Overseal, Derbyshire Genealogy

Parish History
Seale St Matthew Overseal was opened as chapel of ease to Netherseal, Derbyshire parish in 1841

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Seal like this:

SEAL, a township and a parish in Ashby-de-la-Zouch district, Leicester. The township lies on the river Mease, 2¾ miles S S W of Moira r. station, and 5½ S W of Ashby-de-la-Zouch; bears the name of Nether and Over Seal; and contains the village of Nether Seal and the hamlet of Over Seal, each of which has a post-office under Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Real property, £8, 405. Pop. in 1851, 1,085; in 1861, 1, 246. Houses, 270. The parish contains also parts of Donisthorpe hamlet and Blackfordby chapelry. Acres, with the rest of Donisthorpe, but without the part of Blackfordby, 4, 890. Pop. in 1851, 1, 330; in 1861, 1, 576. Houses, 337. The manor, with Grangewood House, belongs to Capt. G. T. Mowbray. S. Hall is the residence of E. W. Robertson, Esq.; and S. Old Hall, of Admiral H. Bagot. A British camp was at Cadborough; and a barrow is near Dead Dane Bottom. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £950.* Patron, Sir T. Gresley, Bart. The church is early English. A chapel of ease is at Overseal, and was built in 1841. There are a Baptist chapel, two parochial schools, alms-houses with £104 a year, and other charities £14. Overseal became part of Derbyshire in 1897 and the churches became part of the Diocese of Derby in 1927. Formerly in Leicestershire and the diocese of Peterborough.

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
Seale St Matthew Overseal was opened as chapel of ease to Netherseal, Derbyshire in 1841

Derbyshire Record Office reference D812 has deposited registers Bap 1841-1957 Mar 1851-1986 Burials 1841-1906 Banns 1864-1977

To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Poor Law Unions
Ashby de la Zouch Poor Law Union, Leicestershire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Derbyshire 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