THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, MARCH 7. 1902.

XLII.—STAPLE.

Staple is a village in a parish of 1009 acres, four miles from Adisham Railway station and about two miles south-east from Wingham.

SITUATION AND SURROUNDINGS.

Staple occupies the southern side and the bottom of a shallow valley, in the midst of an open flat country, in the central pan of which the soil is rich and well cultivated. In the extreme north and south parts of the parish the land is poorer. A stream which rises towards Ash traverses the parish on the north-west side, passing under Durlock Bridge, and near Danne Bridge, where it joins the Wingham stream which empties into the Stour. These streams impart luxuriance to the vegetation of the locality. There is no woodland, but in later times there have been some extensive plantations laid out by the owners of the Groves estate, which furnishes pleasant foliage round the church; while the whole parish lies peaceful and secluded, wearing an aspect of prosperity and contentment.

THE HISTORY OF STAPLE.
In ancient times the history of Staple was merged in that of Wingham Hundred on the one hand, and of Downhamford on the other. The Domesday Book is silent about its manors, and there being no record under the head of Staple of the landowners in Saxon and early Norman times, it may be inferred that it was held by some special and peculiar tenure which caused the parish of Staple to be separated by other parishes from the Downhamford Hundred, of which it forms a part. The whole of the Hundred was part of the ancient possessions of the Abbey of St. Augustine, and the lands of Staple are supposed to have been included in the manor of Adisham, the measurement of which, according to the Domesday Survey, was much more than the area of the present parish. Originally there were two unusually large manors in this part of the country—the Wingham manor, comprising the whole of the Wingham Hundred, and Adisham manor, including the parishes of Adisham, Ickham, and Staple. These latter were presented to the Great Church at Canterbury by Eadbald, King of Kent, in the year 616. This was one of the most ancient gifts to the Church, being free from all secular tributes excepting the three customs of repelling invasions and repairing bridges and castles, called the “trinoda necessitas.” In proof of the fact that this grant was a very early one and formed a precedent, it became the custom, in grants to the Church at Canterbury, instead of enumerating the privileges, to insert the letters "L.S.A," being an abbreviation of “Libere sicut Adisham.” (Like Adisham). Leaving the ancient condition of the parish and coming down to Plantagenet times, we find the parish consisting mainly of two estates, the Groves and Crixall. The Groves is a mansion west of the church, which in early times was the residence of a knightly family called Grove; and in ancient deeds the name was sometimes written "At Grove." About the year 1440 this estate descended to Sir John Grove, who being a man of wealth built the south aisle of the church of St. St. Peter at Sandwich, and he was buried there—twice buried, in fact, for on Sunday, 13th October, 1661, the south aisle was demolished by the fall of the steeple, and his tomb was under the debris, where his full length effigy lay exposed to the weather for many years, but eventually Mr. Boys, author of the history of Sandwich, removed the figure into the church. Search, at the same time, was made for the remains of Sir John Groves, but they were never found. Sir John dying without a male heir, the estate passed to the family of St. Nicholas, but remained with them for only a short time. About the year 1843, the Quilter family came in and remained during the reigns of seven sovereigns, Edward V. to Elizabeth, a little over a hundred years, and then Christopher Quilter sold the estate to Simon Lynch, of Sandwich. This gentleman, who was originally of Cranbrook, represented Sandwich Borough in Parliament in the reign of Queen Mary. Some years later, on his purchasing Groves be added much to the mansion. The Lynch family resided at Groves for more than two centuries. Mr. John Lynch, of Groves, who was Colonel of the East Kent Militia, was sheriff of Kent and kept his shrievalty at Groves in the year 1714. He was then a widower, his wife Sarah, daughter of Francis Head, of Rochester, having died in childbed of her 19th child, in the year 1710, leaving eleven children surviving whose names are still legible on a stone in the floor of the Groves chancel in Staple Church. One of this numerous family, the eldest son John, became Dean of Canterbury, and dying in 1760, was buried in the Grove chancel; and his son John became Archdeacon of Canterbury. The eldest son of the Dean was William. He resided at Groves, and was twice elected Member of Parliament for the City of Canterbury and was knighted. Sir William Lynch built two wings to his mansion at Groves, adding an entirely new stucco front; he made extensive plantations round the mansion, and laid out the grounds as a park. He died abroad, without issue, in the year 1735, leaving the seat and his estate to Lady Lynch, his widow. The separate history of the other Staple manor, the manor of Crixall, is on record from the year 1300. For some years prior to that date this manor, which lies in the southern part of the parish, towards Adisham, was held by a family named Brockhull, and in that year it was settled on a daughter, and the estate passed, it is presumed by her marriage, to the name of Wadham. The manor was held by a family of that name in the year 1377, and continued there, according to the pedigree of the Fogge family, down to about the year 1460. At that time Sir Nicholas Wadham was in possession, and dying a few years later he left the estate to his daughter, who married Sir William Fogge, and so entitled him to the possession of it. At his death Sir William left Crixall to his son. Sir John Fogge, who was a Privy Councillor and Treasurer of Edward IV. He was a great man at Ashford, where he had an estate, and he practically re-built the fine old parish church of Ashford; and when he died in the 1490, he was buried in the high chancel of that church, where there is a handsome tomb for him and his two wives. The next in succession at Crixall was Thomas Fogge, who was afterwards knighted by Henry VII. and held the important post in connection with the Channel traffic of Sergeant Porter at Calais, then an English port. This gentleman had several other estates in East Kent, including Winkleton-in-Sutton by Dover. He did not reside at Crixall, and in the reign of Henry VIII. he sold it to William Smith, and he in James I. reign sold it to Dr. Martin Fotherby, of Canterbury, who was afterwards made Bishop of Salisbury. This distinguished man was the son of Martin Fotherby, of Great Grimsby and younger brother of Dr. Charles Fotherby. Dean of Canterbury. The Bishop of Salisbury died in 1620, and his son, Thomas Fotherby, resided at Crixall the remainder of his life, and dying in the year 1710, without issue, this manor went to Anthony Kingsley, his sister's son, and his three sons, Anthony M.D., Thomas, and Charles, successively had possession of it, and the latter dying in 1785 the estate went to Charles Kingsley of Canterbury, who also died in 1786, and the estate went to an infant; and this house, which had been a manorial residence for nearly 500 years, afterwards became a farmhouse. There was also an ancient mansion in Staple-street which was occupied for 400 years by a family named Omer, alias Homer. The last of the race died in 1661. There are two tombs of the Homers in Staple Churchyard near the north-east corner of the church, the one being specially noticeable owing to the ornamental sculpture in the nature of festooning, although the name is now obliterated. In the reign of Edward II. there was a Solomon de Bokeland, of Staple, but his place of residence is not recorded. There was also at the same time a Walter Doulard, of Staple, who had a suit at Westminster with John de Peddyng about some property which included five acres and half a rood of land, a rood of wood, a rent of 20 pence, a rent of two hens, and moiety of an acre of meadow, an acre of turf, and the fourth part of a messuage and appurtenance situated in Ash and Staple. This name Doulard is supposed to have been derived from Durlock, the name now attached to the bridge that crosses the stream on the Ash side of the village. This brings us to a conclusion of the history of the ancient village. Modern history would include a considerable development in the hamlets which form part of the parish, the various places being Barnswell, Crixhall, Gipsy Court, Groves, Shatterling, and Summerfield. As the old manors declined and the village ceased to be a place of residence for families of independent fortunes, the industries of hop-growing and market-gardening sprang up, and remain staple industries of Staple at the present day.

THROUGH THE VILLAGE.

Taking a glance at the village as it is to-day, the fact seems at once evident that it is inhabited by an industrious community; the land presents a well cared for appearance, and the houses, though old, are in good repair. Approaching from Adisham the road is the same as that to Wingham until the outskirts of Wingham are reached, and then the way turns to the south-east, leaving Witherden Hall and the site of the old Saxon burial ground on the right, passes over Dambridge, which crosses a branch of the Wingham stream, passes through the ancient hamlet of Twitham, which is in the parish of Goodnestone, and was once the seat of Alan de Twitham, who fought with Richard I. in Palestine. To the right is seen Brook Farm, so named from its being on the margin of the brook that passes the Durlock Bridge. A peculiarity of this place is that it, too, forms part of Goodnestone parish, although separated by a part of Wingham, and lying on the border of Staple. The road at this point is margined by hop fields, which have the appearance of being carefully cultured, and in approaching the village of Staple, the well-wooded lands of Groves are conspicuous, with the mansion partly hidden amongst the lives. The Three Tuns Inn is on the roadside, and so are the market gardens, the soil of which seems singularly rich. The church, with its weatherworn lich gate, occupies a pleasant site on the north side of the village street, and proceeding eastwards some industries of the village come in evidence—the wheelwright and carpenter establishment of Mr. Robert Spinner, the forge of Mr. Walter W. Keen, the school, which is working well under the oversight of the rector, the Rev. John C. W. Valpy, in spite of the difficulty of making both ends meet financially. Beyond, on the rising ground to catch the breeze, is Frank's windmill, and the hamlet of Barnsole with its neat little Baptist Chapel and its cluster of cottages; and to the north lies the Shatterling hamlet, where is the “Green Man” known to cyclists. From a rough reckoning we found that the dwellings of Staple, which number about a level hundred, are distributed through the parish thus: At Staple and Staple-street, 34; at Barnsole, 32; at Shatterling, 25; at Groves, 4; at Buckland-lane, 3; one at Bute, and one at Summerfield. The population of the parish in 1891 was 547; fifty years ago the number was 467.

STAPLE CHURCH.

This church, dedicated to St. James, is a spacious and substantial edifice having many points of interest. Standing on the north side of the village street, it is approached through a lich gate, the woodwork of which bears witness to its having weathered many a winter. The church, built of flints, consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, north chapel, south porch, and western embattled tower, the style being of the Decorative and Perpendicular periods. On entering, the first object of interest is the large stone font, which is ancient and very unique. On four of its principal panels are the emblematical representations of the four Evangelists, with figures of men between. At each of the eight corners are angels bearing shields. It has been originally finely sculptured, and since partly restored. It rests on a broad base, and is approached by two steps. The nave is separated from the north aisle by an arcade of three bays, the Gothic arches being supported by handsome cluster columns. The nave roof is openwork, but the north aisle has a flat ceiling panelled. The chancel roof is of the same level as the nave, and the north chapel, called the Grove chancel, runs up partly alongside the chancel, and is opened to it by one arch and one door. The high chancel has a 5-light east window, on the south side are three 2-light windows, and a small narrow lancet lower than the other close to the chancel screen. Owing to the Grove chapel extending eastward, there is but one window in the chancel north wall, and that is filled with richly stained glass in memory of the cina in the south wall now used as a credence table, an aumbry in the east wall north side, and outside the Communion rail in the north wall is another recess low down similar to a piscina, on the walls of the Grove chancel. The Grove chapel, forming the end of the north aisle, has the appearance of having been built later than the other part of the edifice, and it is presumed that it was built by Sir John Groves, who also built the south aisle of St. Peter’s, Sandwich at the same period. The roof of this chapel is circular, and it was originally adorned with paintings. In the walls and floors are memorials of the Lynch family, who, as the owners of the Groves estate for several centuries, claimed this chapel. The edifice, which was restored in the year 1868, is in every respect in good condition. Separating the nave from the chancel is a very fine mediaeval carved screen on a stone base. There are about the church a number of very beautiful vases put in by a former rector, some large standing on the floor, and others smaller placed on brackets. Although beautiful in themselves, they seem incongruous in a fine old church which would look better without such ornaments. The old parish chest is a very interesting item, but time and the woodworms have dealt rather hardly with it. There is in the church a notice board similar to the one at Adisham, of the benefaction left by the Rev. John Palmer in the year 1817, being the interest of £400 invested in Margate Pier for the benefit of the poor of the parishes of Adisham and Staple. Another feature of this church of some historical interest should be mentioned in connection with the Communion table. The present one is modern, and the previous one, which probably had served since the Rev. John Bland pulled down the altar at the Reformation, was sold after a restoration in the last century, and some years ago the late rector, the Rev. Robert Ffrench Blake, found it at the Three Tuns Inn, near the church, a former landlord having no doubt purchased it at the sale. It was re-bought by the late vicar and now stands under the east window in the Groves chapel. It is very old, but will no doubt stand there for a good many generations longer, unless some utilitarian church officials again put it up for sale.

STAPLE MEMORIALS.

The following are descriptions of the principal memorials in the church and churchyard:— There is a brass in the high chancel north side, under the stained glass window, “To the glory of God, in loving memory of William Plummer, Sarah his wife, and of their eldest son William Plummer, of St. Augustine's, Canterbury.” In the floor of the Groves chapel is a large stone, with a floral heading, with this inscription, “Here lieth Sarah, daughter of Francis Head, of Rochester, and wife of John Lynch, of Groves, by whom she had 19 children, 11 of whom survived her, viz., Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, John, Ann, George, Katherine, Julian, Frances, Richard, and Head. She died Nov. 18, 1710." The son John became Dean of Canterbury, and George an M.D. at Canterbury. Her son John Lynch, Dean of Canterbury, was also buried here, and many members of the Lynch family, in whose memory there are on the walls several tablets. On the south wall of the nave is a marble tablet in memory of Edward Plummer, J.P., who was twice Mayor of Canterbury. He was a resident of this parish and is buried in the churchyard. He died Sept., 1845, aged 43 years. On a marble tablet at the south-west end of the belfry tower pier is the following inscription: “The window above is dedicated to the glory of God in thankful and loving memory of Caroline Maria Noel, youngest daughter of the Honble. and Revd. Gerad T. Noel, cousin of the Revd. R. Ffrench Blake, rector of this parish.'' Another similar tablet on the north-west side is inscribed: “To the glory of God and in grateful loving memory of Nichola Frances Charlotte, daughter of Robert Ffrench, of Monivea Castle, Esqre, wife of Henry Martin Blake, Esqre. He was son and heir (on the death of his brother Christopher) of John Blake, of Windfield and The Heath, Esqre., who had inherited the properties of his cousin of the same name the head of the family in Connaught and of the baronets in England." Near these monuments are paintings in distemper on the wall (south) of the arch leading to the tower belfry. Over the arch is the the Dove (Holy Spirit) with the nimbus, an angel, wings and drapery, on both sides floats upwards, two heads (angels) on right and left above. Eight heads, very effective, are massed in one group right over the tablet on the south-west side, and six over the tablet on the north-west side. The painting of these and other panels in the church seem to bear the impress of an Italian artist. There are several gravestones in the churchyard of Staple with the name of Hatcher, but one, a rather tall upright one, has, in addition to the memory of William Hatcher, who died in 1812, the following versification:

“ In the short space of thirty years I did partake of worldly cares,

Then I to God did yield my breath,

And murmured not to meet my death.

But I have left a virtuous wife

To wander through this mortal life

With three small children by her side.

I pray the Lord to be their guide.

And spare my aged father’s life

To keep my children and my wife

In virtue’s ways that lead to rest.

That they may be for ever blest

With me and saints in heaven above,

Where there is union, peace, and love.

Now I am blest with power divine;

Peace be to you, but joy is mine !"

On the other side of the same stone is to the memory of one of these “small” children, Henry, who died at the age of 17 (another of the sons having died three years after his father only four years old).

“Here rests in joyful hope to come

That he may rise the heavenly choir to join

To sing his dear Redeemer’s everlasting praise,

His mercy, truth, in never-ending lays.

His name was ever sweet to Henry’s tongue,

Was music to his ear and to his heart was balm.”

The same tombstone records the death of Mary Hatcher, 1836, aged 56 years. On the south side of the church is an assemblage of gravestones curiously grown over with ivy.

RECTORS OF STAPLE.

Until the death of the Rev. W. W. Dickins in 1862, the benefice of the chapel of Staple was attached to Adisham and the rector of Adisham was also the rector of Staple. The Rev. W. A. Scott Robertson, in the Fourteenth Volume of “Cantiana” gives brief biographs of forty of the rectors, who, in addition to ministering at Adisham, have been the Chief Pastors at Staple. Amongst these some were men who made their mark in history. Several of the early Rectors were Prebends of Wingham College. One of these was John Bland, who held the Ratling Canonry in that College. He was inducted to the Rectorship of the joint parishes while Henry VIII was king, and there was a pension awarded to him of £6 13s. 4d. a year when the College was dissolved. He appears to have warmly espoused Protestant principles, and pulled down the altars in his churches. As a consequence, in the reign of Queen Mary he was reported for heresy. The churchwardens of Adisham, Richard and Thomas Asten, seem to have been the chief movers in the matter. They charged him on Sunday, November 26th, 1553, with having pulled down the altar and the tabernacle in which hung the rood, and declared they would have Mass said. On the 28th December, being the feast of dedication of Adisham Church, the Churchwardens brought a Priest from Stodmarsh parish to say the Mass. The Rector, Mr. Bland, resisted this intrusion, and addressed the congregation, standing in the chancel door of the rood screen, but ultimately the Churchwardens and a constable shut him up in the little chapel in the north transept until the Mass was ended. In January, 1554, the Ordinary suspended Rector Bland from officiating at Adisham and Staple, and on February 28th he was taken to Canterbury gaol, where he was kept without bail until the 5th of May, when he was examined at the Chapter House. In July of that year he was taken before Sir Thomas Moyle at the Cranbrook Sessions, where the Rector was put in the stocks, and afterwards ordered to be confined in Maidstone Gaol. He remained there till February, 1555, when he was put to the further indignity of being taken in irons to Greenwich Assizes, before three Judges, who directed him to be delivered to the Ordinary. He was taken to Canterbury Castle, and on 2nd March the Justices presented him to the Bishop of Dover, Commissary Collins, and Mr. Mills as one strongly suspected of heresy. Remitted to Westgate Prison, he was brought before the Ecclesiastical Authorities in March, and again in June, and was then finally condemned on the 25th June, 1555, and delivered over to the Sheriff to be punished as a heretic. Accordingly, on the 12th July, 1555, the Rector of Adisham and Staple was burnt at the stake with four others at Canterbury on a spot very close to the present London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Station. The worthy man’s prayers just before the flames took hold of him, and his letter to his father narrating the proceedings against him, are recorded in Fox’s Acts and Monuments of the Church. In strong contrast to the steadfastness of Rector Bland was Richard Thorndean, Bishop of Dover, his successor, who had been one of those who sat in judgment on him. This Thorndean was a regular “Vicar of Bray.” He was originally a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, receiving the tonsure in 1512. At the dissolution of the Monastery, he accepted the King, Henry VIII, as Head of the Church, and held the first Prebendal Stall in the Cathedral as a Protestant Divine throughout the reign of Edward VI. On the accession of Mary his Protestantism evaporated, and he actively persecuted his former colleagues. He was made Bishop of Dover in 1546, in addition to which he secured for himself the benefices of Tenterden, Lydd, Wrotham, Bishopsbourne, Barham, Great Chart, Adisham, and Staple. Whether he would have turned “cat in pan” once more on the accession of Elizabeth was left unproved, for he died in the same year as Queen Mary. Amongst the others who have ministered at Staple was the Rev. Martin Fotherby, the brother of the Dean, and owner of Crixall, and who, in the year 1618, resigned the joint livings on being created Bishop of Salisbury. The Rev. Dr. John Oliver, who was a minister here in 1644, but was dispossessed by the Parliament. He, at the Restoration, was made Dean of Worcester, but died one year after. The Rev. Dr. John Lynch, of Groves, was minister for ten years from 1771. The last Rector of Staple was, as we have stated, the Rev. Robert Ffrench Blake, B.A., who was instrumental in the last restoration of the Church, and the present Rector is the Rev. John Clay Worthington Valpy, M.A., who, it will be remembered, for many years held the united benefices of Alkham and Caple-le-Ferne, and who received great demonstrations of esteem on leaving the parishioners amongst whom he had ministered for ten years.