Find British AncestorsParish Records
What are Parish Records?
Parish records are records produced by the Church. The main records of interest to genealogists and those tracing their family tree are baptisms, marriages and burials. Until the statutory (government)records began in the 1800's, parish records were the main records of birth, marriages and deaths.Why are they called Parish Records?
Originally, a parish is the name given by the Church to the geographical area around a church from which it would collect tithes, an early form of local tax, which paid for the upkeep and running of the church. A tithe was a tenth of the produce (corn, animals or earnings from labour) which was given for the upkeep of the fabric of the church and the clergy.When tithes were abolished, it later became the area for which the clergy of a particular church was responsible.
A parish will typically have the name of the church in its name e.g. Parish of St Peter will have a church called St Peter's Church as the church that ministers to that parish.
Do the Parishes still exist?
Yes they do, although they may now cover different areas or have different names. They are now also part of local government in the UK.What records are available?
From the early 1500's the Official English church, the Church of England, kept records of baptisms, marriages and burials. Importantly, from 1598 a copy of these would often be sent to the Bishop in charge of a group of parishes. This means that there are two possible sources of records. The copy is known as the Bishops Transcript.Other Churches, such as the Catholic church or the Church of Scotland, also kept records although these cannot usually be traced so far back.
Many early records have been lost or destroyed and the remainder are often in very poor condition. However, there are still a large number that have been transcribed and which you can view online, often free.
How useful are these records?
Very useful as government records were not kept prior to 1837. One problem is that parishes were quite small and towns would often be divided into many parishes. Therefore, people often moved between parishes even if only moving a short distance. You therefore need to look for records of all parishes in the area where your ancestors lived to be sure of finding the correct record.The second problem is that the record may be incomplete and, particularly if your ancestor has a common name, this makes it difficult to be sure the record is for your particular ancestor.
Nevertheless, by using a combination of parish records it is usually possible to verify that you have the correct family to include in your family tree.
How can I view them online
A good place to start is FreeReg which is a volunteer run group transcribing parish records and making these freely available on the internet.You can also find these on Ancestry's site. You can search free and without registering although you do need to register to look at the detailed record (you can use the free trial to do this!).