History of Kent ... With original sketches and maps

Front matter

3>OVE£. CASTLE FROM THE I.EAL Road HISTOKY OF KENT. I'.V HENRY FRANCIS ABELL. With Original Sketches and Maps. ASHFOBD : KENTISH EXPRESS (IGGLESDEN AND CO.) LIMITED. 18 9 8. CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. I. Early Kent - - 1 II. Roman Kent - - - - - - 10 III. The Kingdom of Kent - - - -25 IV. Norman Kent 54 V. Plantagenet Kent - - - 68 VI. Tudor Kent ------ 139 VII. Stewart Kent - - - 206 VIII. Eighteenth Century Kent - - 273 IX. Later Kent - - 289 Appendix : A. Royal Kent - - 302 B. The Cinque Ports - - - 305 C. Travelling in Kent - - 310 D. Old Kent Cricket - - 311 Index - - - - o2o MoNkrorv STOCKS f" "t 0 presumptive a step as the publication of a A.® J new History of Kent when the ground has already been exploited by masterly hands demands an explanation. Until within quite recent years the orthodox County History consisted of a detailed account of the various parishes, abounding with such details as pedigrees, monumental epitaphs, biographies of local celebrities and others, and various statistics of very little interest to the general reader.

In the following pages I have endeavoured to paint the picture of by-gone Kent with a larger and a fuller brush, and I have carefully avoided all details which, however valuable per se, and however interesting to a few VI readers, do not appeal very strongly to the lover of Kent who is desirous of getting some idea of Kent's place in our national history —perhaps a more distinguished place than is occupied by any other county. To many sins of omission I may, therefore, in the eyes of some people have to plead guilty. Such sins of com mission as may be exposed will not at any rate have been caused by any want of thoroughness in my attempts to get at the truth, for I have personally visited almost every place in the county in the smallest degree associated with its history. The illustrations are from my own sketches made upon the spots represented, with four exceptions — the views of Cobham Hall and of the roof of Eltham Palace, which are copied from engravings, and the portraits of Alfred Mynn and Fuller Pilch, which are copied from lithographs at the Gate Inn, Leeds Castle.

The Map of Kent is the result of a careful examination of the opinions of acknowledged authorities on the subject, and of a personal investigation of the countiy. The Map of the Armada Beacons is copied, with a few alterations, from a Map in the British Museum, re-produced for the information of the AVar Office at the time of the Invasion scares at the beginning of the present century. My best thanks are due to Mr. Payne, Honorary Secretary of our Archæological Society, for help in the Chapter on Roman Kent ; to Mr. Knocker of Dover, Mr. Hughes of Sandwich, Mr. Bagshawe of Hastings, Messrs. Stringer and Stokes of Romney, for assistance in the Cinque Ports Appendix ; to Mr. Philip Martin for permission to make extracts from his book on the AVest Kent Cricket Club ; and to various anonymous helpers in other matters.