Barfreston or Barston, Kent

Historical Description

Barfreston or Barston, a parish in Kent, near Shepherd's Well station on the L.C. & D.R., and 6½ miles NW of Dover. Acreage, 497; population, 104. Post town, Dover; money order and telegraph office, Shepherd's Well. The manor belonged early to the see of Canterbury, and passed in 1081 to Hugh de Port, constable of Dover. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £152 with residence. Patron, St John's College, Oxford. The church consists of nave and chancel, separated by a circular arch; is one of the most remarkable structures of its class in England; and exhibits rich exterior decorations, in corbels, wreaths, and other sculptures.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

The parish register dates from the year 1572.

Findmypast have the following online for Barfrestone, St Nicholas: baptisms 1572-1911, marriages 1517-1915, burials 1572-1973

Churches

Church of England

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 Barfreston or Barston from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Barfreyston (St. Mary))

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.