A History of Parish Registers in England and Wales

A comprehensive account of the history of parish registers from 1660 to 1837, Wintrip’s exposition focuses on the changes in format and content of parish registers between the Restoration and the introduction of civil registration, offering an insight into the evolution of official record-keeping in England and Wales during a period of significant change.

A comprehensive account of the history of parish registers from 1660 to 1837, which fills a glaring lacuna in the literature. A significant amount of new research has been carried out since the most recent book to cover this topic in any detail was published half a century ago. A History of Parish Registers in England and Wales now makes this area of study accessible to a wider audience, pulling together disparate information into a holistic survey.

Remarkably detailed, Wintrip’s exposition focuses on the changes in format and content of parish registers between the Restoration and the introduction of civil registration. By considering the nuances of registers during this period, including initiatives for their improvement, it offers an insight into the evolution of official record-keeping in England and Wales during a period of significant change. Well-referenced, A History of Parish Registers promises to be the definitive work on this subject for many years to come.

Preface
Introduction
1 Prologue: parish registers before 1660
2 Parish registers 1660-1754
Birth and baptism entries
Marriage entries
Burial entries
The Marriage Duty Act
The draft canons of 1714
Ralph Thoresby
White Kennett
The Diocese of Bangor
The Archdeaconry of Lincoln
The Parliamentary Bill of 1753
3 Baptism and burial registers 1754-1812
Birth and baptism entries
Burial entries
Day books
The Parliamentary Bill of 1758
Ralph Bigland
The continuing influence of Ralph Thoresby
The Proposed Form
The Stamp Duty Act, 1783
James Lucas, Leeds surgeon
Parish initiatives
4 Marriage and banns registers 1754-1812
Hardwicke’s Marriage Act
The form of entry for marriages
Marriage registers
Banns registers
Marriage entries
5 The Diocese of Carlisle
Richard Burn’s initiative of 1771
William Paley’s initiative of 1786
6 Wiliam Dade and the dioceses of York and Chester
Dade’s system of registration
Dade registers in the Diocese of York
Dade registers in the Diocese of Chester
Dade registers in other dioceses
Dade registers: an assessment
7 The Diocese of St Asaph
8 The Diocese of Norwich
9 Shute Barrington and the dioceses of Salisbury and Durham
The Diocese of Salisbury
The Diocese of Durham
10 Baptism and burial registers 1813-1837
The evolution of George Rose’s Act from his original Bill
Baptism entries
Burial entries
The form of the year
11 Marriage and banns registers 1813-1837
Marriage entries
Banns registers
12 Custody and storage
13 Bishop’s transcripts
History
Relationship to parish registers
14 Epilogue: parish registers since 1837
The effect of civil registration
The custody of historical parish registers
The accessibility of historical parish registers

Appendix 1 Timeline
Appendix 2 Canon 70 of the Church of England
Appendix 3 Ralph Thoresby’s proposals
Appendix 4 White Kennett’s recommendations
Appendix 5 James Lucas’s proposals
Appendix 6 William Dade’s proposals
Appendix 7 The Dean of York’s instructions
Appendix 8 The Commissary of Richmond’s instructions
Appendix 9 Instructions issued in the Diocese of Norwich
Appendix 10 Shute Barrington’s remarks on parish registers
Appendix 11 Shute Barrington’s instructions to clergy in the Diocese of Durham
Appendix 12 Schedules from George Rose’s Bill
Appendix 13 Schedules from George Rose’s Act

Glossary
Index

John Wintrip began investigating his family history in the 1990s. Following an earlier career as a science librarian and a decade of practising as a professional genealogist, he turned his attention to investigating features and idiosyncrasies of parish registers for which he had found no satisfactory explanation in the recent published literature, receiving a Licentiateship in Heraldry and Genealogy for his dissertation on this topic in 2019. He has been a Member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) since 2009.

• By (author) John Wintrip