Skerton, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

CHapelry History
SKERTON, a township, in the parish of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, ¾ of a mile (N.) from Lancaster; containing 1665 inhabitants. This place, in the Domesday survey "Schertune," was held by the Saxon Earl Tosti; and is named among the possessions of the crown in the 6th of Henry III., when it gave name to a family who held it by reeveship. Skerton was accounted a manor among the estates of John of Gaunt in 1361, and in the 16th of Henry VII. was held as a manor by Sir James Laurence; but in subsequent inquisitions, it is not styled a manor. The township, which is separated from Lancaster by the river Lune, comprises 1177 acres, and commands a beautiful view of the castle and town of Lancaster. The village is large, and chiefly occupied by persons out of trade, and by farmers and their labourers. On the Lune is a considerable salmonfishery; and there are some marble-works in the township. The railway from Lancaster to Carlisle, after crossing the river, passes through Skerton. Among the mansions and seats are Ryelands, the property of Jonathan Dunn, Esq., and Richmond House, that of John Walmsley, Esq. A church, dedicated to St. Luke, was built in 1833, at a cost of £1200: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Five Trustees; net income, £100. A free school was built by Jane Jephson, and endowed with £10 a year by Henry Williamson in 1767. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £74.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 113-115. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51280 Date accessed: 21 July 2010.

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
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire 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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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