Place:Ruxley Hundred, Kent, England

Watchers
NameRuxley Hundred
Alt namesRuxley (hundred)source: name variation
Rudsey (hundred)source: name error
TypeHundred
Located inKent, England
See alsoSutton at Hone Lathe, Kent, Englandlathe (administrative division) of which the hundred was a part
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Ruxley Hundred was originally called "Helmestrei", a name found in the Domesday Book in 1086. By the late thirteenth century, it was no longer in use, and the hundred came to be known as Hundred of Ruxley, taking its new name from the settlement of Ruxley, which was the meeting place of the hundred, located on the main road which passed through it. This is probably the A20 of today.

The Hundred of Ruxley was part of the Lathe of Sutton at Hone in Kent. The hundred existed until the end of the nineteenth century when new administrative districts began to be created. In 1894 North Cray parish, including the settlement of Ruxley, formed part of the newly created Bromley Rural District that existed until 1934 when it was abolished. In 1934 North Cray and Ruxley became part of the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District which was formed from the previous districts: Sidcup Urban District, Chislehurst Urban District, and the small part of the Bromley Rural District that contained North Cray. In 1965 the urban district and its parishes were abolished and Greater London and the London boroughs were created. Sidcup and North Cray were made part of the London Borough of Bexley and Chislehurst became part of the London Borough of Bromley.

Parishes

ParishDescriptionKent Borough 1935-1965Greater London Borough (1965- )
Bexley parish (ancient), civil parish Bexley, KentLondon Borough of Bexley
Chelsfield parish (ancient), civil parish Orpington Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Chiddingstone parish (ancient), civil parish Sevenoaks Rural DistrictSevenoaks District in Kent
Chislehurst parish (ancient), civil parish Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Cudham parish (ancient), civil parish Orpington Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Downe chapelry, civil parish Orpington Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Farnborough chapelry, civil parish Orpington Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Hayes parish (ancient), civil parish split between the parishes of Beckenham and BromleyLondon Borough of Bromley
Hever parish (ancient), civil parish Sevenoaks Rural DistrictSevenoaks District in Kent
Keston parish (ancient), civil parish split between Bromley and Orpington parishesLondon Borough of Bromley
Knockholt chapelry, civil parish Sevenoaks Rural DistrictSevenoaks District in Kent
North Cray parish (ancient), civil parish Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Orpington parish (ancient), civil parish Orpington Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bromley
Sidcup parish (ancient), civil parish Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban DistrictLondon Borough of Bexley
St. Mary Cray chapelry, civil parish split between Orpington and Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban DistrictsLondon Borough of Bromley
St. Pauls Cray parish (ancient), civil parish split between Orpington and Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban DistrictsLondon Borough of Bromley
West Wickham parish (ancient), civil parish split between Orpington and Beckenham Municipal BoroughLondon Borough of Bromley

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 Ruxley. 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.