A LEGEND OF OTFORD.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3227, 2 November 1881, Page 3

A LEGEND OF OTFORD.

When Beckefc was quite a young man, the Archbishop of Canterbury, finding he was' a youth of uncommon parts,' and being captivated with his graceful and winning address, gave him the livings of St. Mary-le-Strand and Otteford (Otford) in Kent. After hiß accession to the See of Canterbury, he seems to have recollected his first country living with some affection, for some records run as if the earliest arch episcopal residence in Otford was built by him, and many traditions of the Saint are yet to be found in the village. The place, ifc is said, was remarkable before his time for its want of water; but Thomas, like another Moses, struck his staff into the ground, and since that time Otford has been supplied with limpid streams, which may be seen rushing and sparkling in all directions. Tbe place in which the staff wa3 itruck is still known as Beckefc's Well ; but the peculiar construction of tbe enclosure which contains the water leaves little doubt as to its having been a Roman bath, which was possibly utilised by the popular saint. Pieces of Roman tile found in its proximity also seem to confirm this supposition. As the water of the well is believed to be of a medicinal quality, St. Thomas is said to have bathed in it for the benefit of his health ; and in later time 3 the Archbishops of Canterbury, when worn out with old age or sickness, used to retire to their manor of Otford for the same purpose. — Cassell's Family Magazine.