Marston Green As with Marston Chapel, Hall Green, "The Authorities" are not to be too-heavily relied upon..... There's no doubt as to where Marston Green *IS* - although I've been unable to trace a Map showing the boundaries of the Ecclesiastical Parish at any date - although Kain & Oliver's "Historic Parishes of England & Wales - an electronic map" CDs do show the 1841 (Civil) boundaries. Their map - if accurate - shows the area around Marston Green Station as being a 'lobe' of Bickenhill pushing in between Sheldon, Coleshill and Elmdon. [But Caution is required here - that same map shows the 'detached portion' of Bickenhill as being a detached portion of Elmdon....] OTOH, the 1891 map that Wendy gave the URL for repeatedly locked-up when I attempted to enlarge it to attempt to see any detail - as did Old-Maps version - but as near as I could make out the (Civil) Parish Boundaries were in agreement, and that the area around the Station was in Bickenhill. YOUNGS maintains that the Parish was created in 1939 out of pieces of Coleshill and Sheldon [Ecclesiastical] Parishes - and his entry for Bickenhill makes no mention of a Boundary Change in 1939 (or, for that matter, any alteration at any date involving either Coleshill or Sheldon). In this he would seem to be at least partially in error, in that he omits the 1928 transfer below. But that would explain the absence of Bickenhill from the "creating" parishes. The Victoria County History of WAR (published in 1947) also fails to mention the Parish as such, presumably because publication had been delayed by the War, and the draft had not been updated. However, it does state that "In 1928 Marston Green was separated for ecclesiastical purposes from Bickenhill and united to Sheldon, (fn. 83) and the chapel has been replaced by a large structure of red brick, consecrated in 1938. < http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42651 > [in the section on "Advowson"] - giving no detail of the area so transferred, and stating that the information was supplied by the Vicar of Bickenhill. The VCH' entry for Bickenhill includes the Manors of Marston Culey and Wavers Marston - but without a map its description of the location of Marston Culey makes it appear that it didn't form a part of Marston Green. GoogleMaps adds to the difficulties by showing a "new development" [too new for my A-Z] named Wavers Marston, a little to the West of Brooklands Hospital, and which is in the part of Bickenhill roughly where the VCH would seem to place the Manor. This *may* be confirmatory evidence of its location - as being a resurrection of the old Manor where it belonged, except for "Lyndon Croft" a little to the South of it... *IF* that was also named for the old Lyndon Quarter of Bickenhill, then it's in the wrong part of the Parish altogether, for Lyndon Quarter was today's Olton, Solihull. But, yes - an Amendment to my earlier posting... The Ecclesiastical Parish of Marston Green *did* contain a part of Bickenhill, although it would seem to've been (in area) a relatively small proportion - and at the time of Marston Green's creation was a part of Sheldon Ecclesiastical Parish. Then there's the matter of the Parish Registers for "early" residents of the area which became Marston Green.... They comprise the "simple" ones of Bickenhill, Coleshill and Sheldon. And, in addition, those of the "Chapel of Ease of Bickenhill at Marston Green" - which was apparently licenced for baptisms only. [Many of the entries - which run from 1911 - relate to 'children' at the Birmingham Parish Workhouse Homes (which were described as 'in' Marston Green, but were actually in the Civil Parish of Coleshill, on the site now occupied by Brooklands Hospital).] These are held at Warwick Records Office, and are included with (and filed under) the Registers of the 1939 Parish of St Leonards, Marston Green. Jacqui has - thankfully - dealt with the Wills question, which at least shortens this a little! Gus PS... Wendy - "I'm sorry I'm late with this, Miss, but the cat ate my homework and I had to do it all over again........."