"Spitalfield Christ Church with St Mary and St Stephen"?

[Ruskie]

I have a baptism in 1834 at "Spitalfield Christ Church with St Mary and St Stephen".

I am familiar with Christ Church Spitalfield and am presuming that this is the church where the christening took place. Is this correct?

I have found the following on Genuki:

SPITALFIELDS, Christ Church, Commercial Street [out of Stepney 1729] still open
see CHRIST CHURCH, SPITALFIELDS, COMMERCIAL STREET, TOWER HAMLETS for registers at LMA
 
Spitalfields, St. Mary, Church Passage, Spital Square [1854] now gone. 1911 parish united to previous.
see SAINT MARY, SPITAL SQUARE, SPITAL SQUARE, NORTON FOLGATE, STEPNEY, TOWER HAMLETS for registers at LMA

Spitalfields, St. Stephen, Commercial Street [1858] now gone. 1911 parish united to previous
see SAINT STEPHEN, SPITALFIELDS, COMMERCIAL STREET, TOWER HAMLETS for registers at LMA


I have located both churches on an old map and note that they are were in close proximity to Christ Church.

Looking at the information from Genuki above, am I correct in thinking that St Mary was built in 1854 and St Stephen built in 1858? (that is, after my baptism in 1834)

Can someone explain why the church would be called "Spitalfield Christ Church with St Mary and St Stephen" rather than just Christ Church? Is it because it used to encorporate the parishes of St Mary and St Stephen prior to the construction of those two churches?

I would be grateful is someone can clarify for me please.

Thank you.

[dawnsh]

Hi Ruskie

Are you looking at the records on Ancestry?

If so they sometimes have little or no respect for the historic names of the churches once the registers were sent elsewhere for safekeeping or churches were demolished/replaced.

ie on some datasets they lump St Pancras old & new churches together, likewise with the parish church of Paddington, over the years it has changed from St Mary's to St James but their cataloging infers it was/is just one church.

The asumptions you have made seem to be correct.

Dawn

[Bookbox]

You are correct that the baptism will have been at Christ Church Spitalfields. The other churches were later foundations.

The historical background of the parish is described by the LMA archivists here ...

 http://www.rootschat.com/links/0xi9/

As the parishes weren't united until 1911, Ancestry's labelling is a little misleading for the registers from earlier years.

[Ruskie]

Thank you for the replies Dawn and Bookbox (interesting link).

Yes Dawn I am looking at Ancestry. The page simply says:" Baptisms solemnized in the Parish of Christ Church in the county of Middlesex". And, something I didn't notice before about the headings on Ancestry, which may explain my confusion (I should have taken more notice) .... The heading under which "Spitalfields Christ Church with St Mary and St Stephen" is written is Parish or Poor Law Union NOT "Church". 

I'm glad the baptism took place at Christ Church anyway as it is a lovely church.