The Colkyns of Fredville-updated 10.5.2013
The Colkyn, also Kulkin, Kalkyn, Calkin, Colekin, ect, family were not members of the Anglo-Norman land-owning class but were wealthy Canterbury merchants. The exact year they first occupied Fredville is not presently known, but they are believed to have taken possession during the reign of King John, 1199-1216, but they were well established there by 1243.
Thomas Philpott wrote of the Colkyn family in his “Villare Cantianum”, published in 1659:
“NONINGTON, in the hundred of Wingham and Eastry, hath diverse places in it of considerable repute. The first is Fredville, called in old deeds Froidville, from its bleak and eminent situation. Times of an elder inscription, represent it to have been the possession of Colkin, vulgarly called Cokin, who it is probable erected the ancient fabrick, and brought it into the shape and order of an habitation; this family was originally extracted from Canterbury, where they had a lane which bore their name, being called Colkins lane, and likewise had the inheritance or propriety of Worth-gate in; that city. William Colkin founded an hospital near Eastbridge, which celebrated his name posterity, and was called Colkin’s hospital; he flourished in the time of king John, and was a liberal benefactor to the hospitals of St. Nicholas, St. Katharine, and St. Thomas, of Eastbridge, in Canterbury, as is recorded by Mr. William Somner, in his survey of that city”.
Soon after Rogerus de Kynardinton’ (Roger de Kennardington ect.) had purchased a half of the fee the Kent Rolls of 1242-3 recorded: “Hamo Colekyn, Rogerus de Kynardinton’ j. feodum in Essewelle de Willelmo de Say, ipse de domino rege”, “Hamo Colekin and Roger de Kynardinton’, hold one fee at Esewelle from William de Say, who holds it from the King”. It was not to be a happy relationship between Hamo and Roger.
When Roger de Kynardinton’ borrowed money from the Prior and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral Priory in 1249 he used at least a part of Freydevill’, the earliest known use of this name and therefore the original spelling, as part of the security for the debt with Freydevill’ being worth £10.00 annually. Roger appears to have had some financial problems at that time as in 1250 Hamo Kalkin (Colkyn) pursued a court case against Roger to recover feudal payments owed by Roger for his part of Esewelle which Hamo, as tenant-in-chief, had paid to William de Say, his over-lord. At the same time John, son of William de Frogham and Richard Prit, also made claims against Roger but these claims were not specified in the court records.
By 1249 Essewelle appears to have divided into two specific parts referred to in contemporary legal documents as Esol (also Esehole & Eshole) and Freydevill’.
Over the centuries various chroniclers such as Philpott in 1659 and Hasted in the 1790′s said that Fredville derived its name from the Old French “ froidville“, meaning a cold place or manor, because of its low, cold and watery situation and over the centuries there were many variations in its spelling; Frydewill, 1338; Fredeuyle, 1396; Fredevyle, 1407; Froydevyle, 1430; ffredvile, 1738.
A more likely origin of the name is from the Old English (OE) frith or frythe; a wood or wooded country or the edges or outskirts of a wooded area, which in Kentish/Jute dialect would have been pronounced “freed”, as the TH ending would have been turned into a D sound. Holt Street; from holt, a wood or thicket, and the adjacent Hangers Hill; from OE. hangra, a wooded slope or ‘hanging wood’ have names indicating a once heavily wooded area and were part of Freydevill’ and Holt Street also borders the heavily wooded manors of Oxenden (now Oxney) to the south and Ackholt, oak wood, to the south-west.
The “vill” may derive from “villata”, shortened to “vill” in medieval documents, which indicates a manor. Alternatively it may derive from the Norman French “ville” ,from the Latin ”villa rustica”, which originally indicated a farm, but later evolved into meaning a village, indicating a settlement larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town. Therefore Fredville could have originally meant a settlement or manor next to the wooded area. The use of Frydewill in the Inquisition Post Mortem of John Colking in 1338 appears to support this.
Kynardinton’ appears to have at least temporarily resolved his problems by the time of the 1253-54 Kent lists of knight’s fees for aid for getting the King’s eldest son made a knight as this records Radulf Colkyn, Hamo’s Kalkin’s successor, as holding three parts of one fee and Roger de Kenardynton’ one part of one fee in the manor of Eswall (Essewelle) from Willelm de Say.
