HYTHE, a parish and borough, and one of the cinqueports,
having separate jurisdiction,
locally in the hundred
of Hythe, lathe of
SHEPWAY, county of KENT,
33 miles (S.B. by E.) from
Maidstone, and 67 (S.E.
by E.) from London, containing
2181 inhabitants.
This place, which is of great
antiquity, was noted, for the
security of its haven, from which circumstance it appears
to have derived its Saxon name, signifying harbour.
In 456, a sanguinary battle took place on this
part of the coast, between the Britons and the Saxons,
and many were slain on both sides: their bones, whitened
by long exposure on the sea-shore, having been collected,
were deposited in one large pile, twenty-eight feet long,
eight feet broad, and eight feet high, in the crypt under
the chancel of the parish church; in many of the
skulls are deep incisions, probably made by a hattle-axe,
or other heavy military weapon. Hythe from its maritime
importance, was constituted one of the cinqueports,
rated at five ships, with a complement of twentyone
men each; for the service of the king, and invested
with ample privileges. In 1036, the town, with the
manor of Saltwood, was given to the see of Canterbury,
the archbishops of which had a castle at Saltwood,
about a mile to the northward. In the early part of
the reign of Henry IV., according to Lamhard, "Hythe
was grievously afflicted, in so much, beside the furie of
the pestilence which raged all over, there were in one
day two hundred of the houses consumed by fire,
and five of the ships with one hundred men drowned:"
the inhabitants, impoverished and dispirited by this calamity,
had thoughts of abandoning the town, but were
prevented by the interposition of the king, who released
them for a time from their services as inhabitants of a
cinque-port. At the Reformation, Archbishop Cranmer
exchanged the manor of Saltwood, and the town of
Hythe, with Henry VIII., and they continued vested in
the crown until the 17th of Elizabeth, who granted the
town at a fee farm rent of £3 to the inhabitants, whom
she incorporated, by the style of "the mayor, jurats,
and commonalty, of the town and port of Hythe."
Since the maritime survey made in that reign, the
haven has been entirely choked up with sand, and the
beach is at present nearly three quarters of a mile from
the town.
Hythe consists principally of one long street, running
parallel with the sea, and intersected nearly at
right angles by several smaller streets; the houses are
irregularly built, but those on the higher grounds command
a fine view of the sea, Romney Marsh, and the
adjacent country, which abounds with romantic scenery,
and affords numerous pleasing walks and rides. At the
entrance into the town from the London road are the
barracks of the royal staff corps, which is permanently
stationed here. The theatre, a small but neat and wellarranged
building, is opened occasionally, and the public
library and reading-rooms are under good regulations
and well attended. The town is much frequented during
the season for sea-bathing, and there are several machines
on the beach. The coast is defended by a range
of strong forts and a line of martello towers, erected
during the late war with France. The Royal Military
canal from Hythe to Appledore affords a facility of conveyance
for goods and merchandise; and a passage-boat
plies daily between this place and Rye. The market is
on Saturday; the fairs are, July 10th and December 1st.
The government, by charter of Elizabeth, is vested in
a mayor, two chamberlains, twelve jurats, and twentyfour
common council-men, assisted by a town clerk and
other officers; the mayor and jurats are justices of the
peace within the borough and liberties, and hold a
general court of session and gaol delivery in July, which
is continued by adjournment on the Saturday in every
month. The corporation have power to try for all offences
except high treason, and to determine all pleas and civil
actions; they also hold a court of record monthly, for
the recovery of debts to any amount. The county
magistrates for the division hold a meeting in the
town on the third Monday in every month. The
court-hall is a convenient building in the centre of the
town; and the market-place was formed by Viscount
Strangford in the reign of Charles II. The borough
gaol and house of correction is a small building, containing
three wards for the classification of prisoners-.
The borough has returned two members to parliament
since the 42nd of Edward III., who are called barons;
the right of election is vested in the corporation and
burgesses generally, of whom the number is about one
hundred and thirty: the mayor is the returning officer.
The .living is a perpetual curacy annexed to- the retftory
of Saltwood, in the peculiar jurisdiction and patronage
of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church,
dedicated to St. Leonard, is a spacious and handsome
structure, partly in the Norman, and partly in the early
English, style of architecture, with a tower at the west
end in the former style, and a central tower of the
latter character: the whole building displays remark-
,ably good and .well-executed designs in each of these
styles, and under the chancel is a very fine crypt, beautifully
groined, and having a door on each side, with
highly enriched mouldings: over the porch is a large
apartment used as the town-hall, in which the mayor
and other officers of the corporation are annually
chosen. There are places of worship for Independents
and Wesleyan Methodists. National schools are supported
by subscription, and there are also Sunday
schools in connexion with the established church and the
dissenting congregations. St. Bartholomew's hospital,
for five poor men and five women, natives of Hythe, was
founded by Haimo, Bishop of Rochester, about 1336,
and is endowed with land near the town, producing a
considerable revenue, which is vested in the corporation.
Another almshouse, for six poor persons, called St. John's
hospital, is endowed with landed property, vested in six
trustees, usually members of the corporation: there
are some other charitable benefactions for the relief of
the poor. Near the end of Stane-street, the Roman
road from Canterbury, is the ancient port Lemanus, or
Limne, where the remains of the walls of that station
are still visible.