Brenchley

Brenchley is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury and in the deanery of South Malling.  The church is named All Saints with registers commencing 1560.

Brenchley, a village, a parish, a sub-district and a hundred in Kent.  The village stands 2-1/2 miles south-by-east of Paddock Wood rail station, and 7 miles east-north-east of Tunbridge Wells;  and has a post office under Staplehurst with a savings banks and a money order office.  Some good old timbered houses are in it;  and a clump of trees, on high grounds near it, figures conspicuously over many miles.  The parish includes also the hamlets of Matfield Green, Colts Hill, Mascalls Pound, Henlys, Piersons Green and Pettridge.  Acres, 7,780.  Real property in 1860, £11,518.  Population in 1861, 2,844.  Houses, 560.  The property is much subdivided.  There are mineral waters similar to those of Tunbridge.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury.  Value, £749 with a habitable glebe house.  Patron, G. C. Courthope, Esq..  The church is old, cruciform, and good;  and has a lofty tower.

Paddock Wood vicarage is a separate benefice.  There are a Baptist chapel, a Wesleyan chapel, and charities £17.

The sub-district contains two other parishes, and is in the district of Tunbridge.  Acres, 15,778.  Population in 1861, 5,486.  Houses, 1,086.

The hundred bears the name of Brenchley and Horsemonden;  consists of these two parishes and part of Lamberhurst;  and is in the lathe of Aylesford.  Acres, 15,887.  Population in 1861, 4,479.  Houses, 815.

Colts Hill - a hamlet in Brenchley parish, Kent;  6-1/2 miles southeast of Tunbridge.

Henlys - a hamlet in Brenchley parish, Kent;  6-1/2 miles northwest of Cranbrook.

Mascalls Pound, or Maskall's Pound - a hamlet in Brenchley parish, Kent;  4-1/4 miles east-south-east of Tunbridge.

Matfield Green - a hamlet in Brenchley parish, Kent;  4-1/4 miles southeast of Tunbridge.  It contains a neat Baptist chapel, and several genteel residences.

Pettridge - a hamlet in Brenchley parish, Kent;  6-1/2 miles southeast of Tunbridge.

Piersons Green - a hamlet in Brenchley parish, Kent;  6-1/2 miles southeast of Tunbridge. ¹

¹ John Marius Wilson, comp.  The Imperial Gazatteer of England and Wales. (London, England: A. Fullerton & Co., 1870).

Brenchley Bibliography

-- various. 'Archaeologia Cantiana'. Publisher: Kent, England: Kent Archaeological Society, various dates.  [Note:  The following volumes can be found on archive.org:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (1876), 11, 12, 13 (1880), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, vol. 1907 supplement.]

• General references to Brenchley: vol. , pp.
• Currently in revision

Great Britain, Public Record Office. 'Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public Record Office--Edward II, Vol. 1. 1307-1313'Each volume has own index. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Great Britain, Public Record Office. 'Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids : with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431', Vol. 3. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Great Britain, Exchequer. 'The book of fees commonly called testa de nevill, pt. 3'. The Book of fees contains information about the holdings of feudal tenants. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Hall, Hubert, 1857-1944. 'The Red book of the Exchequer - Liber rubeus de Scaccario, Vol. 3'. The Red book of the Exchequer was a register intended to preserve important documents comprising charters, statutes of the realm, public acts (Placita), private deeds and ordinances, correspondence. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Glencross, Reginald Morshead. 'Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Vol. 1. 1559-1571'. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Hasted, Edward. 'The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent; Containing the antient and present state of it, civil and ecclesiastical; collected from public records, and other authorities: illustrated with maps, views, antiquities, etc. The second edition, improved, corrected, and continued to the present time'. 12 volumes. Publisher: Canterbury: Printed by W. Bristow, 1797-1801. URL: British History Online

Hussey, Arthur. 'Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, mentioned in Domesday book, and those of more recent date'. Publisher: London J.R. Smith,(1852).

Letters, Dr. Samantha. 'Kent', Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (2005).  URL: British History Online.

Page, William, 1861-1934, ed.. 'The Victoria history of the county of Kent'. Publisher: London: Constable (1908).  URL: British History Online

Sharp, J. E. E. S., ed.. 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward I, File 39', Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 2: Edward I. Published:(1906), pp. 315-323.  URL: British History Online.

Sharp, J. E. E. S., ed.. 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry III, File 45', Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 1: Henry III. Published:(1904), pp. 296-302.  URL: British History Online.

Location of Records

The following list of records is not intended to be exhaustive.  There are many records that are awaiting discovery in archive offices throughout Kent and England.  This list is intended only to set out those records that are available via at least two relatively easy-to-access avenues.  If you have used or discover a record that would be of benefit to other researchers, that is not on this list, please send me an email with the details of the archive - name, address and archival call number.

Census | Church of England | Non-Conformist | Parish chest | Workhouse and Poor Law | Land | Assizes and Sessions | School

Census

Church Records, Church of England

Church Records, Non-Conformist

Parish chest records

Workhouse and Poor Law Records

Land Records

Assizes and Sessions Records
(poor laws, jail terms, oaths, and other municipal and public records)

School Records