UK Parish Baptism, Marriage and Burial Records
A collection of parish records in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland from the 1500s to the 1900s.
Parish records--primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials--are the best source of vital record information before the nineteenth century. Before Civil Registration began in 1837 key events in a person’s life were typically records by the Church rather than the State. Starting in the sixteenth century, parish records are some of the longest running records available. The databases in this collection are composed of both transcriptions with links to original records as well as compilations and indexes created of the records. The millions of records found here come from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and can range in date from the early 1500s to the mid- to late-1900s. Also included are some records from non-conformist churches. Some of the data was converted as it was originally presented in various published registers and books. For this reason, you will find interesting phonetic spellings and large descriptive tables of contents.
What should I know about this collection to access the data?
Some of the records may be in Latin or even a Welsh or Scottish dialect depending on location. The spelling is archaic, and is transcribed as it was written. There are many spelling inconsistencies and non-standard grammar. Phonetic spelling is often used. Try using variant spellings if a search yields no results.
The individual files in this database may not include all dates and records for each parish/church. Use caution in assuming that any database is a complete set of records--even for the parishes and time period listed. Due to the legibility of the original sources, there may be gaps in the records, including partial sentences, cut-off words, and other omissions.
There are two major types of indexes represented here. Those collections that include a keyword like “Extracted” in the title are usually taken from compilations or indexes created by an individual or society and copied here. Because the records were originally compiled by a third party, it is difficult to absolutely verify the completeness and validity of the data. The information in this collection is as correct as it was when Ancestry received it, and has merely been reproduced in an electronic format.
Other collections have been keyed from original records and can contain many of the same spelling inconsistencies as described above. However, these collections also include a link to an image of either the original document or the microfilmed version of that document. Always check the original to verify accuracy of the transcription and to see if there is any additional information.
What historical background should I know to use this data?
A large number of parish records date from the sixteenth century, when a series of mandates required clergy to compile records of christenings, marriages, and burials within the parish. Since their beginning several laws were enacted over the course of time that changed the ways that records were kept. Each country has faced certain challenges in keeping and maintaining copies of their records.
Some key dates include:
- 1538 – A mandate is issued requiring that every parish was to keep a register. Many parishes ignored this order. Only about 800 registers exist from this time period.
- 1643-1659 – Registers were poorly kept during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth period which followed, or abandoned altogether.
- 1711 – An order was made to the effect that all register pages were to be ruled and numbered. This is widely ignored.
- 1733 – The use of Latin in registers is prohibited.
- 1751 – Calendar reform. Prior to this the year commenced on 25th March, so any register entry for December 1750 would have been followed by January 1750.
- 1754 – Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act. A separate marriage register is enforced which records witnesses, signatures of all parties, occupation of groom and the residences of the couple marrying. It also enforced Banns and made clandestine marriages illegal.
- 1763 – Minimum age for marriage set at 16 (previously the Church accepted marriage of girls of 12 and boys of 14). Those under 21 still needed the consent of parents. On marriage records individuals that are over 21 often have their age listed as “full age” rather than an exact year.
- 1812 – George Rose’s Act. New pre-printed registers were to be used for separate baptism, marriage and burial registers as a way of standardizing records.
How do I find copies of the originals?
Original records are often located in the local County Record Office for the area in question. Check The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, under the county of interest, and this will direct you to the County Record Office where the registers are housed. Also contact local genealogical societies or local parishes for information on viewing original records.
Filmed records can often be found on the LDS Church's FamilySearch site (www.familysearch.org) in the Family History Library Catalog. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA has the largest collection on film.
Civil registration of births, deaths, and marriages, often called General Registration, began in: 1837 for England and Wales; 1855 for Scotland; and 1864 for Ireland, with some non-catholic marriages starting in 1845. It provides national vital records indexes that simplify searches and includes people who may not have been associated with a church. The civil records are more readily available than parish records (parish records after civil registration often aren't filmed) and are easier to use. But many births went unrecorded in the early years of civil registration, so parish records are still extremely valuable.
Learn more about Civil Registration and what records are available on Ancestry.
Source:
Ancestry.com. UK Parish Baptism, Marriage and Burial Records. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2009. Original data: Electronic databases created from various publications of parish and probate records.