Kidbrooke, Kent Genealogy

England   Kent

Parish History
The ecclesiastical parish history of Kidbrooke is fragmented over centuries. A manuscript of the 12th century, Textus Roffensis, which relates to the Diocese of Rochester the 'Chapel of Chitebroc' is mentioned in connection with the 'Church of Cerlentune'. Apparently it was then a Chapel-of-Ease to Charlton Parish Church. From a Charter dated 1206 it appears that Kidbrooke became an independent parish in the latter half of the century. The right of appointing the priest at that time belonged to Cecilia Countess of Hereford, but was later given to the prior and convent of Saint Mary Overie, Southwark. Early in the fifteenth century the Prior and Convent appropriated the income of the Rectory for the private use of the Monastery. Consequently no regular officiating priest was afterwards appointed to the Parish of Kidbrooke until 1876. This ancient church was dedicated to St Nicholas

Kidbrooke was therefore an extra parochial place for a large part of the 19th century. Two churches were then built:

St James was built originally in 1866-1867 By Newman and Billing as a 1.000 seat Gothic style church. Shortly after the church was completed in 1881 serious subsidence occurred in the chancel and the east wall and parts of the north and south walls had to be demolished and rebuilt. Further and more serious damage occurred in the second world war when first a land mine and later a V2 rocket destroyed the octagonal stone spire, the nave roof, windows and much of the interior. The church was rebuilt and refurbished in 1951.



St Nicholas Built in 1953 and consecrated on the feast of St Nicholas 6 December 1953. This became an independent parish in 2003

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.

Church records
Family History Library film numbers

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

Census records
Census returns for Kidbrooke 1841-1891

Poor Law Unions
Lewisham 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.

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.