Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire Family History Guide

Burton upon Trent includes the following parishes:

Table of Contents

History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

BURTON-UPON-TRENT, a township, a town, a parish, a subdistrict, and a district on the E border of Staffordshire. The township is included in the town. Real property. £37,396. Pop., 9,534. Houses, 1,825. The town lies on the river Trent, and on the Midland railway, adjacent to the Grand Trunk canal, 11 miles SW of Derby. A branch canal connects the river with the Grand Trunk; and branch railways go off to lines communicating with all parts of the kingdom.

The town was known to the Saxons as Byreton or Buryton. A religions establishment was founded at it, in the 9th century, by the Irish lady Modwena, who had the reputation of a saint and of a great mediciner. A Benedictine Abbey succeeded this establishment in 1004, founded by Wulfric Spot, Earl of Mercia; was changed by Henry VIII. into a collegiate church; and given, soon afterwards, to Sir William Paget. Edward II., in 1322, obtained a decisive victory here, over the Earl of Lancaster; and both parties in the civil war, in the time of Charles I., were here, at several periods, both vanquished and victors.

The town occupies low level ground, formerly liable to inundation by the Trent, and overlooked by the precipitous thickly wooded hill of Scalpley. It does not look well, yet is substantially built; and it consists mainly of two chief streets, one of them running parallel with the Trent. An edifice, to include a new town hall, municipal offices, assembly-rooms, library, museum, bath-rooms, and other apartments, was projected in 1865. The bridge across the Trent dates from about the time of the Conquest; is 1,545 feet long; and has 36 arches.

A chapel stood at one end of it, built by Edward II., to commemorate his victory over Lancaster: but has disappeared. Some scanty remains of the ancient Abbey exist in the churchyard, and opposite the end of New-street. The present parish church was built in 1720; stands on the east side of the market-place; is a fine large edifice, in the Italian style, with western square tower; and contains a beautiful altar piece of white marble. Christ church, near the end of New-street, is a neat recent structure, in the early English style, with tower and spire 150 feet high. Holy Trinity church was built in 1824, at a cost of about £7,000; and is a large and handsome edifice in florid Gothic.

The Independent chapel, in High street, occupies the site of a previous chapel of 1662; and is an elegant structure in the Gothic style. There are chapels also for Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics. The grammar school, near the parish church, was founded in 1520 by Abbot Beane, and has an endowed income of £461; and other schools and charities have £674. A building in High street is occupied partly by a museum, established in 1842, and partly by the reading room of a literary society, established in 1844. The workhouse, in Horninglow, was erected at a cost of £5,400.

The town has a head post office, a railway station, with telegraph, a banking office, and three chief inns; is a seat of sessions and a polling-place; and publishes two weekly newspapers. A weekly market is held on Thursday; and fairs on Candlemas-day, 5 April, Holy Thursday, 6 July, 1 Sept., and 29 Oct. The chief employment, from remote times, has been the brewing of ale; and this is now carried on to a greater extent than anywhere else in the kingdom. Allsopp’s brewery cost £40,000, and was designed to be more than twice larger than it is; Bass’s occupies fully 20 acres; and there are about eighteen others. Cotton manufacture, hat-making, and iron-working also are carried on.

The town possesses certain privileges, and is sometimes called a borough, but is not governed by the municipal act. It comprises the townships of Burton-upon-Trent, Burton-Extra, and part of Horninglow. Pop. in 1851, 7,934; in 1861, 13,671. Houses, 2,595. Isaac Hawkins Browne, who died in 1760 was a native.

The parish contains all the town, all Horninglow township, and the townships of Stretton, Branstone, and Winshill, the last electorally in Derby. Acres, 7,730. Real property, £62,045. Population of the whole, 16,824. Houses, 3,258. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to the Marquis of Anglesey. The parochial living, and the livings of Christ church and Holy Trinity, are vicarages in the dio. of Lichfield. Value, £192, £300, and £307. Patron of C., the Vicar of B.; of the others, Lord Anglesey. Stratton p. curacy is annexed to Trinity; and Horninglow and Winshill are separate benefices.

The subdistrict contains also the parish of Tatenhill. Acres, 17,138. Pop., 18,745. Houses, 3,669. The district comprehends likewise the subdistrict of Gresley, containing the parishes of Lullington, Rosliston, Walton-upon-Trent, Stapenhill, and parts of Church-Gresley and Croxall, all electorally in Derby; the subdistrict of Repton, containing the parishes of Repton, Newton-Solney, Foremark, Radbourne, Dalbury-with-Lees, Trusley, Etwall, Willington, and parts of Sutton-on-the-hill, Mickleover, and Barrow-upon-Trent, all electorally in Derby; and the subdistrict of Tutbury, containing the parishes of Tutbury, Rolleston, and parts of Hanbury and Scropton, electorally in Stafford, and the parishes of Egginton, Church-Broughton, Barton-Blount, Marston-upon-Dove, and parts of Sutton-on-the-Hill and Scropton, electorally in bury. Acres, 90,652. Poor-rates in 1866, £13,316. Pop. in 1861, 41,065. Houses, 8,217.

Marriages in 1866, 401; births, 1,963, of which 95 were illegitimate; deaths, 1,004, of which 426 were at ages under 5 years, and 24 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 2,642; births, 12,462; deaths, 7,501. The places of worship in 1851 were 39 of the Church of England, with 12,403 sittings; 4 of Independents, with 1,357 s.; 5 of Baptists, with 1,061 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 74 s.; 33 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 4,433 s.; 15 of Primitive Methodists, with 1,909 s.; 1 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 200 s.; 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 80 s.; and 1 of Roman Catholics, with 180 s. The schools were 37 public day schools, with 3,479 scholars; 50 private day schools, with 1,084 s.; 51 Sunday schools, with 4,474 s.; and 3 evening schools for adults, with 96 s.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Parish Records

FamilySearch

Directories

Burton upon Trent – Commercial Directory of the Jews of Gt. Britain. 1894

BURTON-ON-TRENT.

DERBY STREET. Barnett, Henry, 40 ; Complete house-furnisher.

MOOR STREET. Beirnstein, B., 95 ; Accountant and furniture dealer.

NEW STREET. Rich, Adolph, 122 ; Picture-frame manufacturer, glass merchant and importer of mouldings.

WEST STREET. Bloomberg, Alfred, 35 ; High-class tailor.

Source: Commercial Directory of the Jews of the United Kingdom 1894 by Harfield, Eugene G.

Online School Records

School records are a primary source for genealogists. The two types of records that are commonly available are admission registers and log books.

The admission registers of schools may be available from the 1870s, but more frequently from 1902. Usually shown under the date of entry, is the child’s name and address and his or her date of birth. Some registers, but not all, may also show the name and occupation of the parent or guardian, the name of the previous school attended and the reason for leaving.

For immigrant children the name of the previous school may uniquely provide the pupil’s exact place of origin.

These admission registers may enable the brothers and sisters of a pupil to be identified in a way that, with frequent names, would be difficult if not impossible from the civil registration records.

The log book may contain comments on the attendance of pupils, behaviour, discipline, the curriculum, attendance of teachers and absence for sickness etc., and the effect of epidemics and seasonal work on attendance. The names of individual pupils only occasionally appear in log books. The names and status of the teachers were recorded at the annual inspection, with a summary of the inspector’s report.

The following school records are available from Findmypast

Alsops Girls School 1876 to 1900 Admissions

Burton On Trent Girls High School 1897to 1914 Admissions

Burton On Trent Grammar School (Boys) 1876 to 1914 Admissions

Burton On Trent, Christ Church School 1870 to 1903 Admissions

Burton On Trent, Christ Church School(Boys) 1896 to 1914 Admissions

Burton On Trent, Christ Church School(Girls) 1870 to 1914 Admissions

Burton On Trent, Christ Church School(Infants) 1880 to 1914 Admissions

Holy Trinity School (Boys) 1879 to 1898 Admissions

Holy Trinity School (Infants) 1874 to 1914 Admissions

Holy Trinity School (Mixed) 1891 to 1914 Admissions

St. Peter’s School (Girls) 1896 to 1914 Admissions

St. Peter’s School (Infants) 1870 to 1914 Admissions