Worcestershire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1812-1922

General collection information

This collection contains images of transcripts created for Anglican Bishops, of Church of England baptism records for the years 1813–1922 from Worcestershire, England.

Before civil registration began in 1837, key events in a person's life were typically recorded by the church, rather than the government. Parish records were the first sets of vital records kept; they often date back to the 16th century and are some of the longest running records available. Churchwardens were compelled to send transcripts of all baptisms, marriages and burials for the previous year to the Church of England Bishops and these are known as Bishop Transcripts.

Using this collection

This collection includes the following details:

Parish records are some of the best resources you can use in tracing your family roots. These records were taken by church officials to mark important milestones in people's lives. They often include information about other family members such as parents, making it easy to jump back an additional generation in your family tree with a single record.

Baptismal records can be helpful in establishing a timeline for an ancestor or ancestors, since children were usually baptised within a few days or weeks of being born.

History of the collection

When Henry VIII established the Church of England, he mandated parishes to keep handwritten records of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Beginning in 1598, clergy were required to send copies of their parish registers to the bishop of their diocese. These copies are known as Bishop's Transcripts and are useful in cases where original records are unreadable or no longer exist.

In 1812, George Rose's Act called for pre-printed registers to be used for separate baptism, marriage, and burial registers as a way of standardising records.