BAPCHILD, a village and a parish in Milton district, Kent. The village stands near the Chatham railway, 1 mile ESE of Sittingbourne; and has a post office under Sittingbourne. It probably was the Saxon Bachancild, where Wihtred, king of Kent, in 694, held his great council for the repairing of churches. The parish comprises 1,058 acres. Real property, £3,160. Pop. 389. Houses, 85. The property is divided among a few. The manor belonged to the Crown in the time of King John; and was then given to Chichester cathedral Bapchild Court, adjoining the village, is the seat of W. Gascoigne, Esq. A small oratory stood by the wayside, as a resting-place for pilgrims in route to Canterbury; but has disappeared. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £192. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Chichester. The church consists of nave, north aisle, two chancels, and a square tower; is principally Norman, but contains many parts in various dates of English; and is in very good condition.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))