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Archaeologia Cantiana
 -  Vol. 26  1906  page 82

Little Mote, Eynsford, with a pedigree of the Sybill Family.
 By R. H. Ernest Hill, A.R.I.B.A.

p.143, originally drawn for the Rev. Thomas Streatfeild’s proposed History of Kent.
   I am informed by Mr. E. D. Till of Eynsford, the present owner of Little Mote, that during some recent repairs to the cottage a horse’s bit of the fifteenth century and a few Elizabethan coins were discovered, under the floor of the room in which the carved fire-place now stands. It is of course not absolutely certain that the chimney-stack is in its original position, but as the external stonework exists for a height of about 12 feet the probability is that it has never been disturbed. The upper part of the stone stack has long ago disappeared, and the flues are now carried up in red brick for the greater part of their height.. The wall of the cottage which faces the river (as well as the roof and upper room) contains several large and evidently ancient timbers that no doubt once formed part of the Sybill mansion, having, together with the stonework, escaped the destruction that overtook the rest of the house. Some timbers which are visible in the upper room have moulded edges, and are apparently as old as the fifteenth century. Mr. Till also informs me that remains of

foundations have  been met with in the orchard on the west and south sides of the cottage, and he thinks that the mansion originally extended in that direction. No systematic search, however, has yet been made to determine the plan of the old building.
   Owing to the close proximity of the house to Eynsford Castle and the river, I am inclined to think that the name of Little Mote must have been derived from the Castle moat, which may have helped to protect the house when the older fortifications fell into disuse. This is, however, only conjecture on my part, in the absence of any further facts bearing on the subject. The small farm surrounding the cottage is spoken of by the old inhabitants as the "Mint" farm, but no explanation of this name exists.
   In the following pedigree I have brought together all the information contained in Sybill wills from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, the College of Arms, the publications of the Record Corn mission, Eynsford Parish Register, and the documents of a Chancery suit. I have not been

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