Wickhambreaux

Wickhambreaux ( ) is a small rural village in Kent, England. The village is just off the A257 Sandwich Road, four miles east of the city of Canterbury. Since Roman times the village has had connections to the Church and the Crown, including being owned by Joan of Kent in the 14th century. The 13th-century parish church of St Andrew stands around a medieval village green along with other historic buildings.

History

Wickhambreaux has a recorded history with connections to the Church and Crown dating back to Roman times. It is first mentioned in 948 when King Eadred granted land to a religious woman, however, Wickhambreaux settlement predates this to at least Roman times as it is on the northwest side of the Roman Road. Wickhambreaux village still retains its medieval pattern with the Church, manor house, rectory, inn and mill encircling the green.

Wickhambreaux manor was part of the extensive estates owned by Joan Countess of Kent, wife of Edward, the Black Prince (buried in nearby Canterbury Cathedral) and mother of King Richard II.

Joan was very much a power behind the throne and was seemingly well-loved for her influence over the young king. It is said that when she returned to London from a pilgrimage to Canterbury in 1381, and found her way barred by Wat Tyler and his rebels on Blackheath, the mob not only let her through unharmed, but saluted her with kisses and provided an escort for her for the rest of her journey.

In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village is referred to as Wicheham. The derivation appears to be Anglo Saxon and is formed from Wich ( Wich town), meaning coastal trading settlement and Ham, meaning homestead or settlement. Although this is surprising today, in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England the village was near the mouth of the Little Stour or Lesser Stour, where it entered the Wantsum Channel. This explains the fisheries and salt pans mentioned in the Domesday Book, and the river was at that time easily navigable for ships of the time. Wickhambreaux is the location of the site where one of the first Roman roads in Britain crossed the Little Stour en route from, where the Romans first landed in Britain, Richborough Castle to Canterbury.

An alternative spelling may be ''Wykham Brewes'' as seen in 1418, the home of a weaver called John Bourneman. Other places mentioned in the record are Goodneston by Wyngham, Mungeham and Elmestone.

Religion

To the northwest of the mill on a small rise sits the flint and stone church of St Andrew (Grade I) and its graveyard. This simple perpendicular church was constructed during the 13th century, with early 16th century additions. Its plan comprises a chancel with an organ chamber to the north and a three bay nave with tie beam roof. The church was restored in 1868. Wickhambreaux was one of the early minsters founded in Kent before 700. The Art Nouveau stained glass east window of the Annunciation dates from 1896. The donor was “Count” James Francis Gallatin and this was the first commission in Europe given to American glassworkers. The window is dedicated to Gallatin's mother Mrs Harriette Duer de Gallatin, who had been married to Albert Gallatin Jr. It was designed by Arild Rosenkrantz and manufactured in John La Farge's New York Studio. James Francis Gallatin was the great grandson of Albert Gallatin the longest serving United States Secretary of the Treasury and member of Thomas Jefferson's cabinet. James Francis Gallatin edited the pro-ported diary of his grandfather James Gallatin who had acted as private secretary to Albert Gallatin at the conclusion of the War of 1812. Published in 1914 as 'A Great Peace Maker: The Diary of James Gallatin'. This has subsequently been assessed to be a fraud committed by James Francis Gallatin. In an article in The American Historical Review (LXII July 1957 pp 878–885) Raymond Walters Jr. stated '. . . I reached the conclusion that the diary is a complete fraud.' James Francis styled himself Count Gallatin, though his right to the title was disputed, but he was known to his own family as 'bad Jimmy'. Walters notes that no manuscript for the diary has survived or was ever known to have been seen by anybody other than Jimmy. J. R. Ackerley in his posthumously published autobiography speculated that his father had a homosexual relationship with "Count" James Francis de Gallatin James Francis Gallatin was declared bankrupt 14 times in-between 1879 and 1889, and died in 1915 with £128 to his name.

Culture

Historically the village was a farming community but, as with so many rural villages, many of the residents work in local towns. Although only small in population, around 500, it is a busy village with its church activities, Produce Association, competitive cricket club and many other similar interests. Village shops closed over the years but despite the small population the primary school still occupies its original historic building dating back to 1869.

The surrounding countryside is good farm land producing some of Kent's finest fruit as well as cereal and vegetable crops.

Landmarks

The historic village of Wickhambreaux contains a harmonious collection of substantial distinctive properties clustered around the village green, including the former watermill on the banks of the Little Stour. The most picturesque corner is to the south-east with the Old Stone House and Wickham Mill adjoining the river.

Wickham Mill (Grade II listed) previously a corn mill dominates the entrance into Wickhambreaux from Littlebourne and its four-storey, with attics, white weather boarded structure is a local landmark. Of particular note is the retention of the overshot waterwheel. Opposite the mill is the Old Stone House/former Post Office (Grade II*). Beyond the mill, where the road crosses the Little Stour via a small bridge with white painted wooden railings, the village green is reached. The green is very much the centre of the village with the, church, large houses and the Rose Inn public house fronting it.

Wickhambreaux Court (Grade II) sits on a small slope above the green and its Regency buff brick 1700s façade with green shutters is the dominant built feature from the green. This re-facing masks an older building which could well be medieval in origins and was likely undertaken on the instruction of the then owner of the Manor Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham. The house featured in the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale. Behind Wickhambreaux Court is the Wickham Court Oast, which is all that remains of a farm.

Across the green from Wickhambreaux Court sits Old Willow Farmhouse (Grade II) a two-storey 18th century house of red brick which was restored and rendered in the first half of the 19th century. The building sits prettily in its grounds next to the Little Stour. The river at this point flows between the Oast Houses and Old Willow Farmhouse and has landscaped banks with willow trees, shrubs and flowers crossed by attractive foot bridges.

The Old Rectory (formerly Wickham House) is Grade II* listed with unmistakable Baroque tendencies. It was built in 1714 by Reverend Alexander Young The Old rectory is two storeys high with attics and a basement. Its construction of red-brown brick with red brick dressings has one of the finest examples of tuck-pointing mortar in the district.

To the south of the Old Rectory is the Rose Inn (Grade II). Its two-storey rendered frontage is late 17th early 18th century in appearance. In earlier times travellers used it as a stopping point on their way to Grove where The Stour could be crossed. It remains the busy hub of this community being one of the few businesses left in the village. Adjacent to the Rose Inn is a small terrace of locally listed cottages which, along with the Old Bell House, form the corner and entrance to The Street a narrow road of smaller terraced style houses.

The Old Bell House (Grade II) is a 15th-century timber-framed building, probably a hall-house of two bays. The first floor is close studded with brown roughcast infilling, the ground floor is rebuilt in painted brick. It turns the corner into The Street where it is abutted by Bell Cottage.

Wickhambreaux retains the medieval pattern of development of grander homes around the green and smaller workers' cottages and small businesses in their own separate area. The Street is narrow and lined with closely packed buildings predominantly built up to the road edge. This character area contains 17 listed buildings and 23 locally listed properties. The form, layout and character of this street hark back to a much earlier era. Until 1966 the road still had the central drainage gutter from the Middle Ages and is still locally known as Gutter Street.

The Street would have been the commercial core of the village and many of the building forms and names still reflect this, however, the village shops have closed over the years.

Wickhambreaux in the Domesday Book

"The Bishop of Bayeux held Wicheham in demesne and it was assessed at 4 sulungs. There was land for 11 ploughs, while the demesne had land for 2 ploughs; 36 villans and 32 cottars had 9 ploughs. There was a church and a priest who gave 40 shillings a year. There was a park; 2 mills rendering 50 shillings; 2 salt-pans rendering 32 pence; 3 fisheries rendering 4 shillings; 32 acres of meadow; pasture for 300 sheep and 31 cattle; woodland for 80 pigs.

In the time of King Edward it was worth £25; when it was received by the bishop it was worth £20; by 1086 it was worth £30.

Also belonging to this manor were 3 messages in Canterbury rendering 6 shillings 8 pence.

In addition there belonged to this manor half a sulung of free land which Sigeræd held of Alfred Bigga and then Geoffrey fitzMalleterre held of the Bishop of Bayeux; it was always worth 60 shillings".

By the eleventh century the church and adjacent court farm formed the manorial focus of the medieval settlements.

Owners of The Manor of Wickhambreaux

In the Domesday Book Odo, Earl of Kent, half brother of William the Conqueror was owner of the Manor. Bishop Odo was imprisoned and subsequently banished to Normandy and the Manor passed to Roger de Condet (Cundi/Cundy) c.1083. On his death in 1141, it was inherited by his son Roger de Cundet, who died in 1201, bequeathing it to his daughter, Agnes de Cundy. Agnes married Walter II de Clifford and thus it passed into the ownership of the de Clifford's. Agnes de Clifford made a bequest before 1222 towards the making of an aisle at St Andrew's Church. It was subsequently owned by Walter III de Clifford. He left one daughter Maud as heiress, a granddaughter of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, who married firstly William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury and secondly John Giffard of Brimsfield. William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury's son Nicholas Longespee

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