Fordwich, Kent

Historical Description

Fordwich, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands on the river Stour, adjacent to Sturry station on the S.E.R., 2 miles ENE of Canterbury; was known at Domesday as Forewich, shows marks of great antiquity, is a member of Sandwich cinque port and a seat of sessions, and gives the title of Viscount to Earl Cowper. In the sessions house there is a list of names of the succession of mayors from 1210 to 1886. There are also the old ducking stool, two oak drums, a very ancient chest with iron bands, containing town records, jurats' table, and bar of justice. The post office is under Canterbury; money order and telegraph office, Sturry. Acredge, 465; population, 249. The Stour was formerly tidal to this point, and Fordwich was then a port visited by sea-borne ships, and had extensive fisheries. The trout in its vicinity have always been famous, and are noted by Fuller as differing, in many considerable properties, from all other trout. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, gross value, £161 with residence. Patron, Earl Cowper. The church is of the 13th century, and comprises two aisles and a chancel, and a steeple with four bells, is in good condition, and contains a curious Saxon tomb and font, some brasses, the earliest found dated 1570, and some hatchments.

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

Findmypast have the following online for Fordwich, St Mary the Virgin: baptisms 1683-1910, marriages 1683-1927, burials 1683-1841

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Fordwich from the following:

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

Maps

Online maps of Fordwich 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.