In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Bilsington like this:
BILSINGTON, a parish in East Ashford district, Kent; on the Military canal, and partly in Romney marsh, 3 miles ENE of Ham-street r. station, and 6 SSE of Ashford. It has a post office under Ashford, and a fair on 5 July. Acres, 2,843. Real property, £4,057. Pop., 360. Houses, 75. The property is divided among a few. ...
The manor of Bilsington-Inferior was given to the Earls of Arundel, in the time of Edward III., on the tenure of serving the king as butler at Whitsunday; and Belongs now to the Cosways. A priory of Augustinian canons was founded on Bilsington-Inferior, about 1253, by John Mansell, provost of Beverley; and the manor connected with it was held by a tenure similar to that of Bilsington-Inferior. Remains of the priory still stand, partly appropriated into a farmhouse, on high ground, commanding a good view over the marsh. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £52. Patron, W. Cosway Esq. The church is good.
Bilsington through time
Bilsington is now part of Ashford district. Click here for graphs and data of how Ashford has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Bilsington itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Bilsington, in Ashford and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4424
Date accessed: 28th April 2024
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