Place:Bredhurst, Kent, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Bredhurst is a village in Kent, that forms part of the Borough of Maidstone. Its population was 330 in 1990. There has been a settlement on the site of the present day Bredhurst since neolithic times because of fertile fields and the good wood supply.

Bredhurst manor dates from the time of King Edward III. It was bought by John of Gaunt in 1379 before King Richard II gave it to Simon de Burley in 1384. Burley lost the manor when he was accused of high treason in 1390.

By 1551, Sir Thomas Cheney was owner of the manor, followed by the Kemsley family later in the 16th century. Isabel Kemsley stipulated that her son John should hold 'a drinking' in the village on All Saints' Day and this tradition continued until the 19th century, when it was replaced with the more popular mayday celebrations.

The 19th century owners of the manor were the Romilly family, terminating when it was sold by the widow of the fourth Baron Romilly, William Guy Gospard Romilly (who died in 1983). It was later bought by a family who do not have a title, who sold off most of the grounds.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Bredhurst was originally a chapelry in the ancient parish of Hollingbourne in the Eyhorne Hundred of Kent. It was a civil parish in Hollingbourne Rural District from 1894 until 1974, and since 1974 has been part of the non-metropolitan Maidstone 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):

• 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.