Shelton, Staffordshire Genealogy

Parish History
Shelton is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Staffordshire, created in 1843 from Stoke_upon_Trent,_Staffordshire Ancient Parish.

SHELTON, a district parish, in the parish, union, and newly-erected borough of Stoke-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 2 miles (E. N. E.) from Newcastle-underLyme; containing, with the hamlet of Etruria, and part of the village of Cobridge, 11,955 inhabitants. Shelton has arisen, like other towns in the county, from the very extensive potteries carried on in the vicinity. It is amply supplied with water; the footpaths are paved with brick, and the town is lighted with gas under the superintendence of commissioners appointed for the townships of Shelton and Hanley. An act for the establishment of a market was procured in 1813, by the provisions of which the rents, tolls, and duties are vested in trustees; and the surplus is directed to be appropriated from time to time to the promotion of public works within the two townships. A mechanics' institute was founded in 1826, under the patronage of the Marquess of Stafford, Josiah Wedgwood, Esq., and others; and concerts, mostly for the benefit of some charity, take place occasionally. The principal articles of manufacture are porcelain and earthenware, affording employment to more than 3000 men, women, and children: several of the manufactories are situated on the banks of the Trent and Mersey and the Caldon canals. In the hamlet of Etruria are the extensive potteries and handsome mansion of the late Josiah Wedgwood, the latter remarkable for the beauty of its situation and style of architecture, and for the many splendid Etruscan vases with which it is ornamented. These specimens of art are imitations of original vases found in Italy, to the discovery of which that gentleman was chiefly indebted for the elegance of form and purity of taste that he introduced into the manufacture of porcelain, china, and stone ware. For this manufacture his works became deservedly celebrated; and by the use of flint in the composition of the articles, also introduced by Mr. Wedgwood, it was, under his auspices, progressively brought to perfection. The coal and ironstone mines in Shelton and part of the township of Hanley belong to the crown, and are worked by Earl Granville, the lessee. Under the provisions of an act passed in 1827. Shelton has been recently separated from the rectory of Stoke, and made a distinct district rectory, endowed with £15,000 from the proceeds of tithes authorized to be sold. The Rev. Clotworthy Gillmor, M.A., was the first rector of this new living, of which his father, Capt Gillmor, R. N., had purchased the adowson for £9300. The total net income is about £750. The church, a handsome and spacious edifice in the early English style, with a square embattled tower crowned by pinnacles, was erected by Her Majesty's Commissioners, at an expense of £9311, towards defraying which George IV. gave £250 from the revenues of the duchy of Lancaster; it was consecrated on the 19th of June, 1834, and is dedicated to St. Mark. In the chancel is a beautiful painted window representing the Nativity and Ascension. The late Dr. Woodhouse gave £1000, with its accumulations, for the erection of a parsonage-house, and allotted funds for the support of a national school, which has also a permanent endowment from land given by Mrs. Hannah Bagnal: the house has been built at a cost of about £2300. A district named Etruria was formed in the parish in 1844, and endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; by whom, also, another district was formed in 1845, called Hope, having a population of about 3400. Each of the two livings is in the alternate gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Lichfield. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans of the Old and New Connexion. In Shelton, also, is the North Staffordshire Infirmary, a noble institution founded in 1816, and since very much enlarged; including the fever wards, which occupy one of the wings, it is capable of accommodating more than 100 patients. Elijah Fenton, the poet, was born here in 1683.—

From: 'Sheinton - Shelwick', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 66-69. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51268 Date accessed: 01 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.

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Web sites
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