SELLINGE

THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, 29 AUGUST, 1902.
our Villages

LXVII.—SELLINGE

Selliiige is a village in a parish of the

same name situate 011 the main road about midway between Ashford and Hythe. The parish has an area of 2063 acres, and is intersected by the South-Eastern Railway, the nearest, stations being Smeeth and West-enlianger.

SELLINGE FROM THE CONQUEST.

Prior to the Conquest there is nothing de-jfinitely recorded of Sellinge, although it is well known that the Hundred of Street, in which it is partly situate, and Romney Marsh, to which the parish extends, were •within the bounds of Roman stations. In Domesday Book the place is mentioned under the name of Sedlenges. At the re-distribution of the lands after the Conquest the former Saxon holder of Sellinge was- displaced, and the Manor was given to Hugh or Hugo de Montfort, who was one of the few leading nobles who had accompanied the Conqueror from Normandy, and had fought bv his side at Hastings. The rewards which Hugo received in lands and honours was large, he being one of the four royal favorites who shared with the seven great religious establishments, as chief tenants under the King, of nearly all the lands inKent. Hugo's share extended as far as Ashford, although not continuously, and he also held Saltwood. the Castle of which he restored. His lands descended to his son, and to his son's son, Robert de Montfort. who having favoured the title of Robert Curthose to the throne against King Henry I., to save himself from the consequences, went into exile, leaving his possessions to the King: and so ended the Montfort tenure of Sellinge. Salt-wood, and other Manors in East Kent. Saltwpod went to the Earl of Essex, and Sellinge was granted to William de Planer, a Norman, but he also was involved in State troubles: and in the reign of King John •the Crown again took possession of the Manor. It does not appear that the whole of the Sellinge lands which were held by Hugo de Montfort were ever again held by one territorial chief. The part which retained the name of the Manor of S>?llinge was h^ld for knight’s service in connection with Dover Castle. Afterwards it came to be private property, and was sold to a succession of owners as such. On the southern boundaries of the parish there was another Manor named Haringe. Another Maror was ancientlv called Somerville, and later Great Wilmington. These three Manors ultimately came into the possession of the Heyman family, who were people of consequence in East Kent from the time of Henry VIII. till ihe reign of Charles II. In the heyday of this family the land of this parish was nearer being united in one holding lhan it had been from the time of Hugo de Montfort- **nt the Heymans only held the sub-Manors of Sellinge. Somerville, and Haringe. The fourth sub-Manor of Hodiford on the north, west of the parish from the Middle Ages was held by a family named Hode-worde: and after their dav came the

Cardens, in Henrv VTIT.’s reign, the Cobbs in the reign of Elizabeth, and after them the Godfrys came in the reign of Chnrles I., continuing to hold land in the parish until recent times.

NOTABLE MEN OF SELLINGE.

The men of Sellinge who have left their mark on history are few. With the Mont-forts Sellinge can only claim a connection in the very remote past, extending over three generations after the Conquest. Hugo de Montfort the first was a Norman warrior who rendered such distinguished aid to the Conqueror that he was rewarded with many rich Manors taken from the families of Saxon soldiers who bit the dust at Hastings. The same independence of spirit which raised the Montforts to the pinnacle of fame and power, in the course of three generations brought them low, for Robert, the grandson of Hugo, taking a side against Henry I., had to leave the country and forfeit all the rewards that his grandfather had won. These Montforts held the whole of Sellinge, and it is believed that during their time the church w.is built. Simon de Montfort—it is believed of the same family—came back to England in the Teign of King John. He married Eleanor, sister of Henry III., and immediately after espoused the popular cause and joined the barons in defence of popular liberty. Simon de Montfort was a landowner in Kent, but the only trace of association of that great man with Sellinge was in connection with an alleged miracle. It was the fate of Simon de Montfort to be slain in battle during the wars of the Barons, and his rema ns were mutilated: but the people called him Simon the Righteous, and amongst many miracles alleged to have been wrought by his remains was one of which John, the vicar of Sellinge, bore witness. There were no less than 212 miracles ascribed to “Sir Simon the Righteous.” The process was to place around the body of the afflicted person a bandage that had previously been round the body of Simon, and immediately they were made whole. We can only suppose that the cures wrought were the result of strong faith and imagination, but the fact that all these cures were alleged to have taken place was proof of the high estimation in which Simon de Montfort was held. The Navy of the Cinque Ports sided with Simon de Montfort against Henrv III., and Simon’s two sons, having bv their father’s downfall, lost their estates, hecame daring pirates in connection with the Cinque Ports Fleet. Turning now from the .Montforts, at a much later date the Heymiuis flourished at Somerfield, anciently called Somerville. The man who made the greatest figure in public life was Sir Peter Heyman, one of the Kentish members of the House of Commons during the reign of Charles I., and of the party who held the Speaker, Sir John Finch, in the chair while the Commons napped a protest against the unauthorised subsidies. During that scene in the House ..f Commons. Blackie’s History of England suvs: “Sir Peter Heyman. a gentleman of the Speaker’s own county and of his own blood, told him that he blushed at be-iii" his kinsman—that he was a disgrace to his country.” Sir Peter ended bv recommending that if the Speaker would not.do his dutv that he should be brought to the Bar of the House and a new Speaker elected in his room. That, however was not done, but thev locked the door of the House and held the Speaker in the chair until their protest was voted. Tn consequence of this, those who subjected the Sneaker to force, of whom Sir Peter Hrvman was one._ were rnlled bv the King “Vipers.” F>r this act Hevman and his comnamons we e arresteel and spnt to the Tower, his house at Sonvrfield was searched for papers, and be-f .ro bfine relieved had tn nav h^avy fines. This harshness did not convert t’>o Hevmans into Rnvalists Sir Henrv Hevman. of Somerfield Sellin»?e. aonrised th«> Honso of f-nmmnns of the Knvalist mine n Kent in 1R4S. and i+ was this prompt intimation that rnnbled the Parliament, to vmd down tronns which snnnressed the rebellion. One of the nlnces where a dooot of arms w»s ?.i7Pd was at Scott’s Hall, nen^ Ashford: and Som^rfield wns also visited. T+ was the Royalist cause that was then popular in
East Kent, and one of the rhymes of the times was—

“ Somerfield Shall quickly yield:

Scott’s Hall Shall have a fall;

Mersham Hatch Shall win the match.”

Sir Peter Heyman, after his release from the Tower, was sent to the Palatinate 011 some frivilous pretext, so that he might be out of the country. He, however, came back, and just before the Civil War was sent again to the House of Commons as the Member for lJover where, armed with the charter of Edward IV., he pleaded the privileges of the Dover mariners and opposed the illegal imposition of ship-money. He served Dover two years in the Long Parliament, and then retired. Sir Peter Heyman s mother was the grand-daughter of another Sellinge worthy, Mr. William Tylle, a man of great learning, who was Ambassador in the early part of the reign of Henry VIII.

MODERN SELLINGE.

Sellinge margins all on the roadside. There is 110 green, no lanes and windings where the ! cottages play hide and seek. The village for a considerable distance, margins a I straight, broad road, which lies high enough 1 a£or<i commanding views of the neigh- ! bourhood, more especially to the north and west. With the exception of the quaint old I Church, which occupies a knoll on the south I side of the way, there are few marks of ! antiquity. Many of the houses are new, 1 and all so large and substantial that the ' wonder was where the cottagers dwelt. The Vicarage is a pretty residence south of the Church, and amongst other residences we noticed The Towers, Woodlands, The Firs, ! Guinea Hall, Moorstock, The Laurels, Grove 1 House. Hale House, and Rock Cottage. There is a very fair representation of trade I and commercial elements, arising no doubt from its vicinity to Ashford, where the trade and agricultural interests of the neighbourhood have their head centre. The well-known auctioneers Messrs. W. & B. Hobbs have an office here, and there are etablishments in the following lines of business: bricklayers, graziers, market gardeners. builders, engineers, agricultural implements, miller, tailor, grocer, blacksmith, stock dealer, grocers, bakers, shoemakers, several farmers, and public houses, of which the principal one seems to be the Duke’s Head. There is a handsome Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1883; schools built in 1841, now under a School Board, of which Mr. James Hobbs is the clerk. The School was enlarged in 1880, and now has an average attendance of about 140. In every respect Sellinge seems to be a thriving up-to-date village with a future. The parish, which is two miles in the direction which the road runs, and rather more the other way, is watered b^ three streams : one which rises at Postling and is called the Old Stour, and is joined by two others from Stouting and Brabourne, and thence flows to Ashford. The Ashford and Hythe road leads direct through the partsh, across a common called Sellinge Lees, where the village ancient and modern has grown up. Somerfield Hall, the ] notable residence of the Heymans, is a little • w’ay off this road, and just opposite the} Church is the hamlet of Stoneliill. llie j northern part of the parish lies low and damp, but is well suited for pasturage, while on the south the land lies liieh, and is rich in quarry stone*. All through the last century, excepting slight fluctuations., Sellinge has been growing. In the year 1801 the population numbered 361, and in 1831 it had* increased to 539. but in 1841 it had j fallen to 476. In 1891 the population was ! 626, and in 1901 it had increased to 708. The j number of houses in 1841 was 106. and now; 171. There are on the present register 142 ] electors, leaving 29 householders unenfran- { chised. j

SELLINGE CHURCH

The church of St. Mary at Sellinge is | charmingly situated on a knoll on the south i side of the road, inviting attention and well ¦ worthy of it Its surroundings are very beautiful, enhanced by trees of luxuriant foliage, amongst which the old yews stand as witnesses of past ages. One of these yews is remarkable, having a girth of sixteen feet, a yard from the surface of the ground The church, which is Early English in style, with traces of Norman, consists of a high chancel, a large north chancel, a nave, a north aisle, north and south porches, and a western tower, with pointed shingled roof, in which are hung five bells. The church which is mainly built of local stone, though ancient, is not mentioned in Domesday Book, and it is very probable that it did not exist at that period, it being supposed to have been built early in the Norman period. After the time of the Montforts, this Manor of Sellinge being held in capite for knight’s service for Dover Castle,, this church was was appended to that fortress; and in the reign of Henry III. Hubert de Burgh, Lieutenant of Dover Castle, gave this church to the Hospital of the Maison Dieu, in Dover, which he founded, which act suggests the idea that Hubert de Burgh had to do with its building, or probably its enlargement. From the traces of Norman in the structure, it mav be supposed that the Montforts built a small church here soon after the Conquest, and that Hubert de Burgh enlarged it in the Early English style. In the early part of the reign of Richard II.. the edifice became part of the possessions of ( the Abbey of Pontiniac, but it rever-! ted back soon after to the Maison Dieu: at Dover, and continued until the Reformation, when the Crown took it over. In the reign of Elizabeth it was given to Archbis- . hop Parke, but it again reverted to the ; Crown, where it remained only a short time,' it being now in private patronage, the gift of Mrs. Gwatkin and has been held since 1897 by the Rev. C. E. Outram, M.A. The church bears marks of early restoration, I which introduced some features of the Per-' pendicular style. In 1630 there were alterations which were not architectually speaking improvements. A gallery was erected by Walter Man tell, Esq., of Horton Priory, at that date, with the armorial bearings of his family carved on the front. Whitewash and plaster was also introduced at that time, covering up some characteristic features of the old edifice. The gallery is now removed, and so is the whitewash. The scraoing off of the latter revealed a trefoil-headed piscina on the south wall of the chancel, and several dedication crosses in circles. The church was restored in 1847. Some of its memorials seem to have disappeared, but it still contains several monuments, includimr an altar tomb for Peter Heyman and his wife, placed in the opening between the high and north chancels. Hasted savs that there were kneelinsr effieies of Ppter Heyman and his wife, but there is only the effigv of Peter Hevman now remaining. Tn the wall of the north chancel is a perpendicnlar sepulchral arch enclosing a tomb of the time of Elizabeth. and the north wall has a square recess. There was formerlv in the floor of the hieh chancel a stone with brass to the mpmorv of John Bernvs and Joane his wife, obit 1440. hut. it has heen removpd. Them is a mural tablet to Thomas Godfrev. obit 1664 The handsome stained past window erected in 1870 is in memory of George Paine, who died in 1858 .