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OUR VILLAGES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY AND NOW. (1901) ACRISE THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, 4 JULY, 1902. OUR VILLAGESLIX.—ACRISE. Acrise is a small village in a parish of the same name, having an area of |K*S acres, and situate on elevated land about five miles north of Folkestone, on the verge of Elham Valley, a mile aud a half from Elham railway station. Us natur-.I situation would have made its higher i aj is bleak, but. the care of successive ^orda o' the Manor to plant the village and its1 surroundings wiljh trees, has resulted m I giving shelter to the uplands and clothing | the ravines with sylvan beauty. ACRISE HISTORY. The history of Acrise, as far as its records have been preserved, commences with the Conquest. The land, having previously been held bv Saxon Thines, who helped to resist the Norman invasion, at the partition of territory which afterwards took place, this Manor was amongst the lands appropriated by Odo, the newly-made Earl of Kent, better known as the Bishop of Bayeux. Greed and ambition having quickly brought that powerful Norman to an end of his career, this Manor was granted to Anschitil de Ros, who having been mesne tenant, thenceforth held it direct from the Crown. Still continuing in the possession of his descendants, the name of the familv changed to Cosenton. Sir Stephen de Cosenton held it in th.* reign of Edward III., the fact being proved by a record that Sir Stephen was granted a charter of Free Warren for Acrise in that reign. The same family continued in possession of Acrise during the next two centuries. Early in the reign of Henry VIII., Thomas Cosenton, Esq., dying without male issue, his three daughters became his co-heirs, sharing a large inheritance, and this Manor came to Elizabeth, the youngest daughter, who married Alexander Hamon, Esq., who died possessed of the property in 1613, leaving two daughters, his co-heirs. This Manor of Acrise fell to the share of Catherine Hamon. who married Sir Robert Lewknor. and he thereby became possessed of it. It continued to be the possession of the Lewknors until the year 1666. when Robert, the grandson of Sir Robert Lewknor, sold it to Mr. Thomas Papillon. A SIX HUNDRED YEARS’ TENURE. This Manor of Acrise seems to be a remarkable instance of a very long tenure by the same family. Here is the remarkable succession extending over 600 years! Ans-chitel de Boss, the mesne tenant at the Conquest, on the banishment of the Bishop of Bayeux becomes the lord of the Manor, his descendants were the Cosentons cf the 14th 15th and 16th Centuries, and a daughter of a Consenton, early in the 16th Century, carried the property by marriage to a Hamon, and the daughter of a Hamon, in the 17th Century, carried it in marriage to a Lewknor, and the first time the property seems to have been sold was in 1666. when Thomas Papillon bought it exactly 600 years after the Conquest, and it has only been sold once since. THE MANOR OF BRANDRED. Brandred is a Manor which existed in the north-east of the parish, which, at the Domesday survey, was part of the possessions of St. Martin’s Priory, Dover, its extent being then about 100 acres. It continued in the possession of St. Martin’s, Dover, until the suppression of the Dover Priory, when it went to the Crown, and afterwards to the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth Brandred became the property and residence of the Marsh family, descendants of the Marsh’s of Martin, in East Langdon. The Marsh’s seem to have continued there down to about the year 1666, when Brandred seems to have been merged in the Manor of Acrise. THE HEYMAN FAMILY. In dealing with the historical side of Acrise, it would be interesting to arrive at some conclusion as to the reasou why the curious brass was plaeed in Acrise Church as a memorial to Mary Heymiu. wife of Peter Heyman, Esq., of Sellinge. The brass is a beautiful piece of workmanship, and is in very good preservation. It states that the lady whom it commemorates died on the 7th day of June, 1601, at the age of 76. The memorials in this small church are con-.fined almost exclusively to the members of the families who have been residents at Acrise Place. Are we to assume that Mary Heyman was resident there ? In the list of owners of Acrise the Heyman 3 are never mentioned, but the Hamons were there from the time of Henry VIII. until the reign of James I., and it seems highly probable that Hamon, Hayman. and Heyman were all different ways of spelling the same family name. As far as we can gather, Peter Heyman, the husband of Mary Heyman above-named, was an Ecclesiastical •surveyor, or one who casually acted in that capacity for Archbishop Cramner. This lacy was, we believe, the mother or grandmother of the rather notorious Sir Peter Heyman, a member of Parliament for Kent, who in 1628 took an active part in drawing up the famous declaration agamst taxation without the consent of Parliament, and he was one of six members who forcibly held Sir John Finch, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the chair while the declara-.tion was being read and passed. Heyman told the Speaker that although he was oI his own county and his own blood, he was a disgrace to Kent and a blot on a noble name. For this act Sir Peter Heyman waa sent to the Tower, and subsequently out of the country; but having returned in 1640, he was elected member for Dover, and took an active part in opposing Charles 1.8 Ship Money fo? whichCharles gave him the name of “ Viper.” This, however, is not a direct answer to the question why Mary was interred in Acrise Church. The reason seems to be that she was nearly Place? and probablf Vs'she Kis^" KM ! Henry VIII., but Hamon, a very ancient, name in Kent, can be traced back nearly r-nnouest- and we infer that Maty ll'Z t™ PapmonrtVi«eof ISm French Protestant family who came Jo Eng- ^inSS5r ieiS 'PaS«! father of Thomas Papillon, was brought to, SCldrownS0t DDavTd i sqffifvfcfiSSSSj introduced the plan of building detached irvL rather than continuous fortifications ii: . n Thomas Papillon. was horn at Putney, ’and as a youth joined with «» lament “Kff'rlstSre'The Kjngto' Ms Pr'ison bnTwas“eleased“nSth‘; bond of Sir Thomas Chamberlain He j came a Director of the East India Com-1 pany, and in early life was a nch man. THE PAPILLONS OF ACRISE. Acrise Place and the Manor in the year 1666 became the property of Mr. Thomas Papillon, who was then a contractor for the Navy. At that time Thomas Papillon was 43 years of age, a man of strong personality, of deep religious convictions, possessing the self-assertion and dogmatism which often marred the otherwise noble natures of the old Puritans. His personal appearance was very striking—brow lofty and broad, flowing hair parted in the centre, full cheeks, mouth firm, and chin prominent. His features in their general cast very much resembled those of John Bun-yan, the likeness being assisted by the dress, which was of the same period. He had married a Kentish lady, his cousin, Jane Broadnax, of Godmersham, whose family had owned that fine domain in the Upper Stour Valley for two centuries, and it was doubtless that association which influenced Mr. Thomas Papillon in settling in Kent. Seven years after coming to Acrise, he presented himself at Dover as a candidate for a seat in Parliament, a vacancy having occurred on Viscount Hinch-ingbroke going to the House of Lords on th» death of his father, the Earl of Sandwich. Papillon has left a record of his electioneering experiences, ^nd although they have more to do with Dover than Acrise, an allusion to them comes in naturally here. It seems that Mr. Papillon s opponent at Dover wras Sir Edward Sprague, a Medway mariner, who by the favour of the Duke, of York had been raised to the rank of Admiral. He was the Court favorite at the election, and in his interest the Mayor of Dover, Mr. Richard Jacob, created faggot freemen, and the Governor of the Castle freely used the soldiers. While this political contest was going on, Mr. Papillon kept his wife at Acrise informed of what was being done. On the eve of the poll he wrote: "Yesterday the Mayor sent for all the pilots and told them what a man Sir Edward Sprague was, and that they should vote for him." It seems that in consequence of this appeal from the Chief Magistrate all the pilots resolved to vote for Sprague except one, and he was hurriedly sent to sea. The same letter concludes thus: “This day they have appointed a Common Couneil on design to make new freemen to serve their purpose, and I am informed they intend the election tomorrow. The Lord direct all for His glory that I may carry it like a Christian, and not be afraid of the man. Sir Henry Oxenden and Brother Turner are pleased to bear me company.” In spite of these adverse influences Mr. Papillon became member for Dover, the new' Freemen not being made early enough to vote against him, but he was debarred from his seat in Parliament owing to an informality in the writ. A second contest took place, and in that case, by the intrusion of faggot voters and the intervention of the Governor of the Castle, Thomas Papillon was defeated, but he petitioned against the return on the ground of undue influences. His opponent, Sir Edward Sprague, had the misfortune to be drowned at sea before the petition was dealt with, but the House of Commons, on hearing the petition, declared Mr. Papillon duly elected for Dover. Mr. T. Papillon was again elected for Dover at the General Election of 1679, his colleague on that occasion being the Mayor of Dover, Captain William Stokes—" a very clear and peaceable election,” Mr. Papillon described it in writing to his wife. Not long after that Mr. Papillon was elected Sheriff of London, but the Lord Mayor, by the King’s influence, returned the opposition candidate, and in consequence Mr. Papillon ordered a Writ of Mandamus to be issued against the Lord Mayor. By a blunder the Lord Mayor, instead of being served with the Writ, was arrested, which resulted in an action for unlawful arrest, which ended in Mr. Papil-lon being condemned to pay £10,000 damages. To avoid that unrighteous judgment Mr. Papillon mortgaged the Acrise Manor and his other estates in Kent, and retired to Holland, where he remained until William III. came to the throne. Then he returned from exile, and in 1689 was again elected as member for Dover with his friend and neighbour Sir Basil Dixwell, of Broome Park, as his colleague. He was also elected an Alderman of London, but that honor he declined to accept owing to the demands on his time by Parliament, the King having given him an office as Chief Commissioner of the Navy, with a salary of £1000 a year This office Mr. Papillon continued to hold during the remainder of his public life. He sat for Dover until 1695, after which he held office without a seat in the House of Commons until 1699, when Mr. Papillon pleaded earnestly for his discharge. The King was very unwilling to part with so faithful a servant, but he persisted in has determination to retire, and was the more urgent for it because he had had the misfortune to lose his most excellent wife, with whom he had lived forty-seven years. Writing for his discharge he said: “I am still, as far as I am able, devoted to His Majesty s service, but by reason of my age and the fatigue I have undergone, I am so debilitated in body, both by palsy m my hands and other natural defects, that I find myself in no way qualified for the post. On his retirement to Acrise the place had lost its great attraction owing to the death ot his prudent wife, who had been such an able and faithful steward at Acrise during his long absences, but he had around him in his declining years a devoted and loving family. He spent the greater part of three years in retirement at Acrise, but in the spring of 17(12 he went to London, and there died on the 5th of May of that year. On the 21st of May his remains were brought from London to be interred in the family vault in Acrise Church On Boughton Hill the funeral procession was met by a number of country gentlemen, some on horseback and others in coaches, and these headed' .the procession, which rested at Canterbury for the night. The same company attended the next day, and on Barham Downs they were met by a still greater concourse from Dover, the whole swelling into a grand cortege as it moved on to Acrise. When the whole company converged into the little Church and Churchyard there was great confusion, for the Church would not accommodate a tithe of those present, and the Churchyard and pounds were crowded. ES? ™ funeralsof that time, but it was impossible to serve all. Three hundred memor.al rings were distributed. about the same number of pairs of cloves and 5/ each was sent to the Freemen ofDover It was a hahit of Mr. Papillon to always set aside one-tcntli of his income for the poor and at his death there stood to the credit of that account £798. which his exe-cutors faithfully distributed He also left several legacies. Amongst others he left £400 to be invested m land, the annual income of which was to be given to about !S &ed1n two°fa^"i Elham.“SS income has done good to a great many people in Dover during 200 years, and the nrinrioal is now worth as much as. if not more than, the original bequest, although for some vears oast it has not yielded so much as formerly owing to the depression in SgrSiltnre. Since the death of Mr. Thomas Papillon five generations of Pillions have lived at Acrise. The Papillon vault was rebuilt by Thomas Papillon of the fifth generation, at the close of the 18th Century, and the last nich in it was filled in 1856, when Thomas’s sister, Frances, of pious memory* was laid to rest. Soon after the property at Acrise passed to the Mac-kinnon family, its present possessors. ACRISE OF TO-DAY. Cerise of to-day may be termed Mac-kinnon’s land, for not only is Mr. W. A. Mackinnon the owner of Acrise Place, Lord of the Manor, and Justice of the Peace, but he is owner of the whole of the parish. Mai.-General W. H. Mackinnon, C.B., while on the Home District Staff, showed high appreciation of Volunteers. He was the commandant of the C.I.V.’s, and led them through the South African War, and through London on their return on October 29th, 1900. William Alexander Mackinnon, Esq., the first of the family who owned Acrise was for 30 years a useful and influential Member of Parliament. He died at the advanced age of 87 years. The estate which he acquired did so much to beautify is in many respects unique. Elevated nearly 500 feet above the sea level, sheltered by trees of may centuries growth, nature and art have combined to give the place luxuriance of beauty combined with touches of natural grandeur. It is stated that the name Acrise is derived from the high situation of the village and the numerous oak trees that abound there. Oak trees are certainly a great feature of the place; the mansion is embelted with them. Grand old oaks they are, and many which must have been saplings in Thomas Papillon’s day. If the theory be correct that an oak requires one century to grow, one century to flourish in full glory, and one century to decay, many of the oaks of Acrise must be just entering on their third century. But the charms of the place do not depend on the oak trees only. The trees which surround the mansion and form the beautiful avenue leading to the Church are of various kinds, abounding in gracefulness such as is rarely surpassed in English woodland scenery. The natural beauties of the locality are enhanced by the care which the proprietor of the place evidently takes in having every rond. path, and hedgerow kept in proper order without imparting that stiffness and formality which too often prevails where art-fittempts to improve on nature. There are three good roads that enter Acrise village, rhe one from Folkestone after passing Uphill, branches off the Swingfield Minnis’ main road just west of Reinden Wood, passes Whitegate farm, dipping into a charming glade, and then entering the village by a rising road which is bordered with , larches and banked with artistically trained ?orse bushes. Another way cuts across jountry from the Dover Road at Lydden by Bwanton, North Court, and St. John's, intersecting the Swingfield Minnis road at :he Windmill, and then zig-zagging by Hoad Farm with its interesting house, Ladwood, :he Rectory, and Acrise Green forms a pretty ipproach to the Church and mansion. This road just before reaching the Green is joined by another rural road, which coming from Denton passes through Brandred and up Winter Down. The other main approach is from the Elham Valley, leaving the Valley main road at Ottinge, and passing up oy the windmill and Mountcourt Farm up to Acrise Place, and to the south side of the Church. All these approaches have their own particular styles of rural beauty, ill very charming. Acrise Court, or Acrise Place as it is more usually designated is i very beautiful mansion, surrounded by pleasant lawns and wooded grounds. Time and a desire for improvement has led its owners to make many structural changes, but the main part of the house is said to have been built in the reign of Henry VIT. by one of the Cosentons. The village itself is rather scattered: the population in 1801 was 100 persons, about the middle of the century it was over 200. and now it is 174 The soil of the parish is mostly flinty, red earth, naturally barren, but by centuries r»f careful culture has been made rich m its pasture, and the arable land is productive. ACRISE CHURCH. The Church is a very interesting feature of the village, standing between the Green and the mansion so embedded in trees which for height dwarf its modest turret that it is not seen from the distance. The Churchyard has pretty beds of flowers on both sides of the path to the church porch. The edifice is dedicated to St. Martin, probably after the Priory of St. Martin-le-Grand at Dover, w'hich once possessed land in this parish. It consists of a nave and chancel, a small porch, and a tower surmounted by a small turret. The Church seems to be of the Norman period, and perhaps its most noticeable feature is its curious chancel arch, which is pointed in shape, but has the zig-zag ornaments of an earlier period, being somewhat of an archaeological puzzle, the explanation of which seems to be that originally the arch was semi-circular, in keeping with its ornamentation and the shafts on which it- rests, but it being desired to make a loftier opening into the chancel some local architect transformed the low' round arch into a higher pointed one, economically using up the old materials. The frugality of the builder has resulted in leaving a feature in the Church which, although a little incongruous, is very interesting At the west end of the Church is a small gallery with a royal coat of arms in front of it dating from the 16th century. The two lancets which form the eastern lights of the chancel are filled with stained glass as memorials of members of the Mackinnon family beneath which is a reredos, the gift of a lady. The body of the Church is seated with old-fashioned pews, the Manor pew being a very large one on the south side at the top of the nave There are in the Church numerous memorials which are historically interesting. There is in the chancel a brass for Alexander Hamon, of Acrise Place, who died in 1613. The oldest brass preserved is the one to which allusion has already been made, in memory of Mary Heyman. It now occu-pies a place on the south wall of the chancel. Underneath a beautifully engraved figure is the inscription: "Here lieth the body of Mary., the wife of Peter Heyman, of Sellinge, in Kent, Esq. , daughter and co-heir of William Tirrell. of Beeches, in Essex, who died 7th day of June. 1911. agod 76 years." There is an Edward Hey-man who is the sexton of Acrise at the SrV’the Church ta{8the“memory of the Papillons. On the south wall is a very fine one with a Latin inscription, to Thomas Panillon, who died in 1702. There is also a monument near it having a Latin inscription. to William Turner, a relative of the Panillons. On the north wall is a fine monument for Thomas Papillon. of the fifth generation, who died in 1838, and of his wife, who died in 1839; os well as memorials of several other members of the family. On the south wall near the chancel arch is a tablet to Captain James Day Cochrane, invalided from the 19th Regiment owing to wounds received in 1846, obit 1867; also in memory of Charles Pitsroy Cochrane, obit 1842. On the north wall is a tablet to the memory of Lionel Daniel Mackinnon, the youngest son of W. A. Mackinnon, Esq., JPi. ..Fe Y1? ? Lieut.-Colouel, and fell at the battle of Inkerman, aged 29 years. A handsome granite tombstone for the late W. A Mackinnon, Esq., M.P., is in the Churchyard near the south poreh. There IB 'KJ definite informatio n as to the age of this Church, but it is recorded that in the reig" of Henry II. William Cosenton, lord of the Manor, gave it to the Priory of Leeds, to which establishment the patronage belonged until the Reformation, and now it is in the gilt of Mr. Mackinnon. The present Rector is the Rev. C. G. Barr, who has been a possessor of the living 14 years. |
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