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GENEALOGISTS
Separating
fact from fiction
A History
Parish
Registers
A History
On
5th September 1538, Thomas Cromwell who was then Vicar General to Henry
VIII, ordered that the priest of every parish must keep a register and
that each Sunday, in the presence of the wardens, must enter
all
the Baptisms, Marriages and Burials that had occured in the parish
during the previous week. The register was to be kept in a coffer with
two locks, one key being kept by the priest and one being kept by the
wardens. For those who did not comply, a fine of 3s 4d (17p) was
imposed and this was to be spent on the upkeep of the church. Many
parishes ignored this order believing it to be the forerunner of some
new tax.
In 1547, during the reign of Edward VI, this order was repeated with the stipulation that the fine was to go to the relief of the poor.
From 1598, records were to be kept in 'great decent books of parchment' and copies or 'Bishops Transcripts' as they were known of new entries, had to be sent to the diocesan centre each month. Previous records, often on scraps of paper, had to be copied into the new books but many had deteriorated and were unreadable, a fact not helped by the home made ink of the time. The cost of the new books were to be met by charging for entries but this proved very unpopular with many parishes and the act was not enforced until 1603. The week's entries were to be read out each Sunday after evensong and the books themselves were to be kept in a 'Parish Chest' with 3 locks.
Later, during the English Civil War of 1643-1647 and during the following Commonwealth period, many registers were poorly kept and are now missing after being destroyed or hidden by the clergy. It was during this period that civil registers were set up and civil marriages allowed.
Registers were returned to the churches following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
In an attempt to encourage the wool trade, an act was passed in 1678 making it compulsory that all corpses be buried in a shroud made of wool. An affidavit was to be made (and recorded in the register) confirming this had been done.
In 1694, the cost of each entry was drastically increased to fund the war against France. Baptisms increased from 4d (1-1/2p) to 2s (10p), marriages from 1s (5p) to 2s 6d (12-1/2p) and burials from 4d (1-1/2p) to 4s (20p). Two years later a tax of 6d (2-1/2p) was introduced for not reporting a birth within 5 days and vicars were fined £2 for neglecting to record a birth. These taxes were abandoned in 1706.
In 1711, an order was made that pages should be ruled and numbered but this was generally ignored.
In 1733, a law was passed forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers.
In 1751, the calendar year changed to run from 1st January to 31st December. Prior to this, the year ran from Lady Day to Lady Day (25th March). This means, for instance, that 31st December 1740 was followed by 1st January 1740 and not 1741 as would now be the case.
In 1754, Lord Hardwick introduced his Marriage Act. This meant that a separate marriage register had to be kept, Banns were to be enforced and clandestine marriages were made illegal.
In 1763, the legal marriage age was fixed at 16 (although a licence could be obtained from the Bishop for those wanting to marry at an earlier age). Prior to this date it was possible for girls to marry at 12 years old and boys at 14 years old.
In 1783, a stamp duty of 3d (1p) was imposed on all entries in the registers causing many families not to have their children baptised. As paupers were exempt from this duty, many entries of 'pauper' were made by vicars when parents refused to pay. This tax was repealed in 1794.
In 1812, an act (known as Rose's Act) came into being which called for 'better regulation and preservation of parish records'. New, separately printed, Baptism, Marriage and Burial registers were to be used by all parishes and these remain more or less unchanged to the present day.
In 1547, during the reign of Edward VI, this order was repeated with the stipulation that the fine was to go to the relief of the poor.
From 1598, records were to be kept in 'great decent books of parchment' and copies or 'Bishops Transcripts' as they were known of new entries, had to be sent to the diocesan centre each month. Previous records, often on scraps of paper, had to be copied into the new books but many had deteriorated and were unreadable, a fact not helped by the home made ink of the time. The cost of the new books were to be met by charging for entries but this proved very unpopular with many parishes and the act was not enforced until 1603. The week's entries were to be read out each Sunday after evensong and the books themselves were to be kept in a 'Parish Chest' with 3 locks.
Later, during the English Civil War of 1643-1647 and during the following Commonwealth period, many registers were poorly kept and are now missing after being destroyed or hidden by the clergy. It was during this period that civil registers were set up and civil marriages allowed.
Registers were returned to the churches following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
In an attempt to encourage the wool trade, an act was passed in 1678 making it compulsory that all corpses be buried in a shroud made of wool. An affidavit was to be made (and recorded in the register) confirming this had been done.
In 1694, the cost of each entry was drastically increased to fund the war against France. Baptisms increased from 4d (1-1/2p) to 2s (10p), marriages from 1s (5p) to 2s 6d (12-1/2p) and burials from 4d (1-1/2p) to 4s (20p). Two years later a tax of 6d (2-1/2p) was introduced for not reporting a birth within 5 days and vicars were fined £2 for neglecting to record a birth. These taxes were abandoned in 1706.
In 1711, an order was made that pages should be ruled and numbered but this was generally ignored.
In 1733, a law was passed forbidding the use of Latin in parish registers.
In 1751, the calendar year changed to run from 1st January to 31st December. Prior to this, the year ran from Lady Day to Lady Day (25th March). This means, for instance, that 31st December 1740 was followed by 1st January 1740 and not 1741 as would now be the case.
In 1754, Lord Hardwick introduced his Marriage Act. This meant that a separate marriage register had to be kept, Banns were to be enforced and clandestine marriages were made illegal.
In 1763, the legal marriage age was fixed at 16 (although a licence could be obtained from the Bishop for those wanting to marry at an earlier age). Prior to this date it was possible for girls to marry at 12 years old and boys at 14 years old.
In 1783, a stamp duty of 3d (1p) was imposed on all entries in the registers causing many families not to have their children baptised. As paupers were exempt from this duty, many entries of 'pauper' were made by vicars when parents refused to pay. This tax was repealed in 1794.
In 1812, an act (known as Rose's Act) came into being which called for 'better regulation and preservation of parish records'. New, separately printed, Baptism, Marriage and Burial registers were to be used by all parishes and these remain more or less unchanged to the present day.
____________________
Baptismal
Registers
Pre
1812
After 1812
Information you can expect to find in later baptismal registers:-
(Earlier ones tend to have less information)
Information you can expect to find in later baptismal registers:-
(Earlier ones tend to have less information)
- Date of Baptism
- Date of Birth (but this is often not recorded)
- Child's Forename
- Child's Surname (in some early registers, the father's name is assumed)
- Father's Name (left blank if illegitimate)
- Mother's Name
- Father's Occupation
- Abode
____________________
Marriage
Registers
Pre
1812
After 1812
Information you can expect to find in later marriage registers:-
(Earlier ones tend to have less information)
Information you can expect to find in later marriage registers:-
(Earlier ones tend to have less information)
- Date of Marriage
- Forename and Surname of Bride and Groom
- Whether Bachelor/Spinster or Widower/Widow
- Age
- Whether of-this-parish or of another place
- Occupation (normally of Groom only)
- Father's Forename, Surname and Occupation
- Signatures of Bride and Groom
- Witnesses
- Whether by Banns or Licence
____________________
Burial
Registers
Pre 1812
After 1812
Information you can expect to find in later marriage registers:-
(Earlier ones tend to have less information)
Information you can expect to find in later marriage registers:-
(Earlier ones tend to have less information)
- Date of Burial
- Name of Deceased
- Age of Deceased
- Occupation of Deceased
- Normal Abode of Deceased
Jo
UK Genealogists
Bexhill-on-Sea
East Sussex
UK
Telephone
(within UK)
01424 224790
Telephone
(from outside UK)
+44 1424 224790
info@ukgenealogists.com
