Lancashire Jurisdictions

Lancashire "Search" Strategy
In Lancashire research--


 * 1) Identifying all chapel registers within each ancient parish--is a "must" before searching in the next contiguous ancient parishes! Why? Because most parishes have multiple chapelries attached to them. The mistake oft repeated is the failure to accurately identify all chapels within the parish and instead moving on to the next parish anyway before having researched in every one of the chapelries' registers! This is the major reason for decades-old unsolved research problems. To exasperate the problem, there is no single treatise, reference aid or published resource tool anywhere--that accurately identifies ALL chapelries found within each ancient parish. These (Lancashire) Wiki pages offer researchers--for the first time a singular tool and reference aid to help you identify and create the most accurate list of chapelries within each ancient parish compiled from several reference tools and aids. Still, additional chapelries occasionally come to light which need to be added to each parish's lists found herein!
 * 2) Never advance research in the next ancient parish church's registers unless or until you've searched all the chapels of ease's (chapelries') registers, of those chapelries lying within the target ancient parish's boundary! For example, the ancient parish of St Chad's Rochdale has about 20 chapels and district churches attached to and subdividing its parish boundary; thus all 20 of them need to be searched before continuing the research in the next ancient parish, such as the parish of Radcliff (St Mary)!
 * 3) Many of Lancashire's chapelries sent couples off to the mother (ancient) parish for marrying. This is because nearly 95 percent of all chapelries were never granted permission to marry. Burials are often found in the ancient parish yard (to which it was attached) or else in another nearby chapel with a burial yard. Many chapelries simply did not possess or maintain a church burial ground'.
 * 4) Marriages in the City of Manchester occurred mostly at Manchester Cathedral--England's largest ancient parish which possessed over 150 chapelries, district churches and ecclesiastical parishes subdividing its border. The Cathedral retained 'licence' to marry most couples within it own border with but very few exceptions especially during the Lord Hardwick era between 1754 and 1837. Note the following few churches within the borders of Manchester ancient parish (the Cathedral of St Mary, St George &amp; St Denys) which, like the Cathedral Church, held rights and privileges to marry couples in their respective chapelries:
 * Manchester St John's Deansgate - from 1804
 * Manchester St Mary's Chapelry - from 1806
 * Ardwick St Thomas - 1740 By about 1840 numerous chapelries were granted permission to marry couples in their own chapel.