Church Records

Ashton-u-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley, Stalybridge.

See our other pages: Family History and Archives for Family History for other sources of family history.

• Introduction
• International Genealogical Index (IGI)
• Explanation of Registers and Key
• Records by Town
• Additional Church Records (held within our archives)

Introduction

Before 1837 births, marriages and deaths were not recorded systematically – only records of baptisms, marriages and burials are likely to survive and are a vital source for family historians.

Records of baptisms, marriages and burials before 1837 are held in parish registers kept by Church of England clergy or in nonconformist and Roman Catholic registers.

Although officially kept from 1538, there are many gaps in parish registers until 1813 when separate, printed volumes were introduced for baptisms, marriages and burials. The Church of England, as the Established Church, retained a role in recording baptisms, marriages and burials even after the growth of other denominations.

Generally Nonconformist registers become numerous only after 1780 and Roman Catholic registers for the Tameside area date from the 1820s

From 1753 Hardwicke’s Marriage Act tightened up the rules about marriages and until 1837 only Church of England, Jewish and Quaker marriages were valid (as Scotland was outside the scope of the Act this led to Gretna Green becoming a centre for more "irregular" marriages).

Please remember that until 1752, the new year started in March, so January 1721 would be after April 1721, for example. In 1751, it was decided that January 1st would start the new year thereafter.

It is also worth remembering that church registers can be used for demographic and other social history studies. Registers give information about birth and death rates in the period before civil registration and can tell us about literacy levels (as people had to sign or make their mark in marriage registers) and about levels of illegitimate births.

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

This is an index to pre 1837 baptisms, marriages and some burials compiled on microfilm by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

It is available at familysearch.org  and indexes, arranged by surname, for England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (plus Canada and the Pacific Islands) are available here on microfiche.

Although extremely useful, the index is not comprehensive, only about a third of churches have been filmed. It is always worth comparing the entries with the originals. We also have a CD-Rom for the whole of the British Isles covering 1538-1888.

Explanation of Registers and Key

Introduction

This is a list of the registers of over 300 churches and chapels available for viewing in Tameside Archives and Local Studies. Churches are listed alphabetically by town, and then by church name. Churches are broken down into Church of England, Nonconformist (including Moravian) and Roman Catholic.

Church of England Records

Indicated in black, and are shortened to the abbreviation CofE.

Although some registers remain with the church, churches are encouraged to deposit their records at the Diocesan Record Offices - Cheshire parishes at Chester, Lancashire parishes at Manchester Archives & Local Studies, Central Library, St. Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD, Tel: 0161-234-1979.

(NB: BTs = Bishop's Transcripts)

Nonconformist Records

Indicated in red, and are shorted to the abbreviation NC.

There were no marriages at nonconformist chapels between 1754 and 1837, as the Marriages Act forbade non-Anglican marriages (except for Quakers and Jews). Registers of nonconformist churches are mostly in the Public Record Office.

(NB: Some entries are out of chronological sequence in the Methodist Registers.)

Catholic Records

Indicated in blue, and are shortened to the abbreviation RC.

Please note these records are quite difficult to read and the dates are not always in consecutive order.

Archives

Original documents of registers are sometimes available in Tameside Archives. The archive collection reference being made up of NB, NC, NM, NU as a prefix, followed by a number or a series of numbers. For example NB1/18 for Wakefield Road Baptist Church: marriage register.

Please note that archives will not be produced within thirty minutes of closing time and that all archives must be returned fifteen minutes before closing time.

Records by Town

• Ashton under Lyne Records
• Audenshaw Records
• Bardsley Records
• Denton and Haughton Records
• Droylsden Records
• Dukinfield Records
• Hollingworth Records
• Hyde and Newton Records
• Manchester Records
• Mossley Records
• Mottram Records
• Oldham Records
• Stalybridge Records
• Miscellaneous Records

Ashton under Lyne

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Audenshaw

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Bardsley

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Denton and Haughton

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Droylsden

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Dukinfield

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Hollingworth

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Hyde and Newton

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Manchester

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Mossley

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Mottram

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Oldham

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Stalybridge

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Miscellaneous

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 Additional Church Records Held Within Tameside Archives

In addition to births, marriages and deaths our Church Records Collection includes a range of documents including financial records, committee meeting minutes and Sunday School records for a few churches.

Please contact us for access to these records.

A copy of the catalogue for Church Records held within Tameside Archives is  available via the A2A website . To search our holdings enter the name of the church you are researching and under 'Select Repository' choose 'Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre'.

Grave Records

See our separate leaflet Family History for information about records for municipal cemeteries and monumental inscriptions held at the Local Studies and Archives Centre.

Most parish registers are held at the Local Studies and Archives Centre on microfilm and advance booking for microfilm-readers is advisable.

Important: Please include your name and postal address when you send us a message as this will help us provide a full response to your enquiry.

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre Central Library Old Street Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7SG  View local map
0161 342 4242
0161 342 4245