St Giles in the Fields, Middlesex Genealogy

England   Middlesex   Middlesex Parishes   St Giles in the Fields

Parish History
"St Giles in the Fields, the church of, is situated on the south side of the High Street, and receives its addition from the circumstance of being formerly in the Fields, to distinguish it from that of St Giles, Cripplegate. This parish was anciently a village of the same name, and its church is supposed to owe its origin to the chapel which belonged to the hospital founded about 1117, by Queen Matilda, consort of Henry I, for the reception of a certain number of leprous persons belonging to the city of London and the county of Middlesex. In 1354, Edward III granted this hospital to the master and brethren of the order of Burton, St Lazar, of Jerusalem, in Leicestershire, for certain considerations, for which it became a cell to that order, till the general dissolution of religious houses by Henry VIII, who, in 1545, granted it to Lord Dudley. Soon after this period the chapel or church was made parochial, and on the 30th of April 1547, William Rawlinson was instituted Rector.

"The ancient church being very small, and much dilapidated, was taken down in 1623, and a church of brick was erected in its stead. This also became in its turn too small and inconvenient, when the inhabitants applied for an act of parliament to enable them to rebuild it; accordingly the old fabric was taken down in 1730, and the present very handsome edifice, designed by Gibbs, was erected and completed in 1733. This substantial church is built of Portland stone, its interior is seventy-five feet in length, exclusive of the recess for the altar, and sixty feet in width, and is divided into nave and aisles, by Portland stone columns of the Ionic order, which assist the main walls in carrying the roof. The tower and spire are also of Portland stone, and are 160 feet high to the vane.

"A new entrance gateway, of great beauty, has been within these twenty years erected, from the designs of William Leverton, Esq, in which is introduced an ancient piece of sculpture, of more curiosity than beauty, representing the Last Judgement. The church is a rectory, in the county and archdeaconry of Middlesex, in the diocese of London and in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor."

1. James Elmes, M.R. I. A., Architect. In “A Topographical Dictionary of London and its Envirions,” (London: Whittaker, Treacher and Arnot, 1831). Adapted.

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.

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.

Poor Law Unions
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Maps and Gazetteers
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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