Accrington is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Lancashire, created in 1732 from chapelry in Whalley Ancient Parish.
Alternative names: Accrington St James
Other places in the parish include: New Accrington, Old Accrington
Status: Ecclesiastical Parish
Churches:
- Accrington St James
- Accrington Christ Church Ecclesiastical Parish created 1855
- Accrington St John the Evangelist Ecclesiastical Parish created 1871
- Accrington St Peter Ecclesiastical Parish created 1890
- Accrington St Andrew Ecclesiastical Parish created 1898
- Accrington St Paul Ecclesiastical Parish created 1913
Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks also list St Clement, St John the Baptist, St Mary Magdalen – See their Churches pages for more information.
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1766
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1614
Nonconformists include: Baptist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Independent/Congregational, Particular Baptist, Swedenborgian/New Jerusalem/New Church, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Parishes adjacent to Accrington
Historical Descriptions
Accrington
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
ACCRINGTON, a town, two townships, two chapelries, and a subdistrict, in Whalley parish, Lancashire. The town adjoins the E Lancashire railway, near the Leeds and Liverpool canal, 4 miles by road and 5¼ by railway E of Blackburn. It is large and thriving; has sprung up within the present century; is a seat of petty sessions and county courts; publishes a weekly newspaper; carries on industry in twenty cotton factories, three print works, extensive turkey-red dye-work, several large chemical works, foundries, steel-works, and a brewery; is well supplied with water from reservoirs; and has a head post office, a r. station with telegraph, a banking office, four hotels, a market house of 1868, public rooms of 1857 in the Italian style at a cost of £8,000, a mechanics’ institution, a museum and pleasure gardens, a church enlarged in 1826, a church of 1841 in the early English style at a cost of £8,000, a church of 1866, two fine Wesleyan chapels of 1845 and 1866, nine other dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, seven public schools, and two annual fairs. Pop. in 1851, 7,481; in 1861, 13,872. Houses, 2,579. The townships are New A. and Old A. Acres, 2,480 and 740. Real property, £52,634; of which £8,409 are in mines. Pop., 11,853 and 5,835. The chapelries are St. James and Christchurch; and both are p. curacies in the diocese of Manchester. Value of each, £300. Patrons of St. J., Hulme’s Trustees; of C., Trustees. The subdistrict is conterminate with the two townships.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
New Accrington
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Accrington (New), 3¾ miles E.S.E. Blackburn. P. 6908.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840
Accrington (New), a township in the parish of Whalley, hund. of Blackburn, union of Haslingden, county-palatine of Lancaster; 4 miles east from Blackburn, on the road to Burnley, and 224 from London. A National school was established here in 1806; and a new church in the early English style, with tower and spire, and capable of seating 1,600 persons, was built in 1838. There are also places of worship for Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, and Swedenborgians. Pop., in 1801, 2,246; in 1831, 4,960. The increase in population is attributed to the extension of cotton manufactories. The Leeds and Liverpool canal passes on the north within a mile of the town. Houses 861. Acres 2,480. A. P. £4,097. Poor rates, in 1837, £599.
Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.
Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom Capper 1808
Acrington New, a hamlet in the township of Old Acrington, parish of Whalley, Lancaster; containing 149 houses and 831 inhabitants, 2 miles from Old Acrington.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.
Old Accrington
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Accrington (Old), 5 m. E. Blackburn. P. 1811.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840
Accrington (Old), a parochial chapelry usually included with New Accrington, under the general denomination of Accrington. Living, a perpetual curacy in the archd. and dio. of Chester; of the certified value of 15s., but returned to parliament at £120; gross income £178. Patron, the vicar of Whalley. The town is governed by a resident magistrate and two constables. It is chiefly inhabited by persons employed in the different spinning and calico-printing establishments. Pop., in 1801, 831; in 1831, 1,323. Houses 252. Acres 740. A. P. £1,511. Poor rates, in 1837, £170.
Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.
Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom Capper 1808
Acrington Old, a chapelry and township in the parish of Whalley, hundred of Blackburn, Lancashire, 4 miles from Haslingdon, and 206 from London; containing 353 houses and 2246 inhabitants, of whom 1352 were returned employed in trade and manufacture.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.
Parish Registers
Registers – Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks
Parish Records
FamilySearch Historical Records
Lancashire FH & Heraldry Society
Manchester Archives and Local History
Lancashire
England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910
England, Lancashire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1647-1996
Catholic Parish Registers of Liverpool 1741-1773
St James’ Cemetery Burials Liverpool
England, Lancashire, Oldham Cemetery Registers, 1797-2004
England, Lancashire, Rusholme Road Cemetery 1821-1933
Chorlton Upon Medlock Burials 1821-1933
Lancaster Convict Database 1800s
Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
Lancashire Lantern – archive of local old photographs, postcards and other images
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
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
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: Lancashire
Civil Registration District: Haslingden
Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory)
Diocese: Manchester
Rural Deanery: Whalley
Poor Law Union: Haslingden
Hundred: Blackburn
Province: York