capt. Robert Bowler, of Deal, and his daughter, Mary, carried it in marriage to George Lynch M.D., of Canterbury. He died at Ripple, and devised the estate to his brother, the Rev. George Lynch, Vicar of Lympne, who thereupon removed to Ripple, and dying there in 1789, by his will, gave the estate, then called by the name of New Farm, to his two sisters, Alary and Elizabeth. The former married the Rev. John Denne, Curate of Maidstone, and the latter the Rev. John Herring, Rector of Mongeham, and the Hon. Lady Francis Benson resided there during their time, and down to the beginning of the Nineteenth Century.

Ripple Church.

The Church of St. Mary, Ripple, on a slight elevation on the north side of the village, is a very neat and interesting building. It has been rendered more neat and presentable by the restoration which was commenced about the year 1853, and, according to the Incorporated Church Building Society’s notice, completed in 1800, but the interest of the ancient building has not been enhanced by the work then done, because the restorers, for purposes of utility, effected certain alterations which made the church more useful but removed some features of archaeological interest. For instance, there were before the restoration two altar tombs in the chancel, with brasses for the Warren family. Those have now disappeared. The Warrens were an ancient Dover family; members of it were Jurats of the Town and Port for many generations. Thomas Warren was Mayor of Dover in the years 1549, 1550, 1574, and 1575, and he was Member of Parliament for Dover several times. The ancient burial place of this family was in the destroyed Church of St. Peter, which stood at the north corner of the Dover Market-place. This family removed from Dover in the latter end of the reign of Elizabeth, and established themselves at Ripple, where they remained for many generations. Hasted also mentions a south door to the church. He says:- “There is a circular arch over the south door, which is very ancient, and probably belonged to an older building” There is no south door now. The edifice is believed to date from the 14th Century, and to have been built by Solomon de Ripple, a monk, who did much building in this district. The church at present consists of a nave and a chancel, with a west door and porch, over which is a small tower, with two bells, surmounted by a handsome broach spire. There is a north door leading into a small vestry built in the year 1847, and recently the vestry has been laid open to the chancel by the insertion of an arch, under which has been placed an organ. The eastern wall of the chancel is pierced by three semi-circular topped windows, which are filled with very richly stained glass, and in the apex above is a circular piercing, also filled with stained glass. The capitals and the tops of these eastern windows are gilt, and the whole of the surface of the eastern wall is decorated. The chancel all round has modern wainscotting, rendered necessary owing to the damp. The side windows in the chancel are small, circular topped apertures, having plain glass. The chancel arch is lofty and semi-circular, and has a rich triple moulding—dog tooth, castelated and cable on the side facing the nave, and on the inner side plain. The pillars of the arch are flat, having on the outside handsomely carved small engaged circular pillars, and similar embellishments on the chancel side. The eastern wall of the nave each side the chancel arch is recessed, and in these recesses are handsome arches supported by pillars with semi-circular arched tops, moulded like the chancel arch, the whole presenting to the nave a pretty effect. Over the chancel arch on the flat of the apex is a bold sacred monogram. In the south wall of the nave are three stained glass windows. The most interesting feature of the nave is the font, which is old, though apparently not the original baptismal bowl. It bears the inscription “R.P , 1603," and is mounted on a modern freestone pillar. The main entrance is the western door from a porch, in front of which stands an ancient yew tree, which measures 19 feet in circumference. From the highway the approach is by a lytch gate erected in the year 1888. Generally, the church has a very pretty appearance externally; and the interior, looked at from the western door, where the chancel arch, two side arches, and the chancel windows presents a very pleasing and cheering aspect. The pulpit and reading desk are at the top of the nave, have for their background the north and south arched recesses, and the southern windows throw in a flood of rich coloured light.

Churchyard Memorials.

The memorials at Ripple, both within the Church and in the churchyard, are more than ordinarily interesting. There is here a memorial of the grandfather of Major-General French, who has made a gallant record in the present South African war. The French family were for many years resident at Ripple, and General French was born and spent his early days here. In the churchyard east of the Church are several very ancient gravestones, some of which are remarkably legible, and the carved ornamentation at the top, which was in vogue in the early part of the 18th century, is in many cases well preserved. There is a series of stones in a row facing the east end of the Church, probably selected and placed there at the restoration, owing to their being old and well preserved. Beginning from the southern side, the first one has sculptured in the centre a large skull with an hour glass on each side and two smaller skulls. The inscription states that there is interred, "The body of Mr. Edward Warman, late of Great Muugum, who died 1740, in the 75th year of his age.” The next headstone has sculptured on the top, cross keys, representing hope, a circle representing eternity, a skull, of course, a reminder of the common lot, an hour glass to represent the flight of time, and last of all a coffin. The inscription beneath is, “Here lieth the body of Stephen Stanley, who departed this life 6 October, 1731, aged 79 years." This forefather of the village must have been old enough to have heard of and remembered the Restoration of Charles II. The next stone of the series is rather more decayed. It is headed in the centre by a skull, but the other emblems are worn away. The inscription is in memory of John Stanley, of Ripple, who died March 28, 1743, aged 75. Next we come to a larger stone, more ornate but not so well preserved. At the top the centre has a well carved flower vase flanked on either side by cherubs. This is in memory of Mr. Stephen Stringer, late of Ripple Court, who died 20 June, 1780. The next, which is surmounted by two cherubs, is in memory of Ann, the wife of the above, who died 15 February, 1773, aged 37 years. This Stephen Stringer, of Ripple Court, had a second wife, who survived him two years, and whose death is recorded on another stone on which is engraved a cherub in the centre, an hour glass on the right side and a closed book on the left, the inscription being, “Here lieth the body of Elizabeth stringer, widow of Stephen Stringer, late of Ripple Court, who died 15 August, 1782.” Next there is a stone to the memory of Stephen Stringer, the elder, of Ripple Court, who died June 14, 1761, aged 75 years. Next to this is a stone embellished with a cherub blowing a trumpet at a death’s head, prefiguring the resurrection, and the inscription is, “ Here lieth the body of Avery Child, of the parish of Sholden, who died November 11, 1761.” Another stone is to the memory of Elizabeth, wife of Stephen Stanley, of Great Mungum, who “Departed this life Feb. ye 5th, 1744, aged 77 years.” There is also an old altar slab mounted on a brick pillar, but the inscription has suffered from wind and weather. Most of the modern churchyard monuments are on the south and south-west of the Church.

Memorials in the Church.

There are several monuments within the Church. One is an arched recess in the south wall of the nave, in memory of John Baker Maden, born 1780, died 1800. He was Lord of the Manor and Deputy Lieutenant for Kent. On the north side of the nave there is a triangular mural memorial with one circular tablet at the apes and two at the base. The upper one has an inscription to Captain Robert Bowler, R.N., who died 1734. On the second tablet is a memorial of George Lynch, M.D., and others of that family, which was originally of Staple. On the third tablet are several names, including that of the Rev. George Lynch, who died in 1787. There is in the Chancel a tablet in memory of Captain Andrew Rand, who died in 1680. There are three memorials for past rectors; one for the Rev. Edward Lloyd, M.A., a native of Denbighshire, who having been many years Rector of this parish and of Betteshanger, died April 10, 1741. Another for William Standly, Rector, who died 1680. On the south of the chancel is a brass in memory of the Rev. Blaine Mundale, who was Rector of this parish 43 years, and died in 1870. Over the pulpit is a white marble slab in memory of Douglas Edward, second son of William and Emma Foster, of Ripple Dale, who died 1898, aged 30 years. On a stone in the floor at the west door is this inscription, “Here lieth the body of Mrs. Mary Gambier, who died February, 1763, aged 40 years. She lived beloved and died lamented." There is near the font in the floor a stone to the memory of one of the Stanleys, dated 1700.

Ripple as it is.

Ripple is essentially a rural parish, and there is no pleasanter rural walk than through its fields, rippling with varying undulations. From Walmer railway station the road strikes out towards great Mongeham, and then turns up the field to Mr T. T. Denne’s well appointed brickfield which lies on the borderline between Ripple and Great Mongeham parishes, and therefore may be mentioned as one of the Ripple industries. The raw material here for brick-making is of the sort that burns into the good red ones, and, no doubt, was used by the Romans to make the celebrated red tiles which figured so largely in the buildings which they left in this country. Mr. Denne seems to not only have good material, but good appliances. His sheds for protecting from the weather the unburnt bricks, and his kiln for burning them, are quite up to date, and finally the finished article looks well in the houses built hereabouts. Just beyond the brickfield is the level crossing, which finds a constant job and a house for one Rippleite. Near this crossing there is Cold Blow, once the home of the West St. Harriers, and a road that can be followed, but there is a nearer path to the church across the fields called the Church-path, which leaves the ancient Roman earthworks to the right while in front the church spire is seen just above the clump of trees, and the Rectory on the north stands in a pretty lawn that joins up to the churchyard. The present Rector is the Rev. Henry Leslie Beardmore, M.A., who has been here between four and five years, and is beloved by the people. The former Rector was the Rev. Henry E. Bernard. Beyond the church the road leads south to the village, where there is a street fairly lined with dwellings. We pass the potato ground, the remains of the bequest of Thomas Gookin, and the former site of the parish workhouse. The Plough Inn, kept by Mr. Henry Jenkins, and the Post Office, may be deemed to be the modern centre of Ripple. Just below the Plough turning there is the Ripple Nonconformist Mission Chapel, a small building, of which Mrs. Roope laid the memorial stone in the year 1874. A little farther, just in the southwestern margin of the parish, is Ripple and Sutton Joint Board School. This was established in the year 1871, soon after the passing of the Education Act, and has been carried on very successfully by the representatives of the united parishes. The School Board consists of Mr. W. Foster, of Ripple Vale, chairman; the Rev. H. L. Beardmore, Ripple; the Rev. A. R. Edgington, Sutton; Mr. Stephen May, Sutton; and Mr. George C. Hogbin, Ripple. The School Mistress is Miss Annie Cavell, who for the last 17 yeas has managed the school with marked success; to the entire satisfaction of the Board. There is accommodation for sixty children, and the attendance is very good. We had the opportunity of looking at the children, and were struck by their clean, healthy-appearance and their marked good behaviour. In a brief casual visit it was of course impossible to form an adequate estimation of the work done, but judging from the methods adopted there ought to be good results. Every child’s place is supplied with a neat wallet, where each pupil’s books, &c., are kept, and around the room are cabinets stored, with the common articles, the properties and use of which in every day life it is all important for a child to know. A very large proportion of these articles are kindly supplied in cabinets neatly labelled by Messrs J. and J. Colman, of Norwich, gratis, for the use of the school, and others are collected by the children. Illustrated sheets of common English birds, insects, and flowers form admirable subjects for little lectures which convey information in a pleasant way. The school is mixed both as to sex and ages, there being now a very efficient upper class, the children usually being sufficiently advanced in the standards to leave at the age of 13 years. The Clerk of the School Board, who takes a great interest in the school, is Mr. F. S. Cloke, of Sandwich, Clerk to the Eastry Union. Our perambulation in this direction must terminate with a note to the effect that in the bottom just north of the school is the field where the flint digging excavations are in progress where the Roman remains were found, mentioned in the early part of this article. We learned that no more skeletons had been discovered, but there appears to have been a yield of flints which must have made the industry a fairly profitable one. It may be mentioned that some years ago there was a National School built in Ripple Parish for 200 children, at a cost of £500, provided by local subscriptions and grants, but that, although in this parish, was for the children of Walmer and Ringwould, and on other accommodation being provided for those children, the school was transformed into dwelling houses.

Population and Location.

The population of Ripple is on the increase, and although the augmentation has been small in the past, it may be expected that it will be greater in the future, for the time is coming when in the enterprising builder’s parlance the land will be ripe for building purposes. A century ago the population was 122, in 1831 the number was 209. In the next ten years there was a falling off, the census of 1841 returning 34 dwelling-houses and 189 persons. In 1891 the number was 294, and the number is now over 300. The last revision of voters gave a return of 50 households, exclusive of any householders who may be non-voters. Only three residents are on the list as owners, namely, Rev. H. L. Beardmore (freehold benefice), Mr. William Foster, freehold land, Ripple Vale, and Lieutenant-Colonel J. Sladen, freehold land, Ripple Court. Mr. Charles Churchill is on the list for Ripple House Farm, but his residence is at Weybridge, Surrey. The following are the locations of the dwellings in Ripple: Walmer Hill, School Cottages, the Row (a terrace of ten cottages near the centre of the village), Ripple Cross, Ripple House Cottages, Railway Crossing, Winkland Oaks Cottages, Ripple Vale Cottages, Ripple Farm Cottages, Sea View Cottages. Ripple Court Cottages. There are isolated houses and odd addresses, such as these: near the Chapel, near the Row, Mill Cottage, the Homestead, Dairy Cottage, Cold Blow, Mill House, and Garlinge Cottage. In passing through the village we did not notice a house to let. Only a few of the houses are new. Most of them seem to have weathered at least half a century, and a few are much older. Taking the whole village, the housing of the people problem seems to have been satisfactorily solved.