Place:Lower Hardres, Kent, England

Watchers
NameLower Hardres
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Located inKent, England
See alsoBridge and Petham Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Bridge Rural, Kent, Englandrural district of which it was a part 1894-1934
Bridge Blean Rural, Kent, Englandrural district of which it was a part 1934-1974
Canterbury District, Kent, Englanddistrict municipality to which the parish was transferred in 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Lower Hardres is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury District of Kent, England.

The name of the Hardres family is perpetuated in the twin villages of Upper Hardres and Lower Hardres (pronounced 'hards'), on the Roman road, Stone Street, southwest of the city of Canterbury. The family owned the non-church land of area for 700 years after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

A legal record in 1381 mentions William Sely, parson of "parva Ardres", and may indicate that a bell at Lower Hardres church was being made or repaired by John Bukyngham. A debt of 45 marks is mentioned.

Lower Hardres consists of a branch of roads that stem mainly from Canterbury. The populated areas of the parish are situated on minor roads, these being; Hardres Court Road, Bridge Road and Faucett Hill. The parish church, St. Mary's, is found in Nackington, north of Lower Hardres on the B2068 road.

Lower Hardres was originally an ancient parish in the Bridge and Petham Hundred. Between 1894 and 1934 it was part of the Bridge Rural District. In 1934 the rural district was abolished and the parishes were transferred to the larger Bridge Blean Rural District.

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.