Sevenoaks |
![]() The High Street and London Road in 1905 |
Sevenoaks is one of the most picturesque and delightfully old-world little towns in England. As the traveller enters from the Tonbridge Road, he is first fascinated with its High Street, where the ancient gables and red brick walls of past days hold their own in wonderful preservation, jostling against irregularly built little shops and private houses thrown rather back from the pavement ; and these again are in easy proximity to trees and gardens which give a country air to the whole, and are fully consistent with the continuation of his ramble. For at every turn new vistas open up of meadow land, parks and woods, with far-reaching views of distant scenery - Yes, here is a full view of the Weald of Kent. But the road itself is unique after we have passed the town, for the overhanging trees of Knole spread their roots in exquisite delicious meanderings over the high red banks that slope down from the Park, making every yard of our way a picture. We really must stop here to consider the beautiful places we are passing, Knole, the noblest and in every respect most perfect of all country houses, we cannot but take one look from a certain point in the road at her massive red brick walls and towers with the richly timbered deer park visible from here only by peeps through the trees. For the freshest, purest and most real enjoyment, take a motor drive through this part of Kent and look well to your right and left, halting here and there for a real eye feast on the view that seems to offer you unlimited space, the broken foregrounds of hill and dale leading on and on into melting distances of blue, which again fade away into a far off horizon where we know the sea line is shining in silver beauty if we could but trace it, and sometimes, though rarely, we can catch a shimmer of its reflected light. extract from Lady Hope's English Homes and Villages published in 1909 |
Parish & other records | Before 1500 |
1500 to 1550 |
1550 to 1600 |
1600 to 1650 |
1650 to 1700 |
1700 to 1725 |
1725 to 1750 |
1750 to 1775 |
1775 to 1800 |
1800 to 1825 |
1825 to 1850 |
1850 to 1875 |
1875 to 1900 |
1900 to 1925 |
1925 to 1950 |
1950 to 1975 |
1975 to 2000 |
After 2000 |
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4467 | Births | 3 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 29 | 85 | 500 | 1004 | 1625 | 1111 | 50 | ||||||
900 | Christenings | 2 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 37 | 189 | 299 | 232 | 68 | 33 | |||||||
94 | Marriages | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 1 | |||||||
85 | Deaths | 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 8 | 1 | ||||||
27 | Burials | 1 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Books and other documents | |
Published | Title, author and references |
1766 | The History of Tunbridge Wells by Thomas Benge Burr ⇒ p. 224 |
1797 | The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent - Volume III by Edward Hasted ⇒ p. 60 |
1797 | The Tunbridge Wells Guide by J. Sprange ⇒ p. 193 |
1810 | Tunbridge Wells and its Neighbourhood by Paul Amsinck and Letitia Byrne ⇒ p. 58 |
1826 | A Perambulation of Kent conteining the Description, Hystorie and Customes of that Shire, written in the Year 1570 by William Lambarde ⇒ p. 469 |
1830 | Guide of Tunbridge Wells ⇒ p. 149 |
1839 | Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex ⇒ entry |
1840 | New Guide for Tunbridge Wells by John Colbran and edited by James Phippen ⇒ p. 349 |
1854 | Proceedings in the County of Kent, 1642-1646 by Richard Almack, Esq., F.S.A. ⇒ p. 26 |
1868 | School Inquiry Commision Vol XI South-East Division by C. I. Elton and H. A. Giffard ⇒ p. 91 |
1874 | A History of The Weald of Kent with an outline of the History of the County to the present time, Volume II by Robert Furley, F.S.A. ⇒ p. 46; p. 478; Royalist rising p. 533; p. 720; p. 801; p. 820; p. 841 |
1882 | Kelly's Directory of Kent by E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.S.S. ⇒ entry |
1885 | Cobbett's Rural Rides by William Cobbett ⇒ p. 71 |
1901 | Old Sevenoaks by Frank Richards and illustrated by Charles Essenhigh Corke, F.R.P.S. ⇒ page |
1909 | English Homes and Villages (Kent & Sussex) also published as Tunbridge Wells and its Neighbourhood by Lady Hope ⇒ p. 187 |
1910 | Notes on the Parish Church of St Nicholas, Sevenoaks by John Rooker, M.A., Rector ⇒ Booklet |
1914 | Highways and Byways in Kent by Walter Jerrold with Illustrations by Hugh Thomson ⇒ p. 348 |
Pictures | more pictures | ||||||
![]() High Street - 1640 | ![]() Bradbourne - 1770 | ![]() The Parish Church before the 1810 restoration - 1797 | ![]() Park Place - c 1800 | ![]() Vine Court - c 1800 | ![]() Wildernesse - c 1800 | ![]() Bethlehem Farm House - c 1800 | |
![]() Montreal - c 1800 | ![]() South Porch and Tower of Sevenoaks Church - 1809 | ![]() Knole - 1809 | ![]() Knole - 1809 | ![]() Sevenoaks Church - 1809 | ![]() View of Sevenoaks Church from the Rectory Farm - 1810 | ![]() Sevenoaks Church and Old Rectory - 1820 | |
Places and properties in Sevenoaks - a directory of homes, farms, churches, schools, inns, and other places of interest that existed prior to 1900 has been compiled from Post Office directories, Kelly's directories, Trade directories, Census data, Ordnance survey maps and books of the period |
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The Weald is at Database version 14.05 which has ongoing updates to the 395,000 people; 9,000 places; 613 maps; 3,308 pictures, engravings and photographs; and 248 books loaded in the previous version