Parishes: Sutton, near Dover

SUTTON, NEAR DOVER,

WRITTEN likewise in antient records, Sutton near Ripple, and near Walmer, and sometimes, East Sutton; to distinguish it from other parishes of this name in other parts of this county, lies the next parish to East Langdon, north-westward. The manors of Norborne and Ripple claim paramount over disserent parts of this parish. These manors seem to be divided by the cross road at the bottom of the street; lands on the north side paying to Norborne, on the south side to Ripple.

There are two boroughts in it; one borsholder being chosen for East Sutton borough, at Ripple manor court; the other, at the court of the MANOR OF Norborne, for the remaining part of the parish.

THIS PARISH, which is but small, lies on high ground, among the open and uninclosed hills, and contains upwards of nine hundred acres of land, the soil is very thin, and rather stony, being a clay upon a chalk, but with a diversity of soil, in a smaller proportion, like the other neighbouring parishes. The village, which contains about 24 houses, having the church close to it, is situated nearly in the middle of the parish. There is no fair, nor any thing further worth mention in it.

THE MANOR OF EAST SUTTON, alias SUTTONCOURT, in king Henry III.'s reign, was held by Hugh Soldanks, by knight's service, whose descendant Stephen Soldank held it in king Edward I.'s reign; (fn. 1) soon after which, it came into the possession of John Wyborne, and thence again to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, where it continued till the final diffolution of the monastery, in the 30th year of Henry VIII. when it waws surrendered, with all its lands and revednues, into the king's hands; whence it was granted not long afterwards to Mr. John Master, to hold in capite. From which name it passed into that of Wiseman, whose window, Elizabeth Wiseman, died possessed of it in the 4th and 5th years of Philip and Mary, leaving two daughters her coheirs, viz. Jane, married to Alured Barwicke, and Bridget, to George Throgmorton. Upon the partition of whose inheritance, this manor became the sole property of the former, who conveyed his interst in it by deed and fine to John Fynch, and in this name it reamined for some time, till at length it was alienated to Den, who are entered in the early part of the register of this parish as gentlemen; one of whom built a large mansions of stone, in this parish, the foundations of which are still to be seen on a pasture, on the east side of Sutton street, in which they resided; as did the Foches afterwards. They were succeeded in this manor by the family of Hussey, in which it continued, till Grace Hussey the elder, and Grace Hussey the younger, sometime about the beginning of queen Anne's reign, joined in the sale of it, by the name of the manor of Sutton-court, to Sir Robert Furnesre, bart. of Waldershare, who died possessed of this estate in 1733; on the partition of whose estates sometime afterwards, (fn. 2) this manor was wholly allotted, among others, o Anne the eldest daughter and coheir, wife of John, viscount St. John. Their son Frederick, viscount St. John, succeeded to this estate on his father's death, and on the death of his uncle Henry, viscount Bolingbroke, in 1751, to that title likewise; on his death it came to his son George, viscount Bolingbroke, who in 1791 sold it to Mr. Thomas Garside, of Deal, the present owner of it. The court for this manor has been disused for many years.

SUTTON FARM, alias WINKLETON, in antient records written Winkeland, lies in that part of this parish, adjoining to East Langdon, in which parish part of the demesnes of it lie. This estate, which seems in early times to have been accounted a manor, was held of the abbot of St. Augustine, as of his manor of Norborne, in king Edward I.'s time, by Henry de Cobham; from which name it passed into that of Stroude, where it remained till about the middle of Edward the IIId.'s reign, soon after which it appears to have come into the possession of the family of Criol; for Sir Nicholas Criol; or Keriel, as the name began then to be spelt, died possessed of it in the 3d year of king Richard II. and from him it devolved at length by succession to Sir Thomas Keriel, who was slain in the second battle of St. Alban's, in the 38th year of king Henry VI. He left two daughters his coheirs, of whom Alice the youngest, marrying John Fogge, esq. of Repton, afterwards knighted; on the division of their inheritance, Winkeland was allotted to him. Their son, Sir Thomas Fogge, sergeant-porter of Calais, sold his interest in it to Whitlock; and he not long afterwards alienated it to Richard Maycott, who died in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. holding it in capite by knight's service; one of his descendants passed it away by sale to Stokes, whose descendant, John Stokes, about the beginning of king Charles I.'s reign, alienated it to Edward Merriweather, gent. of Shebbertswell, in whose descendants it continued, till at length it passed, partly by marriage, in like manner as Shebberstwell abovedescribed, to the Churchills, of Henbury, in Dorsetshire; in which family it continued, till William and Henry, the two sons and coheirs in gavelkind of Awnsham Churchill, esq. conveyed it by sale in 1785, by the name of Sutton-farms, alias Winkleton, to Mr. William Baldock, of Canterbury, and he the year after passed it away to Mr. Joseph Marsh, the occupier of it, who is the present owner.

THERE WAS a portion of tithes arising from this estate, which belonged likewise to the above abbey; and in king Edward II.'s reign, the archbishop's commissary confirmed to them, among their other possessions of the like fort, this their part of the tithes of sheaves arising from the lands of this manor, within the bounds of this parish; (fn. 3) and archbishop Arundel confirmed the same again in king Richard II.'s reign, anno 1397, wherein these tithes are said to lie within the parish of East Langdon.

THIS FAMILY of Foche, alias Foach, was as early as queen Elizabeth's reign possessed of an estate in this parish, now called THE UPPER FARM, the lands of which lie adjoining to those of Sutton-court; and in that name it continued, till it was at length alienated to William Verrier, gent. of Sandwich, who died in 1710, leaving five sons; to the three youngest of whom, he by will devised his mansion, houses, and lands, in this parish. Part of these lands, by Susan, daughter of Benjamin Verrier, the youngest but one of them, went in marriage to Mr. Thomas Alkin, gent. of Canterbury, whose daughter, Mrs. Margaret Alkin, of Canterbury, a few years since passed away her interest in them by sale to Mr. William Marsh, of Walmer, the present owner of them.

Charities.

MR. THOMAS FOACH, gent. of this parish, gave by his will a yearly annuity of 40s. charged on Upper farm, to the church and poor of it, to be distributed yearly in bread.

MR. CUSHIRE gave two acres and a half of marsh land in Sholdon, now of the annual produce of 3s. 4d. to be distributed yearly in coals to the poor.

The poor constantly relieved are about eleven, casually eight.

THIS PARISH is with in the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sandwich.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is but small, part of it having fallen down by an earthquake, on April 6, 1680. The present church consists of a nave and chancel, without any steeple. There is one small bell. The east end is circular. There are no memorials in it, nor marks of antiquity, excepting a circular arch over the north door, handsomely ornamented with a fretty sculpture; and a plain circular arch over the south door, both of much greater antiquity than the present church, and probably belonged to an older building.

The patronage of this church was part of the antient possessions of the crown, and remained so till it was given to the college or hospital at Maidstone, founded by archbishop Boniface, in king Henry III.'s reign; after which, archbishop Walter Reynolds, about the year 1314, appropriated it to the use and support of that hospital.

Archbishop Courtney, in the 19th year of king Richard II. anno 1395, having obtained the king's licence for making the parish church of Maidstone collegiate, gave and assigned to it the advowson, patronage, and appropriation of this church, among others likewise belonging to it, heretofore of the king's patronage, all which were held in capite, to hold in free, pure, and perpetual alms.

The collegiate church of Maidstone was dissolved by the act of the Ist of king Edward VI. after which the church of Sutton remained part of the revenues of the crown, till queen Elizabeth, in her 3d year, granted in exchange, by her letters patent, to archibishop Parker, among other estates, this church, or parsonage appropriate of Sutton, with the advowson of it, being then valued to the archbishop at 5l. 6s. 8d. yearly value; since which it has continued parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury to this time, his grace the archbishop being the present owner of it.

The parsonage is demised on a beneficial lease to Mr. Joseph Marsh, of Winkleton, the present possessor of it. There are five acres and three roods of glebe belonging to this parsonage.

This church has been long esteemed as a perpectual curacy. It was augmented with twenty-four pounds by archbishop Juxon, in obedience to the king's letters mandatory, by indenture, anno 13 Charles II. which augmentation was confirmed by other indentures, in the 26th year of that reign. It has likewise been since augmented by queen Anne's bounty.

Church of Sutton, by Dover.

The inhabitants of Little Mongeham, the church of which has been long since desecrated, resort to this church of Sutton for the benefit of divine service; and for baptisms, marriages, burials, &c. for which the rector of that parish pays the curate of Sutton an annual stipend of five guineas.