Rugeley, Staffordshire Genealogy

Parish History
Rugeley St Augustine is an Ancient Parish and market town.

RUGELEY (St. Augustine), a market-town and parish, in the union of Lichfield, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 9 miles (E. S. E.) from Stafford, and 127 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 3774 inhabitants. This parish includes a portion of Cannock chase, the whole of which, comprising nearly 20,000 acres, still uninclosed, was, together with the manor of Rugeley, granted by Henry VIII. to William, first Lord Paget, ancestor of the Marquess of Anglesey, the present lord of the manor. The town is agreeably situated near the south bank of the river Trent, on the road from Stafford to Lichfield; it is lighted with gas, is remarkably clean, and of respectable appearance. There are several good streets; two of them, called Albion-street and Church-street, have been lately formed, and many of the houses in the latter are of a superior order. The trade is greatly promoted by the proximity of the Grand Trunk canal, which connects the navigation of the rivers Trent and Mersey, and passing northward of the town, between it and the river, communicates with the Brereton collieries, in the parish, by a tramroad, and not far distant is carried over the Trent by a fine aqueduct. The Trent-Valley railway, also, completed in 1847, runs near the town. Here are an iron-foundry, and mills for rolling sheet-iron, also a small manufactory for sugar of lead and verdigris: hats were formerly made to a considerable extent, but this branch of trade has very much declined. The market is on Thursday. Fairs take place on April 15th; June 1st, a very large horse-fair, which continues till the 6th, on which day is also a large cattlefair; October 21st, for cattle, sheep, and horses; and the second Tuesday in December. The powers of the county debt-court of Rugeley, established in 1847, extend over part of the registration-district of Lichfield. A court leet is held in October. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 2., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, the appropriators: the great tithes have been commuted for £405; and the vicarial for £315, with a glebe of 8 acres. The present church was erected in 1822, with stone given by the Marquess of Anglesey; it has a tower, and contains 430 free sittings, in consideration of a grant of £800 from the Incorporated Society. Of the old edifice, the tower and chancel remain entire, and the latter is used as a schoolroom; the arches are in ruins. A district church has been built at Brereton. There is a place of worship for Independents, and one for Wesleyans at Glover's-Hill. The free grammar school is said to have been founded in the time of Elizabeth, but the date is not known; the endowment consists of land and houses in the parish, and produces about £320 per annum. The school is free to the sons of inhabitants of the parish, and the average number of free scholars, for some years past, has been about 50; the master is allowed to take 20 boarders, and may also admit 11 day-scholars from the neighbouring parishes, who pay for their education. Bamford's school was established by John Bamford, who by will dated February 11th, 1733, gave £400: this benefaction having been augmented, the income is now £35 per annum. A national school for girls was founded by the Hon. Mrs. Curzon, now Lady de la Zouche; and an almshouse, for four women, by Mrs. Hopkins.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 711-716. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51249 Date accessed: 14 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.

Staffordshire BMD have indexes for births marriages and deaths. Due to March 2011 reorganisation of the registration service for South Staffordshire districts the historical registration indexes for this district have been located at the Newcastle under Lyme registration district (formerly held at Lichfield) and applications for certificates need to be directed there. Please refer to the "Updates" page of Staffordshire BMD for further information.

Church records
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Census records
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Poor Law Unions
Lichfield 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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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