Chester Cathedral Church Precinct, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire Cheshire Parishes  Chester Cathedral Church Precinct

Parish History
CHESTER CATHEDRAL church is an ecclesiastical parish, in Great Boughton district, Cheshire; and a diocese in Cheshire and part of Lancashire. The city stands on the river Dee and on the Via Devana, 5 miles SE of the head of the Dee's estuary, and 16, through Birkenhead, SSE of Liverpool.

Ecclesiastical parishes originated in the Medieval period, when the tithe or teind (a proportion of the annual produce or income) was paid by the parish inhabitants to support the Church.

The city comprises the parishes of St. Bridget (see also St Martin), containing 675 inhabitants; St. John the Baptist, Little St. John, extra-parochial; St. Martin; St. Michael; St. Olave; and St. Peter; part of the parishes of St. Mary on the Hill, St. Oswald, and the Holy Trinity; and the precinct of the Cathedral Close. The living of St. Bridget's is a rectory not in charge, with that of St Martin's. The church, formerly collegiate, and, on the removal of the see of Lichfield to Chester Little St John's is a perpetual curacy; net income, £164; patrons, the Mayorand Corporation, who, by the Municipal Corporations'act, were directed to dispose of the advowson. Theliving of St. Michael's is a perpectual curacy, with thatof St. Olave's; net income, £173; patron, the Bishop.St. Peter's is a discharged perpetual curacy, valued inthe king's books at £6. 13. 4.; net income, £120;patron, the Bishop. The living of the parish of St.Mary on the Hill is a rectory, valued in the king's booksat £52, and in the gift of the Marquess of Westminster:the tithes have been commuted for £400. The churchis a venerable building, in the later style of Englisharchitecture. St. Oswald's is a discharged vicarage, withthe chapelry of Churton-Heath annexed, valued in theking's books at £8. 18. 4.; net income, £245; patrons,the Dean and Chapter. The church is formed of thesouth transept of the cathedral. The living of theparish of the Holy Trinity is a discharged rectory, valuedin the king's books at £8. 15. 6.; net income, £290;patron, the Earl of Derby: the tithes have been commuted for £245. An additional church, dedicated toSt. Paul, has been erected at Boughton, of which theliving is a perpetual curacy; net income, £60; patron,the Vicar of St. John's. In New Town, likewise, is achurch, dedicated to Christ, built in 1835: the living isa perpetual curacy in the gift of the Bishop, with a netincome of £150. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, the Connexion of theCountess of Huntingdon, Independents, Welsh andWesleyan Methodists, New Connexion of Methodists,Sandemanians, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from 1 July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. Here are two excellent Internet sites with birth, marriage a nd death indexes available:


 * FreeBMD
 * Cheshire BMD

Church records
Chester Cathedral Church Precinct registers of christenings, marriages and burials have been indexed by the following groups:

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

Poor Law Unions
Chester Poor Law Union

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.

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