Bishopsbourne, Kent
Historical Description
Bishopsbourne, a parish in Kent, with a station on the Elham Valley railway, 4 miles SE by S of Canterbury, under which it has a post and telegraph office; money order office, Bridge. Acreage, 2024; population, 316. The manor belonged once to the Archbishops of Canterbury, and afterwards to the Colepeppers and the Auchers. Bourne Park is a seat in the neighbourhood. Some Saxon barrows on the higher ground were opened in 1844. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury; gross value, £600 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is Perpendicular English, was restored in 1843, and again in 1872; has a modern east window of five lights to the memory of Richard Hooker. Hooker was rector from 1595 till his death in 1600, and the parsonage, though greatly modernized, retains parts which probably were in it in his time.
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 | Bishop's-Bourne St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Kinghamford | |
| Lathe | St. Augustine | |
| Poor Law union | Bridge |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register of baptisms and marriages dates from 1558; burials from 1571.
Findmypast have the following online for Bishopsbourne, St Mary: baptisms 1561-1886, marriages 1563-1926, burials 1571-1841
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary is of flint, in the Early English and later styles, and has a tower containing 4 bells: there is some stained glass, and in the chancel a mural monument with bust, erected in 1632 by Sir W. Cooper kt. to Richard Hooker M.A.. (commonly known as "the learned and judicious Hooker"), author of the celebrated "Ecclesiastical Polity," and some time fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; he was rector of Bishopsbourne from 1595 till his death, Nov. 2nd, 1600: in 1890 a memorial window to Hooker was erected:: the church was repaired and re-seated in 1872, at a cost of £1,600: there are 215 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 Bishopsbourne from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bishop's-Bourne (St. Mary))
Maps
Online maps of Bishopsbourne 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.