Old Artillery Ground, Middlesex Genealogy

England   Middlesex   Middlesex Parishes

Parish History
Old Artillery Ground, Finsbury, is on the west of Finsbury Square, and has three entrances, viz. up to Artillery Court, Chiswell Street, at the top of Bunhill Row, and at 18, Artillery Place. It is part of the ancient manor of Finsbury, or Fens-bury, which was granted in 1215, by Robert de Baldock, Prebendary of Haliwell and Finsbury, with the consent of the dean and chapter of St Paul's Cathedral, to the mayor and citizens of London. This portion of the manor was afterwards demised to the Hanourable Artillery Company, from which it derives its name. In the middle of the north side is a substantial brick building, called the armoury... Near to this, on the side next Bunhill Row, is a brick building used as the headquarters of the London Militia, and as a town residence for its Colonel, Sir C.I. Hunter, Bart. This large site of open ground is the exercising place of the ancient and Honourable Artillery Company, a volunteer association of armed citizens. {Note: The history of the Artillery Ground states that it was used to train former officers and army soldiers who, in turn, trained militia personnel from county militias from throughout all of England.] "At length, the company grew so numerous, amounting to nearly six thousand men, that the old Artillery Ground, or garden, as it was then called, was too small to contain them. Therefore, they were obliged to seek a more convenient and capacious place for their exercises, and having procured a large field without Morrgate (the present Artillery Ground), they removed thither about the end of the reign of James I. King Charles II, when Prince of Wales, enlisted himself in this company, as did his brother James, Duke of York; who, after the restoration, took upon himself the command, and named it his own company. Our late King George IV, also, when Prince of Wales, was Captain-General of this Company, and paid it many honourable attentions... The Artillery Company is governed by the King, who is Captain-General

"The Old Artillery Ground, Bishopsgate, was a little to the north-east of what is now Devonshire Square, in Bishopsgate Street. The site was originally a spacious field called Tassel Close, from its being planted with tassels, or teasels, a speciies of thistle that are much used by cloth-workers. It was afterwards let to the cross-bow makers, who used to practise acrchery there; but, being afterwards enclosed with a brick wall, served as an artillery ground, to which the gunners of the Tower repaired every Thursday to practise their art. The last prior of St Mary Spital granted it to them for thrice ninety-nine years, and King Henry VIII gave the company a charter. Hence this artillery-ground became subject to the municipality of the Tower; and the streets, &amp; c., which occupy its site being part of Union Street, Bishopsgate, and Artillery Lane, the whole of Duke Street, Gun Street, Seward Street, and Fort Street, compose one of the Tower Hamlets, and the inhabitants are still summoned on juries belonging to the courts of that jurisdiction."

[Adapted from: A topographical Dictionary of London by James Elmes; published 1831]

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
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex 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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
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Web sites
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