The Weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex
St. Peter and St. Paul Parish Church    Church Street  Wadhurst  
Parish records Before
1500
1500
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1600
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1650
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1700
1700
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1725
1725
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1900
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1925
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1950
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1975
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After
2000
N/K

1912Christenings49157105116144206364387251133
610Marriages361154336538912597961
556Burials14411930123672119106831662
 

Books and other documents
PublishedTitle, author and references
1766The History of Tunbridge Wells by Thomas Benge Burr ⇒ p. 256
1852Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex and Surrey by The Rev. Arthur Hussey, M.A. ⇒ p. 298
1923The Story of Wadhurst by Alfred A. Wace ⇒ p. 19

Historical records

1253Historythe ChurchWace's Wadhurst
Mediaeval records help in reconstructing a picture of the Church and its surroundings in former days. It was in the churchyard in the first place that fairs were generally held, and the slope on which the Church stands was probably in the Middle Ages covered every year by the booths and wares collected in fair-time under its shadow, by right of the grant made by Pope Boniface to, the Archbishop in 1253, for a weekly market on Saturday and a fair on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, to whom the Church is dedicated.

1621AppointmentChurchwardenDavid Barham, of SnapeSt. Peter and St. Paul Parish ChurchBarhams of Shoesmiths

1631HistorySt. Peter and St. Paul Parish ChurchWace's Wadhurst
The shingled spire 128 feet high - a more common feature in the forest tracts of Sussex and Kent than where suitable wood is scarcer - has been struck by lightning six times, viz., 1575, 1595, 1631, 1650, 1850, and about 1873, when the lightning caused a fissure, still to be seen in the wall of the stairs of the priest's chamber. The worst storm was that of 1631, when "the Church was rent and blown up in a fearful manner." The damage then done led to restorations thorough enough to serve for about two centuries - though the work was done when English architecture was not at its best.

1662 to 1714vicar of WadhurstRev. John Smith, vicar of WadhurstSt. Peter and St. Paul Parish ChurchPrivate Groombridge contribution

c 1875Part of the 6 inch to 1 mile map of Sussex produced in 1875 by Ordnance SurveyLittle Peter and St Paul Parish Church

1903Church InteriorChurch Interior, Wadhurst photographed by Francis FrithBrian and Cynthia Bell's photographs

1905Parish ChurchParish Church, WadhurstPrivate collection

1910Old Cottages & ChurchOld Cottages & Church, WadhurstPrivate collection

1910The Parish ChurchThe Parish Church, WadhurstPrivate collection

1911HistorySt. Peter and St. Paul Parish ChurchWace's Wadhurst
The disaster of 1911 alluded to above has led to a different development. A fire started in the caretaker's corner of the old vestry under the belfry, which might have been even more disastrous than the storm of 1631 had it started in the night. As it was it did so much harm that it was made the occasion for a much-needed improvement. The oak partition between Nave and Tower, the door of the ringing chamber and other woodwork in the vestry, all of which had been damaged, were removed; the floor space of the tower was thrown into the nave; and a new vestry was built at a cost of £823, planned by Glanville Streatfeild. … This addition is worthy of the old Church and more fit to guard its treasures, its records and traditions.

1915The ChurchThe Church, WadhurstPrivate collection

c 1920Wadhurst ChurchWadhurst ChurchPrivate collection

17th Dec 1923HistorySt. Peter and St. Paul Parish ChurchWace's Wadhurst
IN MEMORIAM
In the years 1914-18 a new and grievous experience came upon Wadhurst and all English villages. … The following is the Roll of Honour of the men whose lives were sacrificed in obedience to that call. Others offered themselves with similar devotion and served in the War. But these are the names of those whose devotion received the honour of death. Their sacrifice is recorded on two tablets below a Memorial Window in the Parish Church - a private gift - and on a conspicuous Cross at the entrance to the town; and all Wadhurst men, women and children, will henceforth be reminded, day by day, of the self-sacrifice by which alone their homes and their Country can be defended.

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