Slaidburn, Yorkshire Genealogy

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

Parish History
SLAIDBURN (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York; containing, with the townships of High Bowland Forest, Easington, and Newton, 1792 inhabitants, of whom 741 are in Slaidburn township, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Clitheroe.

Slaidburn (St. Andrew) is a parish West Riding of Yorkshire. Other places in the parish include: Battrix, Bowland Forest High, Lancashire, Bowland Forest Low, Lancashire, Dunsop, Easington, Upper Easington, Lower Easington, Newton, Newton in Bowland, Newton near Clitheroe, and Essington.

From early times, the Manor of Slaidburn formed part of the ancient Lordship of Bowland, being held in demesne from at least the late thirteenth century. The Lordship of Bowland comprised a Royal Forest and a Liberty of ten manors spanning eight townships and four parishes and covered an area of almost 300 square miles (800 km2) on the historic borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The manors within the Liberty were Slaidburn (Newton-in-Bowland, West Bradford, Grindleton), Knowlmere, Waddington, Easington, Bashall, Mitton, Withgill (Crook), Leagram (Bowland-with-Leagram), Hammerton and Dunnow (Battersby). Modern-day Bowland Forest is divided in two large administrative townships - Great Bowland (Bowland Forest High and Bowland Forest Low) and Little Bowland (Bowland-with-Leagram).

According to a leading local historian, the historic Manor and Liberty of Slaidburn covered a wide area, not equivalent to the Slaidburn parish boundaries, but comprising the villages and town fields of Slaidburn and Newton-in-Bowland, including Ingbreak, a town field to the west of Slaidburn village; Raw Moor, part of the enclosed land of 1619 north of Slaidburn village in the Croasdale area; Brunghill Moor, Burn Moor and Dunsop, also enclosed in 1619 and near Back Lane and Burn Hill; Champion, also enclosed in 1619 and to the east of Slaidburn village; Woodhouse, to the north west of Slaidburn village; Youlstone Wood, also enclosed in 1619, and to the south of Newton village; and most of West Bradford and Grindleton villages and their town fields. The townships of Easington and Bowland Forest had been sold in early times and the land here did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Manor of Slaidburn - the Bannister family held the Manor of Easington in Tudor times for instance.

Slaidburn is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. Historically, a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Slaidburn lies near the head of the River Hodder and Stocks Reservoir, both within the Forest of Bowland, an Area of Outstanding National Beauty. Farming is still a major employer, but the area attracts tourists – for walking in particular. The civil parish of Slaidburn shares a parish council with Easington, a rural parish to the north of Slaidburn.

Church Records
Slaidburn parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

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

Records are also available at the West Yorkshire Archive Service.

Genealogy From Periodicals
Proctor, Patricia. The Proctor Family, Yorkshire - Norfolk - London - Surrey. History of Francis Proctor and Ann Kett starting in 1658, with movements to Martham, Slaidburn, Clapham Surrey, with the following surnames. Snarr, Cullyer, Hatch, Sexton, Blackbourne, Bates, Linford, Bartlett, dating from 1658-1991. Article in The Norfolk Ancestor, vol. 7. pt 9. June 1995, pages 317-319, Family History Library Ref 942.61 B2j V.7 n.6-17

Poor Law Unions
Clitheroe Poor Law Union, Lancashire

Genealogy and History Websites
Partial Pedigree Chart of Spencer of Slaidburn, dating from 1539-1787. Some emigrate to USA. in the 1700's. Article in Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society Magazine, vol 27 #3, Aug. 2005 page 17