Ogley Hay, Staffordshire Genealogy

Parish History
Ogley Hay was an extra-parochial place. Search surrounding parishes for records and information.

OGLEY-HAY, an extra-parochial district, in the S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford; containing 500 inhabitants. This place, which was previously only a rural hamlet, was in 1836 purchased by C. F. Cotterill, Esq., and has since that period become a place of some trade. The grounds have been inclosed, and are now well cultivated. They comprise about 1000 acres, nearly all belonging to Mr. Cotterill, who has let the lands on long leases; a village has been commenced, and some streets laid out, upon an eminence commanding an extensive prospect. From its vicinity to beds of coal, and having abundance of excellent clay for making bricks, the place is likely soon to become of considerable size. An engineering establishment is carried on, employing a great number of hands; and there are also a corn-mill, &amp;c. The district is intersected by the Wyrley and Essington canal: it is bounded on the north by the Watling-street; the Lichfield and Walsall road runs through it, and the old Chester road on the south side.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 472-476. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51192 Date accessed: 02 April 2011.

St james Brownhills parish was created from this extra parochial place.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Ogley Hay like this:

OGLEY-HAY, a village, an extra-parochial tract, and a chapelry, in the S of Staffordshire. The village stands on the Wyrley and Essington canal, near Watling-street, and near the boundary with Warwickshire, 4 miles S of Lichfield r. station; and is a prosperous place. The extra-parochial tract includes the village, and extends into the country. Acres, 705. Real property, £2, 394. Pop.in 1851, 518; in 1861, 1, 357. Houses, 258. The increase of pop. was caused mainly by the opening of three large collieries. Traces of a Roman camp, called Knave's Castle, are to the N of the village. The chapelry excludes part of the extra-parochial tract, but includes parts of the parishes of St. Michael, Shenstone, Walsall, and Norton-under-Cannock; and was constituted in 1854. Post-town, Shenstone, under Lichfield. Pop. in 1861, 2, 490. Houses, 476. Pop. of the St. Michael portion, 461; of the Shenstone portion, 105; of the Walsall portion, 229; of the Norton portion, 783. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £170. Patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. The church was built in 1851; and is a stone edifice, with tower and low spire. There are chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, and two national schools.

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
Brownhills St James Ogley Hay was formed 1852 formerly extra parochial.

Deposited parish registers at Staffordshire Record Office Bap 1840-1983 Mar 1854-1980 Bur 1878-1914 Lichfield Record Office holdings of Bishop's Transcripts No holdings

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

Poor Law Unions
Lichfield Poor Law Union, Staffordshire

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