Hampshire Heritage

Parish Registers

Parish registers contain lists of baptisms, marriages and burials in Church of England parishes. They can be used for family history, as well as investigating population and occupation change in communities. Occasionally, these also contain interesting comments by the parish priest, or notes of epidemics. Parish registers generally start to list occupations from 1813 onwards, and can be used as a source for the working lives of a community.

They are the chief source for family history before 1837. Registers were first ordered to be kept from the 1530s, but they don’t always survive from this date. In early registers, the detail may vary depending on the incumbent or clerk who kept the them, and some external influences, particularly the Civil War, have resulted in gaps.

In 1754, a standard printed format was introduced for marriage registers which ensured that the name and parish of both parties, their status, whether the marriage was by licence or after banns, the date of the ceremony, and the signatures or marks of the couple were recorded. From 1837 the names of the fathers of the married couple were given. Standard forms were also introduced for baptisms and burials in 1812. For baptisms, the full names of the child and parents, their abode and profession were recorded.