Higham

Higham is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Rochester, in the archdeaconry of Rochester, and in the deanery of Gravesend.  The church is named St. Mary with original parish registers commencing 1653.

HIGHAM, a village and a parish in North Aylesford district, Kent. The village stands near the Thames and Medway canal and the North Kent railway, 1-1/2 mile from the Thames, and 4 north-north-west of Rochester; was known, at Domesday, as Heckham; and has a station on the railway, and a post office under Rochester.

The parish includes also Lillechurch, Oakley, Mockbeggar, and Gads Hill. Acres, 3, 155; of which 190 are water. Real property, £7, 630. Pop. in 1851, 843; in 1861, 1,064. Houses, 208. The increase in population arose from the extension of market gardening, and the erection of small houses for the workers. The property is much subdivided.

A Benedictine nunnery was founded at Lillechurch, by King Stephen; had, for its first abbess, King Stephen's daughter, Mary; was soon removed to Higham village; was given, at the dissolution, to St. John's college, Cambridge; and is now represented by some fragments of masonry there, in a house called the Abbey. An ancient causeway, probably of Roman origin, leads from the village, across the marshes, to the Thames at a point where formerly there was a ferry to a road direct toward Colchester. An ancient barrow is about 1-1/2 mile from the railway station.

The living is a vicarage, united with the chapelry of St. John, in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £598. Patron, St. John's College, Cambridge. The parish church is ancient, with slight Norman traces; was recently restored; and contains a font, a piscina, and a large ancient altar tomb. Roman bricks are in its masonry; and many Roman urns, pieces of pottery, and other relics were found in the near neighbourhood, in what is supposed to have been a potter's field.

The church of St. John was built, in 1861, at a cost of £3,600; is in the early decorated English style; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with west porch and circular tower.

There are national schools, and charities £16.

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

Higham 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 Higham: 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