Aspects of Kentish Local History

and the Dartford men were warmly engaged at the sport of cricket, which of all the people of England the Kentish folk are most renowned for, and of all the Kentish men the men of Dartford lay claim to the greatest excellence.
   We had every now and then very pleasant views of the river from this road, and about five miles from Dartford is a small bottom or opening 'twixt the hills, called Stonebridge, from such a bridge of stone being there over a small creek, where the tide when it rises high runs for a considerable way cross the great road into the country.
   We got into Rochester at the "Crown" inn about half an hour after six in the evening, where we passed over one of the neatest bridges, across the Medway, that I have ever seen. It joins a village on the west called Strood to the town of Rochester, and was built chiefly, if not solely, at the expense of Sir Robert Knolles, [temp. Richard II] who, together with many other benefactors,  did likewise leave an annual income, now amounting to 500l. per annum, for the constant repair of it, which income, being entrusted to the care and management of some honest gentlemen of the county is faithfully looked after, and the bridge is kept in very good order. Here we had at supper the company of a very worthy and ingenious gentleman, Dr. Thorpe,⁴  the physician of the town, and the only one there, who happening to hear of Lord Harley's being there, came to pay his respects to

him. And very fortunate it was that my Lord was accidentally known here (for he designed to be incognito at every place, and accordingly as it falls out in such cases was some way or other everywhere discovered), for by this means we had this agreeable companion while we stayed here. He was formerly of University College in Oxford, seems to have a good share of knowledge, especially as to English antiquities; is extremely modest, but very communicative, and his good company was very useful as to the enquiries we were to make here, and made our stay much more agreeable than it otherwise could probably have been.
   On Tuesday August 27, about eight of the clock in the morning, we rode out accompanied by Dr. Thorpe to see a little church three miles up the river Medway, called Cuxton, through very straight narrow lanes which I do not much wonder at in a by-road across the country, since the very great road improperly so-called, I mean, that from London to Canterbury, is in many places so exceeding narrow for several furlongs together that two single horsemen cannot pass by one another without very great inconvenience, much less any wheel carriages, even so much as two wheelbarrows; so very stingy and saving of their ground are these yeoman of Kent; and perhaps they think, by this