Taxal, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Cheshire Parishes  Taxal



Parish History
St James Taxal is an ancient parish on the Cheshire /Derbyshire border and includes Whaley Bridge, Yeardsley and Whaley.Although historically part of Cheshire as will be seen the hamlet is now part of Derbyshire.

The church stands on a slope above the river Goyt, in the hamlet of Taxal, which is within the Peak District National Park, approximately one mile from Whaley Bridge. There has been a church at Taxal since the 12th century. The first recorded rector was in 1287. Part of the tower is very old and possibly 12th century. The tower has six bells, which are rung every Sunday and for special occasions. The church itself has been enlarged and restored mostly in the 17th and 19th centuries. There are several interesting memorials. Of particular interest is a slate slab on the floor between the choir stalls, on which are inscribed 18 names with the date of death of the Jodrell family, (of Jodrell Bank) who are buried in the chancel, dating from 1375-1756. Included is Roger Jauderell, who fought and died at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. Also of interest is a memorial to the Yeomen of the Mouth, (King's food taster during the reign of George II), who died in 1768. There is a well preserved coat of arms of Queen Ann, 1702-14, over the south door.

The township of Yeardsley-cum-Whaley, Cheshire, was part of the ancient parish of Taxal. The township adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and formed a local board to govern the town. Under the Local Government Act 1894 this became Yeardsley-cum-Whaley Urban District. On the Derbyshire side of the River Goyt, the parish of Fernilee was included in Chapel en le Frith Rural District. In 1936 a county review order merged the urban district with the built-up part of Fernilee to form Whaley Bridge Urban District, with the new district placed in Derbyshire.

In 1974 the Local Government Act 1972 came into force, abolishing all urban and rural districts in England and Wales, and replacing them with non-metropolitan districts. Whaley Bridge became part of the district of High Peak, with a successor parish formed for the area of the urban district. The parish council resolved that Whaley Bridge should have the status of a town.

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.

Registration Districts

 * Macclesfield (1837–1937)
 * Cheshire East
 * events may be searched online at Cheshire BMD

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.

Taxal, St. James (formerly St. Leonard) (C of E). An ancient parish church, originally serving the townships of Taxal and Yeardsley cum Whaley. Registers of Baptisms 1610–1977, Marriages 1610–1994 and Burials 1610–1956 have been deposited at the Cheshire Record Office. Cheshire Record Office reference: P233/1/1-6, 3/1-3, 4/1-2.

Bishop's Transcripts Records are not arranged in strict chronological order. Some intermittent years are missing.

Cheshire Record Office reference: EDB/196

Fernilee, Holy Trinity (C of E). A chapel of ease to Taxal. Registers of Baptisms from 1883 and Marriages from 1906 are held at the church (no burials).

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to &lt;a href="Cheshire Probate Records"&gt;Cheshire Probate Records&lt;/a&gt; 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

 * Macclesfield Poor Law Union,Cheshire

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