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Frant

FRANT, a parish, in the union of Ticehurst, partly in the hundred of Washlingstone, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, but chiefly in the hundred of Rotherfield, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, 2½ miles (S. by E.) from Tonbridge-Wells; containing 2274 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north and south by branches of the river Medway, and comprises 8874a. 2r. 25p., of which 1577 acres are arable, 2898 meadow and pasture, 2182 wood, 226 in fir plantations, 239 in hops, and 1603 waste land and heath; the soil is generally a light loam on sandy rock. Eridge Castle, the residence of the Earl of Abergavenny, is a spacious castellated mansion, almost entirely rebuilt by the present earl, situated on a bold eminence, and surrounded by a park of about 2500 acres, finely wooded: the ancestors of the earl entertained Queen Elizabeth here for six days, in 1573. Bayham Park, the seat of the Marquess Camden, is a handsome mansion, in the grounds of which are the remains of Bayham Abbey, forming a romantic feature in the scenery. The village, situated on the slope of a beautiful hill, has a very pleasing appearance; and part of the town of Tonbridge-Wells is within the parish. Petty-sessions are held here. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £8. 5. 5.; net income, £496; patron, the Rector of Rotherfield. The church, lately rebuilt on a larger scale, is a handsome structure; the interior is well arranged, and the east window embellished with stained glass. There are some mineral springs, and vestiges of several iron-works. Bayham Abbey was founded for Præmonstratensian canons, by Robert de Turneham, who, about 1200, gave all his lands here for the purpose; it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was originally established at Beaulieu, near Brockley, but the monks removed, with those of Otteham, to this place. The monastery was one of those which Cardinal Wolsey obtained for the endowment of his intended colleges; and its revenue, in the 17th of Henry VIII., was £152. 9. 4.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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