Parishes: Denton

DENTON

LIES next to Barham south-eastward, being written in the survey of Domesday, Danitone, and at present Denton by Eleham, to distinguish it from another parish of the same name near Gravesend, in this county. It has only one borough in it, that of Denton.

THE PARISH OF DENTON is situated at the beginning of a very wild, dreary, and mountainous country, the hills here rising on each side the valley pretty sudden and high. The soil of it is very poor, consisting either of chalk, or an unfertile red earth, mixed with quantities of sharp stones. It is but small, the village called Denton-street, lies in the valley at the northern boundary of the parish, not far from Brome, that of Barham extending quite up to it. The high road from Canterbury over Barham downs leads through the street, at the north end of which, though in Barham parish, is the seat of Maydeacon, and at the south end Denton-court and the church; hence the hill rises to the hamlet of Selsted, part only of which is in this parish, and thence the road continues over Swinfield Minnis to the town of Folkestone; in the southern part there is a great deal of woodland.

THE MANOR OF DENTON was, at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is thus entered in it:

Ralph de Curbespine holds of the bishop, Danitone. It was taxed at half a suling. The arable land is three carucates. In demesne there is one, and four villeins, with two borderers having one carucate. There is a church and two mansions in Canterbury, paying six shillings all but one penny. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth sixty shillings, and afterwards twenty shillings, now sixty shillings. Molleve held it of king Edward. The same Ralph held of the bishop one yoke in Brochestele, which Molleve held of king Edward, and there is one villein paying thirty pence.

Four years after taking of the above survey, the bishop was disgraced, and all his estates were confiscated to the crown; whence the seignory of this manor was afterwards granted, among others, to Gilbert Magminot, and made up a part of his barony, by which tenure all the lands of it were held of the king. Of this family the fee of this manor was again held by one who assumed their name from it; for Simon de Danitone appears to have held it by knight's service, of the above barony, in the 56th of king Henry III. Not long after which it came into the possession of a family called Earde, or Yerd, as they afterwards wrote themselves, who bore for their arms, Ermine, three saltiers, gules. John de Earde held it in the latter end of king John's reign, as did his descendant Thomas Yerd, esq. of Denton, about king Henry VII.'s reign, leaving an only daughter and heir Joan, and she entitled her husband Thomas Peyton, esq. of Iselham, in Cambridgeshire, to it, whose grandson Sir Robert Peyton, of Iselham, alienated it to John Boys, esq. afterwards of Denton, who was the second son of John Boys, of Fredville, and bore for his arms Boys, with a bordure of acorns and cross-croslets, a crescent for difference. He died possessed of it anno 35 Henry VIII. His son William Boys new built the mansion of this manor about 1574, and was succeeded in it by his eldest son Edward Boys, servant to the lord Abergavenny, who sold it to Richard Rogers, suffragan bishop of Dover, and his son John conveyed it to Roger Twisden, esq. of Chelmington, who sold it to Sir Francis Swan, who resided here, but his son Edward Swan alienated it to Sir Anthony Percival, of Dover, who lies buried in the chancel of this church. He bore for his arms, Parted per fess, indented, gules and argent, on a chief, sable, three bezants. His eldest son John parted with it in 1658 to Phineas Andrews, of Hertfordshire, and afterwards of Denton, whose arms were, Gules, a saltier, or, surmounted by another vert, whose son Thomas in 1679 conveyed it to Wortley Whorwood, esq. of Grays Inn, the son of Sir William Whorwood, of Stuiton castle, in Staffordshire, his arms, Argent, a chevron, between three bucks heads caboshed, sable. He died in 1703, and was buried in the chancel of this church His son Thomas Whorwood succeeded him here, and died in the year 1745, s. p. having devised it by will to his wife for life, and afterwards to his relation Mrs. Cecilia Scott, of Canterbury, for her life likewise, and she, on the death of Mrs. Whorwood, became possessed of it, and dying unmarried in 1785, it devolved by the same will to lady Sarah Markham, widow of Sir James Markham, bart. of Lincolnshire, who was his heir-at-law, and she in 1792 conveyed this manor, with the advowson of the rectory appendant to it, to Samuel Egerton Brydges, esq. barrister at-law, and F. S. A. the second son of Edward Brydges, esq. late of Wootton. He married first Elizabeth, daughter and heir of the Rev. William Dejovas Byrche, of the Black Friars, in Canterbury, who died in 1796, by whom he has two sons and three daughters. His second wife is Mary, daughter of the Rev. William Robinson, rector of Burfield, in Berkshire, and brother to Matthew, lord Rokeby, by whom he has one son. He has since restored this mansion to an excellent state, and new laid out the adjoining grounds, and now resides in it.

TAPPINGTON, otherwise Tupton, is a manor in the southern part of this parish, which, in the antient records of Dover castle is numbered among those estates which made up the barony of Fobert, and was held of Fulbert de Dover, as of that barony, by knight's service, by a family of its own name. Gerrard de Tappington held it in the 56th year of king Henry III. as appears by the red book in the exchequer. After which part of it seems to have come into the possession of the family of Yerde, owners of the manor of Denton, who in the 20th year of king Edward III. were become possessed of the whole of it.

Of this family, John Yerde, of Denton, was sheriff anno 19 Henry VI. whose son, of the same name, conveyed this manor to John Fogge, esq. and he by fine levied in the 15th year of king Edward IV. passed away his interest in it to Richard Haut, whose daughter and sole heir Margery carried it in marriage to William Isaake, whose descendant sold it to Sir Robert Peyton, of Cambridgeshire, whose eldest son, of the same name, sold it to John Boys, esq. and he died possessed of it anno 35 Henry VIII. His son Wm. Boys, esq. alienated a small part of the demesnes of this manor to Verrier, and the manor with the greater part of them to Marsh, in whose descendants the latter continued till it was at length alienated by Col. Thomas Marsh to Mr. Thomas Harris, of Canterbury, who died in 1726, leaving a sole daughter and heir, married to Mr. John Barham, whose son Mr. Richard Barham, gent. of Canterbury, became afterwards by his grandfather's will possessed of it, and his son Mr. Richard Harris Barham, alderman of Canterbury, died possessed of it in 1795, and the possession of it is now vested in the trustees of his will.

Charities.

MRS. CATHERINE-ANNA DICKS, by will in 1737, devised to six poor widows, who constantly attended divine service, six twopenny loaves every Sunday from Christmas to Midsummer; for the supplying of which she gave 25l. to be laid out in land. Which sum is now vested in the minister and churchwardens, and is of the annual produce of 1l. 5s.

The poor constantly relieved are about twelve, casually eight.

DENTON is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Eleham.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, consists of one isle and a chancel, having a square tower at the west end, in which there are three bells. This church, though small, is neat. In the chancel is a memorial for Sir Anthony Percival, obt. 1646, and dame Gertrude his wife, obt. 1647. On a brass plate fixed to the north wall, a memorial for John Boys, esq. late patron of this church, and attorney-general for the duchy of Lancaster, obt. 1543. Inscriptions on brass, for the Petitts, of Dandelion. A memorial on an antient stone, for James Brooker, of Madekin. A monument for Phineas Andrews, esq. of Denton, and patron of this church, obt. 1661, and for John Andrews, his eldest son and heir, of the Inner Temple, obt. 1667. A monument for Wortley Whorwood, son of Sir William, of Sturton castle, bart. lord of this manor, and patron of this church, who married Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Dering, bart. obt. 1703. In a window on the south side are the arms of Oxenden, impaling in several shields those of Twitham, Barton, Ratlinge, Yonge, Wenderton, and Broadnax. In the body, a memorial for John Dix, of Milton, obt. 1728. Against the north wall is a stone cross, fixed in the wall, with very antient letters, defaced and illegible. In the church-yard, adjoining to the garden of the mansionhouse, is a remarkable building, erected as a mausoleum by Thomas Whorwood, esq. for himself, who lies buried in it, and for his family. It has several whimsical figures on the top of it, and under an inscription for him, obt. 1745.

The advowson of this church has always been an appendage to the manor of Denton, and continues so at this time, Samuel Egerton Brydges, esq. being the present patron of it.

It is valued in the king's books at 5l. 19s. 4½d. and the yearly tenths at 11s. 11¼d. but it is now of the yearly certified value of 59l. 3s. 0¾d. In 1588 here were thirty-four communicants, and it was valued at fifty pounds. In 1640 the like number of communicants, and it was valued at eighty pounds. There are five acres of glebe land.

Church of Denton.

NOTE.— The church of Denton is in the hundred of Eastry, and therefore THIS PARISH ought to have been inserted under the description of that hundred, but as that would have greatly in terrupted the future regular course of this History, it has been thought less liable to objection to insert the description of it here.