Tockholes, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
TOCKHOLES, a township and chapelry, in the parish, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 3¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Blackburn; the township containing 1023 inhabitants. In the 14th of Henry VII. Sir Alexander Hoghton held lands here, and in the 17th of Charles I. Nicholas Wittone died seised of lands and messuages called " Green Tockholes in Livesey;" the family of Holinshed more recently held the lordship, and on the margin of a moor stands an old farmhouse called Holinshed Hall. Tockholes is a scattered tract, watered by the river Roddlesworth, or Moulder Water, and its branches issuing from the adjacent hills. It comprises 1926a. 3r. 13p., of mountainous surface, chiefly meadow and pasture: there are several coal-mines, which are partially worked; and sandstone of good quality is quarried for building purposes. Most of the inhabitants are employed in the hand-loom weaving of cotton, and in a cotton-factory. The chapelry hitherto consisted of Tockholes and Livesey; but by a recent order of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, it now consists of the township of Tockholes, and parts of the townships of Livesey and Lower Darwen. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Blackburn; net income, £150. The old chapel was dedicated to St. Michael: the present edifice is dedicated to St. Stephen; it was built in 1833, at an expense of £2567, and is in the early English style. The Independents have a place of worship. Cannon-balls have been found at various times; a twelve-pounder was discovered in the garden of the parsonage, and on clearing out an old pond in 1833, skeletons of 48 horses were found, from which it would appear that an action took place here, most probably between the royalists and parliamentarians.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 366-369. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51347 Date accessed: 31 July 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.

Online index of Lancashire Births, Marriages and Deaths Lancashire_BMD

Lancashire Online Parish Clerks
An extremely useful resource for research in Lancashire Parishes http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/

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.