Witton, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Cheshire Parishes  Witton



Parish History
Witton, St. Helen was an ancient chapelry in Great Budworth parish, originally serving the townships of Birches, Castle Northwich, Hartford (part), Hulse, Lach Dennis, Lostock Gralam, Northwich, Winnington and Witton cum Twambrooks.

The church was originally a chapel of ease to St Mary and All Saints, Great Budworth and the area was then known as Witton. The present building dates from the 14th century, with additions in the 15th, 16th and 19th centuries.A tradition that Witton had a chapel as early as the 13th century cannot be verified, but by the mid-14th century a church (technically a chapel of ease) stood on the present site. It was roughly the same length as the current building, had transepts but no aisles, side chapels or clerestory, and was covered by a steeply-pitched roof rising from about the height of the present arcade. There would have been a chancel arch with a great beam or loft across it bearing a rood, but no chancel step. The only seats would have been stone benches around the walls.

Gradually this evolved into the church as it is today. North and south aisles, narrower than those currently present, were added in the 15th century. The tower was built or rebuilt in about 1498, and the name ‘Thomas Hunter’ prominently displayed on it indicates it was the work of the mason of that name who was also associated with nearby Norton Priory. A porch in roughly the same position as the current porch was added at this time, or perhaps even earlier. The present porch however is certainly no earlier than 1500 and possibly much later: an inscription on its beam commemorates a substantial repair in 1756.

The aisles were rebuilt and widened between 1536 and 1549, bringing what had been a side chapel (now the Lady Chapel) into the body of the church. The nave was later also widened, at the expense of the north aisle, and a clerestory added by 1550 at the latest. Probably at this time the present roof over the nave was installed, though there is debate as to whether it was commissioned for the church originally.[9] Later the chancel was widened to match the nave. The chancel was embattled soon after 1624, when Thomas Farmer, the master of Witton Grammar School left money for the purpose in his will.

In the 18th century galleries (since removed) were gradually added on three sides of the interior, and in 1767 an organ and organ gallery also installed, possibly over the chancel. Later the organ was placed in the west gallery.

In 1841 a major restoration was undertaken which involved the re-siting of the pulpit, changes to the chancel steps, rebuilding of the south and west galleries, renovation of the roof and the making of a grand west Door. (Previously the only entrances had been that via the porch to the south and a small door giving access from outside to the tower steps).Twenty years later a large crack developed in the chancel which therefore had to be taken down and rebuilt in 1861–62, and at this time the present three large coloured glass windows behind the altar were installed. Apart from the roof therefore the chancel is substantially mid-Victorian. In 1883 the north aisle, then only 8.5 feet (3 m) wide, was widened to make it correspond with the south aisle, and other work done at much the same period included the addition of an altar rail, a new pulpit and the reflooring of the whole church.

Although there have since been further changes to the interior (including the addition of screens at the east end of the aisles and new coloured glass windows), by the 1890s the church looked much as it does today. It formally became a parish church when "the District Chapelry of St Helen Witton, otherwise Northwich", came into being on 7 August 1900.

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 District


 * Northwich

Registration events can 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 Witton-cum-Twambrooks, 1561-1973 Chester Record Office call number: P53/1/1-6, 2/1-10, P53/4690/1-4, P53/3/1-4, 8/1-2, 4/1-11, P53/4690/5-20, P53/5/1-2, 6/1-9, P53/7/1-3. Witton-cum-Twambrooks was a chapelry in Great Budworth parish. An index for Cheshire Parish Records can be found in FamilySearch Historical Records.

The Family History Library (FHL) has copies of the following records.

Witton (Northwich)- St Helen Baptism Index-1813-1851- 929.342715 No2 Baptisms-1561-1767- MFPR 427 Baptisms-1768-1858- MFPR 430 Baptisms-1858-1903- MFPR 431 Baptisms Auxiliary-1813-1862- MFPR 432 Burials-1561-1767- MFPR 427 Burials-1768-1873- MFPR 433 Burials-1874-1912- MFPR 434 Burials Aux.-1813-1862- MFPR 435 Marriage Index-1754-1792- 929.342715 No1 Marriage Index-1792-1851- 929.342715 No1 Marriage Index-1837-1857- 929.342715 No2 Marriages-1561-1754- MFPR 427 Marriages-1754-1837- MFPR 428 Marriages-1837-1895- MFPR 429

For original registers of above please enquire at Cheshire Record Office.

The Manchester Room and Greater Manchester County Record Office Email: archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk

The Manchester Room@City Library (Local Studies)

Bishop's transcripts for Witton-cum-Twambrooks, 1597-1893 Records are not arranged in strict chronological order. Some intermittent years are missing. Cheshire Record Office number: EDB/225

An index of Cheshire Bishop's transcripts may be found in Family Search Historical Records.

Non-Conformist Churches
Refer to Northwich, Cheshire to see relevant churches and chapels.

Cheshire Record Office Document Reference EMC 13


 * NORTHWICH METHODIST CIRCUIT Date 1793-1999
 * Description SUPERINTENDENT MINISTER Registers of baptisms MISCELLANEA CIRCUIT MEETING SECRETARY Minutes of quarterly and half yearly meetings General Purposes Committee minutes Property Committee minutes Returns of members
 * CIRCUIT STEWARDS Circuit Steward Accounts Preachers Travelling Fund Accounts Minutes Plans Accounts Circuit Schedules Circuit Property Schedules
 * LOCAL PREACHERS' MEETING SECRETARY Minutes
 * CIRCUIT PLAN SECRETARY Circuit plans
 * YOUTH COUNCIL Minutes MISCELLANEA NORTHWICH BOURNE CIRCUIT
 * CIRCUIT STEWARDS Accounts Circuit reports and schedules
 * SUPERINTENDENT MINISTER Membership register
 * CIRCUIT MEETING SECRETARY Quarterly meeting and circuit committee minutes
 * OVERSEERS MISSIONS CIRCUIT COMMITTEE LOCAL PREACHERS' MEETING SECRETARY Minutes
 * MISCELLANEA CIRCUIT PLAN SECRETARY Circuit plans
 * NORTHWICH UNITED METHODIST (CENTRAL) CIRCUIT CIRCUIT MEETING SECRETARY WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP Accounts Miscellanea

Northwich Wesleyan Methodist Circuit was formed in 1792, and following Methodist Union in 1932 was designated Northwich London Road Circuit. In 1935 London Road Circuit amalgamated with Central (former United Methodist) circuit to form Northwich (London Road and Central) circuit. In 1956 the Winsford section of this circuit was transferred to Winsford Methodist Circuit, and the remainder amalgamated with Northwich Bourne (former Primitive Methodist) circuit to form Northwich Methodist Circuit. URL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=017-emc13&amp;cid=0

Poor Law Unions

 * Northwich Poor Law Union, Cheshire

Census records
http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

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.

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
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.