Neston, Cheshire Genealogy

England Cheshire  Neston



Parish History
Neston St Mary and St Helen is an ancient parish The presence of a priest at Neston is recorded in the Domesday Book. The earliest written evidence of a church on the site dates from around 1170 when a church was founded by Ralph de Montalt, a baron of the court of the Earl of Chester. It is likely that an earlier church was on the site because when the floor was being relaid during the 19th century, fragments of pre-Conquest crosses were found. These were later shown to be "hiberno Norse" or Viking Age in origin. A further fragment was discovered in the Church's belfry in the 1980s. These fragments are now displayed at the west end of the church. During the 18th century there was disagreement between some of the parishioners and the churchwardens when galleries were erected. The addition of the galleries caused damage to the fabric of the church and in 1871 an inspecting architect reported that the building was unsafe. Consequently in 1874–75 the main body of the church was rebuilt by J. Francis Doyle, reusing some of the Norman material in Early English style.

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

 * Wirral (1894–1974)
 * Chester and Ellesmere Port (1974–98)
 * Cheshire West (1998+)

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.

Cheshire, Church of England records are available online in Record Search.

Neston, St. Mary &amp; St. Helen (C of E). An ancient parish church, originally serving the townships of Great Neston, Ledsham, Leighton (near Neston), Little Neston, Ness, Raby, Thornton Hough and Willaston (near Neston). Registers of Baptisms 1559–1965, Marriages 1559–1974 and Burials 1559–1918 have been deposited at the Cheshire Record Office Microfilm copy of original record in the Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England Cheshire Record Office call nos.: P149/1/1-5; P149/2/1-3; P149/3563/1-2; P149/4450/1-2, 4-7, 11-15, 22; P149/4617/1; P149/3/1-5; P149/4; P149/5/1-3.

Bishop's transcripts for Neston, 1581-1874 Microfilm of original records in the Cheshire Record Office, Chester, England. Records are not arranged in strict chronological order. Some intermittent years are missing. Cheshire Record Office no.: EDB/154

Parish Transcripts are available online at Cheshire Parish Register project.

Non-Conformist Churches
Neston, St. Wenefride (Roman Catholic), Burton Road. Built in 1843. Neston, Zion Methodist Chapel, Little Neston (Primitive). Built in 1872. Neston, Presbyterian Church. Built in 1884. Neston, Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Park Street/High Street. Built in 1908. Neston, United Reformed Church (Independent/Congregational). Founded 1857, rebuilt in 1909.

Non-Conformist Records:

Cheshire Non-conformist records are available online in Record Search. Church records of St. Winefride's Catholic Church, Neston, 1843-1943 Microfilm copy of originals at the Cheshire Record Office in Chester, England. Cheshire Record Office call no.: ERC 5/5072/1-7. Mostly Latin.

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

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

 * Wirral 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