Shocklach, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Shocklach

Parish History
Shocklach St Edith is an Ancient Parish and includes: Caldecott, Shocklach Oviatt, and Church Shocklach. The parish is sometimes referred to as Church Shocklach. Other dwellings and places within the parish include Castletown (part), Green Croft, Lane End (part), Lordsfields, Port Green, The Saughans.

St Edith's is a small Norman church, one of the oldest ecclesiastical buildings in Cheshire. The church is a Grade I listed building and its simple Norman work is considered to be unique in Cheshire. The dedication is an unusual one and the church is detached from the population and this has given rise to speculation about the reasons for this.

The church was built about 1150 by Thomas de Shocklach. The chancel was added in the 14th or the 15th century. In the 17th century the west wall of the nave was restored and altered to provide a small baptistry between two buttresses. A vestry was added to the north of the chancel in 1926.

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

 * Wrexham (1837–96)
 * Chester (1897–1937)
 * West Cheshire (1937–74)
 * Chester and Ellesmere Port (1974–98)
 * Cheshire West (post1998)

registration 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 Shocklach, 1538-1981 Cheshire Record Office call number: P 308/4772/1-8

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online in Record Search

Bishop's transcripts for Shocklach, 1585-1890

Non-Conformist Churches
None

Census records
The 1841 Census returns for Shocklach are missing.

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.


 * A transcribed copy of probate records for Malpas 1603-1625 can be located in book form The Ancient Parishes of Malpas Tilston and Shocklach

Poor Law Unions

 * Wrexham (1837–96)
 * Tarvin (1897–1930)

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