Lancashire family history information
See below for a list of records relating to Lancashire ancestry.
Lancashire is an historic county in the north west of England with its western boundary being the Irish Sea. It is bounded on the north by Cumberland and Westmoreland, on the east by Yorkshire and on the south by Cheshire and Derbyshire. Before the boundary changes in 1974, the county included the cities of Liverpool and Manchester and their surrounding areas (now known as Merseyside and Greater Manchester) and the Furness Peninsula north of Morecombe Bay which was made part of Cumbria.
Lancashire's origins as a distinct county are relatively recent, dating from shortly after the Norman conquest in 1066. The name derives from the name of the old county capital, the ancient Roman town of Lancaster. Lancashire officially became the County of Lancaster in the reign of Henry II and was made a "County Palantine" in the mid fourteenth century because of its strategic importance in defending England from the Scots. The Palatinate status meant the Duke of Lancashire had his own civil service and law courts, though the king still collected taxes from the county and could overule the decisions of the duke's courts. This seperate court system continued until 1971. The Duchy of Lancaster is one of two remaining royal duchies in the United Kingdom. It has large landholdings throughout the region and elsewhere, although there is no separate Duke of Lancaster, the title having merged in the Crown many centuries ago.
During the industrial revolution Lancashire developed as a major commercial and industrial region. The primary industries where textile production and coal mining and the county contained several hundred mill towns and collieries. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire. Manchester, Accrington, Blackburn, Chorley, Darwen and Burnley were major cotton mill towns in this period. This industrialisation occurred mostly in the southern part of the county, resulting in a massive growth in population in this area compared with the northern regions of the county. As well as the collieries and mill towns the county of Lancashire contained the port of Liverpool. Trade from the West Indies, Ireland and Europe, and participation in the Atlantic slave trade fuelled the economic expansion of Liverpool during the 18th century. By the early 19th century, 40% of the world's trade passed through Liverpool's docks.
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Genhound records to help you grow your Lancashire family tree.
| Title | Period | Added | Search | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Preston Mayors | 1327-1898 | 10/6/2009 |  |
| Lancashire Worthies | 1399-1821 | 07/7/2009 | |
| Whittington Parish Register part B | 1538-1692 | 29/3/2009 | |
| Aughton Parish Churchwardens | 1552-1893 | 17/2/2010 | |
| Liverpool Officers | 1568-1789 | 10/10/2009 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences Vol1a | 1606-1611 | 16/8/2008 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences 1B | 1612-1616 | 16/8/2008 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences 2A | 1616-1619 | 16/8/2008 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences 2B | 1620-1624 | 16/8/2008 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences Vol3 | 1624-1632 | 25/4/2009 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences 4 | 1639-1644 | 16/8/2008 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences Vol5 | 1661-1667 | 24/4/2009 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences Vol6 | 1667-1680 | 19/3/2009 | |
| Chester Archdeaconry Marriage Licences Vol7 | 1680-1691 | 15/3/2009 | |
| Whittington Parish Register part A | 1691-1764 | 21/3/2009 | |
| Lancashire Catholic Estates Register | 1715-1715 | 20/3/2009 | |
| Lancashire Wills PtB | 1748-1792 | 17/4/2009 | |
| Manchester Court Leet PtE | 1756-1786 | 09/10/2009 | |
| Heaton Norris Baptisms | 1769-1845 | 11/2/2009 | |
| Heaton Norris Burials | 1769-1845 | 27/2/2009 | |
| Manchester Court Leet PtD | 1787-1805 | 08/9/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1793-8 PtB, Universal | 1793-1798 | 14/10/2009 | |
| Lancashire Wills 1793-1812 | 1793-1812 | 06/3/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1793-8 PtA, Universal | 1793-1798 | 07/10/2009 | |
| Manchester & Salford Directory 1800, Bancks | 1800-1800 | 14/4/2009 | |
| Manchester Court Leet PtC | 1806-1820 | 30/8/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1811 Pt B, Holden | 1811-1811 | 27/8/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1811 Pt A, Holden | 1811-1811 | 03/7/2009 | |
| Bolton Directory 1818, Rogerson | 1818-1818 | 10/2/2009 | |
| Manchester Court Leet PtB | 1820-1832 | 13/8/2009 | |
| Bolton directory 1821, Pigot & Dean | 1821-1821 | 10/2/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1824 Pt A, Baines | 1824-1824 | 04/7/2009 | |
| Liverpool Directory 1824, Pt A | 1824-1824 | 16/7/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1828 PtA, Pigot | 1828-1828 | 25/9/2009 | |
| Lancashire Directory 1828 PtB, Pigot | 1828-1828 | 01/10/2009 | |
| Everton inhabitants 1830 | 1830-1830 | 09/6/2009 | |
| Manchester Court Leet PtA | 1832-1846 | 05/8/2009 | |
| Bolton directory 1836, Pigot | 1836-1836 | 10/2/2009 | |
| Bolton directory 1843, Slater | 1843-1843 | 23/3/2009 | |
| Rossall School Staff | 1844-1938 | 11/6/2009 | |
| Bolton directory 1853, Whellan | 1853-1853 | 26/3/2009 | |
| Lancashire North Business Directory 1909, Bennett's | 1909-1909 | 29/4/2009 | |
| Chesh & Lancs Record Soc Members | 1910-1910 | 15/8/2008 | |
| Manchester Grammar School Roll of Honour | 1914-1917 | 04/1/2010 | |
| Lancashire Biographies 1917 | 1917-1917 | 19/12/2009 | |
