Defford

Status

Chapelry in Pershore St. Andrew Ancient Parish. A separate Civil Parish in 1866. Ecclesiastically severed 1865 to help create Defford cum Besford Ecclesiastical Parish.[25]

Location

O.S. Ref: SO917432
3 miles S.W. of Pershore along the A4104
Woodmancote is a hamlet, 1 mile S.W. [57]

Parish Church

St. James

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction

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

Hundred

Upper Pershore [11] [25]

Poor Law Union

Pershore [3] [25]

Adjoining Parishes

Croome D'Abitot; Besford; Birlingham; Eckington; Strensham; Hill Croome; Earls Croome; Severn Stoke [1]

Parish Registers at Worcestershire Archives

[Contact details]

		Coverage	Source
Microform	Christenings	1540-1965	[5]
	Marriages	1540-1965	[5]
	Burials	1540-1965	[5]
	Banns	1754-1965	[5]
Transcripts	Christenings	1540-1680, 1683-1812	[27]
	Marriages	1540-1680, 1687-1753	[27]
	Burials	1540-1688, 1683-1812	[27]

Bishops' Transcripts

Begin 1611 Worcestershire Archives [22]

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

[19]

		Coverage
Parish Registers	Births / Christenings	1540-1812

Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents

At BMSGH Shop
St.James

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
St. James

At Worcestershire Archives [51]
St. James

At Society of Genealogists [59]
DEFFORD (St. James) : Monumental Inscriptions: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions vol. 13 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions vol. 13 Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1994 Author Farmer, G R (transcription.) Source D: Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry

War Memorials

For the names of those included on a War Memorial at St. James's Church see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/defford-st-jamess-church/

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:

1841-1901 at Worcestershire Archives [14]

Parish Records on microform

At Worcestershire Archives [13]
Churchwardens accounts 1705-95, 1803-1929
Constable list 1706-1826
Vestry minutes 1888-1908, 1910
Confirmation register 1863-1956
Overseers accounts 1782-1817
Surveyors accounts 1856-61
Vestry minutes 1846-88
Copies of Parish Registers & Bishops transcripts of Parish Registers
Typescript copy Defford 1540-1682
Copy by Rev.J.Wills 1687-1782
Defford parish register, manuscript copy 1687-1812

Schools Records

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.

Directories

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

DEFFORD, a chapelry in the parish of St ANDREW, PERSHORE, upper division of the hundred of PERSHORE, county of WORCESTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Pershore, containing 347 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £2. 13. 4. The chapel is dedicated to St. James.

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