Hasted: 1797 History of Penshurst

This document reproduces the Penshurst section (in Vol. 3, pp 227-257) of Edward Hasted’s famous  History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent,  published in 1797.

It includes a physical description of the village, its main buildings and surrounding countryside. It also covers the history of the main estates since the Doomsday book, with a detailed account of the litigation concerning the future of the Penshurst estate  in the middle of the eighteenth century. This followed the death of the seventh earl of leicester in 1743 without legitimate male issue.

The document can be viewed here.