•
ABSTRACT OF PEOCEEDINGS, 1901.
The Annual Meeting commenced at Maidstone on Tuesday, the
30th of July 1901. The Preliminary Meeting for the despatch of
business was held in the ancient Palace by kindly permission of the
Trustees. The Earl Stanhope occupied the Chair, being supported
by J. J. Oliver, Esq., Mayor of Maidstone, and several Members of
the Council. After His "Worship had welcomed the Society to the
county town, the Honorary Secretary read the Forty-Fourth
Annual Eeport as follows:—
REPORT, 1901.
The Council has much satisfaction in presenting its Forty-Fourth Annual
Report, as the Society is still in a most flourishing condition, and many of its
more prominent members are steadily and continuously engaged in the great
work for whioh the Society was founded.
In assembling at Maidstone for the third time, after a lapse of nineteen years,
the Council feels confident that a very instructive and pleasant time will be
spent by those participating in the proceedings.
During the past twelve months several valued members have been removed
by death and other causes. A short time before our last meeting one of our
most distinguished archaeologists passed away in the person of the Rev. Francis
Haslewood, F.S.A., who was from the year 1874 a life member of our Society,
rendering valuable service at the meetings held at Cranbrook and Tenterden in
1873 and 1880. Mr. Haslewood contributed several Papers to our Arekceologia,
and also issued " Memorials of Smarden "; " The Parish of Chislet: its Monuments,
Vicars, and Parish Officers "; " The Parish of Benenden : its Monuments,
Vicars, and Persons of Note "; and lastly, " The Parish of Pluckley : Monumental
Inscriptions in the Church and Churchyard." From the curacy of
Benenden he was preferred by Lord Chancellor Selborne to the Rectory of
St. Matthew, Ipswich, in 1875. Two years later he became the Secretary of the
x l PROCEEDINGS, 1901.
Suffolk Institute of Archseology and Natural History, which office he held for
a period of ten years. Mr. Haslewood contributed nearly forty Papers to the
Suffolk Proceedings, and issued four illustrated works on the genealogy of the
various branches of his family. By his early death the Kent and Suffolk
Societies have lost an accomplished and faithful associate.
We have also to deplore the loss of Mr. Samuel Mercer, a member of the
well-known banking firm of Wigan, Mercer, Tasker and Co., at Maidstone.
Mr. Mercer was an original member of our Society, and served on the Council
from 1886 until his decease. He presided at the Council Meeting in March,
and was then elected on the Local Committee formed for the purpose of carrying
out the arrangements connected with this meeting ; it is therefore especially sad
that he was not spared to take part in this gathering, to which he was looking
forward with so much interest. Mr. Mercer was one of this Society's greatest
supporters, and was always ready to assist by subscribing to any special work
undertaken. His loss to us as a body, and to very many of us individually, is
great, but to the town of Maidstone it is irreparable. For a long period of years
no important scheme connected with the welfare of the county town was carried
out without his aid, the Museum especially receiving a large share of his support
and bounty. It is gratifying to know that the portrait of this good and useful
man was recently painted by subscription and found a fitting place in that
institution, together with other worthy men of whom Maidstone may feel justlyproud.
Mr. Gerard Norman of Bromley, who joined our ranks in 1886, we regret
to say is no longer with us. He was a member of a well-known family which
has been associated with our Society for a number of years, rendering it valuable
services at various times. Mr. Norman died only a few weeks ago. He was a
retired Indian civilian, and of late years was always present with Mrs. Norman
at our gatherings, and presided over us at the Annual Dinner at Bromley in
1899.
During the past year thirty-two new members have been added to our ranks,
while twenty-four await election at your hands to-day.
Since the last meeting the twenty-fourth volume of Archceologia Cantiana
has been issued. It is a valuable addition to our Transactions, and contains the
second part of Mr. Sfc. John Hope's learned and exhaustive treatise on " The
Architectural History of the Cathedral Church and Monastery of St. Andrew at
Rochester." The cost of this volume has beeu defrayed, leaving a balance at
the Bankers, inclusive of the deposit account, of £635 7s. 8d.
The Council has noted with much satisfaction the praiseworthy efforts of
Mr. E. D. Till of Eynsford, one of our members, in preserving the remaining
walls of Eynsford Castle. Mr. Till has not only purchased the lease of the
Castle, but has expended a large sum of money in buttressing the tottering walls
of the fabric. The same laudable desire to preserve the monuments of antiquity
in our county has prompted the Marquis Camden to carry out the sorely needed
reparation of the magnificent ruins of Bayham Abbey; and likewise Mr. Falche,
who has caused judicious repairs to be done at Allington Castle.
The Council embraces this opportunity of referring to the great public spirit
shevvu by Mr. F. S. W. Cornwallis, late M.P. for this Borough, in recently
PROCEEDINGS, 1901. xii
purchasing the ancient college at Maidstone at a cost of £3800, for the sole
purpose of preventing it being acquired for commercial uses or threatened with
destruction. Mr. Cornwallis has already received a special vote of thanks from
the Council in recognition of his liberal act of conservatism, which, however,
demands also the gratitude of all archaeologists throughout the country.
The Council is taking steps towards completing the inventory of " Kentish
Churoh Plate," commenced some years since by the late Canon Scott Robertson.
I t is hoped that the Rev. C. E. Woodruff, Rector of Otterden, who has kindly
undertaken to collect the returns, will receive tho prompt assistance of those
clergy with whom he has already communicated.
At the last meeting of the Council at the house of the Noble President iu
Grosvenor Place, a sum of £50 was unanimously voted towards the important
excavations now being carried on in St. Augustine's Field, Canterbury, and we
may anticipate that this liberal grant will help to enable the operators to reveal
matters of the highest historic interest.
In the last volume of our Archceologia a Paper was contributed by the Rev.
G. M. Livett on the remains of an Early-Norman building existing between the
west end of All Saints Church and the Palace at Maidstone. It is necessary to
draw the special attention of the trustees of the Palace to this, tbe earliest
masonry at present known to exist in the town. This we shall see to-day, and
all will regret that the time-honoured walls, which have stood there for eight
hundred years, should bo allowed to become a prey to that destructive enemy
the ivy. The utter annihilation of that deadly plant, and a little judicious
repair under the eye of an export, would ensure this valuable memorial of the
history of Maidstone being handed down to posterity intact for centuries yet
to come.
I t was moved by the Eev. A. J. Pearman, seconded by Cumberland
H. "Woodruff, Esq., F.S.A., and carried unanimously, "That
the Eeport as read be adopted."
I t was moved by the Eev. Dr. Haslewood, seconded by Eichard
Cooke, Esq., and carried, " That the retiring Auditors be re-elected
for the ensuing year."
I t was moved by Charles Cotton, Esq., F.E.C.P., seconded by
F . G-. Gribson, Esq., and carried, "That the six retiring Members of
Council be re-elected."
The following were then elected to membership : J. B.
Waltou, Esq., Mrs. Henry Kingsley, H . Strahan, Esq., A. Mapletoft
Curteis, Esq., Eev. E. J. E. Boggis, Eev. W. Cedric Thomas,
C. B. Hutchinson, Esq., J. H. Dover, Esq., J. Morris, Esq.,
E . Parkes, Esq., H. Hamilton, Esq., IT. Thompson, .Esq., A. E.
Lacy, Esq., E. Ballard, Esq., Jas. Barron, Esq., Lt.-Col. A. C.
Borton, Eev. W. Gr. Southey, S. Kilworth Keyes, Esq., Douglas
Falche, Esq., Eobt. Hoar, Esq., Eev. J. G. Easton, A. E.
xlii PROCEEDINGS, 1901.
Coombe, Esq., J. Palmer, Esq., M.E.C.S., Col. S. B. Bevington,
Gr. H. J. Eogers, Esq., Q-. Sharland, Esq., Dr. Sangster, Eev. E. C.
Johnston, J. Jarman, Esq., C. Wright, Esq., J. S. Oliver, Esq.,
Eev. A. F. C. Owen.
The proposed alteration of Eules 2 and 3, brought forward by
the Eev. C. E. Woodruff and approved at the June Meeting, was
submitted to the Greneral Meeting and carried.
Dr. Cotton brought forward the suggestion that the Annual
Meetings should in future extend over three days; this was
seconded by the Eev. C. E. Woodruff. The Honorary Secretary
was more in favour of a single extra day at some other time for the
special study of one or more objects of interest. It was agreed
that the Council should consider both suggestions. This concluded
the Business Meeting. Hubert Bensted, Esq., F.E.T.B.A., then
read a brief history of the Palace, and conducted the company over
the building. An adjournment was then made to the College for
light luncheon, hospitably provided by some members of the Local
Committee, for which those who had been so kindly entertained
expressed their gratitude.
After this pleasant repast the large company proceeded to the
Parish Church of All Saints, where the Curate, the Eev. F. C. Joy,
read the following unpublished Paper written by the late Canon
Scott Eobertson:—
MAIDSTONE CHUECH.
This handsome Church was founded by Archbishop Courtenay,
who obtained from Eichard II. authority to pull down the Parish
Church of St. Mary, and to substitute for it this Collegiate Church
of All Saints. The Eoyal Licence was dated from Leeds Castle,
where the King was staying for a few days, on the 2nd of August
1395. The Archbishop died on the last day of the following July.
Certain coats of arms carved upon the stall-seats in the chancel
indicate that the Archbishop was assisted with money for the work
by his nephew and godson Eichard Courtenay, by another member
of the Courtenay family, and by a wealthy and powerful foreigner
named G-uy de Mone, whom the Archbishop collated to the rectory
of Maidstone in October 1390. This rectory was then a rich benefice
sought for as a sinecure by powerful foreigners, but G-uy de
Mone was warmly attached to Archbishop Courtenay and to Maidstone,
as well as to John Wootton, the first Master of the College
here. These two friends were active executors of that Primate's
PROCEEDINGS, 1901. xl i i i
will, and both of them evinced a lively interest in the erection and
completion of this Church.
The death of the founder may have interfered with the completion
of the architect's plans. When the chancel's southern walls
were commenced, the architect intended to place a groined roof over
the south chancel. He carried the vaulting shafts up to a considerable
height in the south wall, but they still remain unfinished. Some
stones, which had been cut for the completion of those vaultmg
shafts, were afterwards slightly altered and used in a jamb of the
eastern window of the north aisle. These facts indicate that the
builders began with the south-eastern portion of the edifice. Further
intimations of difficulties, caused probably by lack of funds after
Archbishop Courtenay's death, occur in the clerestory windows.
Mr. Whichcord found that their heads and mullions are worked
out of different kinds of stone, and bear evidence of hurry in
completion.
The internal decoration was not finished until several years after
the death of Primate Courtenay. This fact we learn from an
examination of the elaborately canopied sedilia on the south side of
the chancel. The stones of which their carved work is composed
run completely through, and are common both to the sedilia and to
the tomb of Wootton, first Master of the College, who died iu 1417.
The slab of his tomb also supports some of the vertical stones of
the sedilia. This tomb was built between 1407 and 1414 while
Archbishop Arundel was Primate, during the lifetime of Wootton,
but after the death of Guy de Mone. The Church was in full use
for some years before the sedilia were inserted.
The dimensions of this Church are remarkable. Internally,
greater uniformity of design and better light are found in All
Saints, Maidstone, than were usual in Mediseval churches. This
arises from its having been originally well designed, and upon so
spacious a plan that it has never required to be enlarged. It is an
admirable example of the early period of the Perpendicular style of
architecture. The noble arcades are continuous from east to west,
having six bays in the nave !TJ
1 j*
•••' ' •-
* . •••'••
:•*! ' 1 fv :
-•-- XA|VR-- . .
_BtW(«W
y-^^y^^ 1 ______
LEEDS CASTLE: THE GATEHOUSE. From a 1'lK'tiiijmph hy E, M. VOIENS.
PROCEEDINGS, 1901. li
at a lower level, but to what extent is not apparent. Before
leaving the keep it should be observed that it is connected with the
larger island by means of a two-storied bridge supported by two
arches; this was originally a drawbridge, the pit being contained
between the side walls and dropping into the water.
Now we come to the third great division of the Castle, the
Barbican or Tete-de-JPont. This was an outer fortification or
advanced work before the gate of a castle or fortified town. The
term is usually applied to the outwork intended to defend the
drawbridges. A. narrow entrance was deemed a great protection to
castles, and a barbican at the head of it must have been an
important impediment to any kind of assault. It would command
the ditch at its weakest part, and thus impede the attack of
assailants in the fosse. In the case of Leeds Castle the fortress
was of sufficient importance to possess a barbican with ditches and
drawbridges of its own. In passing, it should be mentioned that
in castles where there was no barbican in advance, palisades and
barriers were placed before the gates. The outwork here is placed
upon the counterscarp of the lake, here only 50 feet wide, and at
the outer end of the bridge which carries the road to the great
island. It is composed of three parts, which were isolated by
three wet ditches, of which one is the Eiver Len, and had three
entrances, one from each wing of the dam, and a central one from
the south. Each approach had its drawbridge, gateway, and portcullis,
and the three ways met upon a central plot open towards
the fortress, and which was reached by means of the bridge leading
up to the great gateway. The bridge has two arches, the inner of
which was open between parapets for the pit of the drawbridge.
Each drawbridge had a gate and portcullis.
The date assigned to the building of the barbican is the second
half of the thirteenth century. The gatehouse reached from the
barbican deserves especial attention. The material is Caen stone.
The grooves for the portcullis can still be seen.
Above the gateway may be seen the stone supports, formed at
the tops of castles and fortifications for setting the parapet out on
corbels so as to project beyond the face of the wall, the intervals
between the corbels being left open to allow of missiles being thrown
down on assailants. A bretasche or hoarding of stout oak existed
in 1314, but the present corbels upon which the timber rested
appear to be of the age of Eichard IL, and probably date from
A,D. 1386,
d 2
Iii PROCEEDINGS, 1901.
One building I have purposely omitted to mention, viz., the
Maiden's Tower. Its date is not very clear, and although another
building may have been standing in its place, there is no evidence
to shew that it was included as part of the fortress in times
anterior to those of Henry VIII. Most of it is certainly more
recent. Tradition supposes it to have been built for the maids of
honour. A later conception is that the appellation is a corruption
of the word main or principal tower.
Now for a brief chronological statement, beginning with the
parts supposed to be the earliest :—
SAXON PERIOD.—Like many Saxon strongholds Leeds Castle is
thought to date from the ninth century. The keep is believed to
have originally belonged to this period. Its construction at that
time, in accordance with others of like character, was a large
truncated conical mound surrounded by a deep ditch, upon the
inner edge of which a stout palisade of squared timber was
placed strongly bound together, equal in defence to a wall, and
strengthened by turrets or towers.
NORMAN PERIOD.—The Normans took the Saxon forts as they
found them, and the " Norman Shell Keep" changed Saxon
buildings of wood into fabrics of stone. The earliest masonry in the
Castle, probably represented by the vaulted cellar, is believed to be the
work of Eobert de Crevecoeur, who founded Leeds Priory in 1119.
JOHN and HENRY III.—A doorway in the gatehouse having
chamfer stops, the barbican and its wings, and the minor wall of
enceinte it is thought were all designed at one time. They were
portions of a definite plan, which when once adopted was
deliberately carried out until finished.
EDWARD I. and EDWARD II.—The lower portion of the old
Castle, and the chapel with its windows of geometrical tracery, are
assigned to this period.
EICHARD II.—The bretasche over the gateway is of this date,
and replaced an earlier one inserted by Edward I. and repaired
later by Edward I I .
HENRY VIII.—Extensive alterations were made at this period,
when the upper storey of the old Castle, the Maiden's Tower, and
other minor details were erected.
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.—Whilst in the possession of the Smith
family, aucestors of the Lords Strangford, a Jacobean mansion was
erected in the seventeenth century at the north end of the large
island,
PROCEEDINGS, 1901. Iiii
NINETEENTH CENTURY.—In 1822 the present mansion was
erected, during which many remains of the earlier structures were
recovered.
The party then divided into sections and were conducted over
the Castle by the courteous owner, his daughter, and the Honorary
Secretary. On leaving, the Noble President cordially thanked
Mr. and Mrs. Wykeham-Martin for their kindness, and Mr. F. Y.
James for his Paper.
Leeds Church was next visited under the guidance of the Vicar,
the Eev. A. P. Morris, and the Honorary Secretary.* Afterwards
the Earl Stanhope and a dozen others were kindly permitted by
Miss Farmer to see the ancient dining-room, with its fourteenthcentury
lavatory, at Battle Hall, and the interesting painting in
a room upstairs, which is described in Archceologia Cantiana,
Vol. XV., p. xlii. Miss Farmer hospitably offered tea to her
visitors. After thanks had been given to her for her kindness the
carriages were regained, when all returned to Maidstone.
The Dinner took place in the Town Hall, by permission of the
Mayor. About eighty sat down, the Earl Stanhope occupying the
Chair, supported by the Mayor, Mr. and Mrs. Burch Eosher,
the Eev. C. E. and Mrs. Woodruff, Mr. and Mrs. Cumberland
H. Woodruff;, the Eev. W. Gardner Waterman, aud Mr. and Mrs.
George Payne. The usual loyal and other toasts were proposed
aud responded to by the Noble President, Canon Beck, Mr. Burch
Eosher, aud Mr. Eobert Hoar. Iu the evening the Mayor held a
brilliant reception at the Museum, to which all the members
staying in Maidstone were kindly invited. Every part of the building
was thrown open, aud much interest was taken in the splendid
collections to be seen there. During the evening F. V. James, Esq.,
the Curator, contributed a Paper on " The Museum and the Collections
contained therein," and Hubert Bensted, Esq., one on
"The Houses of Old Maidstone." The Honorary Secretary also
described at intervals the antiquities in the Society's apartments.
On Wednesday, the 31st of July, a large party started early to
see the interesting excavations made at Boxley Abbey by the
* Eor a description of Leeds Churoh see a Paper by the late Rev. J. Cave-
Browne, printed iu tbe forty-ninth volume of the Journal''of the British
Archceological Association, 1893.
liv PROCEEDINGS, 1901.
Honorary Secretary for Major Best. E. A. H. Seymour, Esq.,
courteously allowed the members to perambulate the gardens and
buildings, where they saw, under Mr. George Payne's guidance, all
that remams of the Abbey, and listened to his account of the
discovery of the foundations of the Norman Church and its south
aisle, hidden away in the great garden terrace.
After partaking of refreshments, most kindly provided by Mr.
and Mrs. Seymour, cordial thanks were given to them for their
hospitality and courtesy, and to Major Best for so liberally defraying
the cost of these researches. Mr. Seymour and Major Best
having replied in a few well-chosen words, the company returned to
Maidstone to join the main body coming by train. When all were
seated in the carriages progress was made to Sutton Valence, where
luncheon was served in a marquee in the Eecreation Ground which
overlooks the magnificent scenery of the Weald. After the repast
Harold Sands, Esq., read a Paper on " The Sutton Castle," which is
printed in the present Volume. Time could not be allowed to view
the scanty remains of the stronghold, as it is difficult of access.
After thanks had been given to Mr. Sands the company proceeded
to East Sutton Place, the seat of Sir Eobert Filmer, Bart. By the
kind permission of E. H. B. Marsham, Esq., the present tenant, the
members were able to inspect this interesting Jacobean house,
under the guidance of Mr. H. Ward and the Honorary Secretary,
who gave a brief account of the descent of the manor and of the
Filmer family.
EAST SUTTON CHUECH.
From East Sutton Place the members proceeded to the Church,
where the following Paper, written by Mr. T. G. Oyler, was, in the
much regretted absence of that gentleman through illness, read
by Mr. E. J. Wells:—"Although there was a Church at East
Sutton at the time of the Domesday Survey, the oldest portions
of the present building can hardly be dated earlier than the
fourteenth century."* Probably the original Church consisted of a
nave with low short aisles and a small chancel, which was afterwards
lengthened and the north and south chapels added. The
nave aisles and tower were erected during the Perpendicular period.
The latter is of three stages, and is surmounted by a vane carrying
* Mr. Cave-Browne, in his work on this Ohuroh, states that the foundation
of substantial outer walls, running along the Hues of the present arcades, was
discovered on the restoration of the Church.
™
>*__
• ________!
3KS il
Kfe£
__r___rf '
' -5L"
< * ^' ^
*!__. __
_ i ..3
5 a
____!
*
•
I
!
KAST SUTTON CHURCH, NORTH CHAPEL.
PROCEEDINGS, 1901. lv
the crest of the Filmer family—a falcon rising. The roof of the
north aisle is divided into four compartments by good moulded
beams; the weathering of the earlier and much lower roof can be
seen at the east end. The windows in this and the south aisle have
three cinquef oiled lights, the mullions being ornamented with a
rather peculiar moulding, consisting of a groove leaving a projecting
square rib. The hood-moulding falls on elegant jamb shafts,
having octagonal capitals and bell-shaped bases on stilted octagonal
plinths. A handsome arch divides the north aisle of the nave from
the north chapel, with its very beautiful decorated east window,
consisting of three cinquefoiled lights all doubly feathered, with
upper tracery of sexfoils and quatrefoils. In the jambs are two
slender shafts with richly-moulded capitals and bases; from the
former spring small cinquefoiled arches with ogee heads. In the
upper part of the cinquefoiled lights are the remains of the stained
glass with which the window was doubtless once filled. We can
distinguish the following escutcheons: " Azure, fretty argent, a
chief or," for ST. LEGER. Quarterly: 1 and 4, " Or, a maunche
gules," for HASTINGS; 2 and 3, "Barry argent and azure, within
an orle of martlets gules," for DE VALENCE.* The mullions and
tracery of this fine window are unfortunately much decayed on the
exterior, but the Vicar and Churchwardens hope shortly to be able
to effect some careful repairs. The window in the north wall of
this chapel is also a good one, but it suffers by its proximity to its
more beautiful neighbour; it has been so often " restored " that it
is doubtful if any of the original tracery remains. The east window
of the chancel is a modern copy of a window in Merton College
Chapel at Oxford, and was inserted in place of a poor one, which
was not the original, by Mr. Henry Brenchley, a former resident in
the parish. In the south chapel the present east window occupies
the place of one which was probably the counterpart of the beautiful
one already mentioned in the north chapel, portions of the original
mullions, jambs, and arch-stones being still visible. In the stained
glass of this window are the arms of Eichard, Duke of Tork, father
of King Edward IV., and a half-length figure of the Blessed Virgin,
bearing round the nimbus the legend " Ecee Anoilla domini'' There
are also two heads of angels with long flowing hair and wings of a
* On the death of Aymer de Valence in 1323 his lands were divided among
his three sisters, of whom Isabel, married to John de Hastings, reoeived Sutton,
Their grandson, Laurence de Hastings, married Agnes, daughter of Roger
Mortimer, and she, being left a widow, held this manor in dower. I am disposed
to give her oredit for building this ohapel.
lvi PROCEEDINGS, 1901.
rich golden colour, wearing round the neck embroidered amices;
a cross patee rises from the head of each. A shield set diagonally
within a garter is that of Sir Henry Guldeford.* Another small
shield bears the arms of Mortimer. The south window in this
chapel also contains a few small shields in stained glass, bearing
the arms of Filmer, Scott, and Argall; also a lozenge bearing, " On
a chevron three talbots gules."t
The nave is divided from the aisles by four arches supported on
octagonal piers; on the easternmost two stone brackets mark the
position of the ancient rood-loft, the upper doorway of which may be
seen in the north wall of the aisle.J There is no chancel arch.
The king-posts and tie-beams of the roof are good, the spandrels
containing some excellent carving. The lofty and graceful tower
arch has its inner member carried on long circular shafts, while the
outer members are continuous. The mouldings of the west doorway
§ terminate on small bell-shaped bases, and the hood finishes
with heads wearing mitres, which are much mutilated. Above is a
good Perpendicular window having four lights, and containing some
old stained glass; two of the figures probably represent SS. Peter
and Paul, to whom the Church is dedicated. ||
The Church contains several memorials to members of the Filmer
family, the most noteworthy being the fine sixteenth-century brass
to Sir Edward Filmer^" and his wife. The plates measure 7 feet by
3 feet 8 inches. Sir Edward is clad in breastplate, paldrons, coutes,
* Sir Henry Guldeford, Comptroller of the Household to King Henry VIIL,
held the manor of East Sutton for a few years only ; he died 1531-2.
t (?) " Argent, on a chevron gules three talbots of the first," for MAETYN.—
EDITORS.
X 27 July 1643. " Cornet May came to search East Sutton Belfry for arms
there; he tore the surplice with his own hands, took tbe Bible and service book
out of the Church, and broke down the Screen and the painted glass windows."
. . . . (Anne Heeton's Diary, preserved at East Sutton Place.)
§ A will proved in the Archidiaconal Court of Canterbury enables us to date
his doorway with some certainty. John Church of East Sutton, who made his
will, proved 1404, made the following bequest: "Item lego pro facturd novi
hostli oceidentalis in Ecclesid parochiali de Est Sutton xxvj" viij'1."—EDITORS.
j| The Church is 75 feet in length and 56 in breadth. The dimensions of
the Filmer Chapel are 36 feet by 18, and of the north chapel 20 feet by 10.
11 Sir Edward Filmer purchased the manor of East Sutton from his brotherin-
law John Argall in 1610. He had previously resided at Little Charlton in
the same parish, whither his father Robert Filmer, one of the prothonotaries of
the Common Pleas in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, had migrated from the
ancestral seat of the family at Herst in the parish of Otterden. Robert Filmer
died 1585, and was buried at East Sutton. He was the eldest son of James
Filmer of Otterden, whose will, proved 1571 (A., xii. 29), mentions the following
children : sons Robert, George, Reginald, Isaac, William, and John; daughters
Agnes, Bennett, and Margaret.—EDITORS.
STAINED GLASS IN THE EAST WINDOW Of SOUTH CHAPEL,
EAST SUTTON CHUIICII.
aaazK
1
u _ ^ a w
M,',H«/,K._lL
WrJIta
rMnw^.w^'mmuxisismsdiiBm
BRASS OF SIR EDWARD FILMER.
PROCEEDINGS, 1901. lvii
and skirt of taces with ornamental borders. The sword-hilt and
belt are also richly ornamented. He has high boots with spurs,
and around his neck is a large ruff over which falls his beard and
long hair. His wife is attired in a long gown and large cap, from
the back of which falls an ample veil. Beneath are the effigies of
their eighteen children—nine sons and nine daughters; the former
wear tunics with slashed sleeves, the eldest in addition wears armour.
A skull above the head of No. 4 denotes that he died during his
father's lifetime. The marginal inscription is as follows.- " Under
this rest, in certain hope of the resurrection, the bodies of Sir
Edward Filmer, Knight, and Dame Elizabeth his wife, daughter of
Eichard Argall, Esq'A They lived together fortie foure yeares and
had issue eighteene children, viz., nine sonnes aud nine daughters.
He departed this life ye second of November A.uno d'ni 1629. She
died the 9th of August Anno d'ni 1638."
The Filmer arms are also engraved on the plate, viz., " Sable, three
bars and as many cinquefoils in chief or." On the edge of the
plate is the name of tho artist, Edward Marshall. A tablet in the
south chapel has the following inscription: "Eichard Argall of
East Sutton in the County of Kent, Esquier, deceased Anno domini
1588, leaving five sonnes and six daughters living. Mary his second
wife, one of the daughters o£ Sir Eeynald Scott of Scott's Hall in
the County of Kent, Knight, marryed ye second tyme to Lawrence
Washington, Esquier, dyed in anno 1604.* Thomas Argall, eldest
sonne of ye sayd Eichard and Mary, dyed in anno 1605." Several
shields, both on tablets and in the windows, bear the arms of the
Scott family, " Argent, three Catherine-wheels sable, a bordure
engrailed gules."
Another inscription commemorates " Mrs Dorothy Filmer, wife
of Beversham Filmer, Esq1', and second daughter of William Henley,
Esqre, of Gore Court in this county . . . . She died Oct. 14th, 1793,
aged 57 years." The arms are FILMER impaling HENDLEY, " Paly
bendy azure and gules eight mullets or." There are memorials to
this family in Otham Church.
Mr. Wells further gave a description of the ancient heraldic
glass in the windows of the Church.
* Lawrence Washington, Registrar of the Court of Chancery, died 1619 and
was buried in Maidstone Church. He may have belonged to the family from
which the celebrated George Washington was descended, but the most careful
researches of American genealogists have been unable to trace the lineage of
their great patriot beyond his great-grandfather John Washington, who settled
in Virginia in 1657.—EDITORS.
lviii PROCEEDINGS, 1901.
Ulcombe Church was next reached, where the Eector, Lord
Theobald Butler, welcomed the Society. The Eev. G. M. Livett,
Vicar of Wateringbury, had kindly written a Paper on the Architectural
History of the Church, which, iu his unavoidable absence,
was read by Mr. Walker of Ulcombe.* After cordial thanks to his
Lordship, Mr. Livett, and Mr. Walker, the party returned to
Maidstone in good time for the trains, thus bringing to a close a
most successful, meeting.
* We hope to print Mr. Livett's Paper in a subsequent Volume.
