DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Page Updated:- Sunday, 07 March, 2021.
OUR VILLAGES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND NOW. (1901)

THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, 11 APRIL, 1902.

XLVI.—WINGHAM (Part 2).

Continuing our historical descriptive sketch, the next topic is WINGHAM CHURCH.


The Parish church of Wingham, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, is a conspicuous and ornamental object at the head of the village. The intervening space of graveyard is sufficiently wide to afford, from the main road, a good general view of the characteristic features of the edifice—chancel, transept, nave, porch, tower, and spire. This fabric, although now hoary with age, is but the representative of the original— the primitive wooden mission sanctuary of the Augustine period, out of which the

§ resent goodly structure has been evolved uring the march of centuries. The western door under the tower leads into a light and lofty nave, with a fine early English arch at the west end, and another still loftier at the chancel entrance; while the division between the nave and the south aisle consists of a series of tall chestnut pillars to support the beam on which rests the timbers of the roof, this church being remarkable for the absence of the stone pillars and arches which are usually found in Gothic buildings The chancel is large and lofty, and has on either side of it chapels or chantries which form a transept, and give a cruciform shape to the church. Another feature, also quite unique, is the position of the Holy Table. It stands apart from the east wall of the chancel, leaving an ambulatory space between it and the wall, the object of the arrangement apparently being to afford access to a large aumbrey recessed in the middle of the- eastern wall. In the east wall, on the south side, is a piscina, and in the south wall a sedilia, with three seats under ancient semi-circular arches, supported by circular shafts, the seat nearest the east being about nine inches higher than the others; while all of the seats are evidently nearer the floor than when originally constructed. Against the east wall are fixed two rabies of stone, on which are engraved the Ten Commandments. The east window is modern, its five lights being glazed with plain glass. The side windows of the chancel are apparently of the 14th century. The floor of the chancel bears witness to the vaults beneath having been an important place of sepulture in ancient times, the surface being paved with gravestones, im-presed in which are the matrixes of many very elaborate and artistic brasses which have either been worn or carried away. Most of those who have been buried here appear to have been members of Wingham College. On the left was a fine brass cano-pv. supposed to have been over the tomb of Provost Chiceley, a brother of the Archbishop of that name; while another on the right, a priest in a cope, is attributed to Provost Henry Ediall. Archdeacon of Rochester, who died in 1520. In the choir, immediately under the arches which lead north and south to the chapels, the stalls of the canons, seven on each side, with their curious hinged and carved miserere seats, remain as memorials of the time when the church was collegiate; while in the space between them in the floor are stone slabs, on which have been brasses, over where several of the Canons were buried. The chancel is still divided frcm the nave by the wooden screen which was erected in the year 1682, the upper part of which was removed in 1874. Prior to the erection of this at the date given, there was here a rood loft under the chancel arch, of which there is quaintly worded testimony in the inventory of church goods made in 1554: “ 1 croise of silver and guilt enamelled with Mary and John. For this croise there is controversie between the Colledge and the parishe; for the Colledge had the possession of the same croise unto the feaste of Corpus Christi, iiij years fully past, att which tyme when the priest had read the Gospell in the roode loft, after that hee was returning with the said croise, Master Oxenden being then churchwarden, called the clerk into the parishe chancell and took away the sayde croise from the possession of the Colledge.” This extract proves that there was a rood loft at that time, and that it was the custom of the priest, bearing the silver gilt cross, to ascend and read the Gospel from that elevated position. This, however, was not a very ancient practice, for in a bequest left by James at Well in the year 1508, the rood loft in this church was referred to as new. Since the removal of the rood loft, and also the rood screen, there appears to have been an alteration of the chancel arch. Formerly there was a north aisle, and when that was destroyed and the north wall built up alongside the nave, it was made so thick that a part of the moulding over the chancel arch and just over the pulpit, a square hole has been purposely left in the wall to show the top of the pillar from whence sprang the first arch between the nave and north aisle. On the outside of the north wall at this spot can still be seen the remains of the piscina which would, prior to the removal of the north aisle, be beside an altar in its east wall. The chapel on the north side, known as the Brooke chantry, is now mainly used for a vestry and an organ chamber. It seems to have been built about the year 1282 ,and endowed for a chantry priest by the family who then held the Brooke estate. The chantry was suppressed and disendowed by Edvard VI. The chapel has now several monuments in it, the principal one being the one with alabaster figures for Sir Thomas Palmer and his wife Margaret. Sir Thomas and his lady lived in the house, formerly the Provosts, south east of the churchyard. The inscription on the tomb says: “God crowned him with the blessing of a longe and prosperous life, augmented it with ye comfort of a virtuous pious wife, with whose be-lov'd societe he was enrich’t 62 years. The thredes of theyr lives were evenly spunn, they liv’d in concord, died in peace, his period was 85 years, hers 83. They were beloved by their neighbours, lamented by their friends, honoured by their children, and mist by ye Poor, for whose sakes they never brake up house in this Place for 60 years. Thus lived they happily and died Christianly, Hee 7 January, She the August following Anno 1625.” He entertained Queen Elizabeth at Wingham in 1573 when she was travelling from Sandwich to Canterbury. On the west wall, now hidden partly by the organ, is a mural monument of the later Palmers. It mentions that Sir Thomas suffered much from the iniquity of the times, both in his estate and by imprisonment. That he left 6 sons and 6 daughters; that the 5tK son Thomas served for many years in Turkey, dying in 1718, at the age of 82, leaving by his will £300 to repair the chancel, which was accordingly laid out. Another £300 spent on it now would not be too much to put it into a decent state of repair. This chapel being lofty, in ancient times there was a room over the east side of it. and there is. high up, a narrow window looking toward ; the altar. There are also monuments to the Oxendens, who were buried there at various dates from 1657 to 1684; but the south chapel, called also the Denne chapel, is more especially the resting place of the Oxen-
dens, the chapel being almost entirely occupied by a pyramidical monument for that family. It stands in the centre of the chapel, and there is only space left for spectators to walk round and admire or disapprove, according to their ideas as to what a parish church is for. Some writers call the monument “ striking,” others “ curious." Hasted refers to it as ‘‘costly,” and Kelley as “pagan." The structure has a base of dark marble, on which is a course of white, and then comes the square body, on the four sides of which are the voluminous inscriptions. On the top of this, at the four corners, are four heads of oxen in black marble, most of the horns being broken off in recent years. On the flat top, at the corners, are figures of children. One facing the sun rising holds a shield, another looking south-east a helmet, while the two facing the sun setting are more dolorous, the one leaning on the shield weeping, and the other in a sad attitude holds a death’s head. From the centre of these rises the threefaced pyramid, wreathed with sculptured fruit and flowers, and having at the top a large urn as a finial. The principal inscription on the west side states that the monument was erected in the year 1682, in memory of the family of Oxenden. of Deane, who lie interred in this church, whose ancestors have flourished in this county for several ages. Of this family was Henry Oxenden, who built Deane House, second son of Edward Oxenden, of Brook. Then follows a long account of the family, the pedigree being traced from Solomon Oxenden de Oxenden, in Nonington, who lived from 1327 to 1377, and was buried at Nonington. The first of the family in Wingham was Richard Oxenden, grandson of Solomon, followed at Wingham. generation after generation, by Richard Oxenden, 1377-99; John Oxenden, 1422-61; John Oxenden, who died in 1440. before his father; Kichard Oxenden, obit 1469; Thomas Oxenden, obit 1942; Edward Oxenden, obit 1511; William Oxenden, obit 1576; Henry Oxenden. obit 1597; Edward Oxenden, obit 1615; Henry Oxenden, obit 1620; James Oxenden, obit 1671; Sir Henry Oxenden, obit 1686. After that the chief seat of the Oxendens was at Broome. In 1548, allusion is made to the “parish chancel,” which no doubt was this south chapel before it was encumbered by the Oxenden pyramid. The church having been for 320 years collegiate, the high chancel would be used by the canons and this south chancel by the parish. The south aisle existed during the time that the church was collegiate, and after the suppression of the College, when the church was evidently left to go into a ruinous state, the ruins of the north aisle, then taken down, were used to repair the south aisle, when no doubt the present perpendicular windows were inserted in the place of the more ancient lights. In the south wall of this aisle is an arched recess supposed to have been the tomb of Edward Warham (grandson of the Archbishop), who died in 1592. In the wall at the top of the south aisle is a piscina, and near the south door is a tr if oil-headed stoup. At the bottom of the aisle is the font, which is modern. There are several monuments in the west end of this aisle, including some to the Newton family, the Rev. William Newton, a native of Maidstone, and who wrote a history of Maidstone College, being vicar here from 1719 to 1744. The most noticeable memorial is that to his son William, who, dying of small pox at the age of 16, was, according to the epitaph, a prodigy of worth. The record says, “He in his early years made such discoveries of his truly good and virtuous disposition, brilliant parts, pregnant genius, proficieney in learning, joined with the most agreeable and modest deportment, procuring for him the love and esteem of all who knew him, causing him to be regarded .by the best judges as one of the greatest ornaments of the place of his education. His parents and friends saw and enjoyed in him that which made them justly esteem him the greatest pleasure of their lives, promising them all the pleasure and happiness which they themselves could wish; but to their inexpressible grief it pleased God to take him away by premature death, being born in this parish 14 Sep., 1721; died from small pox in the City of Canterbury Ap. 16, 1737.”

“ How blind is Hope, and how regardless Fate,

That so much worth should have so short a date;

But is it strange that such a virtuous

His way again to Heaven so soon should find ?”

The porch on the south side is embattled and has over it a sun-dial. In olden times there is supposed to have been a chamber over it. The tower is the only remaining part of the church to be noticed. This stands at the west end of the nave, and is surmounted by a tall tapering spire, and contains a clock and eight bells. The bells were re-cast and made musical in the time of the Rev. W. Newton (1720) at a cost of £143 108. 6d. The last large expenditure on the steeple was in 1793, when the old lead covering was taken off and sold for £178 and a new copper covering put on which cost £210. This work so impressed the parish clerk, Henry Bancroft, that he broke out into poetry thus:

“In seventeen hundred and ninety-three,

Richard Hodgman, of Folkestone he coppered me,

And fixed on my head a magnificent vane

Which discovers the way of the wind by the same.

The matter by many had oft been discussed,

Which was the best clothing and which was the worst,

Some were partial to copper, and some were for lead,

And others said shingle would serve in its stead.

But I on that point never trouble my head.

If you finish me well for to make me

So that I a hundred years may endure.”

It has now endured more than a hundred years. Having noticed each part of the Church, it will be interesting to briefly review its growth and evolution from earliest times to its present form. Of the Saxon wooden building supposed to have existed in the time of Augustine, there is nothing left. The remains of the first stone Church may be seen in the south wall of the chancel in the semi-circular arches of the sedilia. In 1282, when the Church was made collegiate. it was much enlarged, and it has been judged from the style of the architecture that the two chapels and the side aisles were then added, and the work of enlargement continued until the Church was finished in all respects as it is now, except perhaps, a re-modelling of the windows and the removel of the north aisle. The register of this Church dates from the year 1588, fifty years later than the parish registers were first instituted, but the entries are only of the ordinary character. The Church plate consists of a chalice gilt, given by Hector de Mont in 1632, a flagon, the gift of Elizabeth Master (nee Oxenden), 1726; a Paten, the gift of Sibella Oxenden, of Brook. 1728; and an alms dish, given in 1759 by Mrs. Master. The Church is enclosed in a large Churchyard, in which the dead of Wingham have been interred since Christian burial was first adopted in this country. There are numerous grave stones
and monuments, mostly of the last century. “ Here in the Churchyard side by side, Are many long, low graves,

And some have stones set over them, While some the green grass waves.” VICARS AND VICARAGES.

The list of Vicars has been traced in Mr. Arthur Hussey’s history from 1228 down to the present time, but the line is broken in 1287 by the coming in of the Provosts of the College until 1547. Then the line of Vicars is resumed, commencing with Robert Charles, and concluding with the present Vicar, the Rev. Joseph M. Fox, B.A., who appears to be the 47th. counting both Vicars and Provosts. The ancient Vicarage was superseded by a great house built for the Provost, and which was called “The College,” till it was pulled down in the middle of the 19th Century, and the present Vicarage is on its site.

POPULATION.

The population of Wingham at the census of 1901 was 1233 persons, occupying 282 houses, and there were then 13 houses uninhabited. and one in the course of erection. During the last hundred years the population has at each decade stood thus: 1801, 844; 1811, 859; 1821, 1085; 1831, 1115; 1841, 1129; 1851. 1083; 1861. 1060; 1871, 1026;

1881, 1153; 1891, 1245; and 1901, 1233. It will be seen that during the century the population increased until 1841, then decreased till 1871, increasing again till 1891. and slightly decreasing in the last decade; but it should mentioned that the figures of the last census are still subject to final re-

XLVII.—ICKHAM

Ickham is a pretty village a mile and a half west from Wingham.

BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.

The area of Ickham parish is 2440 acres. Its western boundary is the lesser Stour, known as Littlebourn River, and it adjoins closely to both Wickham and Littlebourn, the Churches of the three parishes forming an iregular triangle, Ickham and Wickham about half a mile apart at the base, and Littlebourn less than a mile away forming the apex. Ickham village lies round the Church, and touches Wickham on the north-west. On a gentle rise south of the river is Lee Priory, and further west over the river is the detached portion known as The Chapelry of Well. To the south, towards Adisham Downs, are Garwinton, and Bramling hamlet, with the Wingham boundary eastward; and to the north on the flat marshy land is the hamlet of Seaton. Although the last mentioned part is low and damp, the soil throughout is fertile, more especially the portion known as Treasury Fields, between the village and the Canterbury Road.

ICKHAM HISTORY.

Ickham is evidently a very ancient place. In the year 791 Offa, King of Mercia -gave to the Monks of Christ Church in Canterbury fifteen ploughlands in Ickham, Per-hamstead and Roching. The last two names may or may not have referred to this parish, as they cannot be now identified. In the vear 958 one Athelward gave more lands here to that Church, after which the Manor of Ickham continued part of the possessions of the Chureh at Canterbury. At the Conquest, when Archbishop Lanfranc divided the Church estates between himself and the Priory of Christ Church, the Archbishop seems to have taken Ickham, then written “ Gecham,” as his portion, the entry in Dcmesday Book being “ In Dunehafort Hundred, the Archbishop himself holds Gecham. It was taxed at four sulins. The arable land is 12 carucates. In demesne there are three [carucates]. and 29 villeins, with 60 cottagers having 16* carucates. There is a Church, and four mills of 100 shillings and 35 acres of meadow and wood for the pannage of 30 hogs. The whole Manor was

worth in the time of Edward the Confessor and afterwards £22, and now £32. Of the land in this Manor, William, his tenant, holds as much as is worth £7.” The above entry appears to refer to the Manor of Ickham itself, and not to the other parts of the parish, as the entire parish would be about 11 sulins. The particulars of the arable land are also confusing. It is said to consist of 12 carucates, but in the details 3 are said to be in demesne and 16* held by the villiens and cottagers, making the parts greater than the whole. Doubtless the first figure is a copyist’s error. The fact of there being 29 villeins and 60 cottagers indicates that at that period the land was largely under cultivation, and the four mills, which would be on the Lesser Stour, also point to a considerable production of grain and reduction to flour at that early period long before the cultivation of hops had been introduced. The mention of the Church is not merely evidence of its existence—for many Churches which did exist were not recorded in Domesday Book—but it indicates that the Church yielded something in the way of revenue to the Crown. Between the time of the Domesday Survey and the next thread of Ickham history which we can pick up, there were many changes. In the year 1317 the Manor was held by the Prior of Chrish Church, who at that time, and later, appears to have had the Manor House adjoining the Churchyard as a residence. for it is recorded that Prior Chillenden in the year 1400 newly erected all the buildings except the dove-cote and one chwnber. In 1840 Prior Sellinge made the Prior’s chamber more pleasant, and "built a dormitory for the brethren resorting thither." It seems that this Manor House of Ickham was then used as a country residence for the brethren from the Canterbury Priory, and for that reason the stalls for the accommodation of the Monks were at that period in the chancel of Ickham Church. The house seems to have been separate from the Manor land, the latter, at that time, being “let to ferme” at a yearlv rent of £66 13s 4d. The Manor was so held down to the Reformation; then it passed to the Dean and Chapter of the Diocese, and is now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Other parts of the parish which are of interest, include Bay Farm, anciently called Baa, which gives the name to the south chancel. Bramling on the south-east of the parish is an ancient seat, which was given to one Wullaf by King Edulf, and Wullaf. with the consent of the King, gave it in the year 784 to the Monks of Christ Church. This being a separate possession of Christ Church Priory, held under a tenure free from all secular tribute, accounts for its not being mentioned in Domesday Book, and also explains why the area of land there mentioned is so much smaller than the parish. This estate also pnssed, like the Manor of Ickham. at the Reformation to the Dean and Chapter, and is held by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Appleton, anciently called Apulton, lies south of Bramling, formerly conferred manorial rights, but in later times has paid quit rent to Ickham Manor. John Denis, of Apulton, who was Sheriff of London in the year 1360 founded a chantry here about the year 1370, and endowed it with lands, which until recent times were known as “Denis Lands.” This estate has always remained freehold with the exeeption Of the ancient “Denis lands,” which, we believe, went back to the original donors. Lee is an ancient seat which, having been named Legh Priory, seems to have been associated with a religious foundation. It gives the name to the north chancel of the parish church of Ickham. In 1285 we pick

I up the first thread of its history, when Richard de la Legh was the owner of it. Since
then there have been many changes in its ownership. In the reign of James I. Sir William faouthland had it, and also his descendants. Afterwards it was held by the Barretts, of Lee, one of whom was Member of Parliament for Dover in the early part of the 19th century. Well is a district on the west side of the river, but in Ickham parish. The court lodge of the manor adjoins the ancient chapel of Well. The chapel was entire in the year 1535, but now is a ruin, which being neglected grows smaller by degrees and pitifully less. There was an ancient chantry and a light kept perpetually burning here, but Thomas de Garwinton, in the year 1357. obtained the King’s licence to suppress the chantry and to transfer part of its revenues, which were derived from Wike, near Canterbury, to St. John s Hospital in North-gate. Part of the revenues, which maintained a priest here, having been taken away, the chapel was not properly maintained. In 1511, when Archbishop Warham held his visitation, it was alleged that the parson of Ickham withheld a chantry, but the Rev. John Franklyn, the parson in question, attended, and producing the charter of foundation, was able to show that the chantry had been suppressed by royal licence, aand that the endowment had been transferred, part to St, John’s Hospital. Canterbury, and the other part, by the King’s consent, added to the private estate of the original donor. At the same time it was complained that the churchyard fence at the Well chapel needed repair, and that the bell frames needed mending, from which incidents it may be inferred that at that time the chapel was in ordinary use. When Parson Francklyn died 24 years later he left a legacy for the repair of it.

PRESENT DAY ICKHAM.

Ickham of to-day is a pleasant village bearing the marks of venerable age, while its environment of highly cultured hop gardens, well tilled fields, and richly oUed meadows, give it an aspect of enterprise and prosperity. The village centres near the church, at which point the street is continuously margined with houses in that pleasing variety of mansion, villa, and cottage w'hich is only to be found in rural England. The church, which we shall fully describe, has a foreground of village green flanked by cottages on the one side and the manor house on the other. In the latter the Prior and his brethren from Christ Church Monastery used to find pleasant country quarters before Henry VIII. disturbed the arrangement, and now the place has fallen into the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who, in their turn, make excellent Lords of the manor, as shown by the interest they have demonstrated in the restoration of the church, although, considering their stake in the village, it would have been more in accordance with the fitness of things if their generosity had headed the poll. Nevertheless, they did well, and as there is yet more work of restoration to do, they may yet do better. Concerning the green it may be remarked that it is a pleasant feature of the place, care being taken to keep it from being cut up, and if the right of way across it w'hich the adjoining manor apparently possesses were exercised by using a cart track straight up the side and along the top instead of slanting over the middle portion. this common heritage would be pleasanter to the eye and a greater ornament to the village. Nearly opposite the church is the old school house. There have been three or four generations of schools in Ickham, and this is one of the earlier ones which has been transformed by the Rev. Canon Nisbet into a Bort of village institute where he holds classes, and during the winter months gathers around him good companies anxious to study Scriptural and other topics, which are treated in a manner that invests them with the interest which a scholar who knows how to communicate knowledge can always throw around any 1c pic, no matter how simple or homely. Near the club, on the same side, is a fine Gld red brick house with the date 1663. This is known as Treasury House, now a private residence, but associated with Treasury farm and fields lying between the village and the Canterbury road, which have always been accounted the primest part of the acreage of Ickham. Lower down are! some ancient timbered cottages which give a I touch of picturesqueness midst the substan-• tial red brick on which the Dean and Chap- j ter seem to have expended money freely • soon after the Reformation invested them ¦ with possession. At the bottom of the vil-1 lage. where the road turns towards Ickham and branches off to Littlebourne, stands the Rectory, walled in and embosomed in ancient trees. The Rectory is something more than a clergyman’s residence. A portion of the house which faces the lawn is ancient, built of stone and consisting of two stories each containing one large room. The lower room has a good square-headed window of three lights, with stone mullions of about the time of Henry VII., the ceiling showing moulded joists and beams of a corresponding age. The upper room has a window of a still earlier character. This fragment of the ancient manse is now incorporated with the more modern house, which is itself venerable, and the walled garden rich with black earth that stretches northward to the ancient fish pond, has been the pleasant retreat of the long line of rectors. Mr. William Heghtresbury, the “Professor of the Sacred Page.” here read the book of Nature, looking through it not in vain for Nature’s God. And Edmund Cranmer (with the domesticated habits of a married man, which were so great an offence to Queen Mary and her ministers), loved to find relaxation, and we hear a sigh of “ must I leave thee ?” as the sentence of deprivation comes upon him and he has to find rest on the Continent. The celibacy of the clergy may be a topic on which there is room for two opinions, but why anyone but a married man should require a home like this rectory, it is difficult to imagine. Turning to the left the rising ground and the woods on the left bank of the river in the distance mark the site of Lee Priory, which was the residence for some time past of the late Francis Philips, Esq.. one of the Countv Justices, and now the property of Mrs. Philips, who occupies a position of I influence and public usefulness in this and } the neighbouring parishes. Of Ickham she is a churchwarden, and an indication of the interest she takes in the church may be seen in the £300 that stands against her name in the restoration subscription list. But that is only a part of her goodness, much of which is done by stealth, and it would be out of place to make it fame. Lee Priory is an ancient and interesting place. We have already referred to its history, but if space permitted there is much that might be told, more especially of the Barretts of Lee, who held the place 200 years, the last of whom, Mr. Thomas Barrett, M.P. for Dover, was a friend of Horace Walpole. This accomplished gentleman was enamoured of the place, and left a flattering description of the house, its library, and its pictures. The magnificent timber in the grounds and the park-like scenery of Lee Priory make it very attractive. To bibliophiles it may be interesting to note that Sir Edgerton Brvdges, who, having married a niece of Mr. Thomas Barrett, came into possession of Lee Priory, set up a press here, and a few books that were printed at it are amongst the curios which command high prices. Going further in the same direction there are still some ruins left, beside the river, of the old chapel of Well. It not having many historic associations, may not be deemed a very interesting ruin, for which reason it is neglected and seems likely, within a
measurable distance of time, to be entirely lost. On the other side of the road to Bekesbourne, on the very extremity of the parish, is the well known seat of Howletts, the properly of Mr. Bowdler Gipps. The ancient seat of Howletts belonged to the Hales family, and was in Bekesbourne. but when the late Mr. Isaac Bough purchased it he re-built the house on the-hill just within the precinct of Well in Ickham. The house is in a very pleasant situation, and overlooks a beautiful landscape. Biambling Court, lying south, nearer the centre of the parish, is a fine Elizabethan mansion It was long the seat of Mr. Musgrave Hilton, a great benefactor to this parish. and more recently has been the residence of E. W. Bonham, Esq., HM late Consul at Calais, and has recentiv come into the possession of Mr. Andrew Williamson. In looking through the village one thing we could not identify,—the house aiid garden left by Richard Townley in 1525 for fi man who should nightly ring the curfew bell. The ordinary industries of the vil-lage are hop growing. agriculture, milling, with the usual establishments of the smith and carpenter. Most of the Ickham businesses are old-established. The name of Coombs has long been associated with grocery and drapery, Mr. Henry Spicer's is the village forge, and Mr. Featherstone is the carpenter and builder: and amongst other industries there is also an unusual one— the india-rubber works of Messrs. Tatter-sall and Co., where fine cut sheet and various designs of tobacco pouches and other articles in which that material is used, are

ICKHAM CHURCH.

This church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, stands about a hundred yards from the main road, the intervening space being occupied by a village green, from which the church is seen to advantage. Its design is cruciform, and it consists of a lengthy chancel, transepts, nave, and aisles, south porch, and western tower and spire. Ickhamites have cause to complain that their handsome and interesting church has been rather over-looked. It was passed over by Sir Stephen Glynne, the Rev. A. Hussey merely mentioned it without any description, it was unnoticed by the Rev. Philip Parsons in his ‘One Hundred Churches m East Kent,” while Murrav’s Handbook of Kent ignores Ickham altogether. All this is passing strange, because Ickham church has justly been described as one of ereat interest and beauty. To trive the reader a general idea of its dimensions, we fall back on some measurements taken by the late rector, the Rev. E. Gilder. Its whole length is 126 feet 9 inches, its width 39 feet 9inches, height of chancel arch 24 feet, the cross, including both transepts and width of nave, 67 feet 6 inches, and the height of tow^er 58 feet. When the Rev. Canon Nisbet came to Ickham rectory some three years ago he found that notwithstanding the church’s beauti-* ful proportions, it stood sadly in need of restoration, and he forthwith enlisted the interest of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners whose architcet, Mr. W. D. Caroe, F.S.A., produced a report, and when the estimate was made, it was found that £3500 was needed to thoroughly restore the edifice. It. seemed a hopeless task to raise so much money, but a vigorous effort was made, and sufficient was obtained to carry out the work most pressing; and although the re-rcofing of the nave, aisles, and transepts, as well as other parts of the restoration have yet to wait, with a sum .of about £.1500 which has been raised, a great transformation has been made, which is at once apparent on entering. The body of the church consists of a rather wide nave and narrow north and south aisles, and at some previous renovation the floor of the nave had been raised, probably with the object of avoiding dry rot-, hence there was a step up from the aisles into the nave. In the recent restoration the nave has been lowered to its original level, and wood block paving laid in the nave and transepts, the change having greatly improved the appearance of the interior; while the new seats that replace the ugly and comfortless furniture, are comely and convenient. The north and south aisles, which are not much wider than passages—the one 7 feet 10 inches and the other 8 feet 7 inches—are tile paved and are not seated, with the exception of forms against the walls, which are only for occasional use. This nave, which was originally built in the Norman period, had its aisles added later, and the arcades of four bays each appear as though they were constructed by portions of the outer wall being left as piers to support the pointed arches that are pierced through them. Tn the pointed arches there is one exception, the arch on the north side, next the transept, being semi-circular, and its edge formed into a small round moulding, suggesting that prior to the addition the aisles there was here some little annex, chapel or chantry. The transepts, which are a very effective part of the building, were not added until the 14th century. Previous to that time the east end of the Church is supposed to have finished w’ith an apse or possibly with one large apse in the centre, smaller ones on each side. Here the improvement is very great. Looking east from the nave, the lofty and spacious chancel has a fine appearance, its eastern wall being graced by a triplet of noble lan-eets. united by a continuous hood moulding. Of the five windows which pierce each of the side walls of the chancels, the westernmost on either side is a two lancet light, surmounted by a quatrefoil, and the others are somewhat broad plain lancets. The four window's nearest the east end are of stained glass in memory of the Rev. Edward Gilder. M.A , and Mts. Gilder. The eastern window is of very fine stained glass, portraying in six sections scriptural subjects, the central one being the Crucifixion. This was erected in 1899 by Mrs. A. Constance E. Phillips, of Lee Priory, in memory of her husband, the late Francis Phillips, Esq., J.P. There is in the south wall a piscena, having two basins, beneath a boldly trefoiled arch, which springs from ! circular detached shafts. The double lancet 1 window on the south side is filled with stained glass by Colonel F. Beauchamp, of , the Royal Fusiliers, in memory of his wife,

; the youngest daughter of R. C. and E. C.

Kingsford. late of Seaton, who died at Coo-j noor, India, 1884. Turning into the south : transept, a lofty three-light decorated south I window' commands attention. It seems to : have been placed high for the purpose of giving room below for a recessed tomb of a Knight, whose effigy full length represents him in a full suit of 14th Century armour. The front of the tomb is ornamented with a band of well-moulded quatrefoiled lozenges, and over it is a crocked canopy surmounting a doubly cusped sevenfoiled arch, flanked by butresses and crocketed finials. The name of the Knight is not known, but it is supposed to be Thomas de Baa, or Bay, one of the earliest owners of the Manor of Bay in this parish. This transept in consequence has always been called the Bay chancel. In the east wall is another fine three-light window, having in its head a St. George's Cross in a circle. In the recess under the window has evidently been an altar, the accommodation for it being provided by a projection outside, evidently made later than the wall itself. On the side of the. altar recess is a piscena. In the floor are gravestones in memory of the Austen family, of the Bay Estate, the dates ranging from 1647 to 1652. On one stone the name is clearly Austen, and on the other, five years later, Austin. In the north transept there is also an altar recess under the east window built out like the one on the south side, and a piscena be-i' side it. In this recess now stands the
ancient parish chest, bound with broad bands of iron, and having three fastenings and peculiar iron side handles. The semicircular lid is hollowed out of one tree trunk. This curious chest was given to the Church in the year 1394 by John Denys, of Apulton, for the purpose of holding the altar vessels and books. The altar which stood in the recess under this east window is supposed to have been the one for the perpetual chantry founded by John Denis of Apulton about the middle of the 14th Century. There is under the north window’ of this transept a recessed canopied tomb simila* to the one in the south chancel. This has upon it the effigy of a priest, in simple oucharistic vestments, his feet resting on a dog. As this transept has always been known as the Lee Chancel, this figure probj.bly represents Thomas at Lee priest of Denis chantry. Others have sug^ gested that the tomb might be that of William Heghtresbury, Rector of Ickham, but there seems no special reason why this Rector should have had a tomb in this position. Hasted says it is the tomb of Richard de la Legh, but as that ancient personage was not a priest the error is apparent. On the east wall of this chancel is a curious monument of Sir William Southland, of Lee. obit. 1038. The symbolism of the monument is illustrative of the flight of time. At ibe top are two bells suspended on an hour glass, below which is the dial of a clock with the sun in its centre. Underneath is a death’s head, flanked by a pair of wings. After the inscription, which gives details of the deceased and his family, are seven lines of Latin verse commencing : —

Terram terra premit, conclusus carcere

Templum templa tenet, Urnula corpus habet ’’’

At the entrance to this Lee chancel is the vault of the Barretts, of Lee, and in the floor in front of the pulpit is a stone, and on the wall tablets, in their memory. In the chancel floor is a tombstone, robbed of its brass, in memory of Martin de Hampton, who was Rector of Ickham in 1285, and a Canon of Wingham. A floriated cross in brass adorned his stone, and the inscription in Lombardic characters can still be deciphered. The very handsome carved pulpit (designed by Mr. Bloomfield), and the beautiful eagle lectern of brass, were presented to the Church by Mrs. Musgrave Hilton 27 j ears ago. The modern font was the gift of Mrs. Howley, wife of the Archbishop. The western doorway under the tower is perhaps the most pronounced relic of Norman architecture. It has small angle shafts, and its arch has an embattled moulding, surmounted by the billet. The tower itself seems to have been reconstructed when the aisles were built. The clock and shingled spire, which cost £534, were added in 1870 at the expense of Mrs. S. Musgrave Hilton, of Bramling. There was a. small spire earlier, but, being in a dangerous staie, in 1825 it was pulled down, and the top of the tower embattled. That alteration cost £155, which was defrayed by Church Rate amounting to 1/6 in the £. It is recorded that at the Visitation of 1511 the bells needed repair, and they appear to have continued to need it until 1641, when the four bells which now hang in the tower were cast by John Palmer, of Canterbury, rhe names of John Fayerman and Michael Trappe, Churchwardens, appear on each bell, and on the largest is the prayer. Lord Jesu Christ, receve each sol for home this bell shal tol ”

IN THE CHURCHYARD.

It is noticable that in the Churchyard are a large number of memorials for the Minter family. On the east side of the path near the south door is a headstone witn this inscription: ‘‘Here lieth the mortal remains of Thomas Minter, who declared his wisdom by the fear of the Lord, and his understanding by departing from evil. He died 25th June, 1807, aged 22. Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit.” The Minter stones are all in a group, and go back as far as 1730.

RECTORS OF ICKHAM.

There have been, according to the list contained in the 14th volume of Archseo-logia Cantiana, 38 Rectors of Ickham since 1283. The first on record is Walter de Chelecumb. Amongst 38 there are some worthy ox note. Robert de Norton was a great ecclesiastical lawyer, and acted as Proctor at the Court of Rome in 1322. William Heghtresbury, instituted in 1354. had the title of “Professor of the Sacred Page.” He died here in 1372, and he bequeathed several books and vestments to Ickham Church. William Blankpayn, instituted in 1386 was also “ Professor of the Sacred Page.” Richard Martins, instituted in 1492, had the title of “ A bishop in the Universal Church.” He had been Bishop of St David's, and being deprived for political reasons on the accession of Richard III., he having no diocese he acted as a sufragan, helpful to other Bishops, and was therefore styled “ A Bishop of the Universal Church.” John Frankelyn. instituted in 1499, held the benefice 36 years. He appears to have been a man of means, for he left legacies for the repair of Ickham Church and the Chapel of Well. He left several vessels and vestments for the Church, and he directed “every fourth week throughout the year, the three curates of Ickham, Wickham. and Littlebourne, with their clerks, should meet in Ickham Church and all sing Dirige with the whole service, for his soul ” Edmund Cranmer. brother of the Archbishop, collated hither in 1547. He was deprived of the benefice in 1534, in Queen Mary’s time, because he was a married man. William Kingsley, S.T.P. (Professor of Sacred Theology), came to Ickham in 1617. A petition was sent to Parliament alleging that he nreached poisonous doctrines in Ickham Church in May, 1634. His words to which objection was taken were “Parliament sat for nothing but to undo the Kingdom, and that the laitv were not all competent to search the Scriptures." John Lvnch, D.D., was one of the nineteen childre i bom to John Lynch of Staple. He was instituted at Ickham in 1731. He was better known as Dean Lynch. A great manv of the Rectors have been Canons of W7ingham. The present Rector, the Rev. Canon Matthew Alexander Nisbet, M.A., of Jesus College, Cambridge, is hon. Canon of Canterbury. For nearly twenty years he was rector of Ringwould. from whence he removed to this parish. At Ringwould he took much interest in promoting elementary education, both in his own parish, and in the Dover Rural District, where he was a Councillor and Chairman of the Education Committee. At Ickham he has found it necessary to concentrate his energies more exclusively on his parochial sphere owing to the demands which church restoration has made unon him, and in that respect he sets a good example, not only in his devotion to the work, but in his own private liberality, his name heading the subscription list for £200. His time at Ickham, as vet. has been short, but he has already crowded a good deal into it, the indications being that Canon Nisbet will not be the least of the rectors of Ickham. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION.

The education question at Ickham is not so burning as in some parishes. Its history runs back at least a hundred years. The first school was of a very primitive character. In 1838 a national school was built by subscriptions to accommodate 100 children, and now the National Schools on a new site a short distance south-east of the church, afford ample accommodation for the village, and aTe conveniently and substantially built for educational purposes. The master is Mr. Edward John Knowles.
 

If anyone should have any pictures that they think would be nice accompanying this page, either ancient or modern address:-
Page 46 Valid CSS MENU PAGE Valid XTHML Page 48