Rochester Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Kent, England Genealogy
Guide to Rochester Cathedral, Kent ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.
Parish History[edit | edit source]
For a history of the Cathedral Church see Rochester Cathedral Wikipedia.
The Cathedral is the seat of the see of Rochester. Rochester St Nicholas, later Rochester St Nicholas with St Clement, Kent was built in 1421 alongside the Cathedral to serve the people of Rochester. The Cathedral was part of the Benedictine monastery of St Andrew and hence not a parish church.
After the Reformation the Cathedral was refounded as the Cathedral church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary and remained without a parochial church status.
The diocese of Rochester at one time included Essex parishes but now covers West Kent as far as the Diocese of London in Surrey; some North West Kent parishes are also in the diocese of Southwark.
See England Jurisdictions 1851 for diocesan boundaries. The North West Kent Family History Society parish pages also include information about parishes in the diocese.
See Rochester North West Kent Family History Society and Rochester Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary
Resources[edit | edit source]
Find Neighboring Parishes[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
The Church of England (Anglican) became the official state religion in 1534, with the reigning monarch as its Supreme Governor.
NonConformist Records refers to all other religious denominations that are not the official state religion.
Church of England[edit | edit source]
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
| Rochester Cathedral 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 |
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| MyHeritage-Archdeaconry of Rochester Birth and Burial Indexes ($) | ||||||
| Databases with Known Incomplete Parish Coverage | ||||||
| Boyd's Marriage Indexes-FMP (Free) | ||||||
| National Burial Index-FMP (Free) | ||||||
Other Websites
These databases have incomplete parish coverage.
- Joiner Marriage Index - Kent ($)
- 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[edit | edit source]
"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.
Census Records[edit | edit source]
Census Returns for Rochester 1841-1891
FamilySearch Records includes collections of census indexes which can be searched online for free. In addition FamilySearch Centres offer free access to images of the England and Wales Census through FamilySearch Center Portal Computers here have access to the FamilySearch Centre Portal page which gives free access to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.
Category:England FamilySearch Centres to locate local FamilySearch Centres in UK
FamilySearch Centres outside the UK.
Poor Law Unions[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
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.
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.