Barnes, Surrey Genealogy

England   Surrey   Surrey Parishes

Parish History
BARNES (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Richmond, W. division of the hundred of Brixton, E. division of Surrey, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from London; containing 1461 inhabitants. This parish comprises 936 acres of land, of which 176 are common or waste; the soil is for the most part gravelly, and the surface flat. The village is pleasantly situated on the southern bank of the river Thames, and contains several wellbuilt houses, particularly on the terrace facing the river, which commands an extensive view of the opposite bank, and forms a peculiarly interesting promenade, from the constant traffic on the Thames, and the continued succession of pleasure-boats passing between London and Richmond, and in other aquatic excursions. The Barnes station of the Richmond railway is 5½ miles distant from Nine Elms, London. At BarnElms, in the vicinity, so called from a row of stately elm-trees, is an ancient mansion called Queen Elizabeth's Dairy, which was the residence of Jacob Tonson, the eminent bookseller, who built a room for the meetings of the members of the "Kit-Kat Club," portraits of some of whom adorn the walls; these have been engraved and published, and among them are several of the most distinguished English literati of the early part of the last century. Elizabeth granted the manorhouse to Sir Francis Walsingham, who, in 1589, entertained that sovereign and her court here: it was afterwards the residence of the Earl of Essex, who had espoused the daughter of Sir Francis, the widow of Sir Philip Sidney; and is now that of the Rt. Hon. Sir Launcelot Shadwell, Vice-Chancellor. A court leet is held at Putney, by the lord of the manor, at which constables and other officers are appointed for Barnes. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 3. 4., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London: the tithes have been commuted for £315, and there are 8 acres of glebe. The church is an ancient edifice in the early English style, built of flint and freestone, with a square tower of brick, having an octagonal turret at one angle, which appears to have been added in 1500: it was enlarged in 1838, by subscription, on the north side of the chancel. Mrs. Mary Wright, in 1804, bequeathed £500, which were invested in the purchase of £824. 11. three per cent. consols.; and Mr. John Biggs, in 1837, left £500: the interest of both sums is applied in keeping their tombs in repair, and for the benefit of the poor. Robert Beale, who was employed by Elizabeth to communicate to Mary, Queen of Scots, the sentence which had been passed upon her, and who was afterwards sent to Fotheringay Castle to see it carried into effect, died here in 1601. Cowley, the poet, resided here for some time.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 148-153. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50779 Date accessed: 26 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
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Surrey 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
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Web sites
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