Withyham, Sussex Genealogy

England   Sussex

Parish History
Withyham St Michael and All Angels is an Ancient parish in East Sussex which includes Buckhurst and New Groombridge.

The church dates from at least the late thirteenth century; there is record of the rebuilding in the fourteenth century to construct the Sackville chapel. In 1672 the rebuilt church replaced the church which was destroyed by a lightning strike so powerful that the bells were melted, but it was not until 1680 that the Sackville Chapel was replaced.

The church contains a memorial to to poet Vita Sackville-West within the Sackville family chapel.

Withyham is a small village although the the ecclesiastical and civil parish is large and includes part of the northern Ashdown Forest. The hamlet of Buckhurst includes Buckhurst Park home of Earl De La Warr who maintains the Sackville family presence in the Parish. New Groombridge is with the parish and county; Old Groombridge is in the modern Speldhurst District of Kent.

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
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog 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
East Grinstead Poor Law Union, Sussex

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Sussex 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.