Ellesmere, Shropshire Genealogy

Ellesmere (Anglo-Saxon: Aelsmere) is a small market town and parish in the Shropshire, England on the border with Wales. The area is known as ‘Shropshire’s Lakeland’ and the town is located by the side of 'The Mere'. This is one of nine glacial meres in the area, the others being Blakemere, Colemere, Crosemere, Kettlemere, Newtonmere, Whitemere, Sweatmere and Hanmer Mere.

History
A castle existed in Ellesmere probably as far back as the 11th-century.

In 1114, Henry I of England gave Ellesmere to William Peverel as a part of the Maelor. His descendants retained Ellesmere until around the late 1140's when the lordship was acquired by Madog ap Maredudd of Powys. Madog died in 1160 and Ellesmere came into the hands of Henry II of England. In 1177 Henry II of England gave the manor of Ellesmere to Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd who was, by this time, the sole ruler of Gwynedd. Dafydd remained lord of Ellesmere until his death in 1203. In 1205, Llywelyn Fawr received Ellesmere as a wedding gift and retained control of the lordship until his death in 1240. The lordship then appears to have later passed into the hands of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, grandsons of Llywelyn Olaf. The castle eventually fell to the English in March 1282.

Ellesmere was annexed to Shropshire in 1535. It was part of the Hundred of Pimhill.

The ancient parish included the townships of Ellesmere, Colemere, Crickett, Criftins, Eastwick, Elson-with-Greenhill, Birch and Lythe, Cockshutt and Crosemere, Frankton, Hamptons Wood, Hardwick, Kenwicks with Stockett and Whettall, Kenwicks Park, Kenwicks Wood, Lee, Lyneal, New Marton, Newnes, Northwood, Oteley with Newton and Spoonhill, Ridges, Stocks with Coptivinney, Tetchill with French, and the chapelry of Dudleston. It also included the chapelry of Penley in Flintshire.

Ellesmere Canal
In 1791 a meeting took place at Ellesmere to propose the construction of a canal from Netherpool (which later became known as Ellesmere Port) on the River Mersey to the River Dee at Chester and then via Overton on to the River Severn at Shrewsbury. This canal would have branches to nearby iron making and coal mining areas. The canal that was eventually constructed was very different from what was originally envisioned. By 1795 the proposed main route had been moved further to the west in order to take in the industrial areas around Ruabon and Wrexham. The Ellesmere Canal was eventually constructed in sections, with Thomas Telford as engineer, but the original goal was never reached. The canal was terminated at Pontcysyllte near Ruabon where a feeder branch was constructed along the Dee valley to the Horseshoe Falls at Llantisilio, near Llangollen. The final section linking Ruabon to Chester was never constructed, neither was the link south to Shrewsbury. Today this section is known as the Llangollen Canal and is used mainly for leisure purposes and runs from Llangollen, Pontcysyllte, Chirk, Ellesmere, Bettisfield, Whitchurch, Marbury, Wrenbury and Hurleston, where it joins the Shropshire Union Canal.

Census Records
The parish of Ellesmere formed part of the Oswestry Registrar's District.

Church Records
The following records of Ellesmere are available on the IGI:

Bishop's transcripts held at Lichfield Record Office Bap 1630-1880 Marr 1630-1886 Bur 1630-1878

Nonconformist Church Records
The following records of Ellesmere are available on the IGI:

Civil Records
The parish of Ellesmere originally formed part of the Ellesmere Registration District but was later incorporated into the Oswestry Registration District.