Parishes: Northfleet

NORTHFLEET

LIES the next adjoining parish eastward from that of Swanscombe, in the lath of Sutton, and as such the first to be described in this of Aylesford. It is called in Domesday, Norfluet, and in the Textus Roffense, Northfleota; the latter part of which name it acquired from its situation close to the fleet or arm of the Thames, which flows from hence southward towards Southfleet; and the former from its northernmost situation on this water, in respect to the above mentioned parish of Southfleet.

THE PARISH of Northfleet contains about three thousand acres, of which one hundred are wood; its situation, from its neighbourhood to the marshes, is accounted unhealthy, and was it not for the burning of such quantities of lime so close to it, it would be much more so. The soil is in general good tillage land; the northern part, which is bounded by the river Thames, is chalk; the rest of it a stiff loam, though some of it has a strong mixture of gravel with it. The north west part of the parish is a low marsh, frequently overflowed at high tides, which would overflow the high London road like wife, which crosses it', was there not a high causeway raised to prevent it; at the end of which is the stream or fleet arising at Spring-head, in Southfleet, from which both these parishes take their names; there is a bridge over it here, with flood gates, to prevent the tides flowing beyond it, which would drown the marshes, of which there is a large tract above it, and at the same time to lift up, to let the fresh water down again. This bridge was rebuilt at the charge of the county, in 1634; and again, much more commodious for travellers, in a strait line with the road, within these few years; hence the high road (which crosses the northern part of this parish the whole length of it) ascends the hill eastward to the uplands; at about three quarters of a mile distance is the village of Northfleet, below the entrance of which northward, on the bank of the Thames,' is a hamlet called Northfleet Hythe, and between it and the road the seat called The Hive, now Mr. Wadman's. A little distance from hence the high road, leaves its antient course (which continued formerly strait on nearer the Thames, through the town of Gravesend to Rochester, till by the incroachment of the chalk pits it became dangerous, and was afterwards entirely dug away) and now turning more to the right, passes through the village of Northfleet, built round a green, having the church and vicarage on the south side of it; hence towards the south east, the lands extend over gentle hill and dale, where, near the boundary of the parish, is the hamlet of Perry-street, Wombwell-hall, and the estate called Windfield-bank, next to the Roman road and parish of Southfleet, beyond which this parish extends south-eastward a long way over the hills, between the parishes of Ifield and Nursted, taking within its bounds the small hamlet of Northfleetgreen and Nash-street, and beyond them Ifield-court on one side, and two houses in the hamlet of Shinglewell on the other, where the soil is but poor, being mostly chalk and much covered with flints, and the roads narrow and bad, beyond which it bounds eastward to the parish of Shorne.

The chalk pits above mentioned, which have already been slightly noticed in the description of Swanscombe, extend here close to the northern side of the village, about a quarter of a mile in width, to the shore of the Thames; the digging, making, and exporting the chalk and lime from them is of the greatest advantage to this county, and employs a great number of labouring people, for from hence and this neighbourhood not only London and the adjacent country, but even Holland and Flanders, are supplied either with lime, or with chalk to make it; besides which, the rubbish of the chalk is bought, and fetched away by lighters and hoys, and carried to all the ports and creeks in the opposite county of Essex, and even to Suffolk and Norfolk, and sold there for the manure of the lands; thus this barren chalky soil contributes to make the strong clay lands of those counties rich and fertile, and this mixture of earth forms a composition, which out of two, otherwise barren extremes, make one prolific medium.

There was antiently a market kept here upon every Tuesday after Easter Tuesday till Whit-Tuesday, and three fairs yearly—one upon St. Botolph's day, being the 24th of March; another upon Easter Tuesday; and a third upon Whit-Tuesday. This parish, together with others in this neighbourhood, was antiently contributory to the repair of the ninth arch or pier of Rochester bridge.

PHILIPOTT says, it was the report of the country in his time, that the valley, through which the stream or fleet above mentioned flows, which he calls Ebbsfleet, was once covered with water, and being locked in on each side with hills, made a secure road for shipping, which induced the Danes to make it a winter station for their navy.

This tradition is far from being improbable, when we consider that their ships were not then of any extraordinary bulk or dimensions; that, even at this time, the marshes, as far as the high road, are frequently overflowed at spring tides to a considerable depth, and that the water would flow over that too, and the rest of the valley southward, was it not for a high bank or causey, thrown up and maintained at the charge of the country, to stop its further progress, which however it cannot do, at certain extraordinary high tides, one of which has happened in my memory, when the whole face of this valley was covered with water; and that the fleet ebbs and flows with the flux and reflux of the tide of the adjacent river, as far as the bridge, and would much higher, was it not stopped by gates, set down there purposely to prevent it; and lastly, what adds a further strength to this tradition is, the report that anchors have been dug up at the southern extremity of these marshes. (fn. 1)

Mr. Somner and some others have conjectured, that the station of the Romans, called VAGNIACÆ, was situated here at Northfleet, the objections to which have already been mentioned under Southfleet, and the greater probability of its having been, though at no great distance from hence, near the spring head in that parish, where a great number of Roman coins and the Roman mile stone was discovered, and near which the remains of the antient Roman road, towards Rochester, are still remaining; of which opinion, among others, was Dr. Thorpe of that city.

Our HERBALISTS have observed the following scarce plants in this parish—

Orchis caryophillata spica longissima rubra, found in the chalky grounds and old pastures between Northfleet and the Thames.

Orchis magna latis foliis galea susca vel nigricante.

Orchis antropophora oreades, the man orchis, with a ferruginous and sometimes a green flower.

Orchis myodes galea et alis herbidis, the common fly orchis, found on the chalk cliffs, but rarely.

Orchis five testiculus vulpinus major spegodes, the humble bee satyrion, with green wings. (fn. 2)

The MANOR of Northfleet was part of the antient possessions of the archbishopric of Canterbury; accordingly it is thus described in the survey of Domesday, under the general title of that prelate's lands:

The archbishop himself holds Norfluet in demesne for six sulings. It was taxed in the time of king Edward the Confessor, and now for five. The arable land is 14 carucates. In demesne there are two, and 36 villeins having ten carucates. There is a church and seven servants, and one mill of ten shillings, with one fisbery and 20 acres of meadow; wood for the pannage of 20 hogs. In its whole value, in the time of king Edward, it was worth 10 pounds, when be received it 12 pounds, and now 27 pounds, and yet he pays 37 pounds and 10 shillings. What Richard de Tonebridge holds in his lowy of this manor is worth 30 shillings.

In the 2d year of king John the archbishop had the grant of a fair at Northfleet.

In an antient taxation of the archbishopric, in the Black Book of the archdeacon of Canterbury, this manor was valued at 107l. 11s. 5d. (fn. 3) It continued part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury till archbishop Cranmer, in the 29th year of Henry VIII. conveyed it, with the rectory, parsonage and glebe, and the advowson of the vicarage, to that king, in exchange for other premises. (fn. 4) Queen Elizabeth, in her 9th year, granted this manor and the scite of it to James Guildford for thirty years, after which it was granted to the lord Wotton; but it was again in the hands of the crown at the death of king Charles I. in 1648. After which, the powers then in being soon afterwards passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, that they might be surveyed and sold to supply the necessities of the state. And this manor, with its appurtenances, was accordingly sold to John Brown, (fn. 5) with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. in 1660, when it again returned to the crown, where it remained till the 22d year of that reign, when an act passed to enable the king to convey certain quit rents and fee farm rents, parcel of the revenues of the crown, to trustees, that they might be sold, and to enable bodies corporate to purchase them, notwithstanding the statute of Mortmain. In consequence of which the quit rents of this manor, amounting to upwards of fifty pounds per annum, were soon after purchased by the dean and chapter of Rochester, part of whose revenues they continue at this time; but the manor itself, with the royalties appertaining to it, still remained in the crown, where it continued till about the year 1758, when it was granted to William earl of Besborough, at the yearly fee farm rent of 6s. 8d. He, in 1760, conveyed it, together with Ingress, in the adjoining parish of Swanscombe, to John Calcraft, esq. who died possessed of it in 1772, and devised it, among the rest of his estates in this county, to his son, John Calcraft, esq. the present possessor of it.

The principal part of the tenants of this manor hold in free socage, but there are a few copyholds.

WOMBWELL-HALL, commonly called Wimblehall, is a seat in this parish, situated about a mile and a quarter south-eastward from the church. It was built on part of the demesnes of an estate here, called Dundall's, and in old deeds and evidences, both Derndale and Derendale, the name of a family who antiently possessed it; but before the latter end of the reign of king Edward III. it was come into the possession of William Wangdeford, commonly called Wainford, whose son, William Wangdeford, was sergeant at law, and a good benefactor to Rochester bridge; for it is noted, in the muniments of Rochester bridge, that Wm. Wainford gave and mortized to the stone bridge of Rochester his place at London, in Cornhill, at the Shafte, to the value of twelve marcs, above all the reprises; whose wife lies buried in this church, dying in 1421. He succeeded his father in the inheritance of this estate, and in the 15th year of king Henry VI. passed it away by sale to John and William Flucke, from whom it was quickly after purchased by John Rouse, descended from William Rouse of Birling, in this county. (fn. 6) He alienated his interest in it to Thomas Wombwell and John Clifton, esqrs. which latter dying without issue, in 1471, by his will gave his share in it to the former, who by that means became possessed of the entire fee of Derndale.

This family was originally of Wombwell in Yorkshire, when Thomas Wombwell above mentioned removed into Kent, in the reign of king Edward IV. and having obtained the whole of this estate of Derndale, erected a seat on it for his residence, which he called Wombwell-hall. This family bore for their arms, Gules, a bend ermine, between six unicorns heads erased argent; which coat was confirmed to his descendant, William Wombwell of Wombwell-hall, in Northfleet, gent. by Robert Cooke, clarencieux, in 1574. (fn. 7) In his descendants this seat and estate continued down to Thomas Wombwell, who in the reign of king Charles I. alienated one moiety of Wombwell-hall and Derndale to Edward Adye, esq. of Barham, counsellor at law, and the other moiety to Mrs. Leah de la Fortrye, daughter of Laurence des Bouveries of Canterbury, widow of Peter de la Fortrye, merchant of London, and of East Combe in this county, the youngest of the three sons of Nicholas de la Forterie, of the city of Canterbury, son of John de la Forterie, of Lisle in Flanders, who fled on account of his religion into England, in 1567. (fn. 8) The other two sons were John and Samuel, both eminent merchants in London; from the former of them, by a female coheir, the earl of Radnor is descended; and from the latter, the Fortryes of Leicester; and by females the earl of Aylesford and earl Bathurst. The family of Fortrye bore for their arms, Argent, three boars heads erased sable, armed of the first, langued gules. She left by her husband, Peter de la Fortrye, one son, James; and two daughters, Leah, wife of Edward Adye, esq. above mentioned; and Susan, of Peter Bulteel, esq. At her death, in 1659, she by her will gave her moiety of Wombwell-hall and Derndale, among other estates, to her son James Fortrye, esq. who removed from Combe, in Greenwich, where he then resided, to this seat, and having purchased the other moiety of it, as well as of Derndale, he new built the house, in 1663, as it now remains. He died possessed of them both in 1674, and left surviving Mary his wife (afterwards stiled in the court rolls of Northfleet manor, lady Pitfield, alias Mary Fortree, widow) and three daughters; of whom, Mary married Thomas Chiffinch, esq. of this parish; Hester married Matthew Lancaster, esq. of Norfolk; and Leah died unmarried; and one son, James Fortrye, esq. who succeeded him in his estate here, and resided at Wombwell-hall, and became a bencher of the Inner Temple. He died in 1727, leaving by his second wife, Rosamond, daughter and heir of George Elcock, esq. of Barham, one son and heir, James; and a daughter, Mary, married to George Eliot, esq. whose father was a younger son of Sir Gilbert Eliot, bart. of Minto, in Scotland, and by her had an only daughter, married to the Rev. Mr. Currey, of Dartford. James Fortrye, esq. the son, was of Wombwellhall, and having married Ursula, daughter of Robert Chadwick, esq. of Northfleet, a captain in the royal navy, died in 1744, without issue, and by his will devised this seat, with Derndale, to his sister Mary above mentioned, in tail male, remainder to Thomas Chiffinch, esq. of this parish. Mrs. Fortrye survived her husband, and afterwards possessed this estate till her death; after which, by her husband's will, it became the property of Thomas Chiffinch, esq. of this parish, whose niece and heir at law, Mary Comyns, on his death, intitled her husband, Francis Wadman, esq. to the possession of it.

IFIELD COURT is a manor, situated at the southwest boundary of this parish, within the hamlets of Ifield, Wells, and Cosington, which was antiently part of the estate of a family of the name of Ifield; one of whom, Thomas de Ifield, died possessed of it in the 34th year of king Edward I. about which time William, son of Thomas de Yfeld, and all his brothers and coheirs, granted to the monks of St. Andrew, Rochester, all his tithe of Yfeld, in pure and perpetual alms, which was given to them by his ancestors, of all the land which his father Thomas, son of Turger de Yfeld, held; and they granted to them all the small tithes of the land, viz. in lambs, calves, pigs, fleeces, cheeses, and in all things in which tithes were used to be given; and the acre of land on which their Grange was built. Soon after which this estate became the property of the family of Hever, in which it continued in the 20th year of king Edward III. when the heirs of Thomas de Hever paid aid for it, as half a knight's fee, which Robert de Hever formerly held in Ifelde of the archbishop of Canterbury. After this it came into the possession of the Sympsons of Sympson's-place, in Bromley, one of whom, Robert Sympson of Sympson's, died possessed of it in the 11th year of king Edward IV. His heir alienated it to Rikhill, from which name it passed in marriage with Rose, sole heir of John Rikhill, to John Lymsey, who, in the 1st year of king Richard III. conveyed it by sale to John Young, from whom it passed again to another John Lymsey, who held it of the king by knight's service, as of his manor of Northfleet, and died possessed of this manor of Ifield, in the 38th year of Henry VIII. and was succeeded in it by Edmund Lymsey, his son and heir, (fn. 9) who had possession granted of it in the 2d year of king Edward VI. He alienated it to Sir John Rainsford, from whom it passed by sale to Garth, (fn. 10) who conveyed it about the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign to Child, several of whom lie buried in this church; whose descendant, in the reign of king Charles I. sold it to Benedict Garret, alias Garrard, esq. and his descendant, Edward Garrard, esq. possessed its in 1704, whose son dying a minor, his four daughters became entitled to it; the eldest of whom was married to Henry Browne, M. D. of Salisbury; the second to Dorington Egerton, esq. the third to Thomas Light, merchant, of London; and the fourth to George Hayter; and they, in 1766, joined in the sale of this manor and estate to Mr. John Tilden, of this place, whose son of the same name now possesses and resides in it.

Near the banks of the Thames, at a small distance northward from the high London road, is a seat called THE HIVE, but corruptly for The Hythe, which has been many years in the possession of the family of Chiffinch.

Thomas Chiffinch, esq. was possessed of this seat in the beginning of the present century. He was grandson of Thomas Chiffinch, esq. keeper of the jewels to king Charles II. keeper of the king's closet, and comptroller of the excise, who died in 1666, and was buried in Westminster abbey, where there is a monument erected to his memory. He was born at Salisbury, in 1600, and was brought to the court of king Charles I. by Duppa, bishop of Salisbury, and afterwards of Winchester. After the king's death, he, with his wife, went abroad to king Charles II. and continued with him till the Restoration. He had a younger brother, William, who was keeper of the closet to king Charles II. and left by Barbara Nunn, his wife, an only daughter, Barbara, married to Edward, first earl of Jersey. Thomas Chiffinch, esq. the elder brother, married Dorothy, daughter of Mr. Thanet, of Merionethshire, by whom he had an only son, Thomas, who was, by king Charles II. appointed a principal searcher at the port of Gravesend, and dying in 1681, was buried at Milton near Gravesend. Tho. Chiffinch, esq. the son, was twice married; first, to Rachel, one of the daughters of Richard Chafin, esq. of Wiltshire; by whom he had an only daughter, Rachel; and secondly to Amphillis, daughter of Thomas Chaffin, esq. of Chettel, in Dorsetshire; by whom he had a son and heir, Thomas, and a daughter, Elizabeth, who married George St. Loe, esq. a commissioner of the navy. The Chiffinch's bore for their arms, Or, on a chief embattled gules, three leopards heads of the field, langued azure; which coat was granted in 1664, by Sir Edward Walker, to Thomas Chiffinch, esq. (fn. 11)

Thomas Chiffinch, esq. the son, succeeded his father in his office of one of the principal searchers in the port of Gravesend, in king Charles II.'s reign, and possessed this seat, as above mentioned. He died in 1727, and lies buried in this church, with Mary, his wife, eldest daughter of James Fortrye, esq. of-Wombwell-hall, who died in 1747. By her he left one son and heir, Thomas, and three daughters; Mary, who married John Taylor, A.M. vicar of Darent, and died without issue; Leah, who died unmarried; and Elizabeth, to Rich. Comyns, of Writtle, in Essex, sergeant-at-law (brother to chief baron Comyns) and died at Canterbury in 1764, leaving one daughter, Mary. Tho. Chiffinch, esq. on his father's death, succeeded him in this seat and estate, and was a barrister at law. He married Dorothy, one of the daughters of Reginald Peckham, esq. of Yaldham in Wrotham, and relict of John Williams, gent. by whom he had no issue. He resided here near fifty years, till his death, in 1775, when by his will, he gave this, among his other estates, to his niece and heir at law above mentioned, Mary, the daughter of his sister, Elizabeth Comyns, who married in 1775, Francis Wadman, esq. gentleman usher to the late princess Amelia, and he in her right now possesses it, and resides here.

The CISTERTIAN ABBEY of St. Mary Graces, near the Tower, was in Richard II.'s reign, possessed of a manor here then called Leuches alias Muiches, which at the time of its dissolution in Henry VIII.'s reign, was surrendered into the king's hands, being then called Lynches, alias Mynches, alias Abbot's lands, and was afterwards granted successively for a term of years to Sir Christopher Morris, Thomas Asteley, esq. and John Fowler, (fn. 12) but where it is situated, and who has owned it since, is now unknown.

The PRIORY of St. Gregory, near Canterbury, possessed, perhaps, as early as its foundation, which was in 1084, eight acres of corn, cut down at the time of harvest, (succicæ messis) yearly, at Northfleet, that is, four of wheat and four of barley, from the demesnes of the archbishop, which were confirmed to that priory by archbishop Hubert, and in 1384, their portion of this parish was valued at 40s. yearly.

This portion remained part of the possessions of the priory till the dissolution of it, about the 28th year of king Henry VIII. the year after which the archbishop, conveying the manor of Northfleet to the king, this portion, by unity of possession, became part of the yearly profits of that manor, and as such it continues at this time.

The water mill, situated near the mouth of the sleet, close to the river Thames, was part of the antient possessions of the see of Canterbury, and as part of them in Northfleet, were included in that great deed of exchange, made between archbishop Cranmer and king Henry VIII. in the 29th of that prince's reign, by which they were granted to the king, his heirs, and successors for ever. It is now used for the making of a composition of stucco for buildings.

Charities.

There are no charitable donations to this parish, but adjoining to the church yard is a small tenement, worth about 25s. per annum, supposed to have been built at the expence of the parish, to put the sexton's tools in, &c. but since converted into a dwelling house, and now appropriated to the use of a poor woman, belonging to the parish.

NORTHFLEET is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, as such is in the deanry of Shoreham.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Botolph, stands on the south side of the village, and is a handsome spacious building, having three large isles and a large chancel; it has a tower at the west end, which was built in 1717.

Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following: In the chancel, a brass plate for Margaret Baron, and Nicholas her son; she died 1429; another with the figure of a priest for Peter de Lacy, rector of this church and prebendary of Swerdes, in Dublin, obt. Oct. 18, 1375; a stone with three brass plates, two with these arms, A chevron between three trefoils slipt, for William Hesilt, baron of the exchequer, obt. 1425; a brass plate and figure for William Lye, rector of Northfleet, obt. Jan. 9, 1391. A stone with two bars, in chief three fleurs de lis, for Sam. Golty, clerk, eldest son of Rich. Golty, rector of Denington, in Suffolk, obt. 1718. In the north isle, a monument for James Fortrye, esq. ob. 1674; a memorial for Elizabeth, wife of James Fortrye, ob. 1715, s.p. A monument for Susan Bulteel, ob. 1692; a brass plate for Richard Davy, esq. and a monument for his wife. He was keeper of the jewels to Henry VI. obt. 1491. On the north wall a monument for three of the daughters of Dr. Edward Browne, one of whom married Arthur Moore, esq. who lies buried near it. A monument, with argent, two bendlets sable, between as many pellets, for Edw. Browne, M.D. son of Sir Edward Browne, M.D. and president of the college of physicians, ob. 1708; and for Thomas Browne, M.D. his only son, ob. 1710. Several memorials for the Crich's of Greenwich, of the Cripp's of this parish, and of the Child's. In the north isle, A memorial for Thomas Chiffinch and Mary his wife; he died 1727, she died 1747; another for Alice, wife of William Wangdeford, ob. 1421; one for William Rikhill, esq. eldest son of Sir William Rikhill, and Catherine his wife; she died 1433, and he died 1400; another for Tho. Bredon and Joan his wife, 1511; over the door, at the entrance into the belfry, an inscription, that this steeple was rebuilt in 1717, a new frame made for the bells, which were new hung, and the church beautified, in 1718. (fn. 13)

The vicarage house is pleasantly situated on the south side of the London road, adjoining the northwest side of the church yard.

THE CHURCH of Northfleet was part of the antient possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was given, with its appurtenances, in lands, tenths, oblations, and all other things, to the monks of St. Andrew's, Rochester, by archbishop Anselme, who came to the see in 1093. His successor, archbishop Ralph, confirmed this gift to them, and besides gave them an acre of his demesne land here, in his own occupation, in a field called Gudlesfeld, for the building of houses for themselves and their chaplain, and the tithes of all the villeins that held land in Dune, and also all others, the tithes of whom had been acquired in his or at any other time; all which were confirmed to the church of Rochester by several succeeding archbishops, and by king Henry II. (fn. 14)

In the 1st year of the reign of king John, Ralph, prior of Rochester, and the convent there, after the death of Letard, the incumbent of Northfleet, (clerici de Northfleet) had presented Adam, rector of the church of Dartford, to archbishop Hubert, for institution to it, but the archbishop having heard of Letard's death, had conferred it as of his own patronage, on Sir S. Ridel. However they at last, at the request of the archbishop, consented to the institution of his clerk above mentioned, saving to the monks sixty shillings yearly, as an annual pension from him, and also all kind of tithes which they had been used to receive in this parish, as the same were described in an instrument of archbishop Ralph, which he, the archbishop, had inspected; that is, the third sheaf of all tithes arising from his whole demesne in Northfleet, and all tithes, as well small as great, arising from the house, and the whole demesnes of Thomas de Yfelde, excepting two loads of corn, that is, one of wheat, and one of barley and oats, which loads the said S. Ridel should take each year in autumn, in the tenement of the said Thomas; and the archbishop and his clerk aforesaid, freely, and without any dispute, gave up to the use of the monks the tithes de la Dune, and the tithes of Wenifalle (now called Windfieldbank) and those from the tenements of Nigel, and all other tithes, which from the benevolence of faithful people they had of old been accumstomed to take in different places in the parish of Northfleet, and that what the prior and monks had acquiesced in and consented to, might not prejudice them in future, the archbishop confirmed to them this church, as well as the several charrers of his predecessors relating to it.

Notwithstanding these several confirmations of the gift of the church of Northfleet to the priory of Rochester, it does not seem that they ever enjoyed it afterwards, though they struggled hard to maintain their right to it, and for that purpose appealed to the court of Rome, whither, in the year 1240, the prior and convent sent one of their brethren, as their proctor, to manage this business there among other matters, against Edmund, then archbishop of Canterbury. This church afterwards continued part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury till the 29th year of king Henry VIII. when archbishop Cranmer, by his indenture, that year, conveyed to the king, in exchange, the manor and the rectory, parsonage and glebe of Northfleet, with the advowson of the vicarage of it; before which archbishop Warham, in the 23d year of king Henry VIII. had demised it for a term to John Thornton of Northfleet, with all the houses, lands, fruits, tithes, &c. belonging to it, at the rent of twenty-eight pounds, before the expiration of which king Edward VI. in his 7th year, granted to George Broke, esq. a subsequent term in it. (fn. 15) King James I. by his letters patent, in his 4th year, granted this rectory to Richard Roberts and George Tyle, at the yearly rent of twenty pounds, but in the year 1650 it belonged to Sir John Sedley. (fn. 16)

In antient valuation of the churches in this diocese, taken anno 15 king Edward I. (fn. 17) the church of Northfleet is valued at one hundred marcs. (fn. 18)

In the survey of ecclesiastical livings within this diocese, taken in 1650, it was returned that Northfleet was a vicarage presentative, worth one hundred pounds per annum, Mr. H. Cunningham being then incumbent, that the parsonage was an impropriation, worth one hundred and sixty pounds per annum, Sir John Sidley being owner thereof.

The advowson of the vicarage of this church remains in the possession of the crown. It is valued in the king's books at 21l. and the yearly tenths at 2l. 2s.

Church Of Northfleet.