Bonsall, Derbyshire Genealogy

England Derbyshire  Derbyshire Parishes  Bonsall

Parish History
Bonsall St James is an Ancient Parish. Other places in the parish include: Slaley and Staley.

BONSALL (St. James), a parish, in the hundred of Wirksworth, S. division of the county of Derby, 3½ miles (N. by W.) from Wirksworth; containing 1496 inhabitants. This parish, anciently called Bonteshall, comprises by computation 2338 acres. The village was formerly a market-town, and is situated in a district strikingly diversified with hills and dales: among the latter, the most interesting is Bonsall Dale, of which the geological formation consists of four strata of limestone and three of toadstone. The neighbouring hills also abound with limestone; and lead-ore and lapis calaminaris are obtained in great quantities within the parish, and prepared on the spot, affording employment to many of the inhabitants. The village consists of numerous houses scattered over a considerable portion of ground; in the centre is the ancient market-cross, bearing date 1687, and consisting of a pillar, resting upon a base to which is an ascent of fifteen steps, and surmounted by a ball. The manufacture of combs is carried on to a moderate extent: about a third of the population is employed at stocking and drawer frames, and there is a saw-mill for cutting the white semi-marble Hopton stone. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 16. 0½.; net income, £201: patron, the Bishop of Lichfield: there are 67 acres of glebe, with a house. The church is a handsome and picturesque old structure, with some good pointed windows remaining, and a tower surmounted by an elegant octangular spire; the interior is adorned with a variety of neatly executed mural monuments. There is a place of worship for General Baptists; and a school is endowed with £100 per annum, arising from tenements bequeathed by William Cragge and his wife Elizabeth in 1704, and lands by Elizabeth Turnor in 1763. Vestiges of a Roman road may be traced.

From: 'Bonchurch - Borden', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 302-305. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50812 Date accessed: 29 March 2011.

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 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.

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

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Ashbourne Poor Law Union, Derbyshire

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

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