home | accessability | contact
print this page

Parish records

In 1531, Henry VII became the head of the newly formed "Church of England" and in 1538 Thomas Cromwell ordered that all parish ministers were to keep records of all baptisms, marriages and burials. This was the start of the "Parish Register".

Parish records are excellent sources for information on Baptisms, Marriages and Burials and following the introduction in 1597 of parchment copies, and in 1598 the start of the practice of copies being sent to the bishop of the diocese, "The Bishops Transcripts" are often the only copies to survive.

The parish registers were the main source of data for these events before the introduction of Civil Registration in 1837. Early registers were often a combined effort and would hold details of all three events.

Pre 1733 registers are mostly in latin, but following the introduction of the George Rose Act of 1812, from the 1st January 1813 printed forms were supposed to be used, and the three events were all to be kept in separate registers.

Baptisms
As a general rule most children were baptised within the first 3/4 weeks following birth. Many registers also show that older children and adults were also baptised. Following the introduction of the printed form from 1st January 1813 the entries should include the baptism date, the chosen name(s), the forenames and surname of the parents of the child, the place of residence, the father's occupation and the minister's signature. It was also quite common that the date of birth of the child was entered, but this was not a requirement.

Marriages
Marriage records were often very sparse in detail in early parish registers. Things generally improved in 1754 after Lord Harwicke's Act, which outlawed Common Law and marriages outside the Church of England (Quakers & Jews excepted), required amongst other things, that separate registers be kept for marriages. Marriages were by Banns or by License.

Banns
This method required couples to have their intent to marry announced for three consecutive Sundays within the church, either orally or by means of a notice. The introduction of Lord Hardwicke's Act of 1754 also saw the introduction of a separate Banns register. These registers would contain almost a carbon copy of the details within the marriage register.

License
Couples who wanted to marry under special circumstances could apply to the church authority, usually the bishop, for a license to marry. The circumstances were usually:

The Licensing process consisted of three procedures:

Very few marriage licenses still survive today.

Burials
In most cases burials took place within a few days of the death. Pre 1813 registers are often very sparse in relation to data; name and burial being the entire entry. After 1813 with the introduction of the pre-printed form it was possible to get an age, place of residence, cause of death and even an occupation included. If the burial was for a child often the child's father's name would be included.

Other Records
In addition to the records already covered it is possible to find copies of the following:

Most of these types of records are held by County record offices.