Lenham Camp
By Henny Shotter
A field called ‘Camp Field’, a tune called ‘Lenham Camp’ and a poem written at ‘Lenham Camp’ are unmissable clues that there was a military camp in Lenham. Still, it seemed to have been forgotten until rediscovered by members of Lenham Heritage Society some time ago.
Just before lockdown in 2020, the Royal Collection published military maps collected by George III. Among these, there is the map of Lenham Camp1.
The encamped regiments shown in Fig 1 are the Berkshire Militia (light blue on the map), Northamptonshire Militia (black on the map), Montgomeryshire Militia (blue on the map), 16th
Dragoons/Light Horse (blue on the map) and 20th Dragoons/Light Horse (yellow on the map).
The location of the Camp required figuring out.
In Lenham Heath, to the west of Bull Hill and the north of Lenham Heath Road. Lenham Heath Road was, at that time, a major route from London to the coast. In one of the corners of the Camp was the ammunition magazine. The place is still locally known as ‘The Magazine’. ‘Camp Field’ is close to the Iron Age/ Roman site near Mount Castle. Due to the Camp’s proximity to this site, it was assumed for some time that the name (i.e. Lenham Camp) points to a Roman connection. Lord Radnor, commissioned as a Captain in the Northamptonshire Regiment2 of Militia on 27th September 1779, was stationed at Lenham Camp and later presented a coin hoard discovered near the Camp to the British Museum.
There were several George III camps in Kent. The London Gazette of 19th May 1781 names Chatham, Lenham and Cox Heath. We assume that it was due to the influence of the Mann and Cornwallis Family that the Cox Heath Camp and Lenham Heath Camp were established. The Manor House of Boughton Malherbe and Linton were in their ownership. Horatio Mann’s sister Catherine was married to the Reverend James Cornwallis, between 1773 and 1785 rector
Cox Heath Camp4 was the largest Camp in Kent and was famous for frivolous activities5 involving famous ladies and scandals such as the ‘Hanoverian Standoff’6.
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Fig 1: Map of Lenham camp
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Fig 2: Cox Heath camp
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Fig 3: Sir Horatio Mann, Second Baronet
The Camp was subject to theatre plays and gossip in the papers, which would make some modern Royals fume. There was even a novel written: ‘Coxheath Camp: a novel in a series of letters. By a lady in two volumes.’7
The Camp in Lenham had its scandals. One was reported in the Kentish Gazette of 6th September 1882 and possibly involved either John Hamilton of Chilston Park or Horatio Mann of Boughton Malherbe8, a keen hunter (Fig 3). The Kentish Gazette reported that a gentleman’ remarkable tenacious of his game’ had launched a formal complaint that the Light Dragoons had been shooting too close to his premises. The General firmly denied the allegation, much to the embarrassment of the gentleman (who, seemingly, was not used to being rebuked). However, the affair was not finished. An unknown poet took to his quill and published a poem in which the gentleman was ridiculed9:
‘Oh, me! How bless’d are happier Galeias skies, No hare is murdered and no partridge dies.
Ah, me! How bless’d are Gallia’s richer sons, Whose game is sacred even from soldiers’ guns. In that dear land for lords of manors meet,
The lord reigns monarch of his ancient seat.’
The poet laments that he would be better off in France (the old enemy).
‘Of that poor pension-let me fly, let me fly, And with my cash reclaimed a lordship buy!
In France thrice glorious! Lords of Manors sell Their quails and pheasants by the market bell. Here Venison only to the market goes,
Our English squires send only Bucks and Does. Oh, how I envy Gaul her wiser laws,’.
Another poem, ‘The Disbanded Subaltern’, also written at Lenham Camp, is more widely distributed. Initially, in 2018, Lenham Heritage Society was made aware of a poem written, as stated on the cover of a Google book edition, at Lenham Camp by one William Carter (possibly a pseudonym): The Disbanded Subaltern.
The book is widely available on the internet and as a reprint by the British Library. We assume this ubiquity is because another book, which describes the ‘Battle of Bunker Hill’, is attributed to the same author10: A genuine detail of the several engagements, positions, and movements of the Royal and American armies, with an accurate account of the blockade of Boston and a plan of the works on Bunker’s Hill, at the time it was abandoned by His Majesty’s forces, on 17th March 1776.
The book cover shows a motto: ‘Cedant arma togae’, which translates to: ‘Let arms concede to the toga (Let war yield to diplomacy)’, which
The poem, actually an ‘epistle’ or letter, is addressed to a ‘friend’, as is the book about Bunker Hill. The author’s name is possibly a pseudonym.
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Fig 4: The Disbanded Subaltern
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Fig 5: Grenadier of the 40th Regiment of Foot in 1767
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Fig 6: Lenham Camp Cover
There has been much debate ever since the book was published about whether he was indeed a lawyer who belonged to the militia for some time and never saw a battle or was a career military man11.Opinions differed, too, in the discussions of Lenham Heritage Society members. If he had been at war himself, would he have needed to draw so extensively from the wartime experiences of a former neighbour and war veteran named Tenaille (page 12):
‘You knew Tenaille who occupied of late
The snug brick house which fronts our paddock gate:.’
Tenaille seemingly fought in the War of Austrian secession at Dettingen (1740), where the British army and their allies were victorious and at Fontenay
(1745), where they lost. The author dedicates two and a half pages to Tenaille’s accounts of army life. Why, if he could have drawn from his own experiences?
The poem starts with an atmospheric description of the Camp, which, remarkably, reflects the views from Camp Field in Lenham Heath: The midday sun shines over the Camp. The narrator lies listlessly on his bed of straw.
The soldiers on guard the previous night sleep blissfully or dream of encounters on their nightly rounds. Others attend to their weapons, clean their belts or repair their worn clothes. Others fill the long hot day with poor jokes or tuneless songs. One moment the steaming land seems to dance in mockery, then the next, the land lies in stillness, and you only hear the lads in the Camp’s kitchen greeting their comrades. Down at the bottom of the hillside lies a pond that feeds a mill. He looks at the rich colours of the land and the varied landscape, the fields of waving gold, the jutting quarry face (these chalk quarry faces on the Downs are overgrown today and no longer visible) and the grey of the fallow land. Some sun-burnt soldiers wash and enjoy the freshness of the water. A piper breaks the drowsy spell hanging over the Camp and forces the men to move on.
In his contemplation, he compares the gregarious joys of army life with the dull life of a lawyer in London. The soldiers are admired by pretty girls when they march through the villages in their shiny uniforms12. When calling in at a hostelry, they are made welcome by the landlord, who might even give them their drink for free. They sing and chant while walking in the fresh air and enjoy much camaraderie. This compares poorly with the life of a London lawyer, which he led before. The London light is dim, the air full of foul smells from animals and people, and the colleagues haughty and reserved.
After this comparison, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that he decides to go back to his chosen profession as a lawyer. Maybe he didn’t have a choice, as the American War of Independence had been lost, the feeling of loss was natural for many, and large sectors of the army were disbanded.
A tune called ‘Lenham Camp’ was collected by Robert Thomas Bottle of Harrietsham (1761-1849) and published under Faversham Papers 110 in 201013.
The music was discovered, compiled and edited by George Frampton with help from his friend Paul
Malyon. In his foreword, Frampton speculates about the potential existence of a camp in Lenham, as there was a proliferation of local dance music from this period. The tune was performed by Gail Duff for the Lenham Heritage Society and provided a cheerful conclusion to the research into this topic.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Gail Duff, Steve Finnis, Lesley Feakes, Gail Grieg, Richard Maylam, Amy Myers and Annette Tomarken for their help and advice.
Notes
Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2021
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Pleydell- Bouverie,_2nd_Earl_of_Radnor
An interesting link to the topic is here: https:// www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/ spotlight-primary-source/surrender-british- general-cornwallis-americans-october-19
Contemporary, image in the public domain, thanks to Wikimedia
These activities are vividly described here: https:// blog.adkinshistory.com/coxheath-camp/
http://nelsonlambert.blogspot.com/2011/07/ hanoverian-standoff-maidstone-affair-of.html
First published in 1779, re-printed as paperback in 2010 by the British Library
Image in the public domain, thanks to wikipedia
Lilian-Boys Behrens, ‘Love-Smugglers and Naval Heroes’ London: Cecil Palmer, 1929. First edition, p. 156-157
Free to read as google book: https://www.google. co.uk/books/edition/A_Genuine_Detail_of_the_ Several_Engageme/1jFEAQAAMAAJ?hl=enhttps enhttps://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/ book/browse?type=lcsubc&key=Carter%2c%20 William%2c%20Lieutenant%20in%20the%20 40th%20Regiment%20of%20Foot&c=x
See: The monthly Catalogue of Poetry, 1881, page 148
Image in the public domain courtesy of Wikipedia. The hat of this uniform is of a new type. The traditional style was broad rimmed made of beaver skin and in shape similar to the hat Napoleon wore. The broad rim often interfered with the musket when it was shouldered or when it was aimed at a target. The new style was more musket-friendly.
The collection of tunes is available from the Fleur de Lys Heritage Centre in Faversham