Lyminge

Lyminge is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury and in the deanery of Elham.  The church is named for St. Mary & St. Ethelburga with registers commencing 1679.

Lyminge is a village and a parish in Elham district, Kent.  The village stands 1-3/4 miles east of Stane Street, 3-1/2 miles northeast of Westenhanger rail station, and 3-3/4 miles north of Hythe;  has a post office under Hythe;  and will have a station on the Elham Valley railway, which was begun to be forwarded in 1867.  The parish comprises 4,459 acres.  Real property in 1860, £4,078.  Population, 938.  Houses, 156.  The property is much subdivided.

The manor belonged to a nunnery founded here in 633, by Ethelburga, daughter of King Ethelbert;  passed to the Archbishops of Canterbury;  was surrendered by Archbishop Cranmer to the Crown;  went through various possessors to Lord Loughborough;  and belongs now to Stephen Kelcey Esq..  The nunnery was destroyed by the Danes, and early disappeared.

A spring, called St. Eadburg's well, is near the church, and emits a head-stream of the Little Stour river.  Upwards of 1,000 acres are under wood;  and part of the land is hilly, with a light poor soil;  but the rest is very fertile.

The living is a rectory, united with the perpetual curacy of Paddlesworth, in the diocese of Canterbury.  Value, £920 with a habitable glebe house.  Patron, the Rev. R. C. Jenkins.  The church belonged to the nunnery;  was built out of the materials of a Roman structure, some remains of which still exist;  is mentioned in charters of Wihtred and Cuthred, of the years 697 and 804;  was the burial place of Ethelburga;  comprises nave, north aisle, and chancel, with a remarkable flying buttress;  and was recently repaired.  There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school and charities £38.

The Elham workhouse also is here;  and, at the census of 1861, had 215 inmates.¹

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

Lyminge Bibliography

-- various. 'Archaeologia Cantiana'. Publisher: Kent, England: Kent Archaeological Society, various dates.  Volumes 1 through 139 are available to view free on the Kent Archaeological Society website.  [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 Lyminge: vol. 10, p. 126; vol. 12, pp. 182, 184, 189, 192, 193, 213, 263-4, 265-7; vol. 13, pp. 349, 350, 359; vol. 14, p. 366; vol. 15, pp. 224-5, 261, 378; vol. 18, pp. 26; fol. 20, p. 40, 70, 238; vol. 22, p. 144; vol. 25, pp. 235, 267; vol. 30, pp. lvi, 275; vol. 31, p. 226; vol. 32 p. 146; vol. 47, pp. 149, 152; vol. 49, pp. 136, 300; vol. 50, pp. 62, 70; vol. 51, pp. 40, 93; vol. 62, p. 40
• Abbess Selethrytha vol. 12, pp. 190-191
• Abbey vol. 114, p. 339; vol. 118, pp. 78, 83-4; vol. 125, p. 275; vol. 132, pp. 334-5, vol. 133, p.91
• abbey estates vol. 107, p. 30
• abbey records vol. 101, p. 347
• accounts (Kilwardby Survey) vol. 128 pp. 107, 108, 112, 116, 120, 128
• Adam of Lyminge, vol. 120, p. 55
• Anglo-Saxon charters on ship dues vol. 71, p. 149
• Anglo-Saxon church vol. 81, p. 242
• Anglo-Saxon town, importance vol. 69, pp. 38-40
• archiepiscopal residence vol. 4, p. 125; vol. 18, p. 50
• burials vol. 81, pp. liii-liv
• camera of vol. 132, p. 335
• Church vol. 10,p p. xli, xlix, lii; vol. 22, p. 22; vol. 23, p. 213; vol. 25, p. 235; vol. 30, pp. lvi-lix, 265; vol. 42, p. 82; vol. 45, p. 62; vol. 79, pp. 143-148; 128, vol. 101, p. 4; vol. 126, pp. 186, 202-5, 204; vol.128, pp. 42-3, 57; vol. 132, pp. 340, 342
• church lands at Orgarswick vol. 107, pp. 38, 50
• church plate vol. 16, [p. 333, 334, 339, 370, 377
• church visitation vol. 29, p. 294; vol. 32 pp. 159-161
• churchgoing vol. 128 p. 336
• clergy C16 vol. 101, p. 175; vol. 116, p. 15
• convent vol. 10, pp. xlix, liv; vol. 12, p. 191; vol. 18, p. 53
• Derings vol. 10, pp. 345, 346
• dues from vol. 45, p. 83
• early font and coffin lid vol. 18, p. 331
• fines of land vol. 11, p. 327; vol. 15,p. 275
• Folcesweg (highway) vol. 62,p. 40
• granted to Sir Anthony Aucher vol. 4, p. 48m
• Hardres family vol. 4, p. 45
• hatchments of Mary and William Honywood vol. 81, p. 87
• Hemsted vol. 61, p. 127
• highway rate collectors book 1852 vol. 101, p. 346
• Hogben family vol. 114, p. 162
• inventory of church goods vol. 9, p. 284
• Lathe of vol. 135, pp. 112, 119, vol. 133, pp. 87, 91, 92, 93-4, 102, 103, vol. 133, pp. 84, 85, 91, 93, 94, 103
• manor vol. 10, p. 1; vol. 27, p. 162; vol. 125, p. 45, 50, 60, 61
• manor land units vol. 104, pp. 107, 109; vol. 109, pp. 31, 35
• methodist church records vol. 101, p. 318; vol. 105, p. 274
• mill vol. 128 pp. 377, 378
• minster vol. 132, p. 334
• nunnery vol. 87, p. 35
• nunnery foundation by Queen Ethelburga vol. 65, pp. 12-13; vol. 69, p. 39
• nunnery granted Romney vol. 65, pp. 12-13
• nunnery lands owned by Archbishop of Canterbury vol. 65, p. 17
• park vol. 132, p. 57, 58, 62, 336, vol. 132, pp. 62, 66
• park and minnis vol. 10, p. 257; vol. 20, p. 236
• Park Canterbury Gate vol. 132, p. 338
• Park documents vol. 132, pp. 334-44
• place name vol. 69, p. 39; vol. 76, p. 59; vol. 92, p. 24
• Price estates vol. 101, p. 346
• Ralph Perot vol. 92, p. 53
• Rhodes Minnis common vol. 56, p. 61
• Rhodes Minnis/High Minnis enclosures vol. 56, p. 65
• sanctuary vol. 129, pp. 232-3, 235
• swing riots vol. 107, p. 101
• water pipeline, watching brief vol. 116, p. 338

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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