Halling (St. John the Baptist)

HALLING (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of North Aylesford, hundred of Shamwell, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 4¾ miles (S. W.) from Rochester; containing 448 inhabitants. The bishops of Rochester had a palace here before the Conquest, which was rebuilt some time in the twelfth century; additions were made about the year 1320, and there are still some remains. The parish consists of 1847 acres, of which 514 are in wood; it is watered by the river Medway, and a ridge of hills extends across it. Chalk abounds, and the works for burning it into lime provide the chief occupation of the inhabitants: the lime used in building Waterloo and London bridges was brought from Halling. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 13. 4.; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester: the great tithes have been commuted for £238, and the vicarial for £150; the incumbent's glebe contains 31 acres, and there is an appropriate glebe of about ¾ of an acre. The church is principally in the early English style, with a low tower. Lambard, the Kentish historian, was a native of this place.