Parish records are those records which have been created by the ecclesiastical parishes, and the parish officials such as the incumbent or churchwardens. Although the current role of the parishes is mainly ecclesiastical in nature, historically, parishes took a greater role in the civil administration of the parish and its population.

The Parochial Registers and Records Measure of 1978, appointed the Somerset Record Office and subsequently the Somerset Heritage Centre as the Diocesan Record Office for the Diocese of Bath and Wells, which means we collect the records for all the parishes in the Diocese, which largely mirrors the pre 1974 county boundaries.

This guide provides details on the most frequently found records in a Parish collection, however, not all records will be present for all parishes, and dates of coverage will vary.

The Records

Service of the Church and Parish (ref. D/P/*/2)

The most frequently consulted records within a parish collection are the parish registers of baptism, marriage and burial (ref. D/P/*/2/1) and banns registers (ref. D/P/*/2/2). Parish registers were ordered to be kept from 1538, although many parish registers have not survived from this date and often start in the 17th century. Originally, baptisms, marriages and burials were recorded in the same volume, and the information recorded differed between parishes, often depending upon how the incumbent wished to record it. From 1754 marriages were to be recorded in a separate volume and the information became more standardised, banns registers were also introduced from this date. From 1813 baptisms and burials were to be recorded in separate volumes, and again the information was standardised. In 1837 with the introduction of Civil Registration the marriage registers changed to mirror the information found in a marriage certificate (see the Research Guide on Civil Registration for more details). On 4 May 2021 the recording of marriages transferred to a digital system, and marriage registers were no longer completed. 

When using parish registers it is important to remember that they record baptisms and burials, rather then births and deaths, and do not contain the same information as the relevant Civil Registration certificates. Prior to 1837 and the introduction of Civil Registration they are the key source for finding details on ancestors, but the handwriting and spellings can sometimes be a little difficult to interpret.

The pre-1914 parish registers for Somerset are available to view and search online via Ancestry. See our **Ancestry Guide **for advice on how to find Somerset's parish registers.

Also, in this series can be found Service Registers (ref. D/P/*/2/5), which record the services performed in the church, and by whom; Sunday School registers (ref. D/P/*/2/6); and Parish magazines (ref. D/P/*/2/8).

Property and Income of the Benefice (ref. D/P/*/3)

Parishes traditionally owned lands, known as Glebe, which helped to raise income for the benefice, and to help support the incumbent. Records of Glebe lands (ref. D/P/*/3/1) often include Terriers, which list the property owned by the parish, including the church and plate and at times details on the churchyard and parsonage house; along with records of sale, exchange or enclosure of Glebe.

Historically members of the parish were required to pay 1/10th of their produce to the church, known as Tithes (ref. D/P/*/3/2). The Tithe Commutation Act of 1839 led to the creation of tithe maps and apportionments. Not all parish tithe maps and apportionments have survived, but a complete set for the county can be found in the Diocesan collection (ref. D/D/rt) and are available to view online via Know Your Place or the Somerset Historic Environment Record websites (see our research guide on 'A Guide to Finding Somerset Maps Online' for further details)

Queen Anne’s Bounty (ref. D/P/*/3/3) was established in 1704 as a way to supplement the income of the poorer clergy. The ‘bounty’ was originally not paid directly to the incumbent but was used to purchase lands which then augmented the benefice, but later the money was often left with the Bounty as a form of investment, upon which interest payments were received. The records often include correspondence with the Bounty or later the Church Commissioners concerning the purchase or sale of land, the investment of funds or requests for funding.

The parish was also responsible for the upkeep of a Rectory or Vicarage building (ref. D/P/*/3/4), and records often include dilapidation surveys and specifications for works, plans and details on the building of new, or sale of former, parsonage houses.

Records concerning Churchyards (ref. D/P/*/3/5), can include details on the extension of churchyards, deeds for the purchase of new land, details on the closure of churchyards, and although infrequently, plans of grave spaces.

Churchwardens: Regular income and expenditure (ref. D/P/*/4)

The Churchwardens’ accounts (ref. D/P/*/4/1) record the regular income and expenditure of the parish, such as expenditure for church ceremonies or work on church buildings, including payments to workmen, details of collections, bequests to the church, and the levying of church rates. The earliest Churchwarden accounts in Somerset are those for Bridgwater St Mary which date from the 14th century, although it is most common for accounts to date from the 17th-18th centuries.

Alterations and additions to church fabric (ref. D/P/*/6)

This section relates mainly to the interior of the church. Any alteration or addition to the church, but also the graveyard, requires the granting of a licence or faculty (ref. D/P/*/6/1) by the Diocesan Faculty Office. Faculties first appeared in 1237, but those in parish collections usually date from the late 19th century to the present day, and not only include the actual faculty document, but often correspondence leading to the faculty and records of works subsequent to the faculty. Faculties can also be found in the Diocesan Collection (ref. D/D/cf).

Construction, repair and alteration of churches (ref. D/P/*/8)

This section relates mainly to the exterior of the church and other church buildings, including chapels, parish halls and Sunday Schools. Including deeds (ref. D/P/*/8/1) for the purchase, lease or mortgage of buildings, accounts (ref. D/P/*/8/2) of works, minutes, correspondence, plans of buildings and specification of works including Quinquennials (ref. D/P/*/8/3) and other related documents.

Vestries and other meetings (ref. D/P/*/9)

The Vestry meeting was established for the management of ecclesiastical affairs, and was made up of members of the parish, and as an institution is thought to date from the 14th century, however, most records do not survive until the 18th and 19th centuries. The records mainly consist of minutes (ref. D/P/*/9/1).

The business of the Vestry has during the 20th century moved to the Parochial Church Council (PCC). Their records include minutes, accounts and correspondence concerning all matters of parish business (ref. D/P/*/9/3).

Office and functions of the Overseers of the Poor (ref. D/P/*/13)

The Overseers of the Poor administered the relief of the poor in the parish from Tudor times until 1834, this included the payments of alms to the poor, settlement of individuals and families, apprenticeships and illegitimacy. Please see the separate Research Guide ‘The Parish Poor Law System’, for further details on the Poor Law System and the records created.

The Poor (ref. D/P/*/17)

Many parishes, through wills and other bequests, established charities for supporting the poor or for the establishment of parish buildings, such as Alms houses or Schools. The records include purchase deeds, trust deeds, wills and other documents which helped to establish the charity (ref. D/P/*/17/1), papers concerning the investment of charity funds (ref. D/P/*/17/2), charity accounts (ref. D/P/*/17/3), schemes of charity and correspondence with the Charity Commissioners (established in 1853) (ref. D/P/*/17/5) and minutes of Trustees of the Charity (ref. D/P/*/17/6). During the 20th century many of these parish charities have become separate bodies and their records may be found in other collections. Please be advised that charity records less than 100 years old may be under restricted access subject to Data Protection Legislations, in order to protect the details of those named in them.

Schools (ref. D/P/*/18)

Historically education provision for the poorer classes of society, were often provided on a parish basis, with many parish schools being established by charitable grant or bequest. With the 1870 Education Act, National Schools were established, and the link to the parish often continued. Records of parish schools include deeds, trust deeds, wills and other documents which helped to establish the school (ref. D/P/*/18/1), accounts (ref. D/P/*/18/3), minutes (ref. D/P/*/18/6 and 7), records relating to the building (ref. D/P/*/18/8), correspondence relating to the transfer of the administration of the school from the parish to the local authority (ref. D/P/*/18/9), and school log books and admission registers (ref. D/P/*/18/10 and 11). See the Research Guide on School Records for further details.

Other parish records

Other records included in parish collections are:

• Records relating to the incumbent and his assistants, such as admissions to the benefice, licensing of curates and appointment of officials (ref. D/P/*/1)
• Records relating to property administered by the churchwardens, including deeds, inventories and rates for the enlargement of the churchyard (ref. D/P/*/2)
• Records concerning the seating accommodation in the church, including grants of, and the letting of pews (ref. D/P/*/7)
• Records of funds for special objects, mainly containing correspondence and accounts (ref. D/P/*/10)
• Sequestration papers on vacancy or suspension, which is when an incumbent has left a parish, for example through resignation or death, and by permission of the Bishop, the Churchwardens take administration of the benefice to ensure its good order for the next incumbent. This series mainly contains sequestration orders, correspondence and accounts (ref. D/P/*/11)
• Records concerning the Office and function of the petty, village or parish constable, being mainly regulations for appointments, accounts and associated documents (ref. D/P/*/12)
• Records of the Office and function of surveyors of highways, including appointment of officers, highways assessment and rate books, surveys of roads, accounts and repairs and presentments for repairs (ref. D/P/*/14)
• Records of the Office and functions of inspectors of lighting and watching, being mainly rate books and accounts (ref. D/P/*/15)
• Records of special committees, such as sewers or nuisance control, being mainly minutes and accounts (ref. D/P/*/16)
• Records of apprentices, other than those found in the papers of the Overseers of the Poor, including records of charities for apprentices, correspondence, accounts and minutes (ref. D/P/*/19)
• Records of statutory deposits, such as enclosure awards, plans of railways, canals, etc and duplicate Land Tax Assessments (ref. D/P/*/20). Copies of these records can also be found in the Quarter Session records as follows: enclosure awards (ref. Q/RDE), plans of railways etc (ref. Q/RUP), and Land Tax (Q/REL)
• Records of the parish militia, including orders of assembly, allowance for families, lists of volunteers (ref. D/P/*/21)
• Records relating to parish boundaries, including perambulations of parish boundaries, agreements and pastoral orders on the union of benefices (ref. D/P/*/22)
• Miscellaneous records include documents such as church visitors’ books, parish or church histories, orders of service, photographs and other ephemera (ref. D/P/*/23)

How to find parish records

Each parish collection has its own reference number, each starting with D/P/ and then followed by a letter code which reflects the parish name, for example D/P/tau.m for Taunton St Mary, D/P/lock for Locking or D/P/cam for Camerton. The larger towns, such as Bath, Bridgwater, Frome, Taunton, Weston super Mare and Yeovil, have multiple parishes, and as the population in the towns has grown, the number of parishes has also increased.

There are two mains ways to find the relevant catalogues on our online catalogue.

• Using the search box, enter D/P/* followed by the name of the parish, click on the entry showing the title in capital letters to bring up the full catalogue
• Choose the ‘Browse collections’ option from the tool bar, and then in the ‘Ecclesiastical Records’ box click on ‘Parish’. The list of parishes will then be displayed alphabetically, and you can navigate to the relevant one

Parish registers will not be deposited at the Heritage Centre until they are completed or closed for an official reason. Therefore, some more recent parish registers which are still in use remain with the parish church, and if you cannot find the more recent registers listed in our catalogues, then we would suggest contacting the parish to see if they still hold them. Search the ‘A Church Near You’ website for contact details.

In some urban areas the parish graveyard has been closed for further burials, and new burials are interred in a municipal cemetery. Therefore, if you cannot find a burial register, we would suggest searching to see if the relevant parish has a municipal cemetery. Municipal cemeteries are normally under the administration of the district councils and contact details can be found on their websites.