Flixton, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Parish History
FLIXTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire; containing, with the township of Urmston, 2230 inhabitants, of whom 1459 are in the township of Flixton, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Manchester. This place, anciently spelt Flyxton, and subsequently called Fleece Town, was part of the lands which Roger de Poictou gave to the barons of Manchester. The manor afterwards belonged, in whole or in part, to various families, among whom were the Egertons, of Cheshire; during the last century the estates passed to several purchasers, and much of the land is now freehold inheritance. The whole of the southern boundary of the parish is washed by the Mersey, as is the north-western boundary by the Irwell, and the angle of confluence formed by these rivers is little more than a quarter of a mile below Irlam ferry. The area is 2962 acres, of which the township of Flixton contains 1455a. 2r. 12p.; of the latter number, 431 acres are arable, 167 clover, and 744 general meadow and pasture. The surface is mostly level, and the soil in some parts inclines to a peaty moss: corn, fruit, and potatoes are produced in abundance. Flixton House is a plain family mansion with extensive gardens and pleasure-grounds: Shaw Hall, near the small hamlet of Shawtown, is a venerable edifice of the reign of James I., with gables and wooden parapets on the south-west and north sides; the roof has a profusion of chimneys, and a cupola in the centre. The village of Flixton is delightfully situated upon a verdant eminence; the population are largely employed in hand-loom weaving. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £150; patron and impropriator, the Rev. Spencer Madan, Prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral: the parsonage-house was built about twenty years ago. The church is a small plain structure, standing on an elevated site at the eastern extremity of the village; the tower, though not lofty, is handsome, having an embattled parapet, surmounted by small pinnacles: with the exception of the chancel, the edifice was entirely rebuilt in 1732. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a school is endowed with £5. 10. per annum. Adjoining the ample gardens and filbert-grove of Shaw Hall, was once a moat which has partly disappeared. Flixton (St. Andrew)

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 244-248. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50966 Date accessed: 30 June 2010.

Flixton has been recorded as Fluxton, Flaxtown, Flyxton, Flyxeton, and Flixtone, amongst other spellings. It has been suggested that Flixton derives its name from "Fleecetown" because of its 14th-century connection with the woollen industry. Flixton first appears in historical records in 1177 however, making that toponymy seem unlikely. The name is more probably of Scandinavian origin, perhaps deriving from the Viking called Flikke or Flikkr who is credited with bringing Christianity to the area. The Anglo-Saxon ton means dwelling place, hence Flikke's ton.

Flixton St Michaels Church (Church of England) which has existed since at least 1150 AD.

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.

Online index of Lancashire Births, Marriages and Deaths Lancashire_BMD

Church records
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Parish registers for Flixton, 1570-1954 Microfilm copy of original registers filmed at the Manchester Archives Central Library in Manchester, England. Manchester Archives Central Library call nos.: M148/1/23/1-4, M148/1/24/1-5.

Census records
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http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Probate records
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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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