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This is a quick guide to the parish, nonconformist and cemetery registers available in the Essex Record Office. It lists all the churches and cemeteries for which the Record Office holds either original registers or copies, and shows the formats in which these are available to the public. Records listed here can all be found by searching Seax, but this is intended to be a quick guide to the records most useful for family history.
Using the database
Click on the arrow next to Select the first Letter of the parish and choose the initial letter of the parish by clicking on it, for example, C for Colchester. Another box will then appear. Click on the arrow next to Select a Parish Select a Parish and then select the name by clicking on it, for example Colchester. A third box should then appear. Click on the arrow next to Select a Church and then select the name by clicking on it, for example, St Botolph. For many parishes there may only be one church. A list should then appear with all of the registers and other types of records, such as Bishops’ Transcripts, held for that church. For each one the list shows its reference and the formats available (for example 'original' or 'microfiche'). Click on the View button next to any of the entries to see the full description from Seax. Subscribers can also view any images that are available. |  |
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Where can the registers be seen?All the Church of England registers of baptisms, marriages and burials deposited either in the Essex Record Office or in Waltham Forest Archives (except marriage registers after 1957) are available to subscribers online as digital images. These images can also be seen free of charge in the Record Office searchroom, or at the Archive Access Points in Saffron Walden Library and Harlow Museum. Almost all the Church of England parish registers are also available on microfiche, with further copies at Colchester and Southend Libraries. Fiches for the north-west of the county, and some other parishes, can be seen at the Saffron Walden Archive Access Point. The Harlow Archive Access Point has fiches for the Harlow area. Where the registers have been digitised, microfiched or filmed, the original registers will not normally be produced except with the specific authorisation of the searchroom archivist. The Record Office also holds Bishops’ Transcripts , nonconformist registers, transcripts and other records. These are not yet available online. |
Copies of entries
Copies of individual entries can be supplied where you are able to give the specific date and name of the person mentioned in the entry. You can complete a copy order form and send it to the Essex Record Office. If you visit the Essex Record Office in person, copies from microfiches can be made self-service reader-printers, or you can order copies through the staff. To request the copying service, please complete the Order Form Searches of parish registers can be requested through our search service. Details of the search service can be found on the website. To request the search service, please complete the Order Form |  |