OLDSWINFORD

Descriptive Notes:
Oldswinford is the usual civil spelling, Old Swinford is the usual Ecclesiastical spelling. [25]

Directories:
SWINFORD (OLD), a parish partly in the southern division of the hundred of SEISDON, county of STAFFORD, but chiefly in the lower division of the hundred of HALFSHIRE, county of WORCESTER, 1 mile (S. S. E.) from Stourbridge, containing, with the town of Stourbridge, and the hamlet of Amblecoat, 11,227 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £26. 6. 8., and in the patronage of Lord Foley. The church is dedicated to St. Mary.

The Blue-coat hospital, in this parish, was founded by Thomas Foley, Esq., ancestor of the noble family of that name, and endowed by him with estates now producing upwards of £2000 per annum: it is a commodious brick building, somewhat in the style of a college, pleasantly situated on the road to Bromsgrove. In this noble institution seventy poor boys are boarded, clothed and educated: the original number was sixty, but the increase of income has enabled the feoffees to add ten more. They are chosen from the following parishes and towns, viz., Old Swinford, three; town of Stourbridge, four ; Kidderminster, six (three from the borough and three from the foreign); Bewdley, four; Dudley, four; Great Whitley, King's Swinford, Kinver, Harbom-n, Hales- Owen, West Bromwich, Bromsgrove, Rowley - Regis, Wednesbury, and Sedgeley, two each; Hagley, Little Whitley, Alvechurch, Pedmore, and Wombourn, one each; and the remaining twenty-four are appointed by the representative of the founder: each boy must, on admission, be between seven and eleven years of age, free from disease, and the son of parents who have never received parochial relief; he is annually provided with a suit of clothes (similar to that worn at Christ's Hospital), a cap, and four pair of shoes and stockings, and, at fourteen years of age, is apprenticed with a premium of £4, and on producing a certificate of good conduct during his apprenticeship, receives at its expiration a gratuity of £15. The establishment is under the direction of nineteen feoffees, who are noblemen, dignitaries of the church, or gentlemen of large landed property, in this or the adjoining counties, and who elect the master, steward, &c.

The school at Red-hill is supported with endowments by John Wheeler, Esq., and Henry Glover, Esq., the former of whom granted property for the instruction of twenty poor boys, and for furnishing them with books and stationery, and the latter bequeathed £400, since laid out in lands, for the instruction of six poor boys in reading, writing, and arithmetic, for six years each, providing them with books and stationery, and apprenticing one of them annually, with a premium of £5: two boys have since been added by the trustees, who are the governors of the Stourbridge free grammar school, and the boys on the foundation of both these charities are instructed by the same master. The remainder of Henry Glover's endowment, after all necessary charges for the school are deducted, is distributed amongst the poor of that part of the parish which is in the county of Worcester who do not receive parochial relief, in sums of not more than one shilling per week to each person. Exclusively of the trade connected with the town of Stourbridge, a detailed account of which is given in the article on that place, many of the inhabitants are engaged in the making of nails. [Topographical Dictionary of England 1831 by Samuel Lewis]

Status:
Ancient Parish [25]
The parish included the following townships, all of which were in Worcestershire (Halfshire Hundred):

The township of 'Oldswinford'.

The township of Lye, which was a separate Civil Parish in 1866 and a separate Ecclesiastical Parish in 1839. It was ecclesiastically refounded in1841.

The township of Stourbridge, which was a separate Civil Parish in 1866 and a separate Ecclesiastical Parish in 1862.

The township of Upper Swinford, which was a separate Civil Parish in 1866.

The township of Wollescote, which was a separate Civil Parish in 1866 and a separate Ecclesiastical Parish in 1965, from Old Swinford Ancient Parish and 3 other parishes.

The township of Wollaston, which was a separate Civil Parish in 1866, was ecclesiastically severed 1860 to help create Amblecote Ecclesiastical Parish.

Also:
 
Oldswinford included in Staffordshire (S.Seisdon Hundred) the hamlet of Amblecote, which became a separate Civil Parish in 1866 in Staffordshire and a separate Ecclesiastical Parish in 1845, which included the Worcestershire township of Wollaston (qv above). It was ecclesiastically refounded in 1860).
 
So after 1866 'Oldswinford' has no separate civil identity.[25]

Other ecclesiastical boundary changes were:
In 1866 creation of Stourbridge St. Thomas Ecclesiastical Parish.
In 1873 to help create Stamber Mill Ecclesiastical Parish.
In 1953 to help create Norton Ecclesiastical Parish.

Location:
O.S. Ref: SO908832
About 12 miles west of central Birmingham

Parish Church:
St. Mary, Rectory Rd., Oldswinford, Stourbridge

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction:
Archdeaconry & Diocese of Worcester until 1921, Archdeaconry of Dudley & Diocese of Worcester (1921 - *) [25]

Hundred:
Formerly partly in South Seisdon hundred, county of Staffordshire but now [in 1866] wholly in Halfshire hundred. [44] [15] [57]

Poor Law Union:
Oldswinford separately rated for poor law purposes 1836 as were Stourbridge & Amblecote; remainder of townships separately rated soon after 1836 & 'Oldswinford' thereafter has no separate poor law identity.[3] [25]

Adjoining Parishes:
Kingswinford (Staffordshire); Lye; Pedmore; Kinver (Staffordshire) [1]

Parish Registers:

		Coverage	Source
Microform at WLHC	Christenings	1602-1937	[5]
	Marriages	1602-1961	[5]
	Burials	1602-1933	[5]
	Banns	1754-1925, 1940-54	[5]
Transcripts at WLHC	Christenings & Burials	1768-1800	[27]
	Christenings	1800-19	[27]
	Marriages	1754-1813	[27]
	Burials	1800-13	[27]
	General	1719-68	[27]
Originals at WRO	Banns	1754-1954	[12]

Bishops' Transcripts:
Begin 1613 Worcestershire Library and History Centre [22]

International Genealogical Index (IGI):
[19]

		Coverage
Parish Registers	Births / Christenings	1602-1877
	Marriages	1602-1877

Register Copies:
St Mary , incorporating Parts 1 - 8 of the Parish Registers (detailed below,as fiche) plus MIs and Oldswinford Poor Law 1651-1794 and An Index of Names Found in Sundry Documents, Relating to Oldswinford & Stourbridge (Compiled by Nigel R. Perry) CD ROM BMSGH

On BMSGH microfiche [9] :-
Part 1 Vol. 4. Christenings, Marriages & Burials 1736-1752 Vol. 5. Christenings & Burials 1753-1768  Marriages 1753/4
Part 2. Vol. 3. Christenings, Marriages & Burials1719-1735
Part 3. Vol. 9,10,11. Marriages 1754-1780 Banns 1763-1771
Part 4. Vol. 12 & 13 Marriages 1780-1813
Part 5 Vol. 6. Christenings & Burials1768-1800
Part 6 Vol. 7 & 8 Christenings 1800-1819. Burials 1800-1813
Part 7, Vol.1 Christenings, Marriages & Burials 1647-1692
Part 8, Vol. 2 Christenings, Marriages & Burials 1693-1718

At Dudley Archives & Local History Service
Microform: Christenings 1602-1937 Marriages 1602-1961 Burials 1602-1933
Transcript: Christenings 1719-1819 Marriages 1719-1813 Burials 1719-1813

At Society of Genealogists [68] (all published by Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry ) :-
Christenings 1647-1819, Marriages 1647-1813, Burials 1647-1813, banns 1763-71, MIs, poor law & settlement 1651-1794 [CD-ROM.] - published 2003
Christenings, Marriages & Burials 1647-1718 [Microfiche.] - Author: Haden, J et al. (trans.)
Christenings & Burials 1736-68, M 1736-54 - published 1975 - Author: Fontaine, J L (trans.)
Marriages 1754-1813, banns 1763-71, vol. 9-13 [Photocopy.] - Author Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry (trans.)
Christenings 1800-19, Burials 1800-13, vol. 7 & 8 [Photocopy.]
Christenings & Burials 1768-1800, vol. 6
Christenings, Marriages & Burials 1719-35 - published 1973 - Authors: Voyce, Constance J (trans.) and Page, Anne (trans.)
St Mary: vol. 3 Christenings, Marriages & Burials 1719-35 & vol. 6 Christenings & Burials 1768-1800 [Microfiche.] - Author: Stourbridge Historical & Archaeological Society

Nonconformist:
Quaker digest registers of births, marriages & burials - Warws., Leics. & Rutland QM : Births 1623-1837, 1636-1815, 1646-1762, Marriages 1648-1837, 1659-1794, 1668-1711, Burials 1659-1837, 1661-1836, 1636-1781 (includes Tamworth, Handsworth, West Bromwich, Rowley Regis, Lichfield, Wednesbury, Aldridge, Staffs.; Chipping Camden, Stow on the Wold, Sezincote, Glos.; Ratcliffe on Soar, Notts.; Warley, Oldbury, Salop; Shipston on Stour, Tredington, Old Swinford, Dudley, Stourbridge, Worcs.) [Microfilm.] - Published London : World Microfilms Publications, 1989 Society of Genealogists

Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents:
St.Mary BMSGH microfiche [53]
St.Mary Worcestershire Library and History Centre [51]

At Society of Genealogists [59]
St. Mary : MIs [Microfiche.] - Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry - Author: Wright, A J L et al. (trans.)
St. Mary : Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 10 - Published : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1989-90 - Author: Beadman, B et al. (trans.)

Census Records:
Access to all the censuses between 1841 and 1901 is now widely available on the library edition of Ancestry.co.uk at most record offices. You are strongly advised to book time on their computers before making a visit.
Many commercial organisations have issued CDs and DVDs covering all the censuses from 1841 to 1901.

Some repositories offer census details on microfiche as listed below:
At Worcestershire Library and History Centre [14] :-
1841 51 71 81
For 1851 & 1871 see Stourbridge
1891 Oldswinford Hospital School

1861 Dudley Archives & Local History Service

At Society of Genealogists :-
1851 census Worcestershire, vol. 1 Stourbridge, part 1 transcript & surname index, addendum index - Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1996 - Author: Friend, A F
Worcestershire 1851 census index, vol. 1 Stourbridge RD, parts 2-3 Stourbridge sub-district including Wollaston, Wollescote, Upper Swinford, Amblecote [transcript & surname index HO 107/2035] ; 1851 census Worcestershire, vol. 1 Stourbridge RD, part 2 Stourbridge sub-district including Wollaston, Wollescote, Upper Swinford, Amblecote [transcript & surname index HO 107/2035] - Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1996 - Author Friend, A F

Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent:
Burial 1719-1840 Worcestershire Burial Index
Marriage see Worcestershire Marriage Index

Parish Records on microform at Worcestershire Library and History Centre [13]
Register for burials in wollen 1678-1722/3, 1723-79
Churchwardens & overseers' of the poor accounts 1667-1727
Vestry meetings minutes (inc. information on highways diversion 1853-4) - 1685-1878
Overseers of the poor accounts 1694-1728/9
Vestry meetings minutes 1723-71

Schools Records:
A handlist of the records of schools and of other educational establishments held by Worcestershire Record Office for this parish can be found here.

Other Sources:
Transcript at Worcestershire Library and History Centre : 
The poor law & settlement documents of the church of St. Mary, Old Swinford, 1651-1794 [27]

Oldswinford Poor Law: St Mary 1651-1794 BMSGH microfiche

At Society of Genealogists :-
Hearth tax returns for Dudley & Stourbridge 1664 - 1666 - 1674 - Published Kingswinford : P E Chandler, 1992 - Author: Chandler, Peter (trans.)
The poor law & settlement documents of the church of St. Mary, Old Swinford, 1651-1794 - Published Birmingham, 1977 - Author Perry, Nigel R (trans.)

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© Arthur Lewis and contributors 2008
Comments, additions, corrections etc to Arthur Lewis
Last updated on 1st April 2008

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