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first, as the correspondence of one of their Archbishops,
a right famous man in his better days of Henry VII.,
before he was eclipsed by Wolsey; and secondly, for
their local interest.
Otford, from which several of them are dated, the favourite
residence of the Archbishop, was rebuilt by him
on his quarrel with the citizens of Canterbury, at the
enormous cost of £33,000. It pleased Henry VIII. to
cast an eye of favour on the place, which was resigned
by Cranmer to his Majesty in 1537.
The College of Maidstone, originally the parish
church of St. Mary of Maidstone, created into a college
by Archbishop Courtenay, was parted with by Archbishop
Cranmer to Henry on the same terms and at the
same time. It is now part of the estate of Lord Romney.
Charring, spoken of at p. 16, followed the same
fate as Maidstone and Otford. It was part of the most
ancient possessions of the Church of Canterbury. Eventually
it passed into the hands of the Whelers. An
account of its remains at the beginning of the last century
is given by Hasted. (Hist, of Kent, iii. 213, n.)
It may be needful to state that the Chronology of the
letters has been determined by internal evidence alone.
Of the persons mentioned in these letters, William
Whetnal, at p. 32, was of Hextalls, in East Peckham;
William Waller, of Groombridge, a collateral ancestor
of the poet; Henry Fane, of Hadlow, of the lineage of
the celebrated Treasurer of Charles I.'s time. Sir Edward Wotton, at p. 39, was of the Wottons of Bocton
Malherbe; Richard Clement, of the Mote, in Ightham;
Serjeant Willoughby, made Chief Justice, 29 Hen. VIII.,
was of Bore Place, in Chiddingstone.
We shall print an ancient survey of Otford in a future
number. |