Petworth, Sussex Genealogy

England   Sussex



Parish History
Petworth St Mary is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Sussex.Other places in the parish include: Byworth.

PETWORTH (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Rotherbridge, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 14miles (N. E. by N.) from Chichester, and 49 (S. W. by S.)from London; containing 3364 inhabitants

The parish comprises 5982a. 2r. 12p., of which 3118acres are arable, 1265 meadow and pasture, 1236 woodland, and 167 common and waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £41. 10. 5., and in the gift of Colonel Wyndham: the incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £850, and the glebe comprises157 acres; the rector of Duncton, also, receives £350out of the tithes. The church, erected about the time of Henry VII., was nearly rebuilt under the direction ofC. Barry, Esq., at a cost of about £16,000, defrayed by the Earl of Egremont. It now consists of a nave,chancel, and north and south aisles, with an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Thomas at the east end of the north aisle, in which some members of the family of Percy, earls of Northumberland, are buried, and in which is a handsome monument by Carew, erected at the expense of the earl, in 1837, to the memory of the Percys.The tower surmounted by a beautiful spire 180 feet high, is at the east end of the south aisle. The interior of the church is exceedingly neat: the windows of the chancel of St. Thomas's chapel, and the south aisle, are of stained glass; and there is a splendid organ, which cost £600. Here are places of worship for Independents and Calvinists.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 558-564. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51211 Date accessed: 01 May 2011.

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
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

Census records
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. Go to Sussex 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.