Research into the history of the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Deane can be a real challenge! The ancient church can trace its roots back to around 1111AD but much of the information has been lost. What can be shown is that Deane and Bolton are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.
As with everything, times change. When this webpage was first written, all the links made connections to external websites. Unfortunately, we are unable to influence progress of those sites and therefore an odd link may not work. Every effort is made to keep up to date with the changes but inevitably we are always one step behind.
Deane Church has been on the site for hundreds of years. From time to time, someone writes of the history of the church. See what guides are available to view online.
Other important leaflets and pamphlets have been produced over the years. For a taste of what we have scanned up to now, visit the Library.
See also the Old Books page. As mentioned elsewhere, many of our old documents have been put into archive and our treasures are securely stored in bank vaults.
The Church has many old photographs. Some have been scanned and can be found in our Gallery.
Our magazine archive contains decades of local information. The more recent ones from 1988 to 2013 have been scanned. Browse through over twenty years from here.
Throughout the half millennium that there has been a church at Deane, records have been kept. Some we have retained and others are put in archive. Some were archived to the County Record Office in 1949. Rev Roger Jackson, a previous Rector, realised what a wealth of information we had in our possession but due to environmental concerns decided a more secure and suitable storage was needed.
In 1982 many of our records were transferred to the National Archive at Manchester.
Before 1540, Bolton and the whole of the surrounding district was in the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield, from 1540 to 1850 in the Diocese of Chester and after 1850 in the Diocese of Manchester.
Further research has unearthed a lot more information. A search for 'Deane Parish' on the National Archives site has thrown up 13,740 references. Many of these, of course, are not relevant to our own Deane Parish.
Preston
Our records are spread over several collections. Some is in the Hulton collection in the Lancashire County Council archives at Lancashire Record Office, Bow Lane, Preston PR1 2RE.
Lancashire Record Office also have information on parish registers - look under 'D' for Deane Church. Additionally, information has been deposited there under personal 'collections': Hulton of Hulton and Kenyon of Peel
Manchester
Manchester Records Office have a search engine for finding documents etc. it holds. Most can be found in section L85 with a few more bits in L122 which appear to have been relocated.
An alternative link is http://www.gmlives.org.uk/results.html#imu[rid=ecatalogue.226071] which will allow you access to the search facility.
Chester
The Cheshire Records Office in Chester holds some of the early references to Deane. A lot of work is needed to track down these records but a possible starting point is http://catalogue.cheshirearchives.org.uk/calmview/
Bolton Museum
Bolton Museum has quite a collection of transcripts and microfiched items. See also this search facility. Bolton Archive and Local Studies Service does not hold any original Church of England records. See below.
Parish Church of St Mary
Hidden a little deeper, to be found in the local history section at Bolton Museum, are other items of local interest. Not included in this list are documents already featured on this website.
| 254B/DEA | Deane Parish Tythe Books 1776-1789 | |
| 133.3/WAL | Secret hiding places: plans produced by divination (F. Walsh) | |
| 283/DEA | St Mary's Church, Deane: Chorley College of Education thesis 1970 (M. Haworth) | |
| 283/DEA | St Mary's Church, Deane: ground floor plan. | |
| 283/DEA | George Marsh Memorial Cross Photograph: with notice of a Conversazione to be held in Deane Schools 2-3 Jan 1903, in aid of the Wardens Fund. | |
| 283/DOB | Like a Mighty Tortoise: a history of the Diocese of Manchester: with photographs by Derek Ralphs. (Arthur J. Dobb) | |
| 283/FAR | The Parishes of Bolton le Moors: lists of clergy of churches in Bolton, Deane, Farnworth and Walmersley Deaneries. (Ian Farrell) | |
| 283/MAN | Parish records at Manchester, Vol. 1: lists of archives for Anglican churches in Bolton and district held by Manchester City Archives 1995. | |
| 283/PAR | An historical account of the endowment of the church in the parish of Deane: a paper read before the young men's class at St Gorge the Martyr Church 4 Dec. 1885. (John Heaton Partington) | |
| 283/PAR (or /PAT) | The Restoration of Deane Church 1883 (H. Sheridan Patterson) | |
| 283/SAN | Deane Church, Bolton, Lancashire (Jim Sant) | |
| 901/HAY | Bolton from Parish to Borough by C. A. Wyatt: Life as a Boltonian in the nineteenth century by J. Corley: Bolton Parish Church, St Mary the Virgin Deane, St Thomas's Halliwell and St Michael's Great Lever. | |
| 920/MAR | George Marsh Youth Centenary Sermon at Deane Church 1955 (H.G.G. Herklots) | |
| 920/PEA | Notice of a Funeral Sermon to be preached n Sunday 29th September 1878 by the Vicar of Deane on John Peake, who fell from scaffolding in Deane Church | Please note this is not the sermon itself. |
| 920/RAW | John Rawlet: poet & preacher (Margaret Manuell) | |
| 920/ROT | The Rothwell Clerics, 1980 (Phyllis Z. Rothwell) | |
| 920/TIL | A memoir of the Reverend John Tilsley, M.A. Vicar of Deane, near Bolton A.D. 1642-1662 | |
| 929.5/BOL | Monumental Inscriptions: St Mary's Parish Church Deane (Old Part). (Bolton & District Family History Society) | |
| 929.5/DEA | St Mary's Deane Parish Church monumental inscriptions. April 1983) (B&DFHS) | |
| 929.5/DEA | Deane Parish Church: List of graveyard inscriptions 1960 (Bolton County Borough) | |
| 929.5/FAR | Surname index for Deane Church, St Peter's Halliwell and Walmsley Church: Monumental Inscriptions Database Index. 1993) (Brian Farris) | |
| 929.8/HUL | The Heraldic memorials of the Hulton Family in Deane Church. Co. Lancaster, 1913: offprint from Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol 68. p106-112 (J. Paul Rylands) | |
| 942.72/LAN | The Church in Cottonopolis: Essays to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Diocese of Manchester edited by Chris Ford, Michael Powell and Terry Wyke, 1997 | |
| 283/LON Reserve Stock | London Gazette 12 Nov 1841, 10 April 1846, 2 Aug 1858, 31 Mar 1860, 6 Aug 1861, 13 Apr 1866, 11 Mar 1866, 23 Apr 1872, 29 Oct 1875: Assignments for New Churches in Bolton and Deane Parishes. | |
| 283/DEA Reserve Stock | The Magazines of Deane Parish Church and St Andrew, Over Hulton 1960-1974 incomplete, 1976 | |
| 901/PAR Reserve Stock | Manuscripts in Several Volumes relating to Deane, Bolton and district (J. Heaton Partington) | |
| 050.486/HEA and 800.348/BUR Reserve Stock | God's providence a nations safeguard: a sermon preached in the Parish Church of Deane on Tuesday November 5th, 1839 (William Burdett) | |
| 800.464/GIR Reserve Stock | The Dew of Thy Youth: a Sermon preached at Deane church on behalf of the Day and Sunday Schools, 29 June, 1873 (Edward Girdlestone) | |
| 800.326/BAK Reserve Stock | A farewell sermon in the Parish Church of Deane, on Sunday, September 6th, 1829 (J.S. Baker) | |
| ABJ/19/10 Reserve Stock | Deane Parish Church Memorial Hall, Junction Road: plans, sections and elevations, 1934. | |
| JBO/9/391 Reserve Stock | Deane Parish Church Memorial Hall, Junction Road, Deane: licensing plans, 1934 | |
| ZZ/707 Reserve Stock | Papers about the History of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Deane: Archives 1952-1954 | |
| ABCF/15/19-23 Reserve Stock | Parks Committee: correspondence and reports relating to the Opening of Hall i'th'Wood by W.H. Lever, Heywood Recreation Ground, Tonge Park, Deane Boating Lake, Public Open Spaces, Heaton Cemetery, Melrose Mill Company, Gilnow, Museum Facilities, Bolton Parish Church Yard, 1902-1919 | |
| SLB/20 Reserve Stock | Deane Church of England School: archives, 1903-1959 | |
| ABZ/83/27 Reserve Stock | Plans of Waste Lands in the Township of Rumworth intended to be enclosed: Deane Moor and Chew Moor, 1814. | |
| 942.72/DEA (Westhoughton) | Within sight of Deane Church: looking across at Smithills Moor from Junction Road, and below, a bit of the Deane known as New York. | Westhoughton Library |
There are also copies of documents already featured on this website.
Additionally, there is a collection of postcards which can be accessed from here.
Lambeth Palace
Some other documents are held at Lambeth Palace Library in London. See what we have uncovered up to now.
Lichfield Records
References can be found in records that refer to Lichfield. After following a few leads starting at Lichfield Cathedral, we end up at Staffordshire Record Office. NO research has been started.
The Bridgeman Family Collection appears to hold some records.
See also https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/services/ResearchServices.aspx for another source.
Lancashire Online Parish Clerks
Try also Lancashire Online Parish Clerks which includes pages on Baptisms, Marriages and Burials.
The web is a mine of information. A series of books contain certain facts, one of which is A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. There is also a manuscript book called "The Church and Parish of Deane" which may be found under the reference A.6.112 at Chetham's Library. A further gem can be found in the Coucher Book on pages 60-62. A copy of the book has been obtained and the section has been translated.
Rootsweb is another source of information as is Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society which sells CDs and microfiche records. Try also Parish Chest
The London Family History Centre can also supply fiche.
Burial records from March 1887 have been retained by the church. A fee is payable for a search which is set annually by the Church of England. Please contact the Deane Church Office.
There is an on-going project to photograph the graves in the churchyard - an enormous task! Many thanks to Andrea for supplying the link to www.findagrave.com. Keep returning to the site as it is a work-in-progress.
As the administrator of this website has no control over external ones, from time to time the links may change. It is the intention, therefore, to keep you informed of any changes. A new section is being developed to store the basic information on this site with hints on the location of the old documents. This is not intended to be an infringement of copyright, more a way to publicise the locations.
An example can be found here.
Please do some of your own research, helped by these pages. As new information comes to light it will be added to this website. If you are able to provide photographs or documents, or need assistance with something not covered here then please contact archives@deanechurch.co.uk