St Giles without Cripplegate, Middlesex Genealogy

England London  London Parishes  St Giles without Cripplegate

Parish History
"St Giles without Cripplegate, the church of, is situated without the walls of London and at and at the southwest corner of Fore Street nearly opposite the entrance of Red Cross Street and Whitecross Street. It defines its name from having been dedicated to St. of that name, who was a native of Athens and flourished about the year 700 of the Christian era, it was abbot of Nismes, in France and its position from its situation. This church was built and founded about the year 1090, by Alfune the first master of St. Bartholomew's hospital, and was destroyed by fire in 1545. The present structure was then erected, which is one of the few churches in the city to escape the great fire of 1666.  It is appointed or English style of architecture, is 174 feet in length, 63 and breadth, and 32 in height. The site of this parish was anciently a fen or moor, and its houses and gardens were accounted a village without the Wall of London called Mora whence the district called the Moor and Moorfields. This village increased greatly and was constituted a prebend of St. Paul's Cathedral. Part of the ancient city wall is still remaining on the south and east sides of the churchyard, particularly one of the bastions, which is close against the back part of Barbers Hall, in Monkwells Street.

"In this church are deposited the mortal remains of many eminent authors; among which are, Speed, the historian and topographer; Fox, the author of The Book of Martyrs; Glover, the Antiquary; and, above all, Milton, the author of Paradise Lost. The patronage of this church was originally in private hands, tilll it descended to Alemund, who granted it, after the deaths of himself and Hugh, his only son, to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's...  The church is a vicarage in the city and Archdeaconry of London."

St Giles without Cripplegate belonged to Cripplegate Ward.

Several histories have been published about this parish, including:


 * Baddeley, John James. An Account of the Church and Parish of St. Giles, without Cripplegate, in the City of London. Compiled from Various Old Authorities, Including the Churchwardens' Accounts, and the Vestry Minute Books of the Parish. London: J.J. Baddeley, 1888. Digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.


 * Miller, William. London Before the Fire of 1666: With an Historical Account of The Parish, The Ward, and the Church of St. Giles without Cripplegate. Brought Down to the Present Time. London: J.H. Woodley, 1867. Digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.

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
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.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist 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.

1541 Subsidy

 * 1541 London Subsidy Roll, Cripplegate Ward - Seynt Giles without Crepulgate, courtesy: British History Online

1582 Subsidy

 * 1582 London Subsidy Roll, Cripplegate Ward - St Giles Parishe, courtesy: British History Online

1638 Inhabitants List

 * Inhabitants of London in 1638 - St Giles without Cripplegate, courtesy: British History Online

1645 Subsidy

 * St Giles, Cripplegate, Cripplegate Ward Without, London (The National Archives, Ref: E179/147/590 Part 9); copy:.

1666 Hearth Tax

 * Hearth Tax: City of London 1666 - St Giles (without) Cripplegate, courtesy: British History Online

Contributor: 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.

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

Before 1858, fell under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral.

Go to London Probate Records to find the names of the courts having secondary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

From 1858 to the present, refer to the Principal Probate Registry.

Records of the Poor
During the seventeenth century, officials gave some foundlings discovered in St Giles Cripplegate Parish the unique surname Cripplegate.

Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

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

 * Sketch of St. Giles Cripplegate Parish Church, courtesy: London Ancestor
 * London Family History Centre Catalogue
 * Society of Genealogists Library Catalogue (to narrow results, conduct a subject search for 'London St Giles without Cripplegate')