Parishes: Buckland

BUCKLAND

LIES the next adjoining parish north-west from Hougham. It is written in Domesday, Bocheland, which name it took from the Saxon words, boc, or book, and land; meaning, that it was land held by charter or writing, being free and hereditary, and passing by livery and seizin. It is usually called Buckland, near Dover, to distinguish it from Buckland, near Faversham. A borsholder for this parish is chosen at the court leet of the manor of Dover priory.

BUCKLAND is situated in the same broad and spacious vale which continues to the lands-end at Dover, to which the high London road leads through it. On each side here the hills rise stupendous and romantic, to an exceeding barren country, which on the left consists of open downs, and on the right of small inclosures of arable, with much rough ground and coppice wood, the soil of the former being a hard chalk, and of the latter in some parts the same, and in others a red earth, abounding with sharp slints, the whole a poor and barren country, unprofitable to the occupier, and dangerous to the traveller. The bottom of the vale itself must, however, be excepted from this description, where the lands and meadows are fertile, and produce good corn and grass. In the value, in the southern part of this parish, among the arable lands, is situated Combe farm; and in the northern part of it the manor of Barton. The village of Buckland is built mostly on the northern side of the London road, extending within less than half a mile to Dover. It is a long straggling village, not very pleasantly situated in the valley, at the foot of the northern hills, the river Dour running close along the southern side of it, over which there is a new-built brick bridge.

At the west end of the village is a seat, which some few years ago belonged to admiral Sir John Bentley, who devised it to Mr. William Hills, and his widow now possesses it. On the stream in this village is a corn-mill, and a large well-constructed paper-mill, the manufactory of which was greatly improved and afterwards carried forward by Mr. Paine, the late owner, but it is now occupied by Mr. Kingsford. There is here likewise another paper-mill, occupied by Mr. Horne, being a beneficial lease from the archbishop, the works of which have been likewise much enlarged. These have considerably increased the population of this parish within these few years, the manufacturers employed in them being very numerous, consisting of men, women, and children, who earn their constant daily bread, in making the different sorts of paper at these mills.

The fair, which used to be held here on St. Bartholomew's day, August 24, is now by change of the stile held on the 4th of September yearly.

In 1765, in digging a bank in this parish, a leaden pot was found, filled with the silver coin of king Edward II. and III.'s reigns.

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

Ansfrid holds of the bishop in Bochelande half a suling, and there he has in demesne one carucate, with one villein. The arable land is two carucates. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth twenty shillings; when he received it thirty shillings, now forty shillings.

Four years after which the bishop was disgraced, and all his possessions were confiscated to the crown, upon which this manor was granted to Hamo de Crevequer, whose descendant of the same name died possessed of it in the 47th year of king Henry III. From this family it passed into that of Willoughbye, and again from them in king Edward the IIId.'s reign, to the Barries, of Sevington, and Agnes, wife of William Barrie, was found in the 48th year of that reign to die possessed of this manor, held of the king, by the service of paying one red rose yearly, and that John Alkham was her kinsman and heir. After which, the Callards, or Calwards, now vulgarly called Collard, became possessed of it, and continued proprietors for several descents. They were of a family who had long been resident in this part of Kent. John Callard, esq. was one of those who accompanied Sir Henry Guldeford to serve Ferdinand, king of Castile, in his war against the Moors, where for his signal service he had this coat of arms assigned to him and his posterity, by Benolt, clarencieux, viz. Girony of six pieces, or, and sable, over all three blackmoor's heads, decouped. They alienated it at length about the end of queen Elizabeth's reign to Fogge, who not many years afterwards conveyed it by sale to William Sherman, esq. of Croydon, steward to the archbishops Abbot and Laud successively, and he possessed it in the year 1656. His heirs at length sold it to John Tedcrost, esq. of Horsham, in Sussex, who in 1691 sold it to Edward Wivell, of Dover, from whom it passed with his daughter in marriage to Capt. James Gunman, of the same place, whose arms were, A Spread eagle, argent, gorged with a ducal collar, or; and he by will gave it to Christopher Gunman, esq. collector of the customs there, from whom it passed by will to his son James Gunman, esq. the present owner of it. There is no court held for this manor.

THE MANORS OF DUDMANSCOMBE and BARTON, the former of which, vulgarly called Deadsmanscombe, and the court-lodge of it, Combe-farm, as well as the latter, were both part of the antient possessions of the priory of St. Martin, in Dover, and they are both ac cordingly entered under the general title of the lands of the canons of it, in the survey of Domesday, as follows:

In Bochelande Alwi holds one suling, and there he has six villeins, and ten borderers, with one carucate and an half. In the whole it was worth four pounds; in the time of king Edward the Consessor, one hundred shillings. He the same held it as a prebend.

And a little further, under the same title:

In Bocheland, Godric holds one suling, and there he has two carucates in demesne, and three villeins, and four borderers, with one carucate, and one church. It is worth six pounds. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, eight pounds.

Both these manors afterwards continued among the possessions of the priory of St. Martin, till the final dissolution of it in the 27th year of king Henry VIII. when it was suppressed by the act which passed that year, as being under the clear yearly value of two hundred pounds; but these manors did not remain long in the hands of the crown, for the king in his 29th year, granted them both, with the scite of the priory and other possessions late belonging to it, in exchange to the archbishop; in which situation these manors both continue, his grace the archbishop being at this time entitled to them. A court baron is held for the manor of Dudmanscombe.

This manor is now demised to Mr. Henry Farbrace and Isaac Mushey Teal, in trust, for the two minor children of Mr. George Farbrace, gent. of Dover, deceased. The court-lodge and demesne lands are demised to Mr. Thomas Horne, of Buckland. James Gunman, of Dover, is the present lessee of Barton manor.

IN THIS PARISH WAS AN HOSPITAL for poor leprous persons, begun about the year 1141, upon the solicitation of Osberne and Godwin, two monks of St. Martin's priory, who subjected it to the disposal of their prior. It was dedicated to St. Bartholomew, and was intended to consist of ten brethren, and as many sisters; but their revenue not being sufficient for so many, they were reduced to eight of each. Indeed their rents seem not to have been sufficient for the maintenance of the hospital, for they always pleaded great poverty. It was dissolved by the act for the suppression of hospitals and chantries, at the beginning of Edward VI.'s reign, who in his 6th year granted the scite of it, with all its lands and revenues, to Sir Henry Palmer, to hold in capite. (fn. 1) There are not now the least traces left of this hospital, or the chapel belonging to it.

It appears by the copy of a certificate, that John Bowle, the lessee of it in queen Mary's reign, took down this hospital for the sake of the materials, as well as the chapel of it, without any legal commission for this purpose.

Charities.

BARTHOLOMEW SMITHCOT, of this parish, by will in 1523, gave to the church of Buckland, yearly, out of his lands in it 20d. for ever, to be bestowed in bread and drink for the poor people, with liberty to distrain on non-payment.

GEORGE COLLEY, by will in 1605, gave 5l. to be put in a stock, for the use of the poor for ever. Both these legacies have been lost to the parish almost time out of mind, though there were 20s. paid from the last-mentioned legacy in 1664.

The poor constantly relieved are about twenty-five, casually as many.

BUCKLAND is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Dover.

The church, which is exempted from the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Andrew. It is a small building of two isles and a chancel, having a small chapel on the south side of it. It has a low pointed tower at the west end. In this church is a monument for Edward Baker, esq. rear-admiral, who married Sarah, daughter of William Bentley, of Deal, and died in 1751; arms, Sable, a griffin segreant, ermine, ducally gorged, or, beaked and membred, gules. A memorial for William Bentley, and Sarah his wife, and Capt. Thomas Bentley their son. A monument for Sir John Bentley, vice-admiral of the white, on which are enumerated his several gallant actions in the service of his country. He died in 1772, arms, Argent, a chevron between three martlets. And a memorial for lady Louisa, wife of Charles Ventris Field, esq.

The church of Buckland, as appears by the survey of Domesday, was part of the antient possessions of the priory of Dover, to which it was appropriated by archbishop Islip, in 1364, (fn. 2) with which it continued till the dissolution of the priory, in the 27th year of Henry VIII. After which the king granted this church appropriate and the advowson of it, together with the scite and other possessions of the priory, in his 29th year, to the archbishop, in exchange, in manner as has been already mentioned before, subject nevertheless to the payment of four pounds yearly to the vicar of this church; since which it has remained parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, his grace the archbishop being at this time possessed of the appropriation, together with the advowson of the vicarage. James Gunman, esq. is the present lessee of this parsonage.

In 1588 here were communicants one hundred and twenty, and it was valued at seventy pounds. This church being esteemed a chapel, is not valued in the king's books.

The archbishop nominates a perpetual curate to it, who receives the above-mentioned pension of four pounds yearly from him. Archbishop Juxon augmented this curacy anno 13 Charles II. with twelve pounds per annum, to be paid out of the great tithes, and the same was confirmed anno 27 of the same reign. It is now of about the clear yearly value of twenty-six pounds. The archbishop, strictly speaking, is vicar of this church, as appropriate rector of it. For whenever the religious acquired the appropriation of any church, and there was no care taken for the endowment of a vicarage, they either served it themselves, or allowed, with the approbation of the diocesan, a small pension to the vicar who served it. On the suppression these appropriate churches came into the hands of the crown, in the like state as the religious held them, and were again granted in the same state, (generally however with the reservation of the payment of the antient pension to others) ecclesiastics as well as laymen, who becoming rectors became likewise vicars of them, and from that time appointed curates to serve in their respective churches, with the payment yearly of the antient reserved pensions to them; and this is the general case of all perpetual curacies.

There was a portion of tithes, at a place in this parish, called Otterton, alias Ankerton Dane, which in the 37th year of queen Elizabeth was in the hands of the crown. It is now held by James Gunman, esq. by the yearly fee-farm of fifteen shillings.

Church of Buckland.