Shaftesbury St James, Dorset Genealogy

England Dorset  Dorset Parishes

Parish History
SHAFTESBURY, or Shaston, a borough and market-town, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Moncton- up -Wimborne, county of Dorset, 28 miles (N. N. E.) from Dorchester, and 101 (W. S. W.) from London, on the great road from London to Exeter. The town comprises the parishes of St. Peter, containing 1101; Holy Trinity, 1145; and St. James, including the liberty of Alcester, 924 inhabitants. The parliamentary limits extend into Wilts.

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. This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1560. 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.

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