The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Lancashire Genealogy
Guide to The Cathedral Church of Blackburn St Mary the Virgin, Lancashire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.
Here is a Comprehensive List of Chapels in Blackburn St Mary Parish. View this updated list of chapelries (which held baptismal and burial registers and which subdivided this ancient parish) before researching in this large parish.
The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Lancashire | |
---|---|
Type | England Jurisdictions |
Civil Jurisdictions | |
Hundred | Blackburn |
County | Lancashire, England Genealogy |
Poor Law Union | Blackburn |
Registration District | Blackburn; Preston |
Records begin | |
Parish registers: 1569 | |
Bishop's Transcripts: 1606 | |
Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions | |
Rural Deanery | Blackburn |
Diocese | Manchester |
Legal Jurisdictions | |
Probate Court | Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory) |
Location of Archive | |
Lancashire Archives | |
Contents
Parish History[edit | edit source]
BLACKBURN (St Mary), a parish, fourteen miles in length and ten in breadth, was formerly part of Whalley Parish. Blackburn is the head of a union, in the Lower division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of the County of Lancaster; comprising the market-town and newly-enfranchised borough of Blackburn, which includes the chapelries of Balderston, Billington-Langho, Brownhill, Over Darwen, Salesbury, Samlesbury, and Tockholes, and the townships of Clayton-leDale, Cuerdale, Lower Darwen, Dinkley, Eccleshill, Great and Little Harwood, Livesey, Mellor, Osbaldeston, Pleasington, Ramsgrave, Rishton, Walton-le-Dale, Wilpshire, and Witton, 31 miles southeast by south from Lancaster.[1]
Researchers may view a Comprehensive List of Chapels in Blackburn St Mary Parish. A chapel also dedicated to St Clement has been erected; and the Vicar likewise presents to the incumbencies of Balderstone, Bamber-Bridge, Billington-Langho, Lower and Over Darwen, Feniscowles, Great Harwood, Mellor, Mellor-Brook, Salesbury, Samlesbury, Tockholes, Walton, and Witton. In the town are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Warrenites, also a Scottish kirk and a Roman Catholic chapel; and in the rural parts of the parish are various other meeting-houses for different denominations. The union of Blackburn comprises the entire parish, with the exception of the townships of Cuerdale, Samlesbury, and Walton, which are in the union of Preston; together with four townships of the parish of Whalley.
Blackburn Cathedral
[edit | edit source]
With the creation of the Diocese of Blackburn in 1926 (taken from the Diocese of Manchester) the impressive parish church of St Mary the Virgin was raised to cathedral status. The church, which was built in 1826 and designed by architect John Palmer, now forms the cathedral's nave.
In the early 1930s, fundraising began to enlarge the cathedral so that the building complemented its newfound importance. By 1938, enough money had been raised and work began on enlarging the new cathedral. Although work was interrupted by the war, it was resumed afterwards and continued through the 1950s and into the early 1960s. After the death of architect W.A. Forsyth in 1950, architect Laurence King joined the project and designed the distinctive lantern tower. The lantern tower, which consists of 56 different panes of coloured glass and an aluminium spire, was completed in 1967.
The cathedral was finally completed in 1977 and what had been built over the past decades was finally consecrated as Blackburn Cathedral.
The North transept contains eight misericords dating from the 15th century. It is not known at what time they arrived at the Cathedral, but they are believed to have originated at Whalley Abbey. This could mean that they were removed to a builder's yard after the Dissolution, but with the cathedral not being built until the 19th century, this allows for the possibility that they had lain unused for some 300 years.
The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley.
Blackburn's Marrying Chapels[edit | edit source]
Most of Lancashire' chapelries (nearly 90 percent) were not granted permission to marry couples prior to 1837. However, the following chapelries (chapels of ease) were granted sanction to marry couples within the parish boundary of St Mary Blackburn--besides the ancient parish of St Mary's itself:
- Bamber-Bridge St Saviour's - 1761
- Great Harwood St Bartholomew - 1547
- Samlesbury St Leonard the Less - 1634
- Walton le Dale St Leonard- 1609
Resources[edit | edit source]
Civil Registration[edit | edit source]
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.
Church records[edit | edit source]
- 1538 - 1910 England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910 at FamilySearch — index
- 1603 - 1910 England, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1603-1910 at FamilySearch — index and images
Online Records[edit | edit source]
Blackburn St Mary is an ancient parish with chapelries totalling about 45. The following chart lists those chapelry and parish registers which have thus far been transcribed and posted online in some format. Click the years to view online data for each church for the pertinent years you are trying to search. Original parish registers, Bishop’s transcripts and some transcribed church records exist for this parish, and including additional records such as parish chest records. These are held at the Lancashire Record Office, in Preston, Lancashire or, be sure to view a Comprehensive List of Chapels in Blackburn St Mary Parish (then click the link for each church which takes you directly to the Family History Library online catalog for available microfilms to original registers).
Blackburn St Mary parish registers and those registers of all of its smaller chapelries lying within its boundaries have been mostly transcribed and are displayed online at the following websites and ranges of years:
AC = Ancestry.co.uk (£) | |||||
FMP = findmypast (£) | |||||
FREG = FreeReg | |||||
FS = FamilySearch.org | |||||
LBMD = LancashireBMD.org.uk | |||||
LOPC = Lancashire Online Parish Clerk |
BLACKBURN ST MARY THE VIRGIN PARISH (1600) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1600-1910 | 1600-1704, 1720-1900 | 1720-1900 | ||
LOPC | 1600-1611, 1614-1628, 1653-1848, 1854-1881 | 1600-1680, 1698-1705, 1722-1900 | 1651-1652, 1746-1900 | ||
LBMD | 1837-1885 | 1837-1951 | 1837-1885 | ||
FMP | None | 1600-1705 | None | ||
AC | 1600-1660 | 1600-1660 | 1600-1660 | ||
BLACKBURN ALL SAINTS Chapelry (1840) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1872-1981 | None | ||
BLACKBURN CHRIST CHURCH Chapelry (1859) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1860-1975 | None | ||
BLACKBURN HOLY TRINITY Chapelry (1848) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1854-1980 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST BARNABAS Chapelry (1876) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1887-1951 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST CLEMENT (GREEN HAWORTH) Chapelry (1836) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST JOHN Chapelry (1825) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1825-1853 |
None | None | ||
LOPC | 1847-1853 | None | 1847-1853 | ||
LBMD | None | 1854-1974 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST JUDE Chapelry (1901) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1915-1962 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST LUKE BANK TOP Chapelry (1861) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1861-1897 | 1878-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | 1861-1900 | 1878-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST MATTHEW HIGHER AUDLEY Chapelry (1886) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1887-1970 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS Chapelry (1839) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | ||||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST PAUL Chapelry (1792) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1792-1888 | 1854-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | 1792-1825, 1877-1900 | 1854-1873, 1878-1884, 1892-1900 | 1811-1900 | ||
LBMD | None | 1854-1955 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST PETER Chapelry (1821) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1821-1922 | 1854-1891, 1903-1919 | 1821-1866, 1869-1947 | ||
LBMD | None | 1854-1973 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST PHILIP Chapelry (1880) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1888-1900 | 1881-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST SILAS Chapelry (1885) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1901-1983 | None | ||
BLACKBURN ST THOMAS Chapelry (1865) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1866-1900 | 1866-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1866-1980 | None | ||
BAMBER BRIDGE ST SAVIOUR Chapelry (1761) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1761-1807, 1837-1900 | 1761-1806, 1839-1900 | 1761-1806, 1838-1900 | ||
LOPC | 1837-1900 | 1839-1900 | 1838-1900 | ||
LBMD | None | 1839-1991 | None | ||
BALDERSTONE ST LEONARD Chapelry (1751) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1751-1891 | 1855-1900 | 1813-1815, 1848-1850 | ||
LOPC | 1751-1934 | 1838-1900 | 1785-1900, 1906-1981 | ||
LBMD | None | 1838-1995 | None | ||
BILLINGTON-LANGHO ST LEONARD Chapelry (1725) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1816-1846 | None | 1816-1846 | ||
LOPC | 1725-1921 | 1837-1921 | 1765-1901 | ||
LBMD | 1837-1964 | 1837-2003 | 1837-1964 | ||
AC | Various Years | Various Years | Various Years | ||
BROOKHOUSE ST JAMES Chapelry (1874) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1874-1907 | 1875-1987 part. | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
BROWNHILL ST GABRIEL (1828) Chapelry Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
COPY NOOK ST THOMAS Chapelry (1865) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1865-1900 | 1866-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
DAISYFIELD ST MICHAEL Chapelry (1848) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1848-1854 | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
FENISCLIFFE ST FRANCIS Chapelry (1887) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1887-1909 | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1894-1992 | None | ||
FENISCOWLES IMMANUEL Chapelry (1836) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1836-1890 | 1879-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | 1836-1900 | 1838-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1838-2007 | None | ||
GREAT HARWOOD ST BARTHOLOMEW Chapelry (1547) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1547-1901 | 1560-1920 | 1560-1901 | ||
LOPC | 1563-1728, 1739-1901 | 1547-1900 | 1813-1900 | ||
LBMD | 1837-1969 | 1837-1992 | 1837-1969 | ||
AC | 1547-1812 | 1547-1812 | 1547-1812 | ||
KNUDZEN ST OSWALD'S Chapelry (1874) Indexes - see also Whalley Parish | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LARK HILL HOLY TRINITY Chapelry (1848) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1848-1854 | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
LITTLE HARWOOD ST STEPHEN Chapelry (1892) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1892-1899 | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
LIVESEY ST ANDREW Chapelry (1877) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1877-1924 | 1877-2007 | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
LOWER DARWEN ST JAMES Chapelry (1829) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1829-1832 | None | 1829-1832 | ||
LBMD | None | 1838-1981 | None | ||
MELLOR ST MARY Chapelry (1829) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1829-1901 | 1837-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | 1829-1908 | 1837-1900 | 1830-1900 | ||
LBMD | 1837-1964 | 1837-2010 | 1837-1964 | ||
MELLOR-BROOK ST SAVIOUR Chapelry (1824) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1836-1858 | None | None | ||
LOPC | None | None | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
OVER DARWEN ST JAMES Chapelry (1781) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1813-1836, 1847-1851 | None | 1829-1836, 1847-1851 | ||
LOPC | 1781-1814, 1816-1836, 1847-1851 | None | 1782-1814, 1816-1836, 1847-1851 | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
OVER DARWEN ST CUTHBERT Chapelry (1872) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1872-1900 | 1878-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
OVER DARWEN HOLY TRINITY (later known as ST PETER) Chapelry (1829) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | 1829-1857, 1861-1900 | ||
LOPC | 1829-1890 | 1837-1882 | 1829-1834, 1857-1861 | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
OVER DARWEN ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST Chapelry (1864) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | 1865-1899 | None | ||
LOPC | 1864-1900 | 1865-1879, 1899-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
OVER DARWEN LOWER Chapelry (1751) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | None | None | ||
LOPC | 1751-1794, 1796-1838, 1852-1884 | None | 1785-1819 | ||
LBMD | None | None | None | ||
SALESBURY ST PETER Chapelry (1807) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1807-1901 | 1842-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | None | 1843-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1843-1989 | None | ||
SAMLESBURY ST LEONARD THE LESS Chapelry (1634) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1634-1638, 1663-1900 | 1635-1638, 1663-1900 | 1816-1845 | ||
LOPC | 1722-1900 | 1685-1754, 1778-1900 | 1722-1900 | ||
LBMD | None | 1837-1998 | None | ||
FMP | None | 1685-1837 | None | ||
TOCKHOLES ST STEPHEN Chapelry (1775) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1777-1856 | 1841-1900 | 1785-1900 | ||
LOPC | 1777-1900 | 1840-1900 | 1775-1900 | ||
LBMD | None | 1840-1993 | None | ||
WALTON-LE-DALE ST LEONARD Chapelry (1609) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | 1609-1854, 1872-1889 | 1609-1637, 1654-1848 | 1809-1894 | ||
LOPC | 1751-1760, 1807-1831, 1839-1854, 1871-1900 | 1751-1760, 1807-1812, 1815-1848 | 1751-1760, 1807-1812, 1815-1889 | ||
LBMD | 1837-1974 | None | 1837-1974 | ||
AC | 1609-1812 | 1609-1812 | 1609-1812 | ||
WITTON ST MARK Chapelry (1837) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | 1897-1900 | None | ||
LOPC | 1838-1901 | 1854-1897 | 1843-1895 | ||
LBMD | 1837-1905 | 1854-1989 | 1837-1905 | ||
WITTON ST PHILIP Chapelry (1881) Indexes | |||||
Baptisms | Marriages | Burials | |||
FS | None | 1830-1831 | None | ||
LOPC | 1888-1900 | 1881-1900 | None | ||
LBMD | None | 1881-1974 | None |
Non-Conformist Churches[edit | edit source]
- 1647-1996 England, Lancashire Non-conformist Church Records, 1647-1996 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index (dates may vary by parish)
Census records[edit | edit source]
Census records from 1841 to 1911 are available online. For access, see England Census. Census records from 1841 to 1891 are also available on film through a Family History Center or at the Family History Library.
Probate records
[edit | edit source]
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.
Maps and Gazetteers
[edit | edit source]
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.
Websites[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 270-275.Greatly adapted. Date accessed: 25 June 2010.