Aspects of Kentish Local History

Some Kentish Gravestones & other notes
St Peter & St Paul Church, Aylesford M.I.s & other information with Index of names at end

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Monumental Inscriptions of St Peter & St Paul Church, Aylesford - recorded by D. E. Williams 2011

THE CHURCH FROM THE SOUTH EAST
SECTION A IN THE FOREGROUND

Introduction
The Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul, Aylesford, is impressively sited on the edge of high ground above the Medway, and the medieval bridge. A large medieval church, with a nave and north aisle of equal size, the chancel and north chapel have slightly lower roofs than the nave. The bottom two stages of the large tower are Norman.
   In 1878 Henry Brassey spent £3,500 on the "restoration" of the church, when many monuments were moved from their original positions. It was generally considered that the "restoration" diminished the charm and atmosphere of the old interior. The monuments on the tower walls were among those moved at this time. The ledger to George Faunce and three very fine medieval stone coffin lids were moved outside, against the east wall of the chancel. These medieval monuments have suffered very badly from exposure to 133 years of weather.
   Four monuments remained in their original positions, the stupendous Baroque Banks monument in the north chapel; the Colepepper monument, with it's original colouring, between the chancel and the north chapel; the Milner monument on the north wall of the north chapel and the Faunce monument on the east wall of the north chapel.
   There are some pieces of armour relating to some of the monuments, and two funeral hatchments relating to the Milners,; other hatchments were apparently destroyed in the 19th century!
   I have divided the large churchyard into six clearly delineated areas,which together with the brief description of the type of monument, will help with any search. I have limited this record of the churchyard to pre – 1920 graves and monuments.
   The earlier monuments are clustered around the church, and include many early chest tombs, a rare table tomb and several 17th and early 18th century headstones. Where parts of the inscription are eroded and, for instance, dates are missing, I have usually been able to add the missing sections by referring to sources such as the burial registers. Where these missing areas occur, I have enclosed them thus, [   ]. All the inscriptions are laid out exactly as on the monument, which makes for much clearer reading.
   Due to exposure to weather, in some cases , for over three centuries, many of the monuments suffer from various degrees of erosion, some severe; where there is doubt, I have indicated it with a question mark, (usually day of death). I have tried my best to recover as much detail as accurately as I could, but complete accuracy can never be guaranteed.
   As a supplement to the inscriptions, I have included over 50 Will Abstracts (I have not included wills after 1858; these are in the Principal Probate Registry and the cost of copies is too high , however a summary of Henry Brassey's will was published in the Times, so this is included). I have also included Newspaper Reports of accidental deaths, as well as brief details from various Directories, the Census and an Archive record of alleged poisoning ! There are also some colour photographs .
   My thanks to the Vicar, the Reverend Christopher Van Straaten and members of the congregation for their friendly interest and encouragement.

D.E. Williams Borstal, Rochester.
St. Valentine's Day, 2012

Section A  All that area South of the Church, East of the Porch and
                          East of the Church

Section B   All that area West of the Church and North to the North West
                           corner of the Vestry

Section C  All the area North of the Church, to the Southern edge of the carpark and
                from the East Wall of the Churchyard to the North West corner of the Vestry

Section D   All that area West of the Church, North of Section B, as far as the 
                       Brassey Tomb

Section E   All that area North of Section D, from the Western end of the carpark to
                        the Western fence and North Churchyard Wall

Section F   All that area North of the carpark, pre-1920 graves only

Interior of Church  

Index of Names - from gravestones only

Locate the name you are interested in and note the numbers following. Using the links below, jump to the Section containing the number. Click on Edit at the top left of your screen, and from the drop down menu, click on Find on this page  (if Edit is not showing press CTL + F together) and type in the name. The cursor will jump straight to the name, highlighting it. Be sure to click on Next at the top, in case the name occurs again.
   Be sure to use the same method to search for any other names that you are interested in not listed below, that may perhaps occur amongst the many wills.
   Happy ancestor hunting

 Sections  A 1-47     B 48-124    C 125-161    D 162-195    E 196-266    F 267-286     Interior 287-316

Locate the name you are interested in and note the numbers following. Using the links below, jump to the Section containing the number. Click on Edit at the top left of your screen, and from the drop down menu, click on Find on this page  (if Edit is not showing press CTL + F together) and type in the name. The cursor will jump straight to the name, highlighting it. Be sure to click on Next at the top, in case the name occurs again.
   Be sure to use the same method to search for any other names that you are interested in not listed below, that may perhaps occur amongst the many wills.
   Happy ancestor hunting