Davenham, Cheshire Genealogy

Guide to Davenham, Cheshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
DAVENHAM (St. Wilfrid), is a parish, in the union and hundred of Northwich, S division of the county of Chester; it includes the townships of Bostock, Davenham, Eaton, Leftwich, Moulton, Newhall, Rudheath, Shipbrook, Shurlach, Stanthorne, Wharton, and Whatcroft ; it is 2 miles S from Northwich. The Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans, have places of worship.

The church of St. Wilfrid goes back to the Domesday period but the current edifice is the fourth on the site, dating from a major reconstruction between 1844 and 1870 in the Victorian Gothic revival style. The tower has a recessed spire built in 1850.

Legend says that the church was founded by St Wilfrid on a journey through Cheshire in the 7th Century, but the first documented evidence of a church on the site is an existing priest and church in 1086.

Davenham is recorded in the Domesday Book as Devenham. Its name means "hamlet on the River Dane". In modern times it is famous for being the Birthplace of international athlete Paula Radcliffe.

Find Neighboring Parishes
Use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map
 * Type the name of the parish in the search bar
 * Click on the location pin on the map
 * Choose Options from the pop up box
 * Click "List Contiguous Parishes" to find the neighboring parishes

Church Records
The Church of England (Anglican) became the official state religion in 1534, with the reigning monarch as its Supreme Governor. Non-Conformist refers to all other religious denominations that are not the official state religion.

Church of England
Due to the increasing access of online records: Hover over the collection's title for more information Other Websites These databases have incomplete parish coverage.
 * Individual parish coverage for databases in this table are inconsistent and should be verified
 * Dates in the following table are approximate
 * Joiner Marriage Index - Cheshire ($)
 * The Genealogist Parish Registers - Cheshire ($)
 * UK Websites for Parish Records - Links to online genealogical records
 * Online Genealogical Index - Links to online genealogical records

Non-Conformists (All other Religions)

 * 1717 England & Wales, Roman Catholics, 1717 at Findmypast ($), index and images (coverage may vary)
 * 1600s-1910 Cheshire Non-Conformist & Roman Catholic Registers (Baptism) 17th Century-1910 at Findmypast ($); index and images (dates may vary by parish)


 * 1671-1900 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index (dates may vary by parish)
 * Davenham, Trinity Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Built in 1819, rebuilt in 1888.
 * Davenham, Congregational Chapel later Methodist Chapel (Primitive), Hartford Road. Built in 1852, closed in 1962. Registers of marriages 1924–1957 are at the Cheshire Record Office. Microfilm of original records at the Cheshire Record Office, Chester. Cheshire Record Office call no.: EMS 242/1.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from 1 July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. Here are two excellent Internet sites with birth, marriage and death indexes available:


 * FreeBMD
 * Cheshire BMD

Registration Districts

 * Northwich (1837–1974)
 * Vale Royal (1974–98)
 * Cheshire Central (1998–2009)
 * Cheshire West (post 2009)registration events may be searched online at Cheshire BMD

Poor Law Unions
Northwich Poor Law Union, Cheshire

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.

see also England Cheshire Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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

Websites
Davenham on GENUKI