ParishRecordsOnline.org.uk is dedicated to tracking down and linking to archives that permit online access to digital images or scans of original parish records. The purpose in so doing is two-fold: firstly, to provide documentary proof for your records; secondly, to confirm that any indexed/transcribed information (if it exists) is accurate. As these archives may not1 be indexed, it is important that you have a good idea of the location and year of the event you are researching. Locating parish registers online can be difficult and so it is hoped the service this site provides will be useful to you.
Locating Parishes
You can search for parishes online with web-based search utilities such as Genuki.org.uk's Church Database or with Parish Finder, or download and make use of the free Parish Locator software (which is also the data source for Parish Finder). A beta version of a great online parish locator, the England Jurisdictions 1851, is also available HERE.
Counties of Britain and Ireland
To view a map of Britain's counties prior to the 1974 boundary changes click here, or to see Ireland's counties please click here.
Image Archives by County
Note that not all of the archives linked below are complete and may not cover the entire county. Some may be indexed, or in the process of being indexed, but some may have no existing index. The three-letter abbreviation of the county is the Chapman County Code which is used as a standard reference. The counties below are as they existed prior to 1974.
Ancestry.co.uk and FindMyPast.co.uk provide searchable databases of indexed parish records. Please view their respective sites to obtain the details of this and other services they provide. Scans available for most documents.
FamilySearch.org is the world's largest and most-used database of genealogical records - and it's free to use. Rootsweb maintain a list of IGI batch numbers categorized into counties from which you can access a search for a relative - to use it click HERE. Scans are becoming increasingly available (see table).
UK Genealogy Archives has a growing set of transcripts of parish registers listed by county (some are indexed and searchable). It also has a page of Phillimore marriage registers.
Though without scans, FreeREG.org.uk is also a very useful searchable index site with free access to transcriptions.
Family History Centres of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are quite common across the UK, and entirely free to use. You can search HERE or HERE to locate your nearest Family History Centre. You should ring to see what they offer. You can order fiches online HERE (you can also access the 1911 Census for free from most of these Centres!)
1 It is not the purpose of ParishRecordsOnline.org.uk to update information on which records are indexed or not. This is, of course, constantly changing as more and more is indexed and made available. It is your responsibility to first check if scanned images have an index or not.
