Withyham, Sussex Genealogy

England   Sussex  Sussex Parishes

Parish History
WITHYHAM (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of East Grinstead, hundred of Hartfield, rape of Pevensey, East division of Sussex, nine miles (E. S. E.) from East Grinstead includes Buckhurst and New Groombridge. A chapel of ease was dedicated to St. John.

The church dates from at least the late thirteenth century; there is record of the rebuilding in the fourteenth century to construct the Sackville chapel. In 1672 the rebuilt church replaced the church which was destroyed by a lightning strike so powerful that the bells were melted, but it was not until 1680 that the Sackville Chapel was replaced.



The church contains a memorial to the poet Vita Sackville-West within the Sackville family chapel.

Withyham is a small village although the the ecclesiastical and civil parish is large and includes part of the northern Ashdown Forest. The hamlet of Buckhurst includes Buckhurst Park home of Earl De La Warr who maintains the Sackville family presence in the Parish. New Groombridge is with the parish and county; Old Groombridge is in the modern Speldhurst District of Kent.

A history of the church can be found at Sussex Parish Churches Withyham St Michael and All Angels

Withyham St John is also known as Crowborough St John the Evangelist.

See also a list of places to worship in Wealden Wikipedia for New Groombridge churches of St Thomas the Apostle and former Methodist Chapel now the Church of St Pius V Groombridge.

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.

For civil registration history see East Grinstead registration district Certificates may be obtained from East Sussex The Register Office Town Hall Grove Road Eastbourne BN21 4UG Phone01323 464780 Fax 01323 431386 email eastbourne.registrar@eastsussex.gov.uk

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

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.

Link to the Family History Library Catalogue showing the film numbers in their collection

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

Census records
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.

The 1851 census of England and Wales attempted to identify religious places of worship in addition to the household survey census returns.

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. 

Poor Law Unions
East Grinstead Poor Law Union, Sussex

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Sussex 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