Altham, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Chapelry History
Altham was an Ecclesiastical Parish in Whalley deanery of the Diocese of Manchester from 1847 in the county of Lancashire, created in 1723 from chapelry in Whalley, Lancashire Ancient Parish.

Other places in the parish include: Sykeside and Old Accrington.

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.

ALTHAM, a township and parochial chapelry, in the parish of Whalley, union of Burnley, Higher division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 5 miles (W.) from Burnley; the township containing 349 inhabitants. Under the name of Elvetham, the manor was granted by the first Henry de Lacy to Hugo, a Saxon: John de Alvetham, Hugo's descendant, left an heiress who married into the Banastre family, and thus sprang the Banastres of Altham, who occupied the manor-house for five centuries. The parochial chapelry comprises the townships of Altham (in which are 868 acres), Clayton-le-Moors, and New and Old Accrington. The river Calder forms the northern boundary of Altham township: on the east it is increased by a nameless brook from Huncoat; and the Hyndburne, after flowing as the western boundary of the chapelry, forms its confluence with the Calder at the northwest extremity of Clayton-le-Moors. Coal is obtained in the vicinity. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £117; patron, R. T. W. Walton, Esq. The chapel is dedicated to St. James. The Wesleyans have a place of worship; and there is a Roman Catholic chapel, erected in 1825.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 44-49. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50753 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

Altham- St James Baptisms Transcript-1596-1696- 929.3272 A3 Burials Transcript-1596-1696- 929.3272 A3 Marriage Index-1813-1837- Rossendale Fiche A3 Marriages Transcript-1596-1696- 929.3272 A3

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
Burnley Poor Law 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
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.