Parish Records - What are they?

Parish records are registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials made by the Church. These records can help you trace your family roots back through baptisms, marriages, and burials. Most parish registers go back to the 1600s, and some even go back to the 1500s.

Phillimore Parish Records is a series of books published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and hold transcriptions of marriage registers. Learn more about W.P. Phillimore by clicking here or by following the link above.

More information on Parish Records can be found here.

How can Parish Records help me with my research?

These records can help you trace your family roots back through baptisms, marriages, and burials. Most parish records go back to the 1600s, and some even go back to the 1500s.

How do I know which Parish Records to search for?

A baptism record would usually give the name of the child, their parents, and where their parents lived. You can use this information to trace their parents, as their marriage record is likely to be in the same place where they live. The marriage record would give you the parishes of both bride and groom, allowing you to trace their parents in the parish, and so on.

What information can I expect to find on Parish Records?

You can find baptisms, marriages, and burials in Parish Registers. Whilst Birth Records were usually not recorded, the baptisms of a child were. The record would usually give the name of the child, their parents, and where their parents lived.

A marriage usually gave the parish of origin of both parties, name, status (i.e. bachelor, spinster, widow etc.), ages, signatures or marks and those of two witnesses. Marriages are either by banns or by licence - banns are found in the parish register, the couple's intention to marry being read on three occasions in the parish churches of both bride and groom. The licences don't always survive, as they were usually handed to the bride and groom.

Burials usually include the name, date and place of burial, although later burial records (after 1813) included more information such as age and occupation.

For Births and Deaths, you need the GRO Indexes which go back to 1837.

Where can I get hold of Parish Records?

You can order them on CD at http://www.GenealogySupplies.com/, or you can view the product list on our website by clicking here.

You can view them online them at http://www.TheGenealogist.co.uk/ for a subscription fee.

To read reviews of Parish Records, click here, or to find other related sites click here.