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Name | West Molesey |
Type | Civil parish |
Coordinates | 51.395°N 0.353°W |
Located in | Surrey, England |
See also | Elmbridge Hundred, Surrey, England | ancient county division in which it was located | | Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England | ancient parish of which it was part | | Kingston Rural, Surrey, England | rural district of which it was part 1894-1895 | | East and West Molesley, Surrey, England | urban district of which it was part 1895-1933 | | Esher, Surrey, England | urban district in which it was located 1934-1974 | | Elmbridge District, Surrey, England | district municipality covering the area since 1974 |
- source: Family History Library Catalog
West Molesey is the western part of Molesey, a town in Surrey, England on the southern bank of the River Thames. Since 1965 Molesey has been divided between East Molesey in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and West Molesey located in the municipal district of Elmbridge which remained in Surrey.
For more information see Wikipedia in which the description of East and West Molesey is combined.
Although East Molesey and West Molesey were merged for the earlier part of the 20th century, they were previously consided separate civil parishes and individual chapelries in the ecclesiastical parishes of Kingston upon Thames and Walton on Thames respectively. (Source: A Vision of Britain through Time)
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of West Molesey from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "MOLESEY, or MOULSEY (WEST), a village and a parish in Kingston [registration] district, Surrey. The village stands near the river Thames, 1¼ mile W by N of Hampton Court [railway] station, and 3¾ W by S of Kingston; is a small but pleasant place; and has a post office under Kingston, London, SW. The parish comprises 650 acres. Real property: £2,824. Population: 459. Houses: 98. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Lord Hotham and Lady Berkeley. Molesey Grove was, for many years, the residence of the Right Hon. J. Wilson Croker. There are several other good residences, and some market gardens. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Winchester. Value: £100. Patron: Mrs. Croker. The church was rebuilt in 1843, and enlarged in 1860; retains the tower of a previous edifice; comprises N aisle, and chancel; and contains a later English font. Charities about £30."
Surrey Research Tips
Government
Administrative boundaries of the county of Surrey (Surrey History Centre. The centre has a website with a number of useful indexes--titheholders in various parishes, deaths at the county gaol, etc.)
- In 1889 the County of London was created, and the areas of the modern London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth were removed from Surrey. The records of these areas are held either by the London Metropolitan Archives or by the local boroughs, but the Surrey History Centre holds pre-1889 Quarter Sessions records for this area.
- Also in 1889, Croydon was made into a county borough exempt from county administration. Croydon became a London borough in 1965, and most Croydon records are held by the Croydon Local Studies Library and Archives.
- In 1965 more of Surrey was lost to London, with the creation of the London boroughs of Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and an expanded Croydon. For these areas, records are held by the local boroughs (either in their archives or local studies libraries) or the Surrey History Centre. The London Metropolitan Archives may also have some material.
- In 1965 Staines and Sunbury were transferred from Middlesex to Surrey. In 1974 these areas became the new District of Spelthorne. Most records relating to the former Middlesex area are held by the London Metropolitan Archives.
- In February 2020 FindMyPast announced it had added a substantial number of baptisms, marriages and burials to its database for Surrey. FindMyPast is a pay website.
Registration Districts
- Registration Districts in Surrey from their introduction in 1837 to the present. By drilling down through the links you can follow any parish through the registration districts to which it was attached.
GENUKI provisions
The website GENUKI provides a very comprehensive list of reference sources for the County of Surrey. It includes:
- Archives and Libraries
- Church record availability for both Surrey and the former Surrey part of Greater London
- 19th century descriptions of the ecclesiastical parishes
- Lists of cemeteries
- Local family history societies
- A list of historic maps online
History
- The Victoria History of the County of Surrey is a series of three volumes available online through British History Online. The volumes were written over the past hundred or so years by a number of authors and cover various sections of Surrey. A list of the volumes and what each contains can be found under the source Victoria History of the County of Surrey. Both volumes 3 and 4 contain areas which are part of Greater London and parts of modern Surrey.
Maps
- The National Library of Scotland has a website which provides maps taken from the Ordnance Survey England & Wales One-Inch to the Mile series of 1892-1908 as well as equivalent maps for Scotland itself. The immediate presentation is a "help" screen and a place selection screen prompting the entry of a location down to town, village or parish level. These screens can be removed by a click of the "X". The map is very clear and shows parish and county boundaries and many large buildings and estates that existed at the turn of the 20th century. Magnification can be adjusted and an "overlay feature" allows inspection of the area today along with that of 1900. The specific map from the series can be viewed as a whole ("View this map") and this allows the inspection of the map legend (found in the left hand bottom corner. Becoming familiar with the various facilities of these maps is well worth the trouble.
Categories: Surrey, England | Elmbridge Hundred, Surrey, England | Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England | Kingston Rural, Surrey, England | East and West Molesley, Surrey, England | Esher, Surrey, England | Elmbridge (district), Surrey, England
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