St James Piccadilly, Middlesex Genealogy

Guide to St James Piccadilly, Middlesex ancestry, family history, and genealogy: Parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



Parish History
St. James,’ Hampstead Road is a chapel in St James Piccadilly parish, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Trustees.

St James’s Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren.In 1662, Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, was granted land for residential development on what was then the outskirts of London. He set aside land for the building of a parish church and churchyard on the south side of what is now Piccadilly. Christopher Wren was appointed the architect in 1672 and the church was consecrated on 13 July 1684 by Henry Compton, the Bishop of London. In 1685 the parish of St James was created for the church.

Additional information:

'St James Piccadilly, the parish of, is situated on the south side of Piccadilly, nearly opposite Sackville Street. It owes its origin to the increase of buildings in its neighborhood, and its parish is a cantlet from that of St Martin's in the Fields. Is was built from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, in the reign of Charles the II, and was finished in 1683. This church may be justly considered in spite of its mean exterior, as one of the most perfect of its great architect's designs, whether it be considered for commodiousness, beauty, or ingenuity of construction. Sir Christopher himself considered it as one the best contrived of his parochial churches.... It was built at the joint expense of Henry Jermyn, afterwards Earl of St Albans, whose name and title are used for two of the neighbouring streets, and of the principal inhabitants of this district. The church was made parochial by act of parliament of the 3d James II. The walls are of brick, aith rusticated quoins, facias, architraves and other dressings of Portland stone. The ceiling is arched and beautifully panelled, supported by Corinthian columns, which divide the interior into a nave and two isles....

'The interior is 84 feet long, 68 broad, and 40 high, and will contain two thousand persons.

'This parish is rectorial in the county and archdeaconry of Middlesex, in the diocese of London...'

1848 parish description St. James, Piccadilly is a parish, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Bishop.

Archbishop Tenison’s Chapel is in the parish of St. James, Piccadilly, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Rector of st. James’, and eight Trustees.

St. Philip’s Chapel Regent-street is in St James Piccadilly parish, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Bishop and the Rector of St. James’.

St. Margaret’s Chapel is in the parish of St. James Piccadilly, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, the appropriators.

St. James’, Berwick-street is a chapel in St. James Piccadilly parish, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Trustees.

York Street Chapel is in the St James, Piccadilly parish, in the city and liberty of Westminster. The patron is the Rector of St. James’.

Several additional divisional boundaries were drawn--all lying within the civil parish boundary of St James Piccadilly. St James had within each of these divisions, a district church, as follows:


 * St John the Baptist, Great Marlboro' Street - 1867
 * St Luke, Berwick Street - 1841
 * St Paul, Wilton Place, Westminster - 1843
 * St Peter, Great Windmill Street - 1861
 * St Peter, Palace St - 1822
 * St Peter’s Chapel, Palace St - 1890
 * St Thomas, Regent Street, or, sometimes known as Archbishop Tenison's Chapel - 1869

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
St James Piccadilly parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the London Metropolitan Archives.

1634-1900 Rate Books

 * Westminster Rate Books at findmypast - (£).

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
The Westminster, Poor Law and Parish Administration collection at findmypast includes:


 * 1791-1858 - St James, Piccadilly, Admissions

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

Websites

 * Sketch of St James Piccadilly Parish Church, courtesy: London Ancestor