Hever

Hever is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury and in the deanery of Ospringe. The church is named for St. Peter with original registers commencing 1632.

Hever, is a village and a parish in Sevenoaks district, Kent. The village stands near the river Medway, 2-1/2 miles southeast by east of Edenbridge, and 3 southeast of Edenbridge rail station; and has a post office under Edenbridge, and a small inn with the sign of Henry VIII.. The parish includes also the hamlet of Linkhill, and part of the chapelry of Mark-Beech. Acres, 2,608. Real property in 1860, £2,714. Population in 1861, 626. Houses, 118. The property is subdivided.

The manor belonged anciently to the Hevers or Hevres; passed to the Cobhams and the Brocas; was purchased, in the time of Henry VI., by Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, great-grandfather of Queen Anne Boleyn; was given, by Henry VIII., after the death of Anne Boleyn’s father, to Anne of Cleves; passed, by gift of Queen Mary, to the Waldegraves; was purchased, in 1745, by Sir T. Waldo; and belongs now to Edmund W. M. Waldo, Esq.. A castle on it, close to the Medway, dates from an ancient period; was rebuilt, in the time of Edward III., by Sir William Hever; was again refounded by Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, and completed by his grandson, the father of Anne Boleyn; was the scene of Henry VIII.’s first acquaintance with Anne Boleyn and of his course of courting her; retains curious traditional associations of his visits to it; is now an interesting specimen of the domestic architecture of its period; forms a quadrangle, surrounded by a double moat, and surmounted by high-pitched roofs and gables; is now occupied as a farm house, but retains its old arrangements; and was approached by a strongly portcullised gatehouse, which still remains.

The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £600 with a habitable glebe house. Patron, E. W. M. Waldo, Esq.. The church is mostly decorated English; consists of nave and chancel, with tower and lofty spire; and contains an altar tomb of Sir Thomas Boleyn, and memorials of the Cobhams and the Waldos.

There are a British school, and charities £9.

Mark Beech is located on the northern slopes of the Weald, eight miles (13 km) north-west of Tunbridge Wells. The church, part of a united benefice with Hever and Four Elms, is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. There is a village hall, a pub - The Kentish Horse, and a thriving cricket club.

Four Elms is a village within the civil parish of Hever in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The village is located on a crossroads between Edenbridge and Sevenoaks, two miles (3.2km) northeast of the former place. The church, part of a united benefice with Hever and Markbeech, is dedicated to St. Paul.

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

Hever 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 Hever: 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