Place:Cooling, Kent, England

Watchers
NameCooling
Alt namesColingesource: Domesday Book (1985) p 147
Colingessource: Domesday Book (1985) p 147
TypeCivil parish
Coordinates51.45°N 0.533°E
Located inKent, England
See alsoShamwell Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Hoo Rural, Kent, Englandrural district of which it was a part 1894-1934
Strood Rural, Kent, Englandrural district of which it was a part 1934-1974
Rochester upon Medway, Kent, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area 1974-1998
Medway, Kent, Englandunitary authority which has covered the area since 1988
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Cooling is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula, overlooking the North Kent Marshes, 6 miles north northwest of Rochester, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 209, which increased to 216 at the 2011 Census.

Cooling was recorded in the Domesday Book when it was held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux (half-brother of William the Conqueror). The most notable surviving feature of the village is Cooling Castle, built on the edge of the marshes during the 12th century to defend the neighbouring port of Cliffe from the threat of French raiders.

Cooling was a civil parish in Hoo Rural District from 1894 until 1934, in Strood Rural District from 1934 until 1974 In 1974 it joined the Rochester upon Medway District which, in turn, became part of the Medway unitary authority in 1998. Cooling was originally an ancient parish in the Shamwell Hundred of Kent.

Research tips

  • Kent County Council Archive, Local Studies and Museums Service. James Whatman Way, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LQ. This incorporates the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone and the East Kent Archives Centre near Dover.
  • Canterbury Cathedral Archives see the Archives web pages on the Canterbury Catherdral site.
  • For information on the area around the Medway Towns, have a look at Medway Council's CityArk site.
  • Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales - Revised: Kent illustrates the parish boundaries of Kent when rural districts were still in existence and before Greater London came into being. The map publication year is 1931. An earlier map of 1900 may also be useful. The maps blow up to show all the parishes and many of the small villages and hamlets. Maps in this series are now downloadable for personal use.
  • Census records for Kent are available on FamilySearch, Ancestry and FindMyPast. The first site is free; the other two are pay sites but have access to microfilmed images. Steve Archer produced a very useful round-up of the available sources, but this information may not be up to date.
  • Registration Districts in Kent for the period 1837 to the present. By drilling down through the links you can follow any parish through the registration districts to which it was attached.
  • England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911 The full database from Kent Archives Office, Maidstone, has been available online from FamilySearch since June 2016.
  • Kent had five family history societies (now only four):
  • Volume 2 of the Victoria County History of Kent (published 1926) is available online through the auspices of British History Online. It includes accounts of the early history of Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals, and of several sites now within the conurbation of London.
  • Volume 3 of the Victoria County History of Kent (published 1932) This includes the text of, and the index to, the Kent Domesday survey. It has been provided by the Kent Archaeological Society.
  • In place of the other volumes of the Victoria County History, British History Online has transcriptions of the numerous volumes of The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent by Edward Hasted (originally published 1797)
  • English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, is particularly helpful in locating parishes in large ancient towns and cities like Canterbury.
  • Kent Probate Records Numerous links provided by Maureen Rawson
  • GENUKI lists other possible sources, however, it does not serve Kent so well as it does some other counties.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Cooling, Kent. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.