Isle of Harty, Kent

Historical Description

Harty, Isle of, a parish in Kent, on the Swale, 4 miles N by E of Faversham station on the L.C. & D.R. Post and money order and telegraph office, Eastchurch. Acreage, 2770, of which 1037 are tidal water and foreshore; population of the civil parish, 125; of the ecclesiastical, which includes Leysdown, 343. The greater part of the land belongs to the Hilton family. The parish once was an island, but now is separated from the rest of Sheppey by only a broad ditch. Part of the land is high, much is romantic, and many parts command picturesque views. Traces of Roman occupation have been found. A ferry, about 1 mile wide at high water, connects 'the parish with Oare. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Leysdown, in the diocese of Canterbury; value, £58. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is ancient and belonged once to the Benedictine priory of Davington. It was restored in 1880 and contains architecture of various periods, Norman, Early English, and Perpendicular. A rood screen of the 15th century remains in as good condition as it was when first erected.

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 Harty, St Thomas the Apostle: baptisms 1680-1887, marriages 1681-1835, burials 1679-1841

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Isle of Harty from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Harty, Isle of (St. Thomas the Apostle))

Maps

Online maps of Isle of Harty 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.