Rainford
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RAINFORD, a village, a township-chapelry, and a sub-district, in Prescot parish and district, Lancashire. The village stands on the Ormskirk and St. Helens railway, 1 mile S S E of that railway 's intersection by the Liverpool and Wigan railway, and 4¼ miles N W by N of St. Helens; and has a station on the railway, and a post-office under St. Helens. The chapelry comprises 5,803 acres. Real property, £12,623; of which £3,280 are in mines. Pop. in 1851, 2,333; in 1861, 2,784. Houses, 478. The increase of pop. arose from the opening of new collieries. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the Earl of Derby. R. Hall, Mount Pleasant, and the Rookery are chief residences. Much of the land is reclaimed morass. Tobacco-pipemaking is largely carried on. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Chester. Value, £135.* Patron, the Vicar of Prescot. The church is a plain building, with a belfry. There are an Independent chapel, an endowed school for boys, and a national school for girls. The sub-district is conterminate with the chapelry.

John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

Archives and libraries

Local studies information is held at St.Helens library.

Cemeteries

Census

Details about the census records, and indexes for Rainford.

Church History

Church Records

You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the Rainford area that are recorded in the GENUKI church database. This will also help identify churches in nearby townships and/or parishes. You also have the option to see the location of the churches marked on a map.

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The registers of the parish church, All Saints, have been published by the Lancashire Parish Register Society as follows.

Civil Registration

The Register Office covering the Rainford area is St Helens.

Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Rainford which are provided by:

Gazetteers

Ask for the gazetteer for a calculation of the distance from Rainford to another place.

Historical Geography

In 1835 Rainford was a township in the parish of Prescot.

Maps

View maps of Rainford and places within its boundaries.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SD480010 (Lat/Lon: 53.503102, -2.785461), Rainford which are provided by:

Probate Records

For probate purposes prior to 1858, Rainford was in the Archdeaconry of Chester, in the Diocese of Chester. The original Lancashire wills for the Archdeaconry of Chester are held at the Lancashire Record Office.

Societies

You can also see Family History Societies covering the nearby area, plotted on a map. This facility is being developed, and is awaiting societies to enter information about the places they cover.