Smeeth

"SMEETH, a parish in the liberty of Bircholt Franchise, lathe of Shepway, county Kent, 4½ miles S.E. of Ashford, its post town, and 7½ from Hythe. It is a station on the South-Eastern railway. The village, which is of small extent, is chiefly agricultural. The parish includes the hamlet of Ridgway, and was formerly a market town. The East Kent hounds meet in this parish. The land is partly in hop-grounds. The living is a curacy annexed to the rectory of Aldington, in the diocese of Canterbury. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure with a square tower containing one bell. It was restored in 1850. The register dates from 1662. The parochial charities produce about £38 per annum. There are schools for both sexes. Scott's Hall is the principal residence, and was the seat of Sir William Scott, Knight Marshal of England in 1350, and from that period continued in possession of the same family till 1784. E. H. Knatchbull Hugessen, Esq., is lord of the manor and chief landowner. Fairs occur on 15th May and 29th September."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]