Worcestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

This collection contains images of transcripts created for Anglican Bishops, of Church of England baptism, marriage, and burial records for the years 1538-1812 from the county of Worcestershire, England.

Before civil registration began in 1837, key events in a person's life were typically recorded by the church, rather than the government. Parish records were the first sets of vital records kept; they often date back to the 16th century and are some of the longest running records available. Churchwardens were compelled to send transcripts of all baptisms, marriages and burials for the previous year to the Church of England Bishops and these are known as Bishop Transcripts.

Using this collection

This collection may include the following details:

These records were taken by church officials to mark important milestones in people's lives. This makes them excellent resources for tracing family roots. They often include information about other family members such as parents, which makes it easy to go back a generation in your family tree with a single record.

Baptismal records can be a great source of information to help trace your ancestors, especially since children were usually baptised within a few days or weeks of being born.

Banns were church announcements of a couple's intention to get married. This gave time for the parish to submit objections. Banns may also list whether a person had been previously married.

Collection in context

When Henry VIII established the Church of England, he mandated parishes to keep handwritten records of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Beginning in 1598, clergy were required to send copies of their parish registers to the bishop of their diocese. These copies are known as Bishop's Transcripts and are useful in cases where original records are unreadable or no longer exist.

The Lord Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753 established a separate register for marriages and required that marriages be performed only in Anglican churches.

In 1812, George Rose's Act called for pre-printed registers to be used for separate baptism, marriage, and burial registers as a way of standardising records.