Backford, Cheshire Family History Guide
Backford is an Ancient Parish in the county of Cheshire.
Other places in the parish include: Mollington Tarrant, Millington Tarrant, Lea near Chester, Lea by Backford, Lea, Great Mollington, Great Millington Tarrant, Chorlton by Backford, and Caughall.
Alternative names:
Parish church: St. Oswald
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1562
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1581
Nonconformists include:
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
BACKFORD, a township and a parish in Great Bough ton district, Cheshire. The township lies on the Ellesmere canal, 1 mile NE of Mollington r. station, and 3½ N of Chester. Acres, 749. Real property, £1,271. Pop., 150. Houses, 29. The parish includes also the townships of Lea, Canghall, Chorlton-by-Backford, and Mollington-Tarrant or Great Mollington; and its Post Town is Chester. Acres, 3,109. Real property, £4,582. Pop., 525. Houses, 88. The property is divided among a few. Backford Hall is the seat of the Gleggs. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Chester. Value, £230. Patron, the Bishop of Chester. The church has monuments of the Birkenheads and the Morgalls. Charities, £26.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
BACKFORD (St. Oswald), a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, partly in the Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, and partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester; comprising the townships of Backford, Caughall, Chorlton, Lea, and Mollington-Tarrant; and containing 556 inhabitants, of whom about 200 are in the township of Backford, 4 miles (N.) from Chester, on the road to Birkenhead. During a great part of the 13th and 14th centuries, the manor was held by the Masseys, of Timperley; about the year 1580 it was sold to Thomas Aldersey, by whom it was soon afterwards alienated to the Birkenheads, who resided at Backford Hall until the family became extinct in the male line in 1724. The parish comprises 3006 acres, whereof 687 are in Backford township, and of a sandy and clayey soil. The Ellesmere canal skirts the parish on the south; and at Mollington is a station of the Chester and Birkenhead railway. The vicinity of the place to the city of Chester renders it cheerful and desirable for residence. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £5. 0. 5.; net income, £230; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chester: the tithes of Backford township have been commuted for £64 and £46. 3., payable respectively to the bishop and the vicar. The church was rebuilt in the reign of Anne, with the exception of the tower and chancel, built in that of Henry VI. A school is partly supported by subscription; and an excellent school-house was erected in 1844, under the auspices of the vicar, the Rev. Francis Bryans, at a cost of £345, raised by subscription, aided by public grants.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Census
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 Census, 1911
Parish Records
Cheshire
Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000 - FamilySearch
Cheshire Bishop’s Transcripts, 1598-1900 - FamilySearch
England, Cheshire Non-conformist Records, 1671-1900
England, Cheshire Probate Records, 1492-1940
England, Cheshire Workhouse Records, 1848-1967
England, Cheshire, Land Tax Assessments, 1778-1832
England, Cheshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1606-1900
England, Cheshire, Register of Electors, 1842-1900
England, Cheshire, School Records, 1796-1950
Records for England
Births and Baptism Records
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Great Britain, Births and Baptisms, 1571-1977
England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
Marriage Records
Great Britain Marriages, 1797-1988
England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
Death Records
England Death Records, 1998-2015
England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991
Great Britain Deaths and Burials, 1778-1988
England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957
England and Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1640-1660
Non-Conformist Records
England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977
Occupations
United Kingdom, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941
War and Conflict
Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935
United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners’ Service Records, 1760-1913
United Kingdom, Royal Hospital Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners 1760-1887 (WO 122)
United Kingdom, Maritime Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1787-1933
United Kingdom, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915
United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920
United Kingdom, World War I Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920
Newspaper Archives
British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices
British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries
Maps
Vision of Britain historical maps
Administration
- County: Cheshire
- Civil Registration District: Great Boughton
- Probate Court: Pre-1541 - Court of the Bishop of Lichfield (Episcopal Consistory), Post-1540 - Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Pre-1541 - Lichfield and Coventry, Post-1540 - Chester
- Rural Deanery: Wirral
- Poor Law Union: Great Boughton
- Hundred: Broxton; Wirral
- Province: York