Lyminster, Sussex Genealogy

England   Sussex



Parish History
Lyminster St Mary Magdalene is an Ancient Parish in the county of Sussex. Other places in the parish include: Toddington, Warningcamp, Crossbush, and Wick.

LEOMINSTER (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the hundred of Poling, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Arundel; containing, with the tything of Warningcamp, 785 inhabitants. This was the seat of a priory of Benedictine nuns, established by Roger de Mortimer, Earl of Arundel, in the reign of William the Conqueror, and which, on the suppression of alien priories, was granted to Eton College. At Pynham de Calceto, or the Causeway, a priory of Black canons was founded by Adeliza, second wife of Henry I., which continued till the Dissolution, when its revenues, amounting to £43, were given to Cardinal Wolsey, for the endowment of his intended colleges. The parish is situated on the Brighton and Chichester road, and bounded on the west by the river Arun. The Brighton and Chichester railway, opened in 1846, crosses the river here by a bridge of very peculiar construction, called a telescope-bridge, the first of its kind: it was necessary to have a clear water-way for shipping, of 60 feet, and this object was attained by the erection of the present bridge, which can be opened in a few minutes. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 1. 3., and in the patronage of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College (to whom the impropriation belongs), on the nomination of the Bishop of Chichester: the great tithes have been commuted for £375, and the vicarial for £350; the impropriate glebe comprises 5 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the early English style, with a lofty embattled tower. Richard Wyatt, Esq., of Court Wyche, in 1822 bequeathed £5000 three per cents., to be applied to the erection and endowment of a school after the death of his lady, which took place in 1839. There is a chalybeate spring on the Causeway Hill.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 68-74. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51104 Date accessed: 08 May 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
West Sussex Record Office has deposited parish Registers Bap 1565-1985 Marr 1566-1976 Bur 1566-1964

Bishop's Transcripts 1551-1874

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records.

Link to the Family History Library Catalogue showing the film numbers in their collection

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 Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
East Preston Poor Law Union, Sussex

Sutton (East Preston) Poor Law Union, Sussex

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Sussex 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
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.