Holwell Bedfordshire Family History Guide

Status: Ancient Parish transferred, after 1831, from Bedfordshire to Hertfordshire.

Alternative names: Holywell

Parish church: St Peter

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1560
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1602

Nonconformists include: None

Adjacent Parishes

Historical Descriptions

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

HOLWELL, a parish in the district of Hitchin and county of Bedford; on the Midland railway, adjacent to Herts, near Henlow r. station, and 3½ miles NNW of Hitchin. Post town, Hitchin. Acres, 650. Real property, £845. Pop., 191. Houses, 41. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to F. D. Radcliffe, Esq. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely. Value, £120. Patron, F. D. Radcliffe, Esq. The church is ancient, and was repaired in 1845. Rand’s charity yields £105 a year, and supports a school and alms houses.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Parish Records

England Births, Marriages, Deaths (FindMyPast)

England & Wales Christenings and Marriages (Ancestry)

National Burial Index (FindMyPast) – free

England, Boyd’s Marriage Indexes (FindMyPast) – free

FamilySearch – Free

Birth Marriage and Death Records

England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991

England Marriages, 1538–1973 

England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008

England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007

England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005

England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977

Great Britain Deaths and Burials, 1778-1988

Great Britain Marriages, 1797-1988

Great Britain, Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977

United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933

Grave Indexes

BillionGraves Index

Find A Grave Index

Migration and Naturalisation Records

Migration Records at FamilySearch

Newspaper Archives

British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices

British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries

Census Records

England and Wales Census, 1841

England and Wales Census, 1851

England and Wales Census, 1861

England and Wales Census, 1871

England and Wales Census, 1881

England and Wales Census, 1891

England and Wales Census, 1901

England and Wales National Register, 1939

Probate and Court Records

England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957

Military Records

Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935

United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners’ Service Records, 1760-1913

United Kingdom, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941

United Kingdom, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915

United Kingdom, Royal Hospital Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners 1760-1887 (WO 122)

United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920

United Kingdom, World War I Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920

FamilySearch Catalogue Records – Free

Church records

Bishop’s transcripts for Holwell, 1603-1875

Parish registers for Holwell, 1560-1939

Cemeteries

The monumental inscriptions of Holwell Parish Church, Bedfordshire

Court records

Court records, 1758-1882

Census

Census returns for Holwell, 1841-1891

Taxation

Land tax assessments for Holwell, 1797-1949

Maps

Vision of Britain historical maps

Administration

County: Bedfordshire
Civil Registration District: Hitchin
Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Bedford
Diocese: Pre-1837 – Lincoln, Post-1836 – Ely
Rural Deanery: Shefford
Poor Law Union: Hitchin
Hundred: Clifton
Province: Canterbury

Image Credits: John Salmon / St Peter, Holwell, Herts / CC BY-SA 2.0.