Playden, Sussex Genealogy

England Sussex  Sussex Parishes

Parish History
PLAYDEN (St. Michael), a parish, in the union and parliamentary borough of Rye, hundred of Goldspur, rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, ¾ of a mile (N.) from Rye. This place appears, from the foundations of buildings that are frequently discovered, to have been more extensive than it is at present; it had anciently an hospital, in honour of St. Bartholomew, under the government of the abbey of Westminster. The church, situated on Playden height, is in the early English style, with a central tower between the nave and chancel, surmounted by a lofty shingled spire, which is a landmark at sea.

Playden St. Michael is an Ancient Parish; history of the church. Playden St Michael.

The parish church of St Michael has been designated as a grade I listed building. British listed building

Pladen Sussex Parish Clerks Online(OPC)

See Also Playden Wikipedia

Civil Registration
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.

From 1837 this parish was within Rye Registration district. From 1935 this was incorporated into Battle Registration district. Certiificates may be obtained from: East Sussex County Council The Register Office Town Hall Grove Road Eastbourne BN21 4UG Phone: 01323 464780 Fax: 01323 431386 Email:eastbourne.registrar@eastsussex.gov.uk

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

Link to the Family History Library Catalogue showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
FamilySearch Centres offer free access to images of the England and Wales Census through FHC Portal Computers here have access to the Family History Centre Portal page which gives free access to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.

to locate local Family History Centres in UK.

to locate outside UK. Many archives and local history collections in public libraries in England and Wales offer online census searches and also hold microfilm or fiche census returns.

The 1851 census of England and Wales attempted to identify religious places of worship in addition to the household survey census returns.

Prior to the 1911 census, the household schedule was destroyed and only the enumerator's schedule survives.

The 1911 census of England and Wales was taken on the night of Sunday 2 April 1911. In addition to households and institutions, such as prisons and workhouses, canal boats, merchant ships and naval vessels, it attempted to include homeless persons. The schedule was completed by an individual and for the first time both this record and the enumerator's schedule were preserved. Two forms of boycott of the census by women are possible due to frustration at government failure to grant women the universal right to vote in parliamentary and local elections. The schedule either records a protest by failure to complete the form in respect of the women in the household or women are absent due to organization of groups of women staying away from home for the whole night. Research estimates that several thousand women are not found by census search.

Poor Law Unions
Rye Poor Law Union, Sussex

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Sussex 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
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain