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SOLES COURT OR SOLES COURT FARM, SOLES 1086

THE NAME DERIVES FROM THE O.E. SOL, MEANING MUD OR MIRE, IN KENTISH DIALECT IT MEANS A POND OR POOL OF MUDDY WATER. SOLES COURT WAS MENTIONED IN THE DOOMESDAY BOOK, BUT NOW ONLY CONSISTS OF SOME FARM BUILDINGS. THE SURROUNDING WOODLAND HAS EXTENSIVE WOOD BANKS, POSSIBLY PRE-NORMAN.

RECORDED IN THE DOOMESDAY BOOK AS FOLLOWS: ANSFRID HOLDS SOLES (COURT) FROM THE BISHOP (ODO, BISHOP OF DOVER AND BAYEAUX AND EARL OF KENT, HALF BROTHER OF WILLIAM I WITH WHOM HE LATER FELL OUT WITH AND WAS STRIPPED OF HIS LANDS AND TITLES). IT ANSWERS FOR ONE SULUNG. LAND FOR... IN LORDSHIP 2 PLOUGHS; 8 VILLAGERS WITH ½ PLOUGH. VALUE BEFORE 1066, 100 SHILLINGS; LATER 20 SHILLINGS; NOW £ 6. AELMER HELD IT FROM KING EDWARD.

ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATION:

ANSFRID HOLDS OF THE BISHOP SOLES. IT IS TAXED AT ONE SULUNG. THE ARABLE LAND IS...... ON THE DEMESNE ARE TWO PLOUGHS (CARUCATES), AND EIGHT VILLEINS WITH HALF A PLOUGH (CARUCATES). IN THE TIME OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR IT WAS WORTH ONE HUNDRED SHILLINGS, AND AFTERWARDS TWENTY SHILLINGS, NOW SIX POUNDS. ELMER HELD IT OF KING EDWARD

GENERAL DETAILS.

1250. 38^TH HENRY III. ARCH CANT. VOL 12, P 210.

HUNDRED OF EASTRY. HAMO DE SOLES TENET DIMID FEOD IN SOLES DE RICARDO ROKESLE - NOTA BENE JOHANES DE SOLES TENET DIMID IN EODEM DE EODEM. [ H DE SOLES HOLDS HALF ….. FROM RICHARD ROKESLE (RICHARD DE ROKESTLE)- NOTE WELL, JOHANES DE SOLES HOLDS HALF …..IN THE SAME PLACE IN THE SAME CONDITIONS.

1528. 19^TH HENRY VIII.) THOMAS NORTON SOLD TO JOHN BOYES, ¼ OF THE MANOR OF SOLES, WITH 200 ACRES OF LAND, 200 ACRES OF PASTURE AND 60 ACRES OF WOODLAND IN NONINGTON & BARFRESTONE FOR £40.

1637. MANOR, MESS., FARM AND LANDS CALLED SOLES, ABOUT 140 ACRES. LAND OCCUPIED BY NICH. CREAKE.

1664. FIRST MENTION OF SOLES BARN AS SEPARATE ENTITY, APPROX 6 SCORE (120) ACRES.

1660’S. SOLD BY JOHN BOYS TO SIR ANTHONY PERCIVAL OF DOVER. MANOR OF SOLES, BARNES, MESSUAGES, LANDS, TENEMENTS, MEADOWS, PASTURES, WOODS, GROUNDS AND HEREDITAMENTS.

1698. MENTIONED : MANOR OR LORDSHIP OF SOLES AND SAID BARNE, MESS LANDS, TENEMENTS AND HEREDITAMENTS THEREUNTO.

1700. SOLES MANOR AND SOLES BARNE, APPROX. SIX SCORE ACRES, ARABLE, PASTURE, WOODS AND DOWNS.

1704. OCC LAURENCE AUSTEN (ALSO AT THE WHITE HORSE, CHURCH ST., NONINGTON.), LATE WM. SHARPE. SOLES FIELD ABUTTG TO THE S.W. 12 ACRES OCC THOS. OSBOURNE.

1760. ONE MESSUAGE, TWO BARNS, TWO STABLES, ONE ORCHARD, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ACRES OF LAND, TEN ACRES OF MEADOW, TEN ACRES OF PASTURE AND THIRTY ACRES OF WOOD.

FROM HASTED’S ‘HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE COUNTY OF KENT’ VOL. IX, PUBLISHED 1800.

"SOLES IS A MANOR AT THE BOUNDARY OF THIS PARISH, NEXT TO BARFRESTON, WHICH AT THE TAKING OF THE SURVEY OF DOOMESDAY, IN 1080, WAS PART OF THE POSSESSIONS OF ODO, BISHOP OF BAIEUX (SEE PREVIOUS DETAILS).

FOUR YEARS AFTER WHICH THE KING SEIZED UPON THIS ESTATE AMONG THE REST OF HIS POSSESSIONS. AFTER WHICH IT WAS GRANTED TO THE FAMILY OF CREVEQUER, AND MADE A PART OF THAT BARONY, BEING HELD OF IT BY THE TENURE OF PERFORMING WARD TO DOVER CASTLE. OF HAMO DE CREVEQUER IT WAS HELD BY KNIGHT’S SERVICE IN KING EDWARD IS REIGN, BY RICHARD DE ROKESTLE, AND OF HIM AGAIN BY HAMO AND JOHN DE SOLES, WHO CERTAINLY TOOK THEIR NAME FROM IT, BUT THIS NAME WAS EXTINCT HERE IN THE BEGINNING OF KING HENRY IV’S REIGN, FOR IN THE 4^TH YEAR OF IT THOMAS NEWBREGGE, OF FORDWICH, WAS BECOME POSSESSED OF IT, WHOSE DESCENDANT SOLD IT TO RUTTER, FROM WHICH NAME IT PASSED, ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF KING EDWARD IV, TO LITCHFIELD, WHOSE DESCENDANT GREGORY LITCHFIELD ALIENATED IT IN KING HENRY VIII’S REIGN TO JOHN BOYS, ESQ., OF NONINGTON, IN WHOSE DESCENDANTS IT CONTINUED DOWN TO JOHN BOYS, ESQ., OF HODE-COURT, WHO IN CHARLES I’S REIGN ALIENATED IT TO SIR ANTHONY PERCIVAL, OF DOVER, COMPTROLLER OF THE CUSTOMS THERE; IN WHOSE DESCENDANTS IT REMAINED TILL, NOT MANY YEARS SINCE, IT WAS BY ONE OF THEM PASSED AWAY TO MAJOR RICHARD HARVEY, WHO SOLD IT TO THOMPSON, OF RAMSGATE , AFTER WHOSE DEATH IT CAME BY MARRIAGE TO MR. STEPHEN READ, OF CANTERBURY, WHO AFTERWARDS ALIENATED IT TO JOHN PLUMPTREE, ESQ., OF FREDVILLE, (IN 1800) THE PRESENT OWNER OF IT. A COURT BARON IS HELD FOR THIS MANOR".

THE STRIP OF LAND SEPARATING SOLES COURT MANORIAL LAND, HOGS CLOSE, AND RUBERRY DOWNS IS STILL KNOWN AS RUBERRY BUTTS. ONE ORIGIN OF A BUTT CAN BE WHERE TWO PROPERTIES ADJOIN OR ‘BUTT’ TOGETHER. AT SOLES COURT THE BOUNDARY MAY ORIGINALLY HAVE BEEN AN ARTIFICIAL RIDGE CONSTRUCTED TO FORM A MANORIAL BOUNDARY WITH ADJOINING OXENDEN AND WOOLEGE MANORS, BUT IS NOW A SHAW (SHAVE OR NARROW STRIP OF WOODLAND) RUNNING FROM UPPER SOLES WOOD, WHICH ITSELF HAS EXTENSIVE BOUNDARY BANKS AND DITCHES, TO THE ‘ROMAN ROAD ‘, PART OF THE NORTH DOWNS WAY, ADJACENT TO THE THREE BARROWS DOWN BURIAL MOUNDS,

ANOTHER ORIGIN OF BUTT DERIVES FROM THE ANCIENT METHOD OF PLOUGHING CLOCKWISE WHICH RESULTED IN A RIDGE OR ‘BUTT’ BEING FORMED BY THE SOIL THROWN UP BY THE PLOUGH AS THE FURROWS WERE GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS WHERE PIECES OF PLOUGH LAND MET. THESE RIDGES COULD GROW TO A CONSIDERABLE HEIGHT AND WIDTH TO FORM A SIZEABLE RIDGE OR ‘ BUTT.’ WHICH CAN STILL BE SEEN IN SOME PLACES LOCALLY AS THESE RIDGES OFTEN EVOLVED INTO ‘LISTWAYS’ ( FOOT-WAYS AND HORSE-WAYS). LISTWAYS COTTAGES NEAR AYLESHAM TAKE THEIR NAME FROM SUCH A TRACKWAY RUNNING PAST OLD COURT FARM TO RATLING WHICH WAS PART OF NONINGTON PARISH UNTIL AYLESHAM PARISH WAS FORMED IN THE EARLY 1950’S.

SOLES COURT IN 1859

SOLES COURT IN THE 1920’S

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