Cultural Center "Gilbert de Venables"
Venables Genealogy
by George Ormerod barley
Biography:
George Ormerod was born in Manchester on 20 October 1785. He was educated first privately, then briefly at the King's School, Chester, before continuing his education privately under the Reverend Thomas Bancroft, vicar of Bolton. He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1803, graduating with a BA in 1806 and receiving the honorary degree of MA in 1807.
In 1806, when he came of age, he inherited large estates in Tyldesley and south Lancashire. In 1808 he married Sarah Latham the daughter of John Latham (1761–1843), a doctor living at Bradwall Hall, Sandbach.. After their marriage they initially lived in Rawtenstall but moved to Great Missenden the following year. In 1810 he was the tenant of Damhouse in Astley.
By this time he had become involved in research into the history of Cheshire and to facilitate this he purchased the house and estate of Chorlton four miles from Chester. He lived in this house from 1811 to 1823. When this historic work was completed he moved to Gloucestershire purchasing the Barnesville estate in Sedbury which he renamed Sedbury Park. He lived there from 1828 until his death. There he was appointed a justice of the peace and he served as a second lieutenant for Gloucestershire in 1861. He died at Sedbury Park on 9 October 1873 and was buried nearby at Tidenham .
His work:
The full title of the work is "The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester...". incorporated with a republication of the antiquities of King's Vale Royal and Leycester in Cheshire (see Bibliography). An extremely rare initial printing in two volumes with duplicate plates was followed by a general subscription in ten parts, which formed three volumes, between 1816 and 1819.
Much of his research was from documents held at Chester Castle and from books and documents lent to him. by Hugh Cholmondeley, Dean of Chester. He also borrowed materials from some of the county's leading families. Much of the transcription of these records was carried out by Rev J. Eaton, his research assistant, and by Faithful Thomas, the Deputy Keeper of Records at Chester Castle. Ormerod toured the county and claimed to have visited every township at least once.
Like other county histories of the period, the work consists mainly of family history, lordly history and antiquarian topography. He deliberately excluded any reference to commerce, industry and urbanization. Between a quarter and a third of the work was written by Ormerod himself while the remainder consists of transcriptions of documents and reprints of earlier works. A second, revised and enlarged edition of the work was produced by Thomas Helsby and published between 1875 and 1882. He was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1819.