THE ISLAND AND HUNDRED OF OXNEY
LIES at the south-west boundary of this county,
next to Sussex, from which, the uplands of Kent, and
Walland Marsh, it is separated by the river Rother,
which surrounds it, the main channel of which, till
within these few years, was on the north side of it,
next to the uplands of this county, by Smallhyth and
Reading, and though now nearly swerved up and only
so very small a rivulet, that it may almost be stepped
across, yet so late as the year 1509, the tide of the sea
flowed up by it as far as Smallhyth, to which place, or
at least not far from it, the Rother appears to have
been at that time navigable, (fn. 1) but for want of a sussi
cient force of fresh water to repel and clear this channel of the earth and mud, which the tide from time
to time lodged in it, the whole of it along the north
side of the island was so swerved up, that in the year
1736 it was sound necessary, for the discharge of the
waters of the Rother, which then, for want of it, overflowed the adjoining marsh-lands, to make a new
channel through Wittresham level, for the passage of
them, whereby the course of the river, for the space
of five miles or more, became inverted, and instead of
running from Maytham to Smallhyth and Reading
eastward, on the north side, now runs from thence
to Maytham westward, and thence into the new channel above-mentioned, along the southern side of this
island, into the Apledore channel, and so on to the
sea at Rye.
This island, written in the survey of Domesday,
Oxenai, and in other antient records both Oxene and
Oxenel, is supposed by some to take its name from its
foul and miry situation, whilst others suppose it took
its name from the large number of oxen fed in it.
Perhaps this latter opinion may be corroborated by the
figure of an ox on the sides of the antient altar, which
for time out of mind had remained in the church of
Stone, in this island. This altar, the figure of which
is here annexed, was removed from the church, and
made a horse-block of, by which means it was much
defaced and cracked asunder; but the late Mr. Gostling, who was too great a lover of the remains of antiquity to suffer it to continue in this perishing state,
had it repaired, and placed it upright in the fence of
his vicarage garden, where in still remains.
It does not appear to have had any inscription or
letters on it, but has an ox in relief on each of the four
sides of it. The bason or hollow at top, retains a
blackness, as if burnt by the fire, occasioned by the
sacrifices made on it.
Leland, in his Itinerary, vol. vii. p. 139, says, part
of this island, if not all, was formerly in Sussex, "yet
parte of Oxney ys in Kent and parte in Southsax—Sum say that yt is or hath bene al in Southsax. Sum
caulle it Forsworen Kent, by cause that were the inhabitantes of yt were of Southsax they revoltid to have
the privileges of Kent."
It is nearly of an oval form, being about six miles
in length from east to west, and near three from north
to south, and near ten miles in circumference. There
is a ridge of hilly upland, which lies high, running
through the middle part of the island, but the surrounding parts of it are low and consist of marshes,
which are in general fertile, and famous for the quantity of grass which they produce. Before the Rother
was swerved up, on the north side of it there were two
ferries to enter it, one from Smallhythe and the other
from Apledore, and another at the west end, called
Maytham ferry; but now, from the insignificant
breadth of the streams which surround it, there are,
in their stead, four small wooden bridges at the opposite parts of it, over which you enter into it.
THE HUNDRED OF OXNEY EXTENDS over the
whole island.
IT CONTAINS WITHIN ITS BOUNDS THE PARISHES OF
1. Stone.
2. Wittersham, and part of
3. Ebeney.
And the churches of those parishes. One constable has jurisdiction
over it. The manor of Aldington claims over the greatest part
of this hundred, which is one of the appendages to it, and for
which a court leet is annually held.