Witton, Cheshire, England Genealogy
Guide to Witton, Cheshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.
| Witton | |
| |
| St Helens Witton | |
| Type | Ecclesiastical Parish |
| Civil Jurisdictions | |
| County | Cheshire |
| Hundred | Northwich |
| Poor Law Union | Northwich |
| Registration District | Northwich |
| Records Begin | |
| Parish registers | 1561; Separate registers exist for Northwich Holy Trinity beginning 1842 and for Castle Northwich beginning 1849 |
| Bishop's Transcripts | 1597 |
| Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions | |
| Rural Deanery | Frodsham |
| Diocese | Pre-1541 - Lichfield and Coventry; Post-1540 - Chester |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Probate Court | Pre-1541 - Court of the Bishop of Lichfield (Episcopal Consistory) Post-1540 - Court of the Bishop of Cheshire (Episcopal Consistory) |
| Archive | |
| Cheshire Record Office | |
Parish History
WITTON, is a township and parochial chapelry, in the parish of Great Budworth, union of Northwich, South division of the county of Chester, ¼ of a mile E from Northwich. The chapelry lies partly in Eddisbury hundred, and partly in that of Northwich. In the former are the townships of Castle-Northwich, Hartford, and Winnington; in the latter, those of Witton-cum-Twambrooks, Northwich, Birches, Hulse, Lach-Dennis, and Lostock Gralam.[1]
Witton, St. Helen was an ancient chapelry in Great Budworth parish, originally serving the townships of Birches, Castle Northwich, Hartford (part), Hulse, Lach Dennis, Lostock Gralam, Northwich, Winnington and Witton cum Twambrooks.
The church was originally a chapel of ease to St Mary and All Saints, Great Budworth and the area was then known as Witton. The present building dates from the 14th century, with additions in the 15th, 16th and 19th centuries. A tradition that Witton had a chapel as early as the 13th century cannot be verified, but by the mid-14th century a church (technically a chapel of ease) stood on the present site.
Gradually this evolved into the church as it is today. North and south aisles, narrower than those currently present, were added in the 15th century. The present porch however is certainly no earlier than 1500 and possibly much later: an inscription on its beam commemorates a substantial repair in 1756.
The aisles were rebuilt and widened between 1536 and 1549, bringing what had been a side chapel (now the Lady Chapel) into the body of the church. The chancel was embattled soon after 1624, when Thomas Farmer, the master of Witton Grammar School left money for the purpose in his will.
Although there have since been further changes to the interior (including the addition of screens at the east end of the aisles and new coloured glass windows), by the 1890s the church looked much as it does today. It formally became a parish church when "the District Chapelry of St Helen Witton, otherwise Northwich", came into being on 7 August 1900.
Resources
Find Neighboring Parishes
Use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map
- Type the name of the parish in the search bar
- Click on the location pin on the map
- Choose Options from the pop up box
- Click "List Contiguous Parishes" to find the neighboring parishes
Census Records
Census records from 1841 to 1921 are available online. See England Census for more resources.
Church Records
The Church of England (Anglican) became the official state religion in 1534, with the reigning monarch as its Supreme Governor.
Non-Conformist refers to all other religious denominations that are not the official state religion.
Church of England
Due to the increasing access of online records:
- Individual parish coverage for databases in this table are inconsistent and should be verified
- Dates in the following table are approximate
Hover over the collection's title for more information
| Witton Online Parish Records | ||||||
| FamilySearch Collections-Cheshire | ||||||
| Parish Registers-Cheshire | ||||||
| Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Catalog | ||||||
| FreeREG | ||||||
| Findmypast-Cheshire ($) | ||||||
| Ancestry-Church of England BMD-Cheshire ($) | ||||||
| Ancestry-England & Wales, Birth, Christening, Marriage and Death Indexes ($) | 1500s-1900s |
1500s-1900s |
||||
| Databases with Known Incomplete Parish Coverage | ||||||
| Boyd's Marriage Indexes-FMP (Free) | ||||||
| National Burial Index-FMP (Free) | ||||||
Other Websites
These databases have incomplete parish coverage.
- Joiner Marriage Index - Cheshire ($)
- The Genealogist Parish Registers - Cheshire ($)
- UK Websites for Parish Records - Links to online genealogical records
- Online Genealogical Index - Links to online genealogical records
Nonconformist Records
"Nonconformist" is a term referring to religious denominations other than an established or state church. In England, the state church is the Church of England.
- 1671-1900 England, Cheshire Non-conformist Records, 1671-1900 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index (dates may vary by parish)
- 1717 England & Wales, Roman Catholics, 1717 at Findmypast - index & images ($); coverage may vary
- England Roman Catholic Parish Marriages at Findmypast — index & images ($); coverage may vary
Refer to Northwich, Cheshire to see relevant churches and chapels.
Cheshire Record Office Document Reference EMC 13
- NORTHWICH METHODIST CIRCUIT Date 1793-1999
- Description SUPERINTENDENT MINISTER Registers of baptisms MISCELLANEA CIRCUIT MEETING SECRETARY Minutes of quarterly and half yearly meetings General Purposes Committee minutes Property Committee minutes Returns of members
- CIRCUIT STEWARDS Circuit Steward Accounts Preachers Travelling Fund Accounts Minutes Plans Accounts Circuit Schedules Circuit Property Schedules
- LOCAL PREACHERS' MEETING SECRETARY Minutes
- CIRCUIT PLAN SECRETARY Circuit plans
- YOUTH COUNCIL Minutes MISCELLANEA NORTHWICH BOURNE CIRCUIT
- CIRCUIT STEWARDS Accounts Circuit reports and schedules
- SUPERINTENDENT MINISTER Membership register
- CIRCUIT MEETING SECRETARY Quarterly meeting and circuit committee minutes
- OVERSEERS MISSIONS CIRCUIT COMMITTEE LOCAL PREACHERS' MEETING SECRETARY Minutes
- MISCELLANEA CIRCUIT PLAN SECRETARY Circuit plans
- NORTHWICH UNITED METHODIST (CENTRAL) CIRCUIT CIRCUIT MEETING SECRETARY WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP Accounts Miscellanea
Northwich Wesleyan Methodist Circuit was formed in 1792, and following Methodist Union in 1932 was designated Northwich London Road Circuit. In 1935 London Road Circuit amalgamated with Central (former United Methodist) circuit to form Northwich (London Road and Central) circuit. In 1956 the Winsford section of this circuit was transferred to Winsford Methodist Circuit, and the remainder amalgamated with Northwich Bourne (former Primitive Methodist) circuit to form Northwich Methodist Circuit. URL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=017-emc13&cid=0
Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from 1 July 1837 to the present day. The <a href="England Civil Registration">civil registration</a> article tells more about these records. Here are two excellent Internet sites with birth, marriage and death indexes available:
Registration District
- Northwich
Poor Law Unions
Probate Records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Cheshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.
See also England Cheshire Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.
Websites
Witton on GENUKI
Bibliography
- Clifton-Taylor, Alec (1974), English Parish Churches as Work of Art, London: Batsford, ISBN 0 7134 2776 0
- Harries, M.; Lynch, C. (1981), An illustrated history of the Northwich Parish and Church, Northwich: St Helen Witton Church, ISBN 0950764809
- Richards, Raymond (1947), Old Cheshire Churches, London: Batsford
- Salter, Mark (1995), The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire, Malvern: Folly Publications, ISBN 1871731232
References
- ↑ Lewis, Samuel A.,"http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51420#s6"A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848). Date Accessed: 19 April 2013