Kingsdown with Mappiscombe, Kent Genealogy

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

Parish History
West Kingsdown is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent. West Kingsdown Wikipedia

West Kingsdown St Edmund King and Martyr is an Ancient Parish in the Diocese of Rochester which includes part of neighbouring Maplescombe; the parish legal name is Kingsdown and the modern parish is within the Shoreham Deanery of the diocese; a map of the parish boundary is available at A church near you. Part of Maplescombe is in the neighbouring parish of St Martin of Tours Eynsford, Kent

The church of St Edmund Fawkham Road West Kingsdown has been designated as a grade I listed building British listed building

There are four churches in the village: the parish church of St Edmund King and Martyr; a Baptist chapel; the Roman Catholic church of St Bernadette; and a Kings Church, established in 1996.

The ruins of Maplescombe Chapel have been designated as a grade II listed building British listed building

The village and civil parish of West Kingsdown include the housing developments of Knatts Valley and East Hill.

See Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (1797), pp. 475-493 at British History Online which includes reference to Maplescombe and Kent Churches website

Civil Registration
See Dartford registration District

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
Kingsdown with Mappiscombe parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Land Tax

 * Images for Kingsdown near Eynsford are 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
Census returns for Kingsdown (near Dartford), 1841-1891 are believed to refer to West Kingdown census microfilms.

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.
 * 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.

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

Poor Law Unions

 * Dartford 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

 * Orpington 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