Soranks Manor House postcards

Here is a postcard I found on Ebay of Soranks Manor House, it was dated 1907.

This one below (also on Ebay) was sent later in 1912, but it is now named just The Manor House, Fairseat, which must have been a typo.

The Olympic Torch comes to Borough Green

On Friday 20th July 2012 the Olympic Torch went through Borough Green, did you turn out to see it? It was a great event, and the village was packed. Below documents the runners through Borough Green.

You can also see BBC video footage of the whole run through the village here:
here. Fast forward to about 12 noon when the torch is lit in Borough Green.

M C Olley - past resident?

I found this black and white picture on Ebay. The only information provided with it is this:

Ford D Series Tanker, M C Olley Transport Ltd, Fairseat & Rainham

I guess this was taken some time in the '60's, if I were an expert on number plates maybe I could pin it down a bit more.

Perhaps M C Olley was a resident of Fairseat back then?

1930 The consecration of new Church at Fairseat

I managed to pick up the Kent Messenger, dated August 30, 1930, with this account of the building and consecration of the chapel in Fairseat. Hope you can read the scans.

St Mary's - Chris Noble

Here are a few photos of Chris Noble doing what he does. I love the one of him at Easter with the inflatable ring, telling the school children about Jesus going to the beach after his resurrection! Chris has been the vicar/rector of St Mary's for quite a few years now.

St Mary's - the proposed extension

For some while there have been plans afoot for a new extension at St Marys. Planning permission has been granted and now it is just a case of raising the money. It will cost approx. £360,000. The proposed extension has some opposition, but I'm sure we all agree that loos will be a much appreciated! Artist's impression of the plans below.

St Mary's and Stansted School

The school holds many celebrations at the church, and the children visit as part of the local history project.

My favourite picture, taken in the 90s I think.

December 2009

April 2012

December 2010

St Mary's windows

St Mary's - a few photos inside and out

St Mary’s has been evolving ever since Archbishop Islip decreed in the early 1300s that it was the duty of the Vicar of Wrotham to provide ‘one fit chaplain to celebrate in the chapel of Stansted’. The first church was built beside a 300-year-old yew tree overlooking the village and more than seven hundred years later that tree is still standing beside St Mary’s church porch. In the belfry hangs possibly the oldest bell in the district. Cast before the Reformation, it bears an inscription in Latin which, when translated, reads ‘His name is John’. 

Below are some photos in and around the church. The roof shingles were all replaced in approximately 2003. Locals were invited to sponsor a shingle by paying £1. You could then write your name on the back of the shingle before it went up. I never got around to doing it and have always regretted it!

The church on 13.3.13

School children under the yew tree

This picture of a redundant font in the grounds was found
here

1992 St Mary's - welcoming back the restored bells

In 1992 the ancient bell, mounted on a hand-drawn wagon, was pulled from Stansted to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry for its restoration. A new and improved Bell Ringers’ gallery was built soon afterwards and the three original bells were augmented to six.

A nice slice of local history, and already 20 years old!

These pictures are held at the S&FHS.  

Here are the bells in action on YouTube.

6 bells tenor 5-3-21 in Bb

April 29 2011 - Royal Wedding Tea Party

Here are just a few photographs from the school's Tea Party to celebrate the Royal wedding, to which all villagers were welcome. Thanks to the Parish for providing each child with a commemorative mug.

Stansted School - Remembrance Day

Since 2009 Stansted school has marked Remembrance Day with a short service consisting of a poppy wreath laying, two minute silence, prayers and hymn singing. All villagers are welcome to join them.

2009

2010

2010

2011

2011 with George Goring

2011

29th December 2007 - Fatal shooting

A sad bit of local history which happened in a field on Tumblefield Road, Stansted.

Man wielding Uzi-type sub-machine gun shot dead by police in 'suicide by cop'
29 December 2007 London Evening Standard news

Investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission are trying to discover if the man had committed "suicide by cop" - forcing police to open fire by threatening to shoot members of the public.

A 999 call to police described a man in the street wielding a sub-machine gun. The 999 caller described a gun like an Uzi. Two police marksmen challenged the man before firing two shots, both of which hit him.
 
A gun matching the description given in the 999 call was recovered from the scene of the shooting on Saturday morning. 

The man, aged about 40 and described as "troubled and sad", had spent the previous evening drinking in the village's Black Horse pub. Landlady Anne Roberts, 60, said: "He was here all night drinking vodka and Red Bull. He told us he was originally from this area, but that he had moved away. "He said he was on a trip down memory lane because his grandparents used to bring him here when he was a boy. "He was friendly but I was worried about him because he had a troubled air. He seemed sad and I felt sorry for him." Miss Roberts said that although the man seemed depressed, he was in no way violent or aggressive. She said: "He was a friendly chap who had a chat with a lot of the locals. "He seemed a bit unwell but I'm shocked to hear he threatened someone with a gun. He did not seem like that sort of person."
 
Police closed part of the village for most of the day. The man told Miss Roberts he was staying in a nearby bed and breakfast in Fairseat Lane - but there is no B&B in that road. The landlady said he told her he had a well-paid job and she thought he said he was an electrical engineer. 

It is thought the man later tried to commit suicide by driving his white Mitsubishi car into a nearby field and running a hosepipe from the exhaust pipe through a window. 

Investigators believe they know the dead man's identity, but he is not expected to be named until Wednesday. The IPCC said he was white and from Kent although he did not live in Stansted, which is near Sevenoaks. It is not believed he held a firearms licence or was a member of a gun club.
 
"Suicide by cop" is a term which originated in the US in the 1980s to explain the actions of people who appear to deliberately provoke police to open fire.

Replica Uzi gun man 'lawfully killed' by Kent Police
From BBC News (click here for source)

A man who was shot dead by police after he pointed a replica Uzi machine gun at officers was lawfully killed, an inquest jury has found.

Dayniel Tucker, 39, was shot by firearms officers sent to Stansted near Sevenoaks, Kent, on 29 December 2007.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation concluded their actions were justified.

A replica gun found nearby looked genuine at first, a ballistics experts told the Gravesend inquest.

Gravesend Coroner's Court heard that Mr Tucker, a precision engineer, of Adisham Green, Sittingbourne, had suffered from depression and seasonal affective disorder.

The inquest was told his car was found in a nearby field with a hose connected to the exhaust pipe and he had attempted suicide in the past.

Jurors heard a man identifying himself as Dayniel Tucker called 999 on 29 December and reported that he had seen a man pointing a firearm at him.

When the Kent Police force communications centre phoned the caller back to ask him to describe the gun, he said it looked like an Uzi-type sub-machine gun.

Two armed response vehicles arrived in Tumblefield Road and saw Mr Tucker concealing something in his jacket.

When they were about 20m away, a policeman referred to only as "Officer A", saw Mr Tucker take a gun from his jacket and point it directly at him.

Officer A shouted: "Armed police, drop the weapon, drop the weapon now."

The inquest heard Mr Tucker was shot twice by police marksmen and died instantly.
'Tragic circumstances'

Ballistics specialist Franco Tomei said when when he first saw the firearm he believed it was a real sub-machine gun, capable of firing up to 600 rounds a minute, but after a closer inspection he realised it was an imitation.

Dr Fiona Perry, a toxicology expert, said post-mortem tests revealed traces of alcohol, cannabis and carbon monoxide in Mr Tucker's body and he was "likely to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of his death".

IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin said: "The events of the 29 December 2007 have had a lasting impact on all involved. Mr Tucker's family and friends lost a loved one in tragic circumstances, and the firearms officers have to live with the fact that they shot and killed a man."

He said officers were equipped with Tasers and baton rounds, but the circumstances meant the use of less lethal weapons was not an option.

A print of St Mary's, Stansted in the '40s by Vincent Lines

This old print is always for sale on Ebay. I'm not sure of the exact date as I've seen it vary between 1940 and 1949. It is from a book "Recording Britain", Edited, with notes, by Arnold Palmer; Published by Oxford University Press, Geoffrey Cumberlege.

Stansted and Fairseat Footpath Guide local information

I found a copy of the Stansted and Fairseat Footpath Guide, produced by the Stansted and Fairseat Society, in NAG Oxfam shop the other day, a snip at .49p! Listed below is the historical information contained within, plus a few photographs.

I don't know when this booklet was produced, but it was when the rector still lived in Fairseat, at the well known landmark white shiplap clad house which is now known as The Old Rectory. I am guessing that house became a private dwelling some time in the early 80s, when the church sold off a lot of its rather valuable property and bought cheaper housing. The picture shows the house before the right hand side was extended upwards, which I can remember happening in approximately 2003. You can also just see the the rather lovely, large Cedar tree which used to be in the garden. It was in the conservation area so in Dec 2007 permission had to be granted for the tree to be trimmed back. Then I think high winds caused part of it to come down. There is an item in the Parish Council report of April 2009 stating: Mrs Rodway has commissioned a report on the condition of the Cedar in their front garden...the conclusions recommend that the tree should be felled withing three months. (There is no form of tree surgery that would allow the tree to remain in any reasonable form).

Personally, I am very sad when the old trees come down in the area, and I was very upset when winds blew down some fantastic beeches along the part of Fairseat Lane which goes down to the A227. Driving along that road was like driving through a wooded tunnel, with dappled sunlight shining through the leaves. It is still not bad, and give it another couple of hundred years it will be back to its former glory. I once found a big adder along that road, but that is another story, so for now, here below is the promised copy.

'Early documentary records relating to the parish are noted by Hasted and date from 1210.  However it is likely that the area was populated well before that date; indeed the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, in Stansted, although itself of uncertain age has a yew tree near the North entrance which is reputed to be at least a thousand years old.  Since it was once customary to plant a yew to the North side of a church, it seems likely that a church has existed on this site for a similar period.

The present church probably dates from the 14th century and certainly before 1312. It was restored in 1863.

In the 14th century it seems that the parish was a place of some importance as the residents had the right to hold a three day fair here.

The roads and paths of the parish are likely to have developed through usage over time. Wises Lane was at one time an important road from Dartford to Wrotham and was called Wrotham Road.  The present name  derives  from Wyse's  Farm which no  longer exists.

An ancient drove road passed through both villages, and parts of this can still be followed. Outside the parish,  at the bottom of Vigo Hill on the outskirts of Trottiscliffe, and by the Pilgrims Way stands Pilgrim House which was once an inn called the Kentish Drover.  At the top of Vigo Hill stands the Vigo Inn, built around 1471 and then named the Drovers Rest.  On the opposite corner there was once a toll house and toll gate on the Gravesend Road.

Proceeding through Fairseat and Stansted,  it is presumed that the herds were watered at the various ponds on this route, one of which was at the foot of  Stansted  Hill,  where  now  stands  Stansted's distinctive war memorial statue.

The oldest house in the parish is said to be Church Cottage in Stansted, which is probably late 13th or early 14th century,  it would have been used by the priest visiting from Wrotham, to which Stansted was then a subordinate parish.

In Fairseat the house known as Soranks Manor stands on the foundations of  a much earlier,  medieval manor house.  The manor land was held during the reign of Henry III by Ralph de Sandwich.  It was passed to Edmund Sorank whose name is recorded in the assize roll of 1313 as a juror for Stansted. Around 1700 the land was bought by one John Cox who built a facade onto the house opposite Fairseat pond and called the house 'Fairseat'.  This seems to be the first time in history that the name Fairseat appears, the area having previously been known as Farsee.

Nearby, the Chapel of Holy Innocents, designed by the architect Waterhouse, was built in 1930 by the Waterlow family.

The Old Rectory in Stansted was built in 1847 and housed rectors until 1969 when it was sold and became a private house. Nearby, in the rectory meadow, to the right of the drive entrance  in Plaxdale Green Road stood the brick and timber framed Tithe Barn until its demolition in 1920. The present rectory is in Fairseat and is illustrated in the pages of this booklet.

The Vigo Inn has already been mentioned in the context of the ancient drove road. Its present name was given by its owner in the early 18th century who fought under Admiral Rooke at Vigo Bay (Spain) in 1702.  The other inns in the parish are: the Anchor and Hope at the northern end of Wises Lane, built around 1537; the Horse and Groom on the A20 near the  end of Plaxdale Green Road built in 1770/5; and the Black Horse in Tumblefield Road, which in the 18th century was a dwelling named 'Palmers' until it was licensed by its owner, one Joseph Fremlln, between 1833 and 1847, whereupon its name was changed to the Black Horse.'

The Old Rectory, Fairseat, when it was still The Rectory!

Church Cottage, Stansted, reputedly the oldest in the parish

14th century three-day fair in Stansted!

Climbing out of Wrotham, northwards, the traveller comes to Stansted, which reaches thickly wooded heights of up to 700 feet. Today's village retains little enough to remind visitors or residents either that it was a borough and a place of some importance as long ago as the fourteenth century, when residents had the right to hold a three-day fair there. There is a yew tree in the churchyard which is said to be more than 1,000 years old and Soranks Manor at nearby Fairseat was built on the foundations of an old medieval manor house.

Kent Villages by Alan Bigness
Published by Robert Hale, 1975

Stansted in The Companion Guide to Kent and Sussex by Keith Spence

High up on the other side of the Gravesend road is Stansted, the perfect downland hamlet, built on a switchback of hills, with a large village green in the valley, and an impeccable flint church, complete with giant yew tree outside the door. At the edge of the churchyard an art nouveau black granite memorial, surmounted by scroll-carrying angels, commemorates Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow, one of the founders of the great Waterlow printing firm, who lived at Trosley Towers near by. Waterlow's was a typical Victorian success story. Born in 1822, he began printing in 1844 in partnership with his brothers, starting with £120 from their father. They made their fortunes from cornering the market in railway printing and stationery. Waterlow was a philanthropist as well as a businessman. As Lord Mayor of London in 1872, he was responsible for opening the Guildhall Library to the public. He held. many offices in the City, and found time to be Liberal M.P. for Maidsione and then Gravesend.

Taken from The Companion Guide to Kent and Sussex by Keith Spence
1973 Collins. This book is in Longfield library.

Stansted in The King's England, Kent by Arthur Mee

Stansted. It stands with smiling hills all round, with an exceptional war memorial, a splendid nude youth, in bronze, at the meeting of the roads. Two bells ring out from the old church tower, one of them among the oldest in Kent. "His name is John", it says.

The church is a rare little place- The porch has two tiny slot windows, the chancel has a dainty timbered roof, and there is a small quatrefoil window in the west wall. Two curious glazed tiles, probably from the Wrotham pottery, let into the walls are in memory of the son and daughter of Edward Wooden, both of whom died in 1638, and a brass of c. 1510 is to John Skudder,whose name is kept green by the beautiful house of that name at Fawkham nearby. Laid to rest here not long, ago was a chorister who sang in this choir for 67 years.

In the churchyard is the grave of Sir Sydney Waterlow, with angels over it. At one end of the monument is a medallion of Sir Sydney looking across to the grave of a devoted servant, and there are two lead medallions expressive of great sorrow. One shows a workman with his bag of tools thrown down and two delightful children hailing him, with a shadowy figure of one lost, and the other shows the parents mourning the lost one.

But it is by the old yew near the tower that the imagination is stirred in this churchyard, for here lies a heap of broken masonry, flint rubble overgrown with grass. There was a church here soon after the Conqueror came, and 600 or 700 years ago they pulled it down to build this one. They built it well, for nowhere are flints squared up and shaped and set more neatly. But these workmen left their rubbish heap behind them; these masses of flint are from the church they pulled down, and they have lain where they left them while the old yew has grown from a sapling and the centuries have come and gone. Such at any rate is the story.

A little more than a mile on the road to Ash stands an old house with wattle and daub in its walls, the primitive form of building with hazel twigs interlaced and filled in with mud and straw. The Old Malt House, which all may see, has still this reinforced mud in its walls, and had been made beautiful with a new thatch when we called, a sturdy place again after its 500 years.

Taken from The King's England, Kent by Arthur Mee. First published 1939. The copy in the library in Longfield is the 1974 edition.

Ordnance Survey Historical maps of area

I copied these two maps from a book in Longfield Library published in 1988 called Ordnance Survey Historical Guides: Kent. The one above shows Wises Lane, (highlighted) these days a rough Byway, as big as all the other roads in the area!

The other (below) shows Fairseat marked as Facy Street (highlighted).

A little history behind Fairseat Nursery

This information was gathered from their website. I hope they don't mind me reproducing it, and the picture.

In 1923 Mr Fielden and Mr Stan Chapman decided to uproot and move their very established Alpine growing nursery in Exeter to the better location of Fairseat, considering it to be a ideal 
location for frosting the plants they specialised in growing. This took a tremendous amount of hard work and additional assistance from Mr Fred Hills, who left school at the age of 15 to help work the nursery and stayed there until his retirement in the 80's.

With this niche market Fairseat Nursey was a regular at the Chelsea Flower Show winning many Banksian Medals (the highest of which was the Silver Guilt) along with many others which are proudly displayed at the Nursery today.

Both Mr Fred Hills and Mr Stan Chapmans family still live local to the nursery.

Link to information on Stansted at Aboutbritain.com

There is some information about the area here. I think the bit about Morris Dancers is a bit out of date as I've never seen any at the pub, but maybe I've just missed them!

The Sir Walter Scott link to Fairseat Lane

On Fairseat Lane (the one which goes between Stansted Hill and Haven Hill, not the other one) there are about 10 houses. There is a house called Waverley and a semi-detached pair called Kenilworth and Primrose Cottage. BUT Primrose Cottage USED to be called Ivanhoe.

An Openreach engineer told me something quite interesting. Sir Walter Scott wrote a series of 18 novels, known as the Waverley novels. Part of the Waverley novels are

Waverley (1814)    Ivanhoe (1819)    Kenilworth (1821)

So we concluded that whoever built these houses was a Sir Walter Scott fan!