Altrincham, Cheshire Genealogy

Guide to Altrincham, Cheshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy:  parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
Altrincham (pronounced All-tringum) St. George was built as a chapel of ease to St Mary's Church, Bowdon in 1799. The tower and spire date from 1874 and the chancel from 1886.

During the medieval and post-medieval period, the township of Altrincham was part of the Bowdon parish. Before the English Reformation, the inhabitants of Sale were predominantly Catholic, but afterwards were members of the Church of England. Altrincham did not have a church until the late 18th century because of a low population density in the area. A growing population in led to the Anglican church establishing a chapel of ease in the town in 1799. Nonconformists were also present in Altrincham, Methodists set up a chapel in 1790 Baptists built one in the 1870s. Irish immigrants in the 1830s and 1840s brought Catholicism back to the area, and the first Catholic church built in Trafford was St Vincent's in 1860.

ALTRINCHAM, is a market-town and chapelry, and the head of a union, in the parish of Bowdon, the hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the county of Chester, and is 7 miles (N. by E.) from Knutsford. There are two places of worship for Methodists, and one forUnitarians.

Bowdon, St. Mary was the ancient parish church for Altrincham. Altrincham, St. George, Church Street, was built in 1799 as a chapel to Bowdon and became a separate parish in 1860.

Church Records
Altrincham parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Sale parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Broadheath parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the Cheshire Archives and Local Studies.

Altrincham, St. John the Evangelist, was built in 1866 as a chapel to St George and was created a parish church the following year to serve parts of Altrincham, Dunham Massey and Timperley.

Broadheath, St. Alban, Manchester Road/Linsdell Road, was built in 1890 as a chapel to St. George, becoming the parish church for the Broadheath area in 1911.

Non-Conformist Churches
Here is a list of nonconformist churches in Altrincham with information about records when known:


 * Altrincham, St. Vincent de Paul (Roman Catholic), Bentlinck Road, was opened in 1904, replacing an earlier building in New Street (founded 1847). Registers of baptisms 1847–1944, marriages 1859–1955 and burials 1858–1992 are at the Cheshire Record Office.
 * Altrincham, St. Hugh of Lincoln (Roman Catholic), Manchester Road, was built in 1930.
 * Altrincham, St. John the Baptist (Roman Catholic), Thorley Lane. Built in 1957.
 * Broadheath, Holy Angels (Roman Catholic). Built in 1958.
 * Altrincham, Baptist Chapel, Hale Road. Founded 1887.
 * Altrincham, Baptist Chapel, Railway Street.
 * Altrincham, Bible Christian Chapel, George Street.
 * Altrincham, Christian Brethren Chapel, Lloyd Street.
 * Altrincham, Methodist Chapel (New Connexion), George Street. Founded 1817. Registers 1819–1837 are at the Record Office.
 * Altrincham, Methodist Chapel (Primitive), Devonshire Road.
 * Altrincham, Methodist Chapel (Primitive), Oxford Road. Built in 1858. Registers of baptisms 1882–1957 and marriages 1909–1959 are at Manchester Central Library.
 * Altrincham, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Chapel Walk. Built in 1795. Registers 1796–1837 are at the Record Office.
 * Altrincham, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Woodlands Road/Bank Street. Built in 1866. Registers of baptisms 1869–1891 are at Manchester Central Library.
 * Broadheath, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Manchester Road. Built in 1899.
 * Altrincham, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Borough Road.
 * Altrincham, Salvation Army Mission, Shaws Lane.
 * Altrincham, Unitarian Chapel, Dunham Road. ReBuilt in 1876.
 * Altrincham, United Reformed Church (Independent/Congregational), Oxford Road.
 * Altrincham, United Reformed Church (Independent/Congregational), Ashley Road. Built in 1899.
 * Bowdon Downs, United Reformed Church (Independent/Congregational). Founded 1839. Registers of baptisms 1840–1969 and marriages 1849–1972 are at Manchester Central Library.
 * Broadheath, United Reformed Church (Independent/Congregational), Navigation Road/Manchester Road. Built in 1865.
 * Altrincham, Welsh Calvanistic, Willow Tree Road. Built in 1903.

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

 * Altrincham (1837–98)
 * Bucklow (1898–1974)
 * Trafford (1974+)

Poor Law Unions
The New Poor Law (a civil rather than ecclesiastical system for the care of the poor) was passed in 1834, and Poor Law Unions were established, each including several parishes. Here are the Poor Law Unions Altrincham was a part of and the inclusion dates:


 * Altrincham (1836–95)
 * Bucklow (1895–1930)

The Altrincham Union was renamed Bucklow Altrincham (renamed Bucklow) Poor Law Union, Cheshire

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. Before 1858, Altrincham, and the rest of Cheshire, was under the probate jurisdiction of the Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory). See that court's article for information about records.

See also England Cheshire Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Maps and Gazetteers
To read a gazetteer description for Altrincham, go to Vision of Britain.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851

Websites
Altrincham on GENUKI