Query on parish records

[LynV]

I have now got far enough back in time to preceed the BMD register set up in 1837 and begin looking in Parish records.

However, I have a few questions:-

1) Where are parish registers kept? Are they kept in the local church or is there a central location for a town's registers?

and

2) Do we have to pay to view them or is it free and we just have to give them advance warning before requesting to see them?

Any answers out there???

[Peter Goodey]

Normally in the relevant County Records Office. Even if they're somewhere else, the CRO is the place to enquire. Ask them about access arangements or most of them have a website.

[Geoffers]

2) Do we have to pay to view them or is it free and we just have to give them advance warning before requesting to see them?
It depends on where you are in the world. If you are not in the UK and need to hire a film copy of the parish records via a mormon church (LDS) record centre, there is a small fee for hiring the film.

To preserve the original registers, you may view copies on fiches/film at County Record Offices. Some Record Offices suggest reserving a reader and may make a nominal charge for doing this.

As Peter has mentioned, contact the relevant Record Office, they're usually very helpful.

Geoffers

[kazrbutler]

Some larger libraries have Local Studies Centres, which may have parish registers on fiche. For instance, Nottingham Central Library covers the whole of Nottinghamshire, but libraries in major towns (Mansfield, Retford, Newark) have parish register fiche for part of the county.

Depending on where (and possibly when) you need to go, you may need to book a fiche / film reader in advance. The archives / LSC in question are best placed to answer these questions.

Good luck,
Karen