Kingsdown is a small village surrounded by the villages of Frinsted, Milstead, Doddington and Lynsted in Kent, England. The hamlet is within the civil parish of Lynsted with Kingsdown.
The hamlet was described by John Marius Wilson in his 1872 Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as a settlement of no more than 18 houses incorporating a population of 96. [1]
The Barony of Kingsdown was a hereditary peerage conferred on Thomas Pemberton Leigh around 1858. Lord Kingsdown never married, and his title therefore became extinct on his death in 1867. Lord Kingsdown's seat was at Torry Hill (see below) which stayed in the family, later to be known as the Leigh-Pembertons. The manor extended to the environs of the hamlet of Kingsdown and was recorded as such by Wilson in 1872. [1] [ failed verification ]
The title was resurrected this time as a life peerage for Robin Leigh-Pemberton (from a related family line) becoming Baron Kingsdown in 1993. [2] Torry Hill, approximately 3 km due southwest of Kingsdown hamlet, is the family estate of the Leigh-Pemberton (formerly Pemberton Leigh) line.
The hamlet is focused around a 19th-century redundant Anglican church dedicated to St Catherine. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, [3] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. [4]
The maintenance of Kingsdown Church was funded by Lord Kingsdown. According to a booklet from the Redundant Churches Fund, the population of the surrounding parish numbered just 96 in 1865 meaning a benefactor was essential. [5]
Thomas Pemberton Leigh supported the building of a new church on the site of a mediaeval church (records from the rectory date back to 1313) that stood where today's nave stands. The church is believed to be the only remaining completed Anglican example of the work of Edward Welby Pugin, a noted ecclesiastical architect in Britain. The stained glass windows and possibly other internal fittings were installed by notable ecclesiastical manufacturers Hardman & Co.. [1] [5] Edward Taylor-Jones, who had played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club, was rector at the church from 1922 until his death at the rectory in 1956. [6] [7]
The church is normally locked but a key can be obtained by arrangement. The church and a number of outlying buildings are now stranded on the south side of the M2 motorway and can be reached via a footbridge from the village of Kingsdown.
Robert "Robin" Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, was a British Peer and banker, who served as Governor of the Bank of England from 1983 to 1993.
Beeby is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of 115 according to the 2011 census. It is situated north-east of Leicester, nearer to the villages of Keyham and Hungarton in the neighbouring district of Harborough and lies along the Barkby Brook. This small rural hamlet can be succinctly described as "a series of scattered houses that remain of the shrunken medieval village". The parish also includes the hamlet of Little Beeby, which consists of several houses within the settlement and is located 200m south east of the All Saints Church.
Thomas Pemberton Leigh, 1st Baron Kingsdown PC, KC, was a British barrister, judge and politician. Originally a successful equity lawyer, he then entered politics and sat as an MP from 1831 to 1832 and from 1835 to 1843. From 1841 to 1843 he was attorney-general for the Duchy of Cornwall. However, he is best remembered for his role on the judicial committee of the Privy Council, of which he was a member for nearly twenty years. Having turned down the post of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain in 1858, he was the same year elevated to the peerage as Baron Kingsdown. He died unmarried in October 1867, aged 74.
Allington is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Grantham. The 2001 Census gave a parish population of 728 in 329 households. This increased to a population of 897 in 422 households in the 2011 census.
Lynsted is a village in Lynsted with Kingsdown civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The village is situated south of the A2 road between Faversham and Sittingbourne and the nearest M2 junction is Faversham three miles east. Lynsted is in many respects an archetypal old English village with church, churchyard with an ancient yew, pub and a duck pond. The village is locally referred to as Lovely, Lovely Lynsted and various songs have been written about it.
Wyville with Hungerton, or Hungerton-cum-Wyville is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, and situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west from Grantham The whole parish covers about 1,670 acres (6.8 km2). The population is included in the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton.
Frinsted or Frinstead is a small village and civil parish in the ecclesiastical parish of Wormshill and in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. and has been a recorded settlement as far back as the Domesday Book and indeed was the only settlement in the surrounding area to be described at the time to have a church. The village exists in the Hundred of Eyhorne.
There have been six baronetcies created with the surname of Leigh: two in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The only creation remaining extant is that of Altrincham, while another is dormant.
Langdon is a civil parish in the Dover district of Kent, England, and contains the villages of East Langdon and West Langdon, and the hamlets of Martin and Martin Mill. Langdon was the site of Langdon Abbey which was dissolved in 1535.
Torry Hill, in Kent, England, is the family estate of the Leigh-Pemberton line. It is on the boundary of Frinsted and Milstead, approximately 3 km due southwest of Kingsdown hamlet.
Thorpe Morieux is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is 10 miles south-east of Bury St Edmunds and 10 miles north east of Sudbury.
Chicklade is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, South West England. The village is on the A303 road, about 7 miles (11 km) south of Warminster. The parish includes the hamlet of Upper Pertwood.
Stansfield is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located seven miles south-west of Bury St Edmunds, in 2011 its population was 221. The village has an Anglican church dedicated to All Saints. In 1870, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Stansfield as
Sir Edward Leigh Pemberton was an English Conservative Party politician.
Hawkedon is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around 7 miles (11 km) south-south-west of Bury St Edmunds, the parish also contains the hamlet of Thurston End, and in 2005 had a population of 120. The majority of the village is classed as a conservation area.
Major-General Sir Wykeham Leigh-Pemberton was a British Army officer and magistrate. He served as Aide-de-camp to Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck, in Canada; and, to Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. He was the brother of Sir Edward Leigh Pemberton, grandfather of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, Governor of the Bank of England.
Edward William Tetley Taylor-Jones, born Edward William Tetley Jones, was an English clergyman and cricketer who played in two first-class cricket matches for Kent County Cricket Club in 1894.
The Torry Hill Railway is a private miniature railway with the unusual gauge of 9 inches at Torry Hill near Frinsted in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. It operates only occasionally.
John Roper was a British aristocrat, created the first Baron Teynham in 1616.
Christopher Roper was a British aristocrat and member of the House of Roper who became the second Baron Teynham in 1618, after the death of his father, John Roper, 1st Baron Teynham.
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