Burials in the churchyard of St Michael Smarden, 1813 - 1953

Click on the links in the left margin to open the burials registers for Smarden Parish Church dating between 1813 and 1953. The documents presented here combine the transcripts from two registers (1813-1876 and 1876-1953) into a single database which is sorted alphabetically by surname. The fact that they come from two registers means that the reference numbers on the left will be duplicated.

There are two files to choose from. Not all the information could be included on the original file so a second file was created, called the comments version. In this one the ministers' names are replaced by comments that had to be omitted from the main version. Both versions are available from the left margin of this page.

The registers were transcribed on behalf of Smarden Local History Society by Elizabeth McLeish and Eleanor Bliss, with additional information, photographs and IT support provided by Roger Craig.

Two earlier registers, dating from 1632-1750 and 1750-1812, are being transcribed at the moment by the same team and will be made available as soon as they are ready. They contain baptism and marriage information as well as burials, and many comments are in Latin.

A detailed description of all four registers, along with photographs, can be found under Further Information in the left-hand margin of this page. See also the article written by the transcribers themselves about their experiences of this work.

As the transcripts are completed they are being made available as CDs, one for each register, costing £15 each (for PCs only). Each contains a searchable database with the transcripts alongside. Please contact:
Smarden Heritage Centre
Chessenden Lane
Smarden
Kent TN27 8NF
United Kingdom
or email Smarden Heritage Center.

Disclaimer: the writing in the original hand-written registers are in places faint or illegible. People should consult the originals for a definitive version of their entry. The original registers remain the property of Smarden Parish Church but for preservation reasons are currently held by Kent Archives Service, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ.

May 2011