Walmer Tithe Apportionments

 

The Tithe Map drawn up in 1844 to assess properties in the parish of Walmer for the apportionment of tithe fees gives a fascinating view of life 180 years ago.  So far as I know, there has been no published comparison of the properties listed in the Assessment with present-day buildings, so I tackled it myself.

A full list is available to those that ask.

Each property has its own story of course, but it is particularly interesting to find the occupants of some of the better-known buildings, to trace the paths of old roads and tracks and to realise the extent of land-holdings of the rich and powerful at the beginning of Victoria's reign.

The pink house on the left as you enter Walmer down Dover Road, for example, was the Hare and Hounds pub, supplied of course by the Thompson Brewery whose buildings surrounded the pub at the time. The striking Flemish gable-end was added later.

(photo supplied by Miss Frances Woodcock, whose father ran a shop by the junction with Station Road, and who sold vegetables and flowers from her garden in Lawn Road)

The Assessment was carried out not long after the Napoleonic Wars had expanded Deal and Walmer, with the building of the Naval hospital and Barracks. The construction of the Hospital was undertaken by George Urmstone Leith (1788-1820), a Scottish physician who also  bought up large swathes of land and built many houses and shops to supply the military and the increased population, including the buildings along the Strand that we see today. He also bought Walmer Court and Liverpool House for his own use.

In 1844 his huge estate was being managed by his executors; it remains a significant land-owner today.

The parish is clearly divided into Upper Walmer and Lower Walmer, the former adjacent to Deal and being quickly built up along the beach and Dover Road, as merchants and seamen needed homes to suit their status; the latter a more traditional village grouped around Walmer Court farm, old St Mary's church and the shops, yards and brewery. The ponds (indicating a spring at Walmer Court, with a stream falling down to Walmer Castle paddock) have sadly gone.

A small third cluster of houses have formed inland of Walmer Castle, including Liverpool House and Glen Hill House. 

The map also reminds us that, at this time, Walmer Parish included some 90 acres of land on the marshes north of Deal, presumably for the grazing of livestock outside the confines of the main part of Walmer.

A listing of the Tithe Apportionments is available online, and the maps themselves are on a CD in Deal Library; Dover Library has the whole set of Kent maps, and both places benefit from very helpful staff.

Much useful information was found on the website of Families of Deal and Walmer, for which many thanks are due.