Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for LAWRENCE (ST.)

LAWRENCE (ST.), a village and a parish in Thanet district, Kent. The village stands near the coast, adjacent to the Ramsgate and Canterbury railway, at the j unction station of Pegwell, ½ a mile W of Ramsgate. The parish was at first a chapelry of Minster; was made parochial in 1275; and included what is now Ramsgate parish till 1827. It contains the tythings of Ozengell and Newlands; the hamlets of Southwood, Pegwell, Chilton, Little-Cliff's-End, Great-Cliff's-End, Manston, Poleash, Spratting-Street, Coldswood, Haine, Newington, Puddle-Dock, and Whitehall; part of Ellington hamlet; and parts of Northwood, Poisons, Holycondane, Dumpton, and Hereson. Post town, Ramsgate. Acres, 4, 431; of which 1, 185 are water. Real property, £17, 439. Pop. in 1851, 3, 015; in 1861, 3, 287. Houses, 636. Cliff House is the seat of Sir William Curtis, Bart. East Cliff Lodge is the seat of Sir Moses Montefiore. West Cliff is the seat of J. H. Warre, Esq. Southwood is the marine residence of the Ladies Ashburnham. Pegwell House is the seat of T. N. Harris, Esq. Ellington is the seat of the Garrett family. Little-Cliff's-End and GreatCliff's-End belong to Mr. Petley. Manston Court is an ancient mansion, now a farm house, with ruins of a chapel. Curious subterranean passages lead from EastCliff-Lodge gardens to the sands. Pegwell is noted for shrimps and lobsters, and carries on trade in the potting of shrimps. There is a coast guard station. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £162.* Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Norman, in good condition; has a central tower, with external arcade; and contains monuments of the Spracklings and the Manstons. Trinity-St. Lawrence is a separate benefice; and was constituted, as a chapelry, in 1845. Pop. in 1861, 1, 351. Houses, 253. The living is a p. curacy; the value, not reported; the patron, the Vicar of St. Lawrence. The endowed charities in the parish amount yearly to about £100. Joy, the strong man of Kent, who could lift a ton and pull against a horse, was a native.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: St Lawrence CP/AP       Thanet RegD/PLU       Kent AncC
Place names: LAWRENCE ST     |     ST LAWRENCE
Place: St Lawrence

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