Horsmonden, Kent & Sussex Family History Guide

Kent, Kent Parishes, Sussex, Sussex Parishes

Horsmonden is an Ancient Parish mostly in Kent and partly in Sussex.

Alternative names: Horsemonden

Other places in the parish include: Rams-Hill, Caple-Cross, and Sherenden

Parish church:

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1558
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1716

Nonconformists include: Particular Baptist and Primitive Methodist.

Adjacent Parishes

  • Mereworth
  • Lamberhurst
  • Marden
  • Brenchley
  • Goudhurst
  • Yalding

Historical Descriptions

Horsmonden

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

HORSEMONDEN, a village and a parish in Tunbridge district, and a hundred joined to Brenchley, in Kent. The village stands near an affluent of the river Medway, 3 miles NE of Lamberhurst, and 3½ SE by S of Paddock-Wood r. station; and has a post office under Staplehurst, and a fair on 26 July. The parish includes also Rams-Hill, Caple-Cross, and Sherenden. Acres, 4,517. Real property, £7,066. Pop. in 1851, 1,226; in 1861, 1,385. Houses, 261. The increase of pop. arose from the increased cultivation of hops, and increased capital in possession of the farmers. J. F. Austen, Esq., G. Courthope, Esq., and the Rev. H. F. S. Marriott are the chief landowners; and the first has a very fine recent mansion. The Grovehurst family, long resident at Grovehurst here, became extinct in the male line in the time of Richard II. Lewisheath manor here belonged to Bayham abbey. A handsome tower, erected in 1856, in honour of Sir Walter Scott, stands on an eminence, and contains most of Sir Walter’s works. The parochial surface is part of the Weald; has an undulating contour; abounds in fine sylvan scenery; and has a very fertile soil, largely productive of hops and fruit. Bricks are made. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £1,000. Patron, not reported. The church is chiefly early decorated English; has, at the E end of the nave, a beautiful Norman arch; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower; and contains monuments of the Austens, and a very fine brass of 1330. There are a large national school, and charities £184.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Sherenden

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

SHERENDEN, a hamlet in Horsemonden parish, Kent; 8 ½ miles SE of Tunbridge.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Maps

Vision of Britain historical maps

Administration

County: Kent; Sussex
Civil Registration District: Tunbridge
Probate Court: Pre-1845 – Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Rochester, Post-1844 – Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Diocese: Pre-1845 – Rochester, Post-1844 – Canterbury
Rural Deanery: Pre-1864 – Malling, Post-1863 – South Malling
Poor Law Union: Tunbridge
Hundred: Brenchley and Horsmonden; Loxfield Pelham
Province: Canterbury