Frittenden is a Rectory with records of its incumbents going back to 1279 when St Augustine’s was the patron of the parish.
The difference between a Rector and a Vicar is largely historical. A Rectory was a benefice in which the Tithe was paid to the incumbent. The incumbent was known as the Rector and the Benefice house, where he lived, was also known as the Rectory. Tithes were monetised under the Tithe Act of 1839. The Tithe Act 1925 transferred the tithe income to the Queen Anne’s Bounty fund, which supplemented the income of poor clergy. The Tithe Act 1936 extinguished tithes altogether, Government Stock being issued in compensation.
Clergy houses are collectively known as parsonages but will normally be known as The Rectory or The Vicarage usually based on the historic status of the Benefice.
The current Patron of the Benefice of Sissinghurst with Frittenden is the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS).
Rectors of Frittenden and [Patron], where known
1279 William de Lyndestede [St Augustines]
1281 Robert de Winton
1301 Thomas?
1309 Richard de Ayremynne
1316 Henry de Ayremynne
1317 Thomas de Askelby
1358 Johannes Heyham
? Edward Behgnham
1391 Edward Ohlond
1404 Richardus Lentwandyn
1406 Hugo Wotton
1409 Edward Bekybdham
1415 Robert Rawlyn
1419 Henry Walechurch
1425 William Hitere
1426 John Goode
1436 Henry Gunner
1437 John Basil
? David Bernard
1453 Henry Crandbrook
? Robert Miller
1477 Richard Joyce
1499 William Kitleysdene
1505 John Wythyson
1540? [Baker Family]
1545 Walter Dowley
1549 John Taylor
1550? [Webb Family]
? Nicholas Hanyson
1569 Francis Rawson
1574 Robert Spenser
1582 Richard Grainger
1594 Edward Hargrave
1619 Sanderson Webb
1620 Richard Bond
1635 William Dell
1642 Richard Bond
1647 [Thomas Shelley Esq]
1666 Robert Clark
1666 Robert Newton [William Daines]
1725 Thomas Bagnall
1725 Henry Bagnall
1726 [Henry Bagnall]
1761 Henry Friend
? [Thomas Hallett Hodges]
? [Thomas Law Hodges]
1805 Henry Hodges
1837 John Argles
1842 [Trustees of the Marriage Settlement of Edward and Lady Harriett Moore]
1848 Edward Moore
1867 [Hoare Family]
1869 Thomas Hallward
1899 Rupert Inglis
1917 Cyril Balmer
1919? [Sir Charles John Oakeley]
1924 Cecil Stooks
1927 Henry Leathly
1938 [Sir Charles Oakeley]
1941 Robert White
1946 Ernest Evitt
1950 Stanley Edwards
1957 Townsend Blake
1959 [Sir Atholl Oakeley]
1960 Noel Manley
1966 Anthony Baxter-Shaw
1973* Christopher Brown
1977 Denis Downham
1978 Ian Butler
1992 Alan Norris
2013 Frederick Olney
* Frittenden combined with Sissinghurst, a vicarage, from this date
The information on this page has been kindly provided by the Frittenden Historical Society.