Kemsing, Kent

Historical Description

Kemsing, a village and a parish in Kent. The village stands 2½ miles NE of Sevenoaks, and has a station on the L.C. & D.R., 24 miles from London. It was once a market-town, and has a post and money order office under Seven-oaks; telegraph office, Seal. Acreage, 1908; population, 621. A castle was here before the time of Henry II., but has disappeared. A line of chalk hills extends E and W a little N of the village, and is traversed by the ancient track way called the Pilgrims' Road. A spring, designated St Edith's Well, is near the centre of the village, an effigies of St Edith was in the churchyard, and both the well and the effigies were long held in superstitious veneration. St Edith is said to have been a native. Hops are largely grown. Lord Sackville is lord of the manor. Beecby Lees is a chief residence. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Canterbury; net value, £60 with residence. Patron, Lord Sackville, The church, with shingle tower, was restored in 1870, in 1873, and again in 1891, when the aisle on the N side was added. The rood screen was beautifully restored in 1894. The perpetual curacy of Seal is a separate benefice. In 1887 an iron chapel of aase was erected at Noah's Ark, and a Wesleyan chapel was built in 1885.

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.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Kemsing from the following:

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

Maps

Online maps of Kemsing 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.