Christ Church, Newgate Street with St Leonard, Foster Lane, London Genealogy

England London  London Parishes  Christ Church, Newgate Street with St Leonard, Foster Lane

Parish History
"Christ's Church, Newgate Street. This church is dedicated to the name and honour of Christ, and anciently belonged to the convent of Grey Friars or Franciscans, but falling to the crown, at the dissolution of the religious houses, Henry VIII bave it to the mayor, commonalty and the citizens of London, for a parish church, in lieu of the two churches of St Ewen, in Newgate Market, near the north corner of Eldeness, now called Warwick Lane, and of St Nicholas in the Shambles, on the north side of Newgate; both which churches and their parishes were then demolished, and as much of St Sepulchre's parish as laid within Newgate, was added to this newly created parish, which was then Christ Church. From this time it was made a vicarage in the patronage of the mayor, commonalty and citizens of London, as governors of the Royal Hospital of St Bartholomew."

St Leonard Foster Lane belongs to Aldersgate Ward. Only the tower of Christ Church Newgate stands today. The parish is also known as Christ Church Greyfriars Newgate.

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.

St Leonard Foster Lane Parish
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. Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist 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. Here is a list of church records on microfilm at theFamily History Library(FHL) in Salt Lake City.

1541 Subsidy

 * 1541 London Subsidy Roll, Aldersgate Ward - Seynt Leonard Paryshe, courtesy: British History Online

1582 Subsidy

 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Castle Baynard Ward - Christes Church and St Faythes Parishes, courtesy: British History Online
 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Farringdon Ward Within - Christes Church Parishe, courtesy: British History Online
 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Aldersgate Ward - Saint Leonardes Parish and St Martyns, courtesy: British History Online

1589 Subsidy

 * London Subsidy Roll, c.1589 - St. Leonardes Paroche and St. Martyns Le Graunde, courtesy: Family History Archives (see page 148)

1625 Subsidies

 * Christchurch, Newgate, Farringdon Ward Within, London (The National Archives, Ref: E179/147/555); copy:.
 * Christchurch, Newgate, Castle Baynard Ward, London (The National Archives, Ref: E179/147/546); copy:.
 * St Leonard, Foster Lane, Aldersgate Ward, London (The National Archives, Ref: E179/147/510); copy:.

1638 Inhabitants List

 * Inhabitants of London in 1638 - Christ Church, courtesy: British History Online
 * Inhabitants of London in 1638 - St Leonard, Foster Lane, courtesy: British History Online

1666 Hearth Tax

 * Hearth Tax: City of London 1666 - Christ Church Newgate Street, courtesy: British History.

Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish.

Before 1858, St Leonard Foster Lane fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London. Christ Church Newgate Street fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of London. In practice, many residents left their wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury from the 1700s through 1858. From 1858 to the present, refer to the Principal Probate Registry.

Go to London Probate Records to find the names of the courts having secondary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Records of the Poor
During the seventeenth century, officials gave some foundlings discovered in Bagnio Court in Christ Church Newgate Street Parish the unique surname Bagnio. Those found at the Bluecoat School often received the surname Blewcoat or Bluecoat. Christchurch was also given as a surname.

Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

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

 * London Family History Centre Catalogue (Christ Church Newgate Street Parish records)
 * London Family History Centre Catalogue (St Leonard Foster Lane Parish records)
 * Society of Genealogists Library Catalogue (to narrow results, conduct subject searches for 'London Christchurch' or 'London St Leonard Foster Lane')