Halton, Lancashire Genealogy

Guide to Halton, Lancashire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records. Also see the which lies within Halton Parish boundaries.

Parish History
Halton (St Wilfrid), is an ancient parish (operating by 1592) in the hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, 3 miles northeast by east from Lancaster containing, by 1856, the chapelry of Aughton as well. Halton had no fewer than twenty-two dependent townships.

The village consists primarily of modern housing, amongst which can be found a number of 17th and 18th century buildings. The 19th century Textile Mills once harnessed the power of the Lune. Earthworks on Castle Hill show evidence of an 11th century Norman motte &amp; bailey castle. In the churchyard of St Wilfrids stands the Halton Cross believed to have been carved by Norsemen over 1,000 years ago.

Halton Castle was situated in the village of Halton. Halton was an important Anglo-Saxon manor held by Earl Tostig, the brother of King Harold before the Norman Conquest. It is likely that a motte and bailey castle was constructed on the site in the late 11th century. However Halton’s prominence was lost in the 12th century when favour shifted to Lancaster, and Halton Castle was abandoned. Only earthworks now remain and it is privately owned with no public right of way.

Find Neighboring Parishes
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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
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
Chapelry is a church or churches built in a large ecclesiastical parish to help the members attend worship services closer to their homes.

Chapelries of Halton
Online Parish Records Table

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 - Lancashire ($)
 * The Genealogist Parish Registers - Lancashire ($)
 * UK Websites for Parish Records - Links to online genealogical records
 * Online Genealogical Index - Links to online genealogical records
 * OnLine Parish Clerks - Lancashire - OnLine Parish Clerks project for Lancashire

Non-Conformist Churches (All other Religions)

 * 1647-1996 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index (dates may vary by parish)

Genealogy
Garth and Hilliard of Halton, Lancaster and Liverpool. A Pedigree chart of Garth and Hilliard, dating from 1658-1983 in those places listed above, with surnames Taylor, Chambers, Simpson, Barker, Long, Grey, Borwick, Smith, Hilliard, Nixon, Blowe, Willan, Butterworth, May, Waller, Brodie, Hyde, Henderson, to be found in Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Soc. magazine vol. 11, no. 4 page 24-25, Family History Library Ref. 942.72 B2r

Poor Law Unions
Caton Gilbert Union,Lancashire

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.

Taxation

 * 1665-1667 - Lancashire Hearth Tax: Lonsdale Hundred, Halton. E 179/132/352, The National Archives. Microfilm:.

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