I receive many requests for information
about records held at Seal. Almost all records of baptism, marriages
and burials, except
the most recent (see below) have now been transferred to the
Centre
for Kentish Studies in Maidstone, where they can be consulted
by the public. However if you are tracing your family history and
think an ancestor may have had a Seal connection I will be happy to
help you if I can. As a part-time priest here, and with no
other paid staff and a very full workload, there are limits on
the time I can give to this, though, so I would ask your co-operation
and
understanding. I am entitled to make a charge for time spent searching
records or helping you to search, which goes to church funds, of
£18 for the first hour and £15 for each subsequent hour.
If you are planning a trip to search for an ancestor, and might want
access to records kept here,
PLEASE
contact me in advance to arrange a convenient time, otherwise you may
find that no one is available to help you, and you will have wasted
your journey. In particular I would advise against just turning up at
the end of a Sunday service - I often have a great deal to do at this
point (and possibly other services to conduct) and I will not be able
to help you, nor will I be able to let you look at the records in my
absence. While I do not wish to seem unhelpful, if it is at all
possible for you to consult with records at the record office instead,
I would
greatly prefer that
you did so.
We hold the following records at Seal - others are held at the
Centre
for Kentish Studies in Maidstone. There are also some transcripts
and microfiche records of documents at Sevenoaks library. More details
of local history archives can be found
here.
Records held at St Peter and St Paul:
Registers of Marriage 1985-
present
Registers of Burial
1924- present
Registers of Confirmation 1913 - present
Registers of Banns
2000- present
We also have some transcriptions of earlier registers - the
originals are in the Centre for Kentish Studies - and I have been able
to put some of our burial records online (see below).
The
inscriptions on memorials in the
churchyard were recorded by Leland Duncan in 1921 and can be
found on the
Kent
Archaeological Society website, along with a
sketch
map
he made at the time. (Please note that this only records inscriptions
on headstones, not the many burials for which there were never
headstones put up. To find out about these you would have to consult
with the burial registers.)
Newer burials and interments of ashes are listed here -
Graveyard
North East of Church
North West
of Church
Interments of Ashes
Other local churches
Until the 1874 St Peter and St Paul was linked with
St Mary, Kemsing .
A record of older headstones in the graveyard can be found
here.
If you are unable to find the information you seek at Seal, it
may be that your ancestors were buried, married or baptised at Kemsing.
You may also like to try
St
Margaret's Underriver and
St Lawrence, Seal.