Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HORTON-KIRBY

HORTON-KIRBY, a village and a parish in Dartford district, Kent. The village stands on the river Darent, ½ a mile SSE of Farningham r. station, and 4½ SSE of Dartford; and has a post office under Dartford. The parish contains also the hamlets of Pinden and DeanBottom, and part of South Darenth. Acres, 2, 813. Real property, £6, 638. Pop. in 1851, 747; in 1861, 867. Houses, 1 56. The property is divided among a few. The manor was held, at Domesday, by Anschitill de Ros, under Bishop Odo: remained with the family of De Ros till the time of Lora, called the "Lady of Horton;" and went, by marriage with her, to the family of Kirkby, who previously owned adjacent lands. Horton Castle was founded, soon after the Conquest, by the De Ros; was rebuilt, in the time of Edward I., by Roger De Kirkby; seems to have been either rebuilt again or largely restored and altered, at a subsequent period; and is now represented by very considerable remains. Franks is a fine Tudor edifice; was built, in the time of Elizabeth, by Alderman Bathurst; is now the residence of R. Bradford, Esq.; and was recently restored at great expense. Extensive paper mills are at South Darenth. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £214.* Patron, the Rev. G. Rashleigh. The church is mainly early English, but has a modern tower; is cruciform, with the tower rising from the intersection; has arcades round the interior of the transepts; and contains some remains of Roman pavement. A refuge home for boys, at a cost of £12, 000, was built in 1867. There are a national school, and charities £30.


(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: Horton Kirby AP/CP       Dartford RegD/PLU       Kent AncC
Place: Horton Kirby

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