Davington, Kent
Historical Description
Davington, a parish in Kent, adjacent to the Swale estuary, and 1 mile N by W of Faversham station on the L.C. & D.R. Post town, Faversham. Acreage, 541; population, 179. In the neighbourhood have been found Roman remains, but it is very doubtful whether any part of Davington contains the site of the Roman Durolevum as some think. In the year 1153 Fulke de Newnham founded a priory here for Benedictine sisters. The nuns' church is now used as a parish church, since the original parish church, which stood at the east end of the present one, was destroyed in the 16th century. What remains of the priory besides the church, are the western alley of the cloister, the prioress' parlour, the entrance hall and buttery. The place became deserted in 1535, not because of the poverty of the house, but on account of no one caring to take charge of it after the death of Matilda Dynemack (the last prioress) with the dissolution of the smaller religious houses in view. The church is built in the Norman style of architecture, with a north aisle added during the Early English period. The other remains of old work are of the Decorated period. After the desertion of the monastery, Henry VIII. gave it, with its revenues and appurtenances, to Sir Thomas Cheney, Knt., who pulled down and built according to his, fancy, as the successive owners have done since. In 1845 Mr T. Willement, F.S.A., bought the place and restored it. The conventual buildings now form the residence of Mrs J. West-Bramah, in whose gift is the living of Davington, which is a donative, in the diocese of Canterbury.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Kent | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Davington St. Mary Magdalene | |
Hundred | Faversham | |
Lathe | Scray | |
Poor Law union | Faversham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1549.
Findmypast have the following online for Davington, St Mary Magdalene: baptisms 1552-1907, marriages 1549-1928, burials 1568-1980
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary Magdalene (parish church)
The church of St. Mary Magdalene originally belonged to the Benedictine nunnery founded here by Fulke de Newenham, in 1153, of which the Norman nave, north aisle and chapel, tower and the west side of the cloisters remain; the church, as now existing, is of flint, and has a tower containing 3 bells: the church was restored in 1845, and affords 200 seats.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Davington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Davington (St. Mary Magdalene))
Maps
Online maps of Davington are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:
- Kent & Sussex Courier
- Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
- Dover Express
- Kentish Gazette
- Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
- Kentish Chronicle
- Maidstone Telegraph
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.