The Parish of Atherton in the County of -- Lancashire --

Marriages of Atherton Residents at the Church of St Mary the Virgin
in the Parish of Leigh

The marriage registers of Leigh St Mary's parish church on LDS Film 559188, start in 1701. From 1701 through 1723 it was the practice to record the residence of individuals from other parishes, and from chapelries within Leigh parish, such as Atherton. Otherwise, people were identified only as being 'of ye parish', or similar. It is not known how rigorously this policy was carried out, and it seems likely that some Athertonians would have been married as unspecified parishioners. For some couples, the words 'both of Atherton' make their mutual residence clear, but in many cases the word Atherton appears only after the groom or bride's name. Possibly both of them came from Atherton, but in the marriage lists here, an Atherton residence is stated only for the person whose name it follows in the register.

In 1724 the style of register entry changed, and from then till 1754, no mention was made of the bride or groom's abode unless they were 'strays' from another parish. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the change occurred at the same time that the old dissenters' chapel at Chowbent was consecrated for established church use in November 1723, from then known as Atherton Chapel, dedicated to St John the Baptist.

From 1724 to the early 1750s, the records of weddings at Atherton were appended to the yearly registers of Leigh St Mary, under the heading 'Marriages at Atherton Chapel'. However, in the early 18th century, most Athertonians were married in Leigh, and there were only 26 weddings at Atherton Chapel from 1724 to 1750. Marriages at Leigh during this period probably include many people from Atherton whose place of abode was not recorded.

In 1754 printed registers were introduced, and by May 1755 the residence of both marriage partners was being consistently recorded. The first printed register ran out on page 61 in August 1758 after entry 240, but was continued in another book in numerical sequence on hand-drawn pages until closed in early June 1759 after 294 marriages had been entered. A 2nd printed register from June 1759 through April 1762 was closed after 159 marriages had been entered.

The 3rd printed register continued from April 1762, closing in January 1773 after some 770 entries. Pages 10 & 11 are missing on the microfilm (8 marriages between 4 November 1762 and 2 January 1763). Residence was consistently recorded for only the first 407 entries through 6 March 1768. As in the 1724 to 1750 period, there must have been many people from Atherton whose place of abode was not recorded between 1768 and 1773. The 4th printed register from January 1773 to June 1777 contains 384 marriages with consistent recording of abode throughout. Succeeding registers recorded only the parish of residence.

In the 1754-1777 period, one or both partners in about 28% of the weddings at Leigh parish church were from Atherton.

Records of Atherton residents in Leigh St Mary marriages

1701 to1723	Consistently? recorded
1724 to 1754	Not recorded
Oct 1754 to Apr 1755	Not consistently recorded
May 1755 to Mar 1768	Consistently recorded
Mar 1768 to Jan 1773	Not consistently recorded
Jan 1773 to Jun 1777	Consistently recorded
From Jul 1777	Not recorded

Peter Wood
May 2006

The Register for Marriages at St Mary the Virgin 1701 - 1724 with Surname Index

The Register for Marriages at St Mary the Virgin 1754 - 1759 with Surname Index

The Register for Marriages at St Mary the Virgin 1759 - 1762 with Surname Index

The Register for Marriages at St Mary the Virgin 1762 - 1773 with Surname Index

The Register for Marriages at St Mary the Virgin 1773 - 1777 with Surname Index

There are 581 Marriage Records extracted for this Parish

A combined index for all the above registers may be accessed through the links below.

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