Deane, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Parish History
DEANE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bolton-le-Moors, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 1 mile (S. W. by W.) from Bolton; containing 16,157 inhabitants. It comprises the townships of Heaton, Middle and Over Hulton, and Rumworth, which constitute the district attached to the parish church; and Halliwell, Horwich, Little Hulton, and West Houghton, which are separate chapelries. Till very lately, it included also Farnworth and Kearsley, which now form a separate vicarage. This is an important manufacturing district, containing many cottonestablishments, and some of the most extensive bleachworks in the kingdom; and a large number of the inhabitants are engaged in hand-loom weaving, and in coal-mines, which abound in the parish. The river Croal, commonly called the Middlebrook, and the Bolton and Kenyon and the Bolton and Lancaster railway, pass through. There are two fine specimens of Elizabethan architecture: one of them is Smithills Hall, in the township of Halliwell; the other, Peel Hall. The principal landowners are, the Earl of Ellesmere, Henry Tempest, Esq., and William Hulton, Esq., whose residence, Hulton Park, is beautifully situated in the township of Over Hulton. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4, and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £213, with a house picturesquely seated: the impropriation belongs to Mr. Tempest. The church is a fine building in the perpendicular style, standing in a spacious churchyard, in which is a very large yew-tree; it has been enlarged and repaired at considerable expense within the last few years, and a considerable portion of the interior is laid out in old oak open benches. The east window, which is of great size, has been embellished with figures of Our Lord, St. John the Baptist, and the Twelve Apostles, in richly stained glass, executed by Mr. William Warrington, of London; and this imitation of ancient stained glass is thought to be one of the best yet produced in the country. There is still remaining a very old and elaborately carved oak pulpit, hallowed by the preaching of George Marsh, a former vicar, whose apprehension and subsequent martyrdom at Chester in 1555, are recorded at length in Fox's Book of Martyrs. From a Latin deed lately discovered in the chartulary of Whalley Abbey, of the date 1276, describing accurately the brooks and other boundaries of the glebe land as they at present exist, and conveying it to trustees (among whom the names of some of the oldest families at present landowners in the parish are mentioned), it would seem not improbable that part of the foundation of the church is of a much more ancient date than even the existing venerable structure. In the parish are five episcopal chapels, and several dissenting places of worship. A national school, endowed with £40 per annum, is in connexion with the church; and there are three Sunday, two daily, and four infant schools. Each chapelry has also its own schools.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 23-28. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50916 Date accessed: 29 June 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
Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts 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
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 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

Web sites
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.