Hereford Cathedral, Herefordshire Genealogy

England Herefordshire  Herefordshire Parishes

Parish History
The city comprises the parishes of All Saints, containing 3091;St. Martin, 1069; St. John the Baptist, 1303; St. Nicholas, 1182; St. Owen, 1755; and St. Peter, 2521 inhabitants. The living of All Saints' is a discharged vicarage, with that of St. Martin's consolidated, valued in the king's books at £8. 10.; net income, £380; patrons, the Dean and Canons of Windsor, who, together with the Dean and Chapter of Hereford, are appropriators. The church is an ancient structure, partly in the Norman style, with a tower strengthened with buttresses, and surmounted by a lofty spire; the aisles are separated from the nave by circular columns and pointed arches, and there are a fine altar-piece, and some stalls supposed to have been appropriated to the brethren of St. Anthony. The building was lately enlarged, and 400 free sittings provided; and a very handsome organ was erected in 1826. St. Martin's church, which was situated on the south bank of the river, near the bridge, was destroyed during the parliamentary war. The present church was consecrated in October 1845; the interior is well arranged, and fitted up with open seats. The living of St. John the Baptist's is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 1.; net income, £150; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Hereford. The west nave of the cathedral was appropriated as a church for this parish till the accidental fall of its tower, in 1786. At present the north transept is used for the purpose. The living of St. Nicholas is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £185, of which £128 are payable to the rector. The church, previous to the Dissolution, had two chantries in honour of the Virgin. The living of St. Owen's is a rectory, united to the vicarage of St. Peter's, the former valued in the king's books at £4. 10. 10., and the latter at £10. 0. 2.; net income, £366; patrons, the Trustees of the late Rev. Henry Gipps; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The vicarial tithes of St. Owen's have been commuted for £75. The church, which was situated without the walls of the city, was destroyed during the parliamentary war. On its site, a neat school-house, which is also used as a chapel of ease, was recently erected. The church ofSt. Peter, founded in 1070, is in the Norman style, with a tower surmounted by a neat spire, and was repaired and partly rebuilt in 1793: the nave is separated from the south aisle by octagonal pillars, and from the north aisle by clustered columns; the chancel contains stalls which were appropriated to the brethren of St. Guthlac's Priory, and previously to the Dissolution four chantries were maintained in the church. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics.

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.

Census records
See Herefordshire Census

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