Melbourne, Derbyshire Genealogy

England Derbyshire



Parish History
Melbourne St Michael with St Mary is an Ancient Parish; other places in the parish include Kings Newton.

MELBOURNE (St. Michael), a small town and a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby, 8 miles (S. S. E.) from Derby; containing 2583 inhabitants. This place was formerly the residence of the bishops of Carlisle, who had a palace here; and there was anciently a baronial castle, in which John, Duke of Bourbon, who had been made prisoner at the battle of Agincourt, was confined for several years: the castle was destroyed in 1460, by order of Queen Margaret, and though subsequently restored, scarcely a vestige of it is remaining. Melbourne Hall, the seat and occasional residence of Viscount Melbourne, was the episcopal palace. It is a large modern stone mansion, of beautiful exterior, and fitted up with much elegance; the principal apartments are of noble dimensions, and are adorned with paintings by the first masters. The park is of great beauty, and is enriched by a spacious sheet of water formed by the river Lea, that flows through the grounds; in the gardens and shrubberies, which are extensive, is a walk of yew-trees, supposed to be several centuries old. King's-Newton Hall was the seat of the Hardinges, ancestors of Lord Hardinge. The parish is bounded on the north by the river Trent, and comprises by survey 3463a. 3r. 5p.; the soil is generally a rich loam, alternated with strong clay, and on the commons of lighter quality; the surface is hilly. The principal manufacture is that of lace gloves. Sandstone of good quality for building is quarried extensively, and also a peculiarly fine kind which is used for sharpening scythes. The town is an improving place, pleasantly situated on the Derby and Ashby-de-la-Zouch road. A market is held on Saturday, for butter, poultry, vegetables, &amp;c.; a mechanics' institution was established in 1841, and there are an Odd-Fellows', a Foresters', and two Druids' Lodges. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 13. 4.; net income, £179; patron, the Bishop of Carlisle; impropriator, Viscount Melbourne. The tithes were commuted for land in 1787; the glebe comprises 78 acres, with an old glebe-house. The church is a good specimen of Norman architecture, with round massive piers, circular arches, and zigzag ornaments. There are places of worship for General Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Swedenborgians; and a national school endowed with £30 per annum.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 283-287. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51142 Date accessed: 14 April 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.

Shardlow registration District GRO volumes : XIX (1837-51); 7b (1852-1946); 3A (1946-74).

Registers are now held at The Register Office, Royal Oak House, Market Place, Derby, DE1 3AR. Tel: 01332 256526/35/36. Fax: 01332 256525. E-mail: registeroffice@derby.gov.uk

Church records
Melbourne St Michael with St Mary includes the hamlet of Kings Newton and Derby Hills, Derbyshire which was previously extra parochial.

Derbyshire Record Office reference D 655 has deposited registers Bap 1652-1965 Mar 1653-1986 Burials 1653-1914 Banns 1754-1775,1824-1972

Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts 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

Poor Law Unions
Shardlow Poor Law Union, Derbyshire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Derbyshire 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
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.