Oxfordshire History Centre blog

Parish registers must be one of the most familiar document types to researchers, especially those interested in family history. Here we look at Oxfordshire’s registers and consider why they were created, why we have them, what they contain and what information they can provide. Understanding them can explain inconsistencies and why there are gaps in research. Your ancestor didn’t just disappear but just happened to be born at a particular point in history.

In part one we concentrate on the records held by Oxfordshire History Centre (OHC) why we hold them and how you can access them, while part two details the history of parish registers, with examples from our collections.

• Why we hold the registers
• History of the Collection
• The records
• Looking elsewhere
• Access
• Obtaining copies
• Further Sources

Why we hold the registers

OHC holds the parish records for the Historic County of Oxfordshire under the Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978. The measure was designed to ensure the long-term preservation of the records but also recognised their growing historic interest to researchers. The measure made use of existing County Archives, who under the 1962 Local Government (Records) Act had been given the authority to collect and care for records of local significance. The registers for the part of Berkshire that became Oxfordshire in 1974 have remained in the care of Berkshire Record Office where they were originally deposited. You can find out more about their holdings here.

History of the Collection

The Bodleian Library were the original custodians of the historic parish records, but as the result of Oxfordshire Record Office becoming the Diocesan Record Office, this material along with the Diocesan, Archdeaconry and Deanery collections were transferred to OHC in 1984. Since then, these collections have been augmented by further regular deposits, many of which has been catalogued. However, if you cannot find parish material on the online catalogue, please do contact us so that we can check the uncatalogued material. The material deposited with the Bodleian was previously catalogued in their style. These catalogues have been gradually replaced and can be searched on Heritage Search . Now fewer than 10% of parishes remain as Bodleian catalogues, and though these cannot be searched as easily, copies are available to view online here.

The records

Altogether Oxfordshire History Centre (OHC) holds 3725 registers for 289 parishes. These are made up of registers from 1538 containing baptisms, marriages and burials altogether. Then as recordkeeping improved, separate marriage, banns, baptisms and burial registers were all introduced. Further details about the history of parish registers can be found in Part Two of this blog.

Looking elsewhere

Knowing where else to look can be extremely useful in ensuring you have not missed anything crucial. Oxfordshire has a history of some parishes switching counties as they were transferred into or out of Oxford archdeaconry. Parishes may have also originally been a chapelry of another parish, so they may not have kept their own records. Contrast two parishes on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border. Stokenchurch was a chapelry of Aston Rowant until 1844, the parish was transferred to Buckinghamshire in 1896, but remained part of the Oxford archdeaconry until 1973, the original registers are held at Buckinghamshire Archives. Meanwhile nearby Towersey was a chapelry of Thame until 1841, was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Oxfordshire in 1933 but remained in the Buckingham archdeaconry until 1973. The original records are held with us at OHC.

We do not hold baptism registers of Oxford College chapels, but we do have some records of marriages. This is because the chapels are considered part of the parish where they are situated and so the respective parish register will cover both the parish church and chapels. For example, Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln Colleges are all currently part of St Michael at the Northgate parish. These registers can be found by searching Heritage Search.

Some parishes, especially in Oxford, have also ceased to exist. Oxford St Martin, know now as Carfax Tower, merged with Oxford All Saints before the majority of the church was demolished in 1896. Later this parish would merge with St Michaels at the Northgate, whilst All Saints church became Lincoln College library.

Tracing a non-conformist ancestor (e.g. Catholic, Quaker, Methodist, Baptist) can be challenging, as changes in legislation means they may be found anywhere from the Anglican records to their own church records. Many non-conformist congregations kept their own birth and baptism registers from early on in their history. Whilst a number of these have not survived, with the advent of Civil Registration in 1837 surviving registers were surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857. These records are now held at the National Archives as RG 4 and digitised copies can be viewed online via Ancestry and Findmypast. Oxfordshire History Centre hold many non-conformist registers after 1837 which can be found by searching Heritage Search. Locally the Angus Library at Regent’s Park College has an international collection of Baptist records, whilst Oxford Brookes University houses the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History.

Oxfordshire falls in two different Catholic archdioceses. Records covering the geographic area of the historic county of Oxfordshire can be found in the Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives. Whilst records for the historic North Berkshire area can be found with Portsmouth Archdiocesan Archives.

If you are looking for baptisms and marriages of service personnel living on base, then the majority of these records are held at The National Archives, and more information can be found within their records guide. However, we do hold a marriage register for RAF Benson for 1965-1969.

Access

If you wish to view the parish registers, the Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS) digitised most of the records and they are available to view online on Ancestry. If you do not have a subscription, you can access the contents both here and in any Oxfordshire County Council library.

On Ancestry the registers are arranged into four data sets, which reflect the history of the registers. By selecting a particular dataset you can narrow your search to just those records, or alternatively you can choose your parish, then register and browse as if viewing the register as a book.

For Data Protection reasons there is a cut-off date for the material that is accessible on Ancestry. However, many registers have been digitised beyond this and are accessible through one special computer in the Searchroom at OHC, where copies can be made. If you are visiting, please ask the staff on duty about this. Where there is no digitised version of a register held by OHC, the original document can be accessed in the Searchroom.

OHFS volunteers have transcribed and indexed most of the parish registers, including those for North Berkshire and the hard copies are available to browse in the Searchroom. Digital copies are also available on the computers in the Searchroom and copies are available to purchase from OFHS.

Information about what registers we hold for Oxfordshire and North Berkshire can be found in Oxfordshire Parish Registers and Bishop’s Transcripts by Colin Harris. Though dating to 2006, it is still an invaluable source to what registers, transcripts, and bishop’s transcripts there are, what dates they cover, and where they are held, including if they are still kept in the parish. The volume also notes where registers are known to be lost and where there are gaps in series.

Obtaining copies

If you cannot access Ancestry or visit us, then staff can provide copies of the original entries as part of our reprographics service. We can provide certified copies of baptism entries, but if you require a certified marriage certificate you will need to contact either Oxfordshire Registration Service or order online with the General Register Office.

Further Sources

• The Parish Chest, W.E Tate
• Browse parish catalogue on Heritage Search
• Oxfordshire Parish Registers and Bishop’s Transcripts, Colin Harris
• Oxfordshire Family History Society
• Ancestry
• Royal Berkshire Archives

Posted by: Alison Smith, Archivist