Offley, Hertfordshire Genealogy

England   Hertfordshire   Hertfordshire Parishes

Parish History
OFFLEY (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Hitchin, hundred of Hitchin and Pirton, county of Hertford, 3¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Hitchin; containing 1140 inhabitants. This place received its name from King Offa, who is said to have died here. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9; net income, £298, with a glebe-house; patron, the Marquess of Salisbury: the impropriate tithes were commuted for land in 1768. The church has a very handsome chancel, erected in 1777 by Dame Sarah Salusbury, who also left £1000, which have been applied to the foundation and support of a charity school. In a wood at Highdowns are several barrows and dykes, supposed to be of British origin

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848)

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
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist 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 Hertfordshire 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.