In 1835 West Leigh was a township in the parish of Leigh.

Lancashire was reduced in area as a result of the Local Government Act 1972. From 1 April 1974 the Furness area (the area of Lancashire north of Morecambe Bay) became part of Cumbria, the south east became part of Greater Manchester county, and the south west became part of Merseyside county. Warrington town and surrounding districts including the villages of Winwick and Croft and Risley and Culcheth were moved into Cheshire. A part of what was the West Riding of Yorkshire near Clitheroe, was transferred into Lancashire. Bear this in mind when deciding which current record office holds the information you require.

Hundreds: Lancashire used the term Hundred to define an ancient area of administration which probably derives from the area having to supply 100 armed knights to serve the monarch or similar. For Taxation purposes, the Hundred was used for division until into the 19c.

County Hundreds are:

• Amounderness: roughly North of Preston to South of Lancaster
• Blackburn: east of Preston to Yorkshire West Riding
• Leyland: south of Preston to Standish
• Lonsdale North: Barrow-in-Furness, Cartmel
• Lonsdale South: Lancaster, North Lancashire
• Salford: roughly Greater Manchester
• West Derby: all of west Lancashire to the Mersey

• Jimella's (Internet Archived page) British Counties, Parishes, etc. for Genealogists will be of particular value to overseas researchers who are unfamiliar with our geographic divisions and naming conventions.
• The ENG-DESERTED-VILLAGES Mailing List. It has been estimated that there are over 50,000 villages and hamlets that no longer exist for a variety of reasons, ie the 14th C plagues to the English Clearances in the eastern Counties, from mass migrations for economical reasons to villages just falling into the sea! The purpose of the Mailing List is to try to find out exactly where these now-deserted places were located, which parish they were in and where any extant records are kept.
• A Topographical Dictionary of England of 1831 (Google books)

• The Great Britain Historical Geography Information Service (GBHGIS) provides a mass of information about Britain's localities as they have changed over time. Information comes from census reports, historical gazetteers, travellers' tales and historic maps.
• A Vision of Britain Through Time, in the GBHGIS, provides maps and statistical information derived from census reports covering the period 1801-2001, searchable by place name or post code.
• The Association of British Counties (A.B.C.) "is a society dedicated to promoting awareness of the continuing existence of the 86 traditional Counties of Britain".
• British Counties, Parishes, etc. for Genealogists (archived copy).