Bromley

Bromley is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury and in the deanery of Dartford.  The church is named for St. Peter and St. Paul with registers commencing 1558.

Bromley, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred, in Kent.  The town stands on high ground, rising from the Ravensbourne river, adjacent to the Farnborough railway, 10 miles southeast of St Paul's, London.  It commands good views to the west, southwest, and south;  stands in a beautiful country, with rapid increase of fine residences;  is a seat of petty sessions and a polling place;  and has a railway station, a post office under London, SE., a new town hall, good inns, a church, three dissenting chapels, a college for clergymen's widows, a National school, and a literary institute.

The church is chiefly perpendicular English, mainly rebuilt in 1829, and consisting of nave, chancel, and aisles;  has, at the west end, an ancient embattled tower, surmounted by a cupola;  and contains a Norman font, a brass of 1356, a monument of Dr. Hawkesworth, the chief writer of the "Adventurer", and the graves of Bishop Pearce, Bishop Tonge, and the wife of Dr. Johnson.

The college is a large brick structure, founded in 1666, by Bishop Warner, and repaired in 1765;  gives residences and support to 40 widows;  and has an income of £1,993.  A drainage system, for the town was projected in 1869.

The parish comprises 4,646 acres.  Real property in 1860, £28,565.  Rental in 1865, £46,771.  Rateable value in 1861, £28,565;  in 1865, £37,810.  Population in 1861, 1,090;  in 1865, 1,338.

The manor was given, in the 8th century, by Ethelbert, King of Kent, to the bishops of Rochester;  continued, with some slight interruptions, to be held by them till a few years ago;  and belongs now to Coles Child, Esq..  A palace was built on it, by one of the bishops, soon after the Conquest;  underwent improvements by successive bishops;  was visited by Walpole and Pope;  and gave place, in 1776, to a new palace, a plain brick mansion, now the residence of the present lord of the manor.

The parish ceased, at the recent re-arrangement of sees, to be in the diocese of Rochester;  and the residence of the bishops was then fixed at Danbury in Essex.

A chalybeate spring is in the palace grounds;  and another spring was there till lately, called St. Blaize's well, which had anciently a small oratory, and was a resort of pilgrims, in the Romish times, at Whitsuntide.  An old moated mansion, at the southern extremity of the town, belonged successively to the Bagnels, the Clarks, and the Simpsons;  and some remains of it exist under the name of Simpsons place.  Plaistow Lodge, Bickley Park and Sundridge, are in the neighbourhood.

The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Canterbury.  Value, £160.  Patron, the Bishop of Worcester.  The vicarages of Plaistow, Bickley, and Bromley Common are separate benefices.

The sub-district contains the parishes of Bromley, Beckenham, Hayes, West Wickham, Keston, Down, Cudham and Knockholt.  Acres, 23,118.  Population in 1861, 11,755.  Houses, 2,257.  The district comprehends also the sub-district of Chiselhurst, containing the parishes of Chislehurst, Farnborough, Chelsfield, Orpington, St. Mary Cray, St. Paul Cray, Foots Cray and North Cray.  Acres, 39,927.  Poor rates in 1866, £14,191.  Population in 1861, 20,368.  Houses, 3,851.  Marriages in 1866, 162;  births, 871 of which 35 were illegitimate;  deaths, 464 of which 163 were at ages under 5 years and 15 at ages above 85.  Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 967;  births, 5,414;  deaths, 3,078.

The places of worship in 1851 were 17 of the Church of England, with 5,489 sittings;  5 of Independents, with 1,010 sittings;  4 of Baptists, with 630 sittings;  10 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1,239 sittings;  and 1 of the Wesleyan Methodist Association, with 16 sittings.

The schools were 20 public day schools, with 1,717 scholars;  24 private day schools, with 395 scholars;  17 Sunday schools, with 1,179 scholars;  and 1 evening school for adults, with 19 scholars.

The workhouse is in Farnborough.

The hundred is in the lathe of Sutton at Hone;  bears the name of Bromley and Beckenham;  and contains only the parishes of Bromley and Beckenham.  Acres, 8,521.  Population in 1861, 7,629.  Houses, 1,452.

Bickley, a chapelry, with a rail station, in Bromley parish, Kent;  1-1/2 miles east of Bromley.  Population in 1861, 473.  Living a vicarage.  The church was built in 1865, at a cost of £10,000.  There are many fine villas. ¹

For additional information concerning Bromley Borough you might wish to visit the Bromley Borough Local History Society website.

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

Bromley 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 Bromley: 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