Kent - Invicta - The Legend

No matter where you find yourself in Kent, you will come across the County's insignia - the white horse and invicta motto.

The stories behind these two ancient symbols of Kent are very intriguing and shrouded in legend.

The white horse is said to trace it's history back to the fifth century AD when Saxon mercenaries, lead by brothers Hengist and Horsa, landed in Kent at the behest of Vortigern, ruler of the Britons.

Vortigern wanted Hengist and Horsa and their warriors to aid him in his war with the Picts and Scots. The Saxons were fearsome warriors and very successful in battle. Vortigern is said to have rewarded them by granting them control of the Isle of Thanet in East Kent.

The Saxons, however, were extremely ambitious. Sensing weakness, they turned against Vortigern, eventually forcing him to cede the whole of Kent to them.

The white horse is said to have appeared on Hengist's battle flag and has remained a symbol of Kent to this day.

Now to the second part of the story - the Invicta legend.

Fast forward to 1067. The Normans under William the Conqueror have defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and are marching on London.

According to tradition, close to the village of Swanscombe, William and his men were met by the Kentishmen lead by Archbishop Stigand and Egelsine, the Abbot of St Augustines.

Each of Kentishmen carried a bough giving the appearance of a moving forest descending rapidly on the Normans. At a given signal, the boughs were cast aside revealing the Kentishmen armed and ready for battle.

However, the Archbishop and Abbot met with William and assured him of their allegiance, provided he was willing to grant certain privileges to the people of Kent and to respect their ancient rights and traditions.

Not wishing to commit his forces to another major battle so soon after Hastings, William is said to have agreed to the request.

The word invicta, meaning undefeated or unconquered, was adopted as the motto of Kent.

The monument shown in the picture above can be found in the grounds of St Peter & St Pauls in Swanscombe and was erected in 1958.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome.

Further reading from the archives ....

They Burned for their Beliefs

The Meopham Air Disaster - 21st July 1930

Visit to West Malling

My Darent Valley Walk Part 2 - Lullingstone to Otford

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am gradually walking the 19 mile Darent Valley path from the hills near Sevenoaks down to Dartford on the River Thames in bite sized sections.

Following on from the first part of my walk I wrote about a few weeks ago, here is the story of my most recent walk from Lullingstone to Otford....

I started my latest walk from Kent County Council's Lullingstone Visitor Centre. From there I followed the waymarked path out of the Centre passing around the back of Castle Farm. The farmers had been busy cutting and baling hay ready for next Winter.

The path follows the bottom of the valley and eventually the bank of the River Darent itself into the historic village of Shoreham.

Just outside the village there is a large cross cut into the hillside to commemorate the men lost during the Great War (I wrote about this in a post last year).

The river flows through the centre of the village.

I have traced my family tree back to the late 1700's and at that time my ancestors all worked as labourers on the local farms.

The village church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, was where they would have all been Christened, married and eventually buried!

The church, originally built by the Normans, has been much modified over the ensuing centuries. The striking tower was built in 1775. There are some beautiful stained glass windows inside the church.

The Millennium Window installed in May 2000.

A window depicting St George dedicated to the memory of Nigel Benjamin Cohen and Captain Stephen Behrens Cohen, only children of Sir Herbert and Lady Cohen.

Nigel was killed in a flying accident on 18th September 1931 aged only 23 and Stephen died on 10th February 1943 whilst on active service with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. He is buried in Karachi war cemetery in Pakistan.

Leaving Shoreham the path continues through a golf course and open farmland.

I made a new beast friend on the way! (groan) I gave her some nice fresh green grass from my side of the fence and she then decided to follow me for the next half a mile.

In a recreation ground just outside the village of Otford, I came across a 1:5 billion scale model of the solar system. This was put in place as part of the village's Millennium celebrations in 2000 and is said to be the only one of it's kind in the world.

Each of the white plinths represents a different planet and the one with the chrome ball (to the right of the picture) represents the sun. Due to the scale, several of the "planets" are to be found on the other side of the village.

The path leads into the centre of Otford village where you will find the only listed duck pond in the country (in the middle of a roundabout). Up until Victorian times the villagers drew their drinking water supplies from the pond which was fed by a small stream.

Across from the duck pond is the church of St Bartholomew which dates back to the mid 11th century. The war memorial commemorates the dead of two World Wars.

Inside the church are several impressive monuments to various members of the Polhill family. The Polhills were direct descendants of Oliver Cromwell.

Detail from the memorial to David Polhill (died 1754), MP for Rochester and Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London.

Memorial to his brother Charles Polhill (died 1755) a merchant tailor in Smyrna (modern day Izmir, Turkey) who later became a Commissioner of Excise in London. Both memorials were the work of the eminent sculptor Sir Henry Cheere.

Just around the corner from the church are the ruins of Otford Palace built around 1518 by Archbishop Wareham on the site of an earlier fortified manor house (the site had been used as a residence by the Archbishops of Canterbury as far back as Saxon times). In it's heyday the Palace covered an area of four acres.

In 1537 Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was "persuaded" to cede the Palace to King Henry VIII. In 1601 Queen Elizabeth I sold the Palace to Sir Robert Sidney. Eventually the buildings fell into disrepair and the estate was split up and sold off as farm land.

I retraced my steps past St Bartholemews and the duck pond and headed out of Otford past the railway station. At this point, I joined the North Downs way for a long slog up Rowdow Hill.

I had noticed on the map there was a triangulation point at 204 metres and wanted to investigate. Whilst 204 metres may not be on the scale of Mount Everest or even Mount Snowdon, it is quite a big hill for Kent!

Although it was quite hard work getting to the top in the hot weather, the views on the way up were worth the effort. The triangulation point itself was in the middle of a newly cut grass field surrounded by trees.

Passing by the triangulation point I joined a narrow country lane heading back in the general direction of Shoreham. Someone had been overzealous when trimming the roadside hedges as I came across some BT men up a telegraph pole trying to repair the telephone cables which had also been liberally trimmed....

The lane continued past some farms and through glades of trees until I joined another public footpath which lead back down the valley and eventually came out on the main A225 Dartford to Sevenoaks road opposite the entrance to Shoreham railway station.

I crossed the busy road and continued past the station heading back towards Shoreham village. Just on the outskirts of the village I took a footpath which follows the rear wall of the graveyard of St Peter and St Pauls and then on through open fields.

I joined another path which lead back down to the main Darent Valley path passing by a small vineyard.

I'd noticed a mysterious monument marked on the O.S. map and once again decided to make a diversion off the Darent Valley path to take a closer look.

I walked along the very picturesque Mill Lane, named after the paper mill which operated there until the mid 1920's, up to the junction with the High Street and headed towards Lullingstone. A footpath runs along the edge of the High Street through fields and eventually joins Cockerhurst Road - the site of the mysterious monument shown on the map.

At first I couldn't find the monument but eventually I did locate it is hidden amongst the trees by the side of the road.

The stone monument stands about three feet tall.

On one face it is inscribed with a passage taken from the Bible (Hosea) - "Behold therefore I will allure her and will lead her into the wilderness and there I will speak to her heart". On another face the inscription reads "Pray for the soul of E.J.G.B" and on another "and of A.J.B".

Frustratingly I have not been able to find out anything about it so far but I would imagine it dates from at least the 1800's. If anyone out there knows who built it and/or why and who E.J.G.B and A.J.B were, I would be very pleased to hear from you.

I took Castle Farm Road passing through fragrant fields of lavender waiting to be harvested and finally found myself back at the Lullingstone visitor centre.

I wonder what my ancestors from the 1700's would have said if I'd told them that lavender and grape vines would one day be growing in their Valley?

You are welcome to leave any comments you may have about this post.

UPDATE - for Part 3 of my Darent Valley Walk please see here

UPDATE - the mystery of the memorial stone has been solved... please see here

You may also enjoy reading from the archives....

Visit to West Malling

Day Trip to Rochester

A Walk Around Grenham Bay

Visit to West Malling

Not surprisingly, this is a follow on to my post "A visit to East Malling" which I wrote a few weeks ago.

More specifically this post is about the village church of St Marys which, I think, is rather special, particularly if you are also interested in history like me.

From the outside,the church is not unpleasing to the eye .....



However, on the inside, it's even better ....



The stained glass windows are fantastic. Some of the best I have ever seen.

The church was originally built shortly after the Norman Conquest of England by Bishop Gundulf who was also responsible for the construction of Rochester Cathedral and castle.

Over the centuries many changes and additions were made including the construction of the spire in the 1700's. (The same spire was depicted on the back of ten pound notes during the 1990's)

One of the most interesting things to be seen inside the church is the ornate tomb of Sir Robert Brett who died in 1620. He had the grand titles of Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber and King's Sergeant and is buried alongside wife and son.





More macabre details on the tomb...





One of the monuments was a stark reminder of how tragically high infant mortality rates were a couple of centuries ago.....



Benjamin Hubble and his wife Ann outlived eight of their ten children.



A quote taken from the Bible (Peter). I believe the plaque was made during the reign of King James II (1685 - 1688) the last Catholic King of England who was ousted in the Glorious Revolution.

These are just a few of the interesting things to be found inside the church. My wife and I must have spent at least an hour or so looking around.



The graveyard outside contains many reminders of the town's long association with Royal Air Force.

During the Battle of Britain, despite being heavily bombed the airfield was able to remain operational. Guy Gibson VC, later to become leader of the famous Dambuster raid, was stationed at RAF West Malling during 1941. In 1944, Spitfire aircraft were used to intercept and destroy V1 rockets (doodlebugs) before they could reach London.

After the RAF left in 1969, the airfield remained in civilian hands until around 1992 when it finally closed and was redeveloped into the new "village" of Kings Hill.

Squadron Leader Hall of 25 Squadron is buried next to his colleague and co-pilot Flying Officer Levett.



Squadron Leader Hall and Flying Officer Levett were both sadly killed on 4th February 1957 when their Gloster Meteor NF14 night fighter WS 753 flew into high ground four miles east of Oxford during a night navigation exercise.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please leave a comment. They are always welcome.

You may also like...

Manston Airport and the Hurricane and Spitfire Memorial

They Burned for Their Beliefs

Tracing the Family Tree in Chelsfield, Kent

They Burned for Their Beliefs!

Some may think that religious extremism and intolerance is a modern day phenomena born out of the troubles in the Middle East.....

In a bleak disused cemetery on East Hill, Dartford stands a stark monument to three Protestant martyrs burnt at the stake for their beliefs in 1555.

The burnings took place at the behest of Queen Mary - Bloody Mary!

The staunchly Catholic Queen was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She was crowned Queen of England and Ireland on 19th July 1553 following the early death of her Protestant half brother King Edward VI from tuberculosis and a failed attempt at placing Lady Jane Grey on the throne by the Dudleys.

Initially Mary was a popular Queen but her decision to marry Prince Philip of Spain, who later became King Philip II, was widely distrusted by her English subjects and lead to uprisings in various part of the country which were ruthlessly suppressed.

Despite the disquiet, the marriage went ahead on 25th July 1554.

The Queen made it her mission to zealously reverse the Protestant policies introduced by her father King Henry VIII during the Reformation and continued by her half brother Edward, and return England to the Catholic faith.

Protestants from all walks of life, not only the clergy, were heavily persecuted and tried for heresy if they refused to recant their beliefs.

In total nearly three hundred Protestants were executed, mainly by burning, during Mary's short reign of just over five years. Protestants in Kent suffered particularly with more than sixty perishing in the so called the Marian Persecutions.

The Dartford memorial commemorates the names of three of the Kent martyrs - Christopher Waid, Nicholas Hall and Margery Polley.


In June 1555 Christopher Waid, a linen-weaver, and Nicholas Hall, a bricklayer, both from Dartford, were arrested and charged with heresy due to their Protestant beliefs and failure to recant.

They were tried by the notorious Bishop of Rochester, Maurice Griffiths. Both men were found guilty and sentenced to be publicly burnt at the stake.

Christopher Waid's execution was fixed for the 17th July 1555 and Nicholas Hall for the 19th July (coincidentally the second anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne). Hall met his fate in Rochester.


Christopher Waid was taken early in the morning of the 17th July to the Brent (in Dartford) - at that time an area of heath land - and put into a gravel pit which was often used for the execution of common criminals.

Waid and Margery Polley, the third person commemorated on the Dartford memorial, had been placed in the charge of the Sheriff and his men.

Polley was a widow from Pembury near Tonbridge who had earlier been tried and sentenced to death by the Bishop of Rochester, Maurice Griffiths. She was the first women to be executed in the Marian persecutions.

Polley was brought to the Brent on the way to her own execution in Tonbridge which took place the next day.


Margery Polley said to Christopher Waid, on seeing in the distance the large crowd assembled to witness his execution : " You may rejoice to see such a company gathered to celebrate your marriage this day,".

Waid and Polley then sang a psalm together.

(Incidentally, it is recorded that "divers fruiterers came with horse loads of cherries and sold them to the many people who had come to witness the martyrdom". )

Waid was stripped of his clothes and dressed in a long white garment. He was then led to the stake, which he embraced. A pitch barrel having been placed near him, he was fastened to the stake with a metal hoop by a local cooper.

As soon as this was done, he looked up to Heaven and, with a loud and cheerful voice, said :

"Shew me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed : because Thou, Lord, hast helped me and comforted me "

Near the stake was a raised mound with a platform on which stood a friar holding a Bible.

Christopher Waid saw the friar and urged the watching crowd to " heed the Gospel and beware of the errors of Rome."

The Sheriff interrupted Waid, saying : "Be quiet, Waid, and die patiently."

Waid said : "I am quiet, thank God, and so trust to die."

Faggots (bundles of branches) were then piled around Waid, who is said, with his own hands to have opened a space for his face to be seen, and so that he could see the crowd.

His voice was heard repeatedly saying : " Lord Jesus, receive my soul ! "

With no sign of cowardice, no longer able to speak, he finally put his hands over his head and towards Heaven before perishing in the flames.

Mary's reign of terror ended with her death on 17th November 1558. She had not produced an heir from her marriage to Philip and the crown passed to her Protestant half sister Elizabeth (daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn).

If you have found this post interesting, please feel free to leave a comment. They are always very welcome.

Further reading.....

Day trip to Rochester

Sir Cloudesley Shovell

Milton Church, Gravesend - Porcupines and Masons

Day trip to Rochester

The historic city of Rochester is one of my favourite places to visit in Kent.

The town's skyline is dominated by the Norman Castle built by Gundulf Bishop of Rochester in around 1087.

Gundulf was a Norman monk who came to England in 1070 shortly after the Battle of Hastings and subsequent conquest by William the Conqueror. Gundulf was appointed Bishop of Rochester in 1077 and died in 1108.

His statue is carved into the nearby Cathedral together with Bishop John I who held the position from 1125 until his death in 1137.

The first Cathedral in Rochester was founded by the Saxons in around 600 AD.

We would have liked to have had a look inside the Cathedral but there was a wedding taking place that day and we thought it best not to gate crash.

There are several things I like about Rochester..... for one it has a variety of small family owned shops and a distinct abscence of the major chains that you can find in any High Street anywhere in the country. This gives it a refrsehing individuality and character which you don't often find nowadays.

Junior was certainly impressed with the Christmas window displays!

Another thing that is good about Rochester is the large number of traditional pubs and restaurants making it a great location for a pleasant evening out. Due to it's close proximity to the Naval Dockyards in Chatham and location on the River Medway, the town was always a favourite haunt of sailors......

In December 1762 one ship's officer wrote the following in a letter to his family....

On Monday last a Sailor went into the late Mr. Pickerring's Brewhouse at Rochester, and took it into his Head that he would swim in a Tun of Strong Beer, and being in Liquor, whether his Foot slipped as he was looking in, or that he did it wilfully, is uncertain, but he pitched in Head foremost; and although he was taken out immediately, he died in a few Minutes afterwards.

There are a wide variety of historic buildings in the High Street dating back to the 1500's...

The tall building on the left is the town's visitor vcentre and tourist information. The building below, complete with ship weather cock, is the Guildhall and was built in 1687. It now houses the town museum.

The town clock on the Old Corn Exchange.

The lion and unicorn emblem of King George III and Queen Charlotte adorn the Royal and Victoria Bull Hotel which is over four hundred years old.

The Hotel was originally a coaching inn called the Bull but got the grander name following an overnight stay by the then Princess, later Queen Victoria in 1836.

A regular visitor to the Hotel was Charles Dickens who lived nearby at Gads Hill.

In my next post I will tell the story of the preposterously named former MP for Rochester, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and his colourful career and later tragic demise....

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to leave a comment.