H ouse and Garden 
end of the larger island. In the nineteenth 
century (1822) the house was finally com¬ 
pleted in the Tudor style, which character¬ 
izes the greater part of the old building. 
But the most interesting bits for the archi¬ 
tect are to be found at the bottom of the hill 
in the village itself. Here are several perfect 
specimens of the half-timbered cottages put 
up, for the most part, in the sixteenth century. 
The one shown on these pages has a super¬ 
structure of oak and plaster, dating from this 
period; but the lower part, of stone, is earlier, 
being probably late fourteenth or early fifteenth 
century. This cottage is one of the few bits 
now remaining of the old Priory. The flour 
mill in the village is another relic, where the 
wheel is still turned by the overflow from the 
water of the monastic fish pond. 
From our inn we will take another short 
walk to the village of Hollingbourne, about 
a mile and a half away. When you arrive 
there, if it be night, you may imagine the 
ghosts of many a penitent will bear you 
company awhile. For you are actually on 
the famous Pilgrim’s Way, the way trod by 
countless thousands who have traveled from 
Southampton and Winchester to worship at 
the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket. 
“ Whence and whither, jolly pilgrims, whither ride ye 
forth today. 
That like Kings ye canter, canter, canter on the King’s 
highway ? ” 
A COTTAGE IN LEEDS VILLAGE 
From a Sketch by the Author 
It is little more than seven hundred years 
since first pilgrims used this yew-fringed by¬ 
way. The main road to Canterbury might 
have been better, but sturdy beggars and 
footpads lurked in thicket and wood, and 
the soldier police wanted payment for pro¬ 
tection. Then the great highway was ex¬ 
pensive with tolls, which poor pilgrims 
could not pay. If you are inclined, you, 
too, may follow some day in the footsteps 
of Chaucer’s immortals, but today linger 
for awhile in Hollingbourne. There is the 
Manor House to see, and the Church of 
All Saints. 
Notably the house near 
the station, called Godfrey 
H ouse, is a wonderful study 
of Tudor domestic architec¬ 
ture. Many little villages 
nestling in the valleys of this 
part of Kent, within walking 
distance of the Park Gate 
Inn, are worth visiting and 
studying. There is Lenham, 
for instance, with its houses 
of the period of James 1 .; 
Harrietsham, another inter¬ 
esting hamlet; and Pluckley, 
where architectural remains 
are to be found of former 
prosperity of the village 
when the wool trade with the 
continent of Europe was still 
flourishing. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN OF THE INN 
