Formby, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire Lancashire Parishes

Chapelry History
FORMBY, a chapelry, in the parish of Waltonon-the-Hill, union of Ormskirk, hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 12 miles (N. by W.) from Liverpool; containing 1446 inhabitants. This place was held in early times, as at present, by different proprietors; a large portion of the property descended to the Blundells, of Ince-Blundell, holders of the manor jointly with the Formby family, the latter descendants of Thomas de Forneby, who was living in the 46th of Edward III. The chapelry comprises 6703a. 3r. 8p., of which the surface is level, and the soil chiefly sand and moss; a considerable part is waste land, lying on a wild sea-shore that extends for several miles, where are numerous sand-hills and mosses, which abound in birds, many of them very rare, and where wild plants grow in great variety. The beach is well adapted for bathing, being very firm, and the water clear; the air is salubrious, and the chapelry is remarkable for longevity, and for freedom from fever and consumption. A brewery here, established nearly a century ago, is the property of Mr. Richard Tyrer. Formby Hall is the seat of the Formby family. The village had a chartered market, which has fallen into disuse. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Walton; net income, £140, with a house. The chapel, dedicated to St. Peter, was rebuilt in 1746, and enlarged in 1830, and is a plain building with a campanile tower. The Roman Catholic chapel of Formby is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and was built in the reign of James II.; there is a house and garden for the priest, the Rev. John Smith. Two schools are endowed with about £34 per annum, the bequest of Richard Marsh in 1703. The ancient churchyard, half a mile from the shore and two miles from the village, is used as a burial-place for the Roman Catholic population; it is curiously surrounded by sand-banks: no vestige of the church which stood upon the spot remains.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 250-253. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50968 Date accessed: 30 June 2010.

Civil Registration
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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 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.

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Web sites
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