ELHAM, a parish in the hundred of LONINGBOROUGH,
lathe of SHEPWAY, county of KENT, 7 miles
(N. W. by N.) from Folkestone, containing 1168 inhabitants.
This place, which was anciently of greater importance,
and contained several handsome structures,
of which there are scarcely any vestiges, was, at the
time of the Conquest, in the possession of the Norman
earl Ewe, a near relation of the Conqueror's, who obtained
for it many valuable privileges: in the reign
of Henry III. it belonged to Prince Edward, who procured
for it the grant of a weekly market, which, though
for some time disused, is held occasionally in the markethouse,
every five or six years, in order to preserve the
right. The village is situated on the smaller river Stour,
and contains many houses neatly built of brick, and of
modern appearance. Elham park, of which notice
occurs in the time of Henry III., is now overgrown
with wood. Fairs are held annually on Palm-Monday,
Easter-Monday, and Whit-Monday, and October 20th,
for horses, cattle, and pedlary. The county magistrates
hold a petty session for the division monthly; and the
parish is within the jurisdiction of a court of requests
held at Folkestone, for the recovery of debts above 2s.
and not exceeding 40s.: manorial courts are held on the
Thursday in Easter week, and on the Thursday after the
20th of October. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry
and diocese of Canterbury, rated in the king's
books at £20, and in the patronage of the Warden and
Fellows of Merton College, Oxford, on the nomination
of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church, dedicated
to St. Mary, is a spacious and handsome structure in the
early style of English architecture, with a massive square
embattled tower; over the west door is a fine window of
three lights, in the decorated style, which has been subsequently
inserted; the ancient timber roof is still preserved
in the nave and aisles. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyan Methodists. A school was founded here in
1725, by Sir John Williams, Knt., who endowed it with
a house and lands now producing upwards of £60 per
annum, for the clothing and instruction of six poor boys,
of whom one is placed out apprentice. A house of industry
for this and several adjoining parishes has been
recently erected.