Parishes: Hartlip

HARTLIP

IS the next parish south-eastward from Rainham. It is not so unhealthy a situation as Rainham, lying further from the marshes, the noxious vapours of which are intercepted, in some measure, by the intervening hills, it contains about one thousand and forty acres of land, besides one hundred and sixteen acres of wood. The London road runs along the northern side of it, where the soil is very gravelly, whence the ground rises up to the village, which is situated, as well as the church, on the west side of it, on high ground, surrounded by frequent orchards of apple and cherry trees, which renders the view of it from the London road very pleasing, though several of these plantations being worn out and decayed, have been grubbed up. Notwithstanding the gravelly soil still continues, there is some fertile land, the hedge-rows of which, and throughout this and the other parts of the parish before-mentioned, being filled with rows of tall spiring elms; above the village the soil becomes chalky, extending over a poor and barren country, very hilly and much covered with flints, having a great quantity of coppice woods, interspersed over it. In this part of the parish is a long tract of waste ground, called Queen-down, which was for many years a noted warren for rabbits, but it has been disused for some time past. In the north-east part of the parish, about half a mile from the London road, there is a good old mansion, situated in the midst of fruit grounds, called Paradise, having a large farm belonging to it. In queen Elizabeth's time it was the property of Rowland Searle, gent afterwards it came into the name of Pitt; the widow of admiral Temple West was lately possessed of it.

William Brooke, escheator of this county in the reign of James I. resided at Hartlip. He was the eldest son of Cranmer Brooke, esq. of Ashford, the grandson of Thomas, the second surviving son of John, lord Cobham.

In and about this and the adjoining parishes, many lands are called by the name of Dane, as Dane-field, Dane-crost, Danoway, and the like, which shews that nation to have formerly had much intercourse hereabout. In one of these, called Lower Dane-field, belonging to Maresbarrow-farm, at the south-west corner of it, and about a mile's distance south westward from the church of Hartlip, there were discovered about fifty years ago the ruins of a building, the top of which reached but even with the surface of the ground; a quantity of the earth within it was cleared away, in hopes, as usual, of finding hidden treasure. As it appears at present, the east end of it has been cleared of the earth, which filled it, about three feet deep, and thence gradually deeper, in length sixty feet, to the west end of it, where it is about ten feet deep. At each end of it, where the walls return as part of a square, they are plaistered over; in the narrow part, between these extremes, they are bare, and appear to be composed of large flint stones, laid regularly in rows; on the upper part, even with the surface of the ground, there are two rows of large Roman tiles, laid close together. They are of a very large size, and some of them are made with a rim at the end, to lap over the others. Great quantities of these tiles are scattered round about the place, and many foundations of buildings have been from time to time discovered in different parts of the adjoining grounds.

Several bushels of wheat were found in the room at the western part of this building, which seemed, some of it, parched and scorched by the fire, and some of it was turned entirely into black ashes; and there were some tares likewise, but not so large a quantity. Nothing else whatever was found among the earth with which it was filled. Underneath is a sketch of the ground plot of it.

The manor of Milton claims paramount over the whole of this parish.

POPES-HALL is an estate situated in it, which had formerly owners of the surname of Pope, who resided at this seat till the latter end of king Henry VII.'s reign, when Richard Pope alienated it to Christopher Bloor, esq. of Rainham, whose daughter and heir Olympia carried it in marriage to John Tufton, esq. of Hothfield, and in his descendants, earls of Tha net, this estate has continued down to the right hon. Sackville, earl of Thanet, the present possessor of it. (fn. 1)

CROFT, alias YAUGER, is an antient mansion in this parish, which was formerly, as appeared by several old deeds without date, the patrimony of William de Elmsted, in whose family it did not continue long, for in the 13th year of Edward I. it was become the property of Roger de Northwood, in whose descendants it remained until the beginning of the reign of king Henry VI. when it was conveyed by sale to Norton, of Borden, from whom, in the 4th year of king Edward IV. one part of it was alienated to Champneys, as was the remainder of it, in the 8th year of that reign, from which name it was again reconveyed back again to Norton, in two parts likewise, in the 24th and 36th years of Henry VIII. in which name it remained till John Norton, in the 4th and 5th year of king Philip and queen Mary, conveyed his right in it to Gilbert Fremlin, who in the 15th year of queen Elizabeth sold it to John Palmer, who bore for his arms, Sable, a fess between three lions rampant, or. He was the eldest brother of William, of Snodland, and resided at Hartlip. His son, Sir Anthony Palmer, was knighted at the coronation of king James I. and left by his second wife Margaret, daughter of Thomas Diggs, of Chilham, three sons, of whom Dudley Palmer, esq. the eldest son, possessed this estate, which in the reign of king Charles I. he alienated to Sir Thomas Crew, one of the king's serjeants-at-law, descended from the antient family of Crew, in the county palatine of Chester, who bore for their arms, Azure, a lion rampant, argent. His son John Crew, esq. of Stene, in Northamptonshire, was anno 13 Charles II. created lord Crew, of Stene. His eldest son, Thomas, lord Crew, left two daughters his coheirs, Anne, married to Mr. Jolliffe, of London, merchant, and Tempe rance, to Rowland Alston, esq. son and heir of Sir Rowland Alston, bart. of Woodhall, in Bedfordshire, the latter of whom in his wife's right became possessed of this estate of Croft, alias Yauger, which his son Sir Thomas Alston, bart. alienated in the present reign to Arthur Jones, esq. whose only daughter and heir carried it in marriage in 1780 to John Macnamara, esq. and he, in her right, is the present possessor of it.

GRAYNEY is a manor in this parish, corruptly so called for Graveney, by which name it is mentioned in old deeds, having been antiently the patrimony of a family of that surname, of which one of them, Stephen de Graveney, held it in the reign of king Edward I. and in his descendants the property of it continued till the reign of Henry VI. After which it came into the possession of John Maney, esq. of Biddenden, whose descendant Sir John Mayney, of Linton, in this county, possessed it in the reign of king Charles I. and was created a baronet in 1641.

How this estate passed after it was alienated from this family, I have not found, but that it came at length into the possession of Barrow, by virtue of a mortgage made to him. He left three sons, who settled at Borden, Newington, and Shorne, and his widow surviving, to whom he devised this estate by will. She afterwards married Jordan, and then Wildash; on her decease, this estate became divided into moieties, one of which became the property of her only surviving son by her first husband Barrow, and the other moiety of her son by her second husband Mr. Jordan. Mr. Barrow afterwards purchased the lastmentioned moiety, and so became possessed of the whole of this manor, which at his death he, by will, devised to his widow Mrs. Barrow, and she is at present entitled to it.

THE FAMILY of Osborne was seated in this parish before the reign of Edward IV. their seat here being called Hartlip-place, situated at Cruxhill, in the western part of this parish, so called from its having been formerly the residence of the family of Crux, the descendants of which afterwards removed to Sheldwich and Milton. They bore for their arms, Argent, on a pale, within a bordure, sable, an eagle displayed, between two crosses, sormee of the first. (fn. 2) Here the Osbornes resided for several generations. The first of this family whom I have met with is William Osborne, who was of Hartlip, and died in 1464. He was succeeded by John Osborne, his son, who was one of the auditors of the queen's exchequer, and died in 1577, both of whom, as well as their several descendants, lie buried in the north chancel of this church, usually called the Osborne's chancel. They bore for their arms, Quarterly, argent and azure; in the first and fourth quarter, an ermine spot, over all, a cross, or, charged with five annulets, sable. At length it descended to John Osborne, esq. of Hartlip-place, who built for his residence a large house, about half a mile south-west from the church, in this parish, which he named Danehouse. He afterwards removed to Maidstone, on account of a most daring robbery committed on him whilst he resided at Dane-house, after which it stood many years uninhabited, and was at last entirely pulled down. He died in 1683, and was succeeded by his son Thomas Osborne, esq. major of the militia, whose two sons, John and Thomas, successively inherited his estates in this parish, and both dying s. p. were buried with their ancestors in Hartlip church; on which their two sisters became their coheirs, of whom Elizabeth was married to Richard Tylden, esq. of Milsted, and Mary to the Rev. Mr. Milway, of Borden; the latter of whom sold her share of these estates in which the scite of Dane-house was included, to Tyndale, of Gloucestershire, and of Bobbing, in this county, whose descendant William Tyndale, of North Certon, in Gloucestershire, is the present proprietor of them; but Hartlip-place, Queendown-warren, and the residue of the Osborne estates in this parish, were allotted to Mr. Tylden, who had one son the Rev. Richard Osborne Tilden, of Milsted, and three daughters, of whom, Hannah was married to Edward Belcher, esq. of Ulcomb; Mary, to the Rev. Thomas Bland, and the third, Philippa, died unmarried. His widow survived him, and becoming possessed of this estate, levied a fine of it, and died in 1766, having by her will devised the whole of her interest in it to her two daughters, Mary and Philippa. Hartlip-place was included in that part devised to the former, who died possessed of it in 1780; upon which, by the limitation in the above will, it descended to her two younger sons, Thomas and William Bland, but the former having before sold his interest in the reversion of it to his brother, Mr. William Bland, he became possessed of it, and is the present owner of it.

The other part of the Osborne estate, devised to Mrs. Philippa Tylden, which included the freehold part of Queendown, has been since alienated; but the remainder of Queendown, containing about seventy acres, being held of the master and brethren of St. Catherine's hospital, near the Tower, by lease, was renewed in the name of the Rev. Mr. Tylden, on whose death in 1766, his interest in it descended to his eldest son Richard Tylden, esq. of Milsted, who is now entitled to it.

Charities.

MRS. MARY GIBBON, by her will in 1678, gave a house and six acres of land in Hartlip, of the value of about 12l. per annum, for the purpose of putting to school poor children inhabiting this parish, to be instructed in reading English; and, in case the estate should be more than sufficient for that purpose, then to put to school those inhabiting one of the adjoining parishes; and when such children should be able to read English so well as to read any chapter in the bible, then for them to have a bible bought and given to such child who should thereupon be taken from school. And she likewise charged it with the payment of 20s. yearly to the vicar of Hartlip. The land is now vested in Mr. William Danne, and the produce of it in trust, to be applied by the minister and churchwardens for the above purpose.

TWELVE BUSHELS of barley, one and a half of wheat, and 6s. 8d. in money, are yearly payable out of the parsonage of Hartlip to the poor of this parish, given by a person unknown.

The sum of 20s. is yearly payable out of a farm in this parish belonging to Richard Tylden, of Milsted, given likewise by a person unknown, and now vested in the churchwardens and overseers.

The number of poor constantly relieved are about seventeen; casually four.

HARTLIP is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sittingborne.

The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and consists of three isles and three chancels, with a square tower at the west end of it, in which hang five bells.

King Henry III. in his 9th year, gave the church of Hertlepe, with its appurtenances, to the prior of St. Andrew's, in Rochester.

Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, in 1225, admitted the monks into the possession of this church, to be possessed by them to their own proper uses for ever: saving, nevertheles, a vicarage to be conferred on a proper person at their presentation, who should sustain the burthens of this church, reserving to him, the archbishop, the taxation of the vicarage. Which instrument was confirmed by John, prior, and the convent of the church of Canterbury. (fn. 3)

The church of Hartlip, together with the advowson of the vicarage, remained part of the possessions of the priory of Rochester till the dissolution of it in the 32d year of king Henry VIII. when it was, together with the rest of the possessions of it, surrendered up into the king's hands, who the next year settled it by his dotation-charter on his new-erected dean and chapter of Rochester, where the parsonage and advowson of the vicarage remain at this time.

In the 8th year of Richard II. the church of Hartlip was valued at 13l. 6s. 8d.

The vicarage is valued in the king's books at 9l. 10s. 10d. and the yearly tenths at 19s. 1d. and is of the yearly certified value of 62l. 18s. 8d.

In the survey of ecclesiastical benesices within the diocese of Rochester, taken by order of the state in 1649, it was returned, that the parsonage of Hartlip, late belonging to the late dean and chapter of Rochester, consisted of a parsonage-house, barn, yard, &c. and the tithe within the said parish, at the improved rent of sixty-seven pounds per annum, and sundry pieces of land, containing together twelve acres and one rood, of the yearly value, with the above, of 69l. 19s. 7d. which premises were let by the late dean and chapter, anno 15 Charles I. to Henry Barrow, at the yearly rent of nineteen pounds, and three couple of good capons, so there remained the clear rent of 50l. 7s. 7d. per annum, out of which lease the vicarage of Hartlip was excepted, worth forty-five pounds per annum. (fn. 4)

The parsonage is now seased out by the dean and chapter, but the advowson of the vicarage is reserved in their own hands.

Church of Hartlip.