Sentinel hythe 5 january 2017 in a5

Hythe

Your magazine January 2017

This newsletter is compiled and edited by David Cowell who is totally responsible for content.

If you do not wish to receive these newsletters please email UNSUBSCRIBE to him at david@davidcowell.net

2017

Support your local Farmers' Markets

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31 Farmers Market

Art and Craft Market

Great range of bread, pies, biscuits, fruit & veg, meat, eggs, cheese and charcuterie, fish, cakes and quiches, preserves and chutneys and confectionery (stall holders may vary between markets).

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Shop Local. www.sandgatebusiness.org.uk

Sandgate Library is open Monday to Saturday 9:30am - 1:00pm (closed Wednesday) For more information call 01303 248563 (mornings only) Sandgate Library, James Morris Court, Sandgate High St. CT20 3RR

A

r ou y r fo y e r t da dia

July 21 - July 23 CT21 5AS Hythe

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If you have any photographs of the area either current or past do send them to me by email and I will feature them in future editions.

If you just have prints do drop them round to Clyme House (see back page) and I will scan.

I am delighted to inform you that three electronic editions of The Sentinel are now published. We now produce a Sandgate, Hythe and a Newington version each month.

If you would like to receive a copy of any please email me at: david@davidcowell.net and put the name of the version you require ie The Sentinel Hythe or The Sentinel Sandgate/Hythe etc in the subject line.

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The Historic Houses Association (HHA) represents over 1,640 of the UK's privately and charitably owned historic houses, castles and gardens. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II*, and are often outstanding. Many are considered to be iconic symbols of Britain's unique heritage.

Around 500 of these properties open their doors to visitors for days out, special tours, school visits, film locations, weddings and events, or as memorable places to stay. 24 million people a year visit HHA Member properties and there are over 45,000 Friends of the HHA. Members range from iconic stately homes such as Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle, Castle Howard, Knebworth House, Longleat and Burghley House, to more intimate houses such as Traquair in Scotland, Treowen in Wales and Belle Isle in Northern Ireland. Most are still private family homes.

The Association was established in 1973 to help owners conserve these wonderful places in the interests of the nation and carries out important lobbying, advisory and marketing work on behalf of Member properties.

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From its heyday as a Victorian seaside resort to its role as a major departure point for cross-channel ferries, Folkestone has a proud and distinctive identity. This extraordinary history is embodied in the buildings that have shaped the town.

Folkestone in 50 Buildings explores the history of this rich and vibrant community through a selection of its greatest architectural treasures. From the magnificent century-old Grand Hotel to the stunning new Rocksalt Restaurant, part of the ongoing regeneration of its famous seafront and harbour, this unique study celebrates the town's architectural heritage in a new and accessible way. Well-known local author Paul Harris guides the reader on a tour of the city’s historic buildings and modern architectural marvels.

Due out on the 15th November. Click on photograph to visit the publisher's website.

To advertise in three The Sentinels with circa 2300 targetted readers and growing please email me at:

No job too small

david@davidcowell.net

Please call to discuss your needs

for a rate card.

Thank you.

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

FOLKESTONE QUAKERS MEET IN SANDGATE We gather at

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH HALL on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month at 10.30am Anyone is welcome to join us.

A Quaker Meeting for Worship is very simple and may be just what you need. It is a coming together in silence in which we ponder the deep issues of life without the constraints of pre-fixed beliefs. Anyone can share a heartfelt thought in the meeting. We don’t answer it or discuss it - we just receive it. In some meetings no-one speaks at all. The meeting ends with handshake and chat over coffee or tea.

We also hold house discussion groups and monthly social coffee chats.

Quakers have always been prepared to speak out on social issues and act on their convictions, resulting in the practical and social action that we have been known for over the years. www.eastkentquakers.org.uk

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Princes Parade, and what it means to me

by Maria Cross I’m a regular jogger, but on days when I feel my enthusiasm waning I think of Princes Parade and get my running shoes on.

I’m not a great runner; I can go quite far but not very fast. You could call it a shuffle. I don’t mind the odd, good-humoured comment from passers-by about my lack of pace. I like a bit of banter.

My route takes me alongside the Royal Military Canal from Cannongate, as far as the BP garage and back along the seafront as far as the Imperial.

Then I take a right and head back to the canal. On a good day I’ll turn left and follow the canal path as far as the Tin Tabernacle, or even Sainsbury’s, before turning back and heading home.

There are occasional variations to this scenic route, but the highlight is always Princes Parade. Here, along the grassy bank of this semiwilderness, I sense a change of tempo, the silent creep of nature, and I feel a connection to it. I observe it, and it observes me back. Attune your senses and you will notice that the mood changes as the day unfolds, from the magic of the early morning stillness to the cheeriness of the afternoon dog walkers and their shy salutations. People always greet you along Princes Parade. After dark, the Parade is best left to itself, for who knows what night creatures emerge to stalk the land, if only in our imaginations. It is only leased to we mortals during daylight hours.

I arrived in Hythe nearly four years ago, by accident. Friends planned to move to Sandgate and wanted my husband’s opinion on a property, so down we went from Hertfordshire, mainly just for the jolly. We liked Sandgate, but it was Hythe that caught my eye, and my heart. Next thing we know, we’re putting our house up for sale and scouting about for somewhere to buy. It was like discovering a secret location known only to initiates, and we were in on the secret. The gentle coastline fringed by the promenade, with its welcome dearth of entertainment venues. The summer roller-skaters who weave around joggers, who weave around prams and dogs… the walkers arm-in-arm. The glittering sea to the south; the church on the hill to the north.

But for me, more than anything, the Royal Military Canal. Where else will you find a canal running parallel to the shore, serving no particular purpose other than to enrich our lives? That exists just for the pure joy of it, and in places looks more like a river snaking through an ancient wilderness than a man-made canal in a built-up area? True, it was originally constructed to 7

continued on page 18

The Folkestone and Hythe Branch of Cats' Protection is pleased to announce the reopening of their shop in Hythe (139a High Street) on Saturday, 21st January, after some recent refurbishment work. The shop celebrated its Tenth Anniversary last year and has been extremely successful since its opening, with sales increasing year on year! The charity is extremely grateful for the loyalty of the customers who regularly donate and purchase goods from the shop. The much-needed refurbishment will provide improved facilities for customers and also the volunteers who work there - many of whom give many hours of their time.

www.folkestonehythe.cats.org.uk

01303 237744

https://www.facebook.com I am researching the history of Tynwald House in Hillside Street Hythe and would be most grateful if you could pass on anything you may know about the property. It is now a residential home for the elderly but has been a private dwelling in the past with owners such as Admiral Hall-Thomson and Charles Dynely Twopeny who was Mayor of Hythe between 1919-1922.

Thank you. david@davidcowell.net

Natural Solutions Helen Venner ~ Advanced Reflexologist 07935 978955 Naturalsolutions.hv@gmail.com 8

The essential guide to extending your home - the first of a series of articles The New Year is traditionally a time for making resolutions or planning lifestyle changes. Sometimes those changes include home extensions – perhaps you have outgrown your available space, or become aware that the space available is not being used to its maximum potential.

Of course, the other option is to simply move home, but this can be a highly disruptive and expensive option, especially if you happen to like where you live. In which case, why not look at your existing living space and see if this can be improved or extended in some way, to give you what you need?

Sometimes the smallest reconfiguration can transform the way you live.

Using an architect If you decide to extend your home, for whatever reason, you’ll want to be sure the end result has that “WOW” factor. This means enlisting the services of someone who is able to interpret your ideas using good design vision. With that vision and imagination you can add value and style to your project. In the long term this can maximise your investment, be economic to implement, and, of course, bring years of stylish, comfortable living. An architect can help create this transformation, as well as provide all the necessary know-how to help secure the relevant approvals and consents. An architect can also assist with the selection of suitable builders and other consultants for your project.

It pays to employ a professional who has the knowledge and experience to make your budget stretch further and add value to your home. And getting the right architect on board from the start is crucial to the smooth running of your project. However, before you embark on finding the right architect for you, your first step should be to put together your ideas by making a ‘mood’ board or file from magazine images, scouring websites such as Houzz and Pinterest, and establishing a realistic budget and timescale. By creating a wish list for your project you will be able to focus on what you want to achieve.

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Your next step is to draw up a detailed brief in order to give your architect clear direction. Imagine how you will use the space now, but also think about your future needs. Considerations include home-working, entertainment space and growing families. Perhaps you need to consider the needs of an elderly or disabled family member. A good architect will develop your requirements into a design that also reflects your aspirations, and will provide you with a home that suits your lifestyle and improves your quality of life.

Different architects have different fee structures. Always be clear about what you are expected to pay, and what you can expect to receive. Some architects offer a full service, from initial design to finished product, whereas others offer a pay-as-you-go service. An architect’s services can range from sharing ideas at the outset and preparing sketches and drawings, to obtaining all regulatory approvals and project-managing the construction phase.

An architect’s fee need not be expensive, especially when you consider how the expertise they bring outweighs the expense, and will frequently be offset by the value added to your house.

When choosing an architect, talk to friends and neighbours about work they’ve had done, get recommendations and visit as many of the prospective architect’s projects as possible. Ask lots of questions, request client references and don’t be afraid to be a little pushy. Your project is a large investment, so you want to get it right from the start. If you’re not sure where to begin, kick start your search with one of the UK’s leading professional bodies, such as the RIBA. (See below for details.)

Have a look also at the Home Owners Alliance website for all up-to-date guidelines on the full process.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Tel: 020 7580 5533 The British Institute of Interior Design Tel: 020 7628 0255 In future articles I will explain how to plan your project, including the planning approval process; the difference between planning and building regulations approvals; how to work out your budget; money saving tips; planning a garden room; loft extension or garage conversion. More information appears on my website.

If you have any questions I will endeavour to answer them in next month's edition.

PETER CROSS RIBA 10

I, Daniel Blake Thu 26 Jan at 19:30 Daniel Blake has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie's only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn't know, some 300 miles away.

1h 40m/Cert 15

Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man's land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of 'striver and skiver' in modern day Britain.

Directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty and winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2016. “blunt, dignified and brutally moving” The Guardian “an immediate classic” The Times 11

Ticket prices [Friends] Saturday 29 April 7.30pm £12 [£10] Saturday 25 February 7.30pm Daniel Cook (Sub-Organist £15 [£13] Westminster Abbey) The Darius Brubeck Quartet: Guilmant – March on a theme of Handel Darius (son of Dave) Brubeck Stanford – Sonata No 2, Op 151 (piano), Matt Ridley (bass), Wesley Duruflé – Prélude et Fugue sue le nom Gibbens (drums), Dave O’Higgins d’Alain, Op 7 (saxophone). Original music and Widor – Symphonie VI, Op 42 No 1 jazz standards in addition to Dave Brubeck compositions that blend with Thursday 11 May 12 noon [L] £7 [£6] special choral performance by Robert Drury ‘Guitarra Romantica’ Shepway Singers of Dave Brubeck’s – Four New England Pieces Saturday 10 June 7.30pm £21 & £15 Primavera Chamber Ensemble Saturday 11 March 7.30pm £12 [£10] Mozart – Flute Quartet in C, K285b James Short (Organ Scholar, St Haydn – Symphony No 101 in D Leonard’s Church). Works by ‘Clock’ arr. Salomon Brahms – Piano Bruhns, Bach, Couperin, Elgar, Quintet in F minor, Op 35 Reger, Vierne Thursday 22 June 12 noon [L] £7 [£6] Saturday 8 April 7.30pm £15 [£13] Just2 Harp Duo: Karina & Adel Dominic Alldis Trio: Dominic Alldis Wilson (piano), Andrew Cleyndert (double Internationally acclaimed awardbass), Martin France (drums). Jazz winning harp duo, play variety of arrangements of classical themes, music to include traditional, classical, folk songs, American Scottish, contemporary and jazz songbook and original compositions Saturday 24 June 5.00pm £7 [£6] Saturday 22 April 7.30pm £12 [£10] Verano Quintet: Ben Uden, Richard ‘Fiddle and Faff’: Christine Adams Williams, Phillip Scott Moore, & Lissie Bayford. Traditional and Adam Young (guitarists) & own songs with accompaniments on Emmanuel Webb (violin) Awardviolin, double bass, accordion and winning local young musicians nyckelharpa perform exciting repertoire from South America, Spain and elsewhere Light lunches available in church after lunchtime concerts indicated by [L].

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FINDING EANSWYTHE: the LIFE and AFTERLIFE of an ANGLO-SAXON SAINT

The project is about a nationally important heritage connected with the life and times of Eanswythe, a young Anglo-Saxon princess, daughter of the Kentish King Eadbald. Who is believed to have founded the one of the first minsters in England, on a Folkestone headland now ‘The Bayle’ as early as AD 630. Eanswythe is Folkestone’s patron saint but her history and significance are not widely remembered or understood. The Finding Eanswythe project aims to work with the people of Folkestone and beyond to use the latest forms of research and thinking about the past to discover more about Eanswythe and the fascinating heritage that surrounds her KEVIN Plastering & Building Services Painting & Decorating Wall & Floor Tiling All aspects of building work undertaken Kevin 07948045255 Free Estimates

Fully 13

I've been reading all the comments regarding Crundens leaving Hythe.....

I have been part of the team for 8 years and loved every minute of it!! I've met some great people in Hythe, so much so I've decided I would like to continue, I will be delivering fruit/veg boxes to your door.

If anyone is interested, please call/email or find us on facebook: Usher's veg box.

Thank you for your support.

Paul Usher

0208 396 6696

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New season programme of films 7th February 2017

2nd May 2017

Pride

The Salt of the Earth

7th March 2017

6th June 2017

Raise the Red Lantern 4th April 2017

Tangerines 4th July 2017

Timbuktu

O Brother Where Art Thou

Where The Tin Tabernacle, Portland Road, Hythe, CT 21 6FL. Parking in council car parks (including at Aldi) is free after 6 pm, and there are often spaces alongside the canal. Full disabled access.

When 7.30 on the first Tuesday of the month, from October to July. Doors open 7.00.

Email: hythecommunitycinema@gmail.com

Entry ÂŁ5 on the door, or ÂŁ3 for Hythe Cinema Card holders.

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Phone: 01303 264914 or 01303 237227

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www.aridzonaawnings.co.uk For the finest German engineered awnings and glass rooms Installed by a Kent based family company.

Call Sam Ruddle for a free survey on 0330 6600949

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ward off that scoundrel Napoleon and scupper his plans for invasion, but happily it was never pressed into military service. So instead, it is our exclusive pleasure dome.

The canal passes through Princes Parade between Hythe and Seabrook, where it reaches its journey’s end. It is this oasis of wildness and green open space that is most striking, appearing as it does in an otherwise unremarkable residential area. The unspoilt nature of this space puts me in mind of the current movement to promote the nascent practice of rewilding. Much has been written recently about the benefits of rewilding parts of our rural landscape. Wikipedia describes this phenomenon as “Large-scale conservation aimed at restoring and protecting natural processes and core wilderness areas, providing connectivity between such areas, and protecting or reintroducing apex predators and keystone species”.

In a small way (and without the apex predators) Hythe and Seabrook have been rewilding this distinctive stretch of land since before the term was coined and made fashionable. According to the Kent Wildlife Trust, the Royal Military Canal is designated for its rare flora species, dragonflies, damselflies, grass snakes, common toads and foraging pipistrelle and Daubenton’s bats. Princes Parade in particular boasts maritime grassland and contains areas of ‘extremely rare’ wildlife habitat.

You, like me, may have failed to notice the finer detail, but who could fail to notice the residential swans of Princes Parade who take to their canalside nest every spring, later to display their offspring to an awestruck audience, transporting us fleetingly into our own David Attenborough documentary?

Princes Parade is the emerald jewel in the crown of Hythe and Seabrook, and is part of what distinguishes this region from Anytown UK. Without it we would be all the poorer. Shepway District Council in its haste to ‘develop’ the Parade has demonstrated a short-term vision that is blurred by pound signs. Once you pave paradise and put up a housing developing, that jewel is lost forever. Please don’t do it.

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This is an extract about Saltwood and Hythe from S. J. Mackie's A Descriptive and Historical Account of Folkestone and Its Neighbourhood published in 1883.

"The fiower that smiles to-day To-morrow dies; All that we wish to stay, Tempts and than flies.�

Shelley.

FEW things present a greater contrast than the uses to which old castles have been turned, in this our age, and the purposes for which they were built.

Where steel-clad knights and their armed attendants gathered at the clang of the trumpet, the farmer and ploughman watch the grunting pig or hissing goose, and throw a handful of grain to a chirping brood of chickens. On the ivy-mantled sides of the banquet-hall, from whence the sounds of boisterous mirth in ancient days rang while the walls echoed with rough revelry, the sentinel rook sits on his stony perch, and the owl silently blinks down from its niche on the village sawyer. Such has been the lot of many a noble building-such is the fate of Saltwood. The plough has superseded the sword, the soldier guard has been succeeded by the hay rick or wheat stack, and the horsemen by the cud-chewing cows. The cross-barred gate swings on its creaking hinges in the grove of the iron portcullis, and truant children scratch their hands with the brambles as they gather blackberries in the dry valley of the deep broad moat. A fortress is said by some authors to have stood on this spot in the days of the Romans ; but no traces of Roman works now remain, nor is there any authority for this opinion.

The erection of the original castle is attributed, with about equal reason, to Escus or Oisc, the king of Kent and son of the famous Hengist, at the end of the fifth century. lf so, in the Norman era it was enlarged and strengthened by Hugh de Montfort, whose grandson Robert, favouring the pretensions of Robert Curthose, lost this fortress, which, with his other possessions, passed into the hands of king Henry I. It was afterwards granted to Henry de Essex, baron of Raleigh, in Essex, constable of England, lord-warden of the Cinque Ports, and standard bearer to Henry II, whom he attended Wales, where, having by his cowardise on the battle field, in throwing down the royal standard and flying, caused the loss of the day to the English, he was charged with treason, and vanquished in solemn trial by battle at Reading, where, being 19

pardoned by the king, he became for the rest of his life a monk.

While possessed of this manor he is said to have frequently resided in the castle, which he rebuilt; and the seizure of it, on his disgrace, with the rest of his estates, by the king, was one of those complaints which archbishop Becket made against that monarch, as having, by so doing, violated the privileges of his see, in seizing a fief belonging to it. But though a compromise was entered into between them in 1170, and the king issued his writ from Ambois. in France, for the appointment of a jury of the knights of Saltwood, to inquire what lands and fees were then belonging to the archbishop and to restore them to him, yet this manor and castle remained in the hands of the crown until king John, on his accession, regave them to the see of Canterbury, from which time the latter became one of the palaces of the archbishops, who appointed a constable for the chief government of it under them.

In the register of St. Radegund’s abbey, Robert Ruifcn, one of the constahles, is mentioned as witness to a deed of the date of Edward I. The present castle is essentially Edwardian in character, having been entirely restored and repaired, and a beautiful park inclosed around it, by archbishop Courtenay of Canterbury. Some portions of older masonry exist, part of which may possibly be Norman. The central gatehouse is in excellent preservation, and supported on either side by two fine circular towers, the interiors of the halls and chambers being beautifully vaulted with stone. The country lass who, by the courtesy of the proprietor, conducts you over the habitable portion of the building, shows the room where the assassins of Thomas å Becket reposed and perfected their scheme the night before that prelate’s murder; it is as well, however, to caution the reader against the very apparent anachronism of this legend. The curtain wall is very strong, and defended by numerous towers and bastions.

Lambard, in his quaint way, has “a word or twaine" to say “of the honourable, or rather the pontificall dealing of William Courtenay, the archbishop and amplifier of this castle, who, taking offence that certain poor men, his tenants of the manor of Wingham, had brought him rent-hay and litter to Canterbury, not openly in cartes for his glorie as they were accustomed, but closely in sackes upon their horses as their abilitie would suffer, cited them to this his castle of Saltwood, and there, after that he had shewed him- selfe (adria iracundiorem) as hote as a toste with the matter, he first bound them by othe to obey his owne ordinaunce, and then injoined them for penance that they should each one march leisurely after the procession, bareheaded and barefooted, with a sack of hay or straw on his shoulder open at the mouth, so as the stuffe might appeare hanging out of the bag to all beholders.”

Archbishop Chicheley also resided here in the time of Henry V, and Edward II was a visitor in June 1326. The magnificence of this residence wus at last the cause of its 20

loss to the Church, and Archbishop Cranmer, by indenture duted March 2nd, 15110, conveyed the castle, with the park, lunds, and appurtenances, to king Henry V111 and his successors for ever. lt would be beyond the limits of this work to record all the minutiae of its history, and it will be quite sufficient to note, that having been successively held by Cromwell earl of Essex, Thomas Dudley earl of War\vick, and Edward Fiennes lord Clinton, it has passed through various other possessors to its present owner.

The church of Saltwood is distinct from the castle, from which it is about a quarter of a mile distant, and stands within the extensive grounds of the archdeacon Croft, under whose directions a few years since extensive repairs were made and several painted windows inserted. There are in it a few brasses and memorials, among which is a large slab of Bethersden marble, originally inlaid with the figure of a bishop or archbishop, but the outlines of the mitre are not sufli- ciently defined to say which. There is no record, however, of any such dignitary having been buried here.

Authors, with scarcely any exception, derive the name of Saltwood from the saltwood, de bosca salsa, as Hasted terms it, but which appears to me a very primitive and unmeaning explanation. The Rev. J. C. Jenkin, of Lyminge, suggested to me a much more probable solution of its origin, in the likelihood of its having been, from its position near the sea, a forest in which the wood was grown that was required in the manufacture of salt. Now, we know that at a very early period there were several salt pans on this immediate shore, and in the Domesday Survey we generally find a certain amount of wood noticed wherever mention is made of saltpans. As far as I have yet noticed there seems to be something like a proportion of pannage for three or six hogs to each salt-pan: for instance, at Folkestone there was a salt-pan of thirty pence and pannage for six hogs; at Bilsington, there were ten salt-pans of one hundred pence and pannage for fifty hogs; at Chislet, seven puns and pannage for one hundred and thirty hogs. These coincidences may, however, be only casual. In a deed of gift of king Ethelbert’s in 732, special permission is given to take wood for the preparation, that is, the drying of the salt, and, as the document bears so much on the point in question, I give it at length.

“In the name of the Lord God our Saviour Jesus Christ. There is a certain piece of land, being the fourth part of a plough-land near the river Limene, adapted for the preparation of salt, which I, Ethelbert, king of Kent, for a long time had lent to your predecessor. And you, as abbot presbyter, now for a long time have with my permission enjoyed the same concession. This piece of land of my own inheritance, not for any secular money, but only for the remedy of my soul, I so give and grant to you and to the church of St. Mary (at Liminge), over which your care presides, that from the present day and time it shall be in your power to hold and possess it as may seem fit to us, etc.

“Done the 20th of February, in the seventh year of our reign, in the fifteenth indiction, at Canterbury.

“And in addition to this donation made for the remedy of my soul, I grant every year twenty waggon loads qf wood for preparing salt. Also I give a. hundred acres of the 21

same district in the place called Sandtun, the boundaries of which are on the east the land of the king (ed: Lyminge was a royal manor), on the south, the river Limene, on the west and north Hudanfleot."

From Saltwood the ordinary road lends round by a small circuit to Hythe, but there is still a shorter footpath through the meadows, which is worthy of preference, were it only for the exquisite parting glance we get of the castle between the stems and branches of the fine trees under whose shadow the first portion of this route lies.

The pretty but dull town of Hythe is situated at the angle of the Romney Marsh, at the base and on the slopes of a fine limestone cliff, on the summit of which are extensive quarries, whence great quantities of' thc fine durable stone called Kentish rag, so much used in church building and in domestic architecture, are constantly obtained. The term hithe, in Saxon, signifies a harbour, and the town, which was made one of the Cinque Ports by William the Conqueror had to furnish its quota of five ships, one hundred and five men, and five boys, called gromets, towards their fleet.

The earliest notice we possess of the existence of this town, is the gift of Hythe and Saltwood, with all their appurtenances, A.D. 1036, by Haldon or Halfdon, one of the Saxon thanes, in the presence of king Canute, to Christ’s Church at Canterbury. It appears to have been held of the archbishop of Canterbury, by earl Godwin, and similarly after the conquest by Hugh de Montfort, at which period it was accounted only a borough appurtenant to the manor of Saltwood, according to the entry in the Book of Domesday, where it is said,” “to this manor (ie, Saltwood) belong two hundred and twenty-five burgesses in the borough of Hede. Between the borough and the manor, in the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth sixteen pounds; when he received it eight pounds, and now in the whole twenty-nine pounds and six shillings and four pence. Besides which there were six burgesses in Hythe belonging to the manor of Lyminge.

The archbishop anciently appointed the bailiff, who acted conjointly with the jurats and commonalty of the town; the senior jurat always sitting as president till the 31 Henry VIII, when the manor being exchanged with that king for other estates, the bailiff was appointed by the crown, and continued so until the 17 Elizabeth, in which year n particular charter of incorporation was granted, under tho title of the Mayor, Jurats, and Commonalty of tho Town and Port of Hythe.

The corporation seal represents an antique vessel, with one mast. In it are two men, one of whom is in the act of blowing a horn. Two others are lying on the yard arm, and in the sea are several fishes. Hythe is generally considered to have risen into prosperity on the decay of Lymne and West Hythe, and to have been a place of considerable dimensions. The ancient harbour was long and narrow, and extended 22

upwards of a mile along the shore towards Folkestone.

It was probably formed naturally by a “spit” or tongue of beach thrown off on the closing up of the estuary at Lympne, from the easternmost corner of the marsh. As early as the beginning of the sixteenth century it was reduced by the constant accumulation of sand and beach to a long narrow channel navigable only by ships of small size. Leland tells us, in his concise quaint style, that “Hythe hath bene a very great towne yn length, and conteyned iiii paroches that now be Please note: this illustration is not clean destroyed, that is to say, St. Nicholas paroche, in book our Lady paroche, St. Michael paroche, and our Lady of West Hithe, the which ys withyn less than half a myle of Lymne Hill. And yt may be well supposed, that after the haven of Lymne and the great old towne ther fayled, that Hithe strayt therby encresed and was yn price.

Finally, to count from West Hythe to the place wher the substance of the towne ys now, ys ii good miles yn length al along on the shore to which the se cam ful sumtyme, but now, by bankinge of woose and great castinge up of shyngel, the se ys sumtyme a quarter, sumtyme a myle fro the old shore (ed: In some of the deeds of the very old houses in Hythe, there are provisions made for the keeping up and repairing of certain fences and banks liable to destruction by the sea.)... In the tyme of king Edward II ther were burned by casualte xviii score houses and mo, and strayt ther followed a great pestilens; and thes ii things minished the towne. Ther remayn yet the ruines of the chyrchcs and chyrche yardes. It evidlently appereth that wher the parish church ys now was sumtyme a fayr abbey. Yn thc quire be fayre and many pylers of marble, and under the quier a very fair vault, also a faire olde dore of stone, by the which the religius folkes cam yn at mydnight. In the top of the chirche yard is a fayr spring, and thereby the ruines of houses of office of the abbey; and not far of was an hospital of a gentilman infected with lepre. The castel of Saltwood is not past halfe a myle of, and at this day Hithe is but a chapel perteining to Saltwood paroche. The haven is a pretty rode, and lieth meatly strayt for passage out of Boleyn. Yt croketh yn so by the shore along, and is so bakked fro the mayn se with casting up of shingel, that smaul shippes may cum up a large myle toward Folkestan as yn a sure gut.”

The next extract will be published in the February edition of the Hythe The Sentinel

23

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