Darlaston, Staffordshire Genealogy

England Staffordshire

Parish History
Darlaston St lawrence is an Ancient Parish.

DARLASTON (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Walsall, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 1 mile (N. W. by W.) from Wednesbury; containing 8244 inhabitants. This place is situated in the heart of a mining and manufacturing district, and comprises 901a. 32p. of arable and meadow land, of level surface, with a calcareous soil; the ground under tillage producing good crops of grain, particularly wheat. From the extensive mining operations carried on, the scenery presents few pleasing features. The mines include several strata of coal: the Ten-yard or Thick coal is found on the south-west side, and gradually crops out at the top as it approaches about the centre of the parish; all the different measures lying below, are found and worked throughout the remaining part. There are also the whole of the measures of ironstone known as the New Mines; the Balls and Blue Flatts are particularly fine, and on this account the iron made in the district is of a remarkably strong body. Under about a third of the parish, on the north side, is an excellent bed of freestone, of 25 yards' thickness, now wrought, but not so extensively as formerly, and suitable for the inside work of houses; and on the south-west, at Moxley, is a vein of red sand and loam, from 20 to 30 yards thick, used for building and other purposes, and at the various iron-works throughout the district for making the bottoms of heating-furnaces. The manufactures are numerous, comprising a great variety of hardware goods, principally gun-locks, screws of every description, latches, bolts, coach-springs, and saddlery articles, all of the most superior quality, and made largely for the London trade. The iron and steel works of Messrs. Bills and Mills are celebrated for the production, besides other wares, of rolled iron, in an immense variety of shapes to suit the various purposes of manufacturers, and also for the production of the beautifully scrolled or figured iron from which gentlemen's sporting guns are made; their own smelting-works prepare the pig-iron. The iron-works and foundry of Messrs. Addenbrooke and Company are very considerable; and Messrs. Richardson and Company have a large establishment, called the Soho works, for the manufacture of gas-tubes, on a new principle, which is secured by a patent. The Birmingham canal passes on the north side of the parish to Walsall, &amp;c.; and the Liverpool and Birmingham railway also runs through it at the east end. The town is lighted with gas from the extensive works at West Bromwich, about four miles distant. It is chiefly inhabited by persons engaged in the mines and other works carried on in the immediate neighbourhood; the artisans are distinguished for their cleverness, and iron appears to be as ductile in their hands as clay is in the potter's. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 11. 5½., and in the gift of the Trustees of the Rev. C. Simeon. The tithes have been commuted for £250; there is a rectory-house, with 18 acres of glebe. The church is a plain brick building, erected in 1806, upon the site of a very ancient stone edifice; the tower of the old church still remains, surmounted by a tall and graceful spire.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 8-15. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50914 Date accessed: 04 April 2011.

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
Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts 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
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 Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Walsall Poor Law Union, Staffordshire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Staffordshire 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

Web sites
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.