Kent Church Records

Kent Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder

Record Types

Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Crime & Punishment Directories Education Genealogies Land & Property Medical Records Newspapers Online Genealogy Records Parishes Poor Law Poor Law Unions Probate Records Social Organizations Taxation Voting Records

Kent Background

Maps Periodicals

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Local FamilySearch Centre

England

Kent

Church Records

Canterbury Cathedral - Portal Nave Cross-spire Original Records Records of the Church of England parishes are deposited in several record repositories in Kent.  The first two in the list hold the records of the majority of parishes, and the others hold records for specific areas.  Click on a repository link to go to their website and online catalogues: The Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury London Metropolitan Archives, London Lewisham Local Studies and Archives, Lewisham (holds the records of the parishes of Lee and Lewisham only) Greenwich Local History Library (holds the records of Charlton by Greenwich only) Medway Area Archives Office, Rochester, at Strood. (they have indexes and images of numerous records, including parish registers, searchable online) Parish Registers Images of many of Kent's parish registers are available online at findmypast and at FamilySearch: 1538-1986 England, Kent, Canterbury Parish Registers, 1538-1986 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images 1560-1904 Kent Bishop's Transcripts, 1560-1904 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images Kent Online Parish Clerks has transcribed many records of interest to genealogists. Baptisms 1530-1922 Kent Baptisms at findmypast - Index and Images $ 1538-1975 England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images includes 4,008,751 Kent baptisms. Formerly known as the International Genealogical Index. These databases are free on FamilySearch. Coverage. 101 Kent parishes are indexed in Kent Baptisms (£). 292,808 Kent entries are included in England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906 at Ancestry (£). Formerly known as British Isles Vital Records Index - 2nd Ed. Coverage. Marriages 1530-1922 Kent Marriages and Banns at findmypast - Index and Images $ 1538-1973 England Marriages, 1538-1973 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images includes 1,710,700 Kent entries. 32% of Kent's parishes are indexed in Boyd's Marriage Index (£). Coverage. 47,403 Kent entries are included in England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1940 at Ancestry (£). Formerly known as British Isles Vital Records Index - 2nd Ed. Coverage. Burials 1530-1922 Kent Burials at findmypast - Index and Images $ Burials from 44 Kent places (156,783 entries) are included in the National Burial Index (£). Coverage. 1538-1991 England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images includes 1,825,326 Kent burials. Marriage Licences 1115-1906 Britain, Marriage Licences at Findmypast - index & images ($) 88,166 Canterbury marriage licences are indexed in Boyd's Marriage Index at Findmypast ($) covering the years 1568 to 1751. Canterbury marriage licences have been published: 1568-1618 at Internet Archive - free. 1619-1660 at Internet Archive - free. Diocese of Rochester marriage allegations (1637-1639, 1715-1716, 1731-1742, 1748-1798) have been digitized, but not indexed. The images are included in the 1538-1911 England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images Archives Kent History and Library Centre James Whatman Way Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LQ UK Telephone: 03000 413131 Email: historyandlibrarycentre@kent.gov.uk Website Kent History and Library Centre replaces the Centre for Kentish Studies, East Kent Archives, County Central and Maidstone (St Faiths Street) libraries. They house approximately 14 kilometres of documents relating to Kent dating back to 699 AD and makes these publicly accessible. Covering a vast range of subjects, the resources will be helpful whatever your interest. For East Kent: Canterbury Cathedral Archives Cathedral House 11 The Precincts Canterbury, Kent CT1 2EH UK Telephone: 1227 865330 Email: enquiries@canterbury-cathedral.org Website The Archives & Library hold a huge wealth of information in the form of manuscripts, photographs, maps and other records dating back to the late 8th century. These make up an extraordinarily rich resource. In the Archives, you can find out more about the Cathedral, its history, its buildings and its community. You can explore the history of Canterbury and the surrounding area, and you can research East Kent family history. For Greenwich, Woolwich, Eltham, Charlton, Kidbrooke once in Kent until 1885: Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust Charlton House Charlton Road, London SE7 8RE, UK Telephone:+44 (0) 20 8856 3951 E-mail:office@rght.org.uk Website Our archive resources include photographs, manuscripts, records, prints, newspapers, and books. These documents cover Royal Greenwich, the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich, and their predecessors (Greenwich, Woolwich, Eltham, Charlton, Kidbrooke). For Lewisham Lee, and surrounding villages once in Kent: Lewisham Local History and Archives Centre Lewisham Library 199 201 Lewisham High Street Lewisham, London SE13 6LG UK Telephone: 020 8314 8501 Email: local.studies@lewisham.gov.uk Website We can help you to discover the history of the borough, the history of houses in the borough (when they were built, and who lived there), the history of an area within the borough, for a school project or for general interest, your family history (ancestors in Lewisham, or general information), and local information on specific topics (for example, famous people who have lived in the borough). In 1998, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham left the administrative county of Kent to form the Unitary Authority of Medway. Medway Archives Centre 32 Bryant Road Strood, Rochester, Kent ME2 4AU UK Telephone: 01634 332714 Email: malsc@medway.gov.uk Website Medway Archives Centre is the place to visit for anyone researching their family history, or the history, geography and people of Medway. We cover Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, and surrounding villages and communities, including the Isle of Grain. In 1965, the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley were created from nine towns formerly in Kent. Bromley Historic Collections 2nd floor Central Library High Street Bromley, London BR1 1EX UK Telephone: 020 8461 7170 Email: historic.collections@bromley.gov.uk Website Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre Central Library Townley Road Bexleyheath, London DA6 7HJ UK Telephone: 020 3045 3369 Email: archives@bexley.gov.uk Website Local history research enquiries including baptism and marriage certificates The Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre holds a variety of sources for local and family historians and people researching the history of a building or house. Our archives date from the 14th century and relate to every town, village and parish in Bexley. References

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

International Genealogical Index (FamilySearch) - free

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.