Parish Registers

Cumnor churchyard [The royal river:
the Thames, from source to sea:
descriptive, historical, pictorial; page 23]

When searching for births, marriages and deaths prior to 1837 you will need to consult church registers where baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded. Of course, these events continued to be recorded by the church after 1837, so do not discount parish registers as an additional source after this date. To use parish registers you will need to have some idea of where in England your ancestor was living.

Key Resources

The Phillimore atlas and index of parish registers
The Phillimore atlas is an invaluable source of information about the location and extent of parish registers.

Genuki England
The Genuki website also has useful information about parish registers for most counties.

FamilySearch
One of the most important sources for parish registers is the extensive collection of microfilmed material available from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Some of this material has been indexed and/or digitised on their website.
You may also like to check the International Genealogical Index (IGI) which is available on the old FamilySearch website. Please note, however, that the IGI contains births and marriages, not deaths. If you do find the entry you want in the IGI, you should always consult the microfilm of the original document which often has additional information. Microfilms can be ordered for a small fee from any of the FamilySearch Centres located around the world. Check the Library catalogue to see what is available and obtain the relevant microfilm number for ordering.

Ancestry library edition - available in the State Library building and in most public libraries in Western Australia
There are many parish registers available on Ancestry such as the large collection from the London Metropolitan Archives which includes parts of Middlesex, Surrey and Hertfordshire as well as London.

British Isles Vital Record Index
This index covers England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and has over 10 million birth and christening records and nearly 2 million marriage records for the following periods:

Baptisms 1530-1906
Marriages 1538-1940

FreeReg
This website has transcriptions of baptisms, marriages and burials transcribed by volunteers. Coverage is particularly good for Norfolk. Select 'Counties and Parishes' to see which areas have been included so far.

Findmypast UK - available in the State Library building
Findmypast UK has some parish registers, particularly for London. It also includes the National Burial Index - see entry below for more detail.

National Burial Index for England and Wales (NBI)
The NBI covers England and Wales and has over 13 million burials from 1538 onwards. It is not a complete index of burials but includes many records put together by family history societies and groups. Some counties are particularly well covered such as Essex, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, all of which have over 500,000 entries. Burials from a variety of denominations are included.

Other parish records available at the State Library

Many parish records have been published and are available at the Library either as books or on microfilm, microfiche or CD-ROM. To explore what we have, try searching our catalogue under keyword using the name of the parish or geographic area +

church records and registers
registers of births etc.
marriage records
burial records

Page last updated: Friday 16 March 2012

Parish Registers

Key Resources

Other parish records available at the State Library

Births, Marriages & Deaths