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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia
The small civil parish of Hastingleigh is centred on an escarpment of the Kent Downs in Kent, England three miles east of Wye and ten miles south of Canterbury. It extends to the hill-scape of the Devil's Kneading Trough, on the North Downs Way with views towards Ashford, Romney Marsh and the patchy remnant forest of the Weald (between the Greensand Ridge and South Downs).
The village was in existence before the Domesday Book and originally lay in the valley by the Church of England church (St. Mary the Virgin) but following the plague, the main settlement was relocated to its current position. The church is made of stone, in the [[wikipedia:Early English style, and has a tower containing one bell:
The nave and aisle of the church were restored in 1880 and the chancel in 1886: the church affords 200 sittings. Twelfth-century murals were partially uncovered on the north wall, and in the southeast corner of the church in 1966.
There is a brass to John Halke, d.1604, and Amia his wife, d.1596. These were the maternal grandparents of Dr. William Harvey (1578-1767). His mother Joane was born at South Hill, Hastingleigh and married Thomas Harvie of Folkestone, in Hastingleigh Church.
Hastingleigh was originally an ancient parish in the Bircholt Barony and Franchise. Between 1894 and 1974 it was part of the East Ashford Rural 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):
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- 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.
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