manor to KINET, in which name it did not remain long; for WILLIAM
KINET, in the 41st year of King Edward III., conveyed it by sale
to JOHN LOVELACE, who erected that mansion here, which from hence
bore his name in addition, being afterwards styled BETHERSDEN-
LOVELACE, from which sprang a race of gentlemen, who, in the
military line, acquired great reputation and honour, and by their
knowledge in the municipal laws, deserved well of the Commonwealth;
from whom descended those of this name seated at BAYFORD in
SITTINGBORNE, and at KINGSDOWN in this county, the Lords Lovelace
of Hurley, and others of the county of Berks." The same writer,
in his HISTORY OF CANTERBURY, has preserved many memorials
of the connexion of the Lovelaces from the earliest times
with Canterbury and its neighbourhood. William Lovelace,
in the reign of Philip and Mary, died possessed of the mansion
belonging to the abbey of St. Lawrence, near Canterbury;
after the death of his son William, it passed to other hands.
In 1621, Lancelot Lovelace, Esq., was Recorder of Canterbury;
in 1638, Richard Lovelace, Esq., held that office; and in the
year of the Restoration, Richard Lovelace, the poet's brother, was
Recorder. In the Public Library at Plymouth, there is a folio MS.
(mentioned in Mr. Halliwell's catalogue, 1853), containing
"Original Papers of the Molineux and LOVELACE Families." I regret
that I have not had an opportunity of inspecting it. Mr. Halliwell
does not seem to have examined the volume; at all events, that
gentleman does not furnish any particulars as to the nature of the
contents, or as to the period to which the papers belong. This
information, in the case of a MS. deposited in a provincial library
in a remote district, would have been peculiarly valuable. It is
possible that the documents refer only to the Lovelaces of Hurley,
co. Berks.