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  • Kent A-E

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    A

    Acrise
    Acers: Ansketel de Rots from Bishop of Bayeux. Church.
    Deserted. Acrise Place, a Tudor mansion was owned by the Papillon family.

    Addington
    Ralph son of Thorold from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 2 mills.
    2 Neolithic tombs are nearby.

    Adisham
    Edesham: Archbishop of Canterbury's monks.
    Sprawling.

    Aldglose
    Aldelose: Bishop of Bayeux, but outside his territory.
    Outskirts of Brabourne.

    Aldington (near Hythe)
    Aldintone: Archbishop of Canterbury. Church, 3 mills, 3 fisheries.
    Home of Elizabeth Barton, Holy Maid of Kent, a servant who claimed to see visions. She was hanged in 1534 after denouncing Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn.

    Aldington (in Thurnham)
    Audintone: Ansgot of Rochester from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill.
    Part of Thurnham village.

    Allington (in Hollingbourne)
    Alnoitone: Hugh de Port from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 2½ mills.
    Allington Farm.

    Allington (near Maidstone)
    Elentun: Ansketel from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, ½ mill.
    Moated Allington Castle, founded soon after the Conquest and restored in the 20th century, belongs to the Carmelite Fathers. Sir Thomas Wyatt, Tudor poet and courtier, was born here.

    Appledore
    Apeldres: Archbishop of Canterbury's monks. Church, 6 fisheries.
    On the edge of Romney Marsh. Danish stronghold in the Andred Forest, and a busy port until the River Rother changed course in 1287.

    Appleton
    Apletone: Ralph from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Appleton Manor.

    Arnolton
    Ernoltun / ultone: Ansfrid from Bishop of Bayeux; Ranulf. 2 salthouses, with 1 dwelling in the City of Canterbury.
    Lost.

    Ash
    Eisse: Hugh de Port from Bishop of Bayeux.
    On downland; 17th century manor house.

    Ashenfield
    Esmerefel: Ansketel from St. Augustine's abbey.
    Ashenfield Farm.

    Ashford
    Allia Essetesford: Maino from Hugh de Montfort. Church, 2 mills.
    London dormitory town with busy market and industry.

    Atterton
    Etretone: Hugh de Montfort, but part claimed by Canons of St. Martins of Dover. Mill.
    Part of Dover.

    Aylesford
    Elesford: King's land. Mill.
    Picturesque. Hengist and Horsa defeated the British here in 455. The first Carmelite Friary was founded here in 1292 and restored in 1949.

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    B

    Badlesmere
    Badelesmore / Bedenesmere: Bishop of Bayeux, claimed by St. Augustine's Abbey before 1066. Church, fishery.
    Tiny church.

    Barfreston
    Berfrestone: Ralph de Courbépine from Bishop of Bayeux; a poor woman paid 3½d.
    Isolated on hilltop. The Norman church, built of flint and Caen stone at time of Domesday, is noted for its carved-stone decorations.

    Barham
    Berham: Fulbert from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 3 mills, 25 fisheries.
    Prehistoric earthwork, Roman burial mounds and Saxon cemetery on Barham Downs.

    Beamonston
    Betmontestun:
    Lost.

    Beauxfield
    Bevesfel:
    Lost.

    Beckenham
    Bacheham: Ansgot of Rochester from Bishop of Bayeux. Mill.
    Residential London suburb.

    Beckley
    Bichelei: Adam from Bishop of Bayeux. Mill.
    Beckley Hill in industrial marshland.

    Bekesbourne
    Burnes / Borne: Bishop of Bayeux; St. Augustine's Abbey. Church, mill, salthouse, 1½ fisheries.
    Archbishop Cranmer lived here.

    Bensted
    Benedestede: Aethelwold also holds BENSTED from the Bishop [of Bayeux]; Robert holds it at a revenue. It answers for 1 yoke. Land for ....In lordship 1 plough, with 5 slaves. Meadow, 1 acre; woodland, 6 pigs. Value before 1066 and later 20s; now 40s. Godric held it from Young Alnoth.
    Lost.

    Berwick
    Berewic: William of Adisham from Archbishop of Canterbury.

    Betteshanger
    Bedesham: Osbern son of Ledhard from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Site of lost medieval village; mansion in parkland.

    Bexley
    Bix: Archbishop of Canterbury. Church, 3 mills.
    Thames-side London borough.

    Bilsington
    Bilsuitone: Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 10 salthouses, 2 fisheries.
    On the edge of Romney Marsh.

    Birling
    Berlinge: Ralph de Courbèpine from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill, fishery (60 eels). 330 eels.
    Attractive.

    Bishopsbourne
    Burnes: Archbishop of Canterbury. Church, 2 mills.
    Writer Joseph Conrad lived in what is now the rectory for 5 years before his death in 1924.

    Blackmanstone
    Blachemenestone: Harvey from Hugh de Montfort. Church; named after Blackman, who held it formerly.
    Deserted.

    Blean
    Bleham: Hamo the Sheriff. Church, fishery.
    Once in the royal forest of Blean; Blean Woods and Dunkirk Woods nearby (now a nature reserve) are all that remain.

    Bodsham
    Bodesham: Geoffrey from St. Augustine's Abbey.
    Now Bodsham Green.

    Bonnington
    Bonintone: William son of Gross from Hugh de Montfort. Church.
    The church, of Norman foundations, is dedicated to St. Rumbold, who, legend has it, professed Christianity and preached a sermon before he died aged 3 days.

    Borstal
    Borchetelle / Borcstele: Bishop of Rochester. 2 mills.
    The first Borstal institution for young offenders was established here in 1901.

    Boswell Banks
    Brochestele:
    Lost.

    Boughton Aluph
    Boltune: Count Eustace. Church, 2 mills.
    Boughton Court manor house. A fireplace in the church porch may have been used by medieval pilgrims.

    Boughton Malherbe
    Boltone: Ralph son of Thorold from Archbishop of Canterbury; Hugh nephew of Herbert from Bishop of Bayeux. 2 churches.
    Fine views across the Weald. Sir Henry Wotton, the Elizabethan poet and diplomat, lived in the manor house behind the church.

    Bowley
    Bogelei: Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill.
    Bowley Farm.

    Boxley
    Boseleu: Robert Latimer from Bishop of Bayeux. 3 mills.
    At the foot of the Downs. Boxley Abbey, founded 1146, was famous for its Rood of Grace on which Christ's figure miraculously moved; exposed as a mechanical fraud in 1539. The abbey's 13th century tithe barn still stands.

    Brabourne
    Brade / Breburne: Hugh de Montfort. Church, 2 mills.

    Brasted
    Briestede: Hamo the Sheriff holds BRASTED from the Archbishop [of Canterbury]. It answers for 1½ sulungs. Land for 10 ploughs. In lordship 2. 24 villagers with 16 smallholders have 12 ploughs. A church; 15 slaves; 2 mills at 24s; woodland, 80 pigs; from grazing, 9s 6d. In total, value before 1066 £10; as much when acquired; now £17. Abbot Alnoth held this manor from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
    Napoleon III lived at Brasted Place in 1840 before returning to France, eventually to become Emperor.

    Brenzett
    Brand(et) / Brensete: Canons of St. Martin's of Dover.
    In the Romney Marsh on the line of the ancient Rhee Wall.

    Bromley
    Bronlei: Bishop of Rochester. Mill.
    Founded 862; the Bishops were Lords of the Manor until 1845; the market, granted in 1205, is still there. H.G. Wells was born here.

    Broomfield
    Brunfelle: Robert Latimer from Bishop of Bayeux. Mill.

    Buckland (near Dover)
    Bocheland(e): Alwin from Canons of St. Martin's of Dover.
    Part of Dover.

    Buckland (in Luddenham)
    Alius Bocheland / Bocheland / Tercius Bocheland: Osbern and Thurstan de Gironde from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Parish with Roman villa site.

    Buckwell
    Berchuelle: Wadard from Bishop of Bayeux. Mill.
    Buckwell Farm.

    Burham
    Borham: Ralph de Courbèpine from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill.
    The manor, church, and part of the old village lie adjacent to modern Burham. A Roman villa site is nearby.

    Burmarsh
    Borchemeres / Burwarmaresc: St. Augustine's Abbey.
    Isolated.

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    C

    Canterbury
    Cantuaria / iensis: Under the King's jurisdiction; Ralph de Courbèpine held 4 houses which Harold's concubine had held. 3 mills.
    Cathedral city with Norman walls. Building of the cathedral started in 1070.

    Chalk
    Celca: Adam from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill.
    Part of Gravesend, where Charles Dickens spent his honeymoon.

    Charing
    Cheringes: Archbishop of Canterbury. Mill.
    Attractive; part of 14th century archbishop's palace (now a farmhouse), where Henry VIII stayed on his way to Field of the Cloth of Gold.

    Charlton (near Dover)
    Cerlentone: Ralph of St. Samson and William FitzOdger from Canons of St. Martin's of Dover.
    Part of Dover.

    Charlton (near Greenwich)
    Cerletone: Sutton, Greenwich; William FitzOdger from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Absorbed by Greenwich.

    Chart Sutton
    Certh: Adam FitzHubert from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, vines, park of wild beasts.
    Surrounded by orchards.

    Chartham
    Certeham: Archbishop of Canterbury's monks. Church, 5½ mills.
    In the Stour valley; paper mill; angling centre.

    Chatham
    Ceteham: Robert Latimer from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill, 6 fisheries.
    Elizabeth I established the dockyards (now closed), where the ships that sank the Spanish Armada were built. Sir Francis Drake and Lord Nelson sailed from here and Charles Dickens spent part of his childhood here when his father was a dockyard pay clerk. Chatham is one of a group of villages in the area named after the river

    Chelsfield
    Ciresfel: Arnulf de Hesdin from Bishop of Bayeux. Mill.
    On high ground.

    Chilham
    Cilleham: Fulbert from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 2 fisheries, 6½ mills.
    Famed for its beauty. The castle combines a 12th century keep with a 17th century Jacobean mansion, containing a Battle of Britain museum; traces of a Roman camp in the grounds.

    Chillenden
    Cilledene: Osbern FitzLedhard from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Near coalfields; century-old windmill on the Downs above.

    Chislet
    Cistelet: St. Augustine's Abbey. 4 French men-at-arms held what was valued at £12 a year. Church, 47 salthouses (50 packloads of salt), vines.
    Scattered.

    Cliffe
    Clive: Land of Archbishop of Canterbury's monks; Arnulf de Hesdin from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Fine Norman church.

    Coldred
    Colret: Ralph de Courbèpine from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Saxon church, probably built on a Roman earthwork.

    Cooling
    Colinge / s: Adam and Odo from Bishop Bayeux.
    Marsh; setting for Charles Dicken's novel Great Expectations. 14th century Cooling Castle was the home of Sir John Oldcastle, the Lollard leader hanged and burned as a heretic in 1417, on whom Shakespeare is said to have modelled his character Falstaff.

    Coombegrove
    Cumbe: Wadard from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Big. Coombe Manor.

    Court-at-Street
    Estraites: Hugh de Mandeville from Hugh de Montfort. Church.

    Crayford
    Erhede: Archbishop of Canterbury. Church, 3 mills.
    Industrial area of Greater London; site of a large Iron Age settelement and the Roman town of Noviomagus.

    Crofton
    Croctune: Ansketel from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Part of Bromley.

    Cudham
    Codeham: Gilbert Maminot from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 2 mills.
    Surrounded by orchards.

    Cuxton
    Coclestane: Bishop of Rochester. Church, mill.
    Dormitory for London; cement works.

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    D

    Darenth
    Tarent: Archbishop of Canterbury; Ansketel de Rots from Bishop of Bayeux. 4 mills.
    Partly Saxon church; site of a large Roman villa; mill on the River Darent.

    Dartford
    Tarentefort: King's land. Mill, 3 churches, 2 harbours.
    Industrial town on the River Darent with a 2000-year history. Locally born Wat Tyler started his revolt against poll tax here in 1381.

    Deal
    Addela: Archdeacon Ansketel, Aethelwold, St. Augustine's Abbey and William FitzThorold from Canons of St. Martin's of Dover.
    One of the Cinque Ports, now a resort town. Julius Caesar landed near here in 55BC.

    Dean
    Dena / ne: Aethelwold from Bishop of Bayeux.
    Now Dean Court, off the Pilgrim's Way.

    Dengemarsh
    Maresc: Robert of Romney from Bishop of Bayeux. Fishery.
    Tract of land and coastguard station near Dungeness.

    Denton (near Barham)
    Danetone: Bishop of Bayeux and Ralph de Courbèpine from him. Church.
    Half-timbered cottages round a green.

    Denton (near Gravesend)
    Danitone: Bishop of Rochester. Church.
    Suburb of Gravesend, with a wharf on the River Thames.

    Dernedale
    Darenden:
    Lost.

    Ditton
    Dictune: Hamo the Sheriff from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill.
    Round a green, now much extended; near paper mills.

    Dover
    Dovera / e: King William burnt the town when he invaded England so its value could be fairly reckoned when Bishop of Bayeux acquired it. 2 mills, 3 churches. The king received fines from men who committed adultery in most parts of Kent; women's fines were paid to the Archbishop. The king also received half the goods of anyone condemned to death.
    Busy Channel port with Saxon church of St. Mary in Castro; 40ft high remains of Roman lighthouse. 12th century Dover Castle is built on the site of an early Norman castle.

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    E

    Each
    Ece: Osbern FitzLedhard from Bishop of Bayeux. Church, mill.
    Manor farm.

    Easole
    Essewelle / Eswalt: Ralph de Coubèpine from Bishop of Bayeux.

    East Barming
    Bermelinge: Richard FitzGilbert. Mill.
    Absorbed by Maidstone.

    Eastbridge
    Estbrie:
    Lost in Romney Marsh; ruined church.

    East Farleigh
    Ferlega: Archbishop of Canterbury's monks. 4 mills, 6 fisheries (1200 eels).
    Fine medieval bridge, over which General Fairfax marched in 1648 to the Battle of Maidstone.

    East Lenham
    Ler(t)ham: Geoffrey the Steward from Archbishop of Canterbury. Mill.

    Eastling
    Eslinges: Roger Ansketel and Fulbert from Bishop of Bayeux. 2 churches, 2 mills.

    East Malling
    Mellingetes: Archbishop of Canterbury. Church, 2 mills.
    Large.

    East Peckham
    Pecheham: Archbishop of Canterbury before and after 1066. Church, mill.
    Large.

    Eastry
    Estrei: Archbishop of Canterbury's monks. 1½ mills, 3 salthouses.
    Eastry Court is said to stand on the site of an ancient royal hall.

    Eastwell
    Estwelle: Hugh de Montfort.
    Eastwell Park. The ruined church has a tomb reputed to be that of Richard Plantagenet, son of Richard III. He is said to have escaped after the Battle of Bosworth to the Eastwell estate, where he became a bricklayer.

    Eccles
    Aiglessa: Ralph FitzThorold from Bishop of Bayeux.

    Elham
    Alham: Bishop of Bayeux. Church, 2 mills.
    Large; houses set round a market square; royal charter granted in 1251. The Duke of Wellington made 17th century Abbot's Fireside his temporary headquarters during the Napoleonic Wars.

    Elmstone
    Aelvetone: Ansfrid from St. Augustine's Abbey.

    Elmton
    Esmetone:
    Lost.

    Eltham
    Alteham: Hamo the Sheriff from Bishop of Bayeux.
    London suburb. Once the site of one of the largest medieval royal palaces. The 15th century Great Hall still stands. William Roper, son-in-law and biographer of Sir Thomas More, lived at the now vansihed Well Hall. In the 19th century the hall was owned by Hubert Bland, founder member of the Fabian Society.

    Evegate
    Tevegate: Hugh de Montfort.
    Evegate Manor Farm.

    Eynsford
    Elesford: Ralph son of Ospak from Archbishop of Canterbury. 2 churches, 2 mills.
    Pretty, moated castle dating from 1100; ford.

    The Domesday Book, 1086

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