THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 1902.

XLV.—EASTRY.

Eastry is a large parish of 2715 acres, having near its centre a populous village, the ancient and modern importance of which is indicated by it giving its name to the Saxon Hundred and to the Nineteenth Century Poor Law Union.

SCENERY AND SURROUNDINGS.

Eastry is a village set on a hill, the scenery around it being very fair and beautiful in every direction. In its centre is an open space, now called the Cross, where in olden times doubtless stood the village cross. From this point there are five roads, which lead to the boundaries in various directions. The main Dover road in the south-eastern direction touches the adjoining parish of Betteshanger within about a mile. The land slopes in that direction as far as Buttsole Pond, and then rises up towards the boundary. More southward the parish is bounded by Tilmanstone and Knowlton, and in those directions there are fine views. Turning to the west and the north-west, the ancient Roman road (which runs from Dover to Richborough), leaves the Sandwich Road not far from the Cross, leading direct to Woodnesborough, the boundary of which parish is barely a mile in that direction. The land forming the segment of the circle from Betteshanger to the road to Knowlton, though rendered charming with a well-wooded background, is rather chalky and poor, but, passing west and north towards Staple and Woodnesborough, it is rich, and yields bountifully. The Sandwich road which leads down from Eastry Cross to the outskirts of Sandwich, is bounded on both sides by good land, which continues east ward along the frontier of Worth. The land rises abruptly from the pleasant glade called Hammil Close, at the east of the Church, and from Lynch Bank beyond, there is a fine prospect of the town of Sandwich and the sea at Pegwell Bay, while in the south-east direction lies the parish of Ham. The whole circuit of Eastry parish is about 14 miles in extent, and it encloses as pretty a section of the country as there is to be found in the county of Kent.

EASTRY WITH THE ROMANS.

The history of Eastry runs back to the Roman period, and forms a continuous thread right through the nineteen centuries which have intervened between then and now. Of the Roman period there is but little left except scant historic references, traditions, and remains brought to light by excavations in modern times, but these conjoined satisfactorily prove that Eastry was a Roman Station, and as such was far more populous than during the subsequent Saxon period. The Roman Stations at Dover and Richborough, with a paved military road from one to the other running direct through Eastry, suggest that the Roman legions must have often passed this way, and the discovery of a Roman burial ground a short, distance south of the Church, by the late Mr. Boteler in the year 1792, is clear proof that the Romans, taking advantage of the pure, invigorating air of Eastry, had made it a place of residence. "The Roman remains were found in that triangular piece of ground lying between the Lynch, the Five Bells, and Buttsole. The first of these Roman discoveries of which there is any record left, was made by Mr. Boteler in March, 1792, in digging a cellar in a garden eastward of the highway leading from Eastry Cross to Buttsole. Several graves were opened, and there were found with the human skeletons beads, knives, umbones of shields, and in one an elegant glass vessel. Mr. Boteler says: "Other skeletons have been dug up in gardens near the Cross, and I am of opinion that they extended on this side of the road up to the Cross. The graves were very thick, and in rows parallel to each other, in a direction from east to west." Since Mr. Boteler's discovery similar remains have been found in the same ground. About the year 1860 in and around South Bank skeletons were found in the clay and in the chalk.

THE PALACE OF THE SAXON KINGS.

As at Dover, so at Eastry, the Saxons followed the Romans, occupying the positions vacated. The Saxon Kings had their Court at Eastry, on the site now occupied by Eastry Court, and, without doubt, that Royal palace drew around it a large community, this Twentieth Century village having been in the time of the Heptarchy the chief town in this corner of Kent. Egbert, King of Kent, on succeeding his father Erconbyrth, took up his residence at the Palace of Eastry in the year 664, and he was there about the year 670, having then as part of his household his two cousins, Ethelbert and Etheldred, sons of his father’s eldest brother. These two princes must have been about the same age as the King, and being, as the legend writers say, conspicuous for their “feats of activity and strength” as well as being “adorned with many virtues,” they were probably regarded by the King as rivals, hence developed a tragedy.

THE EASTRY TRAGEDY.

The story is told with circumstantial completeness by the Rev. William Francis Shaw, M.A., in his Memorials of Eastry, gathering the threads of his narrative from Lombarde and other old historians. These noble youths, Ethelbert and Etheldred, so Lombarde’s story runs, gave to all well-disposed persons great expectations that they would become worthy of honor, but by these qualities they “drew upon them the fear, misliking, and bitter hatred of the naughtie, wicked, and malicious sort,” more especially of “a certain man of sin and son of perdition, a limb of Satan, and of the house of the Devil,” who sought occasion against them and accused them to the King of having designs upon the kingdom. This wicked person, whose name was Thunner, suggested that the King should be content to wink at the matter should anyone make away with the two youths. It is said that in his words the King was very wroth at the suggestion that his royal eyes should wink at any wickedness, yet by his manner he did not appear to be wholly averse to the suggestion. Thus tacitly encouraged, it is said, Thunner watched his opportunity, and slew the two princes, secretly burying their bodies in the King’s hall. Of course it has to be assumed that this Thunner was a trusted and influential official at the King’s Court of Eastry, or he would not have had the opportunity of thus acting in the King’s hall. But the King's winking and his advantageous position did not shield him. Simeon, of Durham, who now takes in hand the narrative, says: “Murder will out; for in the dead of night there appeared a glittering pillar of light shining over the hall of the King's Palace.” Then was the King’s conscience troubled; for the strange illumination around the household, and the shrieks of the servants awakened the King, who, as soon as he saw the mysterious light, was, says Lombarde, “touched with the conscience of the murther whereunto hee had a little before in hart consented.” The King appears to have been contrite for his complicity; he called Thunner in haste, straightly examined him as to what had become of the royal youths, and on receiving confession of the sad truth, became most sorrowful, charging himself with the whole crime of their deaths. In this contrite state of mind the King sent for the Archbishop Deodatus, who advised him, by way of expiating his guilt, to incoffin the bodies, which had been dug up from the secret burial place, and send them to be interred at the great Church at Canterbury, but when they attempted to go thither no force availed to move the hearse. This strange funeral ceremony, the strangest perhaps ever seen in Eastry, did not end there, for it was next thought that there would be merit and expiation found by laying the dead princes to rest in St. Augustine’s Monastery, but the hearse could not be moved there either, but when at last they agreed to lead it to the Monastery of Watrine, then the hearse moved as lightly as though nothing at all had been on it. There is a tradition, however, that the two murdered princes were buried in an altar tomb at the east end of the little chapel which formerly existed at Eastry Court; and it was further affirmed, so writes Philipot, "that there was a light hovered constantly about that tomb, as if the clearness of the innocence of those who slumbered under that repository could not have been manifested better than by the beams of such a perpetual irradiation.” Of course it requires a large store of credulity to accept some parts of this narrative, and yet Cassell’s Magazine in its current number, in reference to this incident, says: “It is curious that at the present time a light is sometimes seen hovering over the ancient portion of the house known as Eastry Court, on the side that adjoins the Churchyard.” Unfortunately, for this confirmation of the tradition, the ancient part of Eastry Court which adjoins the churchyard has disappeared, and the modern light of Eastry as disseminated from the excellent schools hard by the Court, is not favourable to implicit belief in these hoary traditions.

DEPARTURE OF THE COURT.

The decline of Eastry as a royal residence was induced by the merging of the Saxon Heptarchy into the three larger divisions, and for some time before the royal sceptre was swayed over all England by one King the glory had departed from Eastry, and its Manor had become part of the possessions of the Archbishop of Canterbury. From that period this place was subjected to adverse influences. The Danes held Thanet, and from that centre made incursions, leaving ruin and desolation in the neighbouring villages still under Saxon control, and during that period Eastry was largely depopulated, although under the more settled state of things brought about by King Alfred the place looked up again, and was regarded as of sufficient importance to be the head of the Hundred, when Alfred under his great scheme of Local Government divided the Kingdom into Shires, Lathes, and Hundreds. Towards the close of the Saxon Period wealth and power gravitated towards Canterbury for the aggrandisement of the Great Church there, and the monks attached thereto. The revenues of Sandwich and Eastry were allocated to those monks by King Ethelred in the year 979, those of the former for the clothing of the monks, and those of Eastry for the maintenance of their kitchen, that endowment being conferred by a peculiarly worded short charter in which he declared that “Whoever shall presume to violate this my bountiful munificence, let him be placed with the wicked at the Day of Judgment at the left hand of Christ and receive the sentence of damnation with the Devil and his angels.” This curious document is still preserved in the archives of St. John’s College, Oxford. It is written in two columns, the Latin on one side and a Saxon version on the other, with a figure of King Ethelred prefixed. This transference of land revenue from Eastry to Canterbury, closes the special incidents of the Saxon times, although the outward and visible sign of power of those monks over Eastry was long after retained in the stalls for these monks that formerly stood in the chancel of Eastry Church.

EASTRY IN THE DOMESDAY BOOK.

At the beginning of the Norman period the land at Eastry was returned as the equivalent of 1612 English acres, and the population seems to have been about 400. The following is a translation of the entry: In the lathe of Estrei, the Archbishop himself holds Estrei. It was taxed at seven sulins. The arable land is.....

In demesne there are three carucates and seventy-two villeins, with twenty-two borderes having twenty-four carucates. There is one mill and a half, of thirty shillings, and three salt pits of four shillings, and eighteen acres of meadow and wood for the passage of ten hogs.” In elucidation of the foregoing it may be mentioned that the 72 villeins were supposed to be men who held the land not in demesne, and worked it on their own account, paying tribute to the lord, and that the borderers were really boarders or men servants in the families of the villeins. These men, 94 in all, are supposed to be adults and heads of families, and computing them at four each, that is a wife and two children, which is a low computation to allow for any unmarried borderers, would give the total population of these two classes 376. In addition to that, on an ordinary manor there would be the lord’s court, with certain lands and servants attached, of which no special account is given in this return, probably because the land was held by the Archbishop, who did not reside there. The Archbishop, however, must have had an establishment there, because there were three carucates of land which would be roundly about 150 acres of arable land attached to the Court, so that there must have been at least 25 persons there, making up a population of at least 400, and probably 500. The measurements of land given in the above entry are governed by the term sulin. A sulin was supposed to be 216 acres of our present measurement, hence the seven sulins would represent 1612 acres, leaving 1103 acres of the present area unaccounted for, which at that time would probably be waste or woodland. It will be observed that the entry, while it refers to mills and salt pans, says nothing about the church, but the Survey being made for the purpose of assessing the royal revenues, the church and its property being, by the grant of King Ethelred, free of secular service and fiscal tribute, would not be included. There are two mills at Eastry to-day, and it seems that there were two there at the Conquest. The Survey mentions one mill and a half, but as there could not be such a thing as half a mill, the meaning must be that one mill was only charged half the tribute, probably owing to a peculiar privilege that had attached to it, as grinding for the royal household. The three salt pans were doubtless ponds on the low grounds where in those days the salt water came at high tides and were used, as was the custom of those days, to make salt by evaporation. This was a local industry which, in those days, was a regular source of livelihood on the coasts, the salt deposits inland having not then been discovered. The woodland at that time was, as now, of small extent. Such was the condition of Eastry in the year 1086.

EASTRY AFTER THE CONQUEST.

The manor of Eastry continued in the possession of the Priory at Canterbury from the Conquest down to the time when Henry VIII. dissolved the religious houses; and then it was given to the newly-created Dean and Chapter, for which reason it remains the property of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners until this day. But while the history of the manor and of Eastry Court record no break in the Ecclesiastical ownership, there are other incidents associated with it calling for notice. From time to time the Court and lands have been demised on a beneficial lease. Amongst those who resided there longest were the Nevisons, who seem to have been at the Court from the time of Henry VIII. down to about the year 1617, and on the south wall of the ancient part of the Court next the church, now pulled down, there were the letters T.A.N.” formed with flints in large capitals, being the initials of Thomas and Ann Nevison, who died about the year 1590. The Palmers come next, giving place to the Bargraves in 1647, who continued there until 1805; followed then by the Bridges, who held on until 1859. Mr. George Gardner followed, and was there in 1870; and at the present time the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have the property in hand.

A’BECKET’S HIDING PLACE.

In the early Norman times Eastry Court was a favourite resort for the heads of the Priory and Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury. Thomas A’Becket was there frequently between the years 1162-1174. He took refuge at the Court on the occasion of his flight from Northampton in 1164. Having disguised himself as a monk at Lincoln, he passed down the Witham to a hermitage in the Fens, and thence by cross roads, chiefly by night, he found his way to Eastry, where he lay concealed in a secret chamber a week; and on All Souls Day he went down to the coast, from which, in a Sandwich fishing boat, he passed over to Gravelines. There is a tradition that the secret chamber in which A'Becket was concealed had an underground passage to the church, and that the Archbishop used it to enter the church and officiate unrecognized by the congregation. In much later times there was a large windowless chamber with a subterranean communication with the church on the south side of the Court, used as a hiding place in the Civil Wars, but the passage was closed many years ago before that part of the Court was pulled down.

NOTED HOUSES OF EASTRY.

There was never any manor in Eastry parish except the one attached to Eastry Court, but here are several ancient seats worthy of notice. Shingleton, anciently called Shrinkling, on the south-west boundary adjoining Nonington, held for knight’s service by Sir William de Scrinkling from Hamo de Crevequer, in the time of Edward I. In the wood near Knowlton, the foundations of a chapel belonging to this house were found in the eighteenth century. On Shingleton Down it was the ancient custom of the Eastry people, when beating the parish bounds, to pause and say the Old Hundredth Psalm. About a mile north is Heronden, later known as Harnden. The mansion was anciently occupied by a family of that name, one of that family being interred in Eastry Church. The earliest of the Boteler family in this parish resided there. There were two mansions and a farmhouse there, and one called Hernden was the residence of Captain Harvey, the Commander of the “Brunswick.” Staten-borough is another old seat situated on the Sandwich road north of Eastry, and is mentioned in Domesday Book under the name of Eastenburgh. About the middle of Richard II.'s reign, it was owned by Stephen de Statenberg; but at the latter end of that reign the name had been corrupted to Stapynberg. The owners of this interesting and ancient house are traced by Hasted from the Conquest down to the Paramors who owned it towards the close of the eighteenth century, and for whom there are monuments in Eastry Church.

EASTRY'S WORTHIES.

Amongst the men who have earned prominence in the annals of Eastry may be numbered the following:

Egbert, King of Kent, who on the death of his father Erconbyrht, took up his residence at his palace here A.D. 664. The incident of the murdered princes already related is all that is left on record concerning his doings at Eastry.

Thomas a Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury, during the nine years that he held the See, had Eastry as a residence, and whatever use he made of it, it is known that he spent a week here, in hiding at Eastry Court, before he escaped to the Continent in 1664, and on his triumphant landing at Sandwich in 1670, he was warmly welcomed by the people of this village, amongst whom he was very popular, mainly for the reason that a bold enterprising man always raises enthusiasm.

Christian Goddard, of Eastry, has obtained a lasting memorial by an early effort to promote the education of children of the poorest. By her will in the year 1574 she bequeathed to the churchwardens of Eastry and their successors a tenement and a garden in Eastry street “to hold for the use of the Clerk of Eastry for ever, so that, the said clerk do teach and instruct in learning one of the poorest men's children of the parish, being a man child, from time to time for ever. There was a wonderful germ of wisdom in this simple bequest, and the testator seems to have assumed that as only one man child out of the many would be chosen, that the trustees of the bequest would select a lad likely to profit by the learning imparted. It seems that for a time the desire of Mrs. Christian Goddard was faithfully and literally carried out; likely lads it may be assumed were chosen, and if local traditions and history were not unfortunately silent as to the results, it would have been a matter of great interest to follow those favoured lads to see what figure they made in the world. Simple arrangements of that sort cannot go on for ever, although Christian Goddard thought they might. In course of time the one boy was increased to four, and ultimately the four grew into a school full of boys and girls, aided by other funds, and is now a National school under the able mastership of Mr. John Bailey.

Drue-Astly Cressener became vicar in the year 1698, his vicariate extending over 50 years, during which he saw four sovereigns on the throne. He was a man of robust constitution, and great originality. The parishioners were not held in great esteem by this singular man, as appears from the following entry made by him in the parish register: Astly Cressener, vicar, inducted by ye Rev. Mr. Tho. Mander, Dec. 11, 1698, among ye savages of Eastry, who used my good predecessor almost as ill as myself; but death in a little time gave him a happy deliverance.” This seems to have been written soon after he came to Eastry. As years went on he either liked the people better or determined to see what kindness and generosity would do for them. In the year 1718 he gave the paten chalice and handsome flagon of silver which is now used in the celebration of the Holy Communion. He also left a sum of money for ornamenting the church. He left £5 for the poor of Eastry. He died 27th September, 1764, aged 82 years. His portrait, well painted and a good likeness, hung in the vestry for a good many years.

John Harvey was a member of an ancient family that originated in the reign of Edward IV. at Tilmanstone. He was born at Elmington in Eythorne, but after attaining the rank of Captain in the Navy he purchased and resided at Hamden House in Eastry, and dying of wounds received in the engagement with the French fleet on the 1st of June, 1794, was buried in Eastry Church, 5th July of the same year. The singular courage which marked his conduct throughout life never shone more conspicuously than in that fatal engagement of June 1st, 1794, in which, under Earl Howe, being commander of the Brunswick of 74 guns, he sustained the fire of three line-of battle ships, destruction seeming to menace him on every side, yet by his distinguished bravery his ship sank one of superior force and left the other two absolute wrecks, which conduct contributed very materially to the victory upon which the fate of this country largely depended. To perpetuate his gallant conduct the House of Commons unanimously voted that a monument to his memory should be placed in Westminster Abbey. A fine mural monument, together with a medallion 4ft. in diameter, representing ships in action, was erected on the south side of the chancel of Eastry Church, but in 1865 it was removed to the wall of the north aisle, where it occupies a conspicuous position opposite the gangway, which the ancient north formerly occupied.

William Boteler, a native of Eastry, deserves especial notice for his learning, and more especially for his intimate knowledge of Kentish history and topography. He came of an ancient family who have monuments at Eastry running back as far as 1580. Previous to that the burial place of the family was at St. Peter’s, Sandwich. The Kentish historian, Hasted, was a contemporary of William Boteler. and he admitted that he was indebted to Mr. Boteler for a great part of his information relating to the parishes of East Kent. The ninth volume of Hasted’s octavo edition is dedicated to Mr. Boteler in the following graceful terms: “To William Boteler, Esq., of Eastry. Sir, it is with much pleasure that I take this opportunity of acknowledging my obligations to you, during the many years friendship which has subsisted between us and still remains undiminished. This volume, sir, to which I have taken the liberty of prefixing your name, approaches to the history of that part of the county, in which I have been more particularly endebted to you for your unremitting assistance, without which I should, I fear, have been greatly deficient in my description of it. Your indefatigable searches into whatever is worthy of observation, in relation to Eastry and its neighbourhood, could alone furnish me with that abundant information requisite for this purpose; and to you, therefore, the public is in a great measure endebted for whatever pleasure and information they may receive from the perusal of this part of my history, which from the long residence, as well as the respectable consequence of your family, for many descents, in this part of the County, must afford you a more peculiar satisfaction; that it may meet with your approbation, is my sincere wish, who am, with the greatest regard and esteem, sir, your most faithful and much obliged humble servant. Edward Hasted, London, Dec. 1, 1799.” This warm appreciation of Mr. Boteler, printed at the beginning of the ninth volume, is headed by a very fine engraving of the Boteler arms and a view of Eastry Church as it would have been seen at that time from Mr. Boteler’s residence in Brook-street. It was Mr. William Boteler who established the fact beyond all doubt that Eastry had been a Roman station, and that a piece of land lying on the north side of the road from the Five Bells down to Buttsole had been a Roman burial place; and at his death he left three volumes of carefully-compiled manuscripts containing much valuable information respecting the history and topography of the County of Kent, Mr. Boteler was as modest as he was learned. His collections, had he published them, would have brought him honor and renown, but he was content to gather and communicate information, but never craved the honors of authorship. His manuscripts, we believe, are still kept intact by members of his family residing in Eastry. Mr. W. Boteler died in the year 1818 at the age of 73, and in Eastry Church is a mural monument bearing a Latin epitaph which fairly sets out the many phases of his useful life.

William Francis Shaw deserves to be enshrined amongst the Eastry worthies for having compiled and published a most interesting and copious history of the parish of Eastry. Mr. Shaw was the vicar of Eastry from 1867, and soon after coming into the parish he enthusiastically commenced collecting local facts for his own information, and subsequently continued it during his leisure hours until his collection became large and varied enough to give a complete history of the parish, the church, the manor, and the village, together with lists of the rectors, vicars, clerks, sextons, and extracts from the registers, altogether forming a budget of facts that it would have been a thousand pities to have left unpublished. In the year 1870, Mr. Shaw placed his work in the hands of the printers, and with suitable illustrations it proved a most acceptable book, and is now a standard authority on the annals of the village.

ROUND ABOUT EASTRY.

To know Eastry as it is, let us walk through it. To drink in the interest that is attached to the centre of many memories, it is necessary to saunter and pause many a time and oft. Entering the village by the Sandwich road, after passing Stone Cross hamlet, to the left lies Fenderland, at the junction of the road to which for many centuries has stood the famous old yew tree, or palm tree as it is called by the old folks I owing to its branches having been used at Palm Sunday celebrations. Just beyond there formerly stood one of the Sandwich road turnpikes, which now bars the King’s highway no more; while in the distance on the left may be seen the Worth windmill, a notable land mark. On the right the land is entirely devoted to fruit culture and the raising of market garden produce and hops, the operations being conducted with energy and great enterprise. The gardens merge into plantations and the plantations into a park, which surrounds Statenborough House, one of the pleasantest seats in the parish, now the residence of Sir James Lyall, but which anciently belonged to the Atte Halle family, of Dover, several members of which in the fifteenth century were mayors of that town and port. The place is kept in charming condition, and is an attractive point on the road. Just beyond is little Statenborough, and from thence the road falls towards Eastry village, on approaching which is Great Walton, the residence of Mrs. Ray, and on the same side is Little Walton. Walton House and Lauriston House, both attractive features of the village street, and just there Lovers' Walk leads up from Statenborough, through the meadows to the schools and the church. Now we are entering High street, the principal part of the village, at the beginning of which, at the junction with the Woodnesborough road, is the Eastry Stores, a very important local establishment belonging to Mr. Woodruff. Near here, in Woodnesborough lane, is an ingeniously constructed cavern in the chalk extending for a considerable distance, which is at fair time illuminated, presenting a fairy-like appearance. Passing on, to the left of the street is a place called “the Square,” cottages there being built in that form, and near by is a house which for many generations has been called “The Nunneries,” no one seems to know why. On the left near the Schools is a piece of land called “The Playing Close,” and it was so called in an old deed in the year 1663. Southward of this is the old School House, left by Mrs. Christian Goddard for the education of one of the poorest boys in 1574, and next to that is the Bull Inn, on which site stood a house of the same name as long ago as 1573. In that year Richard Huffam paid quit rent for the Bull. There is a list of Hosts of the Bull from 1693, William Hall being in occupation at that time. On the other side of High Street is Drayson’s Forge, so named from its having been the property of the Draysons for more than two centuries. Will Drayson signed the parish assessment made in the year 1685. Eastry House, just above, is on the site of Swaynes Farm, which was a landmark for many generations. Passing the Post Office on the street side, we arrive at “The Cross,” which is a wide space at the head of the village, from whence the road starts down the hill for Dover. Before leaving the open space the Five Bells Hotel on the left should be noticed. The name, no doubt, has reference to the five bells in the Church tower. This is a very old house. There is a list of "Hosts of the Five Bells” since 1693, Michael Sampson being then in occupation. Just beyond The Five Bells on the same side is the Eastry Brewery, a thriving local industry, and on the opposite side, a little further on, is a very curious old mansion standing back in the gardens, which in the days of its glory was owned by the Idley family, but is now three cottages. On the same side is the fair field, where the annual fair on St. Matthew’s Day was formerly held. Opposite this is Zion Chapel, a small Baptist place of worship, erected in 1824. Southbank, a pretty residence, is on the same side a little further down the hill. It was here that, some forty years ago, many skeletons were dug up, this being a part of the Roman burial ground. The Coach and Horses Inn and some cottages being passed, the village street in this direction finishes at Buttsole, a large pond on the side of the road, the name being derived from the archery butts located here in the Middle Ages, and sole is but the ancient name for a pond. Harking back to the Cross, Mill Street, to the west, leads to the Union Workhouse, a large establishment built in 1836 for the 31 parishes of the Eastry Union; Master, Mr. F. H. Gabitas. Adjoining it is the Union Chapel for the inmates, a handsome building, and on the opposite side of the road is the Wesleyan Chapel a small brick building, erected in 1821; and adjoining are six cottages of the Granville Charity. In this direction are the windmills, which give the street its name, and Gore. Turning in the northern direction from The Cross, there are two ways, Church Street and Brook Street. Going along the first named thoroughfare, we pass the Vicarage on the right, a pleasant residence built in 1821 on the site of a very old house, and just beyond that, lying further back, is the Parsonage, also Church property, built on the foundations of the old Parsonage in 1825. On the other side of Church Street there are the houses of Goddards Charity, and the sexton’s house, which dates back to 1574. The Church lies on the right, and just beyond it is Eastry Court, a very ancient house, and in its grounds, overhanging the Churchyard, is a grand old evergreen oak, the spreading branches of which must have been the growth of centuries. The manor pound is a little further on, and just opposite the Church, in the field near the School, stood the parish stocks until some fifty years ago. Passing through the Churchyard, a pleasant path leads down through Hammil Close into Brook Street. Hammil Close was the centre of the land occupied by the Romans. At the bottom of this field, on the further side of Brook Street, is the Lynch House, with its neatly kept lawn, and on the other side next the Court is Puddle Dock. Turning up Brook Street towards the village centre, we pass Brook House, a fine old-fashioned building of brick, on a green plateau surrounded by a shrubbery. This is, and has been for centuries, the residence of the Boteler family, and here it was that William Boteler, the learned antiquary, resided. A little further up on the same side is Firbank, a pretty cottage embowered in trees, and passing that we are soon back at The Cross, which must terminate our perambulation of Eastry.

EASTRY CHURCH.

The Church of St. Mary is bounded by Church Street on the west, the Parsonage grounds on the south, Eastry Court on the north, and Hammil Close on the east. It is a grand old structure seen from any aspect, but perhaps the west view is most imposing, the grand old tower being the oldest part of the building. It is not everyone that can climb to the top, but from that point there is a grand prospect, affording a view of eighteen Churches. In this tower are five bells, which Hasted says are unmusical, but since his day they were re-cast at the expense of Lieutenant-Colonel Rae, and are now all that could be desired. The west doorway is very ancient, and the diaper work on the tympanam and the circular arch and narrow zig-zag mouldings are of the Eleventh Century. There are steps from the west door into the Church, the portion first entered being the base of the tower, where is the baptistery with a modern font, and on the north and south lean-to extensions of the aisles, that on the south being the vestry, and on the north the choir’s robing room. The three pointed arches under the tower are very fine, supported by massive round piers. The outer sides of these piers were formerly outside the Church, and on the north side of the east pier is a blocked up way that leads to a staircase which projects inside, where there is some interesting sculptured work. The body of the Church consists of a nave of the Early English period, with two side aisles and clerestory. The aisles are separated from the nave by arcades of four large arches each and one smaller arch on each side at the east end of the nave. This eastern part with the smaller arches, now open to the other parts of the aisle, were formerly chapels, the chapel of John the Baptist on the south, and the chapel of the Holy Trinity on the north. The arches all rest on circular pillars with moulded capitals, with the exception of the second from the bottom on the south side, which is octagonal, probably so formed to afford a flat surface on which to draw the dominical circle which is on the south-west face of this pillar. This dominical circle is a great curiosity, and has exercised the minds of many archaeologists. Mr. Weston Styleman Walford in the 9th volume of the Archaeological Journal had a sketch of this circle, and a long article describing it. The device consists of three concentric circles an inch apart, the outer one being eleven inches in diameter. The inner and middle circles are divided by radii into 28 equal parts, and in each of the compartments so formed is one of the first seven letters of the alphabet, and above every fourth is another of these letters, in a compartment formed between the middle and outer circles by the radii in those cases being carried to the outer circle. In this way the seven letters are arranged so that each of them occurs five times, but the order is the reverse of alphabetical, the letters between the outer and middle circles being to be read immediately before those over which they respectively stand. Such is the order in which the Dominical letters succeed each other, the two letters, one above the other, corresponding with those of the bissextile or leap years. The result is, that if the two Dominical letters for any leap year are given, the Dominical letter for any other year, before or after, might be readily found by this circle according to the then state and understanding of the calendar. This circle was brought to light about forty years ago by scraping the pillar, and on the north-west face there is evidence that someone else had commenced to draw a similar circle, which was left incomplete. It is said that since the old clerk died no one in Eastry knows now to work this curious circle. Continuing our description of the body of the Church, the windows are striking, those in the clerestory, five on each side, being deeply splayed single lights. The north and south aisles have four side windows each, and one each at the east or chapel ends. The two lower ones on each side are perpendicular, and the other three on each side late Decorated. In the east end of the south aisle, where was the chapel of John the Baptist, with an altar, has still the piscena left. The east end of the north aisle, formerly the chapel of the Blessed Trinity, contains a piscena on the east wall, now hidden by the organ, a stone corbel for supporting an image, and a large trefoil headed Easter Sepulchre in the north wall. The chancel arch is rather low, that is, 18 feet 6 inches from the floor to the point, and the nave being 46 feet high to the point leaves 27 feet 6 inches of wall over the arch, which gave scope both for decoration and for the erection of the rood loft, in which was there “lacking great reparation” at the Archbishop's visitation in 1512. This large wall space left room for ornamentation, which is partly occupied by two unusual openings cut right through the wall from the nave to the chancel on either side of the arch. Looked at from the chancel the openings have the appearance of small windows with trefoil beads, but towards the nave they present quatrefoil piercings. The flat space between the apex of the arch and the string above was at some distant date relieved by two rows of medallions, seven in each row, with a border round them. These were brought to light in July, 1857, by the removal of boards which had supported canvas on which the Ten Commandants were painted. Of the 14 medallions only seven remain, those of the upper row. These are, counting from the north side, (1) a lion, passant; (2) a griffin; (3) two birds on a stem; (4) a floral device, supposed to be an emblem of St. Mary the Virgin; (5) two birds again; (6) the lion; and (7) the griffin. The ground of these medallions seems to have been originally buff, and the colours of the figures and borders dark brown, red, and yellow. The chancel is 46 feet in length, 19 feet wide, and 27 feet 6 inches high to the point. It is peculiar in that it is not quite in line with the nave, but inclines considerably towards the north. It is lighted by five windows on each side, those on the north being all lancets, and on the south side four lancets, and next the east a two-light decorated window, which was probably altered from the original lancet to allow the cill, at an intervening period, to be used as a sedilia. On the south side the four lancets are filled with single figures on stained glass, representing respectively from west to east, St. Peter. St. John, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary. In the chancel there is no trace of a piscina, which, no doubt, was removed when alterations were made for the double window on the south. There is, however, a niche in the south wall supposed to have contained a paxbread or a crucifix. Under the altar there was in ancient times a crypt used as the Ladye Chapel. The east wall of the chancel is pierced with a triplet of lancets corresponding with the lancets on the sides, only deeper, and they are filled with stained glass representing the Crucifixion and six other Scriptural subjects. On the north of the altar there is an aumbry, and on the north wall over the sanctuary, on an iron crook, hangs an old helmet surmounted by the Nevison crest. Beside this was said to be in former times the lance and pennon of Sir Roger Nevison, concerning whom the following rhymes were current in. Eastry:

“O brave Sir Roger Nevison,

That with his sword did cut in sun-

Der the shoulder of Sir Harry,

Because he wouldn’t his sister marry.”

This church has been many times restored, and once or twice re-built. A protracted restoration commenced in 1847, and was continued at intervals for about fifty years. There is a tablet over the door in the south aisle inscribed: “The porch and part of this aisle were re-built and the church was re-pewed at the expense of Richard Springett Harvey during the years 1854-7, in acknowledgment of which two stained glass windows were put in this aisle by subscription 1857.” The new clock was put in the tower also by Mr. Harvey, in January, 1853. In 1855 the old high pews and the hat pegs were removed. In 1856 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners repaired the chancel. There were formerly in the chancel 18 stalls for the use of the monks of Christ Church, but they were removed at a much earlier period. A gallery erected at the west end of the nave in 1842 was removed in 1863. The nave roof was restored in 1869, as nearly as possible a restoration of the ancient roof erected in 1687. The church is now in a beautiful state, reflecting credit on the loving care and benevolence of those who have from time to time contributed to make it so. The memorials at Eastry Church are far too numerous to be described in detail. They consist of curious brasses, handsome memorial windows, elaborate mural tablets, ancient gravestones in the floor of the church, and a great number of memorials in the church yard. The inscriptions on almost all the monuments have been copied in the Rev. W. F. Shaw's ‘‘Memorials of Eastry.”

THE PEOPLE AND THE PROPERTY.

According to the roll of electors now in force there are in Eastry 207 voters on the register. The population, according to the last census, was 1347. During the decades of the last 100 years the population has been as follows: 1801—852; 1811—909; 1821—1062; 1831—1245; 1841—1629; 1851—1697; 1861—1505; 1871—1506; 1881—1380; 1891— 1341; and 1901-1347. It will be seen that ever since the introduction of railways into the district, drawing traffic from the main road, Eastry has steadily declined in population until the last decade, when there was a slight rally, which will doubtless increase as the main roads become more frequently used by light railways, motors and cycles. The principal landowners still seem to be the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the Boteler family. Altogether there are 19 electors on the current register for the parish of Eastry who have ownership qualifications, namely: William J. C. Boteler Taplow, Stephen Clark, Sandwich; John Court, Whitstable; J. P. Deane, Bayswater; R. M. Hammond, Eastry; Rev. J. R. Holmes, Eastry; Rev. C. Dudley Lampen, vicar of Eastry; R. S. Leggett, Folkestone; W. V. Lister, Walton; W. E. Long, Woodnesborough; Sir James B. Lyall, Eastry; Richard Mann, Eastry; Richard Moat, Eastry; Henry Spain, Eastry; William Tritton, Adisham; W. T. Tyman, Eastry; Charles Watson, Sandwich; C. H. Whatford, Eastry; and W. W. Woodruff. Sandwich.