Shap, Westmorland Genealogy

Guide to Shap, Westmorland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
SHAP (St. Michael), a small town and a parish,in West ward and union, county of Westmorland,6 miles (N. W.) from Orton; containing, the chapelry of Swindale.

Find Neighboring Parishes
Use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map
 * Type the name of the parish in the search bar
 * Click on the location pin on the map
 * Choose Options from the pop up box
 * Click "List Contiguous Parishes" to find the neighboring parishes

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
The Church of England (Anglican) became the official state religion in 1534, with the reigning monarch as its Supreme Governor. Non-Conformist refers to all other religious denominations that are not the official state religion.

Church of England
Due to the increasing access of online records: Hover over the collection's title for more information Other Websites These databases have incomplete parish coverage.
 * Individual parish coverage for databases in this table are inconsistent and should be verified
 * Dates in the following table are approximate
 * Joiner Marriage Index - Westmorland ($)
 * The Genealogist Parish Registers - Westmorland ($)
 * UK Websites for Parish Records - Links to online genealogical records
 * Online Genealogical Index - Links to online genealogical records
 * 1611-1861 Archdeaconry of Richmond, England, Church of England Marriage Bonds, 1611-1861 at Ancestry – index & images ($)

Census Records
In December 1787 the Westmorland Court of Quarter Sessions commissioned a population survey of the county. Parish constables were ordered to send in returns listing the names and occupations of the members of every household in their constablewick. This census is found in Vital Statistics, The Westmorland "Census' of 1787. This book is available at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. The library call number is British Ref. Area 942.88 X2v.

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