Parish Records and Nonconformist Records

Imagine the thrill of discovering the village in Cornwall where your third great-grandmother was born by seeing her name in a parish record. Might your discovery of witnesses' names on a late-1700s parish register of marriages in Lancashire lead you to a previously unknown family or community connection? The details in old parish registers can confirm information in your family tree, extend your lines back further in time, or they might even solve a long-standing family mystery.

What Are Parish Registers?

Historical parish registers can be essential resources for family history researchers in Britain because they chronicle important family milestones: baptisms, marriages, and deaths. They often predate official government records.

The earliest parish registers essentially acted as diaries of a whole village. Historically, priests didn't have separate books for baptisms, marriages, and burials. Instead, they wrote everything down in the order in which events unfolded. This can complicate identifying the records relevant to your family if an index is unavailable.

Generally, the oldest records of births, marriages, and deaths usually contain minimal information, while newer ones can be richer in details. Still, any details included on register entries could point to new avenues for research that might help you understand more about your ancestors.

The Two Types of Parishes

It’s important to know that there are two types of parishes, each with its own boundaries, but which sometimes overlap:

• Religious parishes are the geographic areas a specific church serves, particularly within the Church of England. They’ve existed in some form for centuries—some parish registers date back to 1538. While civil parishes took over some record-keeping duties in the 19th century, religious parishes continued to maintain their own records.

• Civil parishes, created by the Local Government Act 1894, met the need for a locally elected system of governance. Civil parish officials handled road maintenance and sanitation, for example, as well as records regarding care for people experiencing poverty—commonly called ‘Poor Law Registers’. They also began to register births, marriages, and deaths—events that used to be handled solely by church officials.

Depending on when your family events occurred, information about your ancestors could exist within one or both types of parish registers.

How Historical Church of England Milestones Impact Record Availability

Church records likely existed in parishes across Britain before King Henry VIII broke with Rome and established the Church of England in 1534. However, few of those old church records still exist.  

In the centuries following the original schism, the Church of England navigated further shifts in religious views and political unrest across different nations within Great Britain. While the Church of England's influence continued to extend throughout the British Isles, each nation shaped its own religious journey. 

Here are a few key dates that impact parish records. These milestones could affect how you look for records and what you might find when researching your family.

• 1538: Every Church of England parish was required to record baptisms, marriages, and burials. Local clergy were primarily responsible for documenting these events. This year marks the start of many record collections available on Ancestry^®. 

• 1560: The Scottish Reformation resulted in the break from Roman Catholicism and the establishment of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian, whereas the Church of England is Anglican. The Church of Scotland has its own rich history and a separate record-keeping system.

• 1598: Bishop's transcripts in the Church of England became compulsory. Local clergy were required to send copies of parish records annually to the bishop of their diocese. These documents served as valuable backup records. In some cases, bishop’s transcripts are the sole surviving records for a parish because original parish registers were lost or damaged.

• 1662: The Church of England made a new attempt to standardise worship with the Act of Uniformity. Those who disagreed, such as Quakers, Baptists, and Methodists, formed their own churches with separate record-keeping practices.

• 1813: The Parochial Registers Act, also known as Rose’s Act, standardised the recording of baptisms, marriages, and burials in parish registers.

• 1814: The adoption of steam printing presses—and the use of forms—improved church records’ consistency and readability.

• 1837: The UK government began civil registrations for births, marriages, and deaths. From this date, church and civil registers used the same format for recording information. Learning about your family’s journey through time usually gets much easier from this point onwards.

• 1871: The Church of Ireland became independent from the Church of England, yet it remained Anglican. 

• 1920: The Church in Wales broke away from the Church of England—it ‘disestablished’ itself from state governance. Yet, it continued to be part of the Anglican community. The Church in Wales maintains its own records and governance.

Information Recorded in Parish Registers for Baptisms

Parish records for christening or baptisms mark the occasion of a child's entry into a religious community. Registration of these events typically occurred within a few weeks after birth. 

• Baptism records before 1813 usually contain the baptism date, child’s name and father’s name, but not the mother’s. 

• Baptism records after 1813—entered on the newly standardised forms—include the baptism date, child's name, both parents' names, as well as: 

  • The father's trade or profession

  • The location of the family home

  • Who performed the baptism ceremony

When reviewing a register, keep in mind that the child’s baptism may or may not have occurred in the same parish as the birth, and the actual birth parish may not be described in the record. Often, a child was baptised in their home parish, but sometimes the firstborn child was baptised in the mother's parish. If this detail is included, it offers a valuable clue about family movement or residence.

While the presence of godparents or sponsors in the baptism record can be a bonus to researchers, this role is more common in Catholic and Nonconformist baptisms than in Church of England ones. Chosen for their religious standing and commitment to the child's upbringing, godparents could be relatives, close friends, or prominent figures in the community.

The Details in Parish Registers for Marriages

Marriage registrations in parish records signalled the formation of new family units. As with baptism records, the information recorded in marriage registers varies depending on the period. 

• Marriage records before 1754 may only record the marriage date and the bride and groom’s names. However, you might see a description of their marital status and the parishes in which each person lived before the marriage.

• Marriages between 1754 and 1837 were recorded in standardised pre-printed registers. In addition to listing the marriage date and the bride and groom’s names, the form also describes the parishes of the bride and groom and their marital status. Records from this time also note whether the couple had a licence to marry or if marriage banns—public announcements about the intention to marry—had been read. Marriage registers named the officiating minister and those who stood as official witnesses for the event—individuals who were often close relatives or friends. Lastly, the bride and groom signed the register or made a mark, if they could not write. 

During this period, all couples had to marry in an Anglican church for their marriage to be legally valid, including nonconformists. The only exemptions were for Quakers and Jews.

• Marriages recorded after 1837, once civil registration began, include the same information as in earlier years, except that later registers also note the ages of bride and groom and the names and occupation of both parties’ fathers. Someone described as 'of full age' usually indicates they were 21 years or over.

What’s Recorded in Parish Registers for Deaths and Burials

Burial records acknowledge an individual's death. As with other events listed in parish registers, the amount of information recorded varies depending on when the event occurred.  

• Pre-1813 entries usually only include the date of burial and the name of the person who had died. Sometimes the register describes a family relationship, like ‘wife of’ or ‘daughter of’. Other details that may appear are the person’s age at death, the cause of death (although that’s rare), and their occupation. You might also see a notation as to whether the deceased was a pauper or from the workhouse.

• Entries beginning in 1813 are on standardised forms, yet additional information may be included. For example, you might learn where your ancestor lived when they died. This information is particularly helpful if your ancestor passed away outside their home parish.

Who Maintained Parish Registers?

Church officials who created and maintained handwritten accounts of religious-based events often knew the individuals and families involved. For example, the priest who recorded an individual’s birth or baptism may have also registered that same person’s marriage or death and events related to siblings.

That insider’s knowledge about a person or family sometimes prompted the jotting down of additional information on a parish register. For instance, you may find notes about jobs, events, relationships, and even bitter disputes when you look at digitised images of the records. Maybe you'll see a note beside your fourth great-grandfather's burial record from the 1800s indicating he worked as a blacksmith in a Yorkshire industrial town.

Government workers maintained records for civil parishes. They were less likely to have personal connections to the people about whom they were recording information.

What Are Nonconformist Records?

People who chose to worship outside the established Anglican Church—for varied and complex reasons—were known as nonconformists. Each group formed its own congregations and had unique record-keeping systems that were separate from the Church of England.

Examples of nonconformist denominations include:

• Puritans

• Baptists

• Methodists

• Presbyterians

• Congregationalists

• Unitarians

• Moravians

• Swedenborgians

• Quakers

If your ancestors didn't follow the Church of England, they might be absent from those parish registers and present in nonconformist records instead.

Common Challenges with Parish Records

Parish registers open a window to the past, but they're imperfect. Record gaps exist for various reasons, such as:

• Tumultuous wartime periods, like the English Civil War (1642-1651), when record-keeping was disrupted and documents were destroyed. Bombings and fires during WW1 and WW2 also caused the loss of historical church records.

• Because some nonconformists who didn't follow the Anglican Church faced persecution and discrimination, specific groups could have avoided creating records that might ‘prove’ their nonconforming status.

• Natural disasters, such as the Great Fire of London in 1666, damaged or destroyed countless parish registers.

• Fees imposed in the late 1600s through the late 1700s, such as the Registration Tax, Marriage Duty Act, or Stamp Duty Act, may have discouraged parents from registering births.

Beyond gaps caused by missing records, you may also find it difficult to decipher old handwriting styles, sections in Latin, or pages with faded ink.

Exploring UK Parish Records on Ancestry^®

Ancestry is a treasure trove of historical church records. Two ways to look for different types of UK parish records include:

• Browsing through the alphabetical list of almost 400 different UK parish collections.

• Using the card catalogue. You can search by keywords such as the target region or county and ‘church’ or ‘parish’. Another way to approach your search is to narrow it by using the keywords ‘nonconformist’, ‘non-conformist’, ‘Quaker’, or ‘bishop’s transcripts’, for example. This can help you focus on a particular subset of parish records. Then, use the filters provided to narrow your results.

Here’s a sampling of nation-based UK religious parish records:

• England: London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

• Wales: Glamorganshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1570-1994

• Scotland: Select Counties, Scotland, Church of Scotland, Baptisms, 1615-1854

• Ireland: Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915

If you already know that your ancestors weren’t members of the Anglican Church, or if you’re unable to find them in Anglican parish registers, try searching for them in a collection like England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936.

Not all faith traditions may be represented in the database of Ancestry collections. Some communities and denominations may not have released their records for use. However, you might still be able to access old registers by contacting local archives or churches.

Pro tip: The Great Britain, Atlas and Index of Parish Registers can be vital for helping you understand the boundaries of a parish, when they may have changed, and the surrounding parishes. This may be especially helpful if you can't find an ancestor in the parish you suspected them to be in, as you can then turn your attention to surrounding parishes.

Uncover Your Family's Unique Stories through Parish Registers

The religious and civil parish registers on Ancestry can provide a journey into your family’s past. Many collections range from the Tudor and Stuart eras through Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian times until World War 1.

See what you can learn about your ancestors by delving into these rich resources of records. If you’re not yet a member of Ancestry, it’s easy to sign up for a free trial.