Hollingbourne is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent. Hollingbourne is in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hoilingeborde. It was held partly by the Archbishop of Christ Church, Canterbury, and partly by Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
The tall Tudor manor house 'Hollingbourne Manor', was held by the Culpepers for around 125 years. Acquired in 1590 by Francis Culpeper of Greenway Court, co. Kent (1538-1591). William Culpeper of Hollingbourne (1664-1726) was the last Culpeper who held Hollingbourne. Cotuams House in Eythorne Street was also owned by the family.
Then land and Manor house were taken over by the Baldwin Duppa Esq and it remained in their hands until George Duppa died in Jan 1888. George age 52 had married 20-year-old Alice Catherine Miles in December 1870.
He was an early pioneer of New Zealand, so would spend time there, leaving his wife and children in England.
In October 1887, he had taken out a petition to divorce his wife with the co-respondent being a 35-year-old soldier in the H.M. Royal Dragoons, Major Gerard Vivian Ames. He found out they had been having an affair in his absence and there were questions over her Daughter Vivian born in January 1866. He died in January 1888, before it could be completed and his widow Alice Catherine married Major Ames in Jan 1889
HAUNTING
There is a story in 'Haunted Places of Kent' by Rupert Matthews, of a wild horse rider that gallops at breakneck speed in desperation, up the Hollingbourne Hill towards the Manor house. Lashing the horse to go faster, which has been described as having ears back and nostrils flared until it reaches the gates of the house, then it vanishes. during the day it is only visible and a quiet scene but at night, it has been said you can hear the horse's hooves as it races along and hear the curses of the rider, urging greater speed but it is invisible.
This has been suggested to be of one of the Dubba family, who was a lover of horses and a great rider and he allowed his ambitions to get the better of him and after returning from a gallop on a new purchase he tried to jump the gates on the horse but the horse fell and the young man died from a broken neck.
Researching into the Duppa family, I cannot see anyone who died young at Hollingbourne. My opinion is that it was George whom I talked about above. He had horses and his wife's infidelities with the question over his Daughter, whom she had named Vivian, would have made him an angry man. He is on record as dying at the Manor at age 70
