St Katherine Cree, London Genealogy

England London  London Parishes  St Katherine Cree

Parish History
St Katherine or Catherine Cree, the church of, is situated at the southeast angle of Cree Church Lane, in Leadenhall Street. It is dedicated to the same... saint and martyr as the preceding [St Katherine Coleman Parish], and is distinguished from other churches of the same name by the addition of Cree, the ancient English method of spelling Christ, as pronounced by the French, having been built on the site of a dissolved priory, whose church was called that of our Saviour Christ. They therefore dedicated it to St. Catherine, and added the original name of the priory by way of distinction. Henry VIII, in his grant of the priory to Sir Thomas afterwards Lord Audley, gave him also the patronage of the church. Upon the death of this noble man he bequeathed it to the master and Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and their successors, when he enjoined to serve the cure for ever. That corporation leased out the impropriation to the parish for 99 years; but a dispute arising between the college and the parish at the expiration of the set lease in 1725, about a renewal, a lease was granted to Jerome Knapp, Esq., a citizen and haberdasher of London, and an agreement, which was confirmed by act of Parliament in 1727, was entered into concerning a commutation in loop of tithes. The present structure was erected in 1630, it is built of stone in a mixed and impure style. The length of the body is 90 feet, the breadth 51, and height 37. Maitland...[said] that the church is a curacy, and that the parishioners have the privilege of electing their own minister, who must be licensed by the Bishop of London. But the Clerical Guide, which must be of authority, says that it is a vicarage and still in the gift of the master and Fellows of Magdalen College, Cambridge...

[Adapted from: 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
To find the names of the neighboring 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.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist 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.

Census records

 * Hearth Tax: City of London 1666 - St Katherine Creechurch, courtesy: British History Online

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 London 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
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

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

 * Sketch of St Catherine Cree Parish Church, courtesy London Ancestor
 * Society of Genealogists Library Catalogue (to narrow results, conduct a subject search for 'London St Katherine Creechurch')