Frinsted or FrinsteadYoungs, F., Local Administrative Units: Southern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979), p. 271 is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Wormshill and in the

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

District of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. and has been a recorded settlement (under the name Fredenestede) as far back as the

Domesday Book 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

and indeed was the only settlement in the surrounding area to be described at the time to have a church.Frinsted
entry in the Domesday Book of 1086, at the NationalArchives.gov,uk The village exists in the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Eyhorne (and has been mentioned as such dating back to the

Kent Hundred Rolls The Kent Hundred Rolls are the documentary result of a 13th-century Crown inquiry or census into the rights of the English monarchy over land and property in the Hundreds (regional sub-divisions) of the county of Kent. The Rolls are preserved in ...

of 1274 to 1275).The Kent Hundred Rolls
at KentArchaeology.org (PDF) The parish is situated on the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...

between

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

and

some ten miles (16 km) south of

The Swale The Swale is a tidal channel of the Thames estuary that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the rest of Kent. On its banks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Sittingbourne to Whitstable in Kent. It is al ...

. To the West lies the village of Wormshill, to the North East the village of

Milstead Milstead is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. It is surrounded by the villages of Frinsted, Wichling, Doddington and Lynsted in Kent, England. It is the southernmost parish in the Sittingbourne area, it is ...

, the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Kingsdown and the

Torry Hill Torry Hill, in Kent, England, is the family estate of the Leigh-Pemberton (formerly Pemberton Leigh) line. It is on the boundary of Frinsted and Milstead, approximately 3 km due southwest of Kingsdown hamlet. The estate typifies a style o ...

estate and to the South and South East are the villages of Doddington and Newnham. The part of the parish northward of the church is in the division of East Kent, but the church itself, and the remaining part of it is in West Kent. The village is surrounded by former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

s or "courts" being to the east ''Wrinsted court'' and to the west, ''Yokes Court'' and ''Madams Court''. The population is relatively unchanged in the past 200 years. In 1801 Frinsted's total population was 153. After rising to 219 around 1871,Frinsted's entry at
the

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes ...

(1870–72) by John Marius Wilson by the 1901 census the population had dropped to 126. By 1971 the population was 138. At the 2001 census, the population was 171,Frinsted pages
at VisionofBritain.org.uk2001 Census Results
at Kent.gov.uk falling at the 2011 Census to 143. The village church is today dedicated to

St Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in ...

although an early 19th-century watercolour records it as dedicated to All Saints. Although it has Norman origins, the church as it stands today was constructed principally in the 12th century and was repaired and enlarged in 1862.Sittingbourne, Milton, and District Directory 1908/09
reprinted 1980 by W.J. Parrett Ltd, Sittingbourne The bell tower is typical of the

Perpendicular Period Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

History

Early history

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

coins (or

stater The stater (; grc, , , statḗr, weight) was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece. The term is also used for similar coins, imitating Greek staters, minted elsewhere in ancient Europe. History The stater, as a Greek silver curre ...

s) dating back to the 1st century BC have been found in fields near the village. The parish was part of those possessions which

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

gave his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux, under whose name it appears in the Domesday Book:

"Hugh, the grandson of Herbert, and Adelold the chamberlain, holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Fredenestede. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is three carucates. In demesne ... Three villeins having seven oxen. There is a church, and two acres of meadow and an half, and wood for the pannage of two hogs. It is, and was worth, separately, twenty shillings. Leunin held it of king Edward."

Four years after taking the above survey, the bishop was disgraced, and the King, his brother, seized the estate and the rest of his possessions, which were confiscated to the Crown. After which, the village came into the possession of Jeffry de Peverel, forming part of the barony of Peverel, as it was then called, being assigned to him for the defence of

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is th ...

. Nicholas de Gerund later held the manor until he died during the reign of Henry III. The manor then passed to the Crombwell family being in the name of Richard de Crombwell during the reign of

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

. Ralph de Crombwell, his successor, later, obtained a charter of "

free warren A free warren—often simply warren—is a type of franchise or privilege conveyed by a sovereign in medieval England to an English subject, promising to hold them harmless for killing game of certain species within a stipulated area, u ...

" for his lands in the parish, and at his seat at Meriam-court (now commonly known as Madams Court). During the reign of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

this estate transferred first to Richard le Gerund and then via marriage to Sir Henry de Chalfhunt. At this point it appeared in the

and was noted, among other things, for the death of "a certain stranger killed in Fretthenestede". During the reign of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...

, the manor was transferred to the ownership of the nearby manor of

Ospringe Ospringe is a village and area of Faversham in the English county of Kent. It is also the name of a civil parish, which since 1935 has not included the village of Ospringe. The village lies on the Roman road Watling Street (nowadays the A2 r ...

. Subsequently the manor with the

then known as "Wrensted" (more recently Rinsted court) and Madams-court sold to Robert le Hadde, resident in the Frinsted during the reign of Henry IV. Over the course of the following years the land moved many more times between heirs until vesting in the estate of Margaret Style (during the reign of Queen Anne) who in 1716 sold it to a Mr. Abraham Tilghman. A commissioner of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

, and of the victualling office he died in 1729 and was interned in the southern part of the church, where there is a monument erected to his memory. The manor stayed in the Tilghman family for the latter part of the 18th century.

19th and 20th centuries

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the population of Frinsted declined from 208 (1881) to 150 (1921), a trend typical of downland parishes as a consequence of agricultural depression and the mechanisation of farming practises. The village is now a typical

commuter village. Described by John Marius Wilson in 1872, the village was owned principally by the Leigh-Pemberton family in the Barony of Kingsdown. Descendants of the Leigh-Pemberton line still live in the village and the surrounding area. A popular spot for rural-sightseeing, day-trippers and picnic outings in the summer and game shoots in the winter, the village previously contained a sub-post office, an active cricket club and held an annual horticultural show. Frinsted was also a motorbus terminus for rural intra-county routes. When the services were cancelled, the small bus park and building which included a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

(''The Kingsdown Arms'') remained a popular pub and restaurant in the area. The pub was finally sold and converted to a private dwelling at the end of the 20th century. The nearby Milstead and Frinsted

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

primary school opened in 1848 on land donated by the Leigh-Pemberton family who still retain a position on the school's board of governance.History of Milstead and Frinsted School
on the school's website An early example of an aircraft shot down in a

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

whilst on a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

bombing raid occurred near Frinsted on 19 May 1918. A German Gotha GV 979

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...

was engaged by British

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

and crashed in fields near the village with one survivor who was captured. At least one of the German airmen killed was initially buried in Frinsted churchyard before being moved to a military cemetery at

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry E ...

. Previously fields at Yokes Court near the village had been used as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

between February 1917 and November 1917. A private airfield for light aircraft still operates on the Yokes Court site and a second private airstrip exists at ''The Glebe'', a collection of fields immediately to the east of the village.

Etymology

Frinsted has been recorded under a number of names over the years including Fredenestede, Freyhanestede, Frensted, Frethensted, Wronsted and Frinstead.'Parishes: Frinsted'
from The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 5 (1798), pp. 554–561. Date accessed: 30 October 2007 It is thought that the name means a "place of protection" and being possibly derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''frithen'' meaning "protection" or ''fyrhðen'' meaning "wooded place".Key to English Place-names
by the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent