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Pepe excitedly dashed over to his favorite store, Build-a-Bear! It’s not often that he gets to hang out with deflated animals looking for their white fluffy innards and little red hearts. :P He became a little impatient waiting for Zoey to catch up — she was living up to her nickname (Flop), tripping over herself and flopping on her belly because she was too busy ogling the giant Lego Beast from her favorite movie, Beauty and the Beast.

 

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MEGA MAN 3 Dr. Willy's Stage Metal Version With Awesome Guitar By Pete Metropoulos - Rocktropolis

www.RocktropolisMusic.com

 

Mega Man 3, known as Rockman 3 Dr. Wily no Saigo!? (ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!? Rokkuman Surī Dokutā Wairī no Saigo!??, lit. "Rockman 3: The End of Dr. Wily!?") in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third game of the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on September 28, 1990. The game localized in North America later in 1990 and in European regions in 1992. Taking place after the events of Mega Man 2, the plot follows the titular hero as he helps his creator, Dr. Light, and a former villain, Dr. Wily, collect parts for a peace-keeping robot by defeating several Robot Masters that have gone haywire.

A platform-action game, Mega Man 3 follows the same format set forth by its two predecessors. The player, as Mega Man, must complete a series of stages in any order. Defeating a stage's boss will earn the player its special weapon, which can be selected and used at will throughout the rest of the game. Mega Man 3 introduces new gameplay elements such as Mega Man's canine sidekick Rush and the ability to slide along the ground. Unlike with the first two installments of the series, artist and designer Keiji Inafune has considered the creation of Mega Man 3 to be very stressful due to time constraints and his own increased responsibilities during its development.

Following the success of Mega Man 2 released two years earlier, Mega Man 3 has sold over one million copies and has been positively received in critical reviews. Its presentation and gameplay has been especially praised, although many sources found the game to be too difficult. Like other titles in the series, Mega Man 3 has been re-released several times on other gaming platforms, on mobile phones, and as part of various Mega Man franchise compilations.

 

Mega Man 3 takes place during an unspecified year during the 21st century (200X). The mad scientist Dr. Wily, having twice had plans for world domination dashed, claims to have reformed and begins work with Dr. Light on a project to build a peace-keeping robot named "Gamma".[15] Robot Masters in charge of a set of "mining worlds", however, go berserk and make off with Gamma's eight power crystals.[16] Mega Man is called into action, this time with a canine companion named Rush, to retrieve the crystals from the sites.[17] Throughout his mission, the protagonist continuously encounters and spars with Break Man, a masked foe who has abilities comparable to Mega Man's own.[15] After Mega Man destroys the eight Robot Masters, he must then revisit four of the mining sites to face off against eight "Doc Robots", who possess the abilities of the Robot Masters from Mega Man's most recent mission. Once the crystals are retrieved, Wily reverts to his evil ways, steals Gamma, and retreats to his new fortress. To stop Wily's newest plan to conquer the world, Mega Man destroys Gamma and defeats Wily in a final confrontation. As the fortress begins to crumble, Break Man appears in enough time to save Mega Man, but is too late to save Wily, who is seen being crushed under the rubble. When Mega Man regains consciousness in Dr. Light's lab, his creator informs him that he must have been rescued by Proto Man, Mega Man's brother.[18][19]

Pete Metropoulos Guitarist/Producer/Session Player

www.RocktropolisMusic.com

Biography

Guitarist/Producer/Session Player

Pete Metropoulos (Rocktropolis) is the guitarist for the progressive rock band Rocktropolis. Pete Metropoulos (Rocktropolis) has worked with The Process, Gabe Gonzalez (George Clinton) and former drummer John Macaluso (Yngwie Malmsteen, ARK and VOX). Pete Metropoulos (Rocktropolis) is a Nominee of the 2013 Detroit Music Awards.

 

ROCKTROPOLIS is represented by Howard Hertz/Joseph Bellanca (Hertz Schram, p.c.) Mr. Hertz's impressive roster includes George Clinton, Sippie Wallace, The Romantics, The Bass Brothers, Eminem, Marilyn Manson, Russell Simmons, O-Town, Pantera, Marcus Belgrave, The GO, Mike Posner, Elmore Leonard, Warner Tamerlane and Atlantic Records.

This is the mansion at Bletchley Park. Also known as Bletchley Park Mansion.

 

It is Grade II listed.

 

Large house, now offices. 1860 altered and extended 1883-6 and c1906

for HS Leon. Red brick in Flemish bond with ashlar dressings; principal

gables half-timbered with pebble-dashed infill, some others tile-hung;

Welsh slate roof with red tile ridge; brick stacks, with clustered

flues, ribs and bands. Transomed wooden windows, principal windows with

leaded upper lights. Decorative wooden barge boards and finials to

gables. Large rambling house, of 2 storeys with partial attic.

Entrance elevation: 6 bays. Lavish ashlar detailing including

architraves. Entrance in bay 2 has internal, vaulted, porch protecting

panelled half-glazed double-door with side lights, traceried upper part

and fanlight the latter leaded and with coloured glass. Flanking porch

are hexagonal brick columns surmounted by panelled stone tops which

flank base of 4-light oriel window with decorative base. Projecting

from porch, and attached to it are 2 seated griffins on bracketed

plinths. Shaped pediment with elaborate finial. Gabled bay 1 has

projecting 2-storey canted bay with pretted eaves band and cornice below

swept, domed, metal roof. On its left is single-storey wooden

conservatory with traceried bays, formerly an open-sided loggia.

Paired, gabled, bays 2 and 3 have ashlar framed triple window to ground

floor with gableted butresses,and two canted bay windows over. Across

bay 4 is 3 bay embattled ashlar loggia fronting elaborate - panelled

double-door with canted bay window to right; inserted 1st floor window.

Bay 6 has polygonal 2-storey bay window with shaped pediments screening

finialed polygonal roof. Right return: 3 left-hand bays in same style

as front, the rest plainer; but attached to right end is dovecote-like

structure: octagonal, of 2 stages, having plinth; inserted ground-floor

windows; ashlar upper stage with 2-light windows below string; and plain

tile roof with gablets and finial. Rear: plainer having tradesmen's

entrance; complex roofline, one roof having louvre with finialed lead

cupola; and embattled tower with blue-brick decorative work and date

(former steep hipped roof removed). Left return: in style of front,

with ashlar canted and curved bay windows; paired, gabled, bays 2 and 3

decorative half-timbered 1st floor; shaped pediment to bay 4; and former

loggia (much altered) across right-hand bays. Interior: high quality,

elaborate, interiors survive, with panelling, panelled doors, decorative

fireplaces, and decorative plaster ceilings. Entrance vestibule: stone

columns and vaults. Entrance Hall: arcaded polished-stone screen wall

and panelled area beyond with elaborate 2-stage, columned, ashlar

fireplace surround and traceried panelling and painted glass to roof.

Room at right end: Jacobethan fireplace; coffered ceiling with floral-

decorated plaster panels. Stairhall: panelled; ground-floor arcade and

deep floral frieze; decorative coved, coffered, ceiling over stair;

fretted balustrade with carved surround and carved octagonal newels to

stair panelled stair well. Library : elaborate wooden jacobethan

inglenook with overmirror; fitted book cases and shelves; fluted frieze;

compartmental ceiling with decorative plaster panels. Ballroom :

linenfold panelling; wall recess flanked by clustered wooden columns

from which spring traceried arches; elaborate plaster work to frieze and

to coved, ribbed, ceiling which has pendant finials. Billiard room:

brattished panelling and cornice; columns support ceiling ribs; wooden

trusses. Additional fireplaces, panelling, and decorative doors,

plasterwork and cornices to 1st floor.

 

Bletchley Park House was the headquarters building of World War II

operational centre, in the grounds of which was the hut in which the

vital cracking of the Nazis' Enigma Code occurred. Churchill was one of

the important visitors to the house.

 

Bletchley Park House - Heritage Gateway

 

Chimney's on the house.

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

---------------------------------------------

 

Set away from the main street but on one of the earliest sites in the village, flint-built Eastry church has an over restored appearance externally but this gives way to a noteworthy interior. Built in the early thirteenth century by its patrons, Christ Church Canterbury, it was always designed to be a statement of both faith and power. The nave has a clerestory above round piers whilst the east nave wall has a pair of quatrefoils pierced through into the chancel. However this feature pales into insignificance when one sees what stands between them - a square panel containing 35 round paintings in medallions. There are four deigns including the Lily for Our Lady; a dove; Lion; Griffin. They would have formed a backdrop to the Rood which would have been supported on a beam the corbels of which survive below the paintings. On the centre pier of the south aisle is a very rare feature - a beautifully inscribed perpetual calendar or `Dominical Circle` to help find the Dominical letter of the year. Dating from the fourteenth century it divides the calendar into a sequence of 28 years. The reredos is an alabaster structure dating from the Edwardian period - a rather out of place object in a church of this form, but a good piece of work in its own right. On the west wall is a good early 19th century Royal Arms with hatchments on either side and there are many good monuments both ledger slabs and hanging tablets. Of the latter the finest commemorates John Harvey who died in 1794. It shows his ship the Brunswick fighting with all guns blazing with the French ship the Vengeur. John Bacon carved the Elder this detailed piece of work.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Eastry

 

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Above the Chancel Arch, enclosed within a rectangular frame, are rows of seven "medallion" wall paintings; the lower group was discovered in 1857 and the rest in 1903. They remained in a rather dilapidated state until the Canterbury Cathedral Wall Paintings Department brought them back to life.

 

The medallions are evidently of the 13th Century, having been painted while the mortar was still wet. Each medallion contains one of four motifs:

 

The trefoil flower, pictured left, is perhaps a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary to whom the church is dedicated; or symbolic of Christ.

 

The lion; symbolic of the Resurrection

  

Doves, either singly, or in pairs, represent the Holy Spirit

  

The Griffin represents evil, over which victory is won by the power of the Resurrection and the courage of the Christian.

 

www.ewbchurches.org.uk/eastrychurchhistory.htm

 

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EASTRY,

THE next parish north-eastward from Knolton is Eastry. At the time of taking the survey of Domesday, it was of such considerable account, that it not only gave name, as it does at present, to the hundred, but to the greatest part of the lath in which it stands, now called the lath of St. Augustine. There are two boroughs in this parish, viz. the borough of Hardenden, which is within the upper half hundred of Downhamford, and comprehends the districts of Hardenden, Selson and Skrinkling, and the borough of Eastry, the borsholder of which is chosen at Eastry-court, and comprehends all the rest of the parish, excepting so much of it as lies within that part of the borough of Felderland, which is within this parish.

 

THE PARISH OF EASTRY, a healthy and not unpleasant situation, is about two miles and an half from north to south, but it is much narrower the other way, at the broadest extent of which it is not more than a mile and an half. The village of Eastry is situated on a pleasing eminence, almost in the centre of the parish, exhiblting a picturesque appearance from many points of view. The principal street in it is called Eastrystreet; from it branch off Mill street, Church-street and Brook-street. In Mill street is a spacious handsome edisice lately erected there, as a house of industry, for the poor of the several united parishes of Eastry, Norborne, Betshanger, Tilmanstone, Waldershare, Coldred, Lydden, Shebbertswell, Swynfield, Wootton, Denton, Chillenden and Knolton. In Churchstreet, on the east side, stands the church, with the court-lodge and parsonage adjoining the church-yard; in this street is likewise the vicarage. In Brook-street, is a neat modern house, the residence of Wm. Boteler, esq. and another belonging to Mr. Thomas Rammell, who resides in it. Mention will be found hereafter, under the description of the borough of Hernden, in this parish, of the descent and arms of the Botelers resident there for many generations. Thomas Boteler, who died possessed of that estate in 1651, left three sons, the youngest of whom, Richard, was of Brook-street, and died in 1682; whose great-grandson, W. Boteler, esq. is now of Brook-street; a gentleman to whom the editor is much indebted for his communications and assistance, towards the description of this hundred, and its adjoining neighbourhood. He has been twice married; first to Sarah, daughter and coheir of Thomas Fuller, esq. of Statenborough, by whom he has one son, William Fuller, now a fellow of St. Peter's college, Cambridge: secondly, to Mary, eldest daughter of John Harvey, esq. of Sandwich and Hernden, late captain of the royal navy, by whom he has five sons and three daughters. He bears for his arms, Argent, on three escutcheons, sable, three covered cups, or; which coat was granted to his ancestor, Richard Boteler, esq. of Hernden, by Cooke, clar. in 1589. Mr. Boteler, of Eastry, is the last surviving male of the family, both of Hernden and Brook-street. Eastry-street, comprizing the neighbourhood of the above mentioned branches, may be said to contain about sixty-four houses.

 

At the south-east boundary of this parish lies the hamlet of Updown, adjoining to Ham and Betshanger, in the former of which parishes some account of it has been already given. At the southern bounds, adjoining to Tilmanstone, lies the hamlet of Westone, formerly called Wendestone. On the western side lies the borough of Hernden, which although in this parish, is yet within the hundred of Downhamford and manor of Adisham; in the southern part of it is Shrinkling, or Shingleton, as it is now called, and the hamlet of Hernden. At the northern part of this borough lie the hamlets and estates of Selson, Wells, and Gore. Towards the northern boundary of the parish, in the road to Sandwich, is the hamlet of Statenborough, and at a small distance from it is that part of the borough of Felderland, or Fenderland, as it is usually called, within this parish, in which, adjoining the road which branches off to Word, is a small seat, now the property and residence of Mrs. Dare, widow of Wm. Dare, esq. who resides in it. (fn. 1)

 

Round the village the lands are for a little distance, and on towards Statenborough, inclosed with hedges and trees, but the rest of the parish is in general an open uninclosed country of arable land, like the neighbouring ones before described; the soil of it towards the north is most fertile, in the other parts it is rather thin, being much inclined to chalk, except in the bottoms, where it is much of a stiff clay, for this parish is a continued inequality of hill and dale; notwithstanding the above, there is a great deal of good fertile land in the parish, which meets on an average rent at fifteen shillings an acre. There is no wood in it. The parish contains about two thousand six hundred and fifty acres; the yearly rents of it are assessed to the poor at 2679l.

 

At the south end of the village is a large pond, called Butsole; and adjoining to it on the east side, a field, belonging to Brook-street estate, called the Butts; from whence it is conjectured that Butts were formerly erected in it, for the practice of archery among the inhabitants.

 

A fair is held here for cattle, pedlary, and toys, on October the 2d, (formerly on St. Matthew's day, September the 21st) yearly.

 

IN 1792, MR. BOTELER, of Brook-street, discovered, on digging a cellar in the garden of a cottage, situated eastward of the highway leading from Eastrycross to Butsole, an antient burying ground, used as such in the latter time of the Roman empire in Britain, most probably by the inhabitants of this parish, and the places contiguous to it. He caused several graves to be opened, and found with the skeletons, fibulæ, beads, knives,umbones of shields, &c. and in one a glass vessel. From other skeletons, which have been dug up in the gardens nearer the cross, it is imagined, that they extended on the same side the road up to the cross, the ground of which is now pretty much covered with houses; the heaps of earth, or barrows, which formerly remained over them, have long since been levelled, by the great length of time and the labour of the husbandman; the graves were very thick, in rows parallel to each other, in a direction from east to west.

 

St. Ivo's well, mentioned by Nierembergius, in Historia de Miraculis Natureæ, lib. ii. cap. 33; which I noticed in my folio edition as not being able to find any tradition of in this parish, I have since found was at a place that formerly went by the name of Estre, and afterwards by that of Plassiz, near St. Ives, in Huntingdonshire. See Gales Scriptores, xv. vol. i. p.p. 271, 512.

 

This place gave birth to Henry de Eastry, who was first a monk, and then prior of Christ-church, in Canterbury; who, for his learning as well as his worthy acts, became an ornament, not only to the society he presided over, but to his country in general. He continued prior thirty-seven years, and died, far advanced in life, in 1222.

 

THIS PLACE, in the time of the Saxons, appears to have been part of the royal domains, accordingly Simon of Durham, monk and precentor of that church, in his history, stiles it villa regalis, quæ vulgari dicitur Easterige pronuncione, (the royal ville, or manor, which in the vulgar pronunciation was called Easterige), which shews the antient pre-eminence and rank of this place, for these villæ regales, or regiæ, as Bede calls them, of the Saxons, were usually placed upon or near the spot, where in former ages the Roman stations had been before; and its giving name both to the lath and hundred in which it is situated corroborates the superior consequence it was then held in. Egbert, king of Kent, was in possession of it about the year 670, at which time his two cousins, Ethelred and Ethelbright, sons of his father's elder brother Ermenfrid, who had been entrusted to his care by their uncle, the father of Egbert, were, as writers say, murdered in his palace here by his order, at the persuasion of one Thunnor, a slattering courtier, lest they should disturb him in the possession of the crown. After which Thunnor buried them in the king's hall here, under the cloth of estate, from whence, as antient tradition reports, their bodies were afterwards removed to a small chapel belonging to the palace, and buried there under the altar at the east end of it, and afterwards again with much pomp to the church of Ramsey abbey. To expiate the king's guilt, according to the custom of those times, he gave to Domneva, called also Ermenburga, their sister, a sufficient quantity of land in the isle of Thanet, on which she might found a monastery.

 

How long it continued among the royal domains, I have not found; but before the termination of the Saxon heptarchy, THE MANOR OF EASTRY was become part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and it remained so till the year 811, when archbishop Wilfred exchanged it with his convent of Christchurch for their manor of Bourne, since from the archbishop's possession of it called Bishopsbourne. After which, in the year 979 king Ægelred, usually called Ethelred, increased the church's estates here, by giving to it the lands of his inheritance in Estrea, (fn. 2) free from all secular service and siscal tribute, except the repelling of invasions and the repairing of bridges and castles, usually stiled the trinoda necessitas; (fn. 3) and in the possession of the prior and convent bove-mentioned, this manor continued at the taking of the survey of Domesday, being entered in it under the general title of Terra Monachorum Archiepi; that is, the land of the monks of the archbishop, as follows:

 

In the lath of Estrei in Estrei hundred, the archbishop himself holds Estrei. It was taxed at Seven sulings. The arable land is . . . . In demesne there are three carucates and seventy two villeins, with twenty-two borderers, having twenty-four carucates. There is one mill and a half of thirty shillings, and three salt pits of four shillings, and eighteen acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of ten hogs.

 

After which, this manor continued in the possession of the priory, and in the 10th year of king Edward II. the prior obtained a grant of free-warren in all his demesne lands in it, among others; about which time it was valued at 65l. 3s. after which king Henry VI. in his 28th year, confirmed the above liberty, and granted to it a market, to be held at Eastry weekly on a Tuesday, and a fair yearly, on the day of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist; in which state it continued till the dissolution of the priory in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. when it came in to the king's hands, where it did not remain long, for he settled it, among other premises, in the 33d year of his reign, on his new created dean and chapter of Canterbury, part of whose possessions it continues at this time. A court leet and court baron is held for this manor.

 

The manerial rights, profits of courts, royalties, &c. the dean and chapter retain in their own hands; but the demesne lands of the manor, with the courtlodge, which is a large antient mansion, situated adjoining to the church-yard, have been from time to time demised on a benesicial lease. The house is large, partly antient and partly modern, having at different times undergone great alterations. In the south wall are the letters T. A. N. in flint, in large capitals, being the initials of Thomas and Anne Nevinson. Mr. Isaac Bargrave, father of the present lessee, new fronted the house, and the latter in 1786 put the whole in complete repair, in doing which, he pulled down a considerable part of the antient building, consisting of stone walls of great strength and thickness, bringing to view some gothic arched door ways of stone, which proved the house to have been of such construction formerly, and to have been a very antient building. The chapel, mentioned before, is at the east end of the house. The east window, consisting of three compartments, is still visible, though the spaces are filled up, it having for many years been converted into a kitchen, and before the last alteration by Mr. Bargrave the whole of it was entire.

 

At this mansion, then in the hands of the prior and convent of Christ-church, archbishop Thomas Becket, after his stight from Northampton in the year 1164, concealed himself for eight days, and then, on Nov. 10, embarked at Sandwich for France. (fn. 4)

 

The present lessee is Isaac Bargrave, esq. who resides at the court-lodge, whose ancestors have been lessees of this estate for many years past.

 

THE NEVINSONS, as lessees, resided at the courtlodge of Eastry for many years. They were originally of Brigend, in Wetherell, in Cumberland. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, between three eagles displayed, azure. Many of them lie buried in Eastry church. (fn. 5)

 

THE FAMILY of Bargrave, alias Bargar, was originally of Bridge, and afterwards of the adjoining parish of Patrixbourne; where John Bargrave, eldest son of Robert, built the seat of Bifrons, and resided at it, of whom notice has already been taken in vol. ix. of this history, p. 280. Isaac Bargrave, the sixth son of Robert above-mentioned, and younger brother of John, who built Bifrons, was ancestor of the Bargraves, of Eastry; he was S. T. P. and dean of Canterbury, a man of strict honour and high principles of loyalty, for which he suffered the most cruel treatment. He died in 1642, having married in 1618 Elizabeth, daughter of John Dering, esq. of Egerton, by Elizabeth, sister of Edward lord Wotton, the son of John Dering, esq. of Surrenden, by Margaret Brent. Their descendant, Isaac Bargrave, esq. now living, was an eminent solicitor in London, from which he has retired for some years, and now resides at Eastry-court, of which he is the present lessee. He married Sarah, eldest daughter of George Lynch, M. D. of Canterbury, who died at Herne in 1787, S.P. They bear for their arms, Or, on a pale gules, a sword, the blade argent, pomelled, or, on a chief vert three bezants.

 

SHRINKLING, alias SHINGLETON, the former of which is its original name, though now quite lost, is a small manor at the south-west boundary of this pa Kent, anno 1619. rish, adjoining to Nonington. It is within the borough of Heronden, or Hardonden, as it is now called, and as such, is within the upper half hundred of Downhamford. This manor had antiently owners of the same name; one of whom, Sir William de Scrinkling, held it in king Edward I.'s reign, and was succeeded by Sir Walter de Scrinkling his son, who held it by knight's service of Hamo de Crevequer, (fn. 6) and in this name it continued in the 20th year of king Edward III.

 

Soon after which it appears to have been alienated to William Langley, of Knolton, from which name it passed in like manner as Knolton to the Peytons and the Narboroughs, and thence by marriage to Sir Thomas D'Aeth, whose grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is at present entitled to it.

 

There was a chapel belonging to this manor, the ruins of which are still visible in the wood near it, which was esteemed as a chapel of ease to the mother church of Eastry, and was appropriated with it by archbishop Richard, Becket's immediate successor, to the almory of the priory of Christ-church; but the chapel itself seems to have become desolate many years before the dissolution of the priory, most probably soon after the family of Shrinkling became extinct; the Langleys, who resided at the adjoining manor of Knolton, having no occasion for the use of it. The chapel stood in Shingleton wood, near the south east corner; the foundations of it have been traced, though level with the surface, and not easily discovered. There is now on this estate only one house, built within memory, before which there was only a solitary barn, and no remains of the antient mansion of it.

 

HERONDEN, alias HARDENDEN, now usually called HERONDEN, is a district in this parish, situated about a mile northward from Shingleton, within the borough of its own name, the whole of which is within the upper half hundred of Downhamford. It was once esteemed as a manor, though it has not had even the name of one for many years past, the manor of Adisham claiming over it. The mansion of it was antiently the residence of a family of the same name, who bore for their arms, Argent, a heron with one talon erect, gaping for breath, sable. These arms are on a shield, which is far from modern, in Maidstone church, being quarterly, Heronden as above, with sable, three escallop shells, two and one, argent; and in a window of Lincoln's Inn chapel is a coat of arms of a modern date, being that of Anthony Heronden, esq. Argent, a heron, azure, between three escallops, sable. One of this family of Heronden lies buried in this church, and in the time of Robert Glover, Somerset herald, his portrait and coat of arms, in brass, were remaining on his tombstone. The coat of arms is still extant in very old rolls and registers in the Heralds office, where the family is stiled Heronden, of Heronden, in Eastry; nor is the name less antient, as appears by deeds which commence from the reign of Henry III. which relate to this estate and name; but after this family had remained possessed of this estate for so many years it at last descended down in king Richard II.'s reign, to Sir William Heronden, from whom it passed most probably either by gift or sale, to one of the family of Boteler, or Butler, then resident in this neighbourhood, descended from those of this name, formerly seated at Butler's sleet, in Ash, whose ancestor Thomas Pincerna, or le Boteler, held that manor in king John's reign, whence his successors assumed the name of Butler, alias Boteler, or as they were frequently written Botiller, and bore for their arms, One or more covered cups, differently placed and blazoned. In this family the estate descended to John Boteler, who lived in the time of king Henry VI. and resided at Sandwich, of which town he was several times mayor, and one of the burgesses in two parliaments of that reign; he lies buried in St. Peter's church there. His son Richard, who was also of Sandwich, had a grant of arms in 1470, anno 11th Edward IV. by Thomas Holme, norroy, viz. Gyronny of six, argent and sable, a covered cup, or, between three talbots heads, erased and counterchanged of the field, collared, gules, garnished of the third. His great-grandson Henry Boteler rebuilt the mansion of Heronden, to which he removed in 1572, being the last of his family who resided at Sandwich. He had the above grant of arms confirmed to him, and died in 1580, being buried in Eastry church. Richard Boteler, of Heronden, his eldest son by his first wife, resided at this seat, and in 1589 obtained a grant from Robert Cook, clarencieux, of a new coat of arms, viz. Argent, on three escutcheons, sable, three convered cups, or. Ten years after which, intending as it should seem, to shew himself a descendant of the family of this name, seated at Graveney, but then extinct, he obtained in 1599 a grant of their arms from William Dethic, garter, and William Camden, clarencieux, to him and his brother William, viz. Quarterly, first and fourth, sable, three covered cups, or, within a bordure, argent; second and third, Argent, a fess, chequy, argent and gules, in chief three cross-croslets of the last, as appears (continues the grant) on a gravestone in Graveney church. He died in 1600, and was buried in Eastry church, leaving issue among other children Jonathan and Thomas. (fn. 7) Jonathan Boteler, the eldest son, of Hernden, died unmarried possessed of it in 1626, upon which it came to his next surviving brother Thomas Boteler, of Rowling, who upon that removed to Hernden, and soon afterwards alienated that part of it, since called THE MIDDLE FARM, to Mr. Henry Pannell, from whom soon afterwards, but how I know not, it came into the family of Reynolds; from which name it was about fifty years since alienated to John Dekewer, esq. of Hackney, who dying in 1762, devised it to his nephew John Dekewer, esq. of Hackney, the present possessor of it.

 

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

 

The church, which is exempted from the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Mary; it is a large handsome building, consisting of a nave and two side isles, a chancel at the east end, remarkably long, and a square tower, which is very large, at the west end, in which are five very unmusical bells. The church is well kept and neatly paved, and exhibits a noble appearance, to which the many handsome monuments in it contribute much. The arch over the west door is circular, but no other parts of the church has any shew of great antiquity. In the chancel are monuments for the Paramors and the Fullers, of Statenborough, arms of the latter, Argent, three bars, and a canton, gules. A monument for several of the Bargrave family. An elegant pyramidial one, on which is a bust and emblematical sculpture for John Broadley, gent. many years surgeon at Dover, obt. 1784. Several gravestones, with brasses, for the Nevinsons. A gravestone for Joshua Paramour, gent. buried 1650. Underneath this chancel are two vaults, for the families of Paramour and Bargrave. In the nave, a monument for Anne, daughter of Solomon Harvey, gent. of this parish, ob. 1751; arms, Argent, on a chevron, between three lions gambs, sable, armed gules, three crescents, or; another for William Dare, esq. late of Fenderland, in this parish, obt. 1770; arms, Gules, a chevron vaire, between three crescents, argent, impaling argent, on a cross, sable, four lions passant, quardant of the field, for Read.—Against the wall an inscription in Latin, for the Drue Astley Cressemer, A. M. forty-eight years vicar of this parish, obt. 1746; he presented the communion plate to this church and Worth, and left a sum of money to be laid out in ornamenting this church, at which time the antient stalls, which were in the chancel, were taken away, and the chancel was ceiled, and the church otherwise beautified; arms, Argent, on a bend engrailed, sable, three cross-croslets, fitchee, or. A monument for several of the Botelers, of this parish; arms, Boteler, argent, on three escutcheons, sable, three covered cups, or, impaling Morrice. Against a pillar, a tablet and inscription, shewing that in a vault lieth Catherine, wife of John Springett, citizen and apothecary of London. He died in 1770; arms, Springett, per fess, argent and gules, a fess wavy, between three crescents, counterchanged, impaling Harvey. On the opposite pillar another, for the Rev. Richard Harvey, fourteen years vicar of this parish, obt. 1772. A monument for Richard Kelly, of Eastry, obt. 1768; arms, Two lions rampant, supporting a castle. Against the wall, an elegant sculptured monument, in alto relievo, for Sarah, wise of William Boteler, a daughter of Thomas Fuller, esq. late of Statenborough, obt. 1777, æt. 29; she died in childbed, leaving one son, William Fuller Boteler; arms at bottom, Boteler, as above, an escutcheon of pretence, Fuller, quartering Paramor. An elegant pyramidal marble and tablet for Robert Bargrave, of this parish, obt. 1779, for Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Sir Francis Leigh, of Hawley; and for Robert Bargrave, their only son, proctor in Doctors Commons, obt. 1774, whose sole surviving daughter Rebecca married James Wyborne, of Sholdon; arms, Bargrave, with a mullet, impaling Leigh. In the cross isle, near the chancel called the Boteler's isle, are several memorials for the Botelers. Adjoining to these, are three other gravestones, all of which have been inlaid, but the brasses are gone; they were for the same family, and on one of them was lately remaining the antient arms of Boteler, Girony of six pieces, &c. impaling ermine of three spots. Under the church are vaults, for the families of Springett, Harvey, Dare, and Bargrave. In the church-yard, on the north side of the church, are several altar tombs for the Paramors; and on the south side are several others for the Harveys, of this parish, and for Fawlkner, Rammell, and Fuller. There are also vaults for the families of Fuller, Rammell, and Petman.

 

There were formerly painted in the windows of this church, these arms, Girony of six, sable and argent, a covered cup, or, between three talbots heads, erased and counter changed of the field, collared, gules; for Boteler, of Heronden, impaling Boteler, of Graveny, Sable, three covered cups, or, within a bordure, argent; Boteler, of Heronden, as above, quartering three spots, ermine; the coat of Theobald, with quarterings. Several of the Frynnes, or as they were afterwards called, Friends, who lived at Waltham in this parish in king Henry VII.'s reign, lie buried in this church.

 

In the will of William Andrewe, of this parish, anno 1507, mention is made of our Ladie chapel, in the church-yard of the church of Estrie.

 

The eighteen stalls which were till lately in the chancel of the church, were for the use of the monks of the priory of Christ church, owners both of the manor and appropriation, when they came to pass any time at this place, as they frequently did, as well for a country retirement as to manage their concerns here; and for any other ecclesiastics, who might be present at divine service here, all such, in those times, sitting in the chancels of churches distinct from the laity.

 

The church of Eastry, with the chapels of Skrinkling and Worth annexed, was antiently appendant to the manor of Eastry, and was appropriated by archbishop Richard (successor to archbishop Becket) in the reign of king Henry II. to the almonry of the priory of Christ-church, but it did not continue long so, for archbishop Baldwin, (archbishop Richard's immediate successor), having quarrelled with the monks, on account of his intended college at Hackington, took this appropriation from them, and thus it remained as a rectory, at the archbishop's disposal, till the 39th year of king Edward III.'s reign, (fn. 10) when archbishop Simon Islip, with the king's licence, restored, united and annexed it again to the priory; but it appears, that in return for this grant, the archbishop had made over to him, by way of exchange, the advowsons of the churches of St. Dunstan, St. Pancrase, and All Saints in Bread-street, in London, all three belonging to the priory. After which, that is anno 8 Richard II. 1384, this church was valued among the revenues of the almonry of Christ-church, at the yearly value of 53l. 6s. 8d. and it continued afterwards in the same state in the possession of the monks, who managed it for the use of the almonry, during which time prior William Sellyng, who came to that office in Edward IV.'s reign, among other improvements on several estates belonging to his church, built a new dormitory at this parsonage for the monks resorting hither.

 

On the dissolution of the priory of Christ-church, in the 31st year of king Henry VIII.'s reign, this appropriation, with the advowson of the vicarage of the church of Eastry, was surrendered into the king's hands, where it staid but a small time, for he granted it in his 33d year, by his dotation charter, to his new founded dean and chapter of Canterbury, who are the present owners of this appropriation; but the advowson of the vicarage, notwithstanding it was granted with the appropriation, to the dean and chapter as above-mentioned, appears not long afterwards to have become parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, where it continues at this time, his grace the archbishop being the present patron of it.

 

This parsonage is entitled to the great tithes of this parish and of Worth; there belong to it of glebe land in Eastry, Tilmanstone, and Worth, in all sixtynine acres.

 

THERE IS A SMALL MANOR belonging to it, called THE MANOR OF THE AMBRY, OR ALMONRY OF CHRIST-CHURCH, the quit-rents of which are very inconsiderable.

 

The parsonage-house is large and antient; in the old parlour window is a shield of arms, being those of Partheriche, impaling quarterly Line and Hamerton. The parsonage is of the annual rent of about 700l. The countess dowager of Guildford became entitled to the lease of this parsonage, by the will of her husband the earl of Guildford, and since her death the interest of it is become vested in her younger children.

 

As to the origin of a vicarage in this church, though there was one endowed in it by archbishop Peckham, in the 20th year of king Edward I. anno 1291, whilst this church continued in the archbishop's hands, yet I do not find that there was a vicar instituted in it, but that it remained as a rectory, till near three years after it had been restored to the priory of Christchurch, when, in the 42d year of king Edward III. a vicar was instituted in it, between whom and the prior and chapter of Canterbury, there was a composition concerning his portion, which he should have as an endowment of this vicarage; which composition was confirmed by archbishop Simon Langham that year; and next year there was an agreement entered into between the eleemosinary of Christ-church and the vicar, concerning the manse of this vicarage.

 

The vicarage of Eastry, with the chapel of Worth annexed, is valued in the king's books at 19l. 12s. 1d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 19s. 2½d. In 1588 it was valued at sixty pounds. Communicants three hundred and thirty-five. In 1640 here were the like number of communicants, and it was valued at one hundred pounds.

 

The antient pension of 5l. 6s. 8d. formerly paid by the priory, is still paid to the vicar by the dean and chapter, and also an augmentation of 14l. 13s. 4d. yearly, by the lessee of the parsonage, by a convenant in his lease.

 

The vicarage-house is built close to the farm-yard of the parsonage; the land allotted to it is very trifling, not even sufficient for a tolerable garden; the foundations of the house are antient, and probably part of the original building when the vicarage was endowed in 1367.

 

¶There were two awards made in 1549 and 1550, on a controversy between the vicar of Eastry and the mayor, &c. of Sandwich, whether the scite of St. Bartholomew's hospital, near Sandwich, within that port and liberty, was subject to the payment of tithes to the vicar, as being within his parish. Both awards adjudged the legality of a payment, as due to the vicar; but the former award adjudged that the scite of the hospital was not, and the latter, that it was within the bounds of this parish. (fn. 12)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol10/pp98-121

Date:Jan 15 2014, 10:51 AM

Subject:

RE: A Right Royal Do!

Show full header

Dear All

Thank you your Majesty and loyal subjects. This speedy correspondence has saved me a lot of palava etc so I shall just say my snaps are up on flickr now at www.flickr.com/photos/pitzys_pyx/.

I should like to say that we missed TWF all day (yes we did) but cold 90s humour might here say "but I couldn't" just for a snigger. I should also like to say thank you to:

Maryla for her Sandy Smith Mud Pies

Liz M for her wonderful shortcake biscuits (the choc chip ones were particularly good :))

Malcolm X for his fruit and vanilla buns, they were very very tasty.

Whoever brought the Jaffa Cakes

To you all for your laughs and banter.

Dave Lowe for his folk and Beetles songs.

For those who wondered why I had stopped by the road side on my way home see the first snap.

Cheers

JP

   

Now this is what makes Tuesdays such fun and keeps me nearly sane – you should see me when I’m really balmy! Very many apologies for the lack of cake – I will try hardy next time (depending on the day and the venue!).

 

Thanks for all the grovelling and the wonderful singing. Could you just shorten my name to She as long as I promise not to do an “Ursula Undress” and wear a chamois leather. Thanks also for the decent weather, not that it was cold where I was standing!

 

I can report that I was at the Rufus Centre this afternoon and there was JB, Audrey and their lovely daughter. JB allowed me to feel his new pulse and I can recommend it as a strange experience and I think he’s got a battery somewhere that gives electric twitches.

 

Bon voyage to the Breeds who will be sadly missed for a while. See the rest of you somewhere in the wilds of Bedfordshire and hopefully next Tuesday.

 

Thanks Mr. Kippling – your writing talents are beyond compare and your cakes are pretty wonderful too. Tally Ho! She

 

From: Steve Squire [mailto:Steve.Squire@greensandtrust.org]

Sent: 14 January 2014 21:36

To: Malcolm Willis; Tim Spencer; bazbreed@hotmail.com; 'Colin Atkins'; 'Dave Clarke'; 'David Moffatt'; 'James Miller'; 'Jane Breed'; 'John Buxton'; 'John Pitts'; 'Kelvin Horton'; 'Malcolm Willis'; 'Marie Mead'; 'Maryla Carter'; 'Peter Stafferton'; 'Roger Christopher'; 'Ros Blevins'; 'Steve Jones'; Sue Raven; 'Tim Chamen'; wendy.copper@virginmedia.com

Cc: She who must be obeyed

Subject: RE: A Right Royal Do!

 

Good to see you now have an official email Sue .

 

Well done Malcolm for making me laugh , very good thank you and to Jock with hot bum in fire.

 

And thank you all too for working so hard with or without Royal Cake!

 

Regards

 

Steve

        

From: Malcolm Willis [malcolmJwillis@btinternet.com]

Sent: 14 January 2014 21:13

To: Tim Spencer; bazbreed@hotmail.com; 'Colin Atkins'; 'Dave Clarke'; 'David Moffatt'; 'James Miller'; 'Jane Breed'; 'John Buxton'; 'John Pitts'; 'Kelvin Horton'; 'Malcolm Willis'; 'Marie Mead'; 'Maryla Carter'; 'Peter Stafferton'; 'Roger Christopher'; 'Ros Blevins'; 'Steve Jones'; Steve Squire; Sue Raven; 'Tim Chamen'; wendy.copper@virginmedia.com

Cc: She who must be obeyed

Subject: A Right Royal Do!

The stately limousine sailed into sight like a swan upon an enchanted lake. The blue eye that is heaven became bedazzled by the occasion, even the golden beams of universal eternity dipped in homage. The line of voles, once ordinary looking, became unworthy in the instant. The conveyance glided to a halt. The door opened. Hearts that only seconds ago had been pounding chests for freedom were now in suspended animation and inexplicably in mouths agog in anticipation. And then there she was. Serenely climbing down the stepladders (which had been thoughtfully placed out of view of the cameras), she emerged onto the immediately hallowed turf of SSNR [By Appointment to Her Right Royaltiness the Lady Youthfulness].

 

The appointed Dave stepped forward and humbled himself. An unfortunate occurrence given the magnitude of the occasion. The reserve Dave stepped into the breach. Another unfortunate occurrence! Finally the ‘if all else fails’ Dave came to the rescue.

Bowing so low it made his eyes water he addressed her Supreme Being: “Your Majestyness, if I may be so humbly bold as to..”

Her ladyship interrupted as only one of noble birth can: “Are you a Dimbleby Dave?”

‘If all else fails’ Dave: “Err no?”

Her Exquisiteness: “Then go away.” The nobility of the extended hand flutter in Dave’s direction and immediately he was dispatched as like a game bird on the 1st September.

Her Exquisite Ladyshipness: “My husband and I..” A half turn to the limo revealed a slight glitch. “Oh bother, I must have left him somewhere again. Never mind, I shall continue. Myself and I remember only too vividly the diem horribilis that was last week. But we must move on.”

So saying Her Supremeliness moved on proffering dainty dexterous digits for the gathered ensemble to pucker up their trembling lips to.

Her Regality: “Oh I say what an obnoxious hound.”

Several male voles looked even further ashamed and took several steps back towards oblivion.

Her Lady Regal Exquisiteness: “I was referring to the dog.”

The males voles teetered on the edge of the abyss that is ordinariness. One brave soul remarked: “That is Jock, a rescued dog, he was found in a large, handbag, with handles. He was probably brought up in it.”

Her Lady Ladyness:“ I must confess that I feel somewhat bewildered by what you have just told me. To be born, or at any rate bred in a handbag, whether it have handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life which reminds one of the worst excesses of the French revolution, and I presume you know what that unfortunate movement led to?

The voles shook their heads, a few too vigorously causing them to fall off!

Brave Soul: “ Err yessum your womanliness. We believe he lost his parents and so we’ve adopted him like.”

Her Lady Ladyshipness: “To lose one parent, my good man, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”

Little old lady with straw sticking out from under one arm (One Arm!!!!): He’s only being truthful you’re Omnipotence. He’s very earnest so he is and that’s what makes him so highly regarded by us all. ” Having said all this the little old lady retired to lie down until lunchtime.

Lady Youthfulness: “Well I suppose that’s the importance of being earnest.”

 

[I bet that’s made Oscar wild!]

 

Little old lady with straw sticking out from under one arm (One Arm!!!!): “Who’s Oscar?”

 

So many congratulation to Lady Sue on yet another birthday without a cake big enough to hold all the candles.

 

No doubt Mr Pitts will shortly be circulating a stunning array of pics so all who weren’t there today will see what the rest of us were up to. Basically following the Squire around, picking up loads of cut reeds (or in a little old lady’s case an odd bunch here and there!); carting them off to be burnt; telling the Squire not to go in the boggy bit; pulling the Squire out of the boggy bit!; showing the Squire were to cut next; sending out explorers to find where the Squire went!; telling the Squire it’s time to stop cutting; retelling the Squire it’s time to stop cutting; telling the local warden to stop telling the Squire to keep cutting!; getting bored of feeding the fire while the mound of cut reeds keeps growing; setting fire to the mound of cut reeds and blaming it on the person furthest away (Colin); eating muffins; eating biscuits (thanks Lillybeth); eating chocolate cake off the ground (thanks Maryla!); eating Jaffa cakes; moaning that there is no pudding!; moaning that Her Ladyship didn’t bring a birthday cake! and generally having fun.

 

Thanks to everyone who left early and didn’t stay to watch Jock walk across the ash (several times), try to make a ‘nest’ in the hot ash! (he dashed out pretty quick) and finally lie down in the ash!!!

 

Malcolm.

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

Two balloons trapped on a barbed wire fence. Grey sky and wet grass. It seemed to me symbolic of the (so far) miserable weather we have had to endure this summer. It just doesn't seem to be able to get started.

Hopes of a sunny evening in York were finally dashed by the formation of thick cloud over patchy sun about 30 minutes before the passage through the city of West Coast Railways' Scarborough Spa Express. In gloomy, sticky conditions, LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 45699 'Galatea' heads 1Z38, the 16.55 return working from Scarborough, past New Earswick. WCRC 'Duff' 47 760, the train engine, was provided owing to perceived fire risk along the route. What an awful combination of liveries - drab, drab and a bit more drab! @17.55

37421 & 37219 sit idle in Eastleigh works whilst the 73/9's get to deploy the Eastleigh based test train for the week

Whilst the appearance of 73/9's is welcome, there is nothing better than TnT tractors on a test train. Another time perhaps...

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Hopes were dashed when suddenly heavy rain began to pour just before moonrise this evening. Fortunately, the rain stopped for a while and allowed us to catch glimpses of the Supermoon (Perigee moon) between cloud gaps and haze.

 

Please take note that the term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology.The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The lunar perigee is a specific point in the moon's orbit, at which the moon is nearest to Earth. Since it's closer to us, the moon appears a LITTLE bigger and brighter than a normal full moon, but not noticeably so.

 

To see this difference, I made a comparison of the actual images of tonight's perigee moon and last year's apogee moon (farthest full moon of 2012). Both were taken using the same camera with the same settings. Computation was done based on available data (i.e., moon's apparent diameter).

 

Location: Marikina City, Philippines

Camera used: Canon Powershot SX40 HS

A short stretch of Hennepin Ave. has been repaved with bike lanes on the south end of Downtown. I'm not sure what the dashed green paint means instead of the more common solid green conflict markings.

The first time it was wintery I dashed out despite being close to death my the dreaded flu. My battery died immediately and I had to go home. The second time I had the wrong scandisk card and could only take 20 precious shots.

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

Digital ID: 482198. 1902

 

Source: Photographs of General Motors and Chrysler car and truck models, 1902 - 1938. / General Motors Company. Oldsmobiles 1897 -1938. Photographs - Specifications. (more info)

 

Repository: The New York Public Library. Science, Industry and Business Library. General Collection Division.

 

See more information about this image and others at NYPL Digital Gallery.

Persistent URL: digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?482198

 

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i got this idea in my head and dashed outside to grab the last five minutes of sunset. i probably looked like fool, running back and forth from my camera holding the pieces of the 'cloud'!

 

i've wanted to try this for ages and ages. this didn't turn out exactly as i wanted it too but i'm going to keep practicing! :)

 

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Searching for a great ramen outside Japan is almost an exercise in futility. Sure, a few come close, like Kenzan GPO or Momotaro Ramen, or the best so far, the tonkotsu ramen at Ichiban Boshi in Cairns.

 

Even though Isabel warned us that we'd only get tonkotsu ramen at around 1-2pm, our hopes were dashed when we read on the menu that only 15 bowls of milky tonkotsu pork bone soup are made a day. Still, we asked the waitress if they had any left. She giggled and said, "sorry, sold out" :)

 

So, it wsa onto the "most popular" Tokyo Ramen. The ramen was chewy and smooth, with a great bite. The shoyu (soy sauce) soup base was also rather authentic, if a little salty. With the ramen set you got gyoza, which, by the way was very good, rice, pickles and salad. We also got an agedashi tofu, deep-fried tofu with a crisp batter that goes all silky after soaking the dashi sauce.

 

I think we'll be back :)

 

Ichiban Boshi

02 9262 7677

The Galleries Victoria, Level 2,

500 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

 

also at:

Ichiban-Boshi Bondi Junction

(02) 9369 3980

360 Oxford St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022

ichibanboshi.com.au/english/home.html

 

Reviews:

- www.miettas.com.au/Australia/New_South_Wales/Sydney/Ichib...

- www.foodchaser.me/2009/04/more-ichiban-boshi-galleries-vi...

- www.atablefortwo.com.au/2009/05/11/ichi-ban-boshi-tgv-syd...

 

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

The dashed line between you and police. #Chemnitz #Downtown #Saxony #Germany #Street #Line #Police #Cops #AntiNazi #Rally #Demonstration #StreetPhotography #BlackAndWhite #CCBYSA #March2016 #Snapseed via Instagram: bit.ly/1QKMpb4

On Friday, February 7, 2014, high school and middle school students dashed into the icy Atlantic as part of Special Olympics Virginia’s largest fundraiser: The Polar Plunge and the Cool School Challenge.

 

“Raising one million dollars for the fourth year in a row is incredible,” said Rick Jeffrey, Special Olympics Virginia president. “More importantly, though, these funds will help us to build bigger, better, more inclusive communities across the state of Virginia.”

 

In addition to the money raised, they got to take the icy dip into the Atlantic, all while earning a Friday “pass” from school, earn community service credit, Costume contests – prizes for best dressed male and female, prizes for teacher or team sponsor, and freezing photos.

 

Photography - Craig McClure

14185

 

© 2014

ALL Rights reserved by City of Virginia Beach.

Contact photo[at]vbgov.com for permission to use. Commercial use not allowed.

Beautiful light this evening so I dashed down to the beach and caught the last of the light.

This is the mansion at Bletchley Park. Also known as Bletchley Park Mansion.

 

It is Grade II listed.

 

Large house, now offices. 1860 altered and extended 1883-6 and c1906

for HS Leon. Red brick in Flemish bond with ashlar dressings; principal

gables half-timbered with pebble-dashed infill, some others tile-hung;

Welsh slate roof with red tile ridge; brick stacks, with clustered

flues, ribs and bands. Transomed wooden windows, principal windows with

leaded upper lights. Decorative wooden barge boards and finials to

gables. Large rambling house, of 2 storeys with partial attic.

Entrance elevation: 6 bays. Lavish ashlar detailing including

architraves. Entrance in bay 2 has internal, vaulted, porch protecting

panelled half-glazed double-door with side lights, traceried upper part

and fanlight the latter leaded and with coloured glass. Flanking porch

are hexagonal brick columns surmounted by panelled stone tops which

flank base of 4-light oriel window with decorative base. Projecting

from porch, and attached to it are 2 seated griffins on bracketed

plinths. Shaped pediment with elaborate finial. Gabled bay 1 has

projecting 2-storey canted bay with pretted eaves band and cornice below

swept, domed, metal roof. On its left is single-storey wooden

conservatory with traceried bays, formerly an open-sided loggia.

Paired, gabled, bays 2 and 3 have ashlar framed triple window to ground

floor with gableted butresses,and two canted bay windows over. Across

bay 4 is 3 bay embattled ashlar loggia fronting elaborate - panelled

double-door with canted bay window to right; inserted 1st floor window.

Bay 6 has polygonal 2-storey bay window with shaped pediments screening

finialed polygonal roof. Right return: 3 left-hand bays in same style

as front, the rest plainer; but attached to right end is dovecote-like

structure: octagonal, of 2 stages, having plinth; inserted ground-floor

windows; ashlar upper stage with 2-light windows below string; and plain

tile roof with gablets and finial. Rear: plainer having tradesmen's

entrance; complex roofline, one roof having louvre with finialed lead

cupola; and embattled tower with blue-brick decorative work and date

(former steep hipped roof removed). Left return: in style of front,

with ashlar canted and curved bay windows; paired, gabled, bays 2 and 3

decorative half-timbered 1st floor; shaped pediment to bay 4; and former

loggia (much altered) across right-hand bays. Interior: high quality,

elaborate, interiors survive, with panelling, panelled doors, decorative

fireplaces, and decorative plaster ceilings. Entrance vestibule: stone

columns and vaults. Entrance Hall: arcaded polished-stone screen wall

and panelled area beyond with elaborate 2-stage, columned, ashlar

fireplace surround and traceried panelling and painted glass to roof.

Room at right end: Jacobethan fireplace; coffered ceiling with floral-

decorated plaster panels. Stairhall: panelled; ground-floor arcade and

deep floral frieze; decorative coved, coffered, ceiling over stair;

fretted balustrade with carved surround and carved octagonal newels to

stair panelled stair well. Library : elaborate wooden jacobethan

inglenook with overmirror; fitted book cases and shelves; fluted frieze;

compartmental ceiling with decorative plaster panels. Ballroom :

linenfold panelling; wall recess flanked by clustered wooden columns

from which spring traceried arches; elaborate plaster work to frieze and

to coved, ribbed, ceiling which has pendant finials. Billiard room:

brattished panelling and cornice; columns support ceiling ribs; wooden

trusses. Additional fireplaces, panelling, and decorative doors,

plasterwork and cornices to 1st floor.

 

Bletchley Park House was the headquarters building of World War II

operational centre, in the grounds of which was the hut in which the

vital cracking of the Nazis' Enigma Code occurred. Churchill was one of

the important visitors to the house.

 

Bletchley Park House - Heritage Gateway

 

A pair of stone griffin's near the main entrance.

Well, what a day it has been!

 

I went out during my lunch break to photograph some more people when I got a text from a fellow photographer saying he was in town. As he also takes street portraits, I dashed off to meet up with him. It's always nice to interact and play off each others techniques I find.

 

We walked round the market area of the city where John is most comfortable, and I am not at ease at all I must admit. The choice of characters and people simply sways me but I hope to change that in the future. Whether this will happen or not we will see.

 

Anyway, we ventured out into a territory I was more familiar with and within minutes I spotted Drew here. Isn't his hair awesome?! :)

 

Drew is a student at the local University, studying Journalism.

 

After work, I had planned to visit the 'Portrait Salon' exhibition at the excellent WhiteClothGallery venue. However, before that John was keen to capture a Satellite Flare which was to take place at 18:02 in that area (yes, it’s THAT precise).

 

If, like me before today, you don’t know what a satellite flare is, here is a brief description from Wiki: "phenomenon caused by the reflective surfaces on satellites reflecting sunlight directly onto the Earth below and appearing as a brief, bright flare”.

 

So we found a nice, dark spot near the canal and waited for 18:02 to come around. Although it was a short event (less than 30s I’d say) it was still a beautiful thing to witness. Who knew that these types of things happened whilst we went around our normal, daily lives?

 

Back to the exhibition, where we met up with a couple more photographers, had a few drinks and enjoyed the portrait slideshow. The ‘Portrait Salon’ is described as an exhibition of works rejected from a juried art show, or as John put it “the rejects”. He was kidding of course, without exhibitions like these it would be impossible to showcase or see artists’ work that may otherwise go unseen.

 

At the exhibition there were a lot of students, from the local colleges/universities I presume, who had an interest in art and/or photography. All of us took it upon ourselves to take pictures/portraits of the interesting students we found there. They didn’t know what they had got themselves in for, hahaha! :D

 

All in all, a long and tiring day...but filled with the things I love.

 

This picture is #097 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

 

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There were two northern short-tailed shrews in the yard, one out back, the other out front. The one out back sheltered where the arching roots of white cedars collected snow-covered leaf litter. Occasionally in broad daylight the shrew broke cover and dashed some 15 feet across the inch-deep packed snow, to eat sunflower seeds fallen from an overhanging bird feeder. Doing this was indeed risky behavior. A juvenile Cooper's hawk made an appearance and perched stark still on the top of the mulberry at the far end of the yard. Meanwhile the shrew appeared as a moving dark spot on the snow. The hawk went airborne, ending its long glide with the shrew locked in its talons. It proceeded to feed while perched on the snow-covered lawn. All of this was watched from the kitchen window. Thanks to this accipiter, I lost what was to be an easy photo shoot. How often does one encounter a somewhat predictably appearing shrew in the open in daylight? The photos were to be taken from the back steps. Oh well.

 

Unlike the backyard shrew, the one out front was very difficult to view. A steep earthen slope descends from the porch toward the river. Embedded in the slope are rounded stones more or less of cantaloupe size. The roots of forsythias intertwine with the stones, thereby stabilizing the slope against erosion. The shrew had either a single burrow or a maze of burrows in the earth between the stones and roots. One of the shrew’s entranceways, if not the only one, was at the top of the slope and within one foot of the porch. Fallen bird seed collected around this entrance. The shrew would emerge at almost full length on its belly but keeping its hind feet and tail in the burrow. Using its teeth, it snatched a seed or two then retreated backwards into the burrow, the whole act being done as fast as snapping one's fingers twice. A minute or several would pass before this performance was repeated until the shrew presumably was satiated. No matter how long I waited with lens pre-focused and finger on the shutter, the results were either missed images of the shrew or partial images of out-of-focus fur. The above posted picture is the best I could manage. The shrew's amazing speed, I believe, was motivated by its fear of surrounding birds feeding on the seed.

 

The genus Blarina is endemic to the United States and Canada. It consists solely of the four species of short-tailed shrew. The northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda, is the largest shrew in North America, averaging a hefty ¾ ounce in weight and measuring four inches in length, excluding the one-inch tail. It is the commonest shrew in the Great Lakes drainage basin. Foraging at night and to some degree on cloudy days, it consumes up to three times its weight in food daily, eating arthropods, earthworms, snails, salamanders, mice, voles, other shrews, as well as small quantities of seeds and subterranean fungi. Water availability is a necessity. Life expectancy is less than a year.

 

Worldwide there are 16 known species of venomous mammals. Four of these are the four species comprising the genus Blarina. The submaxillary glands secrete venomous saliva through a duct which opens at the base of the lower incisors and flows along the groove formed by the two incisors. The shrew’s bite delivers the toxin into the prey’s blood stream. It is strong enough to paralyze animals of the same size and slightly larger than the shrew. The process of paralyzing prey usually takes a few minutes. On account of its saliva and size, the northern short-tailed shrew attacks and consumes small mammals more often than other North American shrews, especially when insects are scarce. In fall and winter and during times of prey abundance, it caches up to 87% of prey, some of it paralyzed alive to be eaten later. If handling short-tailed shrews is a necessity, it is best to wear gloves. The bite can cause significant pain, inflammation and redness.

 

Alan

 

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver for the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

The We're Here! group has visited the Stupid Photo Tuesday group today.

 

Stuck for an idea for your daily 365 shot? Join the hereios of the We're Here! group for inspiration.

B - Basenjis

I - Ice

C - Compression

E - Elevation

 

Broken foot.

This was the sky that greeted me when I dashed southeast of the city late yesterday afternoon, to drive some of the gravel backroads in search of .... anything, LOL! Oh, I did see about six Tundra Swans on a pond in someone's field, which was a treat. The dark cloud build-up didn't turn into anything at all - could have been interesting, especially when I picture the gravel ruts turning into mud ruts after heavy rain. Could barely hold my camera still, the wind was so strong.

 

Would much rather have been back out there today. Instead, I had a traumatic experience this afternoon - I actually had to go to a shopping mall, LOL!!!! I HATE, HATE, HATE shopping and only go to the mall once a year if absolutely necessary, or every two or three years if possible : ) However, the holes in my two pairs of old jeans are getting bigger and bigger, and so I had no choice but to go searching for new ones .... sigh. I can never find what I want (of course, if I spent hours walking from store to store, I might do better, but that is not going to happen, ha, ha), so have to make do with what I can quickly find. A woman who hates shopping??? Yes, I know there are a few more of us out there, LOL.

 

There has been a dreadful condo complex fire in the city this afternoon. Many units destroyed, but no people injured. They have also been searching for people's beloved pets, and have taken them to an animal centre to be claimed. My condolences to all those who lost everything - a very difficult thing to have to deal with - but of course I am relieved that everyone survived.

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

CCTV sign on a white pebble dashed wall in Islington, London.

Taken in Leicestershire whilst waiting for a Water Rail to show, which it didn't. One dashed across the open mud when we opened the hide slots, and two views of separate bird flying from one reed bed to another

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

------------------------------------------

 

GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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A large and eminently satisfying village church. The old part - north aisle of fourteenth-century date and tower of the fifteenth century - was enlarged in 1839 by a rebuilt nave and chancel. The architects were Rickman and Hussey, pioneers of the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Inside all is light and of a piece with an elaborate and dignified chancel. In the north aisle is the monument by Scheemakers to Sir Brook Bridges (d. 1717) who built Goodnestone Park, the gardens of which abut the churchyard. There are small pieces of medieval glass, but by far the most impressive window is at the east end of the north aisle, dated and signed E.S. 1899, showing the story of St Gregory and the Slave Boys.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Goodnestone+2

 

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GOODNESTON,

GENERALLY called, and known by the name of GUNSTON, lies the next parish south-eastward from Wingham. It is usually written in antient records, Godwineston, which name it took from earl Godwine, once owner of it.

 

GUNSTON is situated exceedingly healthy and pleasant, in a fine dry and open champaign country, of upland hill and dale. The soil is fertile, though in general inclined to chalk; the lands are mostly arable, open and uninclosed, having a few small inclosures scattered among them, especially about Gunston house, and the village, where it is well cloathed with elms. The village, which contains about thirty houses, stands, with the church, in the southern part of it, having Gunston-house and park adjoining to it, which, though small in extent, and commanding but little, if any prospect beyond the bounds of it, is a beautiful and elegant situation. At the northern boundary of the parish is the hamlet of Twitham, part only of which is in it; beyond which, at Brook, (the parish of Wingham intervening) is a small district of land within this parish. At the eastern boundary of it is the hamlet and street of Rolling, in which is a small seat, belonging to Sir Brook William Bridges, which a few years ago was in the occupation of Thomas Knight, esq. of Godmersham, and afterwards of Edward Austen, esq. It is now the residence of George Dering, esq. At some distance still further eastward from which there is another small district of land in it, entirely surrounded by the parish of Norborne.

 

A fair is held here for cattle and pedlary, on the 25th of September, yearly.

 

The MANOR OF WINGHAM claims paramount over this parish, in which there is one borough, viz. of Rolling, which claims over it.

 

The MANOR OF GOODNESTON, which before the Norman conquest, was part of the possessions of Godwine, earl of Kent, at whose death it probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings, to the Conqueror; after which it appears to have been held by a family who took their surname from it, one of whom, Thomas de Goodwyneston, held it of the archbishop in king Henry III.'s reign, and in this family, (who bore for their arms, Sable, three martlets, between seven cross-croslets, argent; as they were formerly painted in the windows of this church) it continued down to William de Goodneston, who did homage for it to archbishop Warham at the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign. After which it seems to have been divided, and the manor itself, with part of the demesne lands, to have passed into the name of Henecre; and the mansion, with the rest of the demesne lands, by Edith, daughter and heir of William Goodneston, in marriage to Vincent Engeham, who afterwards resided here. The antient residence of this family of Edingham, called Engeham by contraction, was at Engeham, in Woodchurch. They divided into three branches, settled at Woodchurch, Great Chart, and Goodneston. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, sable, between three pellets, on a chief, gules, a lion passant-guardant, or. (fn. 1) John Henecre, of Good neston, as appears by his will, died possessed of this manor in 1559, and gave it to William, son of his brother Nicholas, who sold it to Sir Thomas Engeham, grandson of Vincent before-mentioned, and possessor of the mansion, and other part of the lands of it, so that he then became possessed of the whole of it, (fn. 2) held in capite, and it continued in his descendants down to Sir Thomas Engeham, of Goodneston, who about the reign of queen Anne, alienated it, with the appropriation, to Brook Bridges, esq. descended from John Bridges, who was of Worcestershire, at the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, whose great-grandson Col. John Bridges, of Warwickshire, left two sons, John, and Brook, the former of whom was of Barton Seagrave, in Northamptonshire, esq. the eldest of whose sons, John Bridges, esq. of that place, wrote the history of that county; Brook Bridges, esq. the second son of Col. John Bridges, was of Grove, in Middlesex, auditor of the imprest in king Charles II.'s reign, and purchaser of Goodnestone, which seat he rebuilt, and dying in 1717, was buried in the chancel of this church, bearing for his arms, Azure, three water bougets, or, within a bordure, ermine. Brook Bridges, esq. his eldest son, succeeded him at Goodneston, and was created a baronet on April 19, 1718, anno 4 George I. and was for many years one of the auditors of the imprest of the treasury, and was twice married, first to Margaret, daughter of Robert, lord Romney, by whom he had no issue; but by his second wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, bart. of Bekesborne, he left a son Brook, and a daughter Margaret, married to John Plumptree, esq. He died in 1728, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Brook Bridges, bart of Goodneston, sheriff in 1733, in which year he died, having married Elizabeth, eldest surviving daughter and coheir of Sir Thomas Palmer, bart. of Wingham, (who afterwards remarried Charles Fielding, esq. brother to the earl of Denbigh, by whom she had a son Charles). At the death of Sir Brook she was pregnant, and was some months afterwards delivered of a son, the late Sir Brook Bridges, bart. who represented this county in two successive parliaments. He rebuilt this seat, and new laid out the park in the improved modern taste, having married Fanny, only daughter and heir of Edmund Fowler, esq. of Danbury, in Essex, by whom he had five sons and six daughters, of whom, Brook the eldest son, died at Eton school in 1781; William, the second son, after his brother's death, by the archbishop's licence, took the Christian name of Brook likewise, and Brook Henry, the third son, is rector of Danbury, in Essex; of the daughters, Fanny, the eldest, married Lewis Cage, esq. Sophia, the second, married William Deedes, esq. and Elizabeth, the third, married Edward Austen, esq. of Godmersham. Sir Brook Bridges died in 1791, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son the present Sir Brook Wm. Bridges, bart. who is the possessor of this manor, with the seat, park, and appropriation of the church of Goodneston. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

ROLLING, usually called Rowling, is a manor and hamlet, in the eastern part of this parish, which takes its name from the borough in which it is situated. The manor, now obselete, was antiently the residence of a family who took their name from it. In an old leiger book of Davington priory, beginning at king Henry III.'s reign, there is mention of several of this family among its principal benefactors. How it passed after they were become extinct here, which was not till after king Henry IV.'s reign, I have not found; but in the latter end of king Henry VIII.'s reign, John Adams was become possessed of it, and he sold it to John Idley, gent. who resided here, and dying in 1568, was buried in this church. He left it to John his se cond son, who alienated it to Thomas Butler, a younger son of Richard, of Heronden, in Eastry, esq. and he soon afterwards sold it to Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron, whose son Sir Peter Manwood, K. B. alienated it to Dickenson, who parted with it to John Richards, gent. afterwards of Rowling, and in whose descendants, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron, between three fleurs de lis, argent, and lie buried in this church, it continued down to John Richards, gent. who died in 1661, (fn. 3) and by will gave it to William Hammond, esq. of St. Albans, and his son, of the same name, in 1696, an act having passed for that purpose, sold it to Sir John Narborough, bart. whose only sister and heir Elizabeth entitled her husband Sir Thomas D' Aeth, bart. of Knolton, to the possession of it, and his grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is the present owner of this manor, called Rowling-court, for which there has not been any court held for many years past.

 

The HOSPITALS OF HARBLEDOWN, and of ST. JOHN, near Canterbury, are jointly possessed of a farm and lands at Rowling, which is demised by them to Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart.

 

BONNINGTON, in the south-east part of this parish, was in early times the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have been possessed of it so late as the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. but it became of much more eminent note afterwards, from being the antient seat from whence the numerous and knightly family of Bois branched out, as from their original stock, and spread with distinguished reputation through the eastern parts of this county, deriving their descent from R. de Boys, or de Bosco, who is mentioned in the Battle abbey roil of those who accompanied the Conqueror into England, and were amply rewarded by him with the possessions of the conquered Saxons. From R. de Boys, or de Bosco, before-mentioned, descended John Boys, who was of Bonnington in the 30th year of king Edward III. but his descendant William Boys having purchased Fredville, in the adjoining parish of Nonington, removed thither, though some time before his death he returned to Bonnington, where he died in 1507, and was buried in this church. He left five sons and three daughters. To his eldest son John, he gave Fredville; and to the second, Thomas, he gave Bonnington; giving, as Philipott says, the fairest estate to the former, and the antient family seat to the latter; and from the descendants of John Boys, the eldest son, of Fredville, sprang those of Fredville, Hode, Holt-street, Betshanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregory's, in Canterbury, Denton, and of Surry; and from the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. of Bonnington, sprang those of Bonnington, Hith, Mersham, Wilsborough, Sevington, and Uffington, all which are now extinct in the male line, excepting those of Sandwich and Wilsborough, a more particular account of all which may be seen under those several places. In the descendants of Thomas Boys, esq. the second son above-mentioned, of Bonnington, resident here, it continued down to Sir John Boys, to whose coat armour king Charles I. gave the augmentation of a crown imperial, or, on a canton, azure; for his loyalty and valour at Donington castle, in Berkshire, of which he was governor, where being summoned by the parliament forces, to surrender the place under peril of being put to the sword, he stoutly answered, that he would never quit the castle without the king's order, nor take nor give quarter. He died in 1664, and was buried at Goodneston, leaving three daughters his coheirs, and they, in 1666, joined in the sale of it to Thomas Brome, esq. sergeant at-law, whose son William Brome, esq. of Farnborough, alienated it in 1710 to Brook Bridges, esq. Whose descendant Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodneston, is the present owner of it.

 

ARCHBISHOP PECKHAM, on the foundation of the college of Wingham in 1286, endowed the second prebend of it with the tithes of the lands of Thomas de Bonyngton and others, in the hamlet of Bonnyngton, in this parish. (fn. 4)

 

UFFINGTION, in the south-west part of this parish, was another seat of the family of Boys, being purchased by William Boys, esq. (son of Vincent Boys, esq. of Bonnington) for his residence, and he died possessed of it in 1629, in whose descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Oxenden, in which family it has remained ever since, being now the property of Sir Henry Oxenden, bart. of Brome.

 

Charities.

THOMAS APPLETON, yeoman, of Eastry, by his will in 1593, gave to the poor of this parish, 5l. yearly, to be distributed to the poor people, inhabitants here, fourteen days before Christmas-day; to be paid out of lands belonging to him, called Hardiles, in Woodnesborough.

 

GABRIEL RICHARDS, gent. by will in 1671, gave a house, barn, stable, and twenty-six acres of land, in this parish, for the support and maintenance of four aged, decayed gentlemen or gentlewomen, single men or single women, born in Kent; with four lodging-rooms for them, with preference to such persons as should be his relations, now vested in feoffees, and worth about 20l. per annum.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about eighteen, casually thirteen.

 

GOODNESTON, or Gunston, is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

 

The church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross, consists of two isles and two chancels, having a beacon tower at the west end, in which are four bells. This church seems to have been erected in great measure by the assistance of the family of Boys, of Bonnington, about the time of king Edward III. for on one side of the west door, under the steeple, is carved in the stone work, Orate p T. boye adjutor isti op. On each side a shield of arms, one a cross, the other a saltier; and at top three more shields, the first of which is that of Langley, and the third of Oxenden; and over a window of the south isle (now stopped up) the centre stone has carved on it, Willyam boyes, and at each corner are carved the singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and of a sow sitting upright, a chain about its neck, fastened to a rock behind, and an infant child in swaddling clothes in its lap. In the south isle is a stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for William Boys and Isabell his wife. He died anno 1507. In the north isle are monuments for the Richards's, of Rowling, in this parish. In the north window, at the east end, is the figure of a saint, holding in his left hand a shield of arms, Argent, a cross, gules; in his right, a staff, with a cross at top, the lower end in a dragon's mouth, which lies on its back under his feet; and in the same window, the figure of an archbishop, mitre, and pall, his left hand lifted up, as blessing; in his right hand, a staff, with a cross pomelle at top. The pillars between the isles are remarkably large and clumsy, and by their capitals appear antient. In the north chancel, belonging to the estate of Bonnington, are interred the family of Boys, of that seat, though the brasses of most of their stones are lost. A stone, with brasses, and inscription for William Goodneston, gent. obt. 1423; arms, Three martlets, between seven cross-croslets. A stone, with figures in brass, and inscription for Thomas Engeham, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1558, both the same year. A monument, with the figures kneeling, for Sir Edward Engeham and his lady; he died in 1636. Another for W. Wood, A. M. minister here, and rector of St. Mary Bredman and St. Andrew, Canterbury, obt. 1735. In the south or high chancel, is a monument for Sir Thomas Engeham, descended from those of Woodchurch; he married Priscilla Honywood, daughter of Mrs. Anne Honywood, who hardly escaping martyrdom in queen Mary's reign, lived to see about four hundred descended from her, obt. 1621. A neat monument for Brook Bridges, esq. (second son of John, of Harcourt-hall, in Worcestershire, esq.) auditor of imprests. He repaired and adorned the church, and built a mansion here on the estate which he had purchased, obt. 1717. In the church-yard is a stone, on which were once figures in brass, long since gone, for Thomas Boys, of Bonnington, and Edith his wife. He died in 1479.

 

¶The church of Goodneston was antiently a chapel of ease to that of Wingham, and was at the time of the foundation of the college there by archbishop Peckham, in 1286, separated from it, and made a distinct parish of itself, (fn. 5) and then given to the college; and becoming thus appropriated to the college, continued with it till its suppression in king Edward VI.'s reign, when this parsonage appropriate, with the advowson or patronage of the vicarage or curacy of it, came into the hands of the crown, where, though in the intermediate time it had been granted in lease for a term of years, yet the fee of it remained in the crown till the 43d year of queen Elizabeth, who granted it that year to Nicholas Fortescue, esq. and John Shelbury, in fee, to hold in socage, by a yearly rent, and a payment to the vicar yearly of 13l. 6s. 8d. and they passed away their interest in it to Sir Edward Engeham, of Canterbury, who in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, alienated this rectory, and the vicarage-house of Goodneston, with the vicarage, tithes, and profits belonging to it, and the donation of the curacy, to Henry Vanner, alderman of Canterbury, who by will in 1630, augmented the curate's salary, to be paid out of this parsonage, with the further yearly sum of 6l. 13s. 4d. His heirs quickly afterwards passed it away to William Prude, alias Proude, jun. esq. of Canterbury, who died in 1632, in whose descendants it remained till it was sold to one of the family of Engeham, owners of the manor of Goodneston, and continued so till Sir Thomas Engeham alienated it, with that manor, to Brook Bridges, esq. in whose descendants, baronets, of this place, it has continued down to Sir Brook William Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, the present impropriator and patron of the curacy of this church.

 

This church is now esteemed as a donative, the value of which has not been certified. In 1640 here were communicants one hundred and seventy.

 

Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, by his will in 1672, gave to the use of the minister of this parish, a house and orchard, valued at 6l. IOS. per annum.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp241-250

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