Aylesford, Kent
Historical Description
Aylesford, a small town, a parish, and a lathe in Kent. The town stands at the foot of a hill, on the right bank of the Medway, on the S.E.R,, 38 miles from London, and 3 NNW of Maidstone. It dates from the times of the Saxons, and was then called Eglesford. A battle was fought at it, in 455, between the British king Vortimer and the Saxon chiefs Hengist and Horsa, and terminated in favour of the Britons. The alleged grave of Horsa is shown, in a heap of flint stones, at Horsted, 2 miles to the N, but is claimed also at Horsham and Horsted in Sussex. Victorious battles against the Danes also were fought in the vicinity, in 893 by Alfred, and in 1016 by Edmund Ironside. The town consists of one long street. A six-arched bridge, of considerable antiquity, is adjacent on the river. A Carmelite priory was founded at it, in 1240, by Richard Lord Grey of Codnor; passed, at the dissolution, to Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington; went, in the time of Elizabeth, to John Sedley of Southfleet; was sold, in the time of Charles I., to Sir Peter Rycaut; and came eventually to Heneage Finch, who was created Earl of Aylesford in 1714, and whose representatives still possess it. The existing edifice retains much of the ancient buildings, but includes additions and alterations, from the 17th century downward, by its successive occupants. The parish church crowns an abrupt rising-ground at the end of the town; is principally Norman, 14th century, except west tower, which is Early Norman up to the string course, and largely increased in 1892 in memory of H. A. Brassey; and contains a brass of 1426, monuments of the Colepeppers, the Sedleys, and the Rycauts, and a costly one to Sir John Banks, who died in 1699. The church was restored in 1878, and the tower in 1885. There are a neat Wesleyan chapel, a literary institution, an almshouse-hospital, restored in 1841. An extensive stoneware pottery and a large paper-mill are on the river a short way to the E. A remarkable Druidical monument, called KIT'S-COTTY-HOUSE, is on the hill-side, above the town. Cosenton, the seat of a family of its own name, from the time of King John till that of Henry VIII., but now a farmhouse, is on the same hill-side. Sir Charles Sedley, the poet, and Sir Paul Rycaut, the oriental traveller, were natives of Aylesford.
The parish comprises 4057 acres; population of the civil parish, 2947; of the ecclesiastical, 2979. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £425 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester.
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 | Aylesford St. Peter | |
Hundred | Larkfield | |
Lathe | Aylesford | |
Poor Law union | Malling |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1653 and contains many entries of marriages performed at Cossington by George Duke esq. one of the justices of the peace within the county between the years 1653 and 1657; the parish accounts date from 1608.
Findmypast have the following online for Aylesford, SS Peter & Paul: baptisms 1658-1919, marriages 1626-1919, burials 1653-1903
Churches
Church of England
St. Peter (parish church)
The church of St. Peter is of flint and stone, in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, with some portions of Norman work, and has a tower containing a clock and 8 bells: there are ancient and costly monuments to the Colpeppers, Rycauts and Milners, a memorial to Sir John Banks bart. of London, 1699, and a number of stained windows: of the two brasses in the church one is palimpsest, having on the obverse an inscription to John Savell, gent. ob. 29 Mar. 1545. and on the reverse a portion of a canopy of Flemish work: the tower was completely restored and 3 new bells added in 1885. at a cost of upwards of £1,000; the church was restored in 1878 and affords 550 sittings, 300 being free; in 1876 the churchyard was enlarged.
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 Aylesford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Aylesford (St. Peter))
Maps
Online maps of Aylesford 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.