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Pettings Court
Although old, Pettings Court cannot boast the age of
some of the houses in the Parishes. It is a charming house with
many interesting features. Well over 50 years ago Cecil J.G.
Hulkes lived here. He was a member of the first Parish Council
(1894). He owned a pack of hounds. A few years afterwards Thomas
Aveling, head of Aveling & Porter of Rochester, the well known
makers of every type of steam engine, bought the property and
lived there. The name Aveling & Porter was often seen on the
old steam rollers. Thomas Aveling died in Ash Parish Hall while
taking the Chair a Nursing Association meeting.
Pettings Court
A later owner was Mr. Masterson,
one of the heads of a Rumanian Oil Company. When the 1914 –1918
War broke out, he was in Rumania and was one of the last to leave,
having set fire to the oil wells before departing. That was
several years before he came to Ash. Again in 1939, when the last
war broke out he was in Rumania and again he put the wells out of
action before leaving. On his death, the Court and farm were sold
to W.C.R. Stoneham who is still in possession.
Ridley Court
There was probably a Tudor House on this site which
was occupied by Thomas Averill, Churchwarden of Ridley in 1556.
The present building is stately house built by the
Sedley family in 1701. The Sedleys of Southfleet reigned over
Ridley for about 230 years until 1769, when the property was sold.
The initials W.D. (William |
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Danson) appear with the date and it seems
certain that it was he who lived here in the first half of the
18th century. The letters J.W. 1769 in a brick probably stands for
James Winson. As far as we know this family occupied the Court
until about 1830 and was followed by a member of the Fletcher
family who held the property until 1850.
Ridley Court
For many years it has been the
farmhouse for Ridley Court Farm and has changed hands several
times. During the war and until about 1952 it was farmed by the
War Agricultural Committee. Then the house and farm were sold. The
present tenant is J.B. Howie. At one time a cluster of quaint old
barns could be seen from the windows of the house, but in 1938
they caught fire. The barns, plentifully supplied with thatch and
tar were destroyed in an hour. The only water available was from a
pond. Fortunately the only occupants of the buildings were a few
pigs and these were safely evacuated.
Old Rectory, Ridley
This house has been occupied by Major H.N. Robertson
since 1933, but the house remained Church property until 1942 when
Major Robertson acquired the property.
It is a house of considerable antiquity, parts of it
are reputed to be 14th century. In 1666 Fielding refers to Ridley
Parsonage, which is probably the present building. It is reported
that the house was in some way connected with Wat Tyler, 1380,
while another report associates it with Oliver Cromwell, 1653-8. |