Sutton at Hone

"SUTTON-AT-HONE, a parish in the hundred of Axton, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, county Kent, 3 miles S.E. of Dartford, its post town, and 7 S.W. of Gravesend. It is a station on the North Kent railway. The village is situated on the river Darent, and on the London, Chatham, and Dover railway. The parish includes the village of Swanley. In the reign of Richard I. the manor was given by Robert Basinge to the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, who had a commandery here, of which the ancient refectory has been converted into the scullery of a modern house. The principal residences are Sutton Place and St. John's, and near the northern extremity of the parish is Hawley House. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury, value £519, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was partly burnt in 1615, but has recently been thoroughly restored. There is also a district church at Swanley, the living of which is a perpetual curacy The parochial charities produce about £45 per annum, of which £12 go to Wrott's almshouses. The Baptists and Wesleyans have chapels. There is a National school for both sexes. A court-baron is held by Mrs. Fleet, who is lady of the manor; and T. Fleet, Esq., who is lord of the manor of St. John's, holds a court-leet."

"SWANLEY, a hamlet in the parish of Sutton-at-Hone, hundred of Axton, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, county Kent, 2 miles S.W. of Sutton-at-Hone, and 3 S.W. of Dartford, its post town. It is a small village, situated in the midst of orchards and hop-gardens. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Canterbury. The church is dedicated to St. Paul's."

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