Great Barr, Staffordshire Genealogy

England Staffordshire

Parish History
Great Barr is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Staffordshire, created in 1849 from chapelry in Aldridge, Staffordshire Ancient Parish.

BARR, GREAT, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of Aldridge, union of Walsall, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 5½ miles (N.) from Birmingham; containing 1078 inhabitants. This place lies on the road between Birmingham and Walsall, and comprises about 5000 acres: the surface is elevated; the soil varies from a light to a heavy quality, and the scenery is beautiful, presenting from the celebrated Barr beacon a very extensive view. Excellent limestone is obtained, of a peculiar degree of hardness suitable for under-water work, as it sets quickly and firmly. At Newton is a station of the Liverpool and Birmingham railway. The Hall, which has long been the seat of the Scott family, stands in a romantic vale, having an extensive lawn and deer-park, with a fine sheet of water in front; the grounds are abundantly planted, and the sylvan beauties of the place owe much to the taste of the poet Shenstone. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the rectory of Aldridge. The chapel, dedicated to St. Margaret, stands on an eminence shaded by a number of lofty elms; it was rebuilt in the latter part of the last century by Joseph Scott, Esq., afterwards Sir Joseph Scott, Bart., and is in the Grecian style, with a handsome spire. There are seven painted windows, copied from designs by Sir Joshua Reynolds at New College, Oxford; the eastern window is elaborately painted by Eginton, of Birmingham. The chapel lands consist of about 66 acres of land on Barr common, obtained at the inclosure in 1799 from Sir Joseph Scott, in exchange for the Chapel Hills, which had been held from time immemorial. John Addyes, in 1722, bequeathed property for the erection and endowment of a free school for thirteen boys, which number by subsequent benefactions has been augmented to twenty; the endowment consists of a house and land, the latter let for nearly £50 per annum.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 153-158. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50780 Date accessed: 04 April 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.

See West Midlands BMD and Staffordshire BMD

Church records
Great Barr St Margaret was formed from a former chapelry of Aldridge, Staffordshire

Deposited parish registers at Staffordshire Record Office Bap 1653-1952 Mar 1653-1958 Bur 1653-1948 Lichfield Record Office holdings of Bishop's Transcripts Bap 1664-1870 Mar 1664-1837 Bur 1664-1870

Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts 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

Poor Law Unions
Walsall Poor Law Union, Staffordshire

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