Boston Spa, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes  West Riding  Boston Spa

Chapel History
BOSTON-SPA, a village and a chapelry in Bramham parish, W. R. Yorkshire. The village stands on the river Wharfe, ¼ of a mile SW of Thorpe-Arch r. station, and 3½ NW by W of Tadcaster; and has a post office‡ under Tadcaster. It consists of a single well-built street; and has a fine bridge over the Wharfe, three hotels, a good church with a tower, built in 1814, and a Wesleyan chapel. A saline spring here was brought into notice in 1744; has been recommended by distinguished physicians; and draws invalids and other visitors to the village as a watering-place. A pump-room, hot and cold baths, and other kindred appliances are in operation; and a number of handsome residences are in the neighbourhood.—The chapelry includes the village, and was constituted in 1852. Rated property, £5,040. Pop., 1,123. Houses, 251. The property is subdivided. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of York. Value, £180.* Patron, Christ Church, Oxford.

From: John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

BOSTON, a village, forming with Clifford a township, in the parish of Bramham, Upper division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash, W. riding of York, 3 miles (S. S. E.) from Wetherby; containing 1566 inhabitants, of whom 1014 are in Boston. This large and commanding village is of recent growth. It arose in consequence of the discovery, in 1744, of a mineral spring here, which was called Thorp-Arch Spa on account of Thorp-Arch, in the vicinity, affording the nearest accommodation for visiters, before the building of the village of Boston, where the first house was erected in 1753. The water is of a saline taste, of a slightly sulphureous smell, and possessed of purgative and diuretic qualities: it is taken in larger quantities than the Harrogate water, and is efficacious in cases of general relaxation, bilious and dyspeptic complaints, and glandular obstructions. For the accommodation of the visiters to this place of fashionable resort, there is a pump-room, with hot and cold baths, the conveniences of which, together with the salubrity of the air, and the situation of the spot, in a valley, on the southern side of the river Wharfe (the village communicating with Thorp Arch by a good stone bridge), contribute greatly to increase the sanative effect of the spa water. The powers of the county debt-court of Boston, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Tadcaster, and the townships of Linton and Wetherby. A chapel, a neat plain building, erected on land given by Mr. Samuel Tate, was consecrated in 1815: the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £146; patron, the Vicar of Bramham. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.—See Clifford.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 309-314. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50814 Date accessed: 13 September 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.

This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in date.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist 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.

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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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