The significant Howletts Anglo-Saxon cemetery is in the parish. It is regarded as "
Jutish"; finds are in the
British Museum and elsewhere, and include two of the very rare
quoit brooches. The manor of Littlebourne belonged to
St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury and the abbot maintained a vineyard there according to Canterbury MP and antiquarian
John Twyne in his
De Rebus Albionicis. The
viticultural theme is reflected in the parish church's unusual dedication to
St Vincent of Saragossa,
patron saint of
winemakers. The church is in all regards consistent to have been founded by the
monks of St Augustine's, which
oral history attests, in the 13th century and contains a medieval wall painting depicting
Saint Christopher, patron saint of travellers. ==References==