Catholic Family History Society Publications

The Roman Catholic Register of Wrightington Hall (later St Joseph's) and The Registers of Standish Hall (later St Marie's). Wrightington and Standish are two Lancashire villages about 2 miles apart, in a county which was perhaps the centre of English Catholicism following the Reformation and in which Bishop Leyburn confirmed 8,900 Catholics in 1687. Originally farming communities, they became more industrial during the development of the Lancashire coalfield. Wrightington Hall was the seat of the Dicconson family from the middle of the 17th century; it inherited the manor by marrying into the Wrightington family. Despite being predominantly Catholic the family managed to maintain its estates from the penal laws. As was often the case with Catholic gentry the hall chapel served the local Catholic community. The chapel continued in use until succeeded by St Joseph's in 1894.

In a similar fashion Standish Hall became a centre for its local Catholic community. The original hall was probably built in the late 16th century but was rebuilt with a larger chapel in the mid 18th century, which continued in public use until 1884. The mission was succeeded by the church of St Marie of the Annunciation.

• Baptisms: 1768 - 1803 and 1813 - 1899
• Marriages: 1769 - 1803, 1813 - 1829, and 1836 - 1899
• Death/Burials: 1768 - 1803, 1817 - 1854, and 1891 - 1915

The Jesuits served the Preston Mission from at least 1701 and possibly earlier from 1685, first in an older chapel, then in a newly built St Mary's, on Friargate, from 1761. Preston Catholics used this chapel for over thirty years. By the late 1780s, St Mary's had become too small for the congregation and was closed and used as a warehouse when St Wilfrid's Church was constructed off Fishergate, opening in 1793. Later in the nineteenth century St Wilfrid's was extended and substantially renovated both inside and out. This is the church we see today.

This CD provides the following records of the French Chapel Royal, King St., Portman Sq., London.

• Baptisms 1792-1841 (1148 entries)
• Marriages 1792-1846 (487 entries)
• Burials 1794-1801 and 1813-1814 (65 entries)

Records largely relate to French Émigrés and their subsequent families. Baptisms are recorded from a number of Hampshire locations as well as in London. The earlier burials are almost all at St Helier, Isle of Jersey, and Winchester, as are many marriages, while those of 1813-14 are at Lymington. Much genealogical data beyond that normally found in such registers is provided. The originals of these registers are held in the French National Archives at Nantes. A filmstrip copy was given to the Archivist of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocese, and this was lodged for safekeeping and for wider access at the Portsmouth City Archives, located at the Portsmouth History Centre. References are provided to enable copies from the filmstrip to be obtained. The transcriptions are provided in both date and surname order, in searchable PDF formats.

The Midland Register covers 1768 - 1811 and 1816. The Midland District comprised the counties of Derbyshire, Huntingdonshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. Includes an index to names. 265 pages.

The London Register covers 1826 - 1837 and 1843. The London District was comprised of the counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, and The Channel Islands. Includes an index to names. 192 pages.

These are scans in PDF of the original printed publications which are now out of print.

The majority of the records in this Catholic Family History Society database relate to nuns who professed later than 1795 and thus usefully complements, rather than duplicates, the detailed study of the families of nuns of the English convents in exile 1600-1800, by Dr.Caroline Bowden et alia. This CD provides records of approximately 14,000 nuns. For each nun in the index the following facts may be available:

• Surname and Forename(s)
• Her Religious Order or Community
• Birthdate and Place
• Religious Name
• Family Place
• Names of her Father and Mother
• Dates and Place of Entry, Profession, Leaving and Death

The amount of information given varies and it is rare to find that all of these details are available for an individual. The data has been compiled over many years by members of the Catholic Family History Society and we are very grateful for their hard work and dedication to this project. A number of different sources have been used and these are:-

• Original archives, annals and published archive transcripts
• Monumental Inscriptions and Burial records
• Family supplied data
• Census / BMD records research
• Religious Order or Community website information
• Obituaries and ancillary information in obituaries of others and miscellaneous information from Order and Community archivists

It should be noted, however, that some orders did not contribute data. In preparing this index, the Society has included those nuns whose records indicate their having died and if not, show their having:-

• been born before 1915, or, if no birth date is given
• having entered a community before 1934, or if neither
• having professed before 1936

Two documents are provided. The first gives a list of nuns sorted into alphabetical order of surname and has indices to family names, places, and religious names. The second document provides a list of nuns grouped by Religious order or Community.

1624 - 1969. The contents of the registers are presented in alphabetical order of the students' names. Entries often include details of parents, other relations and brief biographical details. 120 pages.

Contents

• Bangor, Long-Whittenham Berks, Wooton Basset Wilts 1767 British Library ADD 33,409
• Lancashire 1715 TNA FEC 11176
• Lancashire before 1715 TNA FEC 11178 Persons convicted qr session
• Leicester county 1717 TNA FEC 1 1193
• Newcastle upon Lyme 1716 & 1717 TNA FEC 1121 8 papists, non jurors incl Quakers
• Northamptonshire 1715 TNA FEC 11227
• Warks 1791 TNA PC 1 19 23
• West Riding 1715 TNA FEC 1 1311
• Wiltshire St Peter's Stourton 1662 Wiltshire & Swindon Archives
• Worcester 1715 TNA FEC 1 1301

Background

The problems for Roman Catholics started with Henry VIII falling out with the Pope over Henry's desire to divorce his first wife, Catherine. Henry declared himself Head of the Church in England. Successive monarchs and their Governments were concerned about a take-over of England by Catholic powers in Europe. Between 1559 and the Emancipation Act of 1829 many Acts of Parliament were passed in order to prevent Roman Catholics practising their Faith and to force them into conforming to the newly established Anglican Church and its rites. They were barred from many occupations and activities. Those who refused to conform were called recusants. People who followed the Pope in Rome were papists. All those who refused to take the required Oaths to prove their loyalty to the British monarch were described as non-jurors. Not all of these were Roman Catholics. Jacobitism was a political movement working towards restoring the Catholic Stuart King James II of England and VII of Scotland, and his heirs, to the throne, leading to various uprisings and support from Catholic monarchs in Europe. Followers of James were called Jacobites and many of them were also Roman Catholic.Roman Catholics who came into any of these categories were sought out by the local Anglican Church wardens and constables in order to be punished usually by fines or by double land taxes. To facilitate this, local officials were ordered to make lists of papists/recusants/Jacobites in their area and send such lists to the higher authorities. Such lists may be found in the archives of the Anglican Diocese or local Record Offices. A complete set for 1767 is in the House of Lords Archive. They are not kept in any Catholic Archives, though copies of transcriptions may be.

The Lists

The lists available in this package have been transcribed by Sylvia Dibbs as part of a long term project undertaken by Brother Rory Higgins of the De La Salle Brothers to build a database of pre-1837 Roman Catholics, mainly in England. The lists have names of adult men and often women. Sometimes children are named or just the number of children in a family. Some lists include occupations. Addresses did not exist then, but locations, necessary for land taxes, areas are often given. As marriages and usually burials had to take place in Anglican Churches this can be a useful pointer to a parish register.The originals of these lists are in London, England at:

• The National Archives, Kew: TNA
• The London Metropolitan Archives: LMA
• The British Library

Reference numbers are given on each transcription. The transcriber has made every effort to avoid mistakes, but cannot guarantee there are none. It is recommended that the original documents are checked if possible. Many documents are in very poor condition or poorly written and therefore very difficult to read. Anyone researching their Catholic ancestors should find out a little of the history of this era. Remember everyone in England was Roman Catholic before the Reformation of Henry VIII.

Transcriptions and notes are © Sylvia J. Dibbs 2014

Contents

• City of London Ma 1709 1710 LMA CLA 047 LR 02 04 050
• City of London Mar 1712 to 13 LMA CLA 047 LR 02 04 054
• City of London Mar 1714 to 1715 LMA CLA 047 LR 02 04 055
• City of London 1743 LMA MISC MSS 63 17
• City of London 1745 LMA MISC MSS 63 18
• City of London Jul 1715 LMA CLA 047 LR 02 04 056
• City of London Ma Ap 1711 LMA CLA 047 LR 02 04 051
• Clerkenwell 14 Apr 1711 LMA MR RR 16
• Covent Garden 1715 LMA WR RR 14
• Holborn Oct 1745 TNA SP 36 72 1 list of Catholic Members of the law residing in Grays Inn
• Middlesex 1712 1714 LMA MR RR 19
• St Dunstan West Apr 1711 LMA MR RR 14
• Westminster June 1722 LMA WR RR 17
• Westminster 1708 TNA SP 34 26 1
• Westminster 1715 LMA WR RR 15 1 to 6
• Westminster 1715 LMA WR RR 13
• Westminster Mar 1712 1713 LMA WR RR 12 03 WR RR 12 04_ WR RR 12 05
• Westminster St James 1744 TNA SP 36 63 106

Background

The problems for Roman Catholics started with Henry VIII falling out with the Pope over Henry's desire to divorce his first wife, Catherine. Henry declared himself Head of the Church in England. Successive monarchs and their Governments were concerned about a take-over of England by Catholic powers in Europe. Between 1559 and the Emancipation Act of 1829 many Acts of Parliament were passed in order to prevent Roman Catholics practising their Faith and to force them into conforming to the newly established Anglican Church and its rites. They were barred from many occupations and activities. Those who refused to conform were called recusants. People who followed the Pope in Rome were papists. All those who refused to take the required Oaths to prove their loyalty to the British monarch were described as non-jurors. Not all of these were Roman Catholics. Jacobitism was a political movement working towards restoring the Catholic Stuart King James II of England and VII of Scotland, and his heirs, to the throne, leading to various uprisings and support from Catholic monarchs in Europe. Followers of James were called Jacobites and many of them were also Roman Catholic.Roman Catholics who came into any of these categories were sought out by the local Anglican Church wardens and constables in order to be punished usually by fines or by double land taxes. To facilitate this, local officials were ordered to make lists of papists/recusants/Jacobites in their area and send such lists to the higher authorities. Such lists may be found in the archives of the Anglican Diocese or local Record Offices. A complete set for 1767 is in the House of Lords Archive. They are not kept in any Catholic Archives, though copies of transcriptions may be.

The Lists

The lists available in this package have been transcribed by Sylvia Dibbs as part of a long term project undertaken by Brother Rory Higgins of the De La Salle Brothers to build a database of pre-1837 Roman Catholics, mainly in England. The lists have names of adult men and often women. Sometimes children are named or just the number of children in a family. Some lists include occupations. Addresses did not exist then, but locations, necessary for land taxes, areas are often given. As marriages and usually burials had to take place in Anglican Churches this can be a useful pointer to a parish register.The originals of these lists are in London, England at:

• The National Archives, Kew: TNA
• The London Metropolitan Archives: LMA
• The British Library

Reference numbers are given on each transcription. The transcriber has made every effort to avoid mistakes, but cannot guarantee there are none. It is recommended that the original documents are checked if possible. Many documents are in very poor condition or poorly written and therefore very difficult to read. Anyone researching their Catholic ancestors should find out a little of the history of this era. Remember everyone in England was Roman Catholic before the Reformation of Henry VIII.

Transcriptions and notes are © Sylvia J. Dibbs 2014