Shire · Kingdom of England · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Kent

Kent is the Church's shire: the archbishop of Canterbury, the monks of Christ Church, St Augustine's abbey and the bishop of Rochester hold the greater part of its land, and the archbishop keeps Rochester castle and Saltwood.

The king holds Dover, Canterbury castle and Milton; the earl of Clare holds the lowy of Tonbridge of the archbishop; the lesser baronies of Chilham, Leeds, Folkestone and others owe castle-guard at Dover. The Cinque Ports on its coast answer to their own courts. The shire court meets at Penenden Heath near Maidstone, where the great land plea of 1072 was heard.

Kentish land law (gavelkind, with partible inheritance) sets it apart.

Who holds it

Name
Reginald de Cornhill
Title
Sheriff of Kent
Since
1196 (he had been sheriff before, 1189-93)
Born
Not pinned
Family
Of the Cornhill family of London, rich citizens and royal servants: his father Gervase of Cornhill was sheriff of London and of Surrey and Kent under Henry II; his brother Henry of Cornhill was sheriff of Surrey.
Confidence
medium

Sheriff of Kent from 1196 to 1209 by the county list; Hasted gives Reginald son of Gervase of Cornhill for the 4th to 10th years of Richard I (1192-99) and Reginald again for most of John's reign, with no other name for 1199-1200. One of John's purveyors in London, buying wine, cloth and goods for the king's household; Hasted says his seat was at Minster in Thanet and that he was called 'Reginald le Viscount'. His son Reginald succeeds him in Kent.

Overlord

King John

How things stand that morning

At peace.

Sheriff in 1200

Reginald de Cornhill, sheriff since 1196, keeping Canterbury castle and answering at the Exchequer for the farm of Kent, the profits of justice and the escheats. His power stops at the Cinque Ports, the archbishop's liberties and the great Church estates.

Hundreds

  • The five lathes: Sutton-at-Hone, Aylesford, Scray, St Augustine and Shepway, each with its hundreds
  • The lowy of Tonbridge (Clare)
  • The liberty of Romney Marsh
  • The Cinque Ports and their members, outside the sheriff's power

Forests

No royal forest in Kent.

Castles

  • Dover (royal)
  • Canterbury (royal, the sheriff's)
  • Rochester (royal, archbishop's custody)
  • Tonbridge (Clare)
  • Leeds (Crevecoeur)
  • Chilham (Dover family)
  • Saltwood (archbishop)

Places of note

  • Penenden Heath: Meeting place of the shire court

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Reginald de Cornhill's long shrievalty is well recorded.

On the map: Rough outline; Sheppey and Thanet are inside it.

Primary sources for England

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
  • Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
  • Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
  • Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
  • Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
  • English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
  • Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
  • Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online

22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia: High Sheriff of Kent
  2. Wikipedia: Trial of Penenden Heath
  3. Hasted, History of Kent vol. 1: Sheriffs of Kent (BHO)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.