Pensnett, Staffordshire Genealogy

Parish History
Pensnett St Mark is an Ecclesiastical parish formed in 1844 from Kingswinford, Staffordshire.

PENSNETT, an ecclesiastical parish, in the parish of King's-Swinford, union of Stourbridge, N. division of the hundred of Seisdon, S. division of the county of Stafford, 2 miles (W. S. W.) from Dudley, on the road to King's-Swinford; containing about 5000 inhabitants. This parish was constituted in 1844, under the act 6th and 7th of Victoria, cap. 37. It is about two miles in length, and one mile and a half in breadth; the soil is a strong clay, and part only is in a state of cultivation, the district having been formerly comprehended in the limits of Pensnett Chase. The Stourbridge and the Stourbridge Extension canals, and the large reservoirs belonging to them, bound the parish on two sides. Here are some of the largest iron-works in South Staffordshire, which, and the coal and iron mines in the immediate neighbourhood, have in the few last years rapidly increased the population. Corbyn Hall, in the parish, is the ancient seat of the Corbyn family. The beautifully-wooded eminence called Barrow Hill is supposed to be of volcanic origin, and has emitted smoke from its summit in the memory of some of the old inhabitants, though all appearance of smoke has now ceased. On this hill stands the church, just finished, a handsome edifice in the early English style, 138 feet in length, with spacious chancel and aisles, and calculated to accommodate above 1000 persons; the estimated cost is £6000. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop of Lichfield, alternately; net income, £150. There are two places of worship for Wesleyans, and one for the New Connexion of Methodists.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 549-555. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51209 Date accessed: 27 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.

Church records
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Census records
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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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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