THE DOVER EXPRESS AND EAST KENT NEWS—FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1901.

ALKHAM.

Alkham is a place apart, secluded in its own valley, living its own quiet life. It is one of those retreats where the bustle of the busy world can be escaped more effectually than in most places. True, the roar of the railway train can be heard in the neighbouring Dour valley, sometimes the guns of Dover and of the ships at sea wake the echoes of the place, but for the rest the notes of nature run in unjarring cadence—the wind in the tree tops, bees droning round the flowers, larks singing over the hill-tops, the lowing herds, and the honest watch-dog’s bark. Yet the curtain which shuts off the great theatre of life, with its stirring dramas, horrible tragedies, and mirth-moving comedies is very thin! At either end of the valley you are within view of Dover and Folkestone, and just over the hills is the maritime highway of the world.

Alkham's Physical Features.

Though nature at Alkham is now somnolent, it has some time been violently active, the long lines of hilly ramparts on either side, depressions, ravines, gullies, all tell of a time when the physical forces raged furiously; and although the rents are now softened by foliage, and the scars covered by greensward, the fact cannot be hidden that nature, now so placid, was not always so. Looking up the valley from Kearsney, its rugged sides command attention, on the northward rising to a rough furzy tableland, called Ewell Minnis, and on the south-east its continuity is broken by a gorge opening towards St. Radigund's, while another ridge starts up, forming the eastern boundary of the valley, till it merges with Folkestone Hill, and loses itself in the sheer cliff facing the Straits of Dover. At Alkham village the continuity of the north-west ridge is broken by ravines and gullies, leading up to Ellinge, and giving a romantic background to Everden and Drellingore. Altogether, the aspect of nature is wild and romantic, affording a striking contrast with the rural quietude that now prevails.

A Suburban Invasion.

In taking a walk through the valley, many interesting modern features demand attention. The opening at the Kearsney end promises to rapidly develop as a place of fashionable suburban residence. In the early part of the last century Mr. Knocker, a Mayor of Dover, appreciated the natural beauties of this place, and built a pleasant residence at Bushy Ruff, and recently, on the wooded hill in the rear, the late Mr. Alfred Leney erected a noble mansion. This, apparently, is the beginning of a movement to form at the opening of this beautiful valley, in close proximity to the railway station, a colony of suburban residences. A large area of very eligible building land, known as Kearsney Park Estate, the property of Sir William H. Crundall, will no doubt in the near future be occupied by modern residences, overlooking the fine stretch of water which, with its sylvan surroundings, has charms rarely equalled.

A Busy Field of Industry.

Leaving the Bushy Ruff lake on the right, we come to the miniature waterfall where the head spring of the Dour, which rises at Chilton, leaps and sparkles as it fills over a small weir, descending to a culvert, through which it passes under the road to Bushy Ruff lake. Immediately beyond this we come to the Chilton Nursery grounds, another part of Sir William Crundall’s Alkham estate, recently brought under this special class of cultivation by its lessees, Messrs. George and Andrew Clark, florists, of Dover. Since Chilton lands came into their hands, a wonderful transformation has taken place. It may be remembered that in one or two of the great Easter Volunteer reviews, troops were massed in the fields all along this valley, facing Chilton. Then the ground was merely agricultural land, but now, for a mile or more along the roadside, and for a considerable breadth towards the eastern ridge, the whole area is under high cultivation, and is planted with choice shrubs and young trees, in numbers so great that if we mentioned them we should be charged with romancing. This new industry, or rather the extension of an old Dover one, employs a large amount of labour, providing an output of plants, shrubs, ornamental trees, and flowers, that supplies customers in the towns and estates along the South Coast and far inland. The commercial energy of Messrs. G. & A. Clark is worthy of the highest praise, for their business is a creation which largely helps to swell the volume of the trade of Dover. It is of interest to mention that Chilton House, the centre of this nursery farm, has been selected by Mr. Max Pemberton, in his recent novel, “Pro Patria," as the spot where the French debouched from an imaginary tunnel shaft, by which it was proposed to invade England. Probably some extensive excavations which Messrs. Clark were making some time ago for laying out the land suggested the idea. At present, there is no sign here of an invasion except that of a new peaceful industry.

Iron and Coal Works.

Approaching nearer the village of Alkham, here and there are signs of new bricks and mortar movements; several new cottages and villas have been erected, and some are in hand. In the village itself the workshops of Mr. F. A. Tunbridge, builder and contractor, seem to have grown considerably, while other developments are pending. Mr. Max Pemberton’s little scare about a French invasion at Chilton, will probably take a more acute form now that a French company is actually preparing to bore and to sink shafts for iron and coal at EIlinge. The plant by which these works are to be commenced is just now on its way, and the site selected for the operations is up the little branch valley which from the centre of Church Alkham village runs in the direction of Swingfield. These mining works, it may be expected, will make a wonderful transformation here. Ellinge is a distinctly rural place, and the scenery is romantic. The saddle-back ridge of Ewell Minnis broadens out at Ellinge into a wide table-Iand, north-west of which is a wide and deep depression called the Bear's Hole, in which an army could be snugly hidden, and looking accross this depression, Swingfield Church, on an elevation to the westward, a conspicuous position. At Ellinge, in the Alkham Valley, and further on at Swingfield, the Coal Company have purchased a large area of land to facilitate their operations.

Village Features en route.

Retracing our steps to the heart of the village of Alkham, we note the Wesleyan Chapel, a pretty ornamental brick building erected in 1880, with a little burial ground on the hillside in the rear. It should be mentioned that the Wesleyans were at Alkham long before 1880, but their previous chapel was incommodious. In the centre of the village are the Vicarage, the Post Office, and on a conspicuous knoll stands the Marquis of Granby Inn, a famous house of call, in close conjunction with the Parish Church and Schools. Passing these, we are on the way to South Alkham, a detached part of the village, where, near by the ancient yew tree, the village smithy stands, and here and there are farms largely devoted to cow-keeping and supplying milk to the town of Dover.

Drellingore and its Nailbourne.

At South Alkham is the place where the celebrated intermittent spring called Drellingore breaks out at uncertain intervals and rises, without any visible head, in the hollows of the meadows to the east of the road, and runs in a current through Alkham sufficient to turn a mill. In writing of the sources of the River Dour, Leland, in his Itinerary, evidently refers to Drellingore Spring, although for want of precise information, he had to leave a blank in his narrative for the name. In his quaint verbiage he says: "As concerning the river of Dovar, it has no long course from no spring or hedde notable that descendeth to that bottom. The principal hedde, as they say, is at a place cawled Ewelle, and that it is not past a iii. or iiii. myles fro Dovar. There is also a great spring at a place cawled -------- and that ones in a vj. or vij. yeres brasted owt so abundantly that a great part of the water cummeth into Dovar Streme, but els yt renneth yn to the se bytwyxt Dovar and Folchestan, but nerer to Folchestan, that ys to say, withyn a ii. myle of it. Surely the hedde standeth so that it might with no great lost be brought to run alway into Dovar streme.” The last time that this spring “brasted owt” in full force was three years ago, and last year the water appeared on the surface, but did not rise high enough to run down the valley.

Folkestone Waterworks.

The Folkestone new Waterworks which were commenced some years ago, and further empowered by the Folkestone Waterworks Act a year ago, are on the southern boundary of Alkham parish. Folkestone municipal authorities, acting on the hint given by Leland, as to the wisdom of diverting the Drillingore water, have obtained statutory powers to secure this water for the use of their town. The visible portion of the establishment of these works seems at present to be of a somewhat temporary nature, the buildings on the ground being of galvanised iron; but a powerful engine used to raise the water is in an underground chamber and although it cannot be seen the thud of its stroke can be heard. The well is 150 feet deep, but the water, in wet seasons, rises up to the engine room, although just now the water level is from 95 to 100 feet from the surface. A second well is being sunk, but for the present it appears that the supply is ample from the existing well and pumps. The source of this water as well as the springs of the Dover and the Martin Waterworks it is believed are all drawn from a subterranean river, the surplus of which empties itself on the beach at various points between St. Margaret's Bay and Dover, and between Shakespeare Cliff and Folkestone. At present these works do not supply the village of Alkham, excepting water carted away in barrels; but we are informed that it is intended to put down mains for the domestic accommodation of Alkham, which certainly would be a very great convenience, as the supply at present is from wells and pumps. As for the Drellingore intermittent stream, probably that is now entirely a thing of the past, as the works for the supply of water to Folkestone are almost certain to prevent any future overflow.

The Church and Schools.

The Church of St. Anthony the Martyr, at Alkham, is a very interesting edifice and well preserved. It is in the early English style, consisting of a chancel, a clerestoried nave, aisle, north chapel, south porch, and a low square tower, in which there are four bells. Between the nave and the aisle is an arcade of four early English arches on light circular columns. The north chapel is divided from the chancel by an early English arcade of three arches, forming the finest and most interesting portion of the interior, having been restored in the year 1889. There are, in this Church, various monuments, the oldest being a tomb slab of Bethersden marble, in the north chapel, dating from the 14th century, and is in memory of one of the the abbots of St. Radigunds. This much of the inscription is decipherable:—“Hic jacet Herbertus Simonis Proles, Vir Opertus; ad bona spe certus, fidei sermoni disertus.” ("Here lies Herbert Simon, Son, and of the shadow of a man; to the goods of hope, trust, now the accent of the word of faith,") In the floor of the chancel is a slab of the year 1733, with inscriptions in memory of the Slater family, which still remains in Alkham. In the north chapel is a mural tablet to the memory of the Rev. Alexander John Smith, who was curate and vicar of Alkham 55 years, and who died 6th February, 1835, aged 70 years. Another tablet is in memory of W. Slater, of Alkham, who died in 1810. In the floor of the chapel is a slab, surmounted with a Coat of Arms, to the memory of John Pownoll, who died 26th August, 1709, a bachelor, at the age of 80 years, and of his sister Anne, who died in 1710, aged 71 years. Of the former, the inscription testifies that he was “prudent, charitable, just, sober, prosperous, a peacemaker, and the chief pillar in his family; and to the brother and sister this verse is dedicated:—

"As they were one in blood by birth

Were one in unity,

And dwelt together in one house

They in one grave do lye.”

On the south wall of the nave there is a tablet to the memory of John Dell, surgeon of Dover, who died in the year 1777. In both the church and in the churchyard are memorials of the Smithett family, of Dover. The Church was restored in 1872, it appearing from a notice in the porch that the Incorporated Society for building churches, contributed a sum of £25 towards the restoration fund on that occasion. There is some interest attached to the Alkham Church plate on which the former vicar, the Rev. J. C. W. Valpy, wrote a paper, which some time ago appeared in the transactions of the Kent Archaeological Society. The silver paten, 17½ozs. was made for domestic use as a salver in the year 1697, and was the property of Mrs. Elizabeth Chandler, the second wife of G. Ward Slater, who presented it for the use of the Church in the year 1732. The Communion Cup was presented by William Slater, in the year 1840. The alms plate, 9¼ins. in diameter, and weighing 14½ozs., is of unknown origin. The present vicar of Alkham, the Rev. J. R. Jackman, has only recently been appointed. The benefice is held in conjunction with that of Caple-Ie-Ferne. This living, which is in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is estimated to be of the net annual value of £290, including 9 acres of glebe and residence. Near the Church are the National Schools, built in 1862 for 120 children. Mr. William A. Harman and Mrs. Harman are the master and mistress. Mr. John Moseling holds the office of parish clerk.

The Land and the Landlords.

The manors of Alkham are historically interesting, and those who desire to know about its early landowners will find their names in Domesday book, and later lords of the soil are mentioned in Hasted’s records. Our space does not allow us to go back to Norman times, nor to the Mediaeval days when the manors were designated as follows:—Halmead, alias Hoptoun, Evering, Halton, and Woolverton. Much of the lands hereabouts were given as bequests to St. Radigund’s Abbey, which lies just over the brow of the eastern hills. One of the early landowners was John de Alkham, who flourished in the reign of Richard II., and who also had estates at Buckland and Maxton. When the estates of religious houses were confiscated at the Reformation, the Alkham manors passed into private hands. A hundred years ago Hall Court was held unitedly by Mr. Smith, of Alkham, yeoman, Jane Ayerst, and the Rev. R. G. Ayerst; Hoptons was owned by Peter Fector, of Dover; Everings was owned by the Rev. W. D. Byrche, of Canterbury; while the manors of Halton and Wolverton were in the possession of the Earl of Radnor. The area of the parish is 3,211 acres, and the rateable value is £2,790. The total number of holdings in the parish is 240, of which 110 are houses, 120 land, 3 public houses, and the rest tithes and other rateable rights. A great deal of the property in the parish has within the last few years changed hands. The largest aggregate ownership in Alkham parish is that of the Kent Coal Company, being about 700 acres; the next is that of Sir William Crundall, about 500 acres; Mr. S. Castle, 320; Mr. F. Brockman, over 300; J. J. Smith's representatives, over 300; and over 100 acres each are Messrs. G. C. Rubie, Earl Radnor, and Mr. Daniels. Other holders of valuable property, although not so large in extent, are Mr. Collard (a very ancient family, formerly Calward), Mr. F. A. Tunbridge, Mr. F. Slater, Pepper's Exors., Mr. Chambers, and Watson’s heirs. There are a considerable number of owners of small lots of property in Alkham, but not more than 40 dwell in their own houses.