Newington (St. Mary)

NEWINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Milton, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, E. division of Kent, 3½ miles (W.) from Milton; containing 734 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2103 acres, whereof 319 are in wood. The village, which had formerly a market, stands near the ancient Watlingstreet, and is thought to occupy the site of a town inhabited by the Britons and by the Romans. In a field called Crock-field, an abundance of Roman urns and other vessels has been found, which has induced an opinion that this was only the site of a Roman pottery, but eminent antiquaries have here fixed the station Durolevum, and supposed this field to have been a burial-place for the Romans stationed at the adjacent military works, numerous vestiges of which may still be traced, such as Julius Cæsar's Hill, Standard Hill, Key-street, anciently Caii Stratum, &c. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £14; net income, £250; patrons and impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Eton College. The church is a handsome structure, principally early English, with some windows in the decorated style; the tower is constructed of square flints, and embattled. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.