Lenham, Kent, England Genealogy
Guide to Lenham, Kent ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.
| Lenham | |
| |
| Lenham St Mary Kent | |
| Type | Ancient Parish |
| Civil Jurisdictions | |
| County | Kent |
| Hundred | Eyhorne |
| Poor Law Union | Hollingbourne |
| Registration District | Hollingbourn |
| Records Begin | |
| Parish registers | 1558 |
| Bishop's Transcripts | 1564 |
| Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions | |
| Rural Deanery | Sutton |
| Diocese | Canterbury |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Probate Court | Court of the Archdeaconry of Canterbury |
| Archive | |
| Kent Record Office | |
Parish History
LENHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Hollingbourne, hundred of Eyhorne, lathe of Aylesford, W division of Kent, 10 miles E by S from Maidstone.[1]
Lenham is a market village and civil parish in the Maidstone district of Kent, see Lenham Wikipedia
Lenham St Mary is an Ancient Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury which included Lenham Heath and Sandway. A Map of the Parish boundary may be found at A church near you
The church of St Mary has been designated as a grade I listed building British listed building
The 14th century church is the rebuilt version of the former church destroyed by fire, described in 1942 by SPB Mais as 'a spacious Decorated medieval church with fine oak door, superbly carved Jacobean oak pulpit, stone armchair, ancient communion cup, and specially attractive pews.' It is the burial place of Mary Honeywood, who dying aged 93 left 367 descendants. Her courage in visiting martyrs during the reign of Mary Tudor features in 'The Book of Martyrs' by John Foxe (1516-1587).
See Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 5 (1798), pp. 415-445 at British History Online and Kent Churches website
Mentioned in the Domesday Survey, Lenham market dates back to 1088, when the village was an important crossroad settlement. Technically the fact that Lenham is allowed a market, makes it a town but the community have always desired to maintain its village status.
The Pilgrims' Way/North Downs Way passes just to the north of Lenham, higher up on the 'downs' and it features a war memorial of a 200-foot chalk cross carved into the scarp slope of the downs. First constructed in 1922, to remember those who fell in the Great War, and fully restored in 1994, the cross now commemorates the dead of both World Wars. To avoid its use as a navigation aid by the Luftwaffe, the cross was filled in between 1939 and May 1945.
Resources
Find Neighboring Parishes
Use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map
- Type the name of the parish in the search bar
- Click on the location pin on the map
- Choose Options from the pop up box
- Click "List Contiguous Parishes" to find the neighboring parishes
Civil Registration
This parish was in the Hollingbourne registration district See Maidstone Registration District
Kent County Council (KCC) has a certificate centre at the Mansion House in Tunbridge Wells which holds all the completed registers for Kent since 1 July 1837 and can supply a certified copy of any Kent birth, death or marriage entry from any register within its custody or a Kent civil partnership registration from the government online database.
The Mansion House (Certificate Centre)
Grove Hill Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1EP
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day.
- See England Civil Registration for online resources and information.
Church Records
The Church of England (Anglican) became the official state religion in 1534, with the reigning monarch as its Supreme Governor.
Non-Conformist refers to all other religious denominations that are not the official state religion.
Church of England
Due to the increasing access of online records:
- Individual parish coverage for databases in this table are inconsistent and should be verified
- Dates in the following table are approximate
Hover over the collection's title for more information
| Lenham Online Parish Records | ||||||
| FamilySearch Collections-Kent | ||||||
| Parish Registers-Kent | ||||||
| Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Catalog | ||||||
| FreeREG | ||||||
| Findmypast-Kent ($) | ||||||
| Findmypast Banns-Kent ($) | ||||||
| Ancestry-Church of England BMD-Kent ($) | ||||||
| Ancestry-England & Wales, Birth, Christening, Marriage and Death Indexes ($) | 1500s-1900s |
1500s-1900s |
||||
| Databases with Known Incomplete Parish Coverage | ||||||
| Boyd's Marriage Indexes-FMP (Free) | ||||||
| National Burial Index-FMP (Free) | ||||||
Other Websites
These databases have incomplete parish coverage.
- Joiner Marriage Index - Kent ($)
- Online Genealogical Index - Links to online genealogical records
- The Genealogist Parish Registers - Kent ($)
- UK Websites for Parish Records - Links to online genealogical records
Nonconformist Records
"Nonconformist" is a term referring to religious denominations other than an established or state church. In England, the state church is the Church of England.
- 1717 England & Wales, Roman Catholics, 1717 at Findmypast - index & images ($); coverage may vary
- England Roman Catholic Parish Marriages at Findmypast — index & images ($); coverage may vary
Census Records
Census records from 1841 to 1921 are available online. See England Census for more resources.
Poor Law Unions
Probate Records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Kent Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.
Local FamilySearch Centre
- FamilySearch Center Portal This centre has access to the FamilySearch Centre Portal page which gives free access in the centre to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.
- Publication of the restricted access images England, Kent, Wills and Probate - FamilySearch Historical Records and England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments - FamilySearch Historical Records means that it is advisable to telephone the centre to reserve a computer if you wish to view these collections using the portal.
Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.
Websites
References
- ↑ Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England(1848), pp. 68-74. Date accessed: 19 August 2013.