Staple, Kent
Encyclopedia
Staple is a small village and civil parish in east Kent
. It lies southwest of the nearby village of Ash and the town of Sandwich
and east of Canterbury
.
sites at Wingham. The village church, dedicated to St. James the Great, dates to the Saxon period but there have been Bronze Age
finds in the land surrounding the village. Staple is situated near the end of one of the arms of the Wansum Channel, which in prehistoric times would have provided access to the sea.
Staple is a Middle English
word, signifying an official market for purchase of goods for export; it derives from Anglo-Norman estaple, "market-place", The "staple" of Staple was wool, exported to the Low Countries
. The 1283 'Statute of Acton Burnell' (1283) removed the Staple from Calais to fifteen appointed places in England, Ireland and Wales. The royal appointment decreed that 'All wool for export should be gathered at the Staple, if not the selling there.' In the reign of Edward III the Staple was temporarily removed to Queensborough on the Isle of Sheppey; its return nine years later was occasioned by the greater ease with which export to Calais was effected, by Staple's proximity to Sandwich. The Staple system suffered a long slow decline, and was abolished in 1617. Another export product from Staple was leather.
From 1916 to 1948 the village was served by Staple railway station
on the East Kent Light Railway
, which was north of the village at Durlock Bridge. In World War II the station was used as a munitions dump, and a large-calibre rail-mounted gun was stabled there.
There are two gentlemen's seats at Staple, Crixhall and The Groves. The oldest established vineyard in East Kent (1993) is at Staple.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. It lies southwest of the nearby village of Ash and the town of Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
and east of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
.
History
The village is three miles west of the Bronze Age site at Ringlemere and east of the Roman and MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
sites at Wingham. The village church, dedicated to St. James the Great, dates to the Saxon period but there have been Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
finds in the land surrounding the village. Staple is situated near the end of one of the arms of the Wansum Channel, which in prehistoric times would have provided access to the sea.
Staple is a Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
word, signifying an official market for purchase of goods for export; it derives from Anglo-Norman estaple, "market-place", The "staple" of Staple was wool, exported to the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. The 1283 'Statute of Acton Burnell' (1283) removed the Staple from Calais to fifteen appointed places in England, Ireland and Wales. The royal appointment decreed that 'All wool for export should be gathered at the Staple, if not the selling there.' In the reign of Edward III the Staple was temporarily removed to Queensborough on the Isle of Sheppey; its return nine years later was occasioned by the greater ease with which export to Calais was effected, by Staple's proximity to Sandwich. The Staple system suffered a long slow decline, and was abolished in 1617. Another export product from Staple was leather.
From 1916 to 1948 the village was served by Staple railway station
Staple railway station
Staple railway station was a station on the East Kent Light Railway in southeast England, serving the village of Staple. It was located north of the village, on the west side of the road to Durlock, where it crosses over the Wingham River at Durlock Bridge....
on the East Kent Light Railway
East Kent Light Railway
The East Kent Light Railway was part of the Colonel Stephens group of cheaply built rural light railways in England. Holman Fred Stephens was engineer from its inception, subsequently becoming director and manager...
, which was north of the village at Durlock Bridge. In World War II the station was used as a munitions dump, and a large-calibre rail-mounted gun was stabled there.
There are two gentlemen's seats at Staple, Crixhall and The Groves. The oldest established vineyard in East Kent (1993) is at Staple.
Further reading
- Newman, John, North East and East Kent (series Buildings of England) (Yale University Press) 1969.