MILSTED

IS the next adjoining parish south-eastward from Bredgar. It lies on high ground, obscurely among the hills, and surrounded by woods, there being no thoroughfare of any account through it; the situation is not much different from that of Bredgar adjoining to it. The parish is but small, containing about eight hundred acres of land, of which about fifty are wood. The soil in the upper or southern part is poor, consisting partly of chalk, and partly of a red cludgy earth, the whole of which is much covered with flints; in the centre and northern part it is something more sertile and kindly for tillage. The church stands nearly in the middle of the parish, having the mansion of Hogshaws almost adjoining the east end of the church-yard, at the west part of which the parsonage stands. At no great distance from hence northward, in the vale, is all that there is of a village in the parish; near the southeast boundary is Torry-hill, belonging to Mr. Osborne Tylden, who resides in it; near the western boundary is Broadoak forstall, and the hamlet called from it. On this forstall there stands a remarkable large juniper tree, being near fifteen feet high, and near eight feet before it has any branches,

THE MANOR OF MILTON claims paramount over the greatest part of this parish, subordinate to which is THE MANOR OF MILSTED, which in the beginning of the reign of Edward I. was in the possession of Thomas Abelyn, who died possessed of it in the 4th year of that reign, then holding it as one messuage, and one carucate and an half of land, in Milsted, and pasture for three hundred sheep in the marsh of Elmele, of the king, in capite, by knight's service. He was succeeded in it by Nicholas Abelyn, who died two years afterwards, holding it by the like service. Soon after which it appears to have come into the possession of the family of Savage; one of whom, John le Siuvage, obtained a grant of free-warren in the 23d year of the above reign, for his lands in Milsted and other places; but before the 20th year of king Edward III. this names seems to have been extinct here; for at the making the black prince a knight, the heirs of John Savage paid aid for this manor. Indeed, it seems from the beginning of that reign, to have been in the name of Mocking, (fn. 1) from which it passed into that of Hoggeshaw, and Elmeline, late the wife of Sir Thomas Hoggeshaw, died in the 50th year of it, possessed of the manor of Milsted, held of the king in capite, as one knight's see.

Their son Edmund Hoggeshaw, succeeded to the possession of it, which had now, from their continuing owners of it, acquired the name of Milsted, alias Hoggeshaws, by which it has been known ever since. He died in the 12th year of king Richard II. s. p. upon which Joane, one of his sisters and coheirs, entitled her husband, Thomas Lovel, esq. to it, whose son Thomas, in the 12th year of king Henry IV. held a court for this manor; one of his decendants sold it to Robert Greaves, who died in the 9th year of king Henry VII. holding it in manner as above mentioned, Katherine, wife of George Sole, being his daughter and next heir. Soon after which, it became the property of Roger Wake, who died in the 19th year of king Henry VII. when this manor, with the advowson of the church of Milsted passed by his will to Margaret his daughter, whose husband, John Barnard, esq. entered into the possession of it. At length his grandson of the same name, dying an insant in the 14th year of king Henry VIII. it became vested, by the limitations in the will of Roger Wake above-mentioned, in his right heirs, who conveyed their interest in it to Sir Thomas Nevyle, and he passed it away by sale to Sir Robert Southwell, who in the 4th year of Edward VI. passed away, by fine then levied, the manor of Hoggeshaws, alias Milsted, and the advowson of the church of Milsted, then held of the king in capite, to Thomas Henman, senior, and his heirs. His son, Alan Henman, of Lenham, in the 12th year of that reign, sold it to Thomas Thomson, of Sandwich, jurat, for the use of Agnes, his daughter, who entitled her husband, John Toke, gent. of Goddington, to the possession of it. She survived her husband, and by her will in 1629, devised it to her eldest son Nicholas Toke, esq. of Great Chart, who in 1631, anno 7 Charles I. passed away both manor and advowson to Edward Chute, esq. of Bethersden, whose son George had married Eleanor Toke, his eldest daughter, and he anno 9 Charles I. conveyed it by fine then levied to Richard Tylden, gent. of Great Chart, and William Tylden, then an insant, his son. The family of Tylden had antiently possessions in the parishes of Brenchley, Otterden, Kennington, and Tilmanstone, in this county; one of them William Tylden, paid aid for lands in this county, in the 20th year of king Edward III. In the reign of queen Elizabeth, a branch of them was settled in the parish of Wormsell, one of whom, William Tylden, died there in 1613. His direct descendant, Richard Tylden, esq. of Great Chart, who bore for his arms, Azure, a saltier, ermine, between four phoens, or, purchased this manor and advowson as above-mentioned, whose eldest son William Tylden, gent. was of Hoggeshaws, as was his son Richard, who dying in 1763, was buried with his ancestors in the Tylden chancel, in this church. By Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Thomas Osborne, esq. of Hartlip, he left one son RichardOsborne, and three daughters, Hannah married to Edward Belcher, of Ulcomb; Mary to Thomas Bland, clerk, and Philippa, who died unmarried. Richard Osborne Tylden, esq. succeeded his father in this estate, and left his widow surviving (who re-married the Rev. Edward Smith, rector of Milsted, and died in 1776) and by her four sons, Richard, of whom hereafter; Osborne, of Torry-hill, esq. in this parish, who married the only daughter of John Withins, esq. of Surry; the Rev. Richard Cooke, rector of Milsted and Frinsted, and Manby May; and one daughter Elizabeth married to Mr. Valyer Baker, Surgeon, of Sittingborne. Richard Tylden, esq. succeeded on his mother's death to the possession of this manor, and now resides here; he married Miss Catherine Rolse, of Ashford, who died in 1783.

The last court held for this manor, being a courtbaron, was in the year 1632.

HIGHAM-COURT, now usually called Great Higham, is a manor in this parish, which was antiently the property of a family of the name of Nottingham, whence it acquired, as appears by antient writings, the name of Nottingham-court.

They resided at Bayford, in Sittingborne, so early as the reign of king Edward I. Robert de Nottingham, owner of this estate in the reign of Edward III. was sheriff in the 48th year of it, and kept his shrievalty at Bayford, in which year he died, and was found at his death to hold lands in Doddington, Tenham, Milsted, Tong, Bredgar, and Sittingborne, all which descended to his only son John Nottingham, who died s. p. leaving his daughter his sole heir, who marrying Simon Cheney, of Cralle, in Sussex, second son of Sir Richard Cheney, of Shurland, he became entitled to this manor. The Nottinghams bore for their arms, as Philipott says, Gules, two pales wavy, argent; which coat, impaled with Cheney, was in one of the windows of Milsted church. On the roof of the cloysters of Canterbury cathedral, are carved the arms of Nottingham, Gules, on a bend, argent, three escallops, azure; but of what kindred to these of Milsted, I have not found. In his descendants this manor continued down till Richard Cheney, esq. and his son John, in the year 1676, joined in the conveyance of it to Mr. Thomas Lushington, of Sittingborne, whose great-grandson, the Rev. Mr. James Stephen Lushington, is the present owner of this manor. (fn. 2)

Charities.

JOHN WIATT, of Milsted, by will in 1722, gave a moiety of several pieces of land in Milsted, Frinsted, and Wormesell, containing about twenty acres, towards the teaching of four poor children of this parish to read and write, vested in the minister and churchwardens, and of the annual produce of 2l. 4s.

There are five alms-houses belonging to this parish, on the eastern side of it, next to Kingsdown.

The poor constantly relieved are about nine; casually forty.

MILSTED is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sittingborne.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary and the Holy Cross is but small, and consists of one isle and one chancel, with a low square tower at the west end of it, in which hang three bells. On the north side is another small chancel, belonging to the Tyldens, in which many of them lie buried. On the south side there was another chancel, belonging to Higham-court, which was pulled down, by the mutual consent of the proprietor and parishioners in 1672.

In the church-yard, near the south porch, there is a very antient tomb-stone, having on it a cross botony, fuchee, carved in relief.

The church of Milsted was given by king John to Wydon the clerk, who held it, as appears by the Testa de Nevill, in the next reign of king Henry III. Whether he was lord likewise of Milsted manor I have not found; but from the next reign of king Edward I. to the present time, this church seems to have had the same possessors, and as such, the advowson of it is now the property of Richard Tylden, esq. of Hoggeshaws.

In 1578 there were fifty-five communicants. In 1640 eighty-seven, when it was valued at fifty pounds per annum.

It is a discharged living in the king's books, of the clear yearly certified value of forty four pounds, the yearly tenths being 17s. 6d. The glebe land consists of only three acres.

Church of Milsted.

Footnotes