Lye, Worcestershire Genealogy

England Worcestershire



Parish History
The Lye Christ Church was formed from a chapelry in Kingswinford St Mary, Staffordshire.

LYE, The, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Old Swinford, union of Stourbridge, Lower division of the hundred of Halfshire, county of Worcester, 2 miles (E.) from Stourbridge, on the road to Birmingham; containing about 6000 inhabitants. It comprises, with Wollescott, which lies within the district, 645 acres, whereof 240 are in the township of Lye: the surface is very much undulated, and the soil clayey. There are mines of coal and ironstone; and here is obtained the celebrated clay, called Stourbridge clay, for fire-bricks, crucibles, glass-house pots, gas-retorts, &amp;c. The principal firms for these articles are, Messrs. Joseph and William King, Mr. Francis Rufford, Messrs. Davies and Hickman, and Mr. Richard Brettel. Immense quantities of nails are made, as also chain-cables, scythes, spades, anvils, vices, and similar articles; in these branches of manufacture the chief firms are, Messrs. T. and J. Pargeter, Wood Brothers, and Everson and Son. The church, dedicated to Christ, was erected in 1813, by the late Thomas Hill, Esq., of Dennis House, Staffordshire, at the cost of £10,000. The living, a perpetual curacy, was endowed by Mr. Hill with land producing £200 a year; he also built the parsonage-house: the Rev. Melsop Hill, M.A., grandson of the founder, is the present minister. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans; and a national school, attached to the church, is supported by subscription.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 198-203. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51126 Date accessed: 27 April 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.

See West Midlands BMD

Church records
For earlier registers see Kingswinford St Mary, Staffordshire

Dudley Archives has deposited Parish registers Bap 1839-1954 Marr 1839-1997 Bur 1839-1916

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

Poor Law Unions
Stourbridge Poor Law Union, Worcestershire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Worcestershire 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
Worcester Branch of the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.