Canterbury St Peter, Kent Genealogy

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

Parish History
Canterbury St Peter the Apostle is an Ancient Parish which expanded and neighboured Canterbury Holy Cross Westgate, Kent and Canterbury St Mildred with St Mary de Castro, Kent

The church is referred to in Edward Hasted, 'Canterbury: The churches within the city and suburbs', The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 11 (1800), pp. 209-288, at British History Online and at one time from 6 March 1681 formed part of a united benefice. At a later period when other churches contracted the church expanded.

Civil Registration
See Canterbury 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
Canterbury St Peter parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

For an overview of the City Canterbury Kent Online Parish Clerks

Canterbury St Peter Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Records deposited at Canterbury Cathedral Archives are described at the Kent Family History Society website.

FamilySearch microfilm holdings are not readily pin pointed due to the hierarchy of the currently available catalogue online, the search terms England, Kent, Canterbury produce 206 microfilm holdings. Family History Library film numbers:
 * Archdeacon's transcripts, 1563-1812; Bishop's transcripts, 1603-1898 original records housed at the Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent.
 * Archdeacon's transcripts, 1563-1812; Bishop's transcripts, 1603-1898 original records housed at the Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent.

Some early pages damaged.

"For 1883-1892, the entries are for the parish of St. Peter with Holy Cross; the 1894 entries are for St. Peter alone, and in 1898 there are separate returns for St. Peter and Holy Cross parishes."
 * Canterbury Cathedral Archives no.: DCa/BT/47; DCb/BT1/55; DCb/BT2/61
 * International Genealogical Index St Peter St Wesleyan Christenings 1798-1837 Batch (C068071)
 * For non-conformist Records held at the Canterbury Cathedral Archive see Kent Family History Society

Census Records

 * Census returns for Canterbury, 1841-1891

Poor Law Unions

 * Canterbury 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