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A palette adorned with every color of the rainbow, a box full of frazzled brushes, and a color wheel featuring popular hues from another era. They’re beautiful fragments from New Mexico’s past, and time portals that offer rich revelations about the artists who used them...
Read about our upcoming artifact show: thematthewsgallery.com/News.cfm
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
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The town was planned on a gridiron pattern with the church occupying a dominant two-acre site near the centre. It was planned on a grand scale and work started in 1288 to erect a magnificent Gothic edifice, with a chancel and choir, two side chapels, a central tower, transepts and a great nave.
Building stone came from Caen in Normandy, marble from the west of Sussex and timber rafters made of sound Sussex oak. Highly skilled stonemasons worked on the carvings which include handsome sedilia in the chancel and side chapel. Three effigies of polished marble – once thought to have been rescued from the church in Old Winchelsea – were placed on the north side in memory of an unknown warrior, his wife and son, possibly the Godfrey family.
The first of the two chantries on the south side was endowed in 1312 by Stephen Alard to contain a tomb of supreme workmanship in memory of Gervase Alard, Admiral of the Western Fleet, probably Stephen’s father. The stone effigy is in full armour with raised hands to enclose a heart and a lion crouching at the feet. Two large angels supported the double cushion on which the head rests. A marginal inscription promises fifty days of pardon for those who pray for his soul. The delicately carved arch of the recessed canopy springs from the heads of King Edward I and his second wife, Margaret. The tomb provided the background for Sir John Millais’ painting ’L’Enfant du Regiment.’
The second monument is of a later date, with the arch springing from the heads of Edward II and Queen Isabella, sometimes known as ‘the she-wolf of France.’ It is reputed to be the tomb of Stephen Alard himself, who became Admiral of the Cinque Ports and the Western Fleet.
The centre of each canopy is surmounted by the head of a Green Man, a prominent pagan figure, associated with tree worship from at least as early as 500BC.
In 1337, in one of the first skirmishes of the Hundred Years War, the new town of Winchelsea was attacked and badly damaged in a French raid. Eleven years later the town was struck by the Black Death, which carried off, among many others, the Rector of St Thomas’, John Glynde.
In 1359 the French returned with a force of some three thousand men, gaining entrance one Sunday morning through the New Gate. There was little resistance as the men of the town were away on a similar mission of destruction in France. The women and children sheltered in St. Giles’s Church, now lost, where many of them were butchered ‘without regard to age, sex, degree or order.’
There was a further French raid in 1360 and, in 1380, a powerful Franco-Castilian fleet arrived to ‘fire Winchelsea and the approaches of London’. It is likely that this raid resulted in severe damage to the original nave. Over the next 100 years further deterioration occurred, including the collapse of the tower and transepts. Only very limited restoration work was affordable, particularly as the wealth of Winchelsea was ebbing away with the sea. The church was blocked off at the west end of the choir and a new entrance porch added in Tudor times.
During the Sixteenth Century Reformation, Winchelsea’s Dominican and Franciscan endowments were confiscated and later pulled down, including the hospitals.
On the accession of Queen Mary in 1547, the rector Peter Danyell was deprived of his living and replaced by the Catholic Robert Jordan. Danyell was reinstated on the accession of Queen Elizabeth in 1559.
During these turbulent years the interior of the church fell into a deplorable state of repair, made worse by the decline of trade due to the silting up of the town’s harbour and, possibly, to damage by Puritan iconoclasts. By the 1660s the diarist John Evelyn wrote of the ‘forlorn ruins’ he found in Winchelsea.
By the eighteenth century John Wesley, who came to preach here, wrote of ‘that poor skeleton of Ancient Winchelsea with its large church now in ruins.’
long serving rector at the time was the formidable Drake Hollingberry who held the living from 1767 to 1822. During his incumbency a large Georgian rectory was built on the site of the old St. Giles’, with many of its stones going to build a new harbour wall at Winchelsea Beach. An ancient Saxon tower which stood in the churchyard was also demolished for this purpose.
During the Napoleonic Wars several different regiments were lodged in Winchelsea‘s Barrack Square. The Church Register records that 72 soldiers belonging to various regiments were buried in the churchyard during the Peninsular War (1808-14).
In the early years of the nineteenth century, the church had become so dilapidated that it was declared ‘almost unfit for public worship’, but in 1850 the perilous condition of the fabric was finally realised and extensive repairs carried out. Since that time a constant watch has been kept on the state of the fabric, both inside and outside the church.
The three windows in the south aisle are dedicated to the themes of Land, Air and Fire, and Sea. The work of Dr Douglas Strachan (1875-1950) they are regarded as some of the finest stained glass of the modern era. They were presented to the church as a gift from Lord Blanesborough of Greyfriars and dedicated in 1933 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence of representatives of the Cinque Ports and the Ancient Towns.
The altar and retable in the Lady Chapel were also presented by Lord Blanesborough at this time as was the splendid organ above the west porch.
The windows on the south aisle were also designed and installed by Dr Strachan, including the beautiful east window which dominates the view of the church when entering through the west porch. The unusual window over the sedilia in the south wall commemorates the heroism of the crew of the Rye lifeboat, the Mary Stanford, who lost their lives while going to the rescue of another ship during a great storm in November 1928.
The clock on the north side of the tower was overhauled in Jubilee Year 1977 and again in 1998/9 when the beautiful dial was repainted. The cost was partly born by the Friends of Winchelsea Church, a voluntary organisation started in 1966 to raise money to help maintain the fabric of this beautiful church and to whom the parish owes a great debt of gratitude for the maintenance work that has been carried out in recent years.
winchelsea-icklesham-churches.org.uk/winchelsea/st-thomas...
A beautiful historic Scottish Fishing bay dating back to the 1700's, under duress due to problems between the "Owner" and local fishermen who have utilised this historic harbour as they and their fore fathers have done for hundreds of years .
I revisited today Tuesday 27th August 2019 , I was disappointed to see concrete barriers blocking access to cars and fishing boats , sad circumstances indeed , though I still managed to capture as much of the bays charm a I could , its ongoing battle and new concrete blocks preventing access made me feel unhappy and sad, any ways I have pasted some of my previous comments and news items reference this pathetic situation below for your perusal, I am on the side of the fishermen , its a sad tale indeed.
Check my previous posts in my Cove Bay folder for photos of the harbour in its glory days that I have taken over the years before this nonsense raised its ugly head.
Previous Posts
I love this bay, its a beautiful tranquil place, however after reading news reports on a court judgement 13/7/2018 forcing the fisher men to remove their boats within 28 days it saddened me, hence I made a trip today Friday 13th July 2018 to capture the views and scenery before this unpopular ruling is implemented, what a sad situation indeed, I have included the news report on the legal wrangle at the end of this description.
Cove is a 20 minute drive from my home in Aberdeen Scotland, it was a pleasure to visit today and capture the tranquility that it presented.
Scattered across the harbour are stones with various sealife characters carved into them.
Cove Bay is a suburb on the south-east edge of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Today Cove is home to over 7000 people. It is a popular residential location owing to its extremely village-like status.
It is a quiet suburb just at the edge of the City and in 2015 won the Silver award for Scotland in bloom. Nearby Altens and Tullos Industrial Estates, affording ample employment opportunities.
History
Cove Bay is situated to the east of the ancient Causey Mounth, which road was built on high ground to make passable this only available medieval route from coastal points south from Stonehaven to Aberdeen.
This ancient trackway specifically connected the River Dee crossing (where the Bridge of Dee is located) via Portlethen Moss, Muchalls Castle and Stonehaven to the south.
The route was that taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the Marquess of Montrose, who led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the battle of the Civil War in 1639.
Cove Bay was a village in the extreme north-east corner of Kincardine, governed from Stonehaven, until 1975, when it was added to the City of Aberdeen. Though simply referred to as Cove, in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was known as The Cove, becoming Cove Bay around 1912.
Industry
Cove has been noted for industries such as granite, which was quarried in several locations to the south of the village. Owing to its close-grained texture, Cove granite was one of the hardest in north-east Scotland and proved highly resistant to frost, making it ideal for causeway stones used in the construction of roads. It was widely exported to cities in England, including Billingsgate Market in London.
Fishing
The village itself sprung up around the fishing industry, with the boats berthed on a shingle beach, a gap in the rocks that afforded a natural harbour. During this time, it is estimated that approximately 300 people lived in the area. In the mid 19th century the fishing was at its height, which, over years, has included cod, haddock, salmon, herring and shellfish. The piers and breakwater were constructed in 1878. At the end of World War I the fishing began to decline. At present only a couple of boats pursue shellfish on a part-time basis.
Between 1894 and 1937, Cove also housed a fishmeal factory, the Aberdeen Fish Meal Factory, which was located at the edge of the cliffs. It produced quality manure which was exported to both Europe and America. It became locally known as "the stinker" because of the processing odour, which was highlighted by the Aberdeen entertainer Harry Gordon in a parody entitled A Song of Cove.
Amenities
Retail
Cove has just had a brand new Co-operative built just off of Earnshugh Circle.
To the west of Loirston Road is the Cove Shopping Centre, which overlooks Loirston Primary School. This houses a pharmacist, the Wee China Chinese takeaway/Chip shop, Ruby Tuesdays beauty salon and the Harr Rock cafe (Cove's second).
Within the new development of cove a local Sainsbury's has opened. There is also the Harr Rock Cafe (the first one), a hairdressers and a gift shop within the new development.
There are also 2 RS McColl newsagents. One located at Bervie Brow in Altens, and a second located on the corner of Loirston Road and Cove Road which also houses a Post Office.
Hospitality
The Cove Bay hotel is located on Colsea Road. There is also The Aberdeen Altens Hotel in Altens, which has 216 bedrooms, making it the largest of the three Thistle Hotels in Aberdeen.
There is also a pub, the Langdykes which now has an Indian restaurant situated inside called The Curry lounge which you can sit in or take away.
Transport
Bus services to and from Cove and the wider area of Aberdeen are available. These are run by First Aberdeen with the numbers 3 (to Mastrick) and the 18 to Dyce, via Kincorth. Stagecoach also cover cove partially, with numbers 7A & 8 (Both to the City Centre).
Healthcare
Cove Bay has its own medical centre, the Cove Bay Medical Centre. It was originally located on Catto Walk, but moved to a new facility off Earns Hugh Road. Cove Dental Care has since moved into the old surgery building.
Sport
Cove is currently home to two football teams: Cove Rangers, who currently play in the Highland Football League, they temporarily play in Harlow Park, Inverurie, as their old home Allan park was demolished to make way for housing. Cove Thistle, who hold amateur status. Sunday amateur team Cove Revolution folded in 2010.
There are also many youth teams in the area that are run by Cove Youth FC. The Cove Youth FC area SFA credited community club, organizing players from 6 years old up to 19 years old. They also have a girls section. The Cove Community Football Trust is run by Cove Rangers FC, Cove Thistle FC and Cove Youth FC.
Other Amenities
A state-of-the-art library was recently built between Loirston Primary School and the Cove Shopping Centre. There are blueprints for a local sports centre to also be built in the near future.
Education
Cove has two primary schools, Charleston Primary School and Loirston Primary School. Most secondary pupils attend the nearby Kincorth Academy, but some choose to go to Portlethen Academy.
Future Developments
Aberdeen Gateway[edit]
Construction on a new Aberdeen Gateway industrial development began in 2008. It will see new offices and industrial units built to the south of the village. Current tenants at the site include National Oilwell Varco (NOV), Driving Standards Agency and Hydrasun. A Community football pitch is also inlcluded within the development.
Cove Academy
Plans for a secondary school in Cove have now been approved and will be situated alongside Wellington Road. It is thought that once this is built pupils from Cove, Torry as well as Kincorth will attend this school.
The Legal Wrangle - Landowner V Fishermen - Judgement 13/7/18
Fishermen told to move boats from Cove Bay after legal dispute
Fishermen have been told to move their boats from an Aberdeen bay after a long-running dispute.
Several fishermen were fighting an eviction order on behalf of landowner Pralhad Kolhe at Cove Bay, where they had been fishing for many years.
In a written judgement, a sheriff has given them 28 days to move their boats and equipment from Mr Kolhe's land.
However, Sheriff Andrew Miller also ordered the removal of obstructions to vehicular access onto the pier.
The case was heard at Aberdeen Sheriff Court earlier this year.
One of the fisherman, Jim Adam, told a court he was "stunned" to receive a legal letter telling him to remove his boat.
He had been fishing from Cove Bay since 1966.
'We were hopeful'
The first day of the hearing heard the letter said the landowner, who lives in a house overlooking the harbour, was unable to make use of his land for amenity purposes and that he did not wish Mr Adam's vessel, or any other vessel, on his land.
In the ruling, Sheriff Miller also gave Mr Kolhe 28 days to remove the obstructions to vehicle access to the pier.
Mr Adam told BBC Scotland: "We are disappointed, we were hopeful.
"The good news is at least for the recreational folks they have got vehicle access."
News Report From P&J Aberdeen
A campaign group could use new powers to try to buy the land at the centre of a long-running dispute over access to Cove Harbour.
Councillors in Aberdeen agreed yesterday to investigate using the purchase powers contained in the Community Empowerment Scotland Act 2015 to finally resolve the stand-off.
The proposal was backed after Jim Adam, chairman of the Cove Fishermen Association, delivered an emotional plea to Aberdeen City Council’s petitions committee yesterday.
He outlined the group’s ongoing disagreement with the landowner, Pralhad Kohle, over vehicle access to the harbour-side.
Mr Adam highlighted the historical use of the harbour since the 1700s for fishing boats and recreational users, showing members photographs as evidence.
He also said the denial of emergency access to the harbour would create safety issues, and spoke of a strong community spirit in the village.
Cove Councillor Neil Cooney stated: “Boats have been fishing out of Cove since mediaeval times; we need to retain that heritage.”
Committee convener Alan Donnelly said: “You would think, with 11,000 signatures, that the owner would take it seriously and come along.”
He added: “We are moving today that the council refers the petition to the landowner, with the hope that they can come to an amicable solution.
“And request a report to the communities, housing and infrastructure committee to investigate the viability of the community to use the new Community Empowerment Scotland Act 2015 to purchase the land.”
Speaking afterwards Mr Adam said: “We are very encouraged by the support from the council. It’s very positive and has opened up a number of avenues, but we would like there to be an amicable solution.
“The Community Empowerment Act is a very useful tool, but it would be a last resort.”
Mr Kohle, who was not in attendance, owns a house overlooking the bay and some of the land at the harbour below.
Scotland’s First Minister has pledged to investigate the “suffering” faced by the Cove Harbour fishing community as a result of a devastating fire and a dispute with the landlord.
The first minister promised action after being warned the Scottish Government risked ignoring a group whose livelihoods had been threatened by recent events.
Ms Sturgeon said the government wanted “to do everything we possibly can” to help communities faced with difficulties after the Cove Harbour situation was raised with her.
In January, thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused when a fire, thought to be deliberate, destroyed five vessels, boating equipment, a shed and fishing gear.
The community has also been involved in a long-running battle with landowner Pralhad Kolhe, a plastic surgeon who had sought to evict the fishermen’s fleet of traditional vessels from the part of the harbour he owns.
The Cove Fisherman’s Association had a four-year legal battle with Mr Kolhe, and lost their fight to dock their small fleet of traditional vessels at a particular part of Cove Harbour last year.
Last August the remaining vessels at the site were finally moved from Mr Kolhe’s land to a small corner of the harbour. The judgement said access to the pier for walkers and vehicles should be maintained.
After January’s fire, North East MSP Liam Kerr wrote to Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing asking for support for the fishermen.
Mr Ewing replied say he was “very saddened” by the disaster but financial support would be “limited”.
Yesterday Mr Kerr raised Cove Harbour with Ms Sturgeon in the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Kerr told the first minister the Cove Harbour fishing community was “suffering” and faced “significant” legal costs.
The Tory MSP said the fishermen had requested a meeting with Mr Ewing “but to no avail”.
And he asked Ms Sturgeon to persuade Mr Ewing to meet the community and “not risk ignoring a community facing the loss of their livelihoods”.
The First Minister said: “Of course we want to do everything we possibly can to help any community experiencing difficulties.
“I am not aware beyond what the member has just said of the content of the correspondence to Fergus Ewing.
“But I am happy to give an undertaking to look into that and if Fergus Ewing thinks there is help the Scottish Government can offer – certainly to meet with those affected.”
A group of Aberdeen fishermen who lost a court case last year have been hit with a legal fee bill of around £45,000 – just days after their cherished vessels were destroyed in a malicious fire.
The Cove Fishermen’s Association was forced to move its boats at Cove Harbour last year after a court ruled in favour of landowner Pralhad Kolhe – who owns sections of the historic bay.
Mr Kolhe has been seeking to remove the small fleet of boats from his land, but in the months since the court’s decision, the fishermen have continued their activities by keeping their remaining vessels in a much smaller pocket of the harbour not under the landowner’s control, further away from the shoreline
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Ken Haddock holds The Empire Music Club and Belfast’s longest running live residency.
A doyen of the live lounges of Belfast, with his distinctive voice and looming stage presence Ken’s Sunday night performances have become an institution.
Ken commands a loyal crowd wherever he plays. Newcomers to the Empire Supper Club will be surprised by the easy-going intimate atmosphere as Ken and friends, including the cream of young blues and soul talent, raise the roof with the old standards, some modern classics and original material.
This is processed in Lightroom 3.
The 2 anglers didn't catch anything!
I seem to spend a good deal of my days at Flamborough, well I was practically brought up there. I often used to go out fishing with the Emmerson Bros. who were running "Silver Line". They all had a very broad accent and went to Church on Sundays. Here is a film taken by my Stepfather Geo Bayes, who was then the Lifeboat Secretary. He was also a local fish merchant, restaraunter and hotelier.
LITTLE DENMARK PART 1 (1957)
www.yfaonline.com/film/little-denmark-part-1?destination=...
This film is part of two long films made by local filmmaker George Bayes of Flamborough and Flamborough Head. The films are mainly dedicated to the work of the coast guard and especially the Royal Navy Lifeboat Institute (RNFI). But they also provide a picture of Flamborough at the time, with marvellous film of the sea fishing, showing many of the well known locals from that period.
The name of “Little Denmark” goes back a long way. One explanation is that it is to celebrate Flamborough’s former loyalty to the Danish crown. The name of Flamborough is also said to be derived from the Scandinavian word “Flan”, meaning a spit or tongue of land. Some have commented on the Danish influence going back to the invasion of the 9th century: seen in local place names and the dialect of the inhabitants. However, Danes’ Dyke is a natural formation, and nothing to do with the Danes.
Flamborough Head lies at the tip of the most eastern peninsula, and is famous as a beauty spot and for the nearby Bird Reserve at Bempton Cliffs. It is remarkably unchanged since this film was made, with the Coastguard lookout station and two lighthouses still in place. The first lighthouse, a white octagonal tower, dating from 1674, is probably the oldest surviving lighthouse in England. It started off as a way of making money, by Sir John Clayton charging vessels passing the headland. It is not clear whether this scheme ever worked. It stopped working as a lighthouse some time ago. The second lighthouse (the new lighthouse) was built in 1806 and vertically extended in 1925.
The RNFI was initially set up as a charity was founded by Sir William Hillary as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck in 1824, after he had witnessed the wrecking of dozens of ships from his home on the Isle of Man. The name was changed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1854, and cork lifejackets were first issued to crew members in the same year. By and large the crews are voluntary crewed, though there are four full time boats, one just a bit further along the Yorkshire coast at Spurn Point. All told it has 40,000 volunteers. Since its foundation the RNLI has saved more than 139,000 lives.
In 1992 the rigid lifeboat was replaced by an inflatable one, but as the North Landing – home of the Caravel Bar –was considered too dangerous for an inflatable it was moved to the South Landing. Apparently this move caused a huge schism in the community, with most of the original crew resigning. Since then
the entire station’s emergency search and rescue team and all the emergency equipment has been moved to Bridlington coastguard station. The South Landing was declared a local nature reserve in 2002. At the time of writing (May 2010), there is a Campaign to Save Flamborough Head Coastguard Station From Closure! The website (see References) also gives some examples of the work of the local coastguard
The area and sea around has a rich history. One particular episode of great significance was a sea battle during the American War of Independence, in 1779. This was between ships of the Royal Navy and American ships under John Paul Jones, who has been credited as being the founder of the American Navy (and also inspired the great ex bass player of Led Zeppelin to adopt the name). The excellent Yorkshire Guide website (see References) has a good overview of Flamborough and Flamborough Head, and its history.
The film demonstrates, as does the evident passion of the narrator, that for the filmmakers there is more at stake than just saving lives. The film provides a great example of what Pierre Nora calls ‘sites of memory’. One way that this has been encapsulated is in the tradition of sword dancing, as seen here with this young group of dancers. This tradition has a strong connection to East Yorkshire – see Kirkby Malzeard Sword Dancers (1930-32). But it is the place itself, and the of the sea crashing against the rocks, that perhaps makes it stay in most people’s minds.
A film documenting the work of the R.N.L.I at Flamborough, the film also shows a day in the life of working fishermen out of Flamborough.
The film opens with shots of Flamborough Bay followed by an introduction to the contributors who are shown in close up.
There is footage of the outskirts of Flamborough followed by scenes of the village including St Oswald’s Church, ruins of Flamborough Castle, and the War Memorial where a British Legion Service of Commemoration takes place. Service members lay a poppy wreath on the memorial. Views of Flamborough High Street include the Royal Dog and Duck Hotel, and the Ship Hotel. Many cars can be seen in the village, and a lady walks by pushing a pram.
The next scene features the Fishermen’s War Memorial and a Flamborough Sword Dance display. This is followed by a view of Flamborough Head where both the old and new lighthouse can be seen, and the lighthouse keepers are introduced. Views of South landing and the old lifeboat hut can be seen, and there are families enjoying the sandy beach.
A crowd is gathered at the North Landing for the annual Lifeboat Flag Day. People in fancy dress and crowds gather to watch the demonstration launch of the lifeboat. A helicopter drops a flare as part of the event.
The next portion of the film focuses on the fishermen who make their livelihood out of Flamborough. The day’s catch of crabs and lobsters are hauled up the beach at Flamborough and loaded on to vans. George Emerson and his brother show us a day in the life of their fishing vessel, the Silver Line. At sea they haul in baskets of lobsters and crabs. Back on shore, they bate the lines with mussels and whelks for the next day. Out on the boat there is long lining for cod and haddock. The fish are then prepared for gutting, and the livers are kept for cod liver oil. Seagulls swarm around the boat as it heads for the North Landing to bring in the day’s catch.
THE EGG HARVEST - CLIFF CLIMBING AT FLAMBOROUGH (1908)
Filmed in 1908, this film shows a group of men, known as climmers, who collect eggs from bird nests on the cliffs at Flamborough.
www.yfaonline.com/film/egg-harvest-cliff-climbing-flambor...
Many thanks to The Yorkshire Film Archive
Exposure0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperturef/16.0
Focal Length17 mm
ISO Speed100
LensEF17-40mm f/4L USM
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www.flickr.com/photos/hjsp8/6818908434/sizes/o/in/photost...
The Lisa Ann II, a 56-foot steel trawler that fishes mostly for cod and haddock. Seen on our cruise up and down the Merrimack River in Newburyport.
haddock had 2 rifle armed men in addition to the 24 light infantry types. the plan was to distract the gun and pickets on their right and run the horse around their left. The river is fordable but wide enough to take three phases to cross.
Haddock and Cod fish drying racks in Hafnarfjordur Iceland, Fish farm for local consumption and ships and exports to Africa
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy.
Tintin debuted in Le Petit Vingtième on 10 January 1929. Tintin was largely based on an earlier character created by Hergé, a chubby boy-scout named Totor. The comics starring Totor, Les aventures de Totor, chef de patrouille des Hannetons (The Adventures of Totor, Leader of the Cockchafer Patrol), appeared in the magazine Le Boy-Scout Belge between 1926 and 1929.
In the later comic book series, Tintin is a young reporter who is drawn to dangerous international intrigues in which his quick thinking, bravery and chronic good luck save the day. Almost every adventure features Tintin sent off to investigate an assignment, but rarely does he actually turn in a story without first getting caught up in an adventure.[1] Although the strip was Belgian, Hergé was inconsistent or vague about assigning Tintin a nationality, depicting him instead as broadly European. In some of the early books, like Tintin in the Congo or The Black Island, a Belgian identity is fairly explicit. In The Secret of the Unicorn, the reader can unmistakably recognise the streets of Brussels at the beginning of the story. In the television series, Tintin states that he and Snowy are from Brussels in the episode of The Crab with the Golden Claws. Brussels is also explicitly mentioned as Tintin's home address in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. In later adventures, as with other aspects of his character's history and family, Tintin's nationality is usually not directly stated, although some of the street scenes in The Red Sea Sharks have been identified as happening in Brussels.
Readers and critics have described Tintin as a well-rounded, yet open-ended character, noting that his rather neutral personality—sometimes labelled as bland—permits a balanced reflection of the evil, folly and foolhardiness which surrounds him. His boy-scout ideals, which represent Hergé's own, are never compromised by the character, and his status allows the reader to assume his position within the story, rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist.Tintin's iconic representation enhances this aspect, with Scott McCloud noting that it "allows readers to mask themselves in a character and safely enter a sensually stimulating world."
Tintin is an intelligent and imaginative character with good powers of deduction. However, while in deep thought, he tends to be absent-minded and fails to notice things around him. He seems to know multiple foreign languages and reads extensively on a variety of subjects. He is skilled at driving automobiles (including a tank), riding horses or motorcycles, and flying aeroplanes and helicopters. Despite his generally delicate and unassuming appearance, Tintin is quite athletic and possesses great physical strength, often getting into fights where he is able to knock out enemies much larger than himself with a single blow. Although he is small as opposed to the other characters, he is an excellent swimmer, has been shown to be a skilled mountaineer, has been shown to do yoga,[4] and can survive falls that would normally cause serious injuries.
Tintin's age is never accurately revealed. Other characters treat him as a worldly young adult, as shown by the absence of concerns like parents or school, as well as by his wide solo travels all over the globe. He's old enough to enter a pub and drink a beer (The Black Island) and old enough to live alone with his dog in his own apartment. However, he is still referred to as a "young boy", and a "puppy" in The Crab with the Golden Claws. A 1979 television interview with Hergé settled the matter, when Hergé stated that when he first thought about Tintin he was 14 or 15 years old, "but now, let's say that he is 17." In one shot in the television series episode The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin's passport states his birth year as 1929 (the year of his print debut).
Tintin has no family members: any mention of a mother, father or siblings is noticeably absent. He makes no mention of his family throughout the series. Nowhere is it implied that he is an orphan; it could be argued that he meets his family between adventures. Tintin's lack of relatives is irrelevant to his adventuring; it is the adopted family of friends he makes through his exploits that makes up his family unit.
Unlike other characters such as Captain Haddock or Professor Calculus, Tintin has no discernible past prior to the beginning of the series. Whereas Haddock can recall a particularly fierce storm at sea or Calculus can boast of his athletic past, Tintin's roots prior to Land of the Soviets are never discussed. His companions encounter old friends like Captain Chester or Hercule Tarragon, yet Tintin only meets friends or enemies whom he met in previous adventures.
Even the name "Tintin" remains a mystery. Whether it is a first name or a surname is unknown. A possibility is that it is not actually the reporter's real name, but rather a pseudonym that the character uses to protect his identity while writing columns for his newspaper: Le Petit Vingtième. At the time when the stories first came out, journalists' usage of pseudonyms was commonplace. The possibility that it may not be his real name is also hinted in Cigars of the Pharaoh when Tintin is accused of poisoning one of a notable sheik's servants. Having been captured and brought to his tent, the enraged sheik demands Tintin's name. Tintin's characteristically placid answer is: "My name? It won't mean a thing to you... but at home they call me Tintin." A simpler theory for his name is the fact that Franco-Belgian comics at the time generally had heroes with eccentric, memorable single names that could pass off as first names or surnames. Many people tend to think of "Tintin" as a surname, but it is likely that Hergé meant to keep it a mystery. Hergé was a great admirer of Benjamin Rabier and may have derived the name (and hairstyle) from Rabier's Tintin lutin (1897). There also have been theories that Tintin is a nickname for Martin or Augustin. One last theory holds that the name "Tintin" signifies nothing, pointing to the character's cipherous nature. As Paul LaFarge writes,
Tintin was a word before it was a name; it means 'nothing,' and the phrase faire tintin loosely means "to go without." Hergé's boy reporter does not bear the name by accident.
Throughout much of the series, Tintin's attitude is characterised by inquisitive tendencies and a noble, forgiving nature. While his idealism earns him the admiration of many people he meets, it also places him in danger on occasion and serves as a foil to the more sceptical demeanour of other characters such as Captain Haddock. And unlike nearly every other character he meets, Tintin can be relied upon to remain calm and cool-headed, even in the worst of circumstances. Only on very rare occasions, such as after Haddock's drunken antics threatened his friend's lives (Explorers on the Moon), could Tintin actually lose his temper.
Tintin's political views are generally ambiguous in many of the books and specific expression of his opinions are rare. While in earlier books such as Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo Tintin is characterised as a proud Belgian Catholic, later books avoid specific mention of his views (see Ideology of Tintin). His opinions appear to change over time, though in many situations he can be classified as a pacifist, reflecting a dislike of war. At the beginning of Tintin and the Picaros, he is seen wearing a motorcycle helmet with a Peace symbol on it.
Readers of Tintin books have speculated about his sexuality. Marcel Wilmet, spokesperson of Studios Hergé, has confirmed that Tintin is not gay and, while he has many male friends, they are not boyfriends. However, many still question his ambiguous sexuality.
Towards the end of the series, Tintin's character changes to a degree. In later stories, Tintin no longer actively seeks out adventure but is rather forced into a situation by events beyond his control (such as being kidnapped[10] or motivated to rescue a friend). This is especially evident in Flight 714 and Tintin and the Picaros, where Tintin's loss of enthusiasm for adventure is apparent, and his youthful idealism appears to have been replaced by a somewhat more cynical outlook. There has been much debate among readers and critics about this shift in characterisation, as these final adventures have received varying and sometimes negative responses. Critics argue that these books represent either a late period of eccentricity, or puzzling disappointments, while others claim that Tintin's shift represents a more complex depiction of his character. Hergé commented upon this change, noting that in the late phases of his career, "Tintin has lost control, he is not on top of events anymore, he is subjected to them." However, in the unfinished album Tintin and Alph-Art, Tintin regained much of his old adventurous personality, actively investigating suspicious events and murder threats.
The earlier version of Tintin was apparently inspired, at least in part, by Hergé's younger brother, Paul Remi, a career soldier. Tired of being referred to as "Major Tintin" by his colleagues, Paul later shaved his hair and adopted a more Erich von Stroheim look. Hergé subsequently used Paul's appearance as a model for the villainous Colonel Sponsz in The Calculus Affair. Tintin and Sponsz, although physically very different, have actually quite similar hair spikes.
Hergé may have also been inspired by a Danish boy scout and later actor Palle Huld who was 15 years old when he travelled around the world and wrote Around the World in 44 days by Palle. In the book he describes his tour to Soviet, America, China, Africa etc. and about his dramatic adventures. It was translated into 11 languages and it was read by Hergé. Palle Huld died in 2010 at the age of 98.
However, the inspiration for the clothing Hergé dressed Tintin in lay elsewhere. A fellow student of Hergé's from St Boniface, named Charles, had adopted a similar style of plus fours and argyle socks, which caused him to be the subject of no little ridicule. Harry Thompson notes the inspiration may be tinged slightly, suggesting that if "Hergé had been one of the laughers, an element of guilt was involved."
The first 3 adventures of Tintin visit places visited by photographer-reporter Robert Sexé, recorded in the Belgian press from the mid to late 1920s. Sexé was born in 1890 in La Roche-sur-Yon in Vendée in Western France. Janpol Schulz wrote a biography of Robert Sexé titled "Sexé au pays des Soviets" (Sexé in the Land of the Soviets) to mimic the name of the first Tintin Adventure. This was published in 1996.
Robert Sexé has been noted to have a similar appearance to Tintin, and the Hergé Foundation in Belgium has admitted that it is not too hard to imagine how Hergé could have been influenced by the exploits of Sexé.[16] At that time Sexé had been round the world on a motorcycle made by Gillet of Herstal. René Milhoux was a Grand-Prix champion and motorcycle record holder of the era, and in 1928, while Sexé was in Herstal speaking with Léon Gillet about his future projects, Mr. Gillet put him in contact with his new champion, Milhoux, who had just left Ready motorcycles for Gillet of Herstal. The two men quickly struck up a friendship, and spent hours talking about motorcycles and voyages, Sexé explaining his needs and Milhoux giving his knowledge on mechanics and motorbikes pushed beyond their limits.
Thanks to this union of knowledge and experience, Robert Sexé would head off on numerous trips throughout the world, writing countless press accounts. The General Secretary of the Hergé Foundation in Belgium has admitted that it is not too hard to imagine how a young George Rémi, better known as Hergé, could have been inspired by the well-publicized exploits of these two friends, Sexé with his trips and documentaries and Milhoux with his triumphs and records, to create the characters of Tintin the famous travelling reporter, and his faithful companion Milou (Snowy).
Hergé himself has noted that Tintin existed as his personal expression, and although he recorded in 1947 that he knew "Tintin is no longer me, that, if he is to go on living, it will be by a sort of artificial respiration that I will have to practice constantly and which exhausts me, and will exhaust me more and more",[17] he was also fond of stating "Tintin, c'est moi!" ("Tintin, that's me!").
Shortly before his death, former Belgian Nazi collaborator Léon Degrelle created controversy by stating that the Tintin character was originally based on himself. Degrelle had indeed known Hergé during his early career as a journalist, but this allegation is generally considered a fabrication of the notorious self-booster Degrelle
Jón Anton Valdimarsson or "SjóAnton" works with me at Klakkur SK5 from Sauðárkrókur.
We are in a comfortable possition to supply our familys with the worlds freshest fish fillets. The Haddock on this picture will be on his dinner table within 3 days after it was cought.
"I ate this family favourite with my husband and sons at the end of a long day. Haddock from Kerachers at St Andrews," says Karen Richard.
Try Lindsey's recipe: thetim.es/1hbDnUo
Troy Bar GES After Party Shoreditch London Early Morning 3 am Smoked Haddock Prawn and Duck Egg Breakfast by Anginita
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Smoked Haddock on mash potato and wilted spinach with an English Mustard sauce, topped with a poached egg.
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Dave Haddock's wonderful Yelloway mobile museum, housed in AEC Reliance NNC 855P has become somewhat of a TV star recently, not only featuring on a edition of the BBC2 programe 'Coast' in 2010, but more recently on the excellent and thoroughly recommended BBC4 documentary 'The Golden Age of Coaching' earlier this month - now that's one TV celebrity I can never get enough of!!
Here she is in her service life at Taunton in July 1982 together with fellow Reliance RGS 95R in service with 'Eurobus', Middlesex. Amazingly, a quick search on the internet has revealed that the latter may still survive as well, which is a very pleasant surprise - two 'pwgb' survivors for the price of one?
www.flickr.com/photos/buckielugger/5235044115/
Do catch the BBC4 documentary while you can - there's some superb footage, much of it in colour and there's a wonderful bit where a former employee of Victoria Coach Station describes it as a 'rainbow of colours' with the various liveries of the different operators gathering there - fantastic!!
Posting shots of churches we have visited has shown me that my photography has improved now I don't use the ultrawide angle lenses, so many churches need a revisit.
And with the orchid season now at an end, nearly, it is time to turn to churchcrawling.
And the easiest non-Kent church to revisit was Winchelsea, just over the border in East Sussex, also gave us the chance to call in at the fishmongers in Rye for some smoked haddock.
After the early morning coffee and then the rush round Tesco, back home to pack it all away and for me to make bacon butties and another brew.
And then: go west.
Traffic is not so mad now, so it was easy to drive to Folkestone then up the motorway to Ashford, before turning off, past the inland border facility, then out onto the Marsh past Hamstreet.
West of Brookland, the road meanders about, bend after bend, crossing and recrossing the railway until we reach Rye.
We stop to buy the fish, then round the river, over the bridge and out the other side, five miles to Winchelsea, turning off to go up the hill under the old town gate, parking near the village shop.
Whereas Rye was already busy, Winchelsea was quiet, and just past ten meaning the church had just opened.
We walk across the large churchyard through the ruins of the tower and into the church, where the triple wide nave was lines on the north and south walls with fine wall tombs.
I photograph each on in turn, and the corbel heads on each too.
I rephotograph the fine windows too, as despite being modern, they really are on another level.
One or two people come in, a family of three last 30 seconds before the mother and teenage son leave.
After completing the shots, I go out to meet up with Jools so we can walk to the shop to have ice cream, and sit to eat them on a bench looking at the north wall of the church.
After we had finished our ice creams, we climbed back in the car. It wasn't yet half ten. Time for some more churches!
So, after driving back through Rye and into Kent, we call into Brookland so I could check if the tower was open, as I have never found it open. The church was, but the candlesnuff tower was locked.
No worries, there's always New Romney.
I first came here with my friend, Simon, in 2014 when there was a formal dinner being prepared, and a year ago, we arrived just after one to find the building being locked for the day.
We parked opposite and I see the sign advertising a craft and record fair, along with refreshments.
Inside there were stall set up, and people in the Chancel drinking tea and eating cake.
I was able to get shots of some of the memorials and details, which is why I came back, really.
The fair happens on only one Saturday per month, just my luck to pick a day when it was on.
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A wonderful church of grand proportions, the exterior of which is best seen from the east where the three reticulated windows chancel and chapels of the Decorated period may be clearly seen. The nave is Norman, with interesting decoration on the arcades and solid circular piers. The church was owned by Potigny Abbey and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it invested heavily in rebuilding the east end, with fine octagonal pillars, piscinae and sedilia in each of the three eastern chapels. Between the chancel and chapels are hagioscope openings. It is interesting that the floor remains unrestored, with brick, tile and old ledger slabs. This is the result of the intervention of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings when John Oldrid Scott started over-restoring the church in 1878. The early aisles must have been very low as the Norman clerestory windows rise straight from the top of the arcade. The best place to see Norman work at New Romney is in the main west door where the zigzag decoration has few parallels in the county.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=New+Romney
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THE TOWN AND PORT OF NEW ROMNEY,
WRITTEN in the survey of Domesday, Romenel, lies the next adjoining southward from Old Romney, to distinguish it from which it was called New Romney. The greatest part of it is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and of the corporation of the town and port of New Romney; another part is within the level of Romney Marsh, and the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it; and the residue is within the level of Walland Marsh, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county.
THE TOWN of New Romney is supposed to owe its origin to the decay of the antient port and haven of Old Romney, which being rendered useless by the withdrawing of the sea from it, that of New Romney became frequented in its stead, and being esteemed a large and commodious harbour for shipping, and the town adjoining to it increasing to a considerable size, and being well filled with inhabitants, it gained the privilege of being one of the cinque ports, and had annexed as members to it Lid, Old Romney, Dengemarsh, and Oswardestone, and that part of the parish of Promhill within this county, with which jointly it was bound to provide five ships, with twenty one men and one boy to each of them. After the battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, on his march to Dover castle, passed this town, where he is said to have revenged himself on the inhabitants, for having killed some of his men, who by mistake had landed here. (fn. 1) After which this haven seems to have been in danger of ruin; and king Henry III. being informed of its danger of being destroyed, by stoppage from the river at Newenden, directed Nicholas de Handloe to re pair hither in person, with the sheriff of Kent and twenty four knights and lawful men, to examine into it. And among the patent rolls in the tower is one, in consequence of it, for the new making of this port. In this state New Romney, in all probability continued till king Edward I.'s reign, when the river Limen, or Rother, as it was afterwards called, being forced from its old channel hither, by a violent tempest, which destroyed likewise part of the town and several villages near it, and the sea at the same time retiring to a still further distance from it, the haven was soon irretrievably choaked up by the beach and became dry land, and the town itself never regained its former consequence; yet in the regin of king Edward the Confessor, it seems to have been of considerable note; for at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the 15th year of the Conqueror's reign, which was little more than fourteen years from king Edward's death, it appears by the following mention of it, that there were in it eighty-five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington.
In Romenel there are four times twenty and five burgesses, which belonged to the archbishop's manor of Aldington, and were, and now are worth to the lord sixpounds.
Besides which, Robert de Romenel, who held the manor of Lamport of the archbishop by knight's service, had twenty one burgesses here, which belonged to that manor, and fifty which he held of the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen by the following entries in the same record:
To this manor (viz. Lamport) belong twenty-one burgesses, which are in Romenel, of whom the archbishop has three forfeitures—theft, breach of the peace, and robbery on the highway. But the king has all service from them, and they have all customs and other forfeitures for service of the sea, and they are in the king's hands .
And further, under the general title of the bishop of Baieux's possessions:
The same Robert (de Romenel) has fifty burgesses in the burgh of Romenel, and of them the king has all service, and they are quit from the service of the sea, from all custom except in three—thest, breach of the peace, and forstel .
In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was forty shillings, now fifty shillings. Alsi held it of earl Godwin .
Robert de Romenel certainly took his name from his possessions in this place. He is mentioned several times in the record of Domesday. Albritha de Rumenel, in the reign of king John, was marshal of the king's birds by inheritance, and married William de Iarpenvile; their daughter and heir Alice, married Thomas Fitzbernard, to whom and their heirs for ever, on the petition of their mother, the king granted that office after her death. The latter afterwards gave to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, for her sepulture there, twelve pounds sterling of Old Rumenell and Langport, to be received of Stephen deAudintune, or whomsoever should posses the same. (fn. 2) Camden, in his Remains, says, Sir Robert de Romney, for so the name was afterwards spelt, bore for his arms, in imitation of the family of Criol, Two chevrons, and a canton, to which he added, on the latter, three leopards faces; and so late as the 1st year of king James I. Sir William Rumney, was sheriff of London, and there are some of this name still remaining. But to return, so great a number of burgesses as one hundred and fifty-six, serves to give us an idea of its antient state and populousness, and even at the time of the dreadful tempest which caused its ruin in king Edward I.'s reign, as mentioned before, it is said to have been divided into twelve wards, and to have had in it five parish churches, a priory, and an hospital for the sick. But when the river, by so tremendous a convulsion of nature, which not only destroyed men and cattle, but whole towns and villages, had been driven from its proper channel, and its antient mouth here being stopped up, had opened for itself a nearer passage into the sea by Rye, then the sea began to withdraw itself from this town, which afterwards decayed apace, insomuch, that in king Henry VIII.'s reign the sea was two miles distant from it, and there was only one parish church remaining, and that scarce well maintained. Leland, who wrote his Itinerary in that reign, says, "Rumeney is one of the v portes, and hath bene a netely good haven, yn so much that withyn remembrance of men shyppes have cum hard up to the towne and cast ancres yn one of the church yardes. The se ys now a ii myles fro the towne so sore therby now decayed that where ther wher iii great paroches and chirches sumtyme, is now scant one wel mayteined."
There were certainly four other parish churches besides the present one of St. Nicholas, as will be further mentioned hereafter, to which, on the decay of the others about the beginning of king Henry VIII.'s reign, the parishes belonging to them were, united and made one parish, as at this time. The town stands rather higher than the neighbouring country, on a soil of gravel and sand. There are about one hundred houses in it, which are mostly modern, neatly built of brick, and sashed, and about five hundred inhabitants. It consists principally of one very wide street, well paved, running the whole length of it, and a cross street, in that part of which leading to the church stands the hall, or brotherhood-house, where the mayor, jurats, and commons of the cinque ports and two antient towns usually keep their court, called a brotherhood, of late newly built in a handsome manner, but not large enough to hold the several members to sit there with them in their court, called a guestling, which is therefore kept in the church, usually on the Tuesday after the feast of St. Margaret, being the 20th of July. In the midst of the high-street is the market-place, a neat modern building, the market being kept here weekly on a Saturday; and there is a fair held yearly on the feast of St. Laurence, now, by the alteration of the stile, on August 21. There is an establishment of the customs here, under the out-port of Dover. On the east side of the town is a large common, of about three quarters of a mile in length, called Romney Warren, belonging to the corporation, the soil of which is a deep sand, and the surface of it exceedingly uneven, and thrown up in that form, as to induce us to believe the whole of it was once covered at times by the sea, and then deserted by that inconstant element. It consists of four hundred acres of land. The rest of the grounds round the town are an entire flat of marshes, very fertile; and those on the south side especialy, have a plain appearance of having been left by the sea, and since inclosed and made pasture ground of.
THE CINQUE PORTS were in very early times enfranchised with divers privileges and customs, though of what antiquity they were, or when enfranchised, has not as yet been with any certainty discovered; and therefore; they are held to enjoy all their earliest liberties and privileges as, time out of mind, by prescription, and these were confirmed to them and their members by magna charta, by the stile of, barons of the cinque ports; and again by one general charter of king Edward I. which by inspeximus received confirmation, and sometimes additions from most of the succeeding kings and queens of this realm. New Romney being one of the cinque ports, became thus a corporation by prescription, and in Edward III.'s time was incorporated, by the stile of barons of the town and port of New Romeny; afterwards by that of jurats and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney; and lastly, by queen Elizabeth, who by her letters patent, in her 5th year, anno 1562, again incorporated this town, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonaltie of the town and port of New Romney, and she by the same letters patent ratified all the privileges which they had enjoyed in the reign of king Edward the Confessor, or any other since. And likewise granted to them the soil of the river Rother, from the entrance of its haven here to Redhill beyond Apledore. The members mentioned in this charter, being a mayor, five jurats, and twentysix freemen, or commoners. But the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, were in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Colonel Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and were never returned again. By the above-mentioned charter of queen Elizabeth, the corporation is governed at this time. It consists at present of a mayor, ten jurats, (the mayor being one) and fifteen commoners or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Lady-day, March 25th, yearly, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of the record, the same as at Dover; and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of two maces. The arms of this town and port are, Azure, three lions passant-guardant, in pale, or.
The cinque ports, as well as their two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, have each of them the privilege of returning members, usually stiled barons, to parliament; the first returns of which, that are mentioned for any of them, are in the 42d year of king Edward III.
Charities.
MARGREAT, daughter of James Boyes, late wife of William Swan, of St. Nicholas in New Romney, by her will anno 1502, gave every year perpetual, a thousand billets, against Christmas, to be delivered among poor people. to be paid out of her principal messuage, in which the then dwelt, by the possessors of it for ever.
ADRIAN MARDEN, of the town and port of New Romney. by his will in 1554, devised his smiths shop or forge, with the garden adjoining, to the use and intent that there should yearly for ever, be distributed among the poor people of the town, in the presence of the bailiffs, jurats, and churchwardens, the yearly rent of the premises, the reparations thereof being first deducted; and in default of such distribution, or reparation, then he gave the premises to the bailiffs, &c. their successors and assigns, for ever, for the like intent and uses.
ROBERT DODD, of Lid, by his will in 1570, gave his barn and lands in the town of New Romney, to be by the mayor and three of the jurats put to farm yearly for ever, the money thereof to be bestowed upon the reparations of the church of New Romney.
JOHN SOUTHLAND, gent. of New Romney, by his will in 1610, gave all his houses, lands, and tenements, to his executor Thomas Broadnax, of Godmersham, his son-in-law, upon condition that he should make over by due course of law, to remain and continue for ever, the house wherein his schoolmaster then dwelt, and all his houses and lands in the parishes of Harrietsham, Ulcombe, and Smarden, to the only use of a schoolmaster, and the relief of two couple of poor folk, and the said houses and lands his said executor should make a body politique and incorporate, for ever to endure, for their maintenance; the schoolmaster to pay out of those lands to the poor folk, 5l. by half-yearly payments clearly, and to the churchwardens of St. Nicholas, in New Romney, 5l. by like half-yearly payments to the reparations of the church for ever; and he ordered that the schoolmaster should keep the reparations of the houses and the closures, and should teach from time to time two poor children to write and read the English tongue, and cast accoumpt, until they should come to the age of 14 years clearly; and that the poor folk and poor children should be placed and displaced by the mayor from time to time; the schoolmaster to be a scholar of Oxford or Cambridge, sufficient to teach the Latin tougue as well as the English.
This hospital and school-house is situated in St. Nicholas. and is made use of for the residence of the schoolmaster, now called the governor, and the four poor folk. It was incorporated anno 30 Elizabeth. The estates left for the support of it consist of 30 acres of land and 18 acres of wood in Smarden, and one tenement with 51 acres of land in Harrietsham, and one other tenement and 12 acres of land in Ulcombe. The Rev. William Wing Fowle, A. M. of New Romney, is now governor or schoolmaster of it.
THOMAS BAKER, by his will in 1728, gave for the benefit of the four poor persons living in Southlands hospital, to be paid half yearly for ever, the rents of 20 acres of land in Ivychurch, now of the annual product of 25l. which is given away by the mayor and jurats. Likewise 5l. per annum, being part of an annuity of IIl. per annum, out of lands formerly belonging to Epps, but now of the widow Coates, lying in Old and New Romney and Midley, to be given yearly on the 14th day of October, for the benefit of poor persons, so estimated by the mayor and jurats; the same being annually distributed by the mayor of New Romney for the time being.
The poor constantly maintained are about fifty-four.
NEW ROMNEY is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the bishop. It is very large and handsome, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a square tower, with four pinnacles on it, at the west end, in which hang eight bells. The church is antient, the pillars between the isles being very large, with circular arches and Saxon ornaments. The tower at the west end seems still more so, having several ranges of small circular arches on the sides, and at the bottom is a circular arch, over a door-way, with zig-zag ornaments. The stone pinnacles on the top are of unequal sizes. On the roof is a stone work, of an octagon form, carried up a few feet only, seemingly for the purpose of continuing a spire of the same form on it. The inside of the church is fitted up exceedingly handsome and elegant. In the middle chancel, on the wainscot, on one side, are painted the arms of Furnese, with the hand of Ulster, impaling Broughe, and underneath Sir Henry Furnese beautified this chancel at his cost, and made the mayor and jurats seats, 1712. On the other side are the arms of Furnese impaling Balam, and underneath, Sir Robert Furnese, bart. combaron, completed the work of this chancel, begun by his fa ther Sir Henry Furnese, in 1713. Throughout the church and chancels are numerous monuments and memorials, mostly for those who have been mayors and jurats of the town, and their families, among which are those of Wilcocke, Martin, Wightwick, Mascall, Coates, Hassenden, Brett, Bassett, Pix, Baker, Cobbe, and Bachelor. In the middle chancel is a memorial for Arthur Kight, A. M. rector and vicar of Newchurch, obt. March 18, 1765. In the south chancel, a memorial for Joseph Philpot, gent. son of Joseph Philpot, of Worde, obt. 1768. A monument in the south chancel for Thomas Lancaster, obt. 1728, arms, Lancaster, argent, two bars, gules, on a canton of the second, a lion passant of the first . A like monument for Isaac Warguin, M. D. born in France, who fled from persecution to New Romney in 1689, where he practised physic, obt. 1725. In the north chancel is a fine tomb of Bethersden marble, with the figures in brass of a man and woman, and behind her of one daughter, for Thomas Smith, jurat, obt. 1610. A tomb of black marble for Thomas Tookey, gent. jurat, and once mayor and bailiff of Yarmouth, obt. 1653, arms at the east end, Tookey, a chevron engrailed, between three estoiles of six points , impaling ermine, on a chief dancette, three crowns . A stone, with a figure in brass, for Thomas Lambarde, of Romene, obt. 1514. Several memorials for the Tookeys. A memorial for Edward Goulstone, esq. sixth son of John, of Widdall, in Hertfordshire, esq. prothonotary of the king's bench, who married Joane, daughter and heir of Thomas Tookey, gent. of Romney; she afterwards married Mr. John Goulstone, late of Tutsham hall, who lies buried here. He died leaving Edward Goulstone, of Tutsham-hall, arms, Goulstone, two bars nebule, over them, on a bend, three balls . In the north isle, several memorials for the Normans, arms, A lion rampant; and for the Durants, arms, Argent, on a cross, gules, five fleurs de lis, or. A stone, with an inscription in brass, the figure gone, for William Holyngbroke, obt. 1375, arms, A chevron, between three estoiles; and several memorials for the Wilsons.
When this town was in its most flourishing state, there were four other parish churches in it besides the present one of St. Nicholas, named St. Laurence, St. Martin, St. John, and St. Michael, all which there is frequent mention of in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. The last of them I find mentioned in wills in the beginning of Henry VIII.'s reign, and the three former as late as the 25th year of it, but before the end of that reign they seem to have been all disused, and the present one of St. Nicholas to have been the only one in use, and to have been accounted the only parochial church of this town and parish of New Romney. Besides the church-yard adjoining to St. Nicholas's church, there are five others belonging to it, viz. that of St. Laurence, in Mr. Russell's land, and of St. Michael in the Hardres land, both near Old Romney; of St. John, St. Martin, and another of St. Laurence converted into a garden, all three in the town of New Romney. All which are now part of the glebe belonging to the vicar of New Romney. The church of St. Nicholas seems to have had some pre-eminence over the others; for though mention is made in the several wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, of the other churches, their church-yards, and the parish priests and curates of them, yet the several vicars of this church are always stiled in them, from the year 1458 downwards, vicars of New Romney, without any other distinction.
The church of St. Nicholas, of New Romney, was antiently part of the possessions of the abbot and convent of Pontiniac, in France, who had a cell or priory here, to which abbey this church was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. anno 1384, at which time the church appropriate was valued at twenty pounds perannum, and the vicarage, among the small benefices not taxed to the tenth, at four pounds. On the suppression of the above abbey, among the rest of the alien priories, in the 2d year of Henry V. anno 1414, this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, came into the hands of the crown, where it remained till Henry VI. on the petition of archbishop Chicheley, in his 17th year, settled it on the warden and fellows of All Souls college, in Oxford, with whom the parsonage appropriate, and the advowson of the vicarage, still remain.
It appears by the valuation in the king's books, taken anno 26 Henry VIII. that the several parishes before-mentioned in this town, had been before then united to the mother church of St. Nicholas, which was at that time the only parish in it, and that the churches of St. Martin and St. Laurence were accounted but as chapels of ease to it. The vicarage of St. Nicholas, with those chapels, is valued in them at 6l. 16s. 3d. and the yearly tenths at 13s. 7½d. In 1588 it was valued at ninety pounds, communicants three hundred and sixty-one. In 1640, at 105l. the like number of communicants The parsonage is usually demised by the college of All Souls to the vicar for the time being, at the yearly rent of seven pounds, which is nearly the full annual produce of it. There are seven acres of glebe land.
The vicarage of New Romney was endowed by archbishop Arundel, in 1402, and a competent portion assigned to the vicar for his maintenance.
¶There were formerly continual controversies between the vicars of New Romney and their parishioners, concerning the payment of tithes in kind, and especially for setting aside the custom for the payment of two-pence an acre in money, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage in kind, other tithes being paid by composition at such rates as could be agreed on; and two suits were commenced in particular, by Knight, vicar, against Brett and Clark, on the same custom, the former in 1637, and the latter in 1640, at the king's bench bar. In the first of which, the jury gave their verdict against the vicar, and in the latter he was nonsuited; but the custom in the latter trial was so plainly proved, that it has been uniformly acquiesced in by the vicars to the present time.
Smoked Haddock
Ylajali
Oslo, Norway
(March 8, 2014)
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Fraserburgh is a 45 minute drive from my home in Aberdeen , a fishing port that I believe is the No1 in the UK .
I revisited today Saturday 23/02/2019 .
A fishing town in the north-east is to be highlighted in a new six-part TV series.
Fish Town, which starts tonight on BBC One, will showcase Peterhead and trawlers from Fraserburgh, the UK’s biggest fishing ports, and is narrated by Game of Thrones star James Cosmo.
In the first episode, fishing boat Reliance, skippered by John Clarke, heads to a fishing ground off the Shetland Isles in search of whitefish and prawns.
John is joined by his son David, who harbours dreams of one day taking over as skipper.
It will also follow the crew of another Peterhead boat, the Ocean Endeavour, who head out to the UK’s most remote fishing grounds, Rockall, in search of haddock.
Skipper John Buchan features in the episode helping rookie fisherman 18-year-old Nathan Foreman on his first trip on a deep sea trawler.
The new series won’t just focus on the people out at sea, as it also follows 25-year-old fish merchant Jason Jack at the new Peterhead fish market.
He is seen competing with 10 other buyers for the morning’s finest fish.
Jason, who has worked in his family’s company G&J Jack Seafoods since he was 15 years old, said the arrival of cameras didn’t put him off in his high-pressure job.
Jason said: “The filming took place last year and was good fun. It was nice to show someone who doesn’t have a clue about our industry what we have to go through every day.
“I’m a bit nervous now about being on TV – I think I might get some stick from people at the fish market.
“I was on the clip for around 10 seconds and I had people texting me that they had seen my face and I had to tell them I was actually in the programme.
“Even just seeing the clip of me carrying the fish and smiling, my face was going bright red.”
Jason, who buys and sells fish all across the continent, said he hoped the new series would bring an increase in sales.
He said: “I think the series will give people a better understanding of the industry.
“With our type of business, we are not serving as many English and Scottish orders as we used to. I’d like to do more in the UK.
“With the new series it might make people pay more attention on how good our fish is and people will buy fish off us again.
“We speak to a lot of our customers on the phone every day and by email and this might help them put a face to the name.”
Fraserburgh Harbour is situated in Aberdeenshire in the North East corner of Scotland and is ideally positioned for the fishing grounds of the North and East of Scotland, as well as being in close proximity to the North Sea oil and gas fields and the emerging offshore renewables market. The location also makes it well placed for trade with Scandinavia and the Baltic sea ports.
Within the port we cater and provide facilities for:
Safe Berthing with a 24 hour advisory service
Fishing, Cargo, Oil Related, Offshore Renewables and Ship Repair
Fuel, water, electricity, Stevedores available as required
Extensive local supply chain
Haulage - UK and Worldwide
Fraserburgh is a 45 minute drive from my home in Aberdeen , a fishing port that I believe is the No1 in the UK .
I revisited today Saturday 23/02/2019 .
A fishing town in the north-east is to be highlighted in a new six-part TV series.
Fish Town, which starts tonight on BBC One, will showcase Peterhead and trawlers from Fraserburgh, the UK’s biggest fishing ports, and is narrated by Game of Thrones star James Cosmo.
In the first episode, fishing boat Reliance, skippered by John Clarke, heads to a fishing ground off the Shetland Isles in search of whitefish and prawns.
John is joined by his son David, who harbours dreams of one day taking over as skipper.
It will also follow the crew of another Peterhead boat, the Ocean Endeavour, who head out to the UK’s most remote fishing grounds, Rockall, in search of haddock.
Skipper John Buchan features in the episode helping rookie fisherman 18-year-old Nathan Foreman on his first trip on a deep sea trawler.
The new series won’t just focus on the people out at sea, as it also follows 25-year-old fish merchant Jason Jack at the new Peterhead fish market.
He is seen competing with 10 other buyers for the morning’s finest fish.
Jason, who has worked in his family’s company G&J Jack Seafoods since he was 15 years old, said the arrival of cameras didn’t put him off in his high-pressure job.
Jason said: “The filming took place last year and was good fun. It was nice to show someone who doesn’t have a clue about our industry what we have to go through every day.
“I’m a bit nervous now about being on TV – I think I might get some stick from people at the fish market.
“I was on the clip for around 10 seconds and I had people texting me that they had seen my face and I had to tell them I was actually in the programme.
“Even just seeing the clip of me carrying the fish and smiling, my face was going bright red.”
Jason, who buys and sells fish all across the continent, said he hoped the new series would bring an increase in sales.
He said: “I think the series will give people a better understanding of the industry.
“With our type of business, we are not serving as many English and Scottish orders as we used to. I’d like to do more in the UK.
“With the new series it might make people pay more attention on how good our fish is and people will buy fish off us again.
“We speak to a lot of our customers on the phone every day and by email and this might help them put a face to the name.”
Fraserburgh Harbour is situated in Aberdeenshire in the North East corner of Scotland and is ideally positioned for the fishing grounds of the North and East of Scotland, as well as being in close proximity to the North Sea oil and gas fields and the emerging offshore renewables market. The location also makes it well placed for trade with Scandinavia and the Baltic sea ports.
Within the port we cater and provide facilities for:
Safe Berthing with a 24 hour advisory service
Fishing, Cargo, Oil Related, Offshore Renewables and Ship Repair
Fuel, water, electricity, Stevedores available as required
Extensive local supply chain
Haulage - UK and Worldwide