Woodchurch

"WOODCHURCH, a parish in the hundred of Blackbourne, lower division of Scray lathe, county Kent, 5 miles N.E. of Tenterden, and 4 from Appledore railway station. It is situated on the borders of the Shirley Moor, containing, in 1841, a population of 1,278, and in 1861, of 1,262, the decrease being mainly owing to emigration. The soil is heavy. Part of the land is in hop-gardens. Traces of an ancient Roman road have been discovered in this parish. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, value £610. The church, dedicated to All Saints, contains brasses of a priest, date 1320, an old font, and numerous monuments, including those of Sir Simon Woodchurch, knighted by Edward I. at the siege of Caerlaverock, and surnamed Malleus Scotorum, and Sir John Clarke."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]