River

"RIVER, a parish in the hundred of Bewsborough, lathe of St. Augustine, county Kent, 2 miles N.W. of Dover, its post town, and near the Kearsney station on the London, Chatham, and Dover railway. The village is situated in a valley on the road from Dover to London, and from its proximity to the former town it may be reckoned a suburb thereof. The parish is watered by the river Dour, and is chiefly agricultural. A portion of the inhabitants are employed in the paper and corn mills, which line the river bank. Upon a hill near the northern boundary of the parish several tumuli have been opened, and were found to contain each a skeleton, spear-head, and short sword. The impropriation belongs to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury, value £136, in the patronage of the archbishop. The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, was partially rebuilt and enlarged in 1832. The register dates from 1620. Kearsney Abbey, Old Park, and Archer's Court, are the principal residences."

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