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England    Middlesex   Middlesex Parishes   Whitefriar's

Parish History

Whitefriar's is a district of the city [of London-proper], which extends from the western side of Water Lane, Fleet Street, to the Temple, and from Fleet Street to the [River] Thames. It derives its name from being the site of the ancient Convent of Carmelites, or Whitefriars... This convent was founded in 1241, by Sir Richard Grey, ancestor of the Lord Greys, of Codnor, Derbyshire, and was afterwards rebuilt about 1350... The conventual church was built [during the] reigns of Edward III and Richard II, and it was the burial place of many persons of distinction.

At the dissolution of the religious houses, in the reign of Henry VIII, this convent and its church were surrendered to the crown, and the king conferred different portions of the buildings to his favourites; and in 1557 Edward VI granted the church, chapter and other parts of the priory to the Bishop of Worcester and his successors.

In 1608, the inhabitants of this district obtained several liberties, privileges and exemptions, by a charter granted them by James I, which placed them out of jurisdiction of the City of London. This soon rendered the place an asylum for insolvent debtors, cheats, and gamblers, who gave it the name of Alsatia, [taken from Sir Walter Scott's...tale of the "Fortunes of Nigel"]. The inconvenience became at last so intolerable, that in 1696 an act of parliament was passed to deprive the district of privileges that were so injurious to the community.

Resources

Civil Registration

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

To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Census records

Census records from 1841-1891 are available on film through a Family History Center or at the Family History Library. To view these census images online, they are available through a number of websites for a fee ($) or free.

• FamilySearch now has all of the British Censuses available.
• FindMyPast ($) but free at Family History Centers and the Family History Library and various other libraries.
• Ancestry.co.uk ($) but free at Family History Centers and the Family History Library and various other libraries. The library versions are known as AncestryInstitution.com.
• The Genealogist.co.uk ($) but free at Family History Centers and the Family History Library and various other libraries.
• FreeCen is a UK census searches. It is not complete and individuals are always asked to consider helping out with transcriptions.
  

Probate records

Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions

Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

Maps and Gazetteers

Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.

• England Jurisdictions 1851
• Vision of Britain

Web sites

This section requires expansion with: any additional relevant sites that aren't mentioned above.

• This page was last modified on 30 November 2012, at 17:16.
• This page has been accessed 206 times.