Past
A History of Our Villages
- Introduction
- Genesis
- The Years 1000 to 1400
- Growth and Reform - 1400 to 1600
- The 17th & 18th Centuries
- Towards the Present Day
- Epilogue
Growth and Reform - 1400 to 1600
Henry V 1413 Henry VII 1485 Henry VI 1422 Henry VIII 1509 Edward IV 1461 Edward VI 1547 Edward V 1483 Mary I 1553 Richard III 1483 Elizabeth I 1558 It is worth noting that internationally there was at this time a new interest in education, medicine, democracy, the revival of Greek and Hebrew studies leading to new understandings in theology, art - this was the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo. It was a time of adventure - Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492 and Magellan began the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1519. It was a time for scientific advance: in 1512 Copernicus suggested that the Earth moved round the Sun and by 1590 W C’s had been installed in the Queen’s Palace at Richmond - very convenient! Tobacco reached England in 1565: I wonder how long it was before our villagers tried it out?
In the chancel of Sheldwich Church you can see a small, detailed brass to Joanna, wife of William Mareys who probably lived at Macknade. He was an esquire to the body of King Henry V. Joanna died in 1431 and her brass shows her wearing a shroud and holding a heart in her hands. A few years earlier in 1426 a very good brass was placed in the South chancel, showing a knight in armour and his wife. This was John Celey and Isobelle. John probably lived at Lees Court and was executor to the will of Dionisia, wife of Richard atte Lese.
A huge revolution began in literature after Caxton first printed a book in English in 1475. Caxton was born nearby in the Weald ‘where I doubt not is spoken as broad and rude English as any place in England.’ This technology had not been around when a hundred years earlier John Wycliffe and his friends translated the Bible from Latin into English, and every copy had to be made by hand. These cost him his life. The book was banned in 1408 but copies were still smuggled into England in bales of cloth and barrels of flour from Holland (landing at Faversham?). Church leaders burned all they could lay their hands on - how much harder it would have been to stop ordinary folk having their own Bibles to read in their own language if the Bible had been mechanically and cheaply printed in thousands!
It was also a time for war. Way back in 1337 a war had begun with France which was to drag on for 100 years. Our villagers, one way or another had to pay for it. It was 1415 when Henry V defeated the French at Agincourt. By 1586 it was the Spanish Armada which left for England but we were ready. Not least because on Perry Hill (and did you know Perry Hill was in Sheldwich until quite recently when parish boundaries were changed?) our villagers had built and manned a large signalling beacon - where ‘the pulpit’ now stands. These stretched from the South Coast to London, each being visible from the one either side. The most Southerly beacon sent the message that the Spanish had been sighted, Sheldwich passed it on when their turn came, and well within the hour they knew about it in London. Our forebears manned that signal station 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For the Armada threat Kent also had to provide 1,500 men, 9,000 pounds of gunpowder and 9,000 pounds of lead, with Faversham asked for 20 ships.
You can imagine how all these things affected people, even at village level. You might decide that in earlier times people were unable to break long held customs and beliefs because the society of which they were part had no access to other knowledge. This could not be true now, particularly so close to a busy port like Faversham.
One area where old ideologies were threatened and superseded was in the church. There was an urgent need for general reform which the church leadership had not delivered. Locally the situation was pathetic and it is amazing that the three churches managed to weather the storm and survive at all. These extracts from happenings in our parishes (and nearby) will no doubt put a smile on readers’ faces. The reports are contemporary.
SHELDWICH. Archbishop Warham visited the church in 1511 and noted that ’St Margaret’s chancel is decayed’. 1560’s. The church is indecent and the vicarage greatly decayed. The vicar has let his barn fall down and has removed the timbers. The vicar is not resident, tiles and glass are missing from the church. Richard Terry’s wife Margaret is vehemently suspected of witchcraft. 1572: No-one has received Communion from the vicar since Easter because he is thought to have some infection in his head or body, by reason of the strong breath and savour which procedeth from him, and parents stopped sending their children to him for instruction. The parishioners say ‘for that it is against our mind and stomach to receive and communicate with our vicar.’ 1575; there is a complaint about two minstrels, Thomas and Cyriak Mason, who persist in playing and encouraging dancing on the Sabbath, though they know it is against the law. One of the dancers had said ‘The pox on those who find fault with people who dance on Sabbath days.’
SELLING. 1561. Roger Bowcher seldom comes to church. 1578. There is a festering dispute between the vicar Stephen Trimwell who instructed Christopher Tillman to repair the churchyard for that the swine had broken up the graves. Tillman called Trimwell a common liar and said ‘he’s so used to lie that he can do nothing else’. The chalice was stolen and sold for 52 shillings. The vicar has slandered Thomas Pye by saying he has been caught with Richard Codwatt’s wife. 1612. Dispute about who sits where in church (where four illiterates carry on an argument eventually sorted in front of the vicar and an agreement ‘signed’ by them all.)
THROWLEY. 1577. There be two wives that be very contentious and uncharitable persons, seeking the vain vexation of their neighbours, scolderers, common swearers, and blasphemers of the name of God; that is to whit Joan Thurston ... and Katherine Nash. 1595. Three men have sold a bell without the churchwardens permission and no one knows how they are going to use the £21 so raised. 1611: an habitual drunkard behaves irreverently and offensively during he sermon and is ejected by a sidesman. 1613: glass is missing from the chapel windows. 1617: the roof of the church and porch letting in rain: churchgoers cross a plank in the porch to span the floods. A Faversham joiner has for some months used the church as a timber store.
LEAVELAND. 1579: Bartholemew Fryer is alleged to be ‘malicious, contentious and uncharitable, seeking the unjust reputation of his neighbours, and also suspected to be a fornicator and incestuous person, who has sought his filthy desire of the wife of Raynold Parkes divers times, as she has complained.’ 1592. Church neglected: no pulpit, no roof on the porch, no paving in parts of the church and chancel, the graveyard not enclosed. 1606: Still no pulpit, nor a chest for alms, not a pulpit cloth. The young wife of Mr Henry Roper has so far failed to attend church ... Is failing to receive communion ... Is a Popish Recusant, failing to come to church even for churching after the birth of her child.
BADLESMERE. 1569: householders 6, communicants 34. 1578. Only one sermon preached in 6 months. No cover for the communion cup. Curate will not wear the surplice because it is not good enough. 1579: the parish cannot afford to buy a surplice because it ‘hath but only two men of ability to do it or any else we are charged with.’ In 1580 the Archdeacon visited the church and ordered that the current pulpit arrangement should be built. He also ordered that on every Sunday and Holyday a note should be made of which parishioners failed to turn up, so they could be fined if they had no reasonable excuse. 1584: minister getting a surplice made. 1613: Parsonage house and stable burned to the ground, registers lost. 1616: the chapel which the farmer at Badlesmere Court should repair is very ruinous and noisome to our church. (In fact the side chapel fell down and was never rebuilt.)
Clearly there had been a big change in attitude from the time that villagers cared for and contributed to their church life and building. Had they been distracted by everything else which was going on? Was it due to inadequate or corrupt clergy? Had the experience of the plague left them doubting that God cared any more? Who knows - perhaps all these things played their part in bringing about this crisis. Certainly the church leaders had failed to deliver, and groups were looking for another way. Abroad, people like Martin Luther were saying that the heart of theology was to be found in the mouths of people like St Paul and the gospel writers, rather than the Pope. Luther was excommunicated, but the idea was free to work its power. If you could read the Bible for yourself, in your own language, in cheap copies provided by mechanical printing - then who needs clerics! At least you can find out what is true for yourself from the actual text of scripture and, because the Reformers were generally men of considerable intellect and scholarship, you could get help from their writing too. But there was great opposition from some quarters. Tyndale (1494 - 1536) produced a New Testament in English ‘so that the boy that driveth the plough’ could understand it: he was arrested and executed before he could finish the Old Testament. However the door had been opened for political change too and all over Europe kings began to oppose the papacy when it was in their own interest - everyone knows about Henry VIII in that respect!
The 1535 ‘Coverdale Bible’ printed in English was encouraged by Oliver Cromwell and in 1539 with Henry’s blessing The Great Bible was commanded to be in every church so that everyone could read it. The churches in our villages were changed for ever - not least physically with the removal of colour and ornament. Sheldwich lost its three rood screens, never to be replaced, and probably a statue of St James which would have stood in the little niche above the west doors facing the road. Selling must have had a warning because they took out the large East Window of stained glass and hid it inside the wall underneath, in pieces. During the church’s restoration about 150 years ago they were investigating cracks in the east wall when the treasure was rediscovered - so it stands today back in its place. There are two local stories about Cromwell which I have not been able to trace. The first is about the parish of Badlesmere & Leaveland. It is said that Cromwell’s men stole the church silver which was later found hidden in the woods. This too was returned to its proper use and, 400 years later we still drink Sunday by Sunday from that little chalice. I arranged for a couple of cracks in it to be repaired a few years ago, so it still passes from village hand to village hand, as it has for many generations. The second story is about a box shaped (chest) tomb in Sheldwich Churchyard under the East window. It has always been said that at least a couple of Cromwell’s soldiers are in there! In addition to their new Bibles, churches across the land received a Book of Common Prayer in the mid 1500’s and after its revision in 1662 that book remains in use today.
Whilst all this was happening, what was life like in the villages? We get some idea from the fact that the registers show there were 120 communicants in Sheldwich in 1587 - quite a growth and a large enough population to sustain varied trades and activities. Of course attendance at Holy Communion on certain days was compulsory so we can assume at least 120 adults, and the number was slowly growing. But it is clear that the next Century was to bring a significant upheaval in the lives of some of our village leaders. But all was not chaos. This was the period from which we have carefully written records of happenings in the villages. In the archives of Canterbury Cathedral - there for safety, ‘though we keep most transcripts of registers locally - you can consult the parish registers. Leaveland’s book starts in 1553, Badlesmere 1557 and Sheldwich 1558. Together they give a fascinating insight into life locally.
Other events which folk would remember from that period: 1415 when Henry V passed through locally on his way home from the Battle of Agincourt. 1516 to 1532, the villagers had additional distractions when every year the King’s Minstrels put on a performance in Faversham. 1519 Henry VIII, Queen Catherine and Cardinal Wolsey visited Faversham: Henry must have liked it because he popped back in 1545 and went home with two dozen capons, two dozen chickens and a load of cherries! - to return the following year with his Great Charter for Faversham. To get an idea of why it might have been worth the walk to see ‘the King pass by’ let me tell you that when Henry went in 1520 from Canterbury to Dover to meet his nephew from a boat, he had with him over 4,000 people, 1,700 horses, a ‘house’ of timber packed in 14 wagons and a tent of cloth of gold! In 1561 (about then) 400 years of gunpowder manufacture began in Faversham, bringing new employment to folk. 1572 Queen Elizabeth spent two nights in Faversham. 1574 saw Faversham Market Hall built, so villagers would go there to buy and sell every week. I wonder if they went to the town in 1590 when Lord Leicester’s Company of Players put on entertainment in Faversham (behind The Ship Inn?) - if so they saw a young actor called William Shakespeare - and many believe that the young bard may well have heard the fascinating tale of Faversham’s famous murder of its mayor, adding weight to the argument that Shakespeare wrote ‘Arden of Faversham’ (or to give it its full title ‘The Lamentable and True Tragedy of Mr Arden of Feversham who was most wickedly murdered by the means of his most wanton and disloyal wife, who, for the love she bore to one Mosbie, hired two desperate ruffians, Black Will and Shagbag to kill him.’
A favourite tale of mine, though not strictly about our villages, is from ‘down the road’ at Eastwell. In 1544 Sir Thomas Moyle was building Eastwell Manor using local labour: it is not impossible that villagers were involved in the work gangs. One old bricklayer went off by himself at break times and was discovered to be reading books in Latin! He had to tell his story to Sir Thomas. As a child he remembers being looked after not by a mother, but a loving ‘nurse’ who from time to time was visited by a well dressed man who gave her gold coins for his care and education. When he was a teenager an important man came with a horse for the youth and together they made a long ride North. They stopped at a place called Bosworth Field where the young man was summoned into the tent of King Richard III, who told the incredulous lad that he was his son! Tomorrow, said the King, I will fight a battle and you must watch from afar. If I win you will be publicly known as my son. If I am defeated you must hide because my enemies will try to kill you (remember the murder of the two young Princes in the Tower of London?). Richard lost his battle, young Richard (for that was his name) sold his horse and learned the masonry trade, finishing up at Eastwell. He was allowed to build a cottage in the grounds and live with his beloved books for the remainder of his life. He was buried in Eastwell Church. Sadly the church was hit by a V2 rocket in World War II and destroyed. But you can go to the ruined tower and nearby, unknown even to most locals you will see a simple tomb on which is inscribed ‘Richard Plantagenet.’ He could have been King of England!
It is clear that whatever was happening around them, our three villages sailed through stormy times and emerged with some grand new homes. During that period was added in the 15th Century Cobrahamsole Farmhouse, Copton Manor Barn, a new wing of Halke House, Stringman’s Farmhouse, Falcon Farmhouse, Leaveland Court, Oast Cottage at Newhouse, Newhouse Court: and in the 16th Century Little Lords, Waterditch Cottage, Yew Tree Cottage, The Manor House, The Stocks, Collington Farmhouse, 8 Ashford Road, Badlesmere Court, Halls Bottom Cottage, Beacon Hill House, Forge Cottage, Colleys Cottage, East View Badlesmere, The White House, Woods Court, Fisher Street Farmhouse, Newhouse Farmhouse and barns, Gosmere Farmhouse and barn, Yew Tree Cottage on Sheldwich Lees, Chambers Cottage and 1-3 Westwood Court.
Finally, before we leave this century we should perhaps mention an unusual happening in 1582. Pope Gregory 13th decided that the Calendar was wrong! In his revision of the Julian Calendar used up to that time, the Pope (just for that year) put things back on course by taking 13 days away from one month (so that, say one day was 4th and the next the 18th). All over the country villagers were in revolt because they believed they had been deprived of 13 days, stolen for ever! The village folk had to rewrite their agricultural year because times of sowing or reaping now fell on different dates. Incidentally 1580 saw another earthquake locally, though centred a little further South: there was a lot of damage at Ashford and Great Chart and part of Dover Cliff fell.
Finally some Tudor prices, translated into year 2.000 money: a bullock £2.25p, a male sheep 32p and a ewe 27p, a lamb 12p. A workman earned about 4p a day, a reaper 15p an acre, a common labourer up to 2p a day.
