Parish registers

Parish registers record baptisms, marriages and burials in Church of England parishes. They are still being created today.  For the official websites of Church of England parishes in the Diocese of Chelmsford, please click here.

Parish registers are essential sources for family history.  The Essex Record Office (ERO) holds registers from over 400 parishes, covering the present county of Essex, including Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, and also those parts of north-east London that used to be in Essex. Most parishes have registers from the 17th or 18th century onwards, but some go back to 1538.

Essex Archives Online includes images of all registers of baptisms, marriages and burials (excluding marriage registers from after 1957) deposited either in the ERO or with our partners at Waltham Forest Archives.  Please note that these images are not indexed. 

To find out what registers we hold, and to identify images available, select the first letter of the parish name in the list below, and then the parish and church that you need. 

The lists show

• all the registers of baptisms, marriages, burials or banns from Anglican or other churches, or from cemeteries, and any transcripts of them, that are available through the ERO, and
• the formats in which the records are available: either as digital images, or as microfiches or microfilms, or - if no copy exists - as original documents.  Only items marked 'digital images' are available in that form; otherwise, clicking on 'View' will simply show you the catalogue entry for the document.

Until 1812 many parish registers covered more than one type of event.  These registers will appear in the lists several times, but with the same reference each time.

To see images of parish registers online, please register and buy a subscription.  Images are free to view in the ERO Searchroom.