Parish Registers were instigated by Thomas Cromwell from 1538 in the reign of Henry VIII, recording every wedding, baptism and burial. There are gaps in the records for a variety of reasons, such as the civil war, but these records are a prime source for building family trees. From 1597 a copy of the records had to be made and sent to the Bishop. Sometimes the Bishops' Transcript may contain more information than the original, so it can often be worthwhile tracking down both. For more information on Parish Registers there is a brief history on the Wikipedia Parish Register page.
After 1837 Civil Registration was introduced and the Local BMD and GRO BMD records become the primary source.
| Classification: | GRO BMD, Births, Deaths, Marriages, National, Parish Records, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates - BMD Index |
| Link: |  |
| Description: | Complete GRO indexes online & Non-Parochial BMDs service. Includes overseas BMD's for armed forces. |
| Extra Info: | Includes Pre-1837 Non-Conformist BMDs |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Marriages, Parish Records, War Memorials & Other Memorials, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | A Manx Note Book |
| Link: | http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/ |
| Description: | A Manx Note Book - A Compendium of Information about the Isle of Man |
| Extra Info: | The subject index is very useful. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Parish Records |
| Title: | Baptisms - England and Wales Christening Records |
| Link: | England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1980 |
| Description: | England and Wales Christening Records, 1530-1980 |
| Extra Info: | Not complete. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Census, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | DALTON Data Bank and One Name Study |
| Link: | http://www.daltondatabank.org/ |
| Description: | DALTON Data Bank and One Name Study |
| Classification: | GRO BMD, Census, Parish Records, Pedigrees, Visitations |
| Title: | England Data from Ancestry |
| Link: | England Data from Ancestry |
| Description: | England Data Collection from Ancestry |
| Extra Info: | Includes 1861-1901 Censuses; 1837-2005 GRO BMD; visitations and other records. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Marriages, Parish Records, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | Family History Books via Family Search |
| Link: |  |
| Description: | Family History Books via Family Search |
| Extra Info: | More than 40,000 digitized genealogy and family history publications from the archives of some of the most important family history libraries in the world. Read online for free. Includes some parish register transcripts. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Deaths, Marriages, Parish Records |
| Title: | Family Search Records Collection |
| Link: | |
| Description: | Family Search Records Collection - Isle of Man Data |
| Extra Info: | Check the coverage for areas covered so far. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Census, Marriages, Parish Records |
| Title: | Family Search Records Collection - Worldwide |
| Link: | |
| Description: | Family Search Records Collection - Worldwide |
| Extra Info: | Includes the England and Wales 1841 & 1861 Census, and foreign records, such as the American census that contains Britons who were aboard. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Marriages, National, Parish Records |
| Title: | FreeReg Project |
| Link: |  |
| Description: | Transcriptions for Parish Registers |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Census, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | HEMMINGWAY One Name Study |
| Link: | http://www.hemingway.uk.com/ |
| Description: | HEMMINGWAY One Name Study |
| Extra Info: | Includes variants of the name. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Marriages, Monumental Inscriptions, Parish Records |
| Title: | Internet Archive |
| Link: | http://archive.org/ |
| Description: | Internet Archive |
| Extra Info: | Has many scanned books, including some parish registers. Click on texts and then search the archive. Note baptism and baptisms give different results. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Births, Burials / Cremations, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | LAWSON - The Manx Lawsons and Related Families |
| Link: | http://iomfhs.im/resources/lawsons/lawsons.html |
| Description: | The Manx Lawsons and Related Families |
| Classification: | Marriages, Parish Records |
| Title: | Marriages - England and Wales |
| Link: | England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988 |
| Description: | England and Wales Marriages, 1538-1988 |
| Extra Info: | Not complete. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Marriages, Parish Records |
| Title: | Nonconformist Register - Northowram of Coley Register |
| Link: | http://archive.org/details/nonconformistreg00byuhe... |
| Description: | Nonconformist Register - Northowram or Coley Register 1644-1752 |
| Extra Info: | Online book. Parish Registers 1584-1620. Index of surnames and place names at end of book. |
| Classification: | Parish Records |
| Title: | Parish Register - William Bradock's Guide 1910 |
| Link: | http://archive.org/details/parishregister00braduof... |
| Description: | Parish Register - William Bradock's Guide 1910 |
| Extra Info: | Online book. It explains that start of parish registers and other associated items, such as Phillimore marriages, Hardwicke's marriage act, banns, explanation of register entries, foundlings, as well as some interesting register extracts. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Births, Burials / Cremations, Census, Deaths, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records |
| Title: | POULTON Web - Also MELLOR, WHITE, TWEED and Associated Families |
| Link: | http://www.thanksfrank.co.uk/ |
| Description: | POULTON Web - Also MELLOR, WHITE, TWEED and Associated Families |
| Extra Info: | Many names and places included on this site. The name index also indicates records for that name. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Births, Burials / Cremations, Census, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | QUALTROUGH Family References |
| Link: | http://www.qualtrough.org/index.htm |
| Description: | QUALTROUGH Family References |
| Extra Info: | Click on the site map towards the bottom of the page. |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Births, Burials / Cremations, Census, Deaths, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records, War Memorials & Other Memorials |
| Title: | STONER Genealogical Databases |
| Link: | http://www.stoner.org.uk/ |
| Description: | STONER Genealogical Databases |
| Classification: | Baptisms, Burials / Cremations, Census, Marriages, One Name Study, Parish Records, War Memorials & Other Memorials, Wills / Probate |
| Title: | STRANGE, STRAINGE and Variants One Name Study |
| Link: | https://yourtotalevent.com/people/Strange/idxpepl.... |
| Description: | STRANGE and STRAINGE Family History |
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