The Cake - Summer 2022

LOCAL HISTORY
Model displayed at Sissinghurst depicting Sir
Richard Baker's house circa 1560
Bloody Baker of
Sissinghurst
Ann Historian tells the tale of a wicked lord whose name is linked to Baker’s Cross
Many locals, like me, were told
as children the tale of the
Bloody Baker of Sissinghurst
as a bedtime story; the fable
of our very own wicked
lord in the local castle bearing down on our
ancestors.
And, like all good stories, it needs to be
taken with a big pinch of salt. So, apologies to
the present incumbents at Sissinghurst Castle
and those who heard a different version,
which there are, I am sure, quite a few. So,
here is the one I was first told:
In the 1800s a woman known only as F.L,
visiting Cranbrook, reported she was being
shown around St Dunstan’s Church by an
old lady when her attention was caught by
a monument in the chancel to Sir Richard
Baker. His gauntlet, gloves, spurs and helmet
were suspended over the tomb.
F.L. remarked how vividly red the gloves
were. “Aye, miss”, her guide replied: “Those
are Bloody Baker’s gloves; their red colour
comes from all the blood he shed”.
The young Richard was known to have a
“Jekyll and Hyde” character; prone to extreme
outbursts of love and emotion, showing
a terribly violent character, bordering on
sadistic! The guide then told her the tale of
the Lord of Sissinghurst.
A local beauty, Jane Chester, the widow
of a recently diseased soldier, caught his
lordship’s eye one summer. He became charm
personified and wooed her into Angley Woods
for an evening stroll.
Her boyfriend, one Henry Dartmouth from
Goddards Green, followed them, worried for
his lover’s safety. Sir Richard charmed, sang
and recited poetry to Jane to the point where
she very nearly succumbed to his advances.
Suddenly he went mad, turning into a wild
uncontrollable fiend! Henry ran to protect her,
his sword drawn, but Sir Richard made short
work of him, nearly to the death, ran back to
the castle then fled to France.
Some years later, Jane’s daughter Mary and
a companion decided to taunt Sir Richard by
popping in unannounced at the castle, the
lord having returned and, up to his old tricks,
had taken a shine to the younger Miss Chester
along with many other young local girls, some
of whom had gone missing!
As the main door was open, they entered,
shouting for him. They stumbled into a
22 The Cake • Summer 2022