Topographical Dictionary of England

This work, edited by Samuel Lewis, contains every fact of importance tending to illustrate the local history of England. Arranged alphabetically by place (village, parish, town, etc.), it provides a faithful description of all English localities as they existed at the time of first publication (1831), showing exactly where a particular civil parish was located in relation to the nearest town or towns, the barony, county, and province in which it was situated, its principal landowners, the diocese in which it was situated, and--of great importance--the Roman Catholic district in which the parish was located and the names of corresponding Catholic parishes. There were six subsequent editions, the last of which (1848-9) was in four volumes and an atlas.

Resources

 * A Topographical Dictionary of England: seventh edition (1848) - British History Online
 * A Topographical Dictionary of England: fifth edition (1845) - Internet Archive