Place:Borden, Kent, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Borden is a village situated immediately south west of Sittingbourne, Kent, from which it is separated by a small area of rural land. The history of the name could be questioned. It may be derived from bor (hill) and then either from denu (valley) or denn (woodland pasture). It may also derive from "boar" "den", as it was known that the wild animals were found in the surrounding areas. Borden was first recorded in the twelfth century as Bordena. However it is more likely to stem from Sir Francis de Bourdon, (variations today also include Borden/Burden/Bourdon) who descended from the de Bourdons of Bayeux, in Normandy, France. Francis de Bourdon became Lord of the existing castle and surrounding lands previously lorded over by the Saxon Ethelwolf of Kent, who perished at Hastings. William the Conqueror made the castle and lands a gift to his vassal after the great Norman victory in 1066 and the lands became known as Bourdon. Over the next few generations the name became anglicised to reflect the Saxon population and became known as Borden. The church and churchyard, which still stands today, were commissioned around the year 1210 by the Lady Robergia de Bourdon, (the daughter of Elfrida of Kent who was granddaughter of the defeated Saxon Ethelwolf and of Sir Simon de Bourdon of Bourdon, grandson of the conquering Sir Francis de Bourdon, and the wife of Sir Francis de Bourdon), and contain the remains of the family's earliest-known members.

The village centre is clustered around the Grade I listed church, which is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and is at least eight hundred years old.

Within the parish are several hamlets, including Heart's Delight, Chestnut Street and Oad Street. Farming is the area's main industry, although this has been in decline for many years due to the "scrubbing" of most of the cherry and other fruit orchards. Borden also has a bell foundry and small ironmongers.

Today Borden is growing with new houses and has greater ties with Sittingbourne. Many residents now commute to major towns or London to work.

end of Wikipedia contribution';

Borden was originally an ancient parish in the Milton Hundred. Between 1894 and 1935 it was part of the Milton Rural District. In 1935 Milton Rural District was abolished and the area was transferred to Swale Rural District. Since 1974 the area is covered by the non-metropolitan Swale District.

Research Tips

• Borden Heritage Group
• Borden Online Parish Clerk
• Borden Kent Genealogy

• 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.