Chislehurst, Kent Genealogy

England   Kent England    Kent Parishes



Parish History
CHISELHURST, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in Bromley district, Kent.

Chislehurst was a village and civil parish until 1934 and is now part of the London Borough of Bromley Chislehurst Wikipedia

Chislehurst St Nicholas is an Ancient Parish in the Diocese of Rochester.

The church dates from the 15th century with 19th century elargement and restoration with the addition of stained glass windows. The Tower and spire were restored after fire destruction in 1857 and the clock and eight bells date from this time.

The lychgate was built in 1866, and moved to its present position in 1892, when the churchyard was enlarged after two old cottages had been pulled down. Near the lychgate are the graves of Ann and Thomson Bonar, murdered by a servant at Camden Place in 1813, of William Willett, originator of Summer Time, and of Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of land and water speed records.

The first recorded burials in the register date from 1558 the oldest surviving gravestones are 19th century.

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

Chislehurst North West Kent Family History Society and Chislehurst St Nicholas

From the Ancient parish were formed:

Chislehurst Annunciation, High Street Kent Churches website

Chislehurst Christ Church Lubbock Road Kent Churches website

Sidcup St John the Evangelist Church Road

St John the Baptist: Mission church, Mill Place. Built 1886, closed 1939

The Roman Catholic Church Chislehurst St Mary Hawkwood Lane and Wesleyan Methodist church Methodist Church Prince Imperial Road are within Chislehurst.

Civil Registration
See Sidcup Registration District

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

Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Deposited Parish registers are held at Bromley Archives reference P 92

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

Land Tax
Images for Chislehurst are available at FamilySearch Records see England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments (FamilySearch Historical Records) 1780-1831

Census records
Census returns for Chislehurst 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

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
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.