Ribbesford Worcestershire Family History Guide

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Ribbesford is an Ancient Parish in the county of Worcestershire.

Alternative names: Ribesford

The parish includes the borough of Bewdley.

Church: St. Leonard

Parish registers begin:

  • Parish registers: 1574
  • Bishop’s Transcripts: 1660

Adjacent Parishes

Ribbesford Parish Registers

Search online registers of baptisms, marriages, banns and burials including digitised images of original records and registers and indexed transcriptions.

Ribbesford, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

Ribbesford, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1812-1922

Ribbesford, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1947

Ribbesford, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1997

The following Worcestershire Monumental Inscriptions, hosted by Findmypast, are a collection of transcriptions created by the Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry.

Ribbesford St Leonard Monumental Inscriptions 1595-1990

Parish Records

An index of parish records of people from Ribbesford Worcestershire. The index includes information from Calendar of the Quarter Sessions papers Worcestershire v1 and London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.

Quarter Session Records

The records below have been extracted from the book Calendar of the Quarter Sessions papers Worcestershire v1.

30 October 1592. Recognizance before [Edward] Blunt and William Walshe by Thomas Hunyet of Holte and John Hunyet of Worcester for their appearance to give evidence against Thomas [Carter?] charged with murder. XXXVIII. 7.

30 October 1592. Recognizance before Edward Blunt and William [Walshe] by Richard Atkins and William Filde of Hittington and Thomas Carter of Ribsford for the appearance of the said Thomas Carter to answer upon the suspicion of felonious murdering of Elizabeth Hunyet sister of Thomas Hunyet of Holt and John Hunyet of Worcester. XXXVIII. 9.

Marriage Licences and Allegations

London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869

The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.

Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.

Cox, Thomas, of Fifhead, co. Dorset, gent., bachelor, about 30, and Mary Bowshe, of Ribsford, co. Worcester, spinster, about 25, her parents dead — at Fifehead aforesaid, or Stower, co. Dorset. 28 July, 1666. V.

Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887

Historical Directories

Bewdley, Wribbenhall and Neighbours Pigots Directory 1842

Ribbesford Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855

Ribbesford is a very extensive Parish, occupying nearly the whole distance between Bewdley and Stourport. There is no village, and but few farms. The population in 1851 was 311.

Ribbesford Hall, situate near the church, is a delightful mansion, overlooking the river Severn. It was formerly the residence of Lord Herbert, grandson of the celebrated Lord Herbert, of Cherbury; it is now the seat of W. E. Essington, Esq. A weekly market, and a fair on St. Margaret’s day, were granted to this place by Edward I., but they have long since been discontinued.

The Church, dedicated to St. Leonard, is a small, ancient structure, in a retired situation, surrounded by woods. In the churchyard are several gravestones of great antiquity, and in very good preservation. The porch is a very fine specimen of antique stone-work, bearing date 1633. Rev. John Walcott, Rector; Mr. Joseph Stoke, Clerk. Service 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

DIRECTORY

Essington William Essington, Esq., Magistrate, Ribbesford Hall
Bishton William, farmer, Horsehill
Clarke John, farmer, Dimmis Farm
Jones William, farmer, Liveridge
Knowles, Edward, farmer, Park End
Lawley William, Lane’s Farm
Leek William, farmer, Porter’s Farm
Rowley Benjamin, farmer, Brook Side
Wadley Henry, farmer, Coney Green
Wood John, farmer, Park Farm

Source: Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855

Ribbesford Lewis Worcestershire Directory 1820

Creswell Joseph, farmer
Edwards Thomas, farmer
Frazier Wm. farmer
Ingram Rev. Winnington
Jones Thos. sen. farmer
Jones Thos. jun. farmer
Porter John, farmer

Source: S Lewis Worcestershire General and Commercial Directory for 1820.

Parish History

Ribbesford

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

RIBBESFORD, a village and a parish in Kidderminster district, Worcester. The village stands on the river Severn, ¾ of a mile S of Bewdley r. station; and was once a market-town. The parish contains also the borough of Bewdley and part of the chapelry of Far-Forest. Post-town, Bewdley. Acres, 4,430. Rated property, exclusive of Bewdley, £1,466. Pop., exclusive of Bewdley and Far-Forest, 253. Houses, 52. Pop. of the whole, in 1851, 3, 435; in 1861, 3, 158. Houses, 738. The manor belongs to the Earl of Dudley. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £360. Patron, the Rev. E. W. Ingram. The church is good, and partly Norman; and contains several ancient monuments. See Bewdley.

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

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1851

Ribbesford, a parish in the lower division of Doddingtree hund., union of Kidderminster, county of Worcester; ½ mile south of Bewdley, and 13 north by west of Worcester. The parish includes the borough of Bewdley: which see. Living, a rectory in the archd. of Salop and dio. of Hereford; rated at £27 19s. 2d.; gross income £431. Tithes commuted in 1839. Patron, in 1835, the Rev. E. W. Ingram. Here are 6 infant, 8 daily, and 3 Sunday, schools. Acres 4,330. Houses 867. A.P. £6,150. Pop., in 1801, 3,759; in 1831, 4,003. Poor rates, in 1838, £90.

Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1851.

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1831

Ribbesford, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of Doddingtree, county of Worcester, ¾ of a mile (S.) from Bewdley, containing, with the borough of Bewdley, 3798 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king’s books at £27. 19. 2., and in the patronage of the Rev. Edward Winnington Ingram. The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, is an ancient and curious structure, in a retired situation, surrounded by wooded heights, which environ the windings of the Severn. Coal exists in the parish, but it is not worked. A weekly market and a fair on St. Margaret’s day were granted by Edward I.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1831

Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822

Ribbesford – a parish in the hundred of Doddingtree, lower division, 1 miles W. from Bewdley, and 128 from London; containing 13 inhabited houses.

The church is a very ancient building, consisting of nave and two aisles, divided by pointed arches; some of the windows are Gothic, and others of Saxon architecture. Over the door-way is a curious bas-relief, representing an archer shooting a salmon, which appears on the surface of the water with an arrow sticking in it; but it is so rudely carved, that it is almost impossible to decipher what it is. The living is a rectory, in the bishopric of Hereford and archdeaconry of Salop; Rev. Edward Winnington Ingram, incumbent in his own right; instituted 1815. Population, 1801, 88 – 1811, 81 – 1821, 73.

Ribbesford-Hall, in the above parish, was formerly the property of Lord Herbert, high steward and recorder of Bewdley in 1738, and grandson of the famous Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who was ambassador to the court of France in the reign of James the First. Part of the ancient house still remains, but considerable additions have been made to it by the Rev. E. W. Ingram, who now owns the estate.

Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.

Blackstone Rock

Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822

Blackstone Rock, near Ribbesford. Here formerly was a hermitage, curiously excavated in the rock, with several apartments; some remains of which are now visible.

Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.

Winterdyne

Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822

Winterdyne, in the parish of Ribbesford, 1 mile from Bewdley, the residence of W. M. Moseley, Esq.

Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.

Historical Maps

Vision of Britain Historical Maps – includes topographic maps, boundary maps and land use maps

Administration

  • County: Worcestershire
  • Civil Registration District: Kidderminster
  • Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Hereford (Episcopal Consistory)
  • Diocese: Hereford
  • Rural Deanery: Burford
  • Poor Law Union: Kidderminster
  • Hundred: Doddingtree
  • Province: Canterbury