Harbledown

Harbledown is, ecclesiastically, in the diocese of Canterbury, in the archdeaconry of Canterbury and in the deanery of Canterbury.  The church is named for St. Nicholas with registers commencing 1557.

Harbledown, a village and a parish in Bridge district, Kent.  The village stands near the London, Chatham and Dover railway, 1 mile west of Canterbury;  and has a post office under Canterbury.  It grew around a lazar-house, founded, in 1084, by Archbishop Lanfranc;  and it is "the little town" of Chaucer "which that yeleped is Bob up and down, Under the Blee, in Canterbury way."  The parish includes also the hamlet of Rough Common.  Acres, 1,670.  Real property in 1860, £4,826.  Population in 1861, 655.  Houses, 145.

The lazar-house adjacent to the village was for lepers, and consisted originally of several wooden structures;  was refounded, by Edward VI., for the residence and maintenance of 26 poor men and women;  was rebuilt, with the exception of its church, in the time of James I.;  consists now of a range of cottages and gardens, with central large common hall;  bears the name of St. Nicholas' hospital;  and has an endowed income of £223.

An excellent spring adjacent to it bears the name of the Black Prince's well, from a tradition that the water of it was sent to the Black Prince during a severe illness;  and it may have occasioned the selection of the site for the hospital, on account of its reputed virtues.

The upper leather of a shoe of Thomas à Becket, with a crystal set in it, was possessed by the hospital before the Reformation;  and, when pilgrims to Canterbury were passing by, this was usually brought forth by one of the inmates to the steps leading down to the road, and presented, with much reverence, to the better class of pilgrims, to be devoutly kissed as a sacred relic.  A ludicrous account of the performance is given by Erasmus in his "Peregrinatio".  A maple bowl, figured with Guy of Warwick's killing the dragon, and set with a large crystal, is preserved in a chest in the common hall;  and the crystal on it is supposed to be that which was formerly on Becket’s shoe.

The church of the hospital is partly Norman, partly early English;  consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with western ivy-clad tower;  and contains a curious ancient stone font, and some remains of ancient frescoes.

A farm on which the hospital stands, together with the hospital itself, is exempt from the jurisdiction of the parish, and belongs to Canterbury.

The parochial living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury.  Value £383 with a habitable glebe house.  Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury.  The church is ancient;  consists of nave and chancel, with a small tower;  and was recently enlarged and improved.

Rough Common, a hamlet in Harbledown parish, Kent;  near Canterbury.

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

Harbledown 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 Harbledown: 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