Shireshead, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Chapelry History
Shireshead St James (formerly St Paul) was an ancient chapel of ease by 1520 lying within the boundaries of Cockerham, Lancashire Ancient Parish.

Other places in the parish include: Claverley.

The chapelry of St Paul was founded in 1520 but closed in 1889 when the parish of St James was created.

"SHIRESHEAD, or Shirehead, a chapelry in Garstang and Cockerham parishes, Lancashire; on the river Wyre, 1¾ mile N by E of Scorton r. station, and 4 north by east of Garstang."

Here is an 1848 historical perspective from the British topographer, Samuel A. Lewis on Clevely:

"CLEVELY, a township, partly in the parish of Cockerham, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, but chiefly in the parish of Garstang, hundred of Amounderness, union of Garstang, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 4¼ miles north by east of Garstang. At Shire's Head, or Shire Side, is a chapel" built by the year 1742.

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/

Online Records
 Church of England 

Shireshead chapelry's registers of christenings, marriages and burials, along with those of the ancient parish of Cockerham to which it is attached, have been mostly transcribed and are displayed online at the following web sites and ranges of years:

For a full list of all those chapels surrounding Shireshead and comprising the whole ancient parish of Cockerham to which it was attached, be certain to see "Church Records" on the COCKERHAM PARISH page.

Parish registers for Cockerham, 1595-1900 Text in Latin and English. Microfilm of original records at the Lancashire Record Office,Preston. Includes records from Ellel chapelry, baptisms, 1727-1829, burials, 1764-1829; and Shireshead chapelry, baptisms, 1742-1746, 1799-1801, 1806-1829, burials, 1813-1829. Some missing years. Ellel chapellry is in Cockerham parish. Shireshead or Shirehead chapelry is in the parishes of Cockerham and Garstang. Lancashire Record Office no. : PR 1368-1381, 2688, 3251/1/3-8

Bishop's transcripts for Cockerham, 1673-1902 Microreproduction of original manuscripts housed at the Lancashire Record Office, Preston. Some parts are illegible due to torn pages, dark spots and faded ink. Ellel is a chapelry in the parish of Cockerham Shireshead is a chapelry in Cockerham and Garstang parishes. Lancashire Record Office no.: DRB 2/57-64

Poor Law Unions
Lancaster Poor Law 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