Ipstones, Staffordshire Genealogy

Parish History
Ipstones is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Staffordshire, created in 1720 from chapelry in Leek, Staffordshire Ancient Parish. Other places in the parish include: Foxt, Morridge, and Meeridge.

IPSTONES (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Cheadle, N. division of the hundred of Totmonslow and of the county of Stafford, 5 miles (S. S. E.) from Leek; containing, with the township of Morridge and part of Foxt, 1370 inhabitants. In the year 1450, it appears that this parish, together with the parishes of Cheddleton and Horton, were included in the parish of Leek, the tithes of which belonged to the abbey of Dieulacres until the dissolution of monasteries. The parish occupies a very elevated situation, and comprises 5642 acres of land, chiefly pasture; it abounds, in several places, with rugged rocks, some of which greatly overhang their bases, and at Sharp Cliff this appearance is particularly striking. The soil, generally, is not very fertile, but the face of the country has of late years been much improved by extensive plantations and lime culture, effected by the late John Sneyd, Esq. Coal, of moderate quality, is wrought to a limited extent; and the quarries of gritstone at Black-bank furnish immense quantities of excellent grindstones, which are sent to various parts of the kingdom. The river Churnet, and the Uttoxeter branch of the Trent and Mersey canal, run parallel with each other through the parish; and the Churnet-Valley branch of the North-Staffordshire railway will also pass through. Fairs for cattle, sheep, &amp;c., are held on March 24th and November 6th. In the parish are two fine old mansions, now converted into farmhouses, called Sharpcliff and White Hough; as also the more modern and romantic residence of Belrnont, the seat of the late John Sneyd, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £160; patrons and impropriators, the Freeholders. The church is a handsome structure with a tower, erected in 1790. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans. A free school, anciently endowed with land producing £20 per annum, was further endowed in 1844, by Edward Corden, Esq., of Ashbourn, with £500, which have been laid out in the purchase of a farm. Fossils of plants, apparently of oriental growth, are found near the church.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 614-620. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51063 Date accessed: 11 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
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.

Poor Law Unions
Cheadle Poor Law Union, Staffordshire

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.

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.