Bite-size pieces of history

Daniel Wyborne 1665

In the 16th and 17th centuries the Heralds toured the counties and required those families who possessed coats of arms to prove their right to them. In Kent there were visitations in 1530-1, 1574, 1594, 1619-21, 1663-8.

It is recorded that Daniel WYBORNE, Yeoman of Northbourne (formerly of Stourmouth) ignored the herald's summons to claim his right to arms at the Visitation of Kent in 1665 because he said, 'the plague was hott at Norborne'!

Quaker Burials 1600s

Hugh LANGLEY chose to be buried in his garden at Finglesham in 1666. Presumably he was an early Quaker, prior to having their own burial grounds Quakers often opted to be buried on their own land.

On 31st October 1661 the parish register records Math ASLY was buried in an orchard, as dictate by the Quakers.

William Widgeon 1697

Some former residents have mellifluous sounding names such as William WIDGEON baptized at Northbourne on September 27th 1697, son of David and Jane Widgeon.

'Married in Finglesham Church'

The expression 'married at Finglesham Church' refers to a casual affair, or dalliance. Of course Finglesham had no church and it alludes to at a chalk pit notorious for amorous meetings. The saying seems to have been in use from at least 1735.

ref: Rev. Walter Skeat, 1874, 'Dr. Pegge's Ms. Alphabet of Kenticisma, and Collection of Proverbial Sayings Used in Kent', Archaeologia Cantiana ix, 136. [Samuel Pegge was vicar of Godmersham.]

Hops 1835

In 1835 there were 10 acres of hops growing in the parish of Northbourne. In that year 263 parishes in Kent were growing hops (a total of 25,740 acres), but by 1951 there were only 129 parishes still growing hops (a total of 12,645 acres). By 1951, in common with a lot of the small village parishes, there were no hops in Northbourne.

Poor House May 1843

A public auction sale at the Hare and Hounds public house Northbourne sold 20 perches of land together with the Poor House to Mr. Charles Hannam of Northbourne Court for the sum of £46.

Storm of 26th / 27th November 1881

Gales strong enough to be called hurricanes toppled at least 500 trees in Betteshanger Park, belonging to Sir Walter James M.P., and at the nearby vicarage 'a valuable conservatory belonging to the Rev. Mr. Bliss was almost totally destroyed'.

Rupert Brooke at Betteshanger 1914

The poet Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) - for a short time in the autumn of 1914 he was stationed with the Royal Naval Division at Betteshanger Park. More about Rupert Brooke

Lord Northbourne's Challenge to the Kaiser 1916

In January 1916, in the middle of World War I, the Deal Walmer and Sandwich Mercury reported that Lord Northbourne (Walter Henry JAMES, 2nd Baron, 1846-1923) had challenged the Kaiser (Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany) to meet him in single combat. Needless to say the German monarch did not reply to the challenge.

Olympic Games 1920

Walter Ernest Christopher JAMES 1896-1982, (later Lord Northbourne, 4th Baron) rowed as an Oxford Eight and British Eight in the Antwerp Olympic games of 1920 where he gained a silver medal. United Sates won gold and Norway bronze.

The Antwerp games were notably for many reasons, the last Olympic games had been held in 1912 - the 1916 games had been cancelled because of World War I. Due to the post-war conditions in Belgium the accommodation was spartan, visiting athletes had to sleep on cots in schoolrooms. Incidentally the legendary British oarsman - Jack Beresford - at his first Olympics, won a silver medal in the single sculls, America's John B. 'Jack' Kelly (later better known as the father of Grace Kelly) gained the gold medal by a second. The 1920 games also saw the introduction of the Olympic flag.

Organic Farming 1940

The coining of the term 'organic farming' is credited to Lord Northbourne, 4th Baron (Walter Ernest Christopher JAMES 1896-1982) in his book Look to the Land.