Baptism, marriage and burial entries were usually in a single volume from the 16th to the 18th century.
No rules were issued as to how entries were to be set out in the registers or the amount of detail to be included, so the information tends to be limited.
There may be gaps in the registers, particularly during the Civil War and Commonwealth period, 1645-60.
There is no standard format for the entries. The following information is usually recorded:
The mother’s maiden name and child’s date of birth is sometimes recorded and, very occasionally, the father’s occupation.
Baptisms were entered into pre-printed standard registers. Columns were included for:
The early registers usually give:
Often the bride and groom’s parishes of residence and marital status – bachelor, spinster, widower or widow – is also given
Marriages were entered into pre-printed standard registers. All couples had to marry in an Anglican church for their marriage to be legally valid in this period.
The marriages of Nonconformists should therefore be recorded in parish registers during this period. Only Quakers and Jews were exempt from this rule.
In addition, all marriages had to be by either banns or by licence to prevent clandestine marriages. The information recorded includes:
These were also kept from this date; they are normally in the back of the marriage registers up to 1823 and then in separate registers. They give:
Often the bride and groom’s parish of residence and marital status were recorded too.
Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in England began on 1 July 1837.
Church marriage registers took on the same format as civil marriage certificates. These give:
These were very brief, giving:
Sometimes details such as age at death, occupation and whether a person was a pauper or from the workhouse is also given. Very occasionally a cause of death was noted.
Burials were entered into pre-printed standard registers. Columns were included for:
Sometimes a family relationship is given. Very occasionally, the cause of death may be included.