Caton with Littledale, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Chapelry History
Caton with Littledale St Paul is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Lancashire, created in 1737 from Lancaster St Mary, Lancashire Ancient Parish.

Other places in the parish include: Littledale.

The parish contains the villages of Caton, Brookhouse, Caton Green, Littledale and Townend. Brookhouse is the original village of Caton but it was renamed after Brookhouse Hall and is separated from Caton by Artle Beck. The parish church of St Paul situated in Brookhouse is generally of 17th century construction but retains some Norman features.

The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley.

CATON, a parochial chapelry, [as of 1585] and a township, in the parish of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 5 miles (N. E. by E.) from Lancaster; containing 1195 inhabitants. The manor was a possession of the Gernets, the ancient foresters of Lancaster: there was also here a family named Caton, who held the manor by homage and service; and in connexion with the place, are mentioned, successively, the families of Curwen, Chorley, Stanley, Dalton, Riddell, Rawlinson, and Edmondson. The chapelry comprises four districts or quarters, viz.: Brookhouse, Caton Green, Littledale, and Town-End; and contains by measurement 8373a. 2r. 16p., whereof 600 acres are arable, 3300 meadow and pasture, 400 woodland, and about 4000 moorland. It lies on the road from Lancaster to Hornby, and on the eastern bank of the river Lune, which is here crossed by a bridge, with a road from it leading to Halton. The beauty of the diversified scenery elicited a warm eulogium from the poet Gray, in a letter to Dr. Warton; and Dr. Whitaker, in describing the beauties of the Vale of the Lune, says, "Immediately on approaching Caton, its character as the first of northern valleys is established by the beautiful windings here of the river, the fruitful alluvial lands upon its banks, the wooded and cultivated ridge that bounds it on the north-west, the striking appearance of Hornby Castle in front, and above all the noble form of Ingleborough, presenting an assemblage of features not united to compose any rival scenery in the kingdom." On the top of the moor are several freestone-quarries, and an inferior stone is found on the surface. There are two silk-mills, two cotton-mills, and a flax-mill, in operation, employing in all 400 persons; and at Grassyard Hall is a corn-mill. Scarthwaite, on the bank of the Lune, is the seat of Adam Hodgson, Esq., commanding the whole extent of the vale, and the winding course of the river; the precise spot selected by Mr. Hodgson for his house and terrace, under the auspices of Mr. Gilpin and Sir John Nasmyth, has long been distinguished as "Gray's Station," and shares in all the exquisite scenery that gives celebrity to the vale. The Elms, and the land around it, are the property of John Walmsley, Esq., of Richmond House, near Lancaster, who is also owner of Caton mill. John Edmondson, Esq., is lord of the manor. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £140, with a house erected in 1844; patron, the Vicar of Lancaster. The ancient chapel was built about the year 1245; of this structure, the beautiful Saxon gateway and the font alone remain: the present edifice was erected about 300 years ago, and has a square tower. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Independents; and a national school supported by subscription. The interest of £250 was left in 1838, by Richard Sparling Berry, Esq., for parents who educate their children without parochial relief: four cottages are free of rent for poor persons; and about £5 are annually distributed to the poor. In 1803, a Roman mill-stone, eight feet long, was found in Artle beck, bearing the name of the Emperor Adrian; and subsequently a stone with consonants on it, which, when supplied by the vowel e, form an ingenious monitory couplet.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 531-534. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50861 Date accessed: 25 June 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.

Online index of Lancashire Births, Marriages and Deaths Lancashire BMD

Lancashire Online Parish Clerks
An extremely useful resource for research in Lancashire Parishes http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/

Church records
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

Caton- St Paul Baptisms Transcript- 1585-1719- 929.3272 C25 Burials Transcript- 1585-1718- 929.3272 C25 Marriages Transcript- 1586-1718- 929.3272 C25

For original registers of above please enquire at Lancashire Record Office.

The Manchester Room and Greater Manchester County Record Office Email: archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk

The Manchester Room@City Library (Local Studies)

Census records
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.

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Caton Gilbert Union,Lancashire

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
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
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