Offenham

Descriptive Notes

Offenham took its name from the Saxon King, Offa,who had a palace here [44]

Status

Ancient Parish [25]
Originally a chapel in Evesham Priory but a separate parish at the Dissolution.[25]

Location

O.S. Ref: SP053462
3 miles N.E. of Evesham

Parish Church

St.Mary & St. Melburgh

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction

Archdeaconry & Diocese of Worcester [1] [25]

Hundred

Upper Blackenhurst [11] [25] [28]

Poor Law Union

Evesham [3] [25]

Parish Registers at Worcestershire Archives

[Contact details]

    Coverage Source
Microform Christenings 1538-1923 [5]
  Marriages 1543-1976 [5]
  Burials 1538-1923 [5]
  Banns 1761-1844 [5]
Transcripts Marriages 1543-1812 [27] [20]

Bishops' Transcripts

Begin 1613 Worcestershire Archives [22]

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

[19]

    Coverage
Parish Registers Births / Christenings 1539-1621
  Marriages 1576-1581; 1594-1617

Register Copies

At BMSGH Shop
St Mary & St Milburgh; Christenings 1538-1875 Marriages 1543-1899 Banns 1761-1844 & Burials 1538-1899

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
Offenham St Mary and St Melburgh Baptisms 1538-1875, Marriages 1543-1899, Banns 1761-1844 and Burials 1538-1899
Worcestershire Parish Registers Marriages Vol.1 - Kempsey 1690-1812, Alderminster 1641-1812, Offenham 1543-1812

At Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Records Office [71]
Christenings 1538-1875 Marriages 1543-1899 Burials 1538-1899

At Society of Genealogists [68] :-
OFFENHAM : Marriages 1543-1640, 1654-67, 1675-1734, 1749-1812: Phillimore's parish register series, vol. 22 - Worcestershire, vol. 1 [CD-ROM] IN: Phillimore's parish register series, vol. 22 - Worcestershire, vol. 1 Published London : Phillimore & Co Ltd, 1901 Author Phillimore, W P W ed. Author Carter, W F ed.

OFFENHAM : Marriages(Index) 1651-75: Boyd's marriage index [Typescript.] IN: Boyd's marriage index Published , 1925-55 Author Boyd, Percival ed. Source D: P Boyd.

OFFENHAM (St. Mary & St. Milburgh) : Christenings 1538-1875, Marriages 1543-1640, 1654-67, 1675-1706, 1712-34, 1740, 1749-1899, banns 1761-65, 1804-13, 1823-44, Burials 1538-1643, 1653-1899 [Microfiche.] Published Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1999 Author Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry (transcription.)

At [FreeREG]
Free Internet searches of baptism, marriage and burial records, transcribed from parish and non-conformist registers of the U.K., are available at: http://www.freereg.org.uk/cgi/Search.pl

FreeREG is a new project. The database currently contains a few million records only, so you should not expect to find all your ancestors in the database.

The coverage for this parish currently stands at: Marriages: 1543-1812

Further records may have been added since this posting.

Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents

AtBMSGH Shop
St.Mary & St.Melburgh

At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
St.Mary & St.Melburgh

At Worcestershire Archives [51]
St.Mary & St.Melburgh

At Society of Genealogists [59]
OFFENHAM (St. Mary & St. Melburgh) : Monumental Inscriptions: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 4 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 4 Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1985 Author Bushell, L C et al. (transcription.) Source D: Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry

War Memorials

For the names of those included on a War Memorial at St Mary and St Milburgh Church see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/offenham-st-mary-and-st-milburgh-church/

For the names of those included on a War Memorial at St Mary and St Milburgh Churchyard see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/offenham-st-mary-and-st-milburgh-churchyard/

For the names of those included on a Book of Rememberance at St Mary and St Milburgh Churchyard see:
http://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/memorial/offenham-st-mary-and-st-milburgh-church-book-of-remembrance/

Census Records

All the censuses between 1841 and 1901 are now available on a number of fee-paying (Subscription or PayAsYouGo) sites including Ancestry.co.uk, FindMyPast.co.uk, thegenealogist.co.uk and genesreunited.co.uk. The 1911 census is available in full or in part on some of these sites. We are unable to advise on the choice of site since researchers' personal preferences will be influenced by the content and search facilities offered by each site. Some sites offer a free trial.

Access to the library edition of Ancestry.co.uk is widely available at most record offices, including Worcestershire Archives, and some libraries. You are advised to book time on their computers before making a visit.

A free-to-view site is being developed at freecen.org.uk for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 censuses. Coverage of Worcestershire parishes is rather sparse at this time.

Census returns can usually be viewed at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' Family History Centres.

Some repositories offer census details on microform, disc or printed copy. These include:
1841-1901 at Worcestershire Archives [14]

Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent

Burial 1538-1899 Worcestershire Burial Index
Marriage see Worcestershire Marriage Index

Schools Records

The following school records are original documents. Note reference number and contact staff at Worcestershire Archives:
Blackminster Secondary School
List of pupils and their expected grades, also references to individual pupils - 1974 - 77 - Ref: BA 10500/4 (i) - (iii)
Photographs of staff and pupils - c1955 - 77 - Ref: BA 10500/18 (iii) - (vi)
Punishment books - 1958 - 86 - Ref: BA 10500/5 (i) (ii)
Pupils record cards - c1955 - 77 - Ref: BA 10500/5 (iii) - 18 (ii)

Offenham (Infants) Council School
Log book - 1906 - 24 - Ref: BA 3453/1 (i)

Offenham C P School
Admission register - 1952 - 73 - Ref: BA 9037/75 (ii)
Log books - 1873 - 1903 - Ref: BA 3649

The records of schools and other educational establishments in this parish are detailed in a handlist available at Worcestershire Archives. The list refers to original documents so you will need to note the reference number and contact staff.

Directories

An extract from the Topographical Dictionary of England 1831 by Samuel Lewis:

OFFENHAM, a parish in the upper division of the hundred of BLACKENHURST, county of WORCESTER miles (N.E. by N.) from Evesham, containing 342 inhabitants. The living is a discharged perpetual curacy, annexed to that of Littleton, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £6. 11. 5½ . The church is dedicated to St. Milburgh. Offenham took its name from the Saxon King, Offa, who had a palace here; it was afterwards possessed by the abbots of Evesham, and became their favourite residence, some remains of the boundary walls being still discernible. The navigable river Avon is here crossed by a ferry. A small school is supported by the income arising from £ 110, left by Mr. Brent.

Last Updated: 29/10/2016