Friern Barnet, Middlesex Genealogy

England   Middlesex   Middlesex Parishes  London   London Parishes  Friern Barnet

Parish History
"BARNET-FRYERN, [or Friern] a parish in Barnet [Registration] district, Middlesex; on the northern verge of the county, 1½ mile W by N of Southgate and Colney-Hatch r. station, and 3 miles SSE of Barnet. It contains the hamlet of Colney-Hatch, and part of the village of Whetstone; both of which have post offices under London N. Acres, 1,292. Real property, £6,552. Pop., 3,344. Houses, 241. The property is subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of London. Value, £255. Patrons,-the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. The church was restored in 1853. There are national schools, seven alms-houses, and some other charities. Walker, the author of "the Pronouncing Dictionary," was a native; and Judge Popham, a resident. See Colney-Hatch." ¹

"BARNET, FRYERN (St. James), a parish, in the union of Barnet, Finsbury division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 8¾ miles (N. by W.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of Colney-Hatch and a portion of that of Whetstone, 849 inhabitants. It is supposed that an abbey anciently existed here from which the place obtained the prefix to its name, and that the old manor-house, now taken down, was the summer residence of the abbots. The land is tithe-free, if cultivated by resident proprietors, but if let to tenants the exemption ceases. Courts leet and baron are held on the Friday in Whitsunweek. The living is a rectory not in charge, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London; net income, £255. The church is a small and very ancient structure, in the Norman style; the chancel was rebuilt some years since. Almshouses for twelve aged persons were founded, and endowed with £10 a year, in 1612, by Lawrence Kemp, Esq., of London. John Walker, author of the "English Pronouncing Dictionary," was born here in 1732." ²

1. John Marius Wilson, “Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales,” (Edinburgh: A, Fullerton & Co., 1870). Online | here.

2. Samuel Lewis, ed. A Topographical Dictionary of England 148-153. (London: S. Lewis and Co., 1848), Online | here, (accessed: 21 May 2010).

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, 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.

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 Middlesex 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
Contributor: Add information about the pertinent poor law unions in the area.

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.