Halton, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Halton



Parish History
Halton St Mary the Virgin is an ecclesiastical parish in Cheshire created from Runcorn Ancient Parish.

A chapel had been associated with Halton Castle for many centuries but by the end of the Civil War it was in ruins. It had been situated just below the castle walls, a plain, square building with a bellcote on its eastern gable. Its repair was beyond the financial means of the congregation and a petition was made to the bishop for funds. Enough money was provided to rebuild the chapel and this remained in use until the middle of the 19th century. By 1847 the roof was in need of a major repair and within four years it was decided that a new church was needed. The money for this was provided by Sir Richard Brooke of Norton Priory. Sir George Gilbert Scott was appointed as the architect and the church was consecrated on 12 November 1852. Halton had formerly been a chapel of ease to the parish church of Runcorn but in June 1860 it became a separate parish.

Castlefields, Christ Church (Ecunemical). Attached to Halton St Mary for C of E services. Registers of Baptisms start in 1974, and are held at Halton St Mary (no marriages or burials here).

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.

Registration Districts

 * Runcorn (1837–1974)
 * Halton (post 1974)
 * Events may be searched online at Cheshire BMD

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.

Parish registers for Halton, 1732-1957 Cheshire Record Office call number: P27/1/1, P27/2/1-4, P27/3/1, P27/2632/1-2, P27/3.

Halton was a chapelry in Runcorn parish. The chapelry later became a parish. Here is a list of church records on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online in FamilySearch Historical Records.

Bishop's transcripts for Halton, 1732-1887 Halton was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Runcorn. Cheshire Record Office call number: EDB 100. Baptisms, marriages for 1732-1739 are filmed twice separated with a second title board for item 3.

An index for Cheshire, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts is available online in FamilySearch Historical Records

Non-Conformist Churches

 * Halton, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Founded 1818, rebuilt in 1875.
 * Halton, Methodist Chapel (Primitive). Built in 1882.

Non-Conformist Records:

Cheshire Record Office DocumentReference EMS 109 Halton Methodist Chapel Date 19th century - 20th century Various records1824-1978 URL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=017-ems109&amp;cid=0

Census records
http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

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.

Poor Law Unions

 * Runcorn Poor Law Union, Cheshire

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