Halton, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Also see the which lies within Halton Parish boundaries.



Parish History
Halton St Wifrid is an Ancient Parish in the county of Lancashire. Other places in the parish include: Aughton.

The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley.

The village consists primarily of modern housing, amongst which can be found a number of 17th and 18th century buildings. The 19th century Textile Mills once harnessed the power of the Lune. Earthworks on Castle Hill show evidence of an 11th century Norman motte &amp; bailey castle. In the churchyard of St Wilfrids stands the Halton Cross believed to have been carved by Norsemen over 1,000 years ago.

Halton Castle was situated in the village of Halton. Halton was an important Anglo-Saxon manor held by Earl Tostig, the brother of King Harold before the Norman Conquest. It is likely that a motte and bailey castle was constructed on the site in the late 11th century. However Halton’s prominence was lost in the 12th century when favour shifted to Lancaster, and Halton Castle was abandoned. Only earthworks now remain and it is privately owned with no public right of way.

"HALTON St Wilfrid, a parish, (established and operating by 1592) in the hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, 3 miles northeast by east from Lancaster; containing, by 1856, the chapelry of Aughton as well. Halton had no fewer than twenty-two dependent townships."

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.

Online index of Lancashire Births, Marriages and Deaths Lancashire BMD

Lancashire Online Parish Clerks
An extremely useful resource for research in Lancashire Parishes http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/

Church records
Online Records

The parish registers for Halton Parish and its attached chapelry of Aughton and its respective chapel registers have partly been transcribed and are available online at the following web sites and the specified range of years:

[Note: FS = FamilySearch; LOPC = Lancashire Online Parish Clerk project;  AC = Ancestry.co.uk]

Original Records Halton (Lancaster)- St Wilfrid Baptisms Transcript-1592-1726- 929.3272 H6 Baptisms Transcript-1727-1837- 929.342769 Ha1 Burials Transcript-1592-1725- 929.3272 H6 Burials Transcript-1727-1837- 929.342769 Ha1 Marriage Index-1813-1837- Rossendale Fiche H10 Marriages Transcript-1593-1725- 929.3272 H6 Marriages Transcript-1727-1837- 929.342769 Ha1

For original registers of above please enquire at Lancashire Record Office.

The Manchester Room and Greater Manchester County Record Office Email: archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk

The Manchester Room@City Library (Local Studies)

Census records
http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Caton Gilbert Union,Lancashire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire 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