St Mary Abchurch with St Lawrence Pountney, London Genealogy

England London  London Parishes  St Mary Abchurch with St Lawrence Pountney

Parish History
"St Mary Abchurch with St Lawrence Pountney, the church of, situated near the south end of Abchurch Lane, Cannon Street, and derives its name and addition, from having been dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and Ab or Up church, from its greater elevation than most of its neighbourhood. A church, similarly dedicated, stood upon this site in very early times, for we find that in 1448, the patronage of it was in the Prior and Canons of St Mary Overy, but falling to the crown in the reign of Elizabeth, her majesty granted the perpetual advowson to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge...

"The ancient church was destroyed by the great fire in 1666, and the present edifice erected shortly afterwards by Sir Christopher Wren. The parish of St Lawrence Pountney was united to this parish after the fire, and the church of that small parish was consequently not rebuilt.

"The church is a rectory, in the city, diocese and archdeaconry of London, and in the patronage of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge."

St. Mary Abchurch Parish was a part of Candlewick Ward and/or Walbrook Ward.

During the seventeenth century, foundlings discovered in St Mary Abchurch Parish often received the unique surname Abchurch.

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 Mary Abchurch 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.

1541 Subsidy

 * 1541 London Subsidy Roll, Candlewick Ward - (St. Mary) Abchurch Parishe, courtesy: British History Online
 * 1541 London Subsidy Roll, Dowgate Ward - Seynt Laurence Pountney, courtesy: British History Online

1582 Subsidy

 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Candlewick Ward - (St. Mary) Abchurche Parrysshe, courtesy: British History Online
 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Wallbrook Ward - St Marye Abchurch Parishe, courtesy: British History Online
 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Candlewick Ward - St Lawrence Paroche, courtesy: British History Online
 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Dowgate Ward - Alhallowes the Lesse, Sct Lawrence Powntney &amp; Sct Johns Paroches, courtesy: British History Online

1638 Inhabitants List

 * Inhabitants of London in 1638 - St Laurence Poultnies, courtesy: British History Online
 * Inhabitants of London in 1638 - St Mary Abchurch, courtesy: British History Online

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 Lawrence Pountney fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Commissary of the Bishop of London. St Mary Abchurch fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Archdeaconry of London. In practice, many St Mary Abchurch 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.

Poor Law Unions
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 (St Lawrence Pountney records)
 * London Family History Centre Catalogue (St Mary Abchurch records)
 * Society of Genealogists Library Catalogue (to narrow results, conduct a subject search for 'London St Mary Abchurch' or 'London St Lawrence Pountney')