Great Mongeham
Encyclopedia
Great Mongeham is a village and civil parish
in East Kent
, on the outskirts of Deal
. Its name is derived from Mundelingham or village of Mundel. Parts of Great Mongeham's church, St Martin's, date back to the 13th century. In the 19th century it was restored
by William Butterfield
.
Locally produced ice cream
and sausage
s found favour with Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
, who, as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
, often stayed in her nearby official residence, Walmer Castle
.
Significant figures who have lived in the village include Stephen Haggett, Proctor
of Queens' College, Cambridge
in the seventeenth century and Olivia Barclay
, astrologer.
Great Mongeham may have been a settlement as long ago as the Bronze Age
. When the site for the new primary school was being dug in February 1949 the body of a man and two fragments of food vessels were found. The man was in the crouched burial position used in the Bronze Age and one of the fragments was dated to about 1000 BC.
Great Mongeham is close to the Roman road
which ran from Dover
to Richborough Castle. Archaeologists have discovered Roman pottery and evidence of cremation but we do not know if there was a permanent settlement here at that time.
There certainly was a settlement here in 761 AD. In that year King Eadbert of Kent gave some land to St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. This included the village, which was then called Mundelingeham. The names means "settlement of Mundel's people". By 1195 it was written as Munigeham. It had become Mongeham by 1610.
Being close to the sea and to the rest of Europe has affected Mongeham's history. In 1415 Henry V granted the Fogge family of Mongeham the exclusive rights to brew and ship beer to the English soldiers in Calais
. Chalk and lime used in the building of Deal Castle in 1538 was quarried from a pit called Pope's Hall. At the time of the Armada
in 1588 Mongeham had a signal beacon which would have been lit to raise the alarm if the Spanish landed. Later, the smugglers hid their spoils near the village. Mongeham is also known for its lesser known history, the first wooden bike recorded to have been manufactured was created in this very town, the town is also home to a very well known truffle forager who has been foraging under the trees for many years.
A number of buildings in Mongeham have shaped gable
ends. This was a Dutch fashion which is found in several places along the east coast of Kent. The church porch, which was demolished in 1851, had fine gable ends.
The village church has a complicated history. The original building probably dates from Saxon
times but there are claims that it goes back to AD 470. In the sixteenth century the interior was brightly coloured but by 1665 the church was in a state of disrepair. One third of the parishioners belonged to religious sects and did not attend service. The church was restored
in 1851.
Inside the church is a helmet which may have been worn at the Battle of Hastings
in 1066. There is also a poem by Robert Bridges
, a former Poet Laureate
, written as a tribute to his nurse, Catherine Ashby. She came from Mongeham and spent much of her life in service with the Bridges family who lived at St. Nicholas-at-Wade in Thanet, where Robert himself is buried.
Also in the church is the fine sculpted monument to Edward Crayford, whose father-in-law was three times Lord Mayor of London
. The Crayfords were once a prominent local family but Stone Hall, their house by the church, was demolished long ago. William Crayford led a contingent of Kent men in the Wars of the Roses
on the Yorkist side. He fought in the Earl of Warwick's division at the Battle of Northampton
in 1460 and was knighted by Edward IV
for his services.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in East Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, on the outskirts of Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
. Its name is derived from Mundelingham or village of Mundel. Parts of Great Mongeham's church, St Martin's, date back to the 13th century. In the 19th century it was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by William Butterfield
William Butterfield
William Butterfield was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement . He is noted for his use of polychromy-Biography:...
.
Locally produced ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
and sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
s found favour with Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, who, as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century but may be older. The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England...
, often stayed in her nearby official residence, Walmer Castle
Walmer Castle
Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539–1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was part of his programme to create a chain of coastal defences along England's coast known as the Device Forts or as Henrician Castles...
.
Significant figures who have lived in the village include Stephen Haggett, Proctor
Proctor
Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.The title is used in England in three principal senses:...
of Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
in the seventeenth century and Olivia Barclay
Olivia Barclay
Olivia Barclay was a British astrologer who played an important role in the revival of traditional forms of astrology in the late twentieth century...
, astrologer.
Great Mongeham may have been a settlement as long ago as the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. When the site for the new primary school was being dug in February 1949 the body of a man and two fragments of food vessels were found. The man was in the crouched burial position used in the Bronze Age and one of the fragments was dated to about 1000 BC.
Great Mongeham is close to the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
which ran from Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
to Richborough Castle. Archaeologists have discovered Roman pottery and evidence of cremation but we do not know if there was a permanent settlement here at that time.
There certainly was a settlement here in 761 AD. In that year King Eadbert of Kent gave some land to St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. This included the village, which was then called Mundelingeham. The names means "settlement of Mundel's people". By 1195 it was written as Munigeham. It had become Mongeham by 1610.
Being close to the sea and to the rest of Europe has affected Mongeham's history. In 1415 Henry V granted the Fogge family of Mongeham the exclusive rights to brew and ship beer to the English soldiers in Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. Chalk and lime used in the building of Deal Castle in 1538 was quarried from a pit called Pope's Hall. At the time of the Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
in 1588 Mongeham had a signal beacon which would have been lit to raise the alarm if the Spanish landed. Later, the smugglers hid their spoils near the village. Mongeham is also known for its lesser known history, the first wooden bike recorded to have been manufactured was created in this very town, the town is also home to a very well known truffle forager who has been foraging under the trees for many years.
A number of buildings in Mongeham have shaped gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
ends. This was a Dutch fashion which is found in several places along the east coast of Kent. The church porch, which was demolished in 1851, had fine gable ends.
The village church has a complicated history. The original building probably dates from Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times but there are claims that it goes back to AD 470. In the sixteenth century the interior was brightly coloured but by 1665 the church was in a state of disrepair. One third of the parishioners belonged to religious sects and did not attend service. The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1851.
Inside the church is a helmet which may have been worn at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
in 1066. There is also a poem by Robert Bridges
Robert Bridges
Robert Seymour Bridges, OM, was a British poet, and poet laureate from 1913 to 1930.-Personal and professional life:...
, a former Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, written as a tribute to his nurse, Catherine Ashby. She came from Mongeham and spent much of her life in service with the Bridges family who lived at St. Nicholas-at-Wade in Thanet, where Robert himself is buried.
Also in the church is the fine sculpted monument to Edward Crayford, whose father-in-law was three times Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
. The Crayfords were once a prominent local family but Stone Hall, their house by the church, was demolished long ago. William Crayford led a contingent of Kent men in the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
on the Yorkist side. He fought in the Earl of Warwick's division at the Battle of Northampton
Battle of Northampton (1460)
The Battle of Northampton was a battle in the Wars of the Roses, which took place on 10 July 1460.-Background:The Yorkist cause seemed finished after the previous disaster at Ludford Bridge...
in 1460 and was knighted by Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
for his services.