High Legh, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  High Legh



Parish History
High Legh St John, Cheshire,was created in 1815 as a chapel to Rostherne and became a parish in 1817. It was destroyed by fire in 1891, rebuilt in 1893. St John was formerly the domestic chapel of the West Hall. The parish church for High Legh from 1973.

Unusually this village was home to two ancient landed gentry families for generations, namely: Leigh of West Hall and Cornwall-Legh of East Hall. Both halls have now been demolished, but both families are still represented today, the head of the West Hall family being Edward Leigh, MP and that of the East Hall family Richard, 6th Baron Grey of Codnor. A member of one of the cadet branches of the Leigh of West Hall family, was created a baronet in 1773, becoming Sir Egerton Leigh, but this title is now dormant. The Record Search collection of the Cheshire Land Tax reveals the extent of the land ownership of Sir Egeerton Leigh in the county.

High Legh St Mary's chapel was built around 1581 as a chapel of ease to High Legh East Hall. High Legh became a separate parish in 1817. The parish was refounded in 1973 with the nearby St John's Church as the parish church. The hall has been demolished. The south aisle was added in 1836 and the chancel, by John Oldrid Scott, in 1884.

High Legh is the site of an early Methodist chapel in Northwood Lane, with Wesleyan connections.

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

 * Altrincham (1837–98)
 * Bucklow (1898–1974)
 * Macclesfield (1974–98)
 * Cheshire East (post 1998) registration 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.

Parish registers for High Legh, 1815-1956 High Legh is a chapelry in Rostherne parish.Cheshire Record Office reference: P197/1/1-2.

Here is a list of church records on microfilm at theFamily History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available FamilySearch Historical Records( formerly Record Search)

Bishop's transcripts for High Legh, 1819-1902 High Legh is a chapelry in the parish of Rostherne.Cheshire Record Office reference: EDB 110

An index for Cheshire, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts (Diocese of Chester) is available online FamilySearch Historical Records (formerly Record Search)

Non-Conformist Churches
Independent Methodist Chapel

Non-Conformist Records:

Warrington Library Document Reference WMS 2249 High Legh Independent Methodist church records Description Miscellaneous papers including history of the church (1783-1983) and papers relating to the Okell family Extent 1 bundle

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 Cheshire 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

 * Altrincham (1836–95)
 * Bucklow (1895–1930)
 * Altrincham (renamed Bucklow) 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

Web sites
Bolton, Humphrey (January 2007), High Legh, Macclesfield District, Cheshire: History, Geograph, http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/High-Legh---Macclesfield-District---Cheshire

Thornber, Craig, A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities: Leigh and Legh of High Legh: East Hall and its Chapel, http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/legh.html,