England, Pallot's Marriage Index, 1780-1837

Pallot's Index to Marriages is essential for researchers with London ancestry, as it covers all but two of the 103 parishes in the old City of London. The dates span the time from 1780 to the onset of General Registration in 1837. The more than 1.5 million marriage entries come mainly from London and Middlesex, but also include entries from 2500 parishes in 38 counties outside of London-many not available in other sources. Also included are several records from counties in Wales. With indexing begun in 1813, several of the registers transcribed in Pallot's index no longer exist, having been destroyed or lost in the time since.

The index slips were handwritten on paper, and indexing continued regularly over a period of more than 150 years. Each slip identifies the church or chapel in which the marriage was celebrated, the names of bride and of groom, whether spinster, bachelor, widow or widower and sometimes other detail along with the date of the event.

The original paper slips of the Pallot Index are owned and held at The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, England. The Institute may have access to fuller details that may have survived among the original parish records. (www.ihgs.ac.uk) The Institute is a not-for-profit educational organization and researches in the records themselves can be arranged. Please visit their website for additional information about the services they provide.