Parishes: East Langdon

EAST LANGDON,

SO called in regard to the adjoining parish of West Langdon, and from the two words, langeand dune, signifying the long down or hill, this parish being frequently written in antient records, Langedune. There are two boroughs in this parish, East Langdon and Martin. A borsholder is chosen for the first at the court held for the manor of East Langdon; and one for the latter, at the court for the manor of Norborne. The soil and appearance of the country in this parish, is much the same as in the adjoining ones of West Langdon and Guston, described in the former part of this volume.

The village of East Langdon, containing about fifteen houses, lies at the southern part of the parish, having the church and court-lodge on the opposite side of it. The hamlet of Martin, of Merton, as it has been sometimes spelt, contains fifteen houses. There is a fair held in this parish on Old May-day, for toys and pedlary.

THE MANOR OF LANGDON was part of the antient possessions of the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, from whom it was wrested by some of the powerful men in very early times, as appears by the chronicle of it; but it the year 1110, anno 11 king Henry I. Hugo, abbot of the monastery, recovered in the king's court, the lands of Langedon, among others, against Manasses Arsic, who had then unjustly the possession of them. (fn. 1) After which, the abbot, with the consent of the convent, assigned this manor, among others, to the cloathing of the monks there.

In the year 1313, being the 7th year of king Edward II.'s reign, in the iter of H. de Stanton and his sociates, justices itinerant, the abbot, upon a quo warranto, claimed and was allowed in this manor, among other liberties, view of frank pledge, in like manner as has been already mentioned in the description of the other manors belonging to the monastery. (fn. 2) And the liberty of the view of frank-pledge was in particular further confirmed by that king in his 10th year, as all of them were afterwards by king Edward III. in his 36th year, by his charter of inspeximus, among the rest of the possessions and liberties of the abbey, and king Henry VI. likewise confirmed the same. In king Richard II.'s reign, the measurement of their lands in this parish was, of arable, 164 acres and half a rood, and of pasture 120 acres and an half.

In which situation this manor continued till its final dissolution, in the 30th year of king Henry VIII. when it was with all its revenues surrendered into the king's hands, who soon after granted this manor to archbishop Cranmer, who, in the 34th year of the same reign, reconveyed it back again to the king, in exchange, for other premises, who granted the see of it, together with the advowson of the parsonage of Langdon, the tithes arising from the hamlet of Marton, and the pastures of Guston, inter alia, to John Master, gent. to hold in capite by knight's service.

He resided afterwards at East Langdon court, where he died in 1588, anno 31 Elizabeth, bearing for his arms, Azure, a fess embattled, between there griffins heads, erases, or. His eldest son, James Master, gent. of East Langdon, rebuilt the mansion of Langdoncourt; which with other premises, granted as abovementioned, continued down in his descendants to James Master, esq. of East Langdon, with several other farms and lands in this parish, purchased by him and his father, Richard Master, all which he alienated to Matthew Aylmer, esq. who again sold them to Sir Henry Furnese, bart. afterwards of Waldershare, who died possessed of this manor, with the premises above-mentioned, in 1712. (fn. 3) After which, his grand-daughter Catherine, in 1736, carried this estate in marriage, first to Lewis, earl of Rockingham, and secondly, to Francis, earl of Guildford, by neither of whom she had any issue, and dying in 1766, gave this estate, among the rest of her property, to her surviving husband, who died possessed of it in 1790, and his grandson the present right hon. George Augustus, earl of Guildford, is at this time the owner of it.

A court leet and court baron is held for this manor, Only part of the mansion of Langdon court is now standing, the rest having been some time since pulled down. It is at present occupied as a farm-house.

THE MANOR OF PISING, together with the lands called Pinham, are situated in the northern part of this parish, and in that of Guston. At the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, both these estates were in the possession of the bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands they are thus entered in it:

In Beusberg hundred. The same Osbern (paisforer) holds of the bishop twelve acres of land, which are worth, per annum, four shillings. Hugo de Porth holds of the bishop, Pesinges and Piham; they were taxed at two sulings. The arable lands is …… In demesne there are two carucates and an half, and six villeins, with fourteen borderers, having one carucate. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, they were worth one hundred shillings, and afterwards nothing; now six pounds. Lesstan, and Leuuin, and Eluret, and Sired, and two others, held them in the time of king Edward the Confessor, and could go with their lands wherever they would.

Upon the hishop's disgrace four years after, the king seized on all his possessions, and Hugo de Port, who before held this manor and estate of the bishop, became immediate tenant to the king for it, as his supreme lord, who assigned these lands, among others, to Hugh de Port, for his assistance under John de Fienes for the defence of Dover castle. These lands, which together made up the barony of Port, were held of the king in capite, by barony; the tenant of them being bound by the tenure to maintain a certain number of soldiers there, from time to time, for the defence of that fortress.

Of Hugh de Port, and his heirs, the St. Johns, these estates, above described in Domesday, were again afterwards held by Robert de Champania, or Champaine, son of Sir Robert de Champania, of Norton, in king Henry III.'s reign, by knight's service, and of him they were again held as two separate manors, each called by the name of Pising, by a family who took their name from their residence here, and bore for their arms, Perpale, azure and argent, a cross moline, gules; the last of whom, Sir Philip de Pising, dying in that reign, leaving two daughters his coheirs, it caused this division of them by Joane one of the coheirs.

ONE OF THESE MANORS went in marriage to Greyland St. Leger, who held it in like manner as abovementioned, and he sold it in 1227, anno 12 Henry III. by the description of his capital estate of Pysing, and the thired part of the corn at Pynham, and the donation and advowson of all the tithes of Pysing, to Bertram de Criol, then constable of Dover castle, who gave the same soon afterwards to the abbot and convent of St. Radigund.

THE OTHER of these manors was carried in marriage by Diamonda, the other daughter and coheir of Sir Philip de Pising, to John de Bikenore, whence it acquired the name of Pysing Bikenore; but he, in the year 1243, anno 28 Henry III. enfeoffed the abbot and convent of St. Radigund in this estate. In which state both these manors continued till the final dissolution of the monastery, in the 27th year of king Henry VIII. who granted them with the scite and other possessions of it to archbishop Cranmer, in exchange, (fn. 4) who soon afterwards reconveyed them to the crown; but in the act for this purpose, among other exceptions, was that of the manor of Pysing, in Beusfield, Guston, and Langdon, by which it seems that the two manors before mentioned were then esteemed, from the unity of possession, but as one, which, as such, afterwards continued parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, as it does at this time, his grace the archbishop being now entitled to the inheritance of it.

The earl of Guildford is the present lessee of this manor, on a beneficial lease. There is no court held for it.

THERE WAS A PORTION OF TYTHES in Pysing, belonging to the chamberlain of St. Augustine's monastery, and was assigned to the cloathing of the monks there.

THE HAMLET OF MARTON lies in the northeren part of this parish. In this hamlet, a branch of the family of Marsh resided for many generations, till they, about the middle of the last century, removed to Dover.

Philipott certainly never saw this place to give it the name of Marshton, (though it is so written in more places than one in the parish-register, through ignorance) from its low and marshy situation; for on the contrary, it is high land, and appears to have been spelt in antient deeds and records, both Merton and Martin.

The family of Marsh above-mentioned, in king Henry V.'s time, wrote themselves Atte-Mersh, they bore for their arms, Quarterly, gules, and argent, in the first quarter, a horses head, couped at the neck, gules; and from these were descended those of Brandred and Nethersole, as already mentioned in former parts of this history. Their seat and estate here now belongs to Mr. James Jekin, of Oxney. The house, when Mr. Jekin bought it, was in part only, standing; built of stone and brick, and of no very great antiquity. He has pulled the whole of it down, and has built a large one on the scite of it, for his own residence.

THERE IS a Portion of Tithes arising from this hamlet, which antiently belonged to the monastery of St. Augustine. This portion, which consisted of the whose tithes of corn within this ville, coming into the possession of the family of Master, with the manor of East Langdon, after the dissolution of the monastery, passed in like manner afterwards into the family of Furnese; and on the partition of their estates, in the 9th year of king George II. was allotted, among other premises, to Edward Dering, esq. afterwards Sir Edward Dering, bart. in right of his wife Selina, one of the three daughters and coheirs of Sir Robert Furnese, bart. and he a few years ago alienated it to Mr. John Jeken, of Oxney, and his son Mr. James Jeken above-mentioned, is the present owner of it.

Charities.

JAMES MASTER, of East, Langdon, by will in 1631, gave to the church wardens and overseers, 10l. as a stock for the poor, to be bestowed upon wool and hemp, to set them to work towards their maintenance, they to receive such benefit as should arise from the working of it; and as he had repaired the house belonging to the clerk, that it might be a help for some poor body, being unprovided of an house, and not able to hire one, his will therefore was, and he thought it very reasonable, in respect of the charge he had bestowed, that it should be for such person to dwell in rent free, and so from time to time, as it should become void; and when the house should want reparations, that he that dwelt in his manision-house of East Langdon should sufficiently repair it at all times.

The poor constantly relieved are about eight, casually three.

A WORKHOUSE was erected in Martin-street about 1790, in which are kept the poor of the several parishes of East Langdon, St. Margaret's at Cliffe, comprehending Oxney, united to it sometime since in respect to the poor rates, Guston, West Langdon, Little Mongeham, Great Mongeham, Sutton, Ripple, and Westcliffe. A manufactory of spinning and weaving linen, sacking, sheeting, &c. is carried on in it. The number of poor between forty and fifty. This house is visited by proper persons deputed from each parish, and under good regulations, so that it appears comfortable and clean, and the people content; which is here noticed as a laudable undertaking, worthy of being adopted in other places; for it is not often the case in parish work-houses, which are usually kept in a state of misery purposely, both from parsimony and to terrisy the poor objects, who are threatened with consinement in them.

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

The church, which is dedicated to St. Augustine, is small and mean, consisting of a nave, a samll isle on the south side only, and a chancel; a wooden tower at the west end, with a spire much out of the perpendicualr, in which are four bells, none of which are antient. There are no marks of antiquity in it, nor any remains of painted glass. In it there is a memorial for Thomas Paramor, gent. rector; arms at top, Paramor (of the Stantenborough branch). For John Rattray, rector, obt. Nov. 1, 1772. A brass plate was lately to the memory of one of the Master family, now lost. In this church lie intereed many of this family of Langdoncourt, and of Marsh, of Marton; all whose memorials are now gone; but in the chancel is a monument remaining for Thomas Marsh, gent. of Marton, obit. 1634. In this church there is a most curious antient pulpit-cloth, of crimson velvet, richly embroidered with the words, Jesu. Maria, plentifully worked on it, and two large female figures in gold embroidery, kneeling before two altars, with a book on each, with a scroll issuing out of their mouths, and underneath this imperfect inscription, Orate po. ana Jobs …… od ..… Most probably meant for the donor.

This church was always appurtenant to the manor of East Langdon, and as such, the present patron of it is the right hon. the earl of Guildford.

There was an agreement made in 1696, between the rector of this parish and the vicar of Norborne, concerning the annual payment of four shillings to the said vicar, and confirmed by the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, in which mention is made, that the parishioners of the church of East Langdon were bound towards the repair of that of Norborne.

It is a rectory, valued in the king's books at 7l. but is now a discharged living, estimated at about the yearly value of 46l. having three acres of glebe belonging to it. In 1588 here were seventy-two-communicants. In 1674 there were the like number of communicants; and it was valued at 80l.

The demesne lands of the manor of East Langdon, about eighty acres, are exempt from the payment of great tithes, as are those of the ville or hamlet of Martin, in this parish, being the larger moiety of it; but the rector is entitled to the small tithes arising from the whole of the lands withing this parish.

The church of West Langdon being in ruins, the inhabitants of that parishl resort to this church for the benefit of divine service; and all christenings, burials, &c. are persormed here.

Curch of East Langdon.