Tarleton, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes



Parish History
Tarleton was formerly a chapel of ease but became an ecclesiastical parish in the county of Lancashire by 1719, formed from the Parish of Croston, Lancashire.

The village's name is sometimes said to be derived from an early Viking settlement known as Jarle's Town. The more likely derivation is from the Norse name Tharaldr, to which tun has been added. The early form is already "Tarleton", ca. 1200 and in the Feet of Fines, 1298. Tarleton is also a civil parish within the West Lancashire District. It is currently within the Parliamentary Constituency of South Ribble. Recently, it has been significantly built up with new housing developments, but it is still a relatively quiet rural village. Tarleton Old Church is a picturesque building, standing in its large churchyard beside the main road. Built in brick in 1717, the small tower was heightened in stone, with a pretty domed bell-cote above, in 1824, and the porch and vestry were then added at the west end. A fine example of an early Georgian chapel, it retains many original fittings in its simple interior: box pews at the east end, open benches at the west, stone flagged floors, a reading desk and a west gallery that extends along the south wall. The large round-headed windows clearly lit the building.



TARLETON (St. Mary; 1719), a parish, in the union of Ormskirk, hundred of Leyland, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 8½ miles (N. by E.) from Ormskirk; containing 1877 inhabitants. This place either gave its name to, or received its name from, an ancient family who had possessions here in the reign of Richard II.; they were succeeded by the Banastres, and the Hesketh family have been for centuries part lords of Tarleton, their present coparcener being George Anthony Legh Keck, Esq. The parish was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Croston. It comprises 5377 acres, whereof 2673 are arable, 2074 pasture, and 630 common or waste; the land is flat, and tolerably fertile, except to the west, where is a large quantity of bog, under which is found oak, elder, and various other kinds of trees. The river Douglas, which passes on the east, was rendered navigable here in 1727. The joint lords hold a court leet annually in October; and a fair for pedlery, under a charter granted by William III., is held on the 23rd and 24th of April: two other fairs granted by the same monarch have fallen into disuse. The living is a rectory, in the gift of the Rev. R. M. Master: the tithes have been commuted for £760, and there is a glebe of 38 acres, with a house. The church, consecrated in 1719, is a plain brick building cased with plaster; the interior is neat, and on the south and west sides is a gallery. A free school, built in 1650, is endowed with £30 per annum; and a national school, accommodating 200 children, is supported. A day school for both sexes has just been erected at the Holmes, by subscription of the landowners, aided by grants from the National Society and the Committee of Council on Education, on ground given by Mr. Keck; it accommodates 170 children, and it is intended to have it licensed for divine service. Some years ago, a labourer, in digging a copse, turned up a small leaden box without a lid, in which were contained about a hundred silver coins, all struck by the same die, and which probably had been secreted at the period of the Scottish rebellion.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 300-303. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51328 Date accessed: 30 July 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.

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/

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
http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Ormskirk 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

Web sites
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