Place:Goudhurst, Kent, England

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NameGoudhurst
Alt namesBedgebury Crosssource: settlement in parish
Curtisden Greensource: settlement in parish
Iden Green (Goudhurst)source: settlement in parish
Kilndownsource: settlement in parish
Stonecrouchsource: settlement in parish
Winchet Hillsource: settlement in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates51.117°N 0.467°E
Located inKent, England
See alsoWest Barnfield Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Cranbrook Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Marden Hundred, Kent, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Cranbrook Rural, Kent, Englandrural district of which it was a part 1894-1974
Tunbridge Wells District, Kent, Englanddistrict municipality into which the parish was transferred in 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Goudhurst is a village in Kent, England on the Weald, about 12 miles (19 km) south of Maidstone. It stands on a crossroads (A262 & B2079), where there is a large village pond.

The post-1974 parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown and Curtisden Green. Hamlets include Bedgebury Cross, Iden Green (Goudhurst), Stonecrouch and Winchet Hill. (Places in italics are redirected here. There is another hamlet named Iden Green in Kent.)

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Goudhurst was originally an ancient parish in the West Barnfield Hundred and also in the Cranbrook Hundred of Kent. It was a civil parish in the Cranbrook Rural District from 1894 until 1974. Since 1974 it has been part of the non-metropolitan Tunbridge Wells District.

History

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

The village was one of those involved in the Wealden iron industry; it was a centre for the growing of hops and for weaving. A group of weavers' cottages stands opposite the church.

The village's recent history is extremely well documented. The Goudhurst Jubilee Book (1935), Goudhurst Coronation Book (1937) and Goudhurst and Kilndown Millennium Book (2001, ISBN 0-9527822-1-9) contain detailed reminiscences, directories, historical notes, matters of local intelligence and records of celebrations starting from the 1800s and before, up to the current time. These books were printed as limited editions and are much sought after, as the authors painstakingly recorded not only the written but also the oral history of the village.

Bedgebury is one of the oldest estates in Kent: having given its name to the de Bedgebury family, it passed into the hands of the Culpeper family in 1450. When the estate was sold in 1680, a new house was built which itself became a girls' school in the 1920s (closed in the summer of 2006).

St Mary's church was founded in 1170 by Robert de Crevecour. The church has been altered and restored many times over the centuries. Until 1637 it had a tall spire which was destroyed by lightning in that year. In 1638 three London masons rebuilt the west tower. The church contains a remarkable painted wood and gesso effigy to Sir Alexander Culpeper (d.1599) and his wife Constance. (The date of death given here does not match the details for Alexander Culpepper and Constantina Chamberlayn found in WeRelate.)

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 Goudhurst. 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.