Date
Type
Information
Source
1831
Born
In the Parish of Penshurst, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
c 1855
Married
1859
Birth of a son
In the Parish of Penshurst, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
1861
Birth of a son
In the Parish of Penshurst, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
1862
Birth of a son
In the Parish of Penshurst, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
1865
Birth of a daughter
In the Parish of Penshurst, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
1876
Birth of a daughter
In the Parish of Chiddingstone, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
1878
Birth of a daughter
In the Parish of Chiddingstone, Kent
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
3rd Apr 1881
Census
At Causeway Cottage in the Parish of Chiddingstone, Kent; John Duke, M, Head, married, age 50, born Penshurst, Kent, employs 72 men and 1 boy; occupation: maker of cricket bats and balls
1881 Census
Chiddingstone, Kent
The Tonbridge area was the principle place in the country where cricket bats and balls were made and the Duke family of Penshurst and Chiddingstone employed at one time about 100 people. More detail can be found in “Quilt Winders and Pod Shavers” by Hugh Barty-King. The maps of Tonbridge and Southborough showing the location of the bat and ball factories, indicate what a large part of the local economy it was before over the years they slowly consolidated. The “Duke ball” is still used in Test matches in this country although it is no longer made by Dukes, and L J Nicolls cricket bats is now Gray-Nicolls International.