Chorlton cum Hardy, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
Chorlton cum Hardy St Clement has had a history of two church sites.

Until 1512, the people of Chorlton had to travel to Manchester Our Lady, St George and St Denys, Lancashire the Ancient Parish church of Manchester, for their baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The prominent Barlow family then established a chapel on what is now Chorlton Green, five minutes walk from the present church. The chapel remained a centre of worship in Chorlton for more than three hundred years.

The original timber-framed chapel was in use until 1779, when a new building was constructed in brick. Although no records prove that it was built on the site of the original chapel, the fact that some 18th Century graves can be found in the graveyard, the oldest dated 1708, suggests this is likely.



In 1839, Chorlton Chapel was designated a parish church. However, by 1860, Chorlton had grown larger and more prosperous, and because the fabric of the brick building was in a poor state of repair, a new building was proposed. Lord Egerton provided land at the corner of what is now St Clement’s Road and Edge Lane for the new church building.

Moving the church to a new site, however, was not without opposition. Many in the parish resisted the plans. Among them was the banker William Cunliffe Brooks who had paid for the construction of the lych-gate to the old church. The gate still stands on Chorlton Green today.

After many delays, construction of the new church went ahead and the opening service was held in June 1866. The church was consecrated thirty years later.

The opposition to the new church continued and this meant that the church on Chorlton Green remained the parish church until 1940 It was finally demolished in 1949.

The modern church of St Clement St Clement's Road is at the corner of Edge Lane and St Clement's Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester.

The mission church, St Barnabas, is in South Chorlton on the corner of Hardy Lane and Hurstville Road. Both are in the Diocese of Manchester.

"CHORLTON, a chapelry, [as of 1737] in the parish of Manchester, union of Chorlton-upon-Medlock, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 3½ miles south by southwast of Manchester."

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
Online Records

Online transcriptions for Cheetham St Thomas Chapelry exist, as well as those for the ancient parish of Manchester Our Lady, St George, and St Denys--to which it was attached. Links to online baptisms, marriages and burials registers are displayed below and located at the web sites indicated; note the ranges of years:

To view a full list of all chapelries and district churches in the ancient parish of Manchester and their respective links to online transcriptions of their baptisms, marriages and burials, be sure to visit the MANCHESTER (CATHEDRAL) OUR LADY, ST GEORGE &amp; ST DENYS page.

Original Records 

Chorlton-cum-Hardy- St Clement Baptisms-1737-1862- MFPR 178 Baptisms-1862-1886- MFPR 1281 Baptisms-1886-1907- MFPR 1281 or MFPR 2188 Baptisms-1907-1922- MFPR 2188 Baptisms-1922-1938- MFPR 1281 or MFPR 2188 Baptisms-1938-1967- MFPR 1281 Baptisms Transcript-1639-1639- 929.342733 Ch1 Baptisms Transcript-1737-1837- 929.342733 Ch1 Burials-1753-1850- MFPR 178 Burials-1850-1916- MFPR 1286 Burials Transcript-1753-1837- 929.342733 Ch1 Marriages-1737-1751- MFPR 178 Marriages-1838-1939- MFPR 1282 or MFPR 2188 (old church) Marriages-1896-1901- MFPR 1283 or MFPR 2188 (new church) Marriages-1901-1922- MFPR 1283 Marriages-1922-1944- MFPR 1284 Marriages-1944-1966- MFPR 1285 Marriages-1966-1979- MFPR 1286 Marriages-1979-1989- Archives M342 Marriages Transcript-1737-1751- 929.342733 Ch1

The Manchester Room and Greater Manchester County Record Office Email: archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk

The Manchester Room@City Library (Local Studies)

Parish registers for St. Clement's, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, 1639, 1737-1950 Microfilm of original records in the Manchester Archives formerly held at Central Library, Manchester, England. Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a chapelry in the parish of Manchester Our Lady, St George and St Denys, Lancashire Manchester Archives Central Library call nos.: M342/1/1; M342/2/1-5; M342/3/1-3; M342/4/1-7; M342/5/1-3.

Bishop's transcripts for St. Clement's Church, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, 1639-1842 Microreproduction of original manuscripts housed at the Lancashire Record Office, Preston. The chapelry of St. Clement in Chorlton-cum-Hardy is in the parish of Manchester. Lancashire Record Office: DRM/2/206a

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

Poor Law Unions
Chorlton Poor Law Union,Lancashire

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
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
http://www.achurchnearyou.com/chorlton-cum-hardy-st-clement/ for information about the parish