Bromsgrove

Status

Ancient Parish [25]
Included a chapel at Grafton Manor which was separate in early 13th century as an extra-parochial and a separate Civil Parish by 1858. Grafton Manor was abolished ecclesiastically in 1908 to help create Dodford Ecclesiastical Parish. Also included a chapelry at Kings Norton, which had a separate identity early and was a separate Ecclesiastical Parish by 1846. [25]

There were additional Ecclesiastical boundary changes. In :-
1755 to create Wythall Ecclesiastical Parish
1766 to create Moseley Ecclesiastical Parish
1844 to create Catshill Ecclesiastical Parish
1885 to help create The Lickey Ecclesiastical Parish
1875 to create Bromsgrove All Saints Ecclesiastical Parish [25]

Location

O.S. Ref: SO957707
12½ miles N.E. of Worcester

The parish includes a variety of villages and hamlets in the north part, the chief of which are Bourn Heath, Great and Little Catshill, Lickey End, Sidemoor, Upper Catshill, Long Eye, Marlbrook and the Rock. All the preceding villages and hamlets are also listed under North Bromsgrove.
Burcot is 1½ miles N.E. Dadford or Dodford is nearly 3 miles N.W. Fockbury is a division of Bromsgrove parish, 1 mile N.W. [57]

Parish Church

St. John the Baptist, Jct. Kidderminster Rd. & St.John's St

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction

Archdeaconry & Diocese of Worcester until 1921, Archdeaconry of Dudley & Diocese of Worcester (1921 - *) [25]

Hundred

Upper Halfshire [15] [25] [28]

Poor Law Union

Bromsgrove [3] [25]

Adjoining Parishes

Romsley; Frankley; Kings Norton; Cofton Hackett; Alvechurch; Tardebigge; Stoke Prior; Grafton Manor; Upton Warren; Chaddesley Corbett; Belbroughton [1]

Parish Registers at Worcestershire Archives

[Contact details]

    Coverage Source
Microform Christenings 1590-1946 [5]
  Marriages 1590-1962 [5]
  Burials 1590-1954 [5]
  Banns 1924-61 [5]
Originals Banns Some publications of banns
appear between 1653 and 1719/20		 [12]

The marriage register for 1754-76 is missing.

[5]

Bishops' Transcripts

Begin 1613 Worcestershire Archives [22]

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

[19]

    Coverage
Parish Registers Births / Christenings 1590-1873

Register Copies

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
Bishops' Transcripts 1868
Banns 1924-1961
Baptisms 1813-1824 Marriages 1813-1831 Burials 1813-1827
Baptisms 1824-1833 Marriages 1831-1837 Burials 1827-1840
Baptisms 1833-1842 Marriages 1837-1849 Burials 1840-1856
Baptisms 1842-1855 Marriages 1849-1859
Baptisms 1855-1873 Marriages 1859-1886 Burials 1856-1879
Baptisms 1873-1883 Burials 1879-1906
Baptisms 1883-1902 Marriages 1886-1907
Baptisms 1902-1922 Marriages 1907-1939 Burials 1906-1943
Baptisms 1922-1946 Marriages 1939-1962 Burials 1943-1954
Baptisms and Burials 1774-1815
Baptisms Marriages and Burials 1590-1719
Baptisms Marriages and Burials 1719-1754 Baptisms 1753-1784 Marriages 1753-1755 Burials 1753-1783 (missing volume Marriages 1754-1776)
Marriages 1773-1812

At Society of Genealogists :
BROMSGROVE : Christenings 1590-92, 1603-04, 1611-12, 1621-1712, Marriages 1590-92, 1602/3, 1612, 1622-?, Burials 1589-92, 1602-03, 1611-12, 1621-1712 [Typescript.] Published , Nd. Acc. no. 36554 Source D: F Kedward Sheldon

BROMSGROVE : Christenings 1841-46, Burials 1841-45 (BTs) [Microfilm.] Published Salt Lake City : Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998 Acc. no. 93455m

At FreeREG
Free Internet searches of baptism, marriage and burial records, transcribed from parish and non-conformist registers of the U.K., are available at: http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/Search.pl

FreeREG is a new project. The database currently contains a few million records only, so you should not expect to find all your ancestors in the database.

The coverage for this parish currently stands at: Christenings: 1774-1833 Marriages: 1813-38 Burials: 1774-1841

Further records may have been added since this posting

Nonconformist

See Bromsgrove Nonconformist Records

Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents

At BMSGH Shop
St.John

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
St John

At Worcestershire Archives [51]
St.John

At Society of Genealogists [59] :-
BROMSGROVE (St. John) : Monumental Inscriptions [Microfiche.] Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, Nd. Author Townshend, Jenny et al. (trans.) Source D: Quemby bequest.

BROMSGROVE (St. John) : Monumental Inscriptions: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 3 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 3 Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1983 Author Townshend, Jenny et al. (trans.)

War Memorials

For the names of those included on a WW1 memorial at St John the Baptist Church see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/bromsgrove-st-john-the-baptist-church-ww1-memorial/

For the names of those included on a Boer War memorial at St John the Baptist Church see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/bromsgrove-st-john-the-baptist-church-boer-war-memorial/

For the names of those included on a War Memorial to members of the Bromsgrove Independent Order of Oddfellows in Bromsgrove High Street see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/bromsgrove-independent-order-of-oddfellows/

For the names of those included on Aston Fields War Memorial see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/aston-fields-war-memorial/

For the names of those included on Bromsgrove School WW1 Memorial see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/bromsgrove-school-ww1-memorial/

For the names of those included on Bromsgrove School WW2 Memorial see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/bromsgrove-school-ww2-memorial/

For the names of those included on a memorial at Bromsgrove School to those who won the Victoria Cross see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/bromsgrove-school-victoria-cross-winners/

Census Records

All the censuses between 1841 and 1901 are now available on a number of fee-paying (Subscription or PayAsYouGo) sites including Ancestry.co.uk, FindMyPast.co.uk, thegenealogist.co.uk and genesreunited.co.uk. The 1911 census is available in full or in part on some of these sites. We are unable to advise on the choice of site since researchers' personal preferences will be influenced by the content and search facilities offered by each site. Some sites offer a free trial.

Access to the library edition of Ancestry.co.uk is widely available at most record offices, including Worcestershire Archives, and some libraries. You are advised to book time on their computers before making a visit. A free-to-view site is being developed at freecen.org.uk for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 censuses. Coverage of Worcestershire parishes is rather sparse at this time. Census returns can usually be viewed at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' Family History Centres.

Some repositories offer census details on microform, disc or printed copy. These include:
1811 21 BMSGH Shop
1851 Census Part1 - Book BMSGH Shop
1851 Census Part2 Transcript & index - Book BMSGH Shop
1851 Census Part3 Transcript & index - Book BMSGH Shop

1811 21 1841-1901 at Worcestershire Archives [14]
1891 1901 Bromsgrove Workhouse Worcestershire Archives

At Society of Genealogists :-
Bromsgrove 1811 & 1821 census transcriptions & index [Microfiche.] Published Birmingham Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry 2000 Author Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry (trans.)
Worcestershire 1851 census returns : Bromsgrove registration district HO 107/2047 [Microfilm.] - Published London : Public Record Office, 1996 Worcestershire 1861 census returns : Bromsgrove registration district (part) RG/9 2113-2115 (Bromsgrove sub-district) [Microfilm.] - Published London : Public Record Office, 1996
Worcestershire 1891 census returns: Bromsgrove registration district RG 12/2344-2348 [Microfilm.] - Published London : Public Record Office, 2003
1851 Census Worcestershire, vol. 10 Bromsgrove transcript & surname index : part 1 Stoke Prior & Bromsgrove (part); part 2 Belbroughton, Clent, Hagley, Pedmore, Frankley, Hunnington, Romsley, Tutnall & Cobley, Bromsgrove (part); part 3 Tardebigg, Tutnal & Cobley, Bentley Pauncefoot, Webheath, Redditch & Alvechurch - Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1993-5 - Author: Friend, A F (trans)

Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent

Burial 1660-1840 Worcestershire Burial Index
Marriage see Worcestershire Marriage Index

Manorial Records

Worcestershire Archives [50]
Abstract of fines and copies of court rolls [1629]-1886; Rent roll 1675, 1770, 1770-71 (photocopy); Court papers [c.1569-89] and [c.1665-1678/9], [c.mid-late 17th cent.]; Court rolls, presentments and other court papers 1335-1782; papers [late 14th cent.-1649], 1643-87; Manor book 1923-32;Bromsgrove and King's Norton: Court rolls 1490-1547; Court rolls and other court papers [c.1395-c.1432]. Chadwich (otherwise Chadwick): Act for inclosing common and waste lands of the manor of Chadwich 1791; Deeds re leasehold of the manor. Woodcote: Deeds 1668-1848

Parish Records on microform

At Worcestershire Archives [13]
Churchwardens Charity Book 1844-72 (pt) 1868-1940 (pt)
Churchwardens accounts 1891-1915
Church accounts 1901-14, 1907-23, 1924-25
Church Institute minutes 1912-15

Schools Records

The following school records are original documents. Note reference number and contact staff at Worcestershire Archives:
Perrygrove School
Admission Registers - 1971 - 1983 - Ref: BA 9888/3 (ix)
Log book. Note: This school was formerly known as Bromsgrove Lea Hospital Day Special School. The final entry in this volume dated 19th July 1985 records that the school closed on that date. - 1980 - 85 - Ref: BA 9888/2 (ii)

Watt Close Infants' School
Admission register - 1945 - 48 - Ref: BA 7984

Watt Close (New) Council Infants' School
Admission register - 1916 - 28 - Ref: BA 7984Log book - 1916 - 28 - Ref: BA 5652/2

Bromsgrove All Saints Sunday School
Photographs of Members of Sunday School - [early 20th cent] - Ref: BA 9456/18(ii)

Bromsgrove C E [Junior] Mixed School
Admission registers, (2 vols) - 1922-44 - Ref: BA 7984

Bromsgrove C E Boys' School
Admission register - 1907-21 - Ref: BA 7984
Log books, (3 vols) - 1863-1928 - Ref: BA 5652/2-3

Bromsgrove C E Girls' School
Admission register - 1912-22 - Ref: BA 7984

Bromsgrove C E Infants' School
Admission registers, (2 vols) - 1893-1916 - Ref: BA 7984
Log books (3 vols) - 1867-1916 - Ref: BA 5652/1

Bromsgrove Girls' National School
Log books (2 vols) - 1863-1922 - Ref: BA 5652/3

Crown Close Evening Classes
Admission register - 1909 - [19] - Ref: BA 1965/27

Lea Hospital Day Special School
Log book - 1971 - 80 - BA9888/2 (i)

Sidemoor School
Infants' Dept log book - 1874 - 1904 - Ref: BA 1618/7

Stourbridge Road C P School
Admission Register - 1907 -09 - Ref: BA 1965/26

Stourbridge Road School
Boys' Dept Log Book - 1880 - 1919 - Ref: BA 1618/17
Girls' Dept Log book - 1880 - 1916 - Ref: BA 1618/16
Infants' Dept Admission register - 1908 - 33 - Ref: BA 1618/21
Infants' Dept Log Book - 1880 - 1939 - Ref: BA 1618/18

The records of schools and other educational establishments in this parish are detailed in a handlist available at Worcestershire Archives. The list refers to original documents so you will need to note the reference number and contact staff.

Other Sources

St John: Poor Law BMSGH Shop

Bentley's Directory of Bromsgrove, Droitwich, & Redditch [1840] BMSGH Shop

Bromsgrove & the Poll Tax of 1690 : a record of Poll Tax payers in the parish of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire- Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1993 - Author: Broomfield, Alan (trans) BMSGH Shop

Bromsgrove School Register 1553-1905 BMSGH Shop

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
St John the Baptist Churchwarden Charity Book 1844-1940 Churchwarden accounts 1891-1915 PCC accounts 1901-1914 Church Accounts 1906-1925 List of Registers Church Institute Minute 1912-1915

St John the Baptist, Poor Law and Settlement Documents (1710-1832)

 At Society of Genealogists :-
The poor law & settlement documents of the parish of St. John Baptist, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire - Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1988

Bailiffs of Bromsgrove (notes with a chronological list of the bailiffs [1494-1985]) [Typescript.] - Published : Manorial Research Ltd., 1986

Glory gone : the story of nailing in Bromsgrove - Published Bromsgrove : Halfshire Books, 1989 - Authors: Kings, Bill & Cooper, Margaret

Alfred Edward Housman [1859-1936]; supplement to the Bromsgrovian, 1936 : in Family history tracts, vol. 64 IN: The Bromsgrovian, 1936 Published , 1936 Author Symons, Katharine E et al. Edition 3rd edn.

Bromsgrove & the Poll Tax of 1690 : a record of Poll Tax payers in the parish of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1993 Author Broomfield, Alan (trans.) Source D: Birmingham & Midland Soc. for Genealogy & Heraldry

Bromsgrove church, its history & antiquities, with an account of the Sunday schools, churchyard & cemetery Published Bromsgrove ; London : Messenger Office ; Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1881 Author Cotton, William A

Bromsgrove School memorial chapel Published : Bromsgrove School, Nd.

Bromsgrove School through 4 centuries Published Oxford : Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1953 Author
Icely, H E M

Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire; founded 1553, refounded & endowed by Sir Thomas Cook, Bart., 1963 : school lists July 1911 to autumn term 1917 Published Bromsgrove, Nd.

The Bromsgrovian new series, vol. 25, no. 4 (April 1911) to vol. 50, no. 1 (December 1936), vol. 45, no. 1 (November 1931), vol. 53, no. 1 (December 1939), vol. 54, no. 3 (July 1941), vol. 70, no. 1 ( The Bromsgrovian new series, vol. 25, no. 4 (April 1911) to vol. 50, no. 1 (December 1936), vol. 45, no. 1 (November 1931), vol. 53, no. 1 (December 1939), vol. 54, no. 3 (July 1941), vol. 70, no. 1
(January 1959) to vol. 91 (autumn 1978) Published , 1911-78

Directories

An extract from the Topographical Dictionary of England 1831 by Samuel Lewis:

BROMSGROVE, a market town and parish (formerly a borough) in the upper division of the hundred of HALFSHIRE, county of WORCESTER, 13 miles (N.E. by N.) from Worcester, 13 (S.W.) from Birmingham, and 116 (N.W.) from London, on the road from Birmingham to Worcester, containing 7519 inhabitants. This place, anciently Bremesgrave, was a royal demesne at the time of the Conquest, and continued to be so till the reign of Henry III; it returned members to parliament in the 23rd of Edward I. During the parliamentary war it was the head-quarters of a party of royalists employed in the siege of Hawkesley House, about three miles distant, which, in 1645, was fortified and garrisoned by the parliament. The town is pleasantly situated on the western bank of the river Salwarp, and consists principally of one street, extending for a considerable distance along the turnpike road: the houses are in general substantial and well built, and the inhabitants amply supplied with water.

The principal articles of manufacture are nails, needles, and fish-hooks; and some coarse linen table-cloths and sheeting are still made: in the neighbourhood, potatoes, for the Bristol and other markets, are extensively cultivated. The Birmingham and Worcester canal passes within three miles to the east. The market is on Tuesday: the fairs are on June 24th and October 1st.

The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates; a bailiff and other officers are annually appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor, held at Michaelmas; and a court is held every third week, for the recovery of debts under 40s. The town-hall is a neat and commodious building, under which is a marketplace, in the centre of the town. The living is a vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of King's Norton annexed, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £41. 8. 1 ½ and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a very ancient structure, combining portions in the Norman style, and others in the early, decorated, and later, styles of English architecture, of which last the tower and spire, and most of the exterior of the church, are fine specimens ; the interior contains many curious and interesting monuments. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians.

The free grammar school was founded, with an endowment of £7 per annum, by charter of Edward VI, confirmed by Queen Mary, who vested the management in governors, whose appointment of a master is subject to the approval of the bishop of the diocese. The original endowment was augmented with £50 per annum by Sir Thomas Cookes, who in 1714 founded six scholarships, of £50 per annum each, in Worcester College, Oxford, for this school and four others in the county; and six fellowships, of £ 150 per annum each, in the same college, to which, as vacancies occur, those who hold the scholarships succeed. There are twelve scholars on the foundation, who are clothed, educated, and apprenticed: they are entitled to the scholarships and fellowships above mentioned, but the master's private pupils usually enjoy the benefit of them. There are some endowed almshouses in the parish.

At Dodford, two miles from the town, are the remains of a small priory of Premonstratensian canons, founded by Henry I in 1190, now part of a farm-house. At Shepley there are some traces of the Roman Iknield-street; and near Gannow is a petrifying spring. To the north of the town is Bromsgrove Lickey, a range of lofty hills, commanding an extensive and diversified prospect of the surrounding country; a considerable part, comprising a tract of two thousand acres, has been enclosed, and produces good crops of clover, turnips, and potatoes. A spring, rising among these hills, divides into two streams, one of which flowing northward, joins the river Rea, and uniting with the Trent, falls into the North sea; the other, running into the Stour, joins the Severn, and empties itself into the Irish sea.

Last Updated: 11/10/2016