Wybunbury, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Cheshire Parishes  Wybunbur

Guide to Wybunbury, Cheshire family history and genealogy: parish registers (baptism, christening, marriage, and burial records), civil registration (birth, marriage, and death records), census records, history, wills, cemetery, online transcriptions and indexes, an interactive map and websites.



Parish History
WYBUNBURY (St. Chad), is a parish, in the union and hundred of Nantwich, South division of the county of Chester; it is 3½ miles (E. S. E.) from Nantwich. The parish consists of the townships of Basford, Batherton , Blakenhall , Bridgemere , Checkley with Wrinehill , Chorlton , Doddington , Hatherton , Hough , Hunsterson , Lea , Rope , Shavington with Gresty , Stapeley , Walgherton , Weston , Wybunbury , and part of Willaston.

WYBUNBURY Wybunbury (pronounced Wi-ben-bree) was a township in Wybunbury Parish, Nantwich Hundred and included the hamlets of Blakelow (part), Clannor Heath, Daisy Hill, The Flag, Haymoor Green (part), Howbeck Bank (part) and Pinfold.

Wybunbury, St. Chad was an ancient parish church, originally serving the townships of Basford, Batherton, Blakenhall, Bridgemere, Checkley cum Wrinehill, Chorlton (near Crewe), Doddington, Hatherton, Hough, Hunsterson, Lea (near Crewe), Rope, Shavington cum Gresty, Stapeley, Walgherton, Weston (near Crewe), Willaston (part) and Wybunbury.

The leaning tower of the former church of St Chad, also known as the 'Leaning Tower of South Cheshire' and the 'Hanging Steeple of Wimberie', is located in Wybunbury village. The 29.3 m tower is all that remains of a late fifteenth century church demolished in 1833. (Later churches, replacing the fifteenth century one, were also demolished in 1892 and 1977.) The tower was stabilised using underexcavation by James Trubshaw in 1832; this is the earliest known application of the technique, which was also used to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The parish also includes the lowland raised bog of Wybunbury Moss, a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest. The bog is the setting for the children's book, Nellie Longarms Will Get You... If You Don't Watch Out, by John Bailey and Rose Quigley.

Wybunbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 3¼ miles to the south east of Nantwich and 3¾ miles to the south of Crewe. The parish also includes the settlements of Clannor Heath, Daisy Hill, The Flag, Pinfold and parts of Blakelow, Haymoor Green and Howbeck Bank. Nearby villages include Hough, Shavington, Stapeley and Walgherton. The A51 runs east–west through the south-western corner of the parish.

Online here

Church records
Wybunbury St Chad parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials have been indexed by the following groups:

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.

Parish registers of Baptisms 1558–1970, Marriages 1558–1973 and Burials 1558–1962 have been deposited at the Record Office. The registers have been transcribed as part of the Cheshire Parish Registers Project.

Parish registers for Wybunbury Microfilm copy of original record in the Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England. Cheshire Record Office no.: P37/1/1-3, P37/2/1-8, P37/3/1-9, P37/4/1-4, P37/6/1-7, P37/7/1, P37/28.

Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1558-1655, 1653-1700. FHL BRITISH Film 2068758 Items 4 - 5 Marriages, 1700-1754; baptisms, 1700-1772. FHL BRITISH Film 2298978 Item 13 Baptisms, 1772-1779; burials, 1700-1779. Baptisms, burials, 1779-1812. FHL BRITISH Film 2298979 Items 1 - 2 Banns, 1802-1915 (marriage date listed on banns, 1885-1915). Draft registers baptisms and burials, 1786-1801. Grave register, 1807-1875. FHL BRITISH Film 1656806 Items 2 - 7 Baptisms, 1813-Sep. 1917. FHL BRITISH Film 2068773 Baptisms, Apr. 1917-1957. Marriages, 1754-Dec. 1869. FHL BRITISH Film 2068774 Marriages, Oct. 1869-1947. FHL BRITISH Film 2068775 Burials, 1813-Apr. 1951. FHL BRITISH Film 2068776 Burials, Feb. 1951-1962. FHL BRITISH Film 2068777 Item 1

An index of Cheshire Parish registers is available at FamilySearch Historical Records. Bishop's transcripts Wybunbury Microfilm of original records in the Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England. Records are not arranged in strict chronological order. Some intermittent years are missing. Cheshire Record Office no.: EDB/232

Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1600-1604, 1607-1609, 1611-1619, 1622-1625, 1627-1634, 1636-1640, 1658-1687, 1689, 1688, 1690-1749, 1751, 1750-1755. FHL BRITISH Film 1850126 Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1756-1821. FHL BRITISH Film 1850127 Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1822-1850. FHL BRITISH Film 1850128 Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1851-1855, 1857, 1856, 1858-1872, baptisms, burials, 1873-1880, baptisms, 1881-1883, 1886. FHL BRITISH Film 1850129

An index of Cheshire Bishop's transcripts is available at FamilySearch Historical Records.

Non-Conformist Churches
Wybunbury, Wesley Place Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Built in 1817, rebuilt in 1831, 1864. Registers of marriages 1925–1969 are at the Record Office.

National Archive : Wesley Place Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Weston (Wybunbury): register of baptisms, accounts, financial statements, correspondence relative to closure and sale of church building 1887-2003 (EMS 283)

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from 1 July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. Here are two excellent Internet sites with birth, marriage and death indexes available:


 * FreeBMD
 * Cheshire BMD

Registration Districts
Nantwich (1837–1937) Crewe (1937–74) Congleton and Crewe (1974–88) South Cheshire (1988–98) Cheshire Central (post 1998) The post 2009 reorganisation of civil registration can be found online at Cheshire BMD

Poor Law Unions
Nantwich Poor Law Union

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Cheshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.See also England Cheshire Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

see also England Cheshire Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

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