Lancaster Castle, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Parochial History
Lancaster Castle was an extra-parochial place within Lancaster Municipal Borough--all lying within the Lancaster Parish.

Castle History
Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle, a Crown Court, and a Category C men's prison, located in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The castle buildings are owned by Lancashire County Council, which leases a major part of the structure to Her Majesty's Prison Service. The site itself is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster.

Due to the unique situation of having a prison and courthouse in the same building, it has been host to cases where there was a perceived risk of prisoners escaping on the journey from court to prison.

The Crown Court is the oldest working court-room in Britain. It also holds the dubious distinction of being the court in Britain where the most death sentences have been passed.

The Castle was also the site of the most public hangings outside London. with the site of these executions being the "Hanging Corner"

The castle has been a prison since at least 1196 and is now partly open to the public. The notorious Pendle Witches trial took place here, in the time of Thomas Covell, the Governor of the Castle and Prison. The castle survived an attack by Robert Bruce and more than one royalist attack during the English civil war.

The Shire Hall, which was built in 1802 to a design by Thomas Harrison, has displays of heraldic shields, and the Grand Jury room has a collection of Gillow furniture. There is also a Crown Court and some medieval dungeons.

The castle was linked on to Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster from Henry III in 1267, and from this the castle is part of the Duchy of Lancaster, currently owned by Queen Elizabeth II.

In the United States, the Lancaster County Prison in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was built in 1737 as an almost exact replica of Lancaster Castle.

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
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

Census records
Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

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

Web sites
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.