Caravans at Weald and Downland Open Air Museum

Hi Folks,
I was at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum on Monday (8th August) and saw the caravans they have on display.
See attached photographs

Coincidence after Saturdays talk, see Vagrants, Gypsies, Travellers & Strangers in Kent.

Regards
David

Is Deptford in Kent or Surrey?

Today the question about Deptford and its parish registers was raised. For people who do not know the area it is difficult to understand changing civil and church boundaries and parishes like Deptford don't help with that understanding.
In the case of Deptford it was in part in Kent and the rest in Surrey.
West Kent Sources produced by North Kent FHS says 'Deptford ancient parish extended into Surrey. This part known as Hatcham became part of St Paul's in 1730 and a separate ecclesiastic parish in 1845.
The query arose for a record in 1770. In that case you need to look at all the parish registers as people moved across the boundaries.

St Nicholas parish registers from 1571 are at the LMA. Index only 1717-1769 at SOG.

St Paul's parish registers from 1730 are at the LMA.

The other parishes St John, Christ Church, St Luke, St Mark and Emmanuel are all 19th century churches and parishes.

Hope that helps anyone researching in that part of Kent. Local knowledge from family history societies is invaluable in situations such as this.

Clandestine Marriages at Fleet Prison.

A thread on the ENG-Kent-NWKFHS Roots-web message board has turned out to be two fleet marriages (Clandestine marriages). It started with a found marriage in 1744 for the Non-Conformist listings (Fleet) and the groom’s occupation as a labourer in what looks like ‘Ye K Yards’ from Welling.  The same man was married in 1738, again at the Fleet, and described as a Husbandman.  The suspicion is that the later marriage may have been bigamous because a woman of the first wife’s name did not die until the mid-1745.

 

The enquirer asked for help with these occupations and confirmation that divorces were not available at that time.

Our first thoughts were it was unclear if the Fleet mentioned was a Fleet prison Clandestine Marriage or a parish in Hampshire, Kent or Lincolnshire. The suggestion was some marriages in the Fleet Prison occurred because they were underage, disapproved relationships or as possible in this case bigamous.

 Ancestry has a second series of clandestine marriages online and both sets need to be checked to see if these parallel records have the same details.

 Divorces were not available at this time, unless one had money and could afford an act of parliament or church courts to confirm it (see TNA leaflet on divorce law). For poor people it was cheaper to sell the wife.

 Occupation 'Husbandman' can be found in most occupation dictionaries, which applies to farming, but Labourer in 'Ye K Yards' could be anything from Brick Yard, Ship Yard or Timber Yard so a look at the original image was essential.

The image confirmed it was a Fleet Prison marriage, not a parish called ‘Fleet’.  It is important to be clear on locations. The record actually said ‘Wickham’. The query is ‘East’ or ‘West’, but with a Welling, Kent connection and other records, it was East Wickham.

 The groom was Hercules Manning who married Anne Knight on 3 October 1744.

Searching for him in other marriage records turn up an earlier Fleet marriage on 7 Oct 1838 to Mary Layton. She, possibly, features in the St Michaels, East Wickham burials in May 1745, after he married Anne.  Alternatively, was this a child of that name? In both of these marriages, he is described as a widower although an earlier marriage for him in Kent has not been found.    

 There is a record of a marriage between Hercules Manning and Eleanor Mead in 1727 in Buckland St Mary, Somerset. Could this be the same person? There does not seem to be any record of the death of Eleanor and this raises the query did he clear off, coming to Kent to start again.  Was he a double bigamist?

 There is a burial record of a Hercules Manning at East Wickham in 1780, aged 79 but without finding a record of his baptism in Kent. Somerset record office said the register covering baptisms 1642-1706 for Buckland St Mary is missing.

The Fleet marriage image shows it is an 'R' rather than a 'K' so we have labourer in 'Ye R Yard that we suspect is ‘Ye Rick Yard’. Work associated with farming but not as ‘Husbandman’, which is more a farmer than a labourer.

A sweep of the East Wickham area shows there are a few references to Hercules Mannings from the mid-1700s to the 19th century. The family lived and worked in an area that is contiguous to Welling, Bexley and Plumstead. These Hercules may be him or his descendants.

A check for any Settlement examinations might prove his birthplace.  These started in 1697; they are usually in the Archives, in this case a check on London Borough of Bexley, London metropolitan Archives and the KCC archives is needed. Gillian Rickards wrote 'Kent Settlement (Poor Law) Records: A Guide and Catalogue: Part 2: West Kent (Diocese of Rochester), published in 1994 (NWKFHS Library ref QGR0014), which may help the search.

The Burial of Hercules Manning in1780 age 79 at East Wickham may be him. His wives are from Greenwich and Woolwich, which confirmed the need to look in the East Wickham contiguous parishes for their burials and baptisms of their children. There is a Hercules Manning, son of Hercules Manning (no wife's name given) baptised 15 June 1748 at East Wickham and Elizabeth Manning baptised 18 October 1745 daughter of Hercules and Ann Manning. East Wickham registers start in 1730 so one needs to look at the contiguous parishes for earlier records.

A Will for Hercules has yet to be sought.

We hope this summary of the thread on this NWKFHS blog might generate ideas from others' as well as on message board. If you have any ideas please comment below.

Christmas is fast approaching and the Dartford Branch has its Christmas Dinner and talk on Saturday the 5th December 2015.  The Speaker will be Imogen Corrigan who will talk about The Politeness of Princes-The reality of medieval etiquette and table manners. 

Entry and parking is Free and Visitors are welcome. Doors are open 9.45 am for the meeting and talk. It is also an opportunity to meet fellow family historians and see what the Society can do to help you with your family history. Dinners are now booked, though you could always ask on the day or bring your own lunch. If you wish to just come and hear the talk and meet fellow family historians you are more than welcome. For more information see NWKFHS Website  

Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. 

Sevenoaks Branch is meeting on Thursday 10th December 2015 and the Speaker is Geoff Doel who will talk about Smugglers & Outlaws of Kent.

Doors open at 7.15 pm, Free parking and entry, Visitors are welcome. There will also be a Finger Buffet. Once again it is an opportunity to meet fellow family historians and see what the Society can do to help you with your family history.NWKFHS Website for more details.

Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road, Sevenoaks, TN14 5DN. 

Where is North West Kent FHS area?

The Federation of Family History Societies seminar 'Executive Committee Roles and Succession' Planning' in Liverpool on the 31st October I was asked which part of Kent our Society covered.

Our web site www.nwkfhs.org.uk has a map but Kent can be confusing as there are five Societies covering the ancient County.

North West Kent is the area of Kent that did extend westward to the Surrey boundary at Deptford. Its East boundary is approx. a line running  south from Gravesend to the Sussex boundary at Frant.

In modern terms it covers the South East London area which includes the London Boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley. It also includes the Kent area that surrounds the M25 motorway. You can see all the Parishes in these areas on the web site with their research source details.

The other family history societies that  are in Kent are:-
Kent FHS that covers the area of Kent East of our boundary.
Folkestone and District FHS that covers the area around Folkestone on the SE coastline of the County.
Tunbridge Wells FHS that also covers part of our Kent area and extends across the Sussex border.
Woolwich and District FHs that also covers our Kent area on the Thames river front and specialises in Woolwich and the Woolwich Arsenal area.
All these Societies have web sites with maps showing the areas they cover.

The best map reference to the parishes is 'Phillimore's Atlas' published by Phillimore & Co, Chichester, Sussex.

NWKFHS, Cudham, Bromley, Kent, Documents. Society Meetings in August.

NWKFHS, Cudham Documents:

Following a successful Appeal launched by the Society for funds to purchase a number of documents and deeds relating to Cudham, Bromley, Kent the Society was able to purchase some 24 of the documents.

They cover various family names and give details of ownership from circa 1708 until the 1800's. The Society believes that they are an important collection of the history of the area that if possible should be preserved and available to all for research.

The Society Library & Resource Centre has arranged and is organising an open day at Summerhouse Drive on Wednesday 13th August, 2014 to provide Donors and Members the opportunity to see the documents. Details of the documents and the Open Day can be found at NWKFHS Cudham Documents

The documents will remain in Kent and be available for people to see and use them for research. The Society intends to Transcribe and Index the Documents.

Society Meetings in August:

 Bromley Branch: Saturday, 16^th August 2014 Chris Jupp The start of World War I.

The main hall, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1.  There is free parking at the church, access is from College Rd. and from North St. Doors open at 9.45am. Visitors are welcome.

Dartford Branch: Saturday, 2nd August 2014 Graham Bandy Your Country Needs You! From Kitchener's volunteers to conscription in the Great War.

Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Doors open at 9.45am. Visitors are welcome.

Details can be found at NWKFHS Meetings Please check the Society Website before travelling to any meeting in case of any last minute changes.

Free NWKFHS emailinfoservice. BBC World War One At Home to tour UK. Exhibition - Your Country Calls. Folkestone Town Hall, Folkestone, Kent

Free emailinfoservice to keep you up to date with Society and Family History News.

The emailinfoservice offered by the Society is now open to all. It is a way of receiving up to date Society and other family history news. The service grew out of requests by Members at an AGM and is becoming more popular. There are now nearly 400 members who subscribe. 

If you would like to subscribe send an email to NWKFHS emailinfoservice stating you wish to subscribe.

You can also keep up to date with the Monthly Society Newsletter which can be found at NWKFHS Newsletters where in addition you can download and read Branch Newsletters. 

You can read and download all Society Journal from 1978 - 2008 for Free. They can be found at NWKFHS Journals (All links open in a new window)


Events in Kent.

BBC World War One At Home to tour UK: June 28 1914: Woolwich Great Get Together and Armed Forces Day.

Free event. The day consists of family-friendly events that includes hands-on activities, performances and interactive sessions designed to appeal to all ages. Visitors will be able to meet experts from Imperial War Museums to research their families’ connections to the war. IWM’s major digital centenary project, Lives of the First World War is an integral part of the tour.

More information can be found at BBC World War One and at the First World War Centenary Site (both sites open in a new window)

Exhibition - Your Country Calls: Enlistment to Embarkation. Folkestone Town Hall, 1-2 Guildhall Street, Folkestone, England, CT20 1DY:  24 June 2014 - 01 May 2015

The exhibition included items from the National Army Museum along with local artifacts and stories to explore how Folkestone became a gateway between Britain and the rest of Europe.

'Your Country Calls: Enlistment To Embarkation is in partnership with the National Army Museum, Step Short and Folkestone Town Council. There are accompanying talks, object handling sessions and live performances which explore how the First World War changed the world.

More details can be found at FolkestoneExhibition (opens in a new window)

North West Kent Family History Photographic Collection. Branch Meetings. Gazetteer. The latest, August 2013, NWKFHS Newsletter. Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust.

North West Kent Family History Photographic Collection.

The Society’s small but growing collection consists of donated private family history collections, private picture collections or from the Ivan Green ‘Kent Parish Church Collection’.

The original photographs and slides have been scanned and printed into a standard format for reference and display in the Library on the open shelves. The original photographs have been put into the Library store and can be produced if requested. There is a catalogue of the pictures which can be searched on the Society website  NWKFHS Catalogue   

The Map collection. The catalogue of this collection is included as part of the main library catalogue which you can view or download as part of the Library Catalogue Listing (April 2013 update).

Also on the website is the West Kent Parish Gazetteer an on-line resource based on the much more comprehensive version to be found in the Society's publication West Kent Sources This on-line version includes a photograph of each ancient parish church, as well as of many Victorian churches. There are currently 250 church photos. NWKFHS Gazetteer

NWKFHS Branch Meetings for August 2013. Visitors are welcome.

Bromley Branch. In the main hall, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS (on the corner of North St). There is free parking at the church; access is from College Rd. and from North St. The hall opens at 9.45am, the meeting proper starts at 10.30am, ending by 12.15pm.

17th August, 2013. Rob Cottrell, Watermen & Lightermen.

Dartford Branch. New Auditorium, Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Open from 9.45am with the meeting proper starting at 10.30am, ending by 12.30pm.

3 August 2013. Stephen Humphrey, The burial grounds of Southwark.

Please check with website before travelling to ensure that there are no changes. Visitors are welcome, a donation is appreciated.

The latest, August 2013, NWKFHS Newsletter is available free to download and read at NWKFHS Newsletter you will also find Branch Newsletters that can be downloaded and read  for free.

Other news: Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust. Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust has been set up to reverse the decline and decades of neglect of Northfleet Harbour and to bring it back into use.

The River Fleet was by the 18th Century no longer navigable as a watermill and weir had been created for flour production, parts of this may still survive a full archaeological study is needed, this flour mill was then superseded by a watermill for cement production parts of which still also survive. This would have been one of the earliest sites for cement exporting.

This site has photographs and history of Northfleet Harbour and is worth looking at, especially if you had ancestors or family who lived in the area.

 

North West Kent Family History Society and Research Service. The National Archives and The Records and Archives Association (ARA) new campaign.

North West Kent Family History Society and Research Service.

 

The NWKFHS Library and Research Centre located at The KCC Library, Summerhouse Drive, Joydens Wood Estate, Bexley, DA5 2EE open every Wednesday, 10am-4pm and is open to all, Members and non members.

 

The Society has its own room, separate from the main library, where the complete Society collection of books and other reference material is now available on open shelves. This includes microfiche, data CD's.   Much of this material is available for loan to members of the Society. We have computers with internet access, this includes Ancestry and other on-line genealogical databases. 

 

Volunteers are on hand to advise and help. Refreshments are available, there are toilets in the building, and as we're on the ground floor wheelchair access is no problem.

 

The Society also runs workshops for Members (£5 donation). If you have ancestors and family who came from or lived in the NW Kent and parts of SE London that were formerly part of Kent it may be worth your while to see what the Society has available.

 

For more details about the Library and to see the catalologue see NWKFHS Library

 

Details about the Workshops that are available to Members only can be found at Workshops

 

If you can not make it to the Library you could consiser using the Society's Research Service. It is open to Member and non members of the Society. You can find full details at  Research Details

 

The National Archives and The Records and Archives Association (ARA) have announced that they are  launching a new campaign this year, for the promotion of archives across the country.

This is a successor to the Archive Awareness Campaign (AAC), it is hoped to increase public awareness of the archive sector. It is intended to raise the profile of national institutions, local authority record offices, universities, community and private archives. It will highlight the benefits archives bring to communities, the impact they can have on peoples’ lives and seek to encourage a wide range of people to connect with their local history and culture. Source FFHS