In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Eastwell like this:
EASTWELL, a parish in East Ashford district, Kent; 2½ miles W by N of Wye r. station, and 3 N by E of Ashford. Post town, Westwell, under Ashford. Acres, 894. Real property, £1, 079. Pop., 126. Houses, 17. The property is not much divided. The manor belonged anciently to a family of its own name, but passed to successively the families of Hales, Moyle, Finch, Heneage, and Hatton. ...
Eastwell Park is the seat of the Earl of Winchelsea; has a modern mansion, by Bononi, on the site of one built by Sir Thomas Moyle in the time of Henry VIII.; extends beyond the parish so far as to include about 2, 500 acres; and both presents fine scenery within itself, and commands very brilliant exterior views. Richard, the last of the Plantagenets, a natural son of Richard III., took refuge in Eastwell after the battle of Bosworth; worked here as a mason till identified and relieved by Sir Thomas Moyle; and then built a small house, in which he lived and died, and which was demolished towards the end of the 17th century. A modern building marks the site of the house; and a spring near this is called Plantagenet's well. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £196.* Patron, the Earl of Winchelsea. The church is ancient but good; consists of nave, aisle, and two chancels, with square embattled tower; and contains a massive table monument to Sir Moyle Finch, and his wife the Countess of Winchelsea, and also a worn ancient tomb, without inscription, supposed by some to be the tomb of Richard Plantagenet, but appearing to others to be of earlier date. There is a free school.
Eastwell through time
Eastwell is now part of Ashford district. Click here for graphs and data of how Ashford has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Eastwell itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Eastwell, in Ashford and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4475
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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