Wilmslow, Cheshire Genealogy

Guide to Wilmslow, Cheshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
WILMSLOW (St. Bartholomew), is a parish, in the union of Altrincham, hundred of Macclesfield, North division of the county of Chester, 8 miles NW by N from Macclesfield; containing, with the townships of Bollin-Fee, Chorley, Fulshaw, and Pownall Fee. It is situated on the road from Manchester to Birmingham, and is intersected by the small river Bollin. The railway from Manchester to Crewe runs through the parish. The Wesleyans, Calvinistic Methodists, Quakers, and Unitarians, have places of worship.

Wilmslow, Saint Bartholomew's, is an Ancient Parish in Cheshire and includes Bollin Fee, Pownall Fee, Chorley near Macclesfield, Fulshaw, and Chorley. The earliest documentary evidence of a church on the site is dated 1246. Nothing of this church remains but there is a crypt leading from the chancel which pre-dates the present church. Most of the church was built in the early 16th century also though it is possible that the lower part of the tower dates from the 15th century. The Hawthorne Chapel was added to the south side of the church in 1700, replacing a former chantry dated 1520. There was a restoration in 1862-63 by Brakspear, in 1878 Crowther added the vestry and the south porch, and a clerestory was added to the chancel in 1898 by Bodley and Garner.

Church records
Wilmslow St Bartholomew registers of christenings, marriages and burials have been indexed by the following groups:

Dean Row registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

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.

Parish registers for Wilmslow, Cheshire, 1558-1948 Cheshire Record Office call number: P123/3466/1/1-7, P123/3466/2/1-3, P123/3/1-6, P123/3466/5/1-3, P123/2492/C3/1/3/1-8, P123/3466/4/1-2, P123/5650/1-11, 14.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online in FamilySearch Historical Records (formerly Record Search)

Bishop's transcripts for Wilmslow, 1599-1860 Cheshire Record Office number: ECC/221

An index for Cheshire, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts is available online in Family Search Historical records ( formerly Record Search)

Non-Conformist Churches

 * Wilmslow, Sacred Heart and St. Teresa (Roman Catholic), Green Lane. Founded 1876 in Alma Lane, the present church was opened in 1914. Registers of baptisms 1871–1958, marriages 1884–1948 and burials 1889–1958 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Wilmslow, Friends' Meeting House (Quakers), Altrincham Road. Founded 17th century. Registers 1654–1831 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Morley, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Water Lane. Built in 1798, rebuilt in 1884.
 * Wilmslow, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Dean Row. Founded 1799, Built in 1849. Registers 1807–1837 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Wilmslow, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Lende End. Built in 1807. Registers 1796–1837 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Hough, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Built in 1838. Registers of baptisms 1854–1984 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Wilmslow, Methodist Chapel (New Connexion), Hawthorn Street. Built in 1870.
 * Wilmslow, Presbyterian Chapel, Dean Row. Founded 1672, Built in 1688, became Unitarian Chapel in 1748. Records of births/baptisms 1748–1980, marriages 1845–63 and deaths/burials 1751–1857 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Styal, Norcliffe Unitarian Chapel. Founded 1824. Registers of marriages 1840–1890 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Wilmslow, United Reformed Church (Independent/Congregational). Built in 1847.

Non-Conformist Records:


 * 1600s-1910 Cheshire Non-Conformist & Roman Catholic Registers (Baptism) 17th Century-1910 at FindMyPast ($); index and images (dates may vary by parish)
 * 1600s-1910 Cheshire Non-Conformist & Roman Catholic Registers (Burials) 17th Century-1910 at FindMyPast ($); index and images (dates may vary by parish)
 * 1671-1900 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index (dates may vary by parish)

Church records, 1889-1958 Records contain Latin. Cheshire Record Office call number: ERC 25/5247/1-2, 4.

Cheshire Non-conformist records are available online in FamilySearch Historical Records (formerly known as Record Search)

Church records for the Morley Society of Friends monthly meetings, 1677-1831 Morley is a hamlet in Wilmslow parish. Cheshire Record Office call numbers: EFC 1/1-3; EFC 1/10/1-3. Cheshire Non-conformist records are available online in FamilySearch Historical Records (formerly known as Record Search)

Church records, 1748-1980 Unitarian Chapel (Dean-Row, Cheshire) Dean-Row is a hamlet in the parish of Wilmslow. Cheshire Record Office no.: EUC/1/1/3

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from 1 July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. Here are two excellent Internet sites with birth, marriage and death indexes available:


 * FreeBMD
 * Cheshire BMD

Registration Districts

 * Altrincham (1837–98)
 * Bucklow (1898–1974)
 * Macclesfield (1974–98)
 * Cheshire East (post 1998)

Poor Law Unions

 * Altrincham (1836–95)
 * Bucklow (1895–1930)
 * Altrincham (renamed Bucklow) Poor Law Union, Cheshire

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.

See also England Cheshire Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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

Websites
Wilmslow on GENUKI