SOUTHFLEET, a parish in the hundred of AXTON-DARTFORD-and-WILMINGTON,
lathe of SUTTON at
HONE, county of KENT, 3 miles (S. W.) from Gravesend,
containing 577 inhabitants. The living is a rectory,
in the archdeaconry and diocese of Rochester, rated in
the king's books at £31. 15., and in the patronage of
the Bishop of Rochester. The church, dedicated to
St. Nicholas, is principally in the decorated style of
English architecture, and exhibits many marks of antiquity,
including six stone stalls under pointed arches,
a piscina, a window of stained glass, and a font much
admired for its curious workmanship. This was a
place of importance during the Octarchy, when it was
called Sudfleta: from its proximity to the old Watlingstreet,
its distance from the station Durobrivis (Rochester),
and the numerous Roman relics found on the
spot, it is supposed to occupy the site of the Fagniacte
of Antoninus. Among other antiquities a Roman milliary
and a stone tomb, containing two leaden coffins,
have been discovered in the parish. A school-house
has been erected, and is endowed with a rent-charge of
£20, bequeathed by the family of Sedley.