Parishes: Addington

ADDINGTON.

NORTHWARD from Ofham lies Addington, written in Domesday and antient charters, Eddingtune, signifying, as I imagine, the town or territory of Adda, or Edda, its antient Saxon owner; tun in Saxon being a town or territory inclosed with a hedge or fence.

THE PARISH of Addington is not unpleasantly situated, for the greatest part on high ground, adjoining to the northern side of the Maidstone road, at the twenty-seventh mile stone, at a small distance from which is the small rivulet which rises at Nepecker, in Wrotham, and flowing through this parish is here called Addington brook, whence the new-built house near it takes its name of St. Vincent's, alias Addington brook, built some years ago by admiral William Parry, who resided in it till his death in 1779, he left by Lucy his wife, daughter of Charles Brown, esq. commissioner of the navy at Chatham, an only daughter, who carried it in marriage to captain William Locker, the present lieutenant-governor of Greenwich hospital. It was lately inhabited by Mr. William Hunter, but is now unoccupied.

Hence the ground rises, and at a small distance above it is the mansion and garden of Addington place, pleasantly situated on the side of the hill, having a lawn and avenue down to the road, from which it is a conspicuous object, behind it still higher stands the church and village, built round Addington green, over which the road leads from Trottesclive, to which and Wrotham this parish joins towards the west. The soil is a sand covering the quarry rock, but the land is most of it but poor and unfertile, especially towards the north and west parts of it, where the sand is deepest; in the latter is a small green called Addington common.

Here is an eelbourn, or nailbourn, as they are commonly called, the stream of which breaks out with great impetuosity once in seven or eight years, which then directs its waters along a trench, dug for this purpose, till it flows into the Leyborne rivulet, the trout of which it makes of a red colour, which otherwise are white.

These nailbourns, or eruptions of water, are very common in the eastern part of Kent, where the reason of their breaking forth will be particularly mentioned.

In a place here, called the Warren, about five hundred paces north-eastward from the church, on a little eminence, there are the remains of several large stones, placed in an oval form; seventeen of them may be easily traced, though from the distances between the stones, which are nearly equal, there must have been at least twenty to complete the oval, which consisted of only one row of stones. The sandiness of the soil has covered many of them, which can, only by guessing their distances, be found by thrusting of a stick into the ground. Such of the stones as have fallen down, have been carried away by the inhabitants for different uses. The stones are of the same kind as those of Stonehenge, and being placed in the same form, seem as if they were intended for the same use. (fn. 1)

About one hundred and thirty paces to the northwest of the above is another heap of large stones, tum- bled inwards one upon another. They originally consisted of six in number, and in circuit measure thirty-three paces.

SOON AFTER the conquest, this place was become part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux and earl of Kent, the Conqueror's half-brother, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in the survey of Domesday, taken about the year 1080.

Ralf (son of Turald) holds Eddintune of the bishop (of Baieux) for half a suling. The arable land is one carucate, and there is . . . with four borderers, and two servants, and there is one mill of twenty-three shillings. The whole manor was valued at four pounds. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth but little. Lestan held it of king Edward, and after his death turned himself over to Alnod Cilt, and now it is in dispute.

And a little further thus:

Ralf, son of Turald, holds Eddintune of the bishop (of Baieux). It was taxed at two sulings and an half. The arable land is five carucates, in demesne there are two, and six villeins, with nine borderers, having one carucate. There is a church and ten servants, and two mills of eleven shillings and two-pence, and twelve acres of meadow, wood for the pannage of ten hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth eight pounds, when he received it one hundred shillings, now six pounds. Agelred held it of king Edward.

These were plainly, by the descriptions, two separate estates, and both certainly, by their names, in this parish, and held by the same person. On the disgrace of the bishop of Baieux, about four years afterwards, they became, among the rest of his possessions, confiscated to the crown. Soon after which they seem to have been held as one manor, by William de Gurnay, and afterwards by Galiena de Gurnay, his grandchild; they were succeeded in the possession of this place by the family of Mandeville, or De Magna Villa, as the name was written in Latin, who held it of the family of Montchensie, as capital lords of the fee.

But this family was extinct here in the next reign of king Edward II. for Roger del Escheker was owner of it in the 7th year of it, (fn. 2) who assumed his name from his hereditary office of usher of the exchequer, whence he was called del Eschequer, de la Chekere, and de Scaccario. (fn. 3) John de la Chekere possessed it in the first year of king Edward III. in which he was succeeded by Nicholas de Daggeworth, (fn. 4) whose ancestor, John de Daggeworth, had married Maud, one of the sisters and coheirs of Simon del Exchequer. At the accession of king Richard II. he was made of his privy council, and afterwards steward of his houshold, keeper of the great seal, and treasurer of England. (fn. 5) He bore for his arms, Sable, a lion rampant, argent, crowned or, with proper difference.

In the 20th year of king Edward III. he paid aid for this manor, which Robert de Scaccario before held in Addington, of Warine de Montchensie, as of his manor of Swanscombe. He alienated it, before the end of that reign, to Sir Hugh de Segrave, knight batchelor, and he conveyed it to Richard Charles, who died in the 2d year of king Richard II. anno 1378, and lies buried in this church, leaving his brother's sons, Richard and John, his next heirs.

Richard Charles, the eldest brother, possessed this manor, whose son, Robert Charles, dying without manor, whose son, Robert Charles, dying without issue, his two sisters became his coheirs, Alice, married to William Snayth, and Joane to Richard Orme- skirke; and upon the division of their inheritance, this manor fell to the share of William Snayth, commonly called Snette, sheriff in the 9th year of king Henry IV. who kept his shrievalty at his manor-house of Addington, bearing for his arms, Argent, a chevron between three birds heads erased, sable; two years after which he died, and was buried, with Alice his wife, in this church. He left an only daughter and heir Alice, who carried this manor, with the rest of his estates, in marriage to Robert Watton, who thenceforward resided at Addington. He was descended from ancestors, who held lands in the parish of Ridley in the 20th year of king Edward III. and bore for his arms, Argent, a lion rampant, gules, debruised with a bend, sable, charged with three cross-croslets fitchee, argent. He died possessed of the manor, and patronage of the church of Addington in the year 1444, anno 23 king Henry VI. and was buried in this church.

His descendant, Thomas Watton, esq. of Addington, procured his lands in this county to be disgavelled by the act of 2d and 3d of king Edward VI. and in his descendants, residents at this place, who on their deaths were all buried in this church, (fn. 6) and his manor, with the patronage of this church, continued down to Edmund Watton, esq. of Addington, who left an only daughter and heir Elizabeth, who marrying Leonard Bartholomew, second son of Leonard Bartholomew, esq. of Oxenhoath, entitled him to this estate. He had by her two sons; Edmund, who died unmarried; and Leonard, who will be mentioned hereafter. On his death she again became possessed of this estate, which she carried in marriage to her second husband, Sir Roger Twisden, bart. of Bradbourn, whom she likewise survived, and dying in 1775, was succeeded in it by her only surviving son by her first husband, Leonard Bartholomew, esq. who resides at Addington-place, where he served the office of sheriff in 1790, bearing for his arms, Or, three goats erased sable. He married the daughter of Mr. Wildash, of Chatham, widow of Mr. Thornton, of East-Malling, by whom he has an only daughter, married in 1797 to the hon. captain John Wingfield, brother to the lord viscount Powerscourt, of the kingdom of Ireland.

There is a court leet and court baron held for this manor, which is held of the manor of Swanscombe by castle-guard to the castle of Rochester.

CHARITIES.

A PERSON UNKNOWN gave to the use of the poor the annual sum of 15s. arising from land vested in Leonard Bartholomew, esq. and now of that annual product.

ADDINGTON is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester and deanry of Malling.

The church has a handsome tower steeple at the west end. It is dedicated to St. Margaret. The present building was erected in 1403, as appears by the following inscription on the wall of it:
In fourteen hundred and none,
Here was neither stick nor stone;
In fourteen hundred and three,
The goodly building which you see.

The church of Addington has always been an appendage to the manor, and as such this rectory is now in the patronage of Leonard Bartholomew, esq.

It is endowed with all tithes whatsoever.

It is valued in the king's books at 6l. 6s. 8d. and the yearly tenths at 12s. 8d.

William de Gurnay gave to the church and priory of St. Andrew, in Rochester, in pure and perpetual alms, certain tithes of the demesnes of his parish of Edintune; but they lying so dispersed, that they could not be conveniently gathered by the monks, though they could be easily collected by the parson of this church: therefore it was agreed, that the parson of it should pay the yearly sum of five shillings to the monks of Rochester, on St. Andrew's day, for them. (fn. 7)

This pension, after the dissolution of the priory in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. was surrendered into the king's hands, who granted it two years afterwards by his dotation charter, to his new-erected dean and chapter of Rochester, to which it continues to be paid at this time.

It appears by the endowment of the vicarage of Hadlow, in this county, in 1287, that the rector of that parish had been used, beyond memory, to pay yearly the sum of eighteen-pence to the rector of this church, which payment the vicar of Hadlow was enjoined to pay in future. (fn. 8)

CHURCH OF ADDINGTON.