Frodsham, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Frodsham



Parish History
Frodsham St Laurence is an Ancient parish in the market town of Frodsham Cheshire. It includes Alvanley, Frodsham, Frodsham Lordship, Helsby, Kingsley, Manley, Newton by Frodsham and Norley.

The Domesday Book records the presence of a church with a priest in this position. In 1093 the tithes were given by Hugh Lupus to the abbot of St Werburgh's Abbey, Chester. In the 1270s they passed to the monastery of Vale Royal when it was founded by Edward I. Following the dissolution of the monasteries the tithes and advowson passed to the dean and chapter of Christ Church, Oxford. Frodsham is one of the ancient parishes of Cheshire and included the villages of Kingsley, Norley, Manley, Alvanley and Helsby. In the 19th century some of these villages formed separate parishes, Norley in 1836, Kingsley in 1851, Alvanley in 1861 and Helsby in 1875.

The structure of the present church dates from around 1180. It is built from local red sandstone. In the 14th century the chancel was lengthened and the tower was built. In the following century the chancel was further lengthened and increased in height. In the 16th century the north chapel, and probably the south chapel, were added. Considerable rebuilding of the church was carried out by Bodley and Garner between 1880 and 1883. This included removing the galleries and plaster ceilings which had been inserted around 1740.

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.

Registration Districts

 * Runcorn (1837–1974)
 * Vale Royal (1974–98)
 * Cheshire Central (1998–2009)
 * Cheshire West (post 2009) Registration events may be searched online at Cheshire BMD

Church Records


The following records are deposited at the Cheshire Record Office;


 * Parish registers for Frodsham, 1558-1963. CRO call numbers: P8/1, 2619/1/1-3, 2619/2/1-11, 2619/8/3/1-12, 2619/4/1, 2619/5/1-7.
 * Bishop's transcripts for Frodsham, 1603-1877.

The following records are on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City:

Non-Conformist Churches
The following congregations have existed in Frodsham:


 * St. Luke (Roman Catholic), Ship Street. Founded 1949.
 * Trinity Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Built in 1823 in Chapel Lane, rebuilt in 1873 in Main Street.
 * Rock Methodist Chapel (Main Street). Built in 1837, closed in 1937.
 * Bourne Methodist Chapel (Free), Main Street. Built in 1877.
 * Newton Hall Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Opened in 1951, closed in 1983.
 * United Reformed Church (formerly Independent/Congregational and Baptist), Bridge Lane. Built in 1886.

Non-Conformist Records:

The following records are known to exis and are deposited at the Cheshire Record Office:


 * Trinity Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Registers of marriages 1874–96, CRO call number: EMS 62/1.
 * Rock Methodist Chapel (Main Street). Registers 1894–1913, CRO call number EMS 63.
 * Records for the Frodsham United Methodist Free Circuit, 1894-1913 (Localities include Frodsham, Helsby, Newton, Little Sutton, Acton Bridge, Kingsley, Weston, Little Barrow, Kingswood, Dunham Hill, Barrow, Manley, Bolton, Runcorn, Hapsford, and New Brighton) are a the Cheshire Record Office call number: EMC 4/4653/6.
 * Bourne Methodist Chapel (Free). Various records 1874-1948, CRO call number EMS 266.
 * Newton Hall Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan). Registers 1951-1983, CRO call number EMS 311.

The following records are on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City:

Record Search, available at FamilySearch.org, includes Cheshire Non-Conformist records.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Cheshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Poor Law Unions
Runcorn Poor Law Union, Cheshire

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