Acton, Middlesex Genealogy

England Middlesex  Middlesex Parishes  London  Acton

Parish History
ACTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Brentford, Kensington division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 5 miles (W.) from London; containing, with the hamlets of East Acton and Steyne, 2665 inhabitants. The name is supposed to be derived from the Saxon word Ac, signifying oak, and tun, a town; the neighbourhood having, in former times, abounded with timber of that description, and some land in the parish, from time immemorial, having been called Old Oak common. Previously to the battle of Brentford, in 1642, the Earls of Essex and Warwick had their head-quarters here; and on Cromwell's return to London, after the battle of Worcester, the lord president and council of state, the members of the house of commons, and the lord mayor, aldermen, and citizens of London, met him at this place, when the recorder delivered a congratulatory address, after which they attended him to the metropolis, forming altogether a train of more than three hundred carriages. The parish comprises 2251 acres, of which 85 are common or waste: the village consists chiefly of one long street, and is plentifully supplied with water; the Paddington canal and the Great Western railway run through. A pleasurefair is held on Holy-Thursday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14; net income, £968; patron, the Bishop of London. The church, which exhibits portions in the later style of English architecture, with modern insertions, was enlarged and repaired, at the expense of the inhabitants, in 1825. There is a place of worship for Independents, and the detached buildings of a private mansion have been fitted up as a Roman Catholic chapel. At East Acton are handsome almshouses, built and endowed by the Goldsmiths' Company, for twelve men and twelve women. In a garden on Old Oak common is a mineral spring, formerly held in general repute, but now disused. 1

The village stands 8½ miles W of St. Paul's, London; is linked to the metropolis by an almost continuous line of houses, bisected by the Junction railway, connecting the Northwestern railway with the Southwestern; and it has a station on the railway and a post office under London W. The parish contains also the hamlets of East Acton and Steyne. Acres, 2,286. Real property, £18,477. Pop., 3,151. Houses, 610. The property is subdivided. Old Oak Common, traversed by the Great Western railway and by the North and Southwestern junction, was anciently a thick oak forest. Acton Wells, on the common, were in much repute, about the middle of last century, for their medicinal waters. Berrymead Priory was once the seat of the Savilles and the Evelyns. Sir P. Skippon, Richard Baxter, Sir Matthew Hale, Bishop Lloyd, Provost Rous, Thicknesse, the traveler, and Ryres, the author of "Mercurius Rusticus," resided in Acton. The living is a rectory in the diocese of London. Value, £968. Patron, the Bishop of London. The church is early English, and was restored in 1865. There are Independent and Wesleyan chapels, a literary institution, handsome national schools, Wesleyan schools, and well-endowed alms-houses. The sub-district comprises four parishes. Acres, 5,963. Pop., 6,443. Houses, 1,044. 2

1. Samuel Lewis, ed. "Ackworth - Adbaston," In theA Topographical Dictionary of England 9-12. (London: S. Lewis and Co., 1848), Online | here, (accessed: 02 April 2010).

2. John Marius Wilson, “Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales,” (Edinburgh: A, Fullerton &amp; Co., 1870). Online | here.

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, non conformist 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

A List of District Churches and Chapels in Acton Parish

Here's a list of all those known churches and chapels associated and lying within the boundaries of Acton St Mary:


 * All Saints, Bollo Bridge Rd. - 1872
 * St. Albans, Acton Green - 1888
 * St. Andrews, Salisbury St. -1894
 * St. Barnabas, Acton Vale - 1891
 * St. Cuthbert's, Bollo Lane - 1880
 * St. Dunstan's, East Acton - 1879
 * St. Mary's, High St. – 1539 (* ancient parish)
 * St Thomas, Bromyard Ave, Acton – 1891

Census 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.

Manor records
Acton Manor records survive from the 1200s to the 1900s. The Manorial Documents Register serves as a guide to these records and where they are stored.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex 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
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.