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West Kent Sources

A Guide to Family and Local History Research in the Diocese of Rochester (1998) 120pp + map - now only available as a CD-Rom (searchable PDF format).

This is the third edition of this popular book, and represents the most complete guide to researching your family in the western part of the county. Its geographical coverage extends from Deptford in the north-west, to the Medway towns / Hoo peninsula in the east, and south to the Sussex border at Tunbridge Wells. It covers many parishes now included within the boundaries of Greater London. The book includes sections on the topics listed below.

  • Church Records (introduction, followed by details of baptism and marriage indexes)
  • Census Returns (details of indexes to all surviving census returns up to 1891)
  • Probate Records (includes maps of probate jurisdiction and availability of indexes)
  • Civil Registration (maps of registration districts and contact addresses & phone numbers for current registration districts)
  • Cemeteries (listing by modern local authority area, with deatils of burial registers and indexes to MI's)
  • Marriage Licences (details of surviving bonds & allegations for west Kent)
  • Specialised Indexes (two pages of specialised indexes, with prices and availability)
  • Lathes & Hundreds (includes map)
  • Workhouse Registers (includes dates and location for each union)
  • Voters' Records (includes three maps, and availiabilty of poll books & electoral registers for west Kent)
  • Family History Societies (details of the four societies covering parts of west Kent)
  • Internet Resources (list of some useful URL's)

This is followed by a section on all the major record offices and libraries that hold material on west Kent - with their addresses, phone numbers, opening hours etc.

The second half of the book is devoted to a detailed Parish Gazetteer, comprising an alphabetical listing of the 143 parishes within the ancient boundaries of west Kent, i.e. using the boundaries that existed prior to the creation of the County of London in 1889.

For each parish there is information on its Poor Law union, probate jurisdiction, Land Tax, Tithe Map, and known availability of manorial records with covering dates. Then for each church are the dates of original parish registers, BT's, modern transcripts and indexes, including those for any Victorian churches (those built prior to 1900). There are also details of Roman Catholic and other nonconformist churches and chapels, with an indication of where the material is now held. The existence of churchwardens, vestry, overseers', settlement and highway surveyors' records is also shown, with covering dates and location for each.

This is followed by a section on all the major record offices and libraries that hold material on west Kent - with their addresses, phone numbers, opening hours etc.

The second half of the book is devoted to a detailed Parish Gazetteer, comprising an alphabetical listing of the 143 parishes within the ancient boundaries of west Kent, i.e. using the boundaries that existed prior to the creation of the County of London in 1889.

For each parish there is information on its Poor Law union, probate jurisdiction, Land Tax, Tithe Map, and known availability of manorial records with covering dates. Then for each church are the dates of original parish registers, BT's, modern transcripts and indexes, including those for any Victorian churches (those built prior to 1900). There are also details of Roman Catholic and other nonconformist churches and chapels, with an indication of where the material is now held. The existence of churchwardens, vestry, overseers', settlement and highway surveyors' records is also shown, with covering dates and location for each.