Burham, Kent
Historical Description
Burham, a parish in Kent, on the river Medway, near Snodland station on the S.E.R., 4½ miles NNW of Maidstone. It has a post and money order office under Rochester; telegraph office, Wouldham. Acreage, 1635; population of the civil parish, 1667; of the ecclesiastical, 1680. Lime works here send large supplies to London, and there are extensive pottery and cement works. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £280 with residence, in the gift of the Cubitt family. The old church, after having been closed for some years, except for funerals, was restored and reopened in 1891. There is a Wesleyan chapel.
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 | Burham St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Larkfield | |
| Lathe | Aylesford | |
| Poor Law union | Malling |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1627.
Findmypast have the following online for Burham, St Mary the Virgin: baptisms 1627-1917, marriages 1625-1941, burials 1627-1926
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The new church of St. Mary, erected at a cost of £4,500, in 1881, was in the Decorated style, and had a central tower containing 3 bells removed from the old church of the Blessed Virgin: there were 360 sittings. This church was demolished in 1979.
The Blessed Virgin (parish church)
The old church of the Blessed Virgin, an ancient building of stone in various styles, with a low square tower, was repaired in 1890.
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 Burham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Burham (St. Mary))
Maps
Online maps of Burham 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.