Morley, Yorkshire Genealogy

England    Yorkshire  West Riding  Morley

Parish History
Contributor: Add a general overview of the history of this parish.

MORLEY, a township and ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Batley, union of Dewsbury, Lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 4½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Leeds; the township containing 4087 inhabitants. This place was anciently the head of the wapentake to which it gives name, and one of the principal towns in the county; but on the invasion of England by the Scots in the reign of Edward II., it suffered such devastation from the forces of the invaders, who took up their winter quarters here, that it was reduced to a mere village. In the war during the reign of Charles I., Howley Hall, here, for eighteen generations the seat of the Saville family, was garrisoned for the parliament; and the church of the ancient parish of Morley was let on lease by Saville, Earl of Sussex, to the Presbyterian party for 500 years: the building is still in possession of trustees as an Independent meetinghouse, forming a solitary exception to the general restitution which took place at the Restoration. The township comprises by measurement 2643 acres of land, chiefly the property of the Earl of Dartmouth: the soil is generally fertile, and the scenery pleasingly picturesque; the substratum abounds with coal and freestone of excellent quality. Howley Hall was demolished in 1730, by order of the Earl of Cardigan, and the park, comprising nearly 1000 acres, has been brought into cultivation; some ruins only of the mansion remain, which, from their elevated site, form a conspicuous feature in the landscape. The village, which is large and irregularly built, occupies the base and acclivities of an eminence rising from a deep valley; the inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of woollen-cloths. The present church, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected in 1830, at an expense of £2593, partly by grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners, and partly by subscription, towards which the Earl of Dartmouth contributed £200, together with the site, an acre of ground for a parsonage-house, the sites for two schools, and all the stone for the respective buildings. The edifice is handsome, in the early English style, with a tower surmounted by a well-proportioned spire, and contains 1000 sittings, of which 500 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Batley, with a net income of £150. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, and a second meeting-house for Independents. On the east side of the ruins of Howley Hall is Lady Anne's Well, which is much resorted to on Palm-Sunday.

From: 'Morley - Morton-upon-Lug', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 345-350. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51160 Date accessed: 14 March 2011.

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
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.

Census records
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. Go to Yorkshire 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

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.