Bunbury, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Bunbury

Parish History
Bunbury St Boniface Cheshire is an Ancient Parish and includes Alpraham, Beeston, Calveley, Haughton, Wardle, Ridley, Spurstow, Tiverton, and Peckforton. From the eighth century a church has been on the site, initially a wooden Anglo-Saxon church. By 1135 a stone Norman church was present. The church was rebuilt in the decorated style in 1320. In 1385–86 Sir Hugh Calveley endowed it as a collegiate church, which resulted in more rebuilding: much of the existing structure dates from this time.A chantry chapel was added in 1527 by Sir Rauph Egerton of Ridley and nave galleries were added in the 1700s. From 1863–66, restoration work was done by Pennington and Bridgen when wall paintings, galleries, and box-pews were removed, the floor was tiled and a new roof constructed. In 1940 a land mine seriously damaged the church. The roof was replaced in 1950 by Marshall Sisson.

Its features include the Ridley chapel, the alabaster chest tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley and the tomb of Sir George Beeston. In the chancel is the alabaster chest tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley, surrounded by spiked railings. It is the earliest alabaster tomb in Cheshire. In the north wall of the sanctuary is the tomb of Sir George Beeston who was the commander of Dreadnought when it fought against the Spanish Armada. At this time he was aged 88, and he died at the age of 102.

Raymond Richards considers it is architecturally one of the most important examples of its period in Cheshire.Alec Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches.

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

 * Nantwich (1837–1937)
 * Crewe (1937–74)
 * Congleton and Crewe (1974–88)
 * South Cheshire (1988–98)
 * Cheshire Central (post 1998)

Church Records
Parish registers for Bunbury, 1559-1953 Cheshire Record Office reference: P40/1/1-4, 2/1-5, 3/1-6, P40/3296/1-6, P40/5/1-3, P40/6.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online in Record Search. Here is a list of church records on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City.

Bishop's transcripts for Bunbury and Tilston-Fearnall, 1588-1868 Includes the Chapelry of Tilston-Fearnall, 1839-1868. Cheshire Record Office reference: EDB 38 An index for Cheshire, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts (Diocese of Chester) is available online in Record Search

Non-Conformist Churches

 * Bunbury, Trinity Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Built in 1806, rebuilt in 1868.
 * Bunbury, Methodist Chapel (Primitive). Built in 1876, closed in 1970.

Non-Conformist Records:

Cheshire Record Office Reference EMS 23 Bunbury Primitive Methodist Chapel Registers1931-67, Various records1902-61 Their website is | here.

Cheshire Record Office Reference EMS 297 Bunbury, Trinity Chapel Date 1834-1937 Administrative and financial records, records related to the Chapel buildings A chapel was built by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1806. In 1868 a new building was erected and the old one sold. 24 files RelatedMaterial For christenings 1839-1881 see EMC 16 4 2 (Tarporley circuit). Their website is | here.

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 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

 * Nantwich

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.