Middlesbrough, Yorkshire Genealogy

Parish History
MIDDLESBROUGH, a town and parish, on the river Tees, in the union, and within the limits of the port, of Stockton-upon-Tees, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York; containing, with the township of Linthorpe, 5709 inhabitants, of whom 5463 are in the township of Middlesbrough, 4 miles (E. N. E.) from Stockton. The town was a small and inconsiderable hamlet, prior to the year 1829; but about that time it began to rise into notice from its selection for the construction of a commodious shipping place, accessible to vessels of large burthen, and from the projected extension from Stockton of the Stockton and Darlington railway, for the purpose of conveying directly to this, as a principal place of shipment, the produce of the collieries in the Weardale district of the county of Durham. Immediately on the completion of that undertaking in 1830, the population of the hamlet increased very considerably.

The parish is in the district of Cleveland, and bounded on the north by the Tees, which separates it from the county of Durham. It comprises also the township of Linthorp within its boundary. The church was erected in 1840, on the site of the ancient chapel of St. Hilda. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans. Of the ancient cell to Whitby Abbey no remains exist, but the cemetery is still used.

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. Here are links to two important online sites providing indexes to births, marriages and deaths for Middlesborough:


 * 1) FreeBMD.
 * 2) Tees Valley Indexes to BMDs

Church Records
Middlesbrough parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

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

Records are also available at the North Yorkshire County Record Office.

Census Records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the FamilySearch Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Stockton Poor Law Union, Durham

Middlesbrough Poor Law Union, Yorkshire from 1876

Probate Records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Yorkshire 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
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851


 * Vision of Britain