Blean

Blean is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury.  The church is named for St. Cosmas & St. Damian with registers commencing 1558.

Blean, a parish, an ancient forest, and a district, in Kent.  The parish is called also Blean Church, St. Cosmus, and St. Damian-in-the-Blean;  lies on the Whitstable railway, 2 miles northwest-by-north of Canterbury;  and has a post office, of the name of Blean, under Canterbury.  Acres, 2,260.  Real property in 1860, £4,414.  Population in 1861, 626.  Houses, 130.  The property is subdivided.  Much of the land in the north is under coppice.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury.  Value, £523.  Patron, Eastbridge Hospital.  The church is small.

The forest belonged anciently to the Crown;  extended from the vicinity of Herne to the vicinity of Chatham;  was given away piecemeal, both before and after the Conquest, till nearly all was alienated;  and lost gradually the character of a forest, till it became known simply as the Blean.  Wild boars abounded in portions of it so late as the Reformation;  and the yellow pine marten is still occasionally found.

The district comprehends the sub-district of Herne, containing the parishes of Herne, Reculver, and Chislett;  the sub-district of Whitstable, containing the parishes of Whitstable, Swalecliff, and Seasalter;  and the sub-district of Sturry, containing the parishes of Sturry, Blean, Westbere, Hoath, St. Dunstan, and St. Stephen or Hackington, the villes of St. Gregory and Staplegate and the precincts of Archbishop's Palace and Christ Church.  Acres, 32,221.  Poor rates in 1866, £8,099.  Population in 1861, 16,161.  Houses, 3,291.  Marriages in 1866, 144;  births, 673 of which 20 were illegitimate;  deaths, 345 of which 122 were at ages under 5 years, and 6 at ages above 85 years.  Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 1,048;  births, 5,245;  deaths, 2,820.

The places of worship in 1851 were 14 of the Church of England, with 6,324 sittings;  3 of Independents, with 757 sittings;  7 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 780 sittings;  1 of Primitive Methodists, with 57 sittings;  and 1 of French Protestants, with 30 sittings.

The schools were 9 public day schools, with 939 scholars;  41 private day schools, with 885 scholars;  and 16 Sunday schools, with 1,366 scholars.

The workhouse is in Herne. ¹

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

Blean 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 Blean: 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