( · '238 ·)
VICARS OF ST. MARY, WESTHYTHE.
BY REV. 'l'. SHIPDEM FRAMP'fON, M.A., F.S.,A.
ROBERT DEN, or DEAN, presented to the vicarage of
"Westhethe," and ordained Deacon, 14 March 1298-9.
(Reg. Winchelsey, f. 104a.)
He was of_ Canterbury. He held this· vica1,a,ge as· a
Deacon £o1· only a short time, being ordained Priest the
following Whitsuntide, at Oxford.
RroHARD DE BA:R.THONEj adm. 22 .February 1310-11.
Patron : Peter de Ta.lere, fo the Archdeacon of Canterbury.
(Ibid., f. 52b.)
JOHN DE HORTON, inst. 8 October' 180, on d. of the last.
Patron: The Procto1; of the. :Archdeacon: . {Reg. eynolds,
f. 26a.) . . · ·
He is mentioned . as being instituted to · the pe1·petual
vicarage of the" Capella" of "Westhethe.'' He resigned
21 November 132, on becming Rector of Orlestone. In
·the _following February _he obtained a licence to be nonr
side:rit for. three years; for the purp'?se of studying. ,n
October 1848 he was Rector:of Bilsington; . · · ·
· LAURENCE m{WELLE; inst. 15 January 122"-3. Patron:
·:The Archdeacon. . (Ibid., £. 32a..) . ,. ! \ •
G:moFFI'tEY PALSTRE,:_of "Icha:in," inst.- 10 Septembe\·
1327. Patron: Th _.A.iicheacon. (Ibid., f. 26ob.)
.: · RoBERT n EsToN;· inst._28 November 1827. Patron:
Hugh de Engolis,ma,' Archdeacon (Oh. Ch. Cant. Reg. Q,
£. 1'32b.) '. :·: . . : 1 •
234 ""ICA.ltS Oll' "ST. MA.RY, WE!sTR'iTO.
LAPINUS GARBAGE, mentioned 13 October 1348. (Ch.
Ch. Cant., Scrap Book, vol. ii, p. 125.)
·He attended five Inquisitions held in the deanery of
Lympne, respecting vacancies which had occurred at Brenset,
Burmarsh, Craythorn, Orlestone, and Sellinge, between
October 1348 and September 1349, when it was found that
all the vacancies had been caused by death. The grievous
plague, known as the Black Death, was raging at the
time.
Jo1rn WEYTE, of "Swynesfeld," adm. 8 April 1362, on
d. of the last. Patron:. The Archdt'acon. (Reg. !slip,
f. 297a.)
He was still Vicar in 1374, when, by the death of .Archbishop
Whittlesey, he was cited with the rest of the clergy
_in the deanery of Lympne to appear in P.erson at Oanter,
bury, on Saturday next after the Festival of the .Apostles
Peter and Paul, to pay canonical obedience to the .Prior and
Chapter, the guardians of the spiritualities of the se·e
during a vacancy. In his vicariate an atrocious murder
was committed at Westhythe, the. victim being the
parochial chaplain. The event is thus recorded: " Certain
sons of perdition, intoxicated with wickedness and the
spirit of rage, craftily contriving the death of Sir Robert
Valent, priest at Westhethe, in our diocese, who celebrated
Divine Service while he was alive, ensnaring the said priest,
who was wholly unaware of their ipalice, on. the King's.
highway between the villes of Lymene and Westhethe
aforesaid, with bows and arrows and divers other kinds of
. weapons, suddenly and hostilely rushed upon him, and at
·first wounded him again and again with arrows, mor4t,lly,
and afterwards when on bended knees he tearfully besought
their mercy, they with the abovesaid other deadly weapons,
with malice· aforethought, as it is said, inhumanly killed
him ; thereby culpably incurl'ing the sentence of the
Greater Excommunication, du:ected in that case by the
canon against such sac!·ilegious men and malefactors."
Archbishop Langham, on hearing of the d.eed, issued a
VICARS OF s·r. MARY, 'WES-it:fl:-YTHE. 235
mandate to his Commissary General, and to the Official of
the Archdeacon of Canterbury, enjoining them to denounce
the murderers a.s excommunicated, and to publish: the
sentence in his Cathedral Church in the Church of Saltwode
and the respective Chapels annexed to the same,* in
all the Churches of the diocese, and especially in eve-ry
Church in the deaneries of Elham and Lymene, and elsewhere
should they deem it expedient,· on Sundays and
Festivals, at the time of Divine Service, when the greater
number of people would be present, with bells ringing,
candles lighted,· and then extinguished and thrown to the
ground, and with Cross erect. The officials were to signify
to the Archbishop what they had done, before the Feast
of the Annunciation next ensuing. Dated at Otteford.,
29 December 1367. (Reg._Langh:am, f. 60a.)
\
JoHN RoUNDELL, adm. 16 November 1391. Patron:
Adam Mottrum, Archdeacon. (Reg. Courtenay, II., f.
200b.)
HENEY Scml':i>ENE, resigned in i396. (Ch. Oh. Cant.,
Reg. G.,£. 275b.)
RrcHA.RD TYCKIL, adm. 17 September 1396, on resig·. of
the last. Patron: Adam de Moth-um, Archdeacon. (Ibid.)
After a brief tenure of office here he exchanged for
St. Clement's Recto1·y, Rochester, where he remained only
a few months, and then went to Tudely.
WILLIAM WELLYS, exch. with the last, c. 1 May 1397.
(Reg. W. Botlesham, Bp. of Rocheste1·, f. 103a.)
JoHN CLIFFORTH., inst. 24 October 1397, on d. of the last.
Patron: Richard Clifford, Archdeacon. (Reg. Arundel, I.,
f. 260a.)
JoHN PURVEY, adrn. 11 August 1401, on d. of the last
Vicar. Patron: Richard Clifford, Archdeacon. (Ibid.,
f. 278a.)
II< 8in9ulisqiu1 Oapellis tnF ST.· MARY, WES'i'H't':fl:l'El.
JOHN BoTELER, adm. 8 October 1403, on resig. of the
last. Patron: Robert Hallum, Archdeacon. (Ibid.,£. 290b.)
He was collated as a Deacon to the vicarage . of
St. Nicholas, Thanet, by Archbishop Courtenay, on 19 February
1390-1. He vacated Westhythe by exchange £or
Stalis:6.eld, and two years later again e:ff ected _a ex-ehange
for Rygge, or Rydge, in Hertfordshire, in the patronage of
St . .Alban's Abbey.
,. TRoMa.s· HoRTON, '?Xch. with the last, 3 January 1410-11.
,Patron: John Wakering;.Archdeacon. (Ibid II., ( 6la.)
.. WILLIAM BRET, adm. 24 lY}:ay 1424. Patron: The .A.rch'
aeacon. , (.Reg, Chichele, £. 150a.)
,·
RwHA.RD BARKER, adm. 31 March 1430, on resig. of the
-last. Patron : Prosper de Columna., Archdeacon. (Ibid.,
,£,. 182a.)
JoRN PowLE, adm. 2 January 1431-2. Patron: Prosper
,de Columna, Archdeacon. (Ibid•. , f. 193a.)
Jomr .A.sSHTON, adm. 19 February i-432-3.' Patron:
Prosper de Columna, Archdeacon. (Ibid., £. 197b.)
THoMA.s BENET, adm. 25 April 1435. Patron : Thomas
Qhichele, Archdeacon. (Ibid.,£. 206a.)
JoHN BoYDE, regned in 1449. (Reg. Stafford, f. l00b.)
The date of his appointment to Westhythe has not been
ascertained. He resigned the ,benefice for the vicarage of
Lymne [sic], which he sems to hav held until his death,
''ten years later. · · ·
RrnHA.:aD YNs, adm. 21 September 1449, on resig. of the
last. Patron: Thomas Chichele, Archdeacon. (lbid.)
THOMAS WoTT<>N, i-esigned in 1461. (Reg. Bourchier,
£. 82a.)
One of this name -was • presented by. the .Prioress and
VICARS OF ST. MA.ltY; WESTHYTHE. 287
Convent of St. Sepulchre's, Cantei•bury, to St. Mary
Breden's Church, and held it nearly twenty years, till his
death in 1480.
HENRY SAYS, or Sus, ".Bacc. in Decretis," adm.
22 October 1461, on resig. of the last. Patron: Thomas
Chichele, .A.i·chdeacon. (Ibid.)
Ite subsequently held the vicarage of Oheshunt; from
1471 to 1480.
WILLIAM SUMPTER, ac1m. 13 November 1465, on resig. of
the last. Patron: Thomas Ohichele,, Archdeacon. (Ibid.,
f. 91b.)
· He wa.s p1·eviously Rector of Bircholt.
Jo1rn JAY, adm. 22 October 1479, on d. of the last Vicar.
Patron: John Bourchier, Archdeacon. (Ibid., f. 122b.)
HENRY DYE, resigned in 1484. · (Pat. 2· Richard III.,
pt. I., m. 4.)
He exchanged with his successor for Okeford in the
diocese of Exeter.
TaoMA.S GEORGE, exch. with the last, 6 November 1484.
(Ibid.)
Before moving into the Exeter diocese he had held two
benefices in this immediate neighbourhood, Dymchurch
from 14.66 to 1478, and then Warehorne.
RoBER'l' BEVERLEY, adm. 30 July 1488, on resig. of the
last. Patron: John Bourchier, Archdeacon. · (Re. Morton;
II., f. 135a..)
He left directions in his will, dated 5 February 1500-1,
and proved 2 6 May following, for his body to be buried in
the choir of the Church of the Blessed Mary of Westhythe.
He bequeathed. to the [principal] Light there, 12d.; to the
Light of' the Holy. Cross, 6d. ; and to the Torch Light, 12d.
Also towai'ds the purchase of a Processional, 5s. Also for
amending a foul way between the Chm;c·h of W l'Sthythe and
238 VICARS OF ST. MARY, WESTHYTHE.
"Westhythis went," 2s. Other bequests were left £or charitable
ncl religious purposes, including 6s. Bel. to the Chantry
0£ Latton near Harlow, in Essex, and 8s. 4d. to the Domus
Dei at Ospringe.
WILLIAM MARTYN, inst. in 1501. Patron: Hugh
Peyntwyn, LL.D., Archdeacon. (Oh. Oh. Cn.nt., Reg. R.,
f. 68b.)
In selecting· the place for his burial this Vicar differed
from his predecessor, and bequeathed his "body to be
• bureyd wythin the Churche •Of Saltwod before Saint
Nicholas." He left to the "iij principall lyghtes there
iijs., and to the reparacion of the same Churche xs." Also
" to euery housold in W esthythe xij d." His will is dated
4 September 1506, and was proved 4 February 1506-7,
· which fixes approximately the time of his decease.
CLEMENT HARDYNG, LL.B., adm. 6 April 1507, on d. of
the last Vicar. 'Patron: The Archdeacon. (Reg. Warham,
f. 830a.)
He was also Vicar of Holy Cross, Westgate, Canterbury,
in which church, according to Battely's edition of Somner,
was a memorial of him with the following lines:-
Multorum causas defendere q uique sole bat
Hane mo:rtis causam evndere non potuit
. Doctus et indoctus moritur, sic respire :finem
Ut bene discedas quisquis es ista legens.
JoHN HEEDE, 01· HEDDE., adm. 17 February 1507-8, on d.
of the last. Patron: The Archdeacon. (Ibid., f. 332a.)
He resigned this benefice £or Dymchurch, which he held
until his death in 1518.
JORN Don, adm. 31 March J 511, on resig. of the last.
Patron: William Warham, .A.i·chdeacon. (Ibid., f. 842a.)
Withiu a few months of this Vicar's institution Archbishop
W arham held his Visitation of the deanery of
Lympne in Aldington Ohu1·ch whe:q it w fo1,U1Q.. "'l'Ji!lit
.VICARS OF ST. MARY, WESTHYTHE. .239
the Chancel [of Westhith] is not sufficiently repaired." .A.t
a subsequent date 1the Vicar appeared, and stated that the
chancel was sufficiently repaired. His twenty years' incum-
. bency seems to have left with him the impression that the
existence of his church, as the centre of religious life in the
parish, might not be of much longer continuance. By his
will, dated 12 April 1531, and proved 22 May following, he
directs that his burial should take place" in the Church of
Westhith, in the presbyte,ry of the aforesaid Chui·ch, before
"};he High Altar." With regard to bequests he expresses
his wishes thus: H Item I bequeithe xs. to bye paynted
clothes £or the high aulter if ther be a, vycar Indewed, ift not
. the said xs. shall helpe to the high waye next to howcars
[? Hooker's] barne." .A.gain he says: "Also I bequeithe to
the Rep'ations of the bodye of the Churche ther xs. iftlwr be
a vicar Indued." Among· many other bequests were the following
: " to euery one of my Godchildren yn the Oountie
of Kent, xijd. To euery household1·e yn Westhithe, ijs.
Item to our Lady light, iijs. iiijd." He left directions for
the sale of his two houses, that the purposes of his will
might be fulfilled.
JAMES Tu&YNG, M.A., adm. 12 June 1531, on d. of the
last. Patron: William Warham, Archdeacon. (Ibid.,
f. 405a.)
TxoMAs CARDON, M.A., adm. 4 August 1534, on resig. of
the last. Patron: Edmund Cranmer, Archdeacon. (Reg.
Cranmer, f. 350b.)
Shorbly after the institution of this Vicar the Valor
Ecclesiasticus, or Liber Regis, was compiled, in which, under
" Westheth," it is stated that "Thomas Carden, vycar there,
ha.the one mesuage and di' acr' of lande to the yerely value
of xxd. I u tythes predyall, personall obla'cons, and other
spirituall profetts yerely ixli. iiijd." Three years after
accepting this benefice his patron, .A1·chdeacon Edm.
Cranmer, presented him to the vicarage of Lympne, which
he heH with Westhythe until lf>53, Fo:r the nerl ten year13
240 VICARS OF ST. MARY, WESTHYTHE.
Westhythe had; probably, to look to Lympne for Church
Services, there being no mention made of a separate incumbent.
HENRY WEsTPHALINGE, adm. 3 September 1568, on d. of
the last Vicar. Patron: Edm. Gheast, Bishop of Rochester
and Archdeacon. (Reg. Parker, I., .f. 862a.)
He succeeded Richard Keete, on the death of the latter,
as Vicar of Lympne in June 1568, and in the following
September was presented by the same patron to W esthythe.
He held both benefices for more than twenty years. Soon
after his institution here returns were required of all
parishioners who were communicants, and of the number
of those who were not. The result shews what a very small
population the parish possessed at the time-1564 :-·
The parryshe of W estheithe :
Edwarde Webbe and his wife, one manseruante, and one Ladde
Communicants, and ij vnable.
Rycharde Jhonson and his wyfe, one mayed seruante, ,Communicants,
an. d one vnable.
Edwarde Rolfe and his wyfe, ij Ladds, one mayde seruant Communicants,
and one vnable.
Jhon OveU and his wy£e Communicants, and ij vnable.
Sum 0£ all there is in this parryshe, iiij householde, :riiij Communicants,
and vj vnable.
Mr. Westphalinge resigned Lympne about a year before
his death, but retained Westhythe to the last. He continued
to reside at Lympne, and gave directions for his
burial there. The new Vicar, Mr. Merick, was a witness to
his will, dated 1 May 1585, as was also William. Hawkins,
Vicar of PostJing·, evidently an old and valued friend, to
whom it was left to "pryce" all the testator's books and
band over the proceeds of the sale to John Knatchbull,
" and I will that he shall bestowe the same vppon raiment
for y sonne Henry Westphalinge, as he bath neede
thereof." Testator appointed as the "Overseer" of his
will James Stone, and bequeathed to him "for his paines,
Sleaden's Comm,entary."
VICARS OF ST. MARY, WES'l'HYTHE. 241
WILLI.AM ST.AOEY, M.A., inst. 23 March 1585-6, on d. of
the last In cum bent. Patron: William Redman, Archdeacon.
(Reg. Whitgift, I.,£. 466a.)
In the autumn of 1586 he was· instituted to the church
of Upper Hardres, with the cha,pel of Stelling annexed, on
the presentation of Richard Hardres, Esq., and retained the
preferment till his death, in 1632. He also seems to have
held Bonnington, 1611-1615; and Sevingto1l, 1628-1624.
Mr. Stacey was twice married-first, in · 1587, to Mary
Munday, of Barfreston, who was, perhaps, a daughter of
the Rev. Nicholas Munday, Retor of that parish, and Vicar
of Tilman stone ; and secondly, to Frances Johnson, of
Smeeth. It is uncertain when he vacated W esthythe, but
it must have been some little time before his successor's
appointment, as the latter was preented by the Crown,
owing to lapse.
WILLIAM MERIORE, 01· MERRICK, B..A.., inst. 23 July 1595.
Patron: Queen Elizabeth, by lapse. (lbid., II., f. 330a.)
In the stunmer of 1572 Mr. Merick was instituted to
Thurnham with .A.ldington, . on the presentation · of Tho.
Wotton, Esq., and was still Vicar there in 1588. Early in
1585 the vicarage of Lympne became vacant by the resignation
of Mr. Westphalinge, and the patron, Archdeacon
Redman, offered it to Mr. Merick, who was instituted
therein 8 February 1584-5, and retained it till his death.
Among the Harleian MSS. is a letter, dated at Lambeth,
10 July 1595, from Archbishop Whitgift to the Lord Keeper,
recommending Mr. Merick for the vicarage of Westhythe,
to which, within a fortnight, he was duly instituted, and
which he held with Lympne for mqre than fourteen years.
The parochial registers bear eloquent estimony to the ·
heavy berea-vements which befell this Vicar's houshold :-
Buried one Trinyty Sundaye [1603], Margaret Merick, wife
of Willyam Merick.
Buryed y0 28 0£ Mal'ch [1609-10], Elisn.beth Merrick, ditughter
of William Merrick.
'VOL.:;tD;,
'242 VICARS OF' ST. MARY, WES!l.'HYTRE.
Buryed y0 30th of March [1610], Elener Merrick, daughter of
William Merrick.
Buryed y8 3d of Aprill [1610], Anne Merrick, wife of William
Merrick of Lympne.
Buryed y0 first· of May [1610], Wi,Jliam Merrick, Vicare of
Lympne.
- ' ·
His second wife was a Lympne lady, Anne Marten,
whom he married in 1604.
JAMES HYRsT, M.A., inst. 22 May 1610, on d. of the ,last.
Pafa-ou: Charles Fotherby, .A.1·chdeacon. · (Reg. Bap.crof:t,
f. 300b.)
After Mr. Merick's death Lympne and Westhytbe were
again held separately, and so continued until within the
memory of persons still Jiving·. In November 1615 Hackington,
or St. Stephen's, near Canterbury, fell vacant by the
death of its Incumbent, when the patron, Archdeacon
Fotherby, presented Mr. Hyrst to thn.t vicarage, and he
remained there until his death, in 1642.
BARN.A.BAS PowNOLL, inst. 15 December 1615, on resig. of
the last. Patron: Charles Fotherby, Archdeacon. (.Reg.
A.bbot, I., f. 414b.)
Early in the year 1609 Mr. Pownoll had been instituted
to the church of Charlton by Dover, on the presentation of
· Stephen Moyns, Esq., aud he held that benefice until his
death, in 1638. Within five years 0£ his institution to
Westhythe the church there suffered severely by fire, which
is thus ref erred to in the Parish Register Transcripts for
the year ending at Michaelmas 1620 : "The Church is burnt
downe, therefore noe Minister to subscribe." The fire, no
doubt, destroyed the roof, and whatever other woodwork
there was, leaving the· bare walls, which are referred to in
another note under the same year, 1620: "In the pari·ishe
of W estbith there is noe Church, onely the walles of the
Church remayne, therefore noe Minister to certefye this
bill."
Wrr,LIA.M KENNETT, M.A., inst. 23 July 1629, on resig. of
:VICARS OF srr. 'MA.RY WESTHYTHE. 243
the la.st. Patron: William Kingsley, Archdeacon .. (Ibid.,
ID.,£. 184;b.)
Mr. Kennett, after holding this benefice four years, died
about the time of the translation of Dr. Laud, Bishop of
London, to the Metropolitan See of Canterbury. During the
time he ,was Vicar the transcripts of the W esthythe register
were signed by Thomas Kingsmill (until bis resignation),
and then by Richard Jaggard, Vica1·s of Lympne, the· following
note being appended: "Extracted out of the Register
booke of Westhith kept by appoini} at Lymmne. Richard
Jaggard."
STEPHEN S.A.OKET'.I.', M.A., inst. 2 November 1633, on d. of
the h1,st. Patron: William Kingsley, Archdeacon. (Reg.
Laud, f. 308a.)
Early in June 1632 Mr. Sackett was instituted to the
vicarage of SS. Cosmus and Damianus, Bleau, on the presentation
of John Boys, Esq., and the Rev. John Sackett,
S.T.B., Master of .Eastbridge Hospital, Canterbury. Early
in November of the following year, .Archdeacon Kingsley
presented him to Westhythe. This seems to have necessitated
his resignation of Blean, to which, however, he was
instituted.a second time, in March 1634, on the presentation
of the Rev. John Sackett, S.T.B., Master _of Eastbridge
Hospital. He held both benefices till his death, in 1679.
Re paid occasional visits to W esthythe, and in October
1663 performed three Christenings there, a fourth being
taken by Mr. Hart, of Burmarsh. A little later a memorandum
by Mr. Sackett occurs on one of the Tra.nscripts,
which presen,ts a melancholy view of Church life in the
district at that time :-
Burials· in the parish we haue norie, nor noe place of burying,
01· Marrying: our church defaced: Lymph, the parish to which we
should resort for religious exercises, hauing noe Minister is seldome
supplyed by-any, and our Register should be kept at Lim be Ohurcl1.
Steph: Sackett.
Abmham Quilter, Churchwarden.
Ext 22° J ulij 1664.
.R2
244 VICARS. bF ST. MARY, WESTHYTHE,
WILLIAM Oor,E11.u.N, inst. 31 Ma1·ch 1679, on d. of the
last. Patron: Samuel Parker, .Archdeacon. (l;teg. Bancroft,
£. 377b.)
For the long term of half a century Mr. Coleman had
for his patron an Archdeacon of Canterbury. In 1666 he
was instituted to St. Clement's Vicrage, Sa,ndwich, on the
presentation of Dr. George Hall, Bishop of Chester, and
Archdeacon of Canterbury. He held that benefice until
1677, and was presented, two years later, by Archdeacon
Samuel Parker, to W esthythe, which he held for rather more
than forty years, until the time of his death.
WILLIAM NEWTON, inst. 14 March 1719-20, on d. of the
last. Patron: -Thomas Green, .Archdeacon. (Reg. Wa;re, I.,
£. 3lla.)
He was born at Maidstone, where his ancestors had been
settled £or some generations. When more than thirty years
of age he entered Holy Orders, pa.rt1y on the advice of
\ friends, among whom was Dr. White Kennett, afterwards
Bishop of Peterborough. He soon obtained p1·eferment,
being presented to Wingham and Stodmarsh, in addition to
Westhythe, in the diocese of Canterbin;y, and to the vica1·age
of · Gillingham, in the county of Dorset. He is said to have
obtained. the ast-named bene:fice on resigning Westhythe.
His literary attainments were varied. Among his works
were: A Oompa/Yl,ion for the Lord's Day, published in 1716;
The Life of Bishop Kennet, 1730; The History and Antiquities
of Maidstone, 1741; and several Sermons. He also assisted
Mr. Hutchins, the Historian of Dorset, in his History of
Gillingham. He died in the year 1744, at the age of about
sixty, and was buried in his chru·ch of Wingham. His
name appears on the eighth bell of that church, under the
year 1720, when the entire peal was re-cast.
JORN SAOKETTE, M.A., inst. 14 June 1732, on cess, of
the last. Patron: Samuel Lisle, Archdeacon. (Ibid., II.,
f. 266b.)
Of Corpus Christi Coll. Cambridge; B..A.. 1690; M.A.
VlOA.RS OF ST .. '.MA'.R'Y, WES'l'llY'.l'HJt •. 245
' .
1694. He was appointed to the cure of Folkestone in 1699.
Three years later he married· Mrs. Margaret Tempest, a lady
of Patricksbourne, whose goodness of heart was so gratefully
appreciated by the Rev. Henry Biton, Rector of
Oheriton, that at his decease, in 17 48, he bequeathed to her
the sum of £800, desiring her "to accept of the same as a
Gratuity for the trouble and Oare she has had of me." · In
November 1713 the Rev. Robert Daniel, the Rector of
Hawkinge, died, and Archbishop Tenison: conferred the
vacant benefice on Mr. Sackette, who was instituted iri the
following January. In 1782 Archdeacon Lisle preseRted
him to West];iythe; and in March 1746-7 Archbishop Potter
conferred on him the Mastership of Eastbridge Hospital,.
Canterbury. AU these preferments were held by him at the
time of his death.
WILLIAM HoWDELL, B.A., inst. 18 April 1758, on d. of
the last. Patron: John Head, Archdeacon. (Reg. Herring,
£. 297a.)
Of St. John's Coll., Cambridge; B.A. l 748. He was 01·dained
Deacon in December 17 50, by the Hon. and Rig·ht Rev.
Fredei'ick Cornwallis, then Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry,
and subsequently .Archbishop of Canterbury. He was
ordained Priest in February 1752, by the Bishop of Peterborough.
W esthythe appears to have been ·the only benefice
which he held in the diocese of Canterbury, ancl his tenure
of that is the longest on record-more than half a centm·y.
He died on the 1st December 1804, in his seventy-seventh
yea.r, at Canterbury. He was a special benefactor to that
city, having left; among numerous other legacies, £500 to
the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, £100 to the Widows and
Orphans of the Clergy in the diocese of Canterbm·y, and
£100 to auother local Charity which had been recently
founded.
JanrEs FoLDs, inst. 12 April 1805, on d. of the last.
Patron: Houshonne Radcliffe, Archdeacon, (Reg. Sutton,
f. 2.)
246 V.IO.A.RS OF s'i'. MARY, W.ESTRYTHE.
Mr. ·Folds was considerably advanced in years when he
was instituted to Westhythe, having been ordained Deacon
in September 17 54, by Edmund Keene, Bishop of Chester ;
and Prie.st in July 1756, by Bishop Newcome of Llandaff.
His early clerical life would thus seem to have been passed
in the north-west of England, or Wales. In the year 1817
he is mentioned as holding the cure of Walmisley, an outlying
district of Bolton, in the Chester diocese. His induction
to · Westhythe was performed by the patron himself,
Dr. Houstonne Radcliffe, Archdeacon of Canterbury. Mr.
Folds died in August 1820.
DANIEL P .A.LMER, M.A., inst. 28 September 1820, on d. of
the last .. Patron : Houstonne Radcliffe, Archdeacon. . (Ibid.,
II.,£. 54.)
The early part of Mr. Palmer's clerical life seems to have
been passed in · Ireland where he was ordained Deacon in
September 1791 by the Bishop of Ossory; and Priest in the
following year, by the Bishop of Cork and· Ross. · In 1814
Mr. Palmer was licensed by the Archbishop of Cantei·bury
to the curacy of Gillingham in Kent, the vicarage of
which was one of his Grace's 'peculiars,' and was held
by Dr. Houstonne Radcliffe, Archdeacon of Canterbury.
Mr. Palmer's stipend was :fixed at £90 per annum.-· Six
years later his Vicar presented him to W esthythe. From
time to time Mr. Palmer obtained licence to be non-resident,
the latest occasion being on the 10th January 1833, when a
licence was granted to him which was valid till the 31st
December 1834. He is mentioned as still holding . the
benefice in the Olerical Guide for 1836. He was the last
Vicar instituted to Westhythe as a separate benefice.
· EDWIN BmoN, M.A., inst. 24 June 1840, to Lympne with
W esthythe, on d. of James Bell, Vicar of Lympne. Patron :
James Croft, Archdeacon. (Reg. Howley, f. 762.)
Shortly.after the death of the Rev. James Bell, who had
held the vicarage of Lympne for thirty-eight years, that
benefice and Westhythe were united by an Order in Council,
\l'ICARS OF ·'sT. MARY, WESTHYTHE. 247
dated the 2 2nd May 1840'. To these united vicarages the Rev.
Edwin Biron was now presented by the Venerable James
Croft, Archdeacon of Canterbury. Mr. Biron graduated
from Trinity Coll., Dublin;- B.A. 182 6; M.A. 1830. He
was ordained both Deacon and Priest by the Hon. and Rt.
Rev. Charles Lindsay, D.D., Bishop of Kildare, in the year
1827. In 1838 he ·was nominateq. by the Archdeacon of
Canterbury to the Perpetual Curacy of Stodmarsh, which he
· held for nearly two years, when the same patron presented
him to Lympne with Westhythe, which he retained till his
death, in 1877. In the year 1854 the small rectory of Eastbridge,
in Romney :Marsh, fell vacant by the cession of the
Rev. Frederick Thomas Scott, who had held it, by dispensation,
with Hythe for about ten years. When Mr. Scott was
presented to it the parish contained a population of sixteen
persons, and the benefice was certified as worth £65 0s. IO½d.
This rect;ory was now united to Lympne and Westhythe,*
and Mr. Biron was presented and instituted therein by Archbishop
Sumner, 1st June 1854. Mr. Biron's long· tenure of
office was marked by the building of a vicarage-house at·
Lympne, and by the restoration of the chancel of the
church there.
GEORGE .BoHUN OouLCHER, M.A., inst. 20 March 1877,
on d .. of the last. Patron: Rt. Rev. Edw. Parry, as Archdeacon.
· {Inst. Book.)
0£ Corpus Christi Coll., Cambridge; B.A.. 1865; M.A.
l:869. Deacon 1868; Pi-iest 1869, by the Archbishop of
Canterbury. Before becoming beneficed he held clerical
appointments at St. John's, Tunbridge Wells; at Acton, Middlesex;
and at St. Mary's, Dover.. On the decease of
Mr. Biron he was presented to the united vicarages of
Lympne and W esthythe by his former Rector at Acton,
who was now Archdeacon of Canterbury and Bishop Suffragan
of Dover. .A.fter a vica1·iate of neai-ly five and a half
years he was promoted by Archbishop Tate to the new
· * E"8tbridge was severed from Lympne and Westhythe by an Order in
Co11noil, da.ted 18 November 1867.
'248 VICARS OF ST. 'MA.RY, W.lilSTHYTitE.
vicarage of St. Michael and All Angels, Maidstone, which
he held until 1902, wl1en he resigned. He subsequently
went to reside at Ipswich, wh.re he regularly assisted in
the services at the church of St. Mary-le-Tower until
within a· few weeks 0£ his decease, which occurred on the
23rd December 1912. While at Lympne Mr. Coulcher
effected a thorough restoration of its ea;rly Norman church,
espeeially of the tower, nave, north aisle, and porch, under
the professional guidance of Mr. J.P. St. Aubyn, in 1878-80.
He also enlarged and improved the vicarage-house.
HENRY BRYDGES BrnoN, B.A., inst. 13 September:1882,
on cess. of the last. Patron: Rt. Rev. Edw. Parry, as Al·chdeacon.
(Ibid.)
After leaving the King's School, Canterbury, Mr. Bfron
entered at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, from which he gl"a.duated
B.A. ih 1858. He was ordained in the following year, and
licensed to the curacy of Mersham, where he remained nine
years. His other clerical appointments, previous to becoming
beneficed, were at Biddenden, 1868-78, and at Harbledown,
1878-82. In the last-mentioned year, on the promotion of
Mr. Coulcher to St. Michael's, Maidstone, he was presented
by Dr. Parry to the united vicarages of Lympne and West
hythe, which had been held by his fother, the Rev. Edwin
Biron, from 1840 to 1877. Although Mr. Biron succeeded
to a newly-restored church at Lympne, he found many
opportunities of supplying what was needed in the ornaments
and furniture of the fabric, in all which he was
co1·dially supported by his appreciative pai·ishioners. Among
many such details may be mentioned the fixing of a reredos
of Caeu stone, with dark marble shafts, and panels filled
with mosaic work. Also the·erection of new altar-rails,
and the introduction of standard lamps for the· better
lighting of the chancel. An organ was subsequently set up,
which greatly contributed to the more efficient rendering·of
the. musical portions of the services. Still later the area of
the churchyard was extended by the addition of a piece
of ground, which was consecrated.on the 15th Oot6ber 19,08
'Vl:0Al1$ ()])' SIJ.'. 'MARY, WES'l'Hl'THE. 249
by Dr. Walsh, Bishop of Dover, who at the same ti.me
dedicated . a lych gate, erected at the entrance to the
churchyard, the gift. of Mrs. Tennant of Lympne Castle.
After · about thirty years of conscientious work as Vica,r,
Mr. Biron resigned Ms parochial charges, very much to the
regret of bis parishioners, among whom his memory. will
long be ·cherished with feelings of affection. On leaving
the vicarage he went to reside nea.r Canterb111·y, the scene of
his school life and cricket achievements, for it may be
mentioned that, having devoted much of his leislll'e time in
early years to that pursuit, he so greatly excelled as to
merit the coveted distinction of being· selected to play for
Kent· in County matches during the Canterbury cricket
week.
GILBERT MA.xwELL SooTT, M.A., inst. 7 October 1912, on
1·esig. of the last. ·Patron: Rt. Rev. Will. Walsh, as .Archdeacon.
(Ibid.)
Of Jesus Coll., Oxford; B,.A.. 1885; M.A. 1889. Also of
Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, 1885. Deaco.n 1886, and Priest
1887, by the Bishop of Oxford. He served the curacy of
St. John the Evangelist at Reading, 1886-92, and in the
latter year was instituted to the vicarage of Nailswortb, in
the diocese of Gloucester, which he held until 1904,. After
being on the staff at the College of St. Saviour, Southwark,
from 1905 to 1908, lie was appointed Organizing Secretary
of the C. E. T. S. for the Dioceses of Canterbury and
Rochester. In February 1918 a Grant of £50 was made
towards the improvement of Lympne Vicarage .by the
Diocesan Church Building Society.
