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

	Liverpool Road, Penwortham Photograph supplied by and © of Brian Young

Penwortham is a village, a township, and a parish, in Preston district, Lancashire. The village stands on the river Ribble, near the Northwestern railway, 1-1/2 mile SW of Preston; and has a post-office under Preston. The township contains also the village of Middleforth-Green, and the hamlet of Charnock-Moss; and comprises 2,277 acres.

Real property, £7,221; of which £30 are in fisheries. Pop. in 1851, 1,487; in 1861, 1,506. Houses, 271. P. Priory, P. Hall, P. House, the Oaks, Hurst Grange, White Friars, and Swallow House are chief residences.

An ancient castle stood here, to guard the navigation of the Ribble; but was long ago erased. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Evesham abbey, was founded here, in the time of the Conqueror, by Warin Bussel; was given, at the dissolution, to the Fleetwoods; and has left no remains.

The parish contains also the townships of Howick, Hutton, Longton, and Farington. Acres, 11,317; of which 1,450 are water. Real property £26,169. Pop. in 1851, 5,722; in 1861, 5,488. Houses 996. The property is subdivided. Bricks and tiles are made in Howick; and brewing and malting are carried on in Longton.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £125. Patron, L. Rawstorne, Esq. The church is of the 14th century; was partly rebuilt, partly enlarged, in 1856; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with porch and low tower; and contains handsome monuments of the Fleetwoods and the Rawstornes.

The p[erpetual] curacies of Longton and Farington are separate benefices. A chapel of ease, a Wesleyan chapel, a workhouse for girls, and endowed grammar school, and charities £70 are in P[enwortham] township; and dissenting chapels and public schools are in the other townships.

From: The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, Vol. 2, page 603, by John Marius Wilson. Edinburgh, 1872.

Entered here 22 January 2006 by Lynn Ransom Burton.

From The Preface to the printed volume of Penwortham Parish Registers:

Penwortham may be said to be almost a suburb of the town of Preston, from which it is distant a mile or so to the South West, and is situate on the south bank of the Ribble Estuary. The Church of Penwortham was given to Evesham Abbey by Warine Bussel, 1140-7 (see Dr. Farrer’s Lancashire Pipe Rolls, p.20).

The Parish Registers commenced in 1586 but were unfortunately destroyed in 1856 by the fire which also destroyed the greater part of the Church, and the present volume is printed from a copy of such Transcripts as are lodged in the Episcopal Registry at Chester. The copy has been made by the expert Mr. W.H. Price, whose accuracy is well-known to Antiquaries. Circumstances have prevented a comparison of the proofs with the original Episcopal Transcripts, but it is hoped and believed that, allowing for the equation of human error, our Subscribers have a very perfect copy of the documents at Chester.

Unfortunately the Episcopal Transcripts are very imperfect and a list of the missing years is appended. Our thanks are due to the Registrars at Chester for their courtesy in permitting access to the Transcripts.

The following years or portions of years are not found at Chester:

BAPTISMS - 1609 to 1615; 1617 to 1621; 1622 (all but one entry); 1624 (all but three entries); 1625 to 1628; 1635, 1636, 1638, 1642 to 1657; 1661, 1666, 1667, 1673, 1677, 1683, 1685 to 1689; 1707.

BURIALS - 1609 to 1615; 1617 to 1622; 1624 to 1628; 1635; 1636, 1638, 1642 to 1657; 1661, 1666, 1667, 1671, 1677, 1683, 1685 to 1689; 1717.

MARRIAGES - 1609 TO 1615; 1617 TO 1622; 1624 TO 1626; 1628, 1635, 1636, 1638, 1642 to 1657, 1661, 1666, 1667, 1671, 1673, 1677, 1685, 1685 to 1689, 1707.

	River Ribble at Penwortham Photograph supplied by and © of Brian Young