MONKS HORTON

THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS-FRIDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 1902
OUR VILLAGES

LXXI.—MONKS HORTON

Monks Horton is a small and thinly-popu-lated parish north-west of Stanford, owing its chief importance to the history of its Park and Pnory. The Church is small, and the _ Parish for ecclesiastical purposes is joined with Brabourne, as one cure. HORTON PRIORY.

Horton Priory appears to have been established in the early part of the reign of Henry

II. for monks oi tiie Order of Ulugm, and the Church was dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. The Priory was built and devoted to religious uses by Robert, sou of Bernard de Vere, who married Adelize, daughter of Hugo de Montfort. The first Prior on record was Peter de Aldridge, in the reign of Henry

III. The Priory as it stands now is a large farmhouse, built in ecclesiastical style, having a fine south frontage of about a hundred feet in length, dating, it is supposed, from about the time of the Reformation. There are, however, at the east end of the Priory residence, the remains of the aucient Church, built in the Norman period. The part which is left appears to be the choir, built into the existing residence, and a part of a tower, west of which there is remaining the spring of the first arch of the nave arcade. The arch is in five circuits, embellished with zig-zag dog-tooth and other sculptured enrichments, while the group of circular pillars supporting it are very or-nante. It is not possible to judge from these remains what the Priory Church was in the days of its glory, but it seems probable that it extended quite a hundred feet westward, the nave being flanked by aisles, and probably transepts with a central tower. The Priorv is now an interesting ruin, and the handsome residence, which probably was built from the ruins, is still large and fair, having been in recent years carefully restored. Probably if the subsoil west of the existing buildings were excavated, the dimensions of the ancient Church might be ascertained. The residence is now occupied by Mr. Pilcher, ,who farms the adjoining land, and it has recently become the property of George Cawley Swindells, Esq., of Horton Park. The site of the Priory since its suppression m the reign of Henrv VII. has been held by several owners. First of all it went to the Crown, next to Archbishop Cranmer, very soon after it was conveyed back to the Crown, and then to Richard Tate, of Stock-biiry, who was the leaseholder. He in the reitm of Edward VI. sold the property to William Mantell of Heyfnrd. Northamptonshire, who in the reign of Queen Mary was executed for participation in Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion. The property having neain reverted to the Crown, in the reign of Flizabeth it was given back to Matthew Mantell. the eldest son of the late owner, in whost direct descendants it continued for many generations.

THE PRIORY LANDS.

The Manor of Horton in the western part of the parish was at the time of the Conquest given to Hugo de Montfort, and having reverted to the Crown on the exile of Robert de Montfort. the lands were granted to Robert de Vere, who married Adeliza, the daughter of Hugo de Montfort, and they jointly granted the Manor to the Prior and monks of the new Priory there founded. These lands so continued until the Reformation, when they reverted to the Crown, and they seem to have been subjected to exactly the same changes as the site of the Priory until the reign of Elizabeth, when they reverted to the Crown, and so remained until the reign of Charles I., who granted these lands to the Mayor and citizens of London, who sold them to George Rooke, of Mersham, and from that family they passed in the rei&n of Queen Anne to Thomas Morris, of Mount Morris in this parish, and eventually by inheritance passed to Lord Rokeby, who died in possession of the same a century ago. The other part of Horton called East Horton, or the Manor of Sherford, was in the time of Edward the Confessor part of the possessions of the Convent of St. Augustine, but at the Conquest it was also given to Hugo de Montfort in opposition to the monks, who strenuously defended their possession. On the exile of Robert de Montfort it seems to have gone to the Abbey of St. Augustine again, for in the reign of Edward III. it was held by Richard de Ratling from the Abbot. It remained with his descendants until the reign of Elizabeth, when it was sold to Thomas Morris of London, who in the reign of William 111. erected the handsome mansion known as Mount Morris. This gentleman had a son and a daughter, but the son being drowned at London Bridge, the property want to h's grand-daughter, Elizabeth Drake, m.l Matthew Robinson marrving her beeami possessed of Horton. His son Matthew Robinson, who took the surname of Morris, was Member of Parliament for the City of Canterbury. and late in life in succes3i m to his uncle, the Primate of Ireland, became L< »d Rokebv. who died at Horton Park in November, 1800. He was a very remarkable man. and traditions of his eccentricities are current in the parish in the present «\»v. HORTON MODERN.

A walk through Horton at the present time is a truly rural jaunt in the midst of a pastoral country, where the fresh green meadows promise milk, and the drowsy hum of the bees amongst the flowers suggests honey. The land lies to the west of btone Street and Stanford, and generally takes the form of a shallow valley, from whicn the land slopes up towards Stowting ana Hia-bourne. The road in the direction of Iioitou Priory leaves Stone Street at the entrance to Stanford, passing Hayton and Mbben s Brook. Beyond there, on the ncrt i a Je .f the road, is a pasture irregularly i;roKen up into mounds and hollows, suggestive of entrenchments at some distant i*nod Higham Hill Farm occupies pleasant •?*, and from thence through a deep gorge the road leads past the pretty residence s of Miss Spain, after which a road across the fu'lds leads up to the Priory, which is an out^of-the-wav spot so embowered with trees that it is riot seen in the distance. The surroundings of the Priory are very charming just now, especially the shady meadow on the south front. From the Priory east the road leads to Broad Street, Horton, where a tributary stream of the Old Stour rises, flowuie away to Gibben’s Brook. On the west of Broad Street stands a very remarkable ancient timber-framed house, known as Kite’s Hall. The outside of this house looked so very interesting that we begged the favour of a peep at the interior, which was readilv granted. In the old wide chimney nieces, the stairs, and in the upper floors is much curious carving, and oak beams of wondrous strength, one of the beams having the date 157«. This house. whicTi is the prooerty of Mr. Swindells, of Horton Park, is historical^ and artistically interesting. From Kite’s Hall a road leads ut> to the church, opposite the east end of ¦which is Horton Court, occupied by Mr. Evershed. A ciuarter of a mile further east on the Slone of the hill, a new mansion, which is called TTphorton. has ouite recently been built for 8ir Walter Hillier. Further east is the mansion of Mount Morris. b«Nt in Horton Park in tbe reign of William ITT. —a charming seat, the grounds of which extend from near the church on the west to
| Stone Street on the east, forming one of the 1 most extensive parks in this part of the country, the public road from Broad street, Horton, skirting the south side of it up to where Higher Hill joins Stone Street. A I drive or a walk into the neighbourhood from Westenhanger station has many attractions.

ONE OF THE OLDEN TIME.

¦ The associations of Monk’s Horton, its I Priory, Kite’s Hall, and its Manors, re-call J the past so vividly that in passing through |

, its picturesque lanes and hearing the mur- i I i?7Vr °* waterbrooks we dream dreams. 1 What is it we see ? Is it a dream, or merely !

I a backward glance over a century and two ' years ? Here comes the Lord of the Manor ! Not a mere man bearing the title by SHJk k Possessing a few acres of Mother Earth, but a real peer of the realm, yet so unlike his peers that he would be taken for a hermit or a peasant. He comes on foot with his rude staff, his dress like that of a sou of toil, and his unshorn beard falling

Morts! Horton ma^cff' eccentoc

notions, and having the appearance of a recluse : yet none know the ways of the £igh- 1 teenth Century better than he. Listen to his life s story. Born in the year 1712, he is now in his 88th year, and looks back over a verjr active life. After receiving his education at Aix-la-Chapelle. he flourished as a wit, and his politeness gained him universal admiration. On his return to England he became an ardent, politician of the type known as an unbending Whig, and yet the sedate City of Canterbury sought him as their member, endowing him with the City's freedom to entitle him to represent them 'in Parliament, During the American War he remonstrated with great energy with the dominant party on the way thev dealt with our own kin across the sea, and eventually he became so sick of politics that, he absolutely refused to be chosen again, although by their love for him the Canterbury citizens would never have changed their choice if he would have continued to serve them. But. he cut adrift from politics, and retired to his charming seat at Horton Park. Being endowed with ample means and having : no regard whatever for conventalities. he lived a free life, as vet as a Commoner, for ¦ for his uncle. Lord Rokeby, was then living. • Although perfectly affable, he studied everv- I thing opposite to modern manners. His 1 chief diet was beef tea; he never touched ' wine or any spirituous liquors; and he dis- 1 couraged the use of all articles save those ' that were the produce of our island. At 1 the age of 82, on the death of his uncle, he succeeded to the peerage, but that made no ] difference in his habits. He kept no carriage, never mounted a horse, and allowed ] no liveries to his servants; nevertheless, he ' was remarkably generous and hospitable, ] although his style of speaking and writing ' was harsh. He had such an inveterate ’ hatred of everything artificial that he took ' down his garden walls, let his hedges fall ' so that his flocks and herds might have ' range to roam as they would. He inter- ¦ dieted the plough on his estates, allowing 1 all his arable fields to run to natural grass; * so that his park became large and picture- 1 sque by merely letting it alone. His cattJe « thrived on liberty, and as his soil was rich, i the grazing was very remunerative. But 1 he did not covet money, he rarely put any 1 out at interest. He kept sufficient gold in i chests in his house for fifty years to have < produced £100,000 if it had been at interest ; during that period. He deposited large sums in the hands of bankers, both at home i and on the Continent, but he avoided the ' public funds, in which he had no faith. He said they would fail', and claimed that his prediction had come true when, in 1797, the Bank of England restricted cash payments, j He never raised his rents, and having a great contempt for provincial importance, ‘ was not much in favour with the gentry around him: but was adored by the yeomen and peasantry. Watch his steadv gait as he passes down the road to Hythe. Although the weight of fourscore years and eight cause him to lean heavily on his rustic staff, he is a preat walker still, and although a carriage which he could well afford would best suit his age-enfeebled limbs, he prefers being a pedestrian to the last. Ah ! the turn of the road cuts him off from view, and that is the last glimpse of one who was a marvellous man in his time, and one, taking him for all in all, we ne’er shall see his like again.

MONKS HORTON CHURCH.

The church of Monks Horton is small and plain, while the path up the churchyard approaching it is grass grown, indicating that those who frequent it are not numerous.

It consists of a chancel, nave, bell turret, at the west end, and a small north chapel or vestry opening off the chancel, and having also an external entrance looking west. The main entrance is the west door at the bottom of the nave, which is partially em-porched by two buttresses, serving as a station for parochial notices, but not sheltered with a roof. The fabric seems to have been many times in the hands of the restorers, who have done their work, after the manner of re-builders, so thoroughly that the traces of antiquity are few and indistinct. The south wall shows marks of a built-up door, and on the north side there are externally a series of jutting stones which have evidently been a short flight of steps, and the small builtrup door at that point inside suggests that the steps were used as an approach to a rood loft at the top of the nave. On the face of the external north wall where this door is built up, are three stones of some special significance. The one looks like a monogram representing the initials T. and J., and each side of it are small round-headed stones with crosses on them. Two similar stones marked with crosses are placed on each side the entrance to the churchyard. They are evidently remains of some former portion of the building which has not been restored. The nave externally has no features of interest except the built-up door on the north side of the oulpit. The chancel arch is pointed, but quite plain, resting on solid piers evidently Earlv English of the severest type. At the time when this church was built, there was not much money to spare for mere ornaments. There was a feud between the King and the monks of St. Augustine, and the richest lands of the parish were given to Horton Priorv. which was of an Order differing from St.. Augustine, and subordinate to Lewes Priory, in another diocese. The chancel is more interesting. There is a piscina and sedilia on the south side, and on the north, within the Communion Tail, two ancient stalls and a credence table. The church is lighted throughout with small lancet windows, and the east of the chancel is lighted by a pair of lancets, set about four feet apart, and filled with stained glass, in memory of the Rev. George Booth Perry-Avscouch. B.A., vicar of Brabourne and rector of Horton. 1872-85. who died in the latter yeaT at the age of 46. The subiects of the cartoons are St. Peter and St, Paul. The window was presented h^ his widow, the eldes* daughter of the third Baron Congleton. The whole of the ancient floor memorials and mural tablets have been crowded into the small north chapel or vestrv. There is. over the door, too high up to be convenien+lv ex-! amined. a curious tablet of vellum, whereon • is written a long c.onv of Latin verse, form-ipg • an acrostic foT Sara Momce. apd | pround the same are various ornaments with 1 t*<» arras of +he Mon-i* family and date, exo'mted ip ne^d^work. in m^morv of Sara Morris, wife of Thomas Morris, the
ouuaer oi Mount Morris mansion, whose tomb is close by. Ireland states that this memorial used to be affixed to the wall over Lord Rokebys pew, which probably was in the chancel. There is a mural tablet in this vestry which states that in a vault “ear the slab lies interred the body of the Right Hon. Matthew Robinson Morris, Lord Rokeby, obit 30th November, 1800, aged 88 years. In the vestry on the floor are four tombstones. That nearest the window has a W inscription, bu* veiT difficult to make out. The name is Rooke, but the date is illegible. The three others are to the family of Morris—that in the middle is “To the memory of Mr. Thomas Morris, junr., who was most unfortunately drowned in passing through London Bridge on his return from Holland on 25th day of June, 1697. His body was deposited within this vault.” A long poetical effusion is inscrbed on the tombstone. A tombstone on the left of this latter is to the memory of Thomas Morris, senr , gentleman, obit 1678. and to his wife, obit 1646, and their son Henry, obit 1670. On a white marble tablet on the south wall of the vestry is recorded the death of the aforesaid Thomas Morris, junr., and the pathetic grief of his father, who died 1717, aged 76. for several vears in Commission of the Peace for the County of Kent. The other tombstone on the floor is to the memory of a child aged 5 vears. a daughter of the Morris familv. In the churchyard is an upright, tombstone to the memory of Stephen Bradlv, of this parish, yeoman, obit 1729, aged 60. The ornaments sculptured on it are a sickle with cross bones, half a skull, and a circle enclosing an hourglass. Another -tombstone to the memory of Flzabeth Norrington, obit 1787, 26 years old, has this inscription:

When my tombstone you see, pray think

And bear me in vour mind.

Let all the world say what they will,

Speak bv me as you use to find.

On the south side of the church is a large and ancient yew tree, now much decayed, the girth of its trunk being twenty feet. Growing out of the masonry of the south wall is a large stem of ivv, the branches of ¦which thickl” mantle wth green that part of the fabric.

POPULATION AND EDUCATION.

The nopulation of Monks Horton parish is 133, and in 1891 it was 124, so there is a sign of recent growth. Sixty years ago the population was 186. The houses then numbered 35, and now 21. The children of the parish attend Stanford school.