Openshaw, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Chapel History
Openshaw St Barnabas was created a district chapel in 1839 from, and lying within the boundaries ofManchester Our Lady, St George and St Denys ancient parish.

Its name derives from the Old English Opinschawe, which means an open wood or coppice. Since 1890 it has been incorporated into the City of Manchester. St Barnabas church South Street, Openshaw was replaced by the smaller current church in the late 1960's.

"OPENSHAW, an ecclesiastical district with a chapel, in the parish of Manchester, union of Chorlton, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 3 miles east by south of Manchester, comprising the townships of Beswick, Bradford, and Openshawp. The church, dedicated to St. Barnabas, was erected in 1839. The Wesleyans and the New Connexion of Methodists have places of worship."

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
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

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