Hayes, Kent Genealogy

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

Parish History
HAYES (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bromley, hundred of Ruxley, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W division of Kent, 2 miles S from Bromley. Hayes is a place in the London Borough of Bromley and formerly a village and civil parish in Kent Hayes Bromley Wikipedia It should not be confused with Hayes, Middlesex

Hayes St Mary the Virgin is an Ancient Parish. Although some 13th century features remain the church has been extensively restored and added to not least in 1856 and 1862 by Sir George Gilbert Scott and the later 1879 addition designed by his son. Further 20th century restoration and addition took place.

Both William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778), and William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) lived at Hayes Place. The house was demolished in 1933 and the site redeveloped, but roads in the area bear witness to them: Chatham and Pittsmead Avenues are two examples. Prior to being demolished, Hayes Place was owned by the Hambro family (of banking fame) and a couple of roads bear the family names.

There are memorials within the church for both Pitts There is also a memorial to Sir Vicary Gibbs, Lord Chief Justice of England in 1814. There is an imposing wall monument, a white marble cartouche with drapery, to Ann Cleaver who died in 1737. The earliest brasses are of five priests – John Ostler (1461), John Andrew (1479), John Heygge (1523), Robert Garrett (1566) and John Hoare (1584).

In the churchyard stands the imposing memorial to Sir Everard Hambro as well as the graves of many other notables, including General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser (1809). There is also the grave of 9 year old John Panis of the North American Panis tribe, brought to this country as a slave in 1763.

The church of Hayes St Mary the Virgin Hayes Street has been designated as a grade II listed building British listed building

See Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (1797), pp. 22-29 at British History Online and Kent Churches website

Hayes includes:

Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church

Hayes Methodist Church.

Civil Registration
See Bromley 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
Hayes parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

International Genealogical Index Christenings 1539-1875 Batches Marriages 1539-1876 Batches

Deposited Parish registers are held at Bromley Archives reference P 180

Bromley Central Library Telephone: 020 8461 7170 Fax: 020 8466 7860 e-mail: localstudies.library@bromley.gov.uk

Land Tax

 * Images for Hayes 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 Hayes 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.
 * 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

 * See See England, Kent, Workhouse Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Bromley Poor Law Union

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

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

Local Family History Centre
Orpington Family History Centre, Kent is within the London Borough of Bromley, located adjacent to Orpington Station and on major bus routes through the borough.


 * 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 collections using the portal.