Place:Oare, Kent, England

Watchers
NameOare
Alt namesOrasource: Domesday Book (1985) p 149
Oresource: Domesday Book (1985) p 149
Upleessource: hamlet in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates51.333°N 0.883°E
Located inKent, England
See alsoFaversham Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Faversham Rural, Kent, Englandrural district in which it was situated 1894-1935
Swale Rural, Kent, Englandrural district in which it was situated 1935-1974
Swale District, Kent, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Oare is a village and civil parish north of Davington and Faversham in Kent, England. It is separated from Faversham by the Oare Creek. To the north of the village are the Oare Marshes, and the Harty Ferry which linked to Harty on the Isle of Sheppey.

The manor of Oare belonged to Odo, Earl of Kent (as the Bishop of Bayeux) and was noted so in the Domesday Book of 1086. After Odo's trial for fraud, the manor then passed to the Arnulf Kade who gave it to the Knights Hospitallers.

The village has a church, on the outskirts, dedicated to St Peter. The 13th century-built church, is Grade I listed.

Oare Windmill, across the Oare boundary and in Faversham, is believed to date from about 1819. Originally a corn mill, after 1879 it was owned and operated by the Gun Powder Company as part of the Faversham area's explosives industry.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Oare was originally an ancient parish in the Faversham Hundred. Between 1894 and 1935 it was part of the Faversham Rural District. In 1935 Faversham Rural District was abolished and parishes were transferred to Swale Rural District. Since 1974 the area is covered by the non-metropolitan Swale District. The parish of Oare was considerably expanded in area in 1935 when the neighbouring parish of Davington was abolished and the parish of Faversham Without was reduced in size.

Uplees

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Uplees is a hamlet north of Faversham in the marshes in the north of Kent, England. It was a key part of the Faversham explosives industry during World War I, with the Cotton Powder Company importing raw materials via the deepwater channel of the Swale, and the associated Explosives Loading Company exporting completed bombs and shells. Employees came to work from Faversham on the Davington Light Railway of which Uplees was the northern terminus. It is now in the civil parish of Oare.

At 2.20pm on Sunday 2 April 1916, a huge explosion ripped through the gunpowder mill at Uplees, when 200 tons of TNT ignited. The blast killed 105 people and many were buried in a mass grave at Faversham Cemetery.

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 Oare, 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.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Uplees, 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.