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 road), called Ospringe Street in the village. The historic Maison Dieu is on Ospringe Street. The remains of substantial Roman buildings have been found to its north west; the ruins of the abandoned Stone Chapel lie nearby.
The largest settlement in the civil parish of Ospringe is now Painters Forstal, which lies a mile south west of the village of Ospringe. The civil parish also includes the hamlets of Brogdale and Whitehill. The civil parish had a population of 715 in 2001,[2] increasing to 771 at the 2011 census.[1]
The parish church of St Paul and St Peter, a Grade II* listed building,[3] lies half a mile south of the village of Ospringe and within the civil parish. It was built in the early 1200s. The church is in the diocese of Canterbury, and the deanery of Ospringe.
The Roman ruins are believed to be on the site of the Durolevum mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, although this remains uncertain.
In 1798, Edward Hasted records that the village was once called "Ospringes", and that this name comes from the spring or stream that rises in the village and used to lead to Davington pond.[4]
The village was once separate from the hundred of Faversham, and had its own constable. In 1935 part of the parish (including the village and Ospringe Street) became part of the Borough of Faversham. This enabled[how?] electricity to be installed in many of the properties. Other parish matters (such as rubbish collection) were now controlled by Faversham, removing the need to dispose of waste in a local disused quarry.[4]
The stream that gave the village its name ran from Whitehill, near Painters Forstal (or Painter's Forstal) northwards along a valley (along Water Lane), towards Ospringe Church and then past Queen Court (a former mansion house – now a Grade II* listed farmhouse,[5]). The stream then passed through a corn grinding water mill (demolished around 1960) and then actually flowed along Water Lane, with raised pavements either side, creating a ford close to the junction with Ospringe Street (A2) (beside the Maison Dieu)[6] It was then culverted under the A2 to reappear on the north side and head towards Chart Gunpowder Mill, before finally running into Faversham creek near Oare.[4] When the M2 motorway was built in 1965, Water Lane was rebuilt south of the A2 and the stream completely diverted into a culvert under the road. This led to the complete disappearance of the ford and stream. The raised pavements were eventually levelled. [7]
Later, two manors split. Sir John Pulteney became the owner of the manor of Ospringe. He was Lord Mayor of London (1330–1331 and 1333) and also owner of Penshurst Place. When he died in 1350, it passed to his son William de Pulteney. When Sir William Pulteney died in 1367, it passed to Sir Nicholas Lovaine (Sir William's stepfather). The manor then passed through many generations of that family, including Sir Philip St Clere. In 1550, Sir Thomas Cheney, a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, became owner.[4]
During the reign of Edward II, after the split, The Manor of Queen-Court passed to Fulk Peyforer, then in 1357 to Sir William de Clinton. It then returned to the Crown's control after his death. Nicholas Potin (a sheriff of Kent) then leased the manor. In 1550, it passed to Sir Thomas Cheney. When the two manors became one manor. Sir Henry Cheney (Sir Thomas's son) then sold the estate to Richard Thornhill, of London. By 1789, George North, 3rd Earl of Guilford (once MP for Harwich)[words missing].[4]
Also included in the Parish of Ospringe were the estates of 'Plumford' and 'Painters' (the latter is now part of Painters Forstal), which were both Manors of Queencourt. It[clarification needed] was held in 1547, by the son of Sir Anthony Aucher (an MP for Canterbury). The manor passed through various owners in the same way as the Manor of Ospringe.[4]
Another estate was Brogdale and Brook Farm (near the hamlet of Whitehill), named after the brook that flows through Ospringe. Brook Farm is now a Grade II listed building.[8]
Another estate is Elverland, (once called Elvyland). It was owned by John, the youngest son of Bertram de Criol (High Sheriff of Essex in 1239). It passed to his son, Nicholas de Criol. Then it passed to the Maison Dieu, who leased it out for a fee. After the hospital at Maison Dieu ended it passed into private hands again.[4] The Manor House is now a Grade II listed building.[9]
Another small estate is Hansletts (once called Hansells or Hansletts forstal). This passed through various private hands.[4] Hansletts House is now a Grade II listed building.[10]
West of the parish, on Judd's Hill, is Folly House. It is in the grounds of[clarification needed] a five-acre (2 hectares) wood, which in 1201 was owned by the Bishop of Rochester, Gilbert Glanvill. Henry Sandford (a later Bishop) passed the wood to a local resident and his heirs.[4] It now has become Judd's Folly Hotel,[11] and Syndale Park Fitness Club.[12]
West of Folly House is the estate of Syndale, also in private hands.[4] Now part of Syndale Farm. Syndale Farmhouse is Grade II listed.[13] Until 1961, a Palladian-style house known as Syndale House stood in the grounds immediately south of the A2. It was completely destroyed by fire and not rebuilt. The grounds were investigated by television's Time Team, in search of a possible early Roman fort adjoining the main Roman road from the continent to London. The fort was not found, though many traces of a Roman presence were.
The Church of St Paul and St Peter was built in the early 1200s. In 1384, it was under the Abbot of Pontiniac (in France). Then it (and the attached parsonage) became a possession of the Maison Dieu. In 1558, the parsonage was privately leased by Robert Streynsham (a former secretary of the 1st Earl of Pembroke), and then passed through his family.[4]
Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, 8 miles (13 km) from Sittingbourne, 48 miles (77 km) from London and 10 miles (16 km) from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, and known as Watling Street. The name is of Old English origin, meaning "the metal-worker's village".
Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone.
Barfrestone is a village and a former civil parish, now in the parish of Eythorne, in the Dover district, in east Kent, England. It is between Shepherdswell, Eythorne and Nonington, close to the former pit villages of Elvington and Snowdown. In 1931 the parish had a population of 91. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Eythorne.
Luddenham is a widespread hamlet or small village north-west of Faversham in Kent, England, with many long-distance views across the Swale and the Isle of Sheppey. It is on the edge of Luddenham Marshes and is also home of Luddenham School. Oare Gunpowder Works are on the edge of the village. It had, according to Edward Hasted in 1798, 396 acres of low flat arable land and 200 acres of meadow and pasture, although half of those are marsh. It is in the civil parish of Norton, Buckland and Stone.
Bapchild is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about two miles inside of Sittingbourne. It lies on the old Roman road now the A2, and according to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,068, including Tonge, increasing to 1,141 at the 2011 Census.
Newnham is a village and civil parish in the Syndale valley in Kent, England, in the administrative borough of Swale near the medieval market town of Faversham.
Preston or Preston-next-Wingham is a civil parish and village in the valley of the Little Stour in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village is on the B2076 secondary road. The parish includes the hamlet of Elmstone. The main river through the area is a tributary of the River Stour. The suffix 'next-Wingham' distinguishes the area from Preston-next-Faversham.
Maison Dieu is a hospital, monastery, hostel, retirement home and royal lodge commissioned by Henry III in 1234. The timber framed building is located beside Watling Street, now the A2 road, in Ospringe, Faversham, in Kent, England.
Stalisfield is a village in the borough of Swale in Kent, England, located on a secondary road about 1½ miles (2.4 km) north of Charing and 5 miles south west of Faversham. The parish includes the hamlet of Stalisfield Green.
Murston is a suburb of Sittingbourne, in the Swale district, in the county of Kent, England. It is about 1 mile north-east of central Sittingbourne, on the east bank of the Milton Creek.
Sheldwich is a village and civil parish in the far south of the Borough of Swale in Kent, England.
Tunstall is a linear village and civil parish in Swale in Kent, England. It is about 2 km to the southwest of the centre of Sittingbourne, on a road towards Bredgar.
Selling is a village and civil parish southeast of Faversham and west of Canterbury in Kent, England.
Oare is a village and civil parish north of Davington, Faversham in southeast England. It is separated from Faversham by the Oare Creek. To the north of the village are the Oare Marshes, and the Harty Ferry which once linked to Harty on the Isle of Sheppey. Kent Wildlife Trust manages a nature reserve that is an important stopping place for migratory birds.
Highsted is a village near Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is in the civil parish of Rodmersham.
Painters Forstal is a village in the Swale district of the English county of Kent. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of the town of Faversham and is part of the civil parish of Ospringe. It lies just south of the M2 motorway, and has developed almost completely since the 1950s.
Tonge is a village near Sittingbourne in Kent, England. The hamlet is north of Bapchild, close to Murston Marshes beside the Swale.
Rodmersham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale in the north of the English county of Kent. It is just under 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Bapchild on the A2 road and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of the town of Sittingbourne. Rodmersham Green, which forms the bulk of the modern village, is 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the south-west of the village church towards the Highsted Valley and Tunstall.
Norton, Buckland and Stone is a small rural civil parish 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Teynham and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the centre of Faversham in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. It is bypassed by the M2 to the south and traverses the historic A2, on the route of the Roman road of Watling Street. In 2011 the parish had a population of 467.
Sir Philip St Clere was a son of Sir Philip St Clere of Ightham, Kent and Little Preston, Northamptonshire & his wife Joan de Audley. He served as High Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex and was a major landowner whose estates included land in eight English counties.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hasted, Edward (1798). "Parishes". The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. 6. Institute of Historical Research: 499–531. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
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