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 First assessment
 
Parish of Sevenoaks:  Poor Rates
and Vestry Minutes of St Nicholas Church.
 
The Poor Relief Act 1598:  Building on an act from the reign of Edward IV, the Poor Relief Act gave Justices of the Peace responsibility for the administration of poor relief on a local level.  Local poor rates were defined.  Although preference was given to assisting people within their own homes, the act of 1598 allowed for the setting up of work houses in urban areas.  Along with a further act of 1601, the provisions of 1598 remained the only provision for the poor in England until the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.
 

 
This volume (comprising some 433 leaves) came to me via a friend of Dr. Gordon Ward, one Miss Watts of Glen Dunlop House, St. Johns Road, Sevenoaks who held some of his possessions after his death.  It is a leather bound volume thirteen inches high, nine inches deep and three and a half inches thick.  The spine has been attacked by rodents but fortunately the pages inside have not been affected.  Written on the title page is:  "Parish of Sevenoaks.  Vestry Minutes of St. Nicholas Church 1690.  This book was rebound 1908.  John Rooker M.A. Rector."  The volume is part of an incomplete set, the remainder being held at Springfield, Maidstone (I was informed in the 1970's).  Although my primary interest is Bradbourne, this volume is so important, interesting and useful that I am going to try to copy the entire text to this website.  I am copying the entries in the order of importance that they have to visitors to this site who have requested information.
 

 
Note:  It will take a long time to transfer the text of this volume to the website.  It is of course handwritten and some parts are difficult to read.  Keep your eye on "Latest Additions" or the links below for further additions.

 

 

Two down with forty two to go...  (1 and 26)
 
Poor Rates 1690 to 1712
   
 

Date of assessment

Page (the pages are not numbered)
1. 10th March 1690          1
2. 12 (?) July 1691           3-11
3. 12 February 1692         12-21
4. 16 June 1692                 22-27
                                   28-31 (blank)
5. 8 March 1692 32-41
6. 4 August 1693 42-47
    48-53 (blank)
7. 12 January 1693 54-62
8. 16 March 1693 63-68
    69-70 (blank)
9. 5 July 1694 71-80
10. 23 November 1694 81-90
11. 14 February (?) 1694 91-98
12. 21 June 1695 99-106
13. 20 July 1698 107-113
14. 5 December 1698 114-120
    121-122 (blank)
15. 31 July 1696 123-130
16.  (Blank) (blank) 1696 131-138
    139-146 (blank)
17. 26 May 1697 147-153
18. 17 November 1697 154-164 (156-157 blank) (159-160 torn out)
19. 1 April (?) 1698 165-173  (172 blank)
    174-175 (blank)
20. 2 March 1698 176-182
21 June 1699 183-190
22. 17 January 1700 191-199
23. 27 May 1700 200-208
24. 13 January 1701 209-217
25. 3 March 1701 218-226
26. 31 July 1702 227-236
27. 19 February 1703 236-245
28. 3 August 1703 245-256 (251 blank)
    257-265 (blank)
29. 28 July 1704 266-274
30. Undated 274-283
31. 20 February 1705 284-292
32. Undated 292-300
33. 19 February 1706 300-308
34. 9 September 1707 309-315
    316-317 (blank)
35. 25 February 1708 318-324
    325 (blank)
36. 11 August 1708 326-333
37. 17 March 1709 333-340
38. 7 October 1709 341-349
39. 2 March 1710 349-356
40. 7 August 1710 357-365
41. 2 March 1711 365-372
42. 9 August 1711 372-378
43. 27 March 1712 378-385
44. 11 July 1712 385-391
 
The Poor Rates were recorded from the back of this volume, page 391 marking the last entry.  Page 392 is inverted and marks the last page of the Vestry Minutes which were entered from the 'front' of the volume. The Vestry Minutes comprise 474 pages thus totalling 866 pages in the volume (433 leaves).