Brabourne, Kent Genealogy

England   Kent

Parish History
Brabourne is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, see Brabourne Wikipedia and grew asa settlement in East Brabourne around the parish church.

Brabourne Lees is a village within the civil parish of Brabourne, see Brabourne Lees Wikipedia

Brabourne St Mary the Virgin is an Ancient parish in the Diocese of Canterbury; it is part of the Smeeth (St. Mary) with Monks Horton and Stowting and Brabourne benefice benefice website See A20 churches website

The Norman church dates from 1144 and is one of the oldest church buildings still in use for worship in England.

The church tower was restored in 1923-1924.

See Edward Hasted The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 8 (1799), pp. 14-27 at British History Online and Kent Churches website

Brabourne Lees nearby in the parish has a Zion Strict Baptist Chapel.



Civil Registration
See East Ashford 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
Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Original deposited registers were formerly held at:

Centre for Kentish Studies,County Hall,Maidstone,Kent ME14 1XX

From Spring 2012 material formerly held at

Centre for Kentish Studies,County Hall,Maidstone,Kent ME14 1XX

is available at Kent History and Library Centre see Kent Archives

Family History Library film numbers See also England, Kent, Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts (FamilySearch Historical Records)

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

Land Tax
Images for Brabourne and Brook available at FamilySearch Records see England, Kent, Land Tax Assessments (FamilySearch Historical Records) 1780-1831

These images are derived from 1987 microfilm at Kent Archives, Maidstone, England.

Brook and Brabourne are in the hundred of Cocklescombe.

Kent Archives Office reference: Q/RPL/55

The images refer to the East Brabourne part of the parish.

Edward Hasted describes the villages "That part of it which is within the borough of Cocklescombe, is in the hundred, and within the liberty of the royal manor of Wye".

From: The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 8 (1799), pp. 14-27 at British History Online

Images for Brabourne and Hastingleigh 1780-1831are derived from 1987 microfilm at Kent Archives Office reference DRB/RT43-44. Land tax assessments for Brabourne and Hastingleigh, Kent, 1780-1831 Family History Library BRITISH Film 1469808 Items 1-2

The images refer to the West Brabourne part of the parish; Edward Hasted refers to "Combe, Bedlestone, the hamlet of West Braborne-street and Hampton"

The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 8 (1799), pp. 14-27 at British History Online

Census records
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

for details of public houses in the 1881 census

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
East Ashford 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
Canterbury 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

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.