Bromley St Peter and St Paul, Kent Genealogy

A guide to genealogy in the ecclesiastical parish of Bromley - St. Peter St. Paul in Kent with information on where to find birth, baptism, marriage, death and burial records; census records; wills; cemeteries; maps; etc..

Bromley - St. Peter St. Paul is an ecclesiastical parish within the town of Bromley in Kent, England.

Parish History
In 1848: BROMLEY (St. Peter And St. Paul), a market town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Bromley and Beckenham, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 10 miles (S. E.) from London, on the road to Tonbridge.

Bromley St. Peter &amp; St. Paul Church Road is the site of the Ancient Parish church for the market town from which subsequent parishes were created. The church was destroyed in 1941 and the present church interior is illustrated and described below at the Kent Churches website.

This parish formed an ancient parish in the Bromley and Beckenham hundred and the Sutton-at-Hone lathe of Kent. In 1840 it became part of the expanded Metropolitan Police District. The parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and a local board was formed in 1867. The board was reconstituted as Bromley Urban District Council in 1894 and the parish became Bromley Urban District. It formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924 and the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933. In 1934, as part of a county review order, the borough was expanded by taking in 1,894 acres (7.66 km2) from the disbanded Bromley Rural District; an area including parts of the parishes of Farnborough, Hayes, Keston and West Wickham. Bromley became part of the newly-created Greater London in 1965, in the new London Borough of Bromley. For the early history of Bromley see Edward Hasted's description.

Bromley Holy Trinity, Kent was formed from this parish.


 * Bromley North West Kent Family History Society for other parishes formed from this parish
 * Bromley St Peter and St Paul
 * Bromley Christ Church Highland Road

After much debate concerning the need for an additional church or an expansion of the parish church it was determined that Reverend Hellicar as rector had the right to establish a chapel of ease in the parish if he chose to do so. The controversy in the town and local press had become heated and the position had to be determined by Archbishop Tait. Reverend Hellicar and the church wardens immediately secured a lease on land in Park Road and established that the town of Ryde Isle of Wight had a large iron church for sale. The building was purchased and transferred to Bromley and erected to serve from 1872. Meanwhile freehold property was acquired and funding raised to enable a foundation stone to laid in July 1879 and in May 1880 Archbishop Tait dedicated St John The Evangelist.


 * Bromley St John the Evangelist Park Road Kent Churches website


 * Bromley St Mark Westmoreland Road
 * Kent Churches website

The expansion of building after 1861 on the previous Bickley Park residence of the Dent family. On the sale of the property residential development took place and a church was built from 1863 with services beginning in 1864 and consecration in 1865. Originally conceived as a district church it became necessary to appoint one of the curates of the Parish church to serve the needs of the Widmore district of the Ancient Parish.


 * Bickley St George Bickley Park Road
 * Kent Churches website

The northern part of the Town was felt to need a church and in 1860 the Reverend Adams chaplain to Bromley College and his family raised contributions to establish St Mary Plaistow. The church was consecrated by Archbishop Longley in 1863 and subsequently enlarged.


 * Plaistow St Mary College Road

Census
For the 1801 Census see Bromley 1801

Civil Registration

 * See Bromley

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

Deposited Parish registers are held at Bromley Archives reference P 47

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

The earliest registers are in two volumes of Composite Registers from 1558. The entries for baptisms during the Commonwealth are maintained although reduced in volume at a time when the population was increasing. An entry on the fly leaf refers to the revolutionary period of the Commonwealth when Bishop Warner was turned out of his see (of Rochester). The manorial rights were sold 1 March 1647 to Augustine Skinner although there is documentary evidence that Government force was required to overcome opposition to his occupancy of the episcopal palace. He was however installed as Lord of the Manor and his entry in the fly leaf appoints Henry Arnold Clerke "being elected at a Vestry to be Parish Minister...he took oath before me on 11 October 1653". Skynner held possession until the Restoration when bishops were reinstated to their see,palaces and endowments. In 1663 Richard Marsh replaces Henry Arnold as rector for the parish. The registers reflect also burials of plague victims. In 1630 the Bishop was turned out of his palace by plague in the town the burial register recording 62 burials where typically in that decade an annual average is 30. The year of the Great Plague 1665 plague victims are recorded throughout summer, autumn and winter. Bromley had from the 1630's a Pest House and was directly opposite the gates of Bromley College within Plague Field on the side of the London Road.It remained in existence until the 1790's.

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

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

Nonconformists


 * Bethel Independent Christenings 1788-1832 Batch (C068041)

Websites

 * Kent Online Parish Clerks are in process of transcribing the complete parish register series in partnership with Bromley Archives and the local Archdeacon on behalf of the Diocese. The completed transcripts will appear on-line during 2014 All Bromley parishes appear on a single page Bromley Parishes
 * Henry Mantell's blog a researcher in Archives Blog about transcription of material for online publication in the Bromley area of Kent.
 * Bromley on GENUKI