Place:Rodmersham, Kent, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Rodmersham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swale in Kent, England. Rodmersham is just under 1 mile south of Bapchild on the A2 road. Rodmersham Green (another hamlet) is another mile away (on Stockers Hill/Green Lane) heading towards Highsted and Tunstall. In 2011, according to the UK census, it had a population of 555.

In 1798, Edward Hasted (see reference below) records that the parish was made up of 1050 acres of land, of which 75 acres are woodland. It was under the control of the Manor of Milton, who controlled most of Kent. In King Richard II's reign, it was owned by John de Podach (from Devonshire), his descendants then renamed themselves 'Pordage'. During the reign of King James I, it was owned by Sir William Pordage. In 1615, he renamed the manor house, 'New House'. Now (Grade II listed) and called Rodmersham House. In Queen Anne's reign it passed to the Lushington family which included Mr Thomas Lushington, a noted scholar, born in Sandwich in 1589, and afterwards educated at Oxford. The manor house stayed in the private hands of the family.

The village church, (the Grade I listed) Church of St Nicholas, is in the diocese of Canterbury, and deanery of Sittingborne.

Hasted notes that Rodmersham Green, also had a nearby hamlet of Upper Rodmersham. This is seen in the 1930s maps but not on 1940s maps. There was a windmill at the north end of Rodmersham Green, built in 1935 and demolished in September 1969.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Rodmersham 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

• 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.