Ashworth, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
ASHWORTH, a parochial chapelry [built by at least 1813], in the parish of Middleton, union of Bury, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 3½ miles (W.) from Rochdale; containing 325 inhabitants. A family named Ashworth was seated here as early as the 13th century, and appears to have been succeeded by the Holts: Richard Holt, an active supporter of the royal cause in the civil war, had his estate sequestrated in 1643; but it was afterwards restored. The manor came subsequently into the possession of the Wilbraham family. Ashworth comprises by measurement 1025 acres; the soil is fertile, the scenery romantic, and the lower part of the township is thickly studded with large oak-trees. The substratum abounds in coal, of which a mine is in operation; and stone of good quality for building is also obtained in great quantity: a fullingmill affords employment to some hands. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Wilbraham Egerton, Esq.; net income, £119. The rectorial tithes have been commuted for £15, and the glebe consists of 62 acres. The chapel, a plain stone fabric, dedicated to St. James, stands on the summit of a hill to the north of Ashworth Hall; it was for the most part rebuilt in 1789, and in 1837 the chancel, which was part of a former edifice, was taken down, and the east end of the chapel considerably enlarged. The burial-ground commands an extensive view of the adjacent hills and vales. A daily school, founded by Mr. Egerton in 1828, is partly supported by that gentleman, by whom, also, premises for a Sunday school were built in 1838.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 96-100. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50766 Date accessed: 25 June 2010.

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

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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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