Place:West Hythe, Kent, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

West Hythe is now a hamlet near Palmarsh (see below) in Kent, England , and a few miles west of the cinque port town of Hythe (where the 2011 UK Census population is included).

Modern settlement is mostly on the plain south of the Royal Military Canal, and immediately north and northwest of Palmarsh, but the ancient parish church (in ruins) stands at the foot of the escarpment north of the canal, where much of the ancient village was located.

The ancient parish church, dedicated to St Mary, is listed as a Grade II monument, and is a structure monitored by English Heritage. It was constructed in the twelfth century and heavily rebuilt in the fourteenth century. The British Listed Buildings website reports that the church was burnt down in 1620. There is some evidence that St Mary's may have been, in origin, a minster church.

West Hythe was originally an ancient parish in both Hythe Hundred and Worth Hundred, as well as being part of Romney Marsh Liberty. It was a civil parish during the 19th century, but in 1888 became part of Hythe Municipal Borough where it remained until 1974. Since 1974 the area is covered by the non-metropolitan Shepway District.

Palmarsh

Palmarsh is a community in Shepway District. In origin it was a hamlet on the edge of the Romney Marsh, but modern development to the west of Hythe in a corridor along the A259 coastal road, has led to the joining together of the ancient town and cinque port of Hythe (to the east) and the rural hamlet of Palmarsh (to the west) in a single conurbation.

Botolph's Bridge

Botolph's Bridge is a small hamlet, consisting of a few family homes and a public house named "The Botolph's Bridge". The hamlet is associated with West Hythe, with which it shares community activity and history. Its name is derived from the Saxon monk and evangelist Botwulf of Thorney.

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):

• Kent FHS (serves the whole county)
• Folkestone & District FHS (serves the southeast corner)
• North West Kent FHS (serves the western area of present-day Kent)
• Tunbridge Wells FHS (ceased operation 31 Dec 2016; see North West Kent)
• Woolwich & District FHS (serves eastern sections of Greater London which were in Kent until 1966)

• 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.