Old Romney, Kent Genealogy

England   Kent



Parish History
Old Romney is a village and civil parish in the Shepway district of Kent.

Old Romney St Clement is an Ancient Parish and as the name suggests formed the original settlement of Romney Marsh. This was also the original port of Romney which gradually extended along the Rother toward the sea with either end called "Old" and "New" Romney. As the harbour silted up the importance of Old Romney lessened and soon only St Clement and the settlement remained by the 17th century.

The village and civil parish are on an island in the River Rother estuary,known in Roman Times as Vetus Rumllenum. The village church of St Clement is Norman in origin with later additions and restoration.

The church of St Clement, Old Romney has been designated as a grade I listed building British listed building

See Edward Hasted The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 8 (1799), pp. 439-445 at British History Online and Kent Churches website

The church has been a film location for two films. The 1960's restoration of the church was funded by the Disney Corporation who preferred to film here rather than at Dymchurch for Dr Syn, Alias The Scarecrow (1962) Also known as "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh": based on the novel by Russell Thorndike. Walt Disney felt that the story of a fictional smuggling vicar of Dymchurch was better set in this location. The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947) Based on the novel "Joanna Godden" by Sheila Kaye-Smith was also fimed here.

Derek Jarman,film maker, is buried in the churchyard.Find a Grave

Civil Registration
See Romney Marsh 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
Original deposited registers were formerly held at:

Centre for Kentish Studies,County Hall,Maidstone,Kent ME14 1XX

From Spring 2012 material formerly held at

Centre for Kentish Studies,County Hall,Maidstone,Kent ME14 1XX

is available at Kent History and Library Centre see Kent Archives

Family History Library film numbers  See also England, Kent, Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records.

Census records
Census returns for Old Romney 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 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.

Images of the census for 1841-1891 can be viewed in census collections at Ancestry (fee payable) or Find My Past (fee payable)

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

Ancestry UK Census Collection

Find my Past census search 1841-1901

for details of public houses in the 1881 census

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 and 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 organisation of groups of women staying away from home for the whole night. Research estimates that several thousand women are not found by census search. Find my Past 1911 census search

Poor Law Unions
Romney Marsh 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

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.