Shenstone, Staffordshire Genealogy

Parish History
Shenstone is an Ancient Parish in the county of Staffordshire.Other places in the parish include: Catshill, Chesterfield, Lynn, Little Aston, Little Hay, and Fotherley.

SHENSTONE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3½ miles (S. by W.) from Lichfield; containing, with the chapelry of Over Stonall, 1962 inhabitants. It comprises 8451a. 2r. 35p., of which 30 acres are common or waste land; the soil is fertile, producing crops of wheat and barley, and there are extensive and luxuriant pastures. The surface is undulated, and watered by several rivulets that abound with trout. The scenery is enlivened with gentlemen's seats and pleasant villas; the village is neatly built. The parish is intersected at one end by the Wyrley and Essington canal, by which limestone is brought hither from Rushall to be burnt at Sandhills, by Messrs. George and James Brawn, who have wharfs on the canal. A considerable fair for cattle is held on the last Monday in February. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 5. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. John Peel: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £500, and the vicarial for £435; the glebe comprises 38 acres. The church exhibits specimens of the various styles of English architecture, and has an enriched Norman arch at the south entrance; a gallery has been lately erected. There is a separate incumbency at Stonall; and national schools are supported both at Shenstone and Stonall.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 69-74. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51269 Date accessed: 14 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.

Staffordshire BMD have indexes for births marriages and deaths. Due to March 2011 reorganisation of the registration service for South Staffordshire districts the historical registration indexes for this district have been located at the Newcastle under Lyme registration district (formerly held at Lichfield) and applications for certificates need to be directed there. Please refer to the "Updates" page of Staffordshire BMD for further information.

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
Lichfield 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.