| Goudhurst
Goudhurst is in the south central section of Kent, almost in the middle of that
fascinating and beautiful area of England known for centuries as "The Weald of
Kent." The Culpepers were one of the leading families, and perhaps the most important
landowners, in this bountiful and prosperous land from the 12th to the 18th
century.
Goudhurst, at the center of the Culpepper sites
within Kent and Sussex, makes an ideal base for the Culpepper
visitor. The Star and Eagle (hotel, pictured below) is next door
to St. Mary's Church and is where Culpepper Connections' publisher
and his wife, Warren and Lee Culpepper, stayed on their visit in
October 1999.
Star and Eagle
High Street (Highway A262)
Goudhurst, Kent
TN17 1AL
England
Phone: +44-01580-211-512
FAX: +44-01580-211-416
Village of Goudhurst
Location: 13 miles SSW of
Maidstone. Note, as Goudhurst is the central spot to the Culpeper
antiquities, all other locations are specified in terms of where
they are in relationship to Goudhurst.
National Grid Coordinates: TQ 723 378
Multimap.com
Goudhurst
Village Web Site
1831
Topographical Dictionary:
Goudhurst, a parish partly in the hundred of Cranbrooke, but chiefly in the hundred of Marden, lathe of Scray,
county of Kent, 13 miles (S. by W.) from Maidstone, containing
2579 inhabitants.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry
and diocese of Rochester, rated in the king's books at £26. 19.
2., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester.
The
church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a handsome structure, situated
on the declivity of a lofty hill, which commands a fine view over
the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. There is a place of
worship for Wesleyan Methodists.
Goudhurst consists mostly of
large well-built houses, erected on five different roads, uniting
near a large pond in the centre of the village: it had formerly a
market on Wednesday, and a considerable business in the
manufacture of cloth, both which have decayed, but wool-stapling
is still carried on to a small extent.
There is a fair for cattle
on the 26th and 27th of August. John Horsemonden, in 1670,
bequeathed a rent-charge of £40; and Thomas Bathurst, in 1718,
gave another of £6, which sums are applied to the instruction of
children.
W. T. Simmons' Cranbrook Almanac of 1910
Goudhurst is within the Cranbrook
Union, Lower Division of the Lathe of Scray, the Hundreds of Marden
and Little Barnfield, and Southern or Ashford Division of the
County.
The living is in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester,
£574 is the commutation value of 1848, the present gross value is
£400, net value about £310, held by the Rev. J. S. Clarke, M.A.
In the Bedgebury Chapel, is a Brass of Sir Thomas de Bedgebury,
1420, another on an altar tomb with Canopy, of Sir John Colepeper,
1480, who married Agnes, daughter and heiress of John de Bedgebury;
also a Brass of a Colepeper about 1510. In a recess of S Aisle is an
altar tomb of Bethersden stone, on which are two recumbent figures
carved in oak, of Sir Alexander Colepeper and his wife, 1537.
Blocking up a S window of the Chantry is a fine tomb of alabaster
and marble, erected by Sir Anthony Colepeper in 1608, to the memory
of his father Sir Alexander Colepeper, and his grandfather,
Sir Thomas Colepeper. In the
Chancel is another tomb of alabaster, (also blocking up a window),
to Sir William Campion, 1606, of Combwell, which estate still
belongs to the Campions of Danny in Sussex. On the top of this tomb
are 2 figures "Night" and "Morning", which were copied from Michael
Angelo's on the Medici tombs in S Lorenzo Florence. The stained
glass windows in the chancel are in memory of Rev. W. B. Harrison a
former Vicar and his wife, 2 windows in S. Aisle are from the private
chapel at Brandfold, in memory of J. Ridgeway, Esq, and his wife.
Ballards' is a new mansion which has passed to the present owner of
Brandfold, and occupied by Miss Ducane; and Gore Court to J. A. Druce,
Esq; Winchet Hill, much improved now belongs to W. R. Stevens, Esq.
The School at Winchet Hill is fitted and licensed for Divine Service
and Sacraments. The Coffee House, at the top of the town, is very
useful as a Temperance Hotel, having good accommodation in a coffee
room and in separate apartments, where many visitors stay during the
summer.
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St Mary's Church, Goudhurst
St. Mary’s Church is first mentioned in a document dated in
1119; construction of the present
structure started in the 13th century.
The Lady Chapel pictured above (known as the Bedgebury Chapel) has
two arches of the early fifteenth century opening into the
chancel. This chapel contains the earliest monument in the church.
It is a brass on the floor commemorating John, son of John
Bedgebury, who died in 1424. His home, Bedgebury
Manor, was one of the oldest manors in England, having a deed
of gift dated 815. His memorial shows him in a full suit of plate
armor with his feet resting upon a lion. (pictured below on the
slab just in front of the arched tomb)
John Bedgebury was the last of his line, and when his widow Agnes
married Walter Culpeper7 (1398-1462, a direct
ancestor of the modern-day Culpeppers), the ancient manor of Bedgebury went with
her. Walter and Agnes were commemorated by a brass in the church,
but all that is left of this are the three shields on the slab
next to the Bedgebury brass. (The man in armor belongs to a
later period and there is no record of his identity). The remains
of their son, Sir John Culpeper8 (1428-1480,
also a direct ancestor) lie with those
of his wife, formerly Agnes Gainsford, in the arched tomb beside
the altar in the chapel. There may have been a contemporary altar
attached to the south side of this tomb. Part of a double canopy
remains.
The slab for this and the other brasses is of
Bethersden "marble", a fossiliferous limestone from
nearby. On the brass Sir John Culpeper8 is seen in three-quarters face
wearing plate and mail armor. The effigy of his wife is missing.
Originally the monument also included kneeling figures of three
sons and three daughters. At some time these were removed, leaving
only the indents in the stonework. It is thought that the tomb may
once have been used as an Easter sepulchre.
Culpepers of St. Mary's Church
Walter Culpeper7,
"Squire of Agincourt"* (1398-1462),
m. Agnes Roper, widow of John Bedgebury
Sir John Culpeper8 of
Bayhall, Hardreshull and Bedgebury* (1428-1480),
m. Agnes Gainford
"Old" Sir Alexander
Culpeper9 of Bedgebury and Hardreshull (1454-1541),
m. Constantina Chamberlayne
Sir Thomas Culpeper10 of
Bedgebury (d.1558),
m. Elizabeth Hawte
Sir Alexander Culpeper11 of
Bedgebury (d.1598),
m. Mary Dacre
Sir Anthony Culpeper12 of
Bedgebury (b.1560),
m. Ann Martin
* Direct ancestors of the
modern-day Culpeppers
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