Population of Hartley - Hartley-Kent: The Website for Hartley

We know that people have lived here since at least the Iron Age, but it is not until the Domesday Book of 1086 that we  can get an idea of how many people lived in our parish.

The Domesday Book was ordered by King William the Conqueror to find out just what he had conquered and how much was owed  him. For Hartley the book lists 9 villeins (better off farmers), 6 cottars (poorer farmers) and 3 slaves. The usual  assumption is that all the slaves are listed, but only heads of households for the other inhabitants. Scholars suggest  a multiplier of 4 for these people, using this the population in 1086 would be about 63.

Throughout England the population continued to grow, reaching a peak shortly after 1300. It is probable that more people lived in Hartley then, than at any time since up to the 19th century. The Black Death, which arrived in England in 1348, and returned twice in the 1360s is thought to have carried off up to half of the population. If this is true for Hartley then around 200 people lived here in the first half of the 14th century, a number it would not reach again until the 19th century.

In 1377 the authorities introduced a poll tax of 4d (1p) per head of all adults over the age of 14. In Hartley 53 people paid the tax. Allowing for evasion (40%) and children (40%), it would seem that around 90 people were now living here.

Henceforth there are no reliable population figures for Hartley until the 17th century, but nationally the population continued to fall until the 1480s. The next big upswing was the century from 1540, when the population nearly doubled nationally to 5 million. However Hartley's population appears to have been largely static. For we have three separate sources for the 17th century, all of which point to around 90-100 people living in the parish. In 1664 there were 21 households which paid the Hearth Tax, making a population of about 90 based on the average size of household of 4.3 then. Two years later the poll tax was tried again, and Hartley paid 109 shillings. Most people paid a tax of 1 shilling (5p) a head, but a few paid more, so it is difficult to be certain, but it is indicative of over 100 people in Hartley. Finally in 1673 was the Compton Ecclesiastical Census, where each rector was asked to list the number of Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Non-Conformists (over the age of 16?) in their parish. In Hartley there were 71 Anglicans, which would again point to a number in the 90s overall.

The surviving parish registers for Hartley begin in the 18th century, and we can gain some estimate of the population from the baptism register. The national birth rate was about 35 per thousand, and while the figures below are clearly an inexact science they do show an upward drift of population in 18th century Hartley and the last quarter's figure is close to the census. They are also very close to the actual figure from the 1801 census.

Estimated population of Hartley based on number of births

Finally we reach the era of the census and from now on we have accurate figures for Hartley's population every 10 years. For Hartley the population rose rapidly after Smallowners Limited bought the land and sold it off in smaller parcels from 1912.  Longfield's trigger for growth was the coming of the railway in 1872, while Ash remained fairly constant until New Ash Green was built.  Fawkham has remained largely rural, with only a small amount of post-war building.

The apparent paradox that the housebuilding in the c19th resulted in only small changes in the population, is probably explained by the fact that farm labourers formerly lived in the main farm house before separate cottages were built.

In recent years the population of the area has been declining.  The population of the Hartley/Longfield/New Ash Green urban area was 17,234 in 1991, 16,442 in 2001 and 16,029 in 2011.

However, since 2011, Kent County Council has estimated in 2012 that the population of the Hartley and Hodsoll Street ward has increased by 40, and New Ash Green by 100.  The biggest increase of all is Longfield and Southfleet - up 130.

Population of Hartley and neighbouring parishes 1801 to date

Births and deaths are of course only one of the factors that affect population.  The other is migration to and from Hartley.  Today, because of the age profile of Hartley's population, the area is dependent on inward migration.  In 2017, Hartley and Hodsoll Street ward had 40 births and 106 deaths.  

The 2011 census asked for details of where each person was living a year earlier.  Of the 5,835 inhabitants of Hartley and Hodsoll Street ward, only 372 (6.4%) had changed address within the previous year.  Most (315) had moved to Hartley and Hodsoll Street from elsewhere in the UK, 39 had moved within this area, while 18 had come here from outside the UK.  Data of the origin of migrants within the UK is only available at district council level, but the figures for Sevenoaks bear out anecdotal evidence that a lot of newcomers to Hartley have come here from Dartford and South East London (the top 3 origins for Sevenoks and Bromley, Dartford and Bexley).

Going further back in time some details on migration can be obtained from using the census returns and the electoral registers.  From 1885 most male heads of households who weren't on poor relief were eligible to vote.  The annual electoral registers also often mentioned where they had been living a year before if within Dartford constituency.  Analysis of those entitled to vote between 1885 and 1907 suggests that people moved more frequently then.  On average every 6 years as opposed to 16 years now.  Perhaps this is not surprising in an age where employment rights were practically non-existent, and where tenants, who made up the vast majority of households, also had much fewer rights.  This is reflected today in the fact private tenants stay much less time in a property on average than freeholders.

About a sixth of the 60 or so households in Hartley changed every year in the period 1885-1907.  Then people tended to move shorter distances, about 30% of moves were within Hartley itself, with about as many again from our three neighbouring parishes of Longfield, Ash and Fawkham.  The fewer migrants from urban areas might be explained by the rural nature of Hartley's economy then.

The table below gives details of where people lived before they moved to Hartley.  To compile this table I have had to rely on the evidence of sources such as the census, electoral registers and parish registers.  In 28 out of the 228 cases where people had common names this was not possible.  In some cases the former abode might not be the most recent one, where the only only evidence I could find was the previous decennial census.