Bebington, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Bebington

Parish History
St Andrew's Church, Bebington is in the town of Bebington, Wirral and is an Ancient parish and includes Higher Bebington, Lower Bebington, Poulton cum Spital, Storeton and Tranmere..

A church built from local Storeton sandstone was present before the Norman Conquest. Some of the stones from this church are still present in the south wall of the present church. A priest in Bebington was recorded in the Domesday Book. The Saxon church was later replaced by a Norman church. Building of the tower started in 1300 and was completed around 50 years later. The church was remodelled in the 14th century, the south aisle was widened and a three-bay chancel was built. In the 16th century rebuilding started at the east end in Perpendicular style. The chancel and chapels were built but the scheme was interrupted by the Reformation. In 1847 the church was reordered and the north arcade was built in Norman style.

From masons' marks, the lower parts of the tower date from the very early 14th century while the "ringing loft" dates from the middle of that century. The door to the outside of the tower was blocked in the 18th century, when a new door was cut within the church, but was re-opened in 1847. The tower had been rebuilt in 1805 after being struck by lightning. The last work of any significance was carried out in 1905.

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.

Registration Districts

 * Wirral (1837–1922)

Church Records
Bebington, St. Andrew Cheshire Record Office reference.: P62/3248/1-4, P62/3248/2/1-3, P62/1/1-3, P62/2/1-3, P62/3/15, P62/5/1-4, P62/1-2, P62/8/1-9, P62/5090/5-8.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online in Record Search Here is a list of church registers on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Bishop's transcripts for Bebington, 1597-1901. Early text in Latin. Cheshire Record Office reference: EDB 22.

The parish has been transcribed and can be searched online at Cheshire Parish Register project

Non-Conformist Churches

 * New Ferry, St. John the Evangelist (Roman Catholic), Bebington Road. Founded 1902.
 * Lower Bebington, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Bromborough Road. Built in 1895, rebuilt in 1928.

Poor Law Unions

 * Wirral