Swalecliffe (St. John the Baptist)

SWALECLIFFE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Blean, hundred of Bleangate, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 6½ miles (N.) from Canterbury; containing 165 inhabitants. It consists of 962 acres, of which 28 are in wood. The village, delightfully situated on rising ground, was the occasional residence of William of Wykeham, and in the old parsonage-house is a mantel-piece said to have been designed by him. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 9. 4½., and in the gift of Earl Cowper: the tithes have been commuted for £315, and the glebe comprises 9½ acres, with a parsonage-house, erected by the late incumbent. The church contains some costly monuments to the families of Wykeham, Loggin, and Duncombe.