Aspects of Kentish Local History

Faversham". The ownership of Northwood by Fulbert "of Dover", and his successors, is not open to doubt, and there is plenty of evidence in Mr. Goodsall's book, and there is equally no doubt that there was a church there whose advowson belonged to the same family. Fulbert was a powerful man and was given many other lands. If we draw up two lists, one of the lands he is known to have possessed and another of those which are credited to him in Domesday Book, we are at once struck with the fact that the two lists agree in every particular except that Northwood is not mentioned in Domesday Book, and Dodeham is absent from lists of later date. The obvious explanation is that the Dodeham of D.B. was the Northwood of later days. This is borne out by the fact that both had a church and there is no church which can possibly be identified with the Fulbert family's church of Northwood except Fulbert's Domesday church of Dodeham. Moreover, Dodeham had an interest in a herring fishery and was near enough to Canterbury to possess five considerable enclosures (for 7s. 10d. was a big sum) in that city. Evidently it was near the sea and near the city. Let it include Northwood, and its borough of Harwich, and all indications are fulfilled. If we do not identify it with Northwood, we can neither explain the absence of that manor from Domesday Book, nor yet

find any unoccupied place into which we can fit the herring port of Dodeham. Taking all these points together, I allege without hesitation that the Dodeham of Domesday was undoubtedly the manor of Northwood of later ages, and, later still, the manor of Northwood alias Whitstable. It would be very satisfactory if we could trace the name of Dodeham existing after the conquest, but I have no evidence about this except that Mr. Goodsall records a place called Codeham's Corner, which is certainly suggestive, but its exact position is not stated.

   SUMMARY.
(1) That Whitstable originated on the waste ground separating the three settlements of Seasalter, Harwich and Dodeham alias Northwood. (2) That it was attracted to this spot by the salt trade, the herring port, and the Canterbury road, and that somewhere near this road the original white post or staple marked the junction of these three settlements. (3) That it was originally part of the royal manor of Faversham. (4) That Harwich was, or became, a part of the manor of Northwood, which was formerly known as Dodeham (Doddanham), and is described under this name in Domesday Book.