Baddiley, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire England  Cheshire Parishes

Parish History
BADDILEY (St. Michael), a parish, in the union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Nantwich. St Michael's Church, Baddiley is an Ancient Parish and is a rare example of a timber-framed church. The chancel dates from 1308, and is one of the oldest timber-framed churches in Europe. Only a handful of churches of this type remain in England; other surviving examples include churches at Lower Peover and Marton (Cheshire), Melverley (Shropshire), Besford (Worcestershire) and Hartley Wespall (Hampshire).

Baddiley is listed in the Domesday Book as Bedelie, and the manor then belonged to the Praers family. The ancient manor was more extensive than the modern parish, also including Faddiley, which lies to the north west. In the first half of the 13th century, part of the Baddiley parish was granted to Combermere Abbey, a Cistercian monastery which had been endowed on its foundation in 1133 with a large area of land to the south; in 1355, the abbey also acquired the right to appoint the priest of the Baddiley church in exchange for land at Baddiley Grange. (Baddiley is not, however, included among the lands surrendered to the government when the abbey was dissolved in 1538.) By the 14th century, the manor had passed by marriage to the Bromley, Hondford and Mainwaring families, finally passing solely to the Mainwarings who occupied Baddiley Hall.

Baddiley Hall, is an L-shaped three-storey building in brown brick dating from the late 17th century. Formerly the manor house of the Mainwaring family, it has been a farmhouse since the 19th century.

St Michael's Church, Baddiley is in the civil parish of Baddiley, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The church lies at the end of a lane near to Baddiley Hall, formerly the home of the Mainwaring family. It dates from the early 14th century. The nave and chancel are divided by a pre-Reformation screen and tympanum. The church is one of a 'handful' of timber framed churches remaining in the country. It continues to be an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Nantwich. Its benefice is combined with those of St Mary's and St Michael's Church, Burleydam and St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury.

Baddiley is a scattered settlement and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish also includes the north-western part of the village of Ravensmoor (also in the parish of Burland), as well as the small settlements of Baddiley Hulse, Batterley Hill, and parts of Gradeley Green and Swanley.

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:


 * Nantwich (1837–1937)
 * Crewe (1937–74)
 * Congleton &amp; Crewe (1974–1988)
 * South Cheshire (1988–98)
 * Cheshire Central ( 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, 1579-1991 Cheshire Record Office call number: P173/1/1-2, P173/2/1-3, P173/4592/1-4.

An index for Cheshire parish registers is available online at FamilySearch Historical Records

(FHL: Family History Library)

Bishop's transcripts for Baddiley, 1596-1905 Cheshire Record Office call number.: EDB 15.

An index for Cheshire, Church of England, Bishop’s Transcripts is available online at FamilySearch Historical 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.

Non-Conformist Churches
Baddiley, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Baddiley and Ravensmoor Methodist Church, formerly a Wesleyan Chapel, located in Ravensmoor. Dated 1878, the building is in orange brick with stone dressing and has a prominent circular window and pillars capped with decorative stonework.

Non-Conformist Records:

Baddiley and Ravensmoor is part of the Audlem Circuit.

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.

See also England Cheshire Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Poor Law Unions

 * Nantwich Poor Law Union

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