Claines

Descriptive Notes

The church of St John Baptist is well known for its proximity to "The Mug House" public house, with only the graveyard separating the two buildings. The Mug House, which has a history dating back at least 600 years, is believed to be one of only two pubs standing in consecrated grounds. The same claim is made for the Ring O'Bells pub in Kendal.

Status

Ancient Parish [25]
Originally a chapelry in Worcester St Helen Ancient Parish but a separate parish from 13th cent. Included township of Whistones, which was a separate Civil Parish in 1866. Abolished civilly in 1885, the part in the Worcester Municipal Borough created South Claines Civil Parish, the remainder created North Claines Civil Parish. Claines parish originally covered a large portion of Worcester City. See entries for the Worcester parishes of St George, St Stephen, Holy Trinity & St Mary Magdalene the Tything.

Location

O.S. Ref: SO851588
The parish church lies 3 miles north of central Worcester via the A38 and Claines Lane

Fernhill Heath, 1 mile north-east, Bevere [¾ mile N.W.], Northwick [1 mile S.W.], Tolladine [2½ miles S.E.] and Astwood [1½ miles south] are hamlets. Barbourne is 2 miles south, at the junction of the roads from Worcester to Droitwich and Stourport. Whistones is a tithing and forms part of the city of Worcester. [57]

Parish Church

St John Baptist

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction

Archdeaconry & Diocese of Worcester [1] [25]

Hundred

Lower Oswaldslow [15] [28] [25]

Poor Law Union

Droitwich 1836-85 [3] [25]

Adjoining Parishes

Ombersley; Salwarpe; Martin Hussingtree; Hindlip; Warndon; Worcester St Martin; Worcester St Nicholas; Worcester St Clement; Hallow; Grimley [1] [ Worcestershire Archives ]

Parish Registers at Worcestershire Archives

[Contact details]

		Coverage	Source
Microform	Christenings	1538-1937	[5]
	Marriages	1540-1955	[5]
	Burials	1540-1948	[5]
Originals	Banns	1754-87, 1841-1846, 1861-1951	[12]

Bishops' Transcripts

Begin 1615 Worcestershire Archives [22]

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

[19]

		Coverage
Parish Registers	Births / Christenings	1538-1875
	Marriages	1539-1864

Register Copies

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: 1785-94, 1859-67 Marriages: 1835-37, 1850-53, 1858-59, 1864-1906 Burials: 1835-58, 1876-80, 1886-1905, 1916-48

Further records may have been added since this posting

Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents

At BMSGH Shop
St.John Baptist

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
St.John Baptist

At Worcestershire Archives [51] :
St.John Baptist Monumental Inscriptions
Epitaphs ([19th century], transcript)
Certified copy of inscription on John Porter's monument, formerly in Claines Church (1807)
At Society of Genealogists [59] :
CLAINES (St. John the Baptist) : Monumental Inscriptions: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 2 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 2 Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1982 Author Coleman, D K et al. (transcriptions) CLAINES (St. John the Baptist) : Monumental Inscriptions: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 14 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 14 Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, Nd. Author Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry (transcriptions) SourceD: Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry

War Memorials

For a War Memorial to George Trevor Cartland at St. John Baptist Church see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/claines-st-john-baptist-church-cartland-memorial/

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

For the names of those included on a WW2 Roll of Honour at St. John Baptist Church see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/claines-st-john-baptist-church-ww2-roll-of-honour/

For the names of those included on a War Memorial in St. John Baptist Churchyard see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/claines-st-john-baptist-church-churchyard-memorial/

For the names of those included on a War Memorial at Claines Institute see:
www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial /claines-institute

For the names of those included on a War Memorial at Claines School see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/claines-school/

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:

1841-81 at Worcestershire Archives [14]

There is a transcript of the 1851 census records on the open shelves. Worcestershire Archives [27]

Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent

Burial Claines St. John 1662-1837 Worcestershire Burial Index
Marriage see Worcestershire Marriage Index

Manorial Records

Claines: Court papers 1694-1822; Jury presentments and suit rolls 1664-1860; Manor books 1781-1860, 18th cent.; Rentals, valuations and accounts 1639-1859; Rental 1695-1702, 1759-69, 1769-1805;Stewards' books 1808-33; Surveys, valuations, manor books, rent rolls etc.
Whistones: Compotus rolls 1524, [1524-5]; Court rolls 1377-87, 1388-98, 1546-53.
Whistones and Claines: Court rolls 1660-1664; 1615-early 18th cent. (gaps) Surveys, valuations etc. 17th-19th cents.Worcestershire Archives [50]

Parish Records on microform

At Worcestershire Archives [13]
Examination papers 1700-1800
Bonds of indemnity 1606-1812
Orders of removal 18th cent.
Indentures of apprenticeship 1696 1792, 1700-1826
Settlement certificates 1640-1740

Schools Records

See North Claines

Directories

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

CLAINES, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of OSWALDSLOW, county of WORCESTER, 2½ miles (N.) from Worcester, containing, with the tything of Whistons, 3853 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Bishop of Worcester, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £ 900 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of Sir H. Wakeman, Bart. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. A chapel is now being erected, by a grant of £3345. 10. 8. from the commissioners under the act passed in the 58th of George III, for building additional churches and chapels, to contain seven hundred and twelve sittings, of which three hundred and fifty-eight will be free. Here is a school with an endowment of £7. 7. per annum. The Birmingham canal passes on the south of this parish; and the Droitwich canal, on the north, passes along the western boundary, where it forms a junction with the Severn. The ancient hospital of St. Oswald was founded here prior to 1268. On the site of the mansion of White Ladies was the Benedictine nunnery of Whitestone, or Whistons, founded by Walter de Cantelupe, Bishop of Worcester, in 1255: to this house Charles II. retired after the decisive battle of Worcester. In this parish is the island of Bevere, formed by the rivulet Beverhern, remarkable as having twice afforded refuge to the inhabitants of Worcester; first, in 1041, from the fury of King Hardicanute, on account of their refusing to pay the Danegelt, and next, in 1637, from a dreadful pestilence then raging in the city.

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