Heston, Middlesex Genealogy

England   Middlesex   Middlesex Parishes   Heston

Parish History
HESTON (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Brentford, hundred of Isleworth, county of Middlesex; containing 4071 inhabitants, of whom 1386 are in that portion forming part of the town and chapelry of Hounslow. The parish is situated in a fertile district, and the inhabitants are principally employed in agriculture; the soil is remarkable for the production of excellent wheat, and according to Norden and Camden, the bread for the supply of the royal table in the reign of Elizabeth, was made of wheat grown exclusively in Heston. There is a manufactory for oil of vitriol. A pleasure-fair is held in the village on the 1st of May. Within the parish is Osterley Park, once in the possession of Sir Thomas Gresham, who entertained Queen Elizabeth here; the house was rebuilt in 1760 for the Child family, and now belongs to the Earl and Countess of Jersey. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11; net income, £654; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of London: the tithes were commuted for land in 1813. The church has been enlarged, and 400 free sittings provided: the tower is one of the finest in the county, and the west window is very splendid, and rich in details. Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, and his lady, are buried in the church; and there is a monument to Anthony Collins, the free-thinker, and author of various works, who was a native of the parish.

1. Samuel Lewis, ed. "Herringfleet - Heston," In A Topographical Dictionary of England 491-497. (London: S. Lewis and Co., 1848), Online | here, (accessed: 27 April 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
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

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

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

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
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.