Swalecliffe, Kent Genealogy

Guide to Swalecliffe, Kent ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
SWALECLIFFE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Blean, hundred of Bleangate, lathe of St. Augustine, E division of Kent, 6½ miles N from Canterbury.

Swalecliffe is a village within the City of Canterbury district of Kent Swalecliffe Wikipedia

Swalecliffe St John the Baptist was an Ancient Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury originating in the 12th century it was rebuilt in 1875 due to dilapidation. A history and image of the church is available at History of the church

The modern church is within the Whitstable benefice, a map of the benefice is available at A church near you.

Civil Registration
See Blean 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. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church Records
Swalecliffe parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Archdeacon's transcripts, 1560-1812; Bishop's transcripts, 1611-1881 were microfilmed at Canterbury Cathedral Archives, The Precinct, Canterbury which also holds parish records for the restoration reference DCb/E/F/Swalecliffe, St John the Baptist.

Land Tax

 * Images for Swalecliffe are available at FamilySearch Records see England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments - FamilySearch Historical Records 1780-1832

Non-Conformists (All other Religions)

 * 1717 England & Wales, Roman Catholics, 1717 at FindMyPast ($), index and images (coverage may vary)

Census Records

 * Kent Census
 * 1841 Census returns for Swalecliffe are missing.

Poor Law Unions

 * Blean Poor Law Union, Kent

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.


 * See England, Kent, Wills and Probate - FamilySearch Historical Records

Local Family History Centre

 * Canterbury Family History Centre, Kent
 * Maidstone Family History Centre, Kent
 * FHC Portal This centre has access to the Family History 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

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.
 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Websites
Swalecliffe on GENUKI