Parochial Libraries in Kent

Collections of books existed in parish churches before the Reformation, as is shown by the Kentish examples of St Mildred's, Tenterden, and St Dunstan's, Canterbury. Michael Perkin's Directory records thirty post-Reformation parochial libraries for Kent, of which seventeen survive today; of these, nine are simple desk libraries. Thomas Bray's name is associated with many of these collections; he was active in Kent even before leaving for New England. A group of east Kent libraries is looked at in greater detail: Crundale, Doddington, Elham, Maidstone, and Preston, as well as two non-parochial libraries in Canterbury.