St Bride Fleet Street, London Genealogy

England London  London Parishes  St Bride Fleet Street

Parish History
"St Bride's [sometimes called St Bridget's], Fleet Street, the church of, situated to the southward of the above described Avenue, and is bounded by the Avenue on the north; St Bride's Passage, Salisbury Square, on the west; Bride Lane on the east, and the backs of the houses of Bell's Buildings on the south. This church is a fabric of great strength and beauty, and forms one of the most striking features of the metropolis.  Its interior is spacious, commodious and elegant, being 111 feet in length, 57 in breadth, and 41 in height; is remarkably well pewed, with moulded wainscot, and is composed of a lofty nave, covered with a vaulted ceiling, and aisles separated by coupled columns of the Doric order.  The old church was so much damaged by the fire 1666, that it was taken down and entirely rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren, who completed it for divine services in 1680, and further embellished it in 1699. The tower and steeple were begun in October 1701, and completed in 1703. The church has since that time undergone several expensive repairs, and has been recently restored and beautified in a manner deserving its great reputation, and creditable to the munificence of the parishioners. This church appears to be of considerable antiquity, as there are records of three rectors previous to 1362. It was a very small building, till about 1480, when it was greatly enlarged by William Venor, who erected a spacious fabric at its west end, which consisted of a native and to aisles, to which the ancient church served as a choir. In 1610, the Earl of Dorset gave a large piece of ground on the west side of Fleet Ditch, for a new burial ground, and it was consecrated the second of August of that year by Dr. George Abbott, Bishop of London. The cemetery, which is behind the Westside of Farringdon Street, is still used for that purpose. It was originally a rectory in the patronage of the Abbott and and convent of Westminster and is supposed to have been converted into a vicarage about the year 1529. When Henry VIII dissolved the convent of Westminster and formed into a bishoprick this church was conferred upon the new Bishop, and restored to the Abbott by his daughter Mary, but on the restoration of the deanery plate Edward IV, the patronage was granted to the Dean and Chapter... "

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 neighboring 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
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.

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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites

 * London Family History Centre Catalogue