Hernhill (St. Michael)

HERNHILL (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Faversham, hundred of Boughton-under-Blean, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, E. division of Kent, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Faversham; containing 603 inhabitants. It comprises 2557a. 10p., of which 1050 acres are arable, 1130 pasture, 280 woodland, and 47 in hop plantations; the soil varies from the strongest clay to the lightest sand. The surface is pleasing, and the scenery enriched with wood; the prevailing timber is elm, and in the parts adjoining the Blean Woods is some fine oak. The living, formerly a chapelry to Boughton, and constituted a vicarage by Archbishop Stratford, is in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the appropriator, and is valued in the king's books at £15; net income, £280. The church is situated on an eminence, and is a handsome edifice, principally in the later English style, having three aisles separated by clustered columns of Bethersden marble, of peculiar elegance, and a tower at the west end with a beacon turret at its southern angle.