Birkenshaw cum Hunsworth, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes  West Riding  Birkenshaw cum Hunsworth

District History
BIRKENSHAW, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Birstal, wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (E.) from Leeds; containing 3000 inhabitants, of whom 1803 are in the hamlet. This place, which is situated at the junction of the Leeds and Halifax, and Dewsbury and Bradford turnpike-roads, in the heart of a district abounding with coal, iron-ore, and building-stone, has been rapidly increasing in importance, and is now an extensive, populous, and thriving village. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the coal-mines, and in the extensive worsted factories of the Messrs. Ackroyd and others; in the combing of wool; and in the weaving of stuffs and woollen-cloths, the former for the Bradford, and the latter for the Leeds market. The church, dedicated to St. Paul, was erected in 1829, at an expense of £2929, by the Parliamentary Commissioners, on a site given by the late Emanuel Emmet, Esq.: it is in the early English style, with a square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles and surmounted by a spire, and contains 702 sittings. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Birstal, with a net income of £150, and a handsome residence built in 1835 at an expense, including the purchase of nearly five acres of land, of £2000.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 255-263. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50802 Date accessed: 31 August 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.

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.

This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in date.

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.

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