Newenden / Newenden-Liberty

"NEWENDEN-LIBERTY, a parish partly in the hundred of Selbrittenden, and partly exempt from any hundred, in the lathe of Scray, county Kent, 5½ miles S. by W. of Tenterden, and 5½ from Hawkhurst. The village, which is inconsiderable, is situated on the river Rother, and on the high road from Kent to Sussex. It is governed by a bailiff of its own, and was formerly a seaport town of large extent, containing 52 taverns. The river Rother is here crossed by a modern brick bridge of three arches, and is navigable for barges, by which coal, corn, and timber are conveyed from Rye. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £240. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, value £216, in the patronage of the archbishop. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small ancient structure, containing one bell. The interior contains a very antique font. The parochial charities produce about £4 per annum. There are ruins of Losenham Priory and Castle-Toll, built on the site of the Roman city, Anderida, or Caer Andred, which was destroyed by Ella in 491. There is a mineral spring in the neighbourhood. Roman coins, irons, and other relics of antiquity, have been found, including a merchant ship of great antiquity, supposed to be Roman, imbedded a considerable depth in the mud of the river. A fair for stock and pedlery is held on June 21st."

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