Orpington, Kent Genealogy

England   Kent



Parish History
Orpington All Saints is an Ancient Parish. Chapelries of the Ancient parish include Downe, Kent St Mary Cray, Kent and Knockholt, Kent

The church was enlargeded in 1957 by adding "The new Church" at right angles to the ancient original mediaeval chancel and thus changing the orientation of the interior.

The original Saxon material is still visible in the mediaeval walls. The tower and steeple were damaged by a storm in 1771 and the rebuilt steeple was truck by lightning in 1809 and was not replaced.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Deposited Parish registers are held at Bromley Archives reference P 277 1560-1937

Bromley Central Library Telephone: 020 8461 7170 Fax: 020 8466 7860 e-mail: localstudies.library@bromley.gov.uk

Kent Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Link to the Family History Library Catalogue showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Bromley Poor Law Union

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Kent Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.