The manor of Agney was an estate in

Old Romney Old Romney is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The village, as its name suggests, is the original site of the settlement, and is situated two miles (3.2 km) inland from New Romney. It lies ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

owned by the Dean and Chapter of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. The estate may have originated in the eighth century and for hundreds of years was leased to members of the same family, including Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. It is frequently referred to as Agney Court, Agne Court, Agnes Court or even Aghne Court.

History

The manor of Agney may have been the estate granted by

King Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

to Ealdbeorht and Selethryth in 785. It is not mentioned by name in

Domesday Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, but a number of unnamed properties in Old Romney belonging to the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

are mentioned. Aghne Court, alias Old Romney court was described as the main manor of Old Romney. It was owned by the priory of Christchurch, Canterbury until the dissolution of the monasteries. Henry VIII then gave it to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral. The manor was let by them to tenants in a series of leases for lives. In the middle of the 16th century the property was leased to Sir Stephen Thornhurst and passed to his son, Sir William Thornhurst and then to his son, Sir Giffard Thornhurst - the first (and only) baronet of Agnes Court. Sir Giffard married Susan Temple (sister of the regicide, James Temple). Their only male child died shortly after birth and on Sir Giffard's death in 1627, the manor passed to their daughter Frances, although it was held by Susan until Frances came of age and a new lease was prepared for her. Frances married Richard Jennings and in due course the property passed to their daughter Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. In her will, she left it to George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough and it remained in the Spencer family for some years thereafter. The manor house, located about a mile south west of Old Romney parish church was called Agney Court (sometimes Agney Court Lodge) and the manor itself was frequently referred to by the name of the manor house - Agne Court, Agnes Court, Agney Court or even Aghne Court. The earlier manor house may have been destroyed in 1287/8 by a breach in the sea wall and then rebuilt following the repair of the breach.

Notes

{{Reflist Agney Manor of Agney