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Where can I find parish registers?

Local and family history A-Z > Parish registers
  • Old booksFor parish registers available online see the separate page Parish registers online, which guides you to sites that enable you to search transcribed records from many parish registers
  • Full sets of printed transcribed Bedfordshire registers up to 1812 are at Bedford Central, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard libraries. Other libraries have parish registers for their local area and some have a selection of parish registers on microfiche. For details, see Parish registers at Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire libraries
  • For details of the extensive collection of local parish registers at the record office, see the  Bedfordshire Archives web site. Choose 'Guide to collections' then click 'Family history' and then 'Anglican parish registers'
  • Transcriptions of selected local and national parish records, mainly of baptisms and marriages, are included in the International Genealogical Index British Isles (IGI) which is available online. It is also available at some libraries on microfiche and at Dunstable Library also on CD-ROM
  • Transcriptions of selected local and national parish records, mainly of baptisms and marriages are also available on the Vital Records Index, British Isles
  • Transcriptions of selected parish records of burials are in the National Burial Index CD-ROM
  • The largest collection of parish register transcriptions and copies is at the Society of Genealogists in London. For details, see the Society of Genealogists web site
  • Phillimore atlas and index of parish registersThe key reference work for locating original parish registers is The Phillimore atlas and index of parish registers. This includes a map of the UK showing the county boundaries before 1830, parish maps, and indexes listing the locations of original registers. The latest edition also includes the names of the registration districts covering each parish for the period 1837-1851
  • Return to Parish registers for more information

Page last updated: 8th July 2020