Faversham, Kent Genealogy

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

Parish History
FAVERSHAM, or Feversham (St. Mary), a seaport, market-town, and parish, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the hundred of Faversham, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, E division of Kent, 9 miles W from Canterbury, 18 ENE from Maidstone, and 47 E from London, on the road to Dover. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans.

Faversham St Mary of Charity is an Ancient Parish in the market town of Faversham. See Faversham Wikipedia for a history of the town, Faversham Abbey and the parish church.

The church originates from the 14th and 15th centuries but in 1755 was rebuilt and in 1797 the mediaeval tower was pulled down and replaced. Sir George Gilbert Scott restored the church 1873-1875.

The church is designated grade I by English Heritage.British listed building.

It is one of the few churches in England to contain the reputed tomb of a King; King Stephen was buried here in 1154 and the tomb commemorates his burial at Faversham Abbey.

See Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 6 (1798), pp. 318-371 at British History Online and Kent Churches website.

From the Ancient parish was formed:

Faversham St John the Evangelist (1881) The Church of St John the Evangelist, Church Road, Faversham has been designated as a grade II listed building British listed building.See Kent Churches website.

Two mission churches, the Church of St Saviour, Cyprus Road Faversham has been designated as a grade II listed building British listed building.

Civil Registration
See Faversham Registration District.

Kent County Council Registration Services Invicta House County Hall Maidstone Kent ME14 1XX Telephone 08458 247 400 http://www.kent.gov.uk are developing online search for all birth marriages and deaths as a result of a community volunteer effort. Not all events are capable of search but the index is updated annually. 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
Faversham parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Faversham The Brents St John the Evangelist parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Nonconformists

International Genealogical Index:
 * Partridge Lane Independent Christenings 1790-1837 Batch (C068241)
 * Union Chapel Water Lane Christenings 1822-1837 Batch (C068261)
 * Wesleyan Chapel Christenings 1814-1837 Batch (C068251)

Land Tax

 * Images for Faversham Land Tax Assessments 1739-1762
 * Images for Faversham are also available at FamilySearch Records see England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments - FamilySearch Historical Records 1780-1831

Non-Conformists (All other Religions)

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

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.
 * Category:England Family History Centres to locate local Family History Centres in UK.
 * Introduction to Family History Centers 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.


 * Kent Census.

Poor Law Unions

 * Faversham 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
 * Gillingham 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