Blackrod, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Chapelry History
Blackrod St Katherine is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Lancashire, created in 1730 from chapelry in Bolton le Moors St Peter, Lancashire Ancient Parish.

A church is the earliest recorded building in 1338, dedicated to St. Katherine (spelling first documented) and of Norman design. A lot of the Elizabethan work can still be seen, but the parish church was enlarged in 1776, galleries added in 1837, the roof renewed in 1894, the chancel rebuilt in 1905 and nave in 1911. During this time the spelling has changed to Catherine, and now the current Katharine. There are six bells in the west tower, cast in 1776, renewed in 1922, and the clock was illuminated in 1947.

The name Blackrod derives from the Old English, blaec and rodu, meaning a "dark clearing". The first mention of the town dates to 1189, when it was recorded as Blacherode. It has been suggested that "rod" may also mean Holy Rood (Cross of Christ).

The main industry of the town was coal mining, agriculture  and a weaving mill (built in 1906), but today only a few farms remain with the pits all closed. Today it is mainly a residential area, but still retains a Town Mayor and Town Council.

"BLACKROD, a chapelry [as of 1606], in the parish of Bolton, union of Wigan, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 4½ miles south by southeast of Chorley. The chapel, dedicated to St. Catherine. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists.

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

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

Poor Law Unions
Wigan Poor Law Union

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