M l L T O N. 
m 
clofing a fquare area, the Tides of which are nearly paral¬ 
lel with the cardinal points of the compafs. It meafures 
about an hundred feet each w r ay; and has obtained the 
name of Caftle-Rough, from its having been long over¬ 
grown with trees and-underwood. 
Milton is fuppofed to have originally Hood in the vici¬ 
nity of its church, which is considerably to the north of 
the prefeiit town; and near it the Saxon kings had a pa¬ 
lace, which was burnt, together with the town, by earl 
Godvvyn, during his quarrel with Edward the Confeffor, 
about the year 1052. Notwithftanding this, Milton ap¬ 
pears to have been a place of confiderable importance, for 
the time, in the days of William the Conqueror, who, in 
the Domefday Survey, is recorded to have then held the 
manor. It remained veiled in the crown tiil the time of 
Ciiarl.es I. though frequently granted for life, ora term of 
years, to different-perfons ; particularly to Several queens 
in dower, and others of the royal blood, who procured 
various privileges for the inhabitants. The grant of the 
market, which is kept on Saturdays, was obtained by 
queen Ifabella, in the 13th of Edward I. (1287.) together 
with the liberty of holding an annual fair for four days, 
'beginning May 24.. 
The town is governed by a portreeve, who is chofen, 
on St. James’s day, by fuch inhabitants of the parilh as 
pay the church and poor’s rates. The court-leet and 
court-baron for the manor and hundred of Milton is 
held in the court-houfe on Monday after Eafter week, and 
on the Monday Ce’nnight after the 29th of September} 
0.1 the latter day two high constables, and twenty-feven 
b jrfliolders, are cholen. Beneath the court-houfe is the 
town-gaol. 
The market-houfe and fhambles Hand near the middle 
of the town. The church is a Spacious fabric, and conlills 
of two aiSles and two chancels, w'ith a maflive embattled 
tower at the weft end, which, together with the foutk 
chancel, is.compofed of fquared flints, laid in even rows. 
The eaft windows are large and pointed: that of the 
north chancel is divided into five lights, w'ith numerous 
crockets above} the other has four trefoil-headed lights 
below, with three ranges of quatrefoil lights above. The 
fouth chancel, which belonged to the ancient family of 
North wood, contains feveral tombs and fepulcliral me¬ 
morials. 
The oyfler-fifliery furnishes the principal fource of em¬ 
ployment to the inhabitants, and has done So for many 
centuries. In the reign of king John, the right of this 
fishery in the manor and hundred of Milton was granted 
to the abbey at FaverSham, to which it appertained at the 
diifolution. It then w'as held by the crowm till the reign of 
Charles I. fince that period it has been granted, with the 
manor, to various perfons fucceiiively} and it is now held 
cn leafe by a company called Free Dredgers, who are go¬ 
verned by their own particular rules or bye-laws, made, 
according to ancient cultom, at the court-baron of the 
manor. The oyfters produced within the limits of this 
fishery are in high eftimation, under the name of “ Native 
Miltons.” There are four wharfs belonging to this town } 
and confiderable quantities of corn, and other produce 
of the adjacent country, are fhipped here for the Lon¬ 
don markets, commodities of every kind being freighted 
in return. 
In the weftern part of this parish and its vicinity is a 
large traCt of woodland, called Chefnut Woods, from the 
great plenty of thofe trees which grow therein: and in a 
prefentment made of the cuftoms of Milton, in 1575, it 
is mentioned, that the occupiers of three mills holden of 
the manor, Should gather yearly for the lord of it nine 
buSliels of “ cheftenottes” in Chefnot Wood, or pay eigh¬ 
teen-pence by the year to the queen. 
In the marlhes in the north-weft quarter of the parish is 
a decoy for wild fowl, of which great numbers are taken, 
and principally fol-d in the markets of the metropolis. 
On the opposite fide of Milton-creek, and about half 
a mile north of Sittingbourne, are the poor remains of 
Bayford-caftle, Said to have been raifed by the good and 
vigilant king Alfred, to fecure the country from any 
future depredations of the Danes, after he had fo effec¬ 
tually routed Haftings, as to oblige him to fue for peace, 
and to give his two Sons as hoftages for the observance 
of it. The moat and a Small part of the eaft wall are ftill 
vilible. 
Three miles from Milton is the village of Newington. 
The church is large and neat, and is fituated at Some dif- 
tance from the Street, on the left hand. In it are Several 
monuments, particularly of the Cobham family. A flight 
of (lone Steps Still remains, which leads to what was for¬ 
merly a rood-loft. In this village was a nunnery, to 
which belonged the manor of Newington but by whom 
founded or endowed does not appear. The traditionary 
account, taken from Thorn’s Chronicle of St. Auftin, at 
Canterbury, fays, that the priorefs was Strangled in her 
bed by Some of her nuns, who, to conceal So execrable 
an affaffmation, threw her body into a pit} but, this hor¬ 
rid transaction being not long after discovered, king 
Henry III. delivered fuch as were culpable to the fecular 
power to Suffer according to their demerit, removed the 
guiltlefs to the nunnery at Minder in Sheppey, and filled 
their cloilter with Seven fecular canons: four of whom, 
not long after, murdered one of their fraternity; upon 
which, the two innocent canons conveyed their two parts 
of the manor to the abbey of St. Auftin, and the other five 
were granted by the king to Richard de Lucy. 
On an elevated Situation to the fouthward, juft beyond 
the village, is Standard-hill, where, tradition fays, the 
Roman eagle was once difplayed. It is in general agreed, 
by fuch as have fearched molt into the antiquities of this 
county, that this was the Dnrolcvum of the Romans. In 
an adjoining field, named Crockfield, have been dug up 
feveral hundreds of Roman pots, urns, and other veflels ; 
fome of the urns were of very large dimensions, and em¬ 
broidered with particular inscriptions: “ One,” fays Phi- 
lipott, “ had Severianus Pater infculptured on it; ano¬ 
ther was indorfed with Prifcian ; and a third with Fulvitts 
Linus.” It was obferved, that wherever a great urn was 
found feveral fmaller veffels were found about it, and 
generally covered with a laying of the fame earth with 
the body of the pot; from this circumstance, as well as 
from the number of pots found empty, and lying in va¬ 
rious positions, it is .conjectured the Romans had a pot¬ 
tery near this place. 
The firll afeent which appears after leaving Newington- 
ftreet, has, for many ages, been distinguished by the nams 
of Caicol-hill, So called, as is fuppofed, from the Kentilh 
Britons being defeated in this place by Caius Trebonius, 
who was detached from Caeiar’s camp with three legions 
and all his cavalry* to forage. 
Juft beyond this is Key-jlreet, corruptly, (remarks Mr. 
Halted,) no doubt, for Caii Jiratwm, or Caius’s-itreeS, 
though the ale-houle in it, having the fign of the key, 
has raifed an idea of its taking its name from thence; 
this leads into the fruitful and pleafant ISle of Sheppey.— 
Borden church appears alio on the right hand, (one mile 
and a half from Milton,) in which is a monument ereCted 
to the memory of that eminent antiquarian Dr. Plot, 
author of the Antiquities of -Oxford and Staffordshire. 
HaJieeVs Hijt. of Kent, vol. vi. V/illtcs's Britifh Directory, 
vol. iii. 
MIL'TON (John), the father of our great poet, though 
a ferivener (or banker) by profeflion, was a voluminous 
compofer of mufic, and equal in lcience, if not genius, 
of the bell musicians of the age ; in conjunction and on 
a level with whom, his name and works appeared in nu¬ 
merous mufical publications of the time, particularly in 
thole of old Wilbye; in the Triumphs of Oriana, pub¬ 
lished by Morley; in Ravenfcroft’s Plalms; in the Lamen¬ 
tations, published by fir William Leighton; and in MS. 
collections, ftill in the pofielfion of the curious. Mr. T. 
Warton, in his notes on the Minora of Milton, tells us, 
from the MS. Life of the Poet, by Aubrey the antiquary, 
in 
