Acton Cheshire Family History Guide
Acton is an Ancient Parish in the county of Cheshire. Nantwich is a chapelry of Acton.
Other places included in the parish: Aston, Aston juxta Mondrum, Austerson, Baddington, Brindley, Burland, Cholmondeston, Cholmondestone, Coole Pilate, Cool Pilate, Edlaston, Edleston, Faddiley, Henhull, Hurleston, Newhall, Poole, Sound, Stoke, Worleston
Alternative names: Acton near Nantwich
Parish church: St. Mary
Parish registers begin:
Parish registers: 1653
Bishop’s Transcripts: 1586
Nonconformists include: Primitive Methodist, Roman Catholic, Wesleyan Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist Association
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Burleydam
Wrenbury
Wettenhall
Bunbury
Nantwich
Leighton with Minshull
Malpas
Wybunbury
Audlem
Baddiley
Church Minshull
Parish History
Acton
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
ACTON, a township and a parish in Nantwich district, Cheshire. The township lies on the Birmingham and Liverpool canal, near the Shropshire Union railway, 1½ mile WNW of Nantwich; and has a post office under Nantwich. Acres, 722. Pop., 297. Houses, 57.
The parish comprises the townships of Acton, Cool-Pilate, Austerson, Baddington, Edleston, Burland, Faddiley, Brindley, Henhull, Hurleston, Poole, Stoke, Cholmon destone, Aston-juxta-Mondrum, and Worleston. Acres, 15,542. Real property, £2,978. Pop. 3,125. Houses, 625. The manor belonged to the Saxon earl Morcar, and passed, through the Lovels, Ardens, and Wilbrahams, to the Tollemaches. The parish church and Dorfold Hall were garrisoned, during the civil war, by successively the regal and the parliamentary forces.
The church is early English, and contains some ancient monuments. Dorfold Hall was built in 1616, consists of dark brick, has large bay windows and massive chimneys, and contains some well-preserved, rich, plaster ornaments. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Chester. Value, £627. Patron, J. Tollemache, Esq. The p. curacy of Burley Dam is a separate benefice. Charities, £100.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
ACTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of Cheshire; comprising the townships of Acton, Aston-juxta-Mondrum, Austerson, Baddington, Brindley, Burland, Cholmondstone, Cool-Pilate, Edleston, Faddiley, Henhull, Hurleston, Poole, Stoke, Worleston, and part of Soond; and containing 4134 inhabitants, of whom 328 are in the township of Acton, 1¼ mile (N. W. by W.) from Nantwich.
This place was the scene of some hostilities during the parliamentary war. In October 1643, the church and Dorford Hall were occupied by the royalists, on whose retreat both were garrisoned by the parliament. They were afterwards captured by the king’s troops under Lord Byron; but, on the raising of the siege of Nantwich, Sir Thomas Fairfax compelled the garrisons to surrender, and among the prisoners were sixty officers, including Col. Monk, afterwards Duke of Albemarle. In the township of Acton are 674 acres; the soil is half clay and half sand. The Chester and Crewe railway crosses the Middlewich and Wardle canal at the Cholmondstone lock in this parish.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £19. 9. 7.; net income, £324; patron and impropriator, John Tollemache, Esq., of Tilston Lodge: the great tithes of Acton township have been commuted for £41. 6., and the vicarial tithes for £26. 14. The church exhibits some curiously ornamented windows; the tower is partly in the early style of English architecture. At Burley-Dam is a second church, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of Viscount Combermere; net income, £100. A grammar school is endowed with £16 per annum, and a house; and there is a school in connexion with the National Society. Sir Roger Wilbraham founded and endowed two alms-houses in 1613.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1840
Acton, a parish in the hund. and union of Nantwich, county-palatine of Chester; comprising the townships of Acton, Aston-juxta-Mondrum, Austerson, Baddington, Brindley, Burland, Cholmondstone, Cool-Pilate, Eddleston, Faddiley, Hinhull, Hurleston, Newhall, Poole, Stoke, and Worleston. Living, a vicarage in the archd. and dio. of Chester; rated at £19 9s. 7d; gross income £408. The church has some curious windows. Patron, in 1835, Admiral Tollemache.
There is a free school here, endowed with £20 per annum; and two National schools. About £17, bequeathed by various testators, is yearly distributed among the poor of the parish; about £12 a-year is appropriated, by the bequest of two members of the Wilbraham family, to apprenticing poor boys of the parish, and from Huxley’s charity, £40 is distributed yearly in sums of £5 each to four poor women, and the remainder appropriated to the apprenticing of poor girls.
During the civil war, Acton church and Dorfold hall were successively garrisoned by the king’s and the parliamentary forces. Dorfold hall, in this parish, built in 1616, is a fine remain of the architecture of the early part of the 17th century. It is built of dark brick, with massy chimneys and large bay windows. The great hall contains some rich plaster ornaments in a fine state of preservation, and is still allowed to remain in its original condition.
The Nantwich branch of the Chester canal passes through this parish, and the line of the proposed railway to St. George’s harbour, Denbighshire. Pop. of the parish, in 1821, 3,777; in 1831, 3,928. Houses 710. Acres 7,200. A. P. £25,288. Pop. of the town ship of Acton, in 1831, 309. Houses 62. Acres 1,230. A. P. £1,285. Poor rates, in 1837, £220.
Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1840.
A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom Capper 1808
Acton, a parish in the hundred of Nantwich, Chester, 1 mile and half from Nantwich, and 165 from London; contains 52 houses and 262 inhabitants. It is a vicarage, value 19 l. 9s. 7d.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.
Complete Pocket Gazetteer of England and Wales 1807
Acton, (Chesh.) a, village, formerly the seat of the gallant Moscar, brother of the last earl of Mercia. Here is a neat new church containing some good monuments of the Mainwaring and Wilbraham families; and some of the houses are large and convenient, though the greater part are very old and irregular. Distant from London 174 miles 1 furlong. Beyond Acton on the right is a turnpike road to Middlewich.
Source: Complete Pocket Gazetteer of England and Wales; Crosby Rev. J. Malham; 1807
Baddington
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Circa 1870
Baddington, a township in Acton parish, Cheshire; on the Grand Junction canal, 2 miles SSW of Nantwich. Acres, 1,401. Real property, £1,715. Pop., 135. Houses, 20
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Baddington, 2 m. Nantwich. P. 137
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850
Brindley
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Brindley, in Acton parish. P. 184
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
Burland
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Burland, in Acton parish. P. 639
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
Cholmondstone
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Cholmondstone, 5 m. N. Nantwich. P. 206
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
Edleston
Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland 1833
Edleston, or Eadlaston, co. Pal. of Chester.
P. T. Nantwich (164) 2 m NW b W. Pop. 95.
A township in the parish of Acton and hundred of Nantwich.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. I; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Faddiley
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Circa 1870
Faddiley, a township in Acton parish, Cheshire; 4 ½ miles WNW of Nantwich. Acres, 1,199. Real property, £2,056. Pop., 285. Houses, 63. There is a Wesleyan chapel.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland Gorton 1833
Faddiley, co. Pal. of Chester.
P. T. Nantwich (164) 5 m. W b N.
Pop. 291.
A township in the parish of Acton and hundred of Nantwich.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. II; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Newhall
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
NEWHALL, a township, chiefly in the parish of Acton, and partly in that of Audlem, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Nantwich; containing 936 inhabitants. This township borders on the parish of Wrenbury, and is of considerable extent, comprising 3899 acres, partly a clayey and partly a sandy soil, and almost all dairy land; the cheeses made here are particularly good, and realise high prices. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £332. 6. 3., and the small tithes for £153, of which £82 are payable to the vicar of Acton, and £71 to the vicar of Audlem.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Cemeteries
Census
Census returns for Acton, 1841-1891
Church history
A short account of Acton Church and neighbourhood Author: Moore, Herbert
Church Records
Computer printout of Acton by Nantwich, Cheshire, England
Manors – Court records
Manorial records, 1641-1769 Author: Manor of Abbots Fee. Court (Acton (near Nantwich), Cheshire)
Poorhouses & Poor Law
Schools
Taxation
Cheshire Historical Directories
Administration
- County: Cheshire
- Civil Registration District: Nantwich
- Probate Court: Pre-1541 – Court of the Bishop of Lichfield (Episcopal Consistory), Post-1540 – Court of the Bishop of Chester (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Pre-1541 – Lichfield and Coventry, Post-1540 – Chester
- Rural Deanery: Nantwich
- Poor Law Union: Nantwich
- Hundred: Nantwich
- Province: York