Little Budworth, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Little Budworth



Parish History
Little Budworth St Peter's is an Ancient parish in Cheshire.

The existence of a church on the site was recorded in 1190. The present west tower was erected between 1490 and 1526. The body of the church was rebuilt in stone in 1800 following a bequest from Ralph Kirkham, a wealthy merchant of Manchester. This consisted of a nave and sanctuary with no architectural division, which Raymond Richards describes as being "a poor attempt at imitation of the classical style". The Egerton family of nearby Oulton Hall were benefactors of the church. Their family vault was in the church. This was sealed in 1870. In 1870–71 the interior was restored by John Douglas and the restoration included the removal of pews, a gallery and the ceiling. By 1936 the roof timbers were becoming unsafe and they were replaced by a steel roof.

St Peter's Church, Little Budworth is in the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. The church is a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich. Its benefice is combined with that of St Mary, Whitegate. The church stands on the highest point in the village and its tower dominates views of the area.

There is some disagreement about the correct dedication of the church. Ormerod, writing in 1816, stated that it was dedicated to St Mary and All Saints. However a bequest in 1526 was made by Hugh Starkey of Oulton to "St. Peter of Budworth" and the church is usually now referred to as St Peter's. Another source considers the full original dedication might have been to "St Mary, St Peter and All Saints". Little Budworth is a civil parish and village between Winsford and Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is primarily known as the location of the Oulton Park motor racing circuit.

The village is about 3 miles from Winsford and Tarporley, 14 miles to Chester City Center, 8 miles to Northwich and 17 miles to Warrington with nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line set in rolling English countryside and forest.

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.

Registration Districts

 * Northwich (1837–1974)
 * Vale Royal (1974–98)
 * Cheshire Central (1998–2009)
 * Cheshire West (post 2009)

registration events may be searched online at Cheshire BMD

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Parish registers for Little Budworth, 1561-1966 Cheshire Record Office call reference: P36/1/1-5, P36/7.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online at FamilySearch Historical Records

Bishop's transcripts for Little Budworth, 1576-1897 Early entries in Latin. Cheshire Record Office reference: EDB/128.

An index for Cheshire, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts (Diocese of Chester) is available online at FamilySearch Historical Records

Non-Conformist Churches
Little Budworth, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Built in 1888.

Non-Conformist Records:

Cheshire Record Office Reference EMS 176

LITTLE BUDWORTH CHAPEL Date 1888-1924 Description Trustees' records book The chapel was built by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1888 Extent |Extent 1 vol

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Cheshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions

 * Northwich Poor Law Union, Cheshire

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