Another farm at Sutton, which is said to have been anciently accounted a manor, is Winkleton, or Winkeland Oaks, the residence of which is situated in a little valley off the main road, towards the south, between Sutton and Ringwould. The early history of this, like all the other lands in this parish, is bound up with the Convent of St. Augustine, and associated with the manor of Northbourne, to which it was always subsidiary. In the time of Edward I. it was held by Henry de Cobham, whose son Reginald was some time Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle. From him the estate passed to a family named Stroud, of whose antecedents and subsequent history we have found no record. They relinquished the property above the year 1350, and it then passed to the family of Keriel (otherwise Criol) and Sir Thomas Keriel was the owner of it when he was slain in the battle of St. Albans, in the year 1460. The property was then carried in marriage, by his youngest daughter Alice, to Sir John Fogge, of Repton, but their son Sir Thomas Fogge, who held an appointment as sergeant-porter of the Port of Calais, sold his interest to one named Whitlock, and he soon after, alienated it to Richard Maycott, who, dying in the year 1540, one of his descendants sold it to a Dover family named Stokes, and John Stokes of that ilk sold it about the year 1630 to Edward Merriweather, of Shepherdswell, who seems to have held it till about the year 1672, when it passed to the Churchills, of Henbury, Dorset, and in the year 1785, Awnsham Churchill sold it, by the name of Sutton Farm, alias, Wenkleton, to Mr. William Baldock, of Canterbury, and he, a year later, sold it to Mr. Joseph Marsh and it remained it that family many years, Joseph Marsh, of the second generation dying there in the year 1834, and was buried in a vault under the chancel of Sutton church. From the Marsh family Winkleton passed by sale, to Messrs Matthews’ Brewery of Walmer. There is also, Upper Farm, adjoining the lands of Sutton Court. This no doubt, in early times, was a part of Sutton Court Manor. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, however, it was a separate estate, held by a family named Foche, or Foach. It continued in that family many years and then passed to Willim Verrier, of Sandwich, who died possessed of it in the year 1710, his possessions in Sutton parish being described as “his mansion, houses and land.” The mansion was not at Upper Farm, but the stone house that formerly stood on the east side of Sutton Street. These properties were carried by marriage to Thomas Alkin, of Canterbury, and his daughter, about the year 1799, sold Upper Farm to Mr. William Marsh, of Walmer, who held it for many years. Out of this farm Mr. Thomas Foach gave by will an annuity of forty shillings to the church and the poor of it, part for beautifying the church and part to be given by the minister, church warden and overseer, to the poor in bread. It will be seen from the foregoing that in the olden times there were but three farms at Sutton, Manor Court, Winkleton and the Upper Farm, but there have been for some years past the further holdings of Alehouse Farm, Church-house Farm and Forge Farm.

Sutton of To-day.

To see Sutton as it is, and to duly appreciate its surroundings, a pedestrian could not do better than alight at Martin Mill Station and walk from thence to Walmer Station The road, after getting clear of the hamlet of Martin, is very pleasant over the fields, where, from the southern slope of the valley, the prospect is beautiful, the whole vale spreading out like a map. Descending into a pleasant hollow we come to Winkleton, also now known as Winkleland Oaks, in Sutton, a very compact and pleasant farm residence, with extensive walled in grounds, originally a garden, but now in part, nicely laid out for lawn tennis, the present occupier being Mr. Cassell, who has done his country good service in the present South African war with the East Kent Yeomanry. Just north of the garden wall at Winkleland, there is a piece of permanent pasture which is very uneven on the surface, there being the appearance of a series of entrenchments which local tradition attributes to its having been the scene of a battle between the Romans and the Britons, when the former landed at Deal. That these earth works had something to do with warfare seems very probable, but we should attribute them to a conflict between Danes and Saxons. The Britons, as far as history show's, never made a stand so near the sea as this, but as the Danes in their incursions often landed in this vicinity, it is quite possible that these earth works were used as defences to check their progress inland, leaving these old mould-marks of ancient strife, which might yield up some buried secrets to a patient excavator. Crossing the next ridge we strike the highway just above Sutton village. The cottages we come to first are on a site formerly occupied by a malt-house belonging to Sutton Court. Here also is a shop—the shop, in fact, for Sutton has but one, kept by Mr. File, grocer, while on the other side is a building belonging to a Dover gentleman, that was for a time used as a Salvation Army Barracks, but the station has been vacated. While on that point it may be mentioned that the Nonconformist churches have no place of meeting in this village. The Wesleyans for several years held services in a room at Sutton Court, but for a long time they have been discontinued. A little further, just at the centre of the village, on the southern side is The Yew's, a residence long occupied by the Misses Marsh, daughters of Mr. Joseph Marsh the former owner of Winkeland; but, a few years ago, this property changed hands and is now furnished with extensive glass houses and a considerable business is carried on in the growth of tomatoes for market—the only industry Sutton fosters, with the exception of agriculture. The centre of Sutton—like that of many other East Kent villages—is a pond—a very useful pond—and from that the road leads up to the church, which presents its eastern apsidal end to the road. To the north east is Church house and the Boot Inn—the latter, with its characteristic Dutch gable, stands immediately opposite the church gate. Church House is situated on the top of Sutton Hill about 100 feet above the level of the sea. It is owned by B. M. Wilson, Esq., who bought it in Sept. 1901. Originally a farm house it has been completely renovated and is now a well appointed country gentleman’s residence, having a fine lawn and tennis court in front and at the back are stables, a garden and small enclosed paddock, forming a pleasant residence situated in one of the healthiest villages in Kent. On the north west is Sutton Court, the grounds and farm buildings of which form the north western boundary of the church yard. Upper Farm lies further in the same direction. There are several colleges near the church, including Glebe College, which still belongs to the benefice, and others further along the highway towards Ripple, while there is a detached portion of the parish called Little Sutton, between Ripple and Ringwould. Lord Northbourn is the lord of the manor.

History of Sutton Church.

The church at Sutton, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is a small, but evidently an ancient structure, although possibly only small portions of the original work remain. It is built of flint and stone, and consists of an apsidal chancel, nave, north porch, a vestry, where was formerly a south door and a western bell turret. Generally, the church appears to be Norman work, and no doubt it was originally built early in the Norman period. The register dates from 1538, the year in which church registers were first ordered to be kept. The living was anciently deemed to be a perpetual curacy, but is now a rectory attached to Little Mongeham where the rectory house was built some years ago, but no church there. Sutton Church was much damaged by an earthquake on April 6, 1680.

The present rector is the the Rev. Arthur Robert Edington M.A. The Patronage of this living was one of the ancient possessions of the crown, but in the time of Henry III. was presented to the college at Maidstone. When the collegiate church at Maidstone was dissolved, in 1547, the patronage of Sutton Church reverted to the crown, but in the year 1561 the advowson was vested on the Archbishop of Canterbury with whom it still remains. The living was a very poor one, but was augmented by Archbishop Juxon in the year 1673 to the extent of £20 a year and was further augmented by Queen Anne’s bounty. The tithe of Sutton was formerly entirely, and is now largely appropriated to the see of Canterbury. Formerly, the rector of Little Mongeham was only the perpetual curate of Sutton, but recently the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have given back a portion of the Great Tithe to the living, the Incumbent giving up the grant which used to be made to him by the Commissioners so that he is now rector of the united parishes. At the present time the church, externally and internally, is in good condition, having been restored in the year 1861. The nave is seated with low pews down to the door and below that with open seats. At the west end there is a small gallery. The font is modem, and the lighting of the nave is by a series of narrow windows, except the two, one on each side, near the channel arch, which have two lights, divided by sculptured mullions. The chancel is long and narrow and has two semicircular arches, one dividing it from the nave and the other at the commencement of the apse, both being enriched with mouldings of ancient Norman workmanship. The apse has three Norman windows, which were restored in 1861, and below the windows is a semicircular arcade of seven arched recesses, in four of which are written the Lord's prayer, Commandments and Creed; in the centre one is a cross and the two outside ones are used as sedilia, there being no space for chairs within the Communion rail, but outside there are two handsome choirs embellished with antique carving. The pulpit is Jacobean, of oak handsomely carved. The chancel windows are filled with stained glass, the narrow lights on each side in the choir having cartoons of St. Peter and St. Paul, the patron saints of the church. All the other windows are filled with diamond pane glass, with a touch of colour and geometrical ornamentation. The most interesting bit of ancient work in this church is in the semicircular arch of the north door, the imposts, capitals and the several circuits of the arches being embellished by lozenge and pellet mouldings and the flat space under the arch is filled with diaper work. Opposite the north door there is a similar arch, but plain, which leads into the vestry, but this was formerly the south door, and the vestry was at the west end. There are a few interesting mural memorials to be noted. On the north wall of the nave is a white marble tablet on which is inscribed a memorial for Mary, the wife of Joseph Garside of this parish, who died 6 May, 1817, aged 43 years. Opposite on the south wall of the nave is a tablet to the memory of the Rev. Thomas Pennington D.D. rector of Tunstall in this county, one of the six preachers of the cathedral church at Canterbury and formerly perpetual curate of this parish. He died 26 Nov. 1802, age 75 and his remains are interred here. In the chancel there is a brass to the memory of the Rev. William Maundy Harvey M.A. incumbent of this parish and rector of Little Mongeham during 33 years, by whom this chancel was rebuilt in the year 1861. He died, 4 March, 1868, aged 62 years. On the north of the chancel are two mural tablets, one in memory of Mr. Joseph Marsh, of Winkeford, who died the 23 June, 1834, aged 83 years, and Mary his wife, who died in January, 1837, aged 87 years. The other tablet is in memory of Mary, wife of William Garside, who died Oct. 1803, aged 28 years; of Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Walker, who died Aug. 1802, aged 26, and of Sarah Marsh (spinster), who died 21 May, 1862, aged 72 years. Another tablet is in memory of John, son of John Marsh, who died in 1841, at the age of 4 years; also in memory of John Marsh, yeoman, father of the above, who died in 1848, aged 62 years, also of his widow who died in 1888, aged 92 years.

A Church that was.

A word as to Little Mongeham church which is no longer standing. It was mentioned in Domesday book, and Hasted states that its foundations are still remaining in a little pasture-close, near the farm house of Little Mongeham Manor. It seems to have ceased to exist as a parish church in 1538 when the Sutton Parish Register was commenced, as from the beginning of that record it contained the entries of births, marriages and deaths for the both parishes; but little Mongeham has a church yard near the site of its ancient church which is occasionally used.

Population and Institutions.

The parishes of Sutton and Little Mongeham are only united for ecclesiastical purposes. Each has its separate overseers, guardian and Parish Council. The united parishes are nearly equal in extent and population and together have an area of 2,200 acres and a population of 221, the equal division between males and females being remarkable—110 males and 111 females. In the registrar of voters issued in January and corrected to last October there are 21 registered householders at Sutton and 22 at Little Mongeham, two of which in Sutton being newcomers, one from Northbourne and one from Napchester. There are also two new comers in Little Mongeham, one from Kingsdown and one from Coldred. During the last century Sutton does not seem to have grown at all. In 1800 it had 22 houses, but Little Mongeham, which then had only 16, show's an increase. The school for both parishes is the Board School used jointly with the parish of Ripple.