Ide Hill

Ide Hill is, ecclesiastically, a chapelry, in the parish of Sundridge, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the peculiar of Shoreham and in the deanery of Shoreham.  The church is named for St. Mary and was formed in 1818 from Sundridge.  The parish is, today, in the Diocese of Rochester, in the deanery of Sevenoaks.

Originally a hamlet, the village of Ide Hill is situated within the civil parish of Sundridge and as such is part of the union of Sevenoaks, hundred of Codsheath, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, and electorally within the Western division of Kent. The chapelry, constituted in 1852, is partly also in Chevening and Chiddingstone parishes, Kent. The village is 3-3/4 miles West-southwest from Sevenoaks or 3-1/4 miles southwest of Sevenoaks railroad station. It has a post office under Sevenoaks; and commands a very fine view. ^1 2

Population of the whole of Ide Hill in 1861, 706. Houses 134. Population of the Sundridge portion, 602. Houses, 115. Population of the Chevening portion, 60. Houses, 12. ¹

Originally, Ide Hill had a chapel constructed during 1807 by the then Bishop of London. St Mary's church was constructed during 1865 and 1866 in the decorated English style, with tower and spire, at an estimated cost of £2,380. St. Mary's "has the distinction of being the highest church in Kent" [The Kent Village Book], as well as boasting a beautiful lychgate, crafted by local builder Cecil 'Dusty' Boakes. ^1 2

The church is part of the united benfice of Sundridge, Kent with Ide Hill and Toy's Hill, whose three churches serve the benefice. The living was formerly a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £150, with a habitable glebe house. Patron, the Rector of Sundridge. ^1 2

The National Trust garden at Emmet's Hill was laid out in the 19th century and the stone bench near the church commemorates one of the Trust's founders, Octavia Hill.

There is also a Calvinist church here, named the Calvin Ark Chapel, and a national school. ¹

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

² Samuel A. Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 600-603.

Ide Hill 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 Ide Hill: 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