Norton, Derbyshire Genealogy

England Derbyshire

Parish History
Norton is an Ancient Parish in the county of Derbyshire. Other places in the parish include: Backmoor, Greenhill, Hemsworth, Maugerhay, Norton Lees, and Woodseats.

NORTON (St. James), a parish, in the union of Ecclesall-Bierlow, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 4 miles (S. by E.) from Sheffield; containing 1908 inhabitants. The parish is on the road to Chesterfield, and comprises by measurement 4255 acres, of which about 3000 are arable, 464 woodland, and the remainder meadow and pasture; the surface is undulated. Norton House, an ancient mansion, one room of which bears date 1623, is situated in a park of fifty acres, surrounded with beautiful scenery. The population is partly engaged in the making of files, and stone is quarried for building. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Rev. Henry Pearson, incumbent; net income, £270; impropriator, Offley Shore, Esq. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £20, and the impropriate for £14. 8.; there are nearly 26 acres of glebe. The church contains a Norman font, and among the several monuments is an altar-tomb to the memory of the parents of John Blythe, Bishop of Salisbury, and Geoffry Blythe, Bishop of Lichfield, both which prelates were born here; the former died in 1500, and the latter in 1534. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Unitarians. A free school was founded and endowed in 1654, by Edward Gill, and subsequent benefactions have been added, making the total income £67 per annum. Story Wingfield, in 1725, devised a farm in the parish of Dronfield for the establishment of a lectureship here, now producing £115 per annum. Sir Francis Chantrey, the celebrated sculptor, was born in a farmhouse a little out of the village, in 1781; he died in London in 1841, and was buried here, beside the remains of his father, mother, and grandfather. He left £50 for the instruction of 10 boys, £10 each per annum to 10 men and women, and £50 per annum to the vicar. From A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 439-441. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51185 Date accessed: 02 April 2011.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Norton like this:

NORTON, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in the district of Ecclesall-Bierlow and county of Derby. The village stands 11/3 mile S E of the river Sheaf, at the boundary with Yorkshire, 2½ N of Dronfield, and 4 S by E of Sheffield r. station; is a pleasant place; has a post-office under Sheffield and a good inn; and is a seat ofpetty sessions, and the monthly meeting-place of a local farmers' club. The parish contains also the villages of Norton-Lees, Greenhill, Backmoor, Maugerhay, Hems-worth, and Woodseats. Acres, 4, 330. Real property, £9, 341; of which £20 are in quarries. Pop. in 1851, 1,856; in 1861, 2, 318. Houses, 479. The increase of pop. arose chiefly from the operations of Freehold Landand Building Societies. The property is much sub-divided. The manor, with Norton Hall, belongs to Cammell, Esq. Norton House, the Oaks, Grange House, and Mearsbrook House, are chief residences. The manufacture of scythes, sickles, saw-files, and nails is carried on. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £300.* Patron, H. Wilson, Esq. The church is large and handsome; has a tower; and contains a tablet to Sir Francis Chantrey, and several other monuments. There are three Wesleyan chapels, an endowed school with £65 a year, a national school, and considerable charities. Sir Francis Chantrey, Bishop Geoffry Blythe, and Bishop John Blythe were natives.—The sub-district contains also the extra-parochial tract of Beauchief-Abbey. Acres, 5, 110. Pop., 440. Houses, 503.

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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Poor Law Unions
Chesterfield Poor Law Union, Derbyshire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Derbyshire 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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