Bidston, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Bidston



Parish History
Bidston St Oswald Bidston cum Ford was a township in Bidston Parish, Wirral Hundred and included Bidston Moss and Ford.In 1928 parts of Bidston were added to Birkenhead and Wallasey civil parishes. In 1933 the remainder of Bidston was added to Birkenhead.

The manor of Bidston, a township in Cheshire, and the entire parish, were formerly part of the barony of Dunham Massey, and continued in the possession of the lords of Dunham for about a century and a half. When they came into possession of Henry, Duke of Lancaster he afterwards gave them, with other lands, to Roger de Strange, Lord of Knockyn, in exchange for lands in Lincolnshire. They continued in possession of this family until about the reign of Henry VI, when the manor of Bidston passed to the family of the Stanleys, Earls of Derby, who held them until 1653, when they were sold by Charlotte de la Tremouille, Countess of Derby, and her son Charles, Earl of Derby, to William Steele, Esq., a commissioner-at-law, by whom they were resold, in the reign of Charles II, to Lord Kingston, an Irish peer, and some years afterwards the property was again sold to Sir Robert Vyner, Lord mayor of London.

Bidston Hall stands on a commanding situation on a rock of yellow freestone, of which material it is built. The western front has bay windows and projecting gables, and the entrance is in the centre of the front, formed in a semicircular porch, which rises the entire height of the building. The eastern side corresponds with the western, but has in addition a piazza along the lower storey. The front approach Is through a square court, with a handsome gateway having a singular arch highly ornamented with the cognizances of the Derby family. In some intermediatory purchase it is said Bidston Hall was won and lost at cards, to commemorate which a summer-house was built in the form of a club, as usually represented in that card, the foundations of which still remain in the picturesque grounds attached to the hail.— See Mortincer’s History of the Hundred of Wirral.

The original church dates back to the 13th century. The tower was built in 1520. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1855–56 by W. &amp; J. Hay in Gothic Revival style. An extension was made to the chancel in 1882 by G. E. Grayson.

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.

Church Records
Bidston parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials have been indexed by the following groups:

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.

Bidston, St. Oswald (C of E), an ancient parish church, originally served the townships of Bidston cum Ford, Birkenhead, part of Claughton cum Grange, Moreton (near Wallasey) and Saughall Massie.

Parish registers for Bidstone, 1682-1958, are deposited at the Cheshire Record Office. CRO reference: P 86/1/1-2, 2/1-3, P 86/3631/1, P 86/3/1-8, P 86/3631/2/1, P 86/4/1-2, P 86/3631/3.

Bishop's transcripts for Bidstone, 1581-1863, are also deposited at the Cheshire Record Office; some years missing. CRO reference: EDB 25.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online in Record Searchat FamilySearch.org.

Here is a list of church registers on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

The baptismal, marriage and burial registers of the Parish of Bidston in the county of Chester, 1581 to 1700 Stmnt.Resp. edited and annotated by William Fergusson Irvine Authors Irvine, William Fergusson (Added Author) Church of England. Parish Church of Bidstone (Cheshire) (Added Author)

Notes Reproduction of: Birkenhead : Willmer Brothers, 1893. 100, xxvi p. "Reprinted from the 'The Birkenhead News'"--T.p. "Only 100 copies printed, of which this is no. 46"--T.p. verso. (Bidston is also known as Bidstone).includes index.

The transcripts for the parish are online at Cheshire Parish Register project.

Birkenhead, All Saints (C of E). The parish church for part of Bidston from 1911 to 1971.

Leasowe, St Chad (C of E). The parish church for part of Bidston from 1957.

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
Wirral 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