Records Information
The British Newspaper Archive
Read about historical events at the time they were happening. Perhaps you'll discover your ancestor in their local newspaper?
Parish Records
There are over 35 million Parish record transcriptions in our collection. The earliest record we have dates from 1538. These are really important records as they can help you to trace your family back to before 1837, when civil records began. You can narrow your search down to a specific county, if you know where your ancestors are from. Simply select the county from the drop down box.
You can search baptism, marriage and burial records.
Baptisms
When you search for a name in our baptism records we will search the entire transcription. So if you search for John Smith, we will show the entries not only for the birth of John Smith but also for where he is shown as the father on the transcription.
Marriages
In our Parish marriage records you will see the names of both spouses and the location of the marriage. You should usually see the bride's maiden name too. You can use all of this information to go even further back in your tree, using it trace earlier baptisms. The location of the marriage could be a clue as to where your ancestors were originally from.
Burials
The amount of information you see in our burial records may vary. You will certainly see a name and a date. You may also see the age at death and the name of a spouse or parent. You can use this information to help you to trace a marriage or a baptism.
A full list of the parish records we hold can be found here.