Parish registers

Date updated: 2/10/2023

1. About this Guide

This guide explains how to access the Church of England parish registers held at London Metropolitan Archives (LMA).

LMA holds baptisms, marriages and burials for most Church of England parishes within the City of London and the former counties of London and Middlesex (apart from parishes in the ancient City of Westminster).

2. Online Records

Baptisms (1538-1923), marriages (1538-1938) and burials (1538-2003) can be searched online on Ancestry.co.uk (charges apply):

Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812

Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1923

Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938

Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003

3. Records available only at LMA

Baptisms (1924 - present) and marriages (1939 - present) are not available online. Please browse the LMA Collections Catalogue to find out which registers survive for each parish.

4. Certified baptism certificates

We are able to supply certified baptism certificates. There is a charge for this service. Please contact LMA for further information.

5. Information recorded in parish registers

Early baptism, marriage and burial entries were frequently made in a single register with separate sections for each type of entry.

Marriages were entered in a separate register from 1754 and baptisms and burials from 1813.

5.1. Baptism Registers

Pre-1813

The information recorded was basic and could vary between parishes but typically included:

Date of baptism
Child’s name
Father’s name (sometimes noted)
Mother’s name (sometimes noted)
Address (sometimes noted)
Father’s occupation (sometimes noted)

From 1813

A new standardised register was introduced following George Rose's Act, 1812. The registers now recorded the following information:

Date of baptism
Child’s name
Parents’ names
Address (which may just be the name of the parish or street)
Father’s occupation
Name of officiating minister
Date of birth (sometimes noted)
Godparents’ names (only from mid to late twentieth century)

5.2. Marriage Registers

Pre-1754
The information recorded was basic and could vary between parishes but typically included:

Date of marriage
Names of the bride and groom
Occupation of the groom (sometimes noted)

1754-1837
A new standardised register was introduced following Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753. The registers now recorded the following information:

Date of marriage
Names of the bride and groom
Parishes of residence
Marital statuses
Whether married by banns or licence
Signatures of the bride and groom, the officiating minister and two or more witnesses (those unable to write would make a mark)
Ages (usually only noted if a person was under 21)

From 1837

On the introduction of civil registration on 1 July 1837 a new type of marriage register was produced. The registers now recorded the following information:

Date of marriage
Names of the bride and groom
Ages (before 1870 the age is frequently given as ‘minor’ or ‘of full age’)
Addresses (which may just be the name of the parish or street)
Marital statuses
Occupations (bride’s occupation was rarely given)
Names and occupations of both fathers (even if they were deceased)
Whether married by banns or licence
Signatures of the bride and groom, the officiating minister and two witnesses (those unable to write would make a mark)

5.3. Burial Registers

Pre-1813

The information recorded was basic and could vary between parishes but typically included:

Date of burial
Name of the deceased
If the deceased was a child, the father’s name may be given.
If the deceased was a married woman, the husband’s name may be given

From 1813

A new standardised register was introduced following George Rose's Act, 1812. The registers now recorded the following information:

Date of burial
Name of the deceased
Address (which may just be the name of the parish or street)
Age
Name of officiating minister

6. Can't find someone in the burial registers?

During the 1850s the overcrowded churchyards and burial grounds of inner London were closed by a series of Acts of Parliament. Consequently, many burial registers for parish churches in inner London stop by 1855 or 1856. Those which continue usually only contain a few entries relating to burials in existing graves or special interments in the church.

7. Baptisms, marriages and burials in the City of Westminster

The parish registers for the ancient City of Westminster are held at Westminster Archives and can be searched online on Ancestry.co.uk (charges apply).