Place:St. Mary in the Marsh, Kent, England

Watchers
NameSt. Mary in the Marsh
Alt namesSt. Marysource: alternate name
St. Mary-in-the-Marshsource: spelling variant
Saint Marys Baysource: hamlet in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates51.014°N 0.942°E
Located inKent, England
See alsoNewchurch Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
St. Martin Ivychurch Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Romney Marsh Liberty, Kent, Englandfurther ancient county division in which it was located
Romney Marsh Rural, Kent, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1974
Shepway District, Kent, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog


the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

St. Mary in the Marsh is a village and civil parish near New Romney in Kent, England, situated in the heart of Romney Marsh in one of its least populated areas, but with New Romney just 3 miles away. St. Mary in the Marsh is surrounded by the stark beauty of the marshes and the open landscapes of rich farmland.

It is probable that there was a Saxon church on the site originally known as "Siwold's Circe". This was superseded after the Norman invasion by a stone built church with a splendid three-tier tower of Kentish ragstone. The oldest parts of the church are about 1133 AD. The chancel was extended in about 1220 AD. Inside is a plaque commemorating Edith Nesbit, author of The Railway Children, who lived at St. Mary's Bay and is buried in the churchyard.

St. Mary in the Marsh was originally an ancient parish in the Newchurch Hundred, St. Martin Ivychurch Hundred and also in Romney Marsh Liberty. Between 1894 and 1974 it was part of the Romney Marsh Rural District. Since 1974 the area is covered by the non-metropolitan Shepway District.

St Mary's Bay

St Mary's Bay (redirected here), also known as "The Bay", is a coastal village in Kent, England. Situated on Romney Marsh, St Mary's Bay has a long sandy beach which stretches north to Dymchurch and south to Littlestone on Sea. It has a station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.

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 St Mary-in-the-Marsh. 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.