Aldington, Kent
Historical Description
Aldington, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the quarry hills above the Grand Military Canal, 1½ mile S of Smeeth station on the S.E.R., and 6 miles SE of Ashford, with a post and money order office under Hythe; telegraph office, Mersham. Acreage of parish, 3445; population, 658. Aldington Knoll was a Roman beacon; between it and the church is the site of a Roman town or station. The Roman road from Lymne to Pevensey went through the parish. Court-at-Street, on the line of that road, about a mile E of the village, was the scene of the imposture of Elizabeth Barton, the nun of Kent, who made so great a figure in the political party of Queen Catherine. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £720. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Early English, with a tower in Late Perpendicular, and formerly had a brass of 1475. There is a Friends' Christian Mission Room at Clap Hill. The celebrated Erasmus of Rotterdam, and Richard Master, who suffered death for aiding the imposture of Elizabeth Barton, were rectors of Aldington; as was Thomas Linacre, physician, also rector of Mersham.
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 | Aldington St. Martin | |
| Lathe | Shepway | |
| Liberty | Romney Marsh | |
| Poor Law union | East Ashford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1558.
Findmypast have the following online for Aldington, St Martin: baptisms 1559-1911, marriages 1559-1934, burials 1558-1922
Churches
Church of England
St. Martin (parish church)
The church of St. Martin is an ancient building of stone, erected at five different periods, but chiefly in the Perpendicular style, and has a tower containing 6 bells: the old Saxon tower, commenced by Archbishop Warham, was completed in 1911 as a memorial to him and to Erasmus, who was rector of the parish in 1511: there is some very fine carved oak, including six stalls with misereres, and several memorial windows, monuments and brasses: the church was restored in 1875: there are 250 sittings.
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 Aldington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Aldington (St. Martin))
Maps
Online maps of Aldington 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.