Alverthorpe, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes  West Riding  Alverthorpe

Parish History
ALVERTHORPE, a township, comprising the ecclesiastical districts of Alverthorpe and Thornes, in the parish and union of Wakefield, Lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 1½ mile (W. N. W.) from Wakefield; containing 5930 inhabitants. This township, including Westgate Common, a suburb of the borough of Wakefield, comprises by computation 3000 acres. The land is rich and fertile, and in profitable cultivation; the surface is varied; the substratum abounds with coal of good quality, and several mines are in operation. The village of Alverthorpe is pleasantly situated, and the township includes also the village of Thornes, and the hamlets of Fanshaw, Kirkham Gate, and Silcoates. The population is chiefly employed in the spinning of woollen and worsted yarn, and in the manufacture of woollen cloth and worsted stuffs, for which there are several mills and large factories; the manufacture of rope and twine is also carried on to a considerable extent. Alverthorpe church, dedicated to St. Paul, was erected in 1826, at an expense of £8000, chiefly by grant of the Parliamentary Commissioners: it is a handsome structure in the early English style, with a square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles, and contains 1600 sittings, of which 800 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Wakefield; the income, previously £72, was augmented in 1841 with £78 per annum by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and a neat residence for the minister was built in 1842. The small tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, under an act of inclosure, in 1793. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The Northern Congregational School at Silcoates House was instituted in 1830, for the board and education of the sons of ministers of the Independent denomination.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 49-53. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50754 Date accessed: 16 August 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
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.

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 Yorkshire 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.