THE VICTORIA HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF KENT. Edited by
William Page. Vol. II. (St. Catherine Press. 63s.)—The second volume devoted to Kent in the monumental Victoria History appears eighteen years after the first, but it was worth waiting for. It deals with two phases of Kentish history which are also of national importance—the ecclesiastical and the naval. Under the Romans Kent was in the diocese of London ; the nave of St. Martin's, Canterbury, is possibly Roman work: - Under the Saxons Kent was the cradle of the Church founded by St. Augustine, who baptized King Ethelbert in St. Martin's. Canon Livett and Mr. M. 0. Simkins narrate the later develop- ments in a scholarly chapter. The many religious houses of Kent are treated in detail by Mr. A. G. Little and Mr. R. C. Fowler. The Holy Rood at Boxley, which was made to move its eyes and lips by wires, and the Nun of Kent, a half-mad domestic servant who was admitted to the Priory of St.
Sepulchre's, Canterbury, gained much notoriety at the Refor- mation. The maritime history, together with the history of the royal dockyards, is related in fascinating detail by Mr. M. Oppenheim. Henry VIII was the creator of the modern Navy. He built his Super-Dreadnought, the ' Henry Grace de Dieu,' at Woolwich, and established the Deptford yard at about the same time. Chatham and Sheerness came later. Mr. Oppen- heim's stories of the corruption that prevailed in the dockyards are amazing. Up to Pitt's time dockyard " mateys,' being allowed to take chips," were in the habit of sawing up valuable timber and carrying off convenient logs, together with brass, iron and other acceptable " chips," to sell to local dealers. Nor could any Board of Admiralty stop the abuse until Lord St. Vincent took charge. The burning of the fleet at Chatham by the Dutch in 1667 is one of the blackest pages in our naval history ; but, as Mr. Oppenheim shows, De Ruyter might have burnt Gravesend, too, for the Thames was wholly undefended when he arrived. Men of Kent and Kentish men alike, and many other people, will find much to interest them in this volume. It is pleasant to know that the Victoria History is well on the way to completion, for its value is incalculable.
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