Ashurst, Kent
Historical Description
Ashurst, a parish in Kent, on the verge of the county, at the river Medway, on the L.B. & S.C.R., 32 miles from London. Post town, Langton-Green under Tunbridge Wells. Acreage, 900; population, 181. Ashurst Park, the seat of the Field family, is in the neighbourhood. Sir George Stirling, Bart., is lord of the manor. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £105. Patron, Lord Sackville.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Kent | |
| Hundred | Washlingstone | |
| Lathe | Aylesford | |
| Poor Law union | Tonbridge |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register of baptisms and burials dates from the year 1692, marriages from 1693.
Findmypast have the following online for Ashurst, St Martin of Tours: baptisms 1692-1895, marriages 1693-1837, burials 1692-1922
Churches
Church of England
St. Martin of Tours (parish church)
The church of St. Martin of Tours is of stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, and has a turret with spire, containing 3 bells: in the chancel is a curious arched recess, supposed to have been used as an Easter sepulchre: there are four stained windows: the church was restored in 1862 and again in 1905, when an organ chamber and vestry were added, and the chancel enlarged and decorated: a new organ has been provided at a cost of about £360: the church contains 100 sittings. In the churchyard is an old sundial on a stone base and circular shaft with an inscription bearing the date 1634.
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 Ashurst from the following:
Maps
Online maps of Ashurst 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.