The following sources underlie the historical content of this site and are recommended for those who wish to pursue the history of the Manor of the Dungeon and its broader context in Canterbury’s history. Where digitized versions are freely available, links are provided.
Plowden, Edmund. Commentaries. London, 1571.
The most important single primary source for the manor’s history. Contains the full report of Hales v. Petit at 1 Plowd. 253, the landmark legal case arising from the death of Sir James Hales at the Dungeon in 1554. Plowden’s reports were written in Law French and later translated into English. Digitized editions are available through HeinOnline and the Internet Archive. An archive entry is maintained on this site.
Somner, William. The Antiquities of Canterbury. London, 1640. Second edition edited by Nicholas Battely. London, 1703.
The foundational antiquarian study of Canterbury. The 1703 Battely edition is the standard scholarly reference and is cited throughout Godfrey-Faussett’s 1875 paper. Available through the Internet Archive.
Hasted, Edward. The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Canterbury, 1778-1799. 4 volumes. Second edition, 12 volumes, 1797-1801.
Contains the principal surviving account of the Manor of the Dungeon and the Chiche family, written while physical remains of the manor house were still visible. The relevant passage identifies Ernaldus de Chich, Thomas Chiche, and John Chich as successive lords. Available through British History Online (history.ac.uk) and the Internet Archive. An archive entry is maintained on this site.
Godfrey-Faussett, T. G. “Canterbury Till Domesday.” Archaeological Journal 32, no. 1 (1875): 369-393.
The essential scholarly analysis of Canterbury’s development from Celtic times to the Domesday period. Contains the argument for the Celtic or pre-Roman origin of the Dane John mound group, the evidence of the bronze celt recovered from the destroyed companion mound, the reconstruction of the Roman, Saxon, and Norman cities through documentary and archaeological evidence, and three fold-out period maps of Canterbury. The full text is available in the Archives section of this site.
Cotton, Charles. The Saxon Cathedral at Canterbury and the Saxon Saints Buried Therein. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1929.
Documents the Saxon-period cathedral and the ecclesiastical history of Canterbury before and after the Norman Conquest. Available in the Archives section of this site.
Brooks, Nicholas. The Early History of the Church of Canterbury. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1984.
The standard modern scholarly treatment of Canterbury’s ecclesiastical history from the seventh through the eleventh centuries. Provides detailed coverage of the Saxon period including the Ethelbert-Augustine relationship and the development of Christ Church and St. Augustine’s.
Urry, William. Canterbury under the Angevin Kings. London: Athlone Press, 1967.
A detailed study of Canterbury’s urban development in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the period of the Chiche family’s documented tenure at the Dungeon. Draws extensively on the Canterbury Cathedral Archives.
Dover Wilson, J. What Happens in Hamlet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1935.
Contains an early scholarly identification of the Hales v. Petit case as the source for the gravediggers’ scene in Hamlet, establishing the connection between the Manor of the Dungeon and Shakespeare’s play that later scholarship has confirmed and elaborated.
Baker, J. H. An Introduction to English Legal History. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
The standard modern introduction to English legal history, providing context for the significance of Hales v. Petit and the doctrine of felo de se in the development of the common law.
British History Online (history.ac.uk)
Provides free online access to Hasted’s History of Kent and numerous other primary and secondary sources for English local history, including several that bear on Canterbury’s manorial history.
Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens (historicengland.org.uk)
The Historic England register entry for Dane John Gardens (List Entry Number 1001360) provides a detailed scholarly overview of the site’s history and significance, drawing on archival sources not yet examined in the preparation of this site’s content.
Canterbury Archaeological Trust (canterburytrust.co.uk)
The Trust conducts and publishes archaeological research on Canterbury and its environs. Its publications include findings relevant to the Roman and medieval history of the Dane John area.
Canterbury Cathedral Archives (canterbury-cathedral.org)
The principal archive for documentary sources relating to Canterbury’s ecclesiastical and civic history. The most promising undexamined source for documentary evidence about the manor’s ownership during its undocumented periods.
Kent History and Library Centre (kent.gov.uk)
The county archive for Kent, holding manorial records, parish registers, and other primary sources relevant to the history of the Dungeon and its lords.
The bibliography above reflects the sources consulted in preparing this site’s content. It is not exhaustive. The manor’s history has not been the subject of a dedicated modern scholarly study, and significant primary source material almost certainly remains unexamined in the archives listed above. The period between the last documented Chiche in the mid-fourteenth century and the documented Hales tenure in the sixteenth century is particularly underresearched. Contributions of archival evidence are welcomed through the contact page.