Warton (near Kirkham), Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
Warton St Paul (near Kirkham) is an Ecclesiastical Parish which prior to the establishment of the Diocese of Blackburn was from 1847 in the amounderness deanery of the Diocese of Manchester in the county of Lancashire, created in 1724 from chapelry in Kirkham, Lancashire Ancient Parish. Other places in the parish include: Freckleton.

The village is about six miles from Preston and eight miles from Blackpool. It is located on the banks of the River Ribble, close to its entry into the Irish Sea. It is best known for its airfield, BAE Warton and its associated aircraft works of BAE Systems Military Air Solutions. The village is part of the borough of Fylde.

The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley.

WARTON, an ecclesiastical [chapel], in the parish of Kirkham, union of the Fylde, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of Lancashire; comprising the townships of Warton, Freckleton, and Bryning with Kellamergh; and containing 1669 inhabitants, of whom 522 are in Warton township, 3 miles (S. S. W.) from Kirkham. Warton appears to have belonged to the lord of WoodPlumpton, by intermarriage with whose heiress the Betham family became connected with the property. The last of the Bethams was Roger, whose daughter married Sir Robert Middleton, of Leighton, in the reign of Richard III. In the 7th of Henry VIII. the manor of Warton was held by Richard Singleton, of Broughton Tower, and Johanna Standishe. About threefourths of the township are now the property of Thomas Clifton, Esq., of Lytham Hall. The parish is situated on the estuary of the Ribble, which bounds it on the south: there are fine views of the opposite shore; and for the safe passage over the Ribble, a guide is stationed at Warton, who conducts strangers to HeskethBank. In the township are 1534a. 1r. 13p., whereof two-thirds are arable, and the remainder pasture. Warton Lodge is the residence of James Fair, Esq., agent to Mr. Clifton. The parish was formed in 1846: the living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £93. 15., and a house; patrons, the Dean and Canons of ChristChurch, Oxford. The great tithes for Warton township have been commuted for £198, and the tithes of the Vicar of Kirkham for £77. 12. 4. The church, dedicated to St. Paul, was consecrated as a chapel in 1725, and is a neat structure with a tower. A school is endowed with an annual income of nearly £100.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 475-482. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51379 Date accessed: 03 August 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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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.

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