Place:Bristol St. James and St. Paul Out, Gloucestershire, England

Bristol St. James and St. Paul Out was an eccelesiastical parish with registers (for St. James's) going back to 1576. The word "Out" in a parish name often denotes a city parish which owned a large area outside its city bounds--often called a "glebe". St. James and St. Paul Out became a civil parish in 1837 and continued as such until 1896 when it was abolished to become part of the civil parish of North Bristol.

Bristol St. James In

The Priory Church of St. James, Bristol is a Grade I listed building in Horsefair, Whitson Street. It was originally founded in 1129 as a Benedictine priory. It became part of the Church of England in the 16th century. Extant parish registers and bishops transcripts both begin in 1832. (Source:FamilySearch Wiki). GENUKI states parish registers commenced in 1576.

Bristol St. Paul

St. Paul's Church in Portland Square, Bristol, gives its name to the surrounding St. Pauls area of Bristol. It was built in the 1790s but fell into disuse and disrepair. St Paul's Parish is at the heart of inner city Bristol. Extant parish registers and bishops transcripts both begin in 1794. (Source:FamilySearch Wiki)

Registration Districts

Bristol St. James and St. Paul Out

• Clifton Registration District (1837-1877)
• Barton Regis Registration District (1877 - 1896) Abolished 1896 to become part of the parish of North Bristol.

Bristol St. James In

• Bristol Registration District (1837 - 1896) Abolished 1896 to become part of the parish of Central Bristol.

Bristol St. Paul In

• Bristol Registration District (1837 - 1896) Abolished 1896 to become part of the parish of Central Bristol.

Research Tips

• Bristol Archives is where paper and microfilm copies of all records for Bristol and its environs are stored.

Online sources which may also be helpful:

• Three maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrate the changes in political boundaries over the period 1830-1945. All have expanding scales and on the second and third this facility is sufficient that individual parishes can be inspected (except in the immediate Bristol area--for Bristol, see English Jurisdictions).

• Gloucestershire Hundreds as drawn in 1832. This map was prepared before The Great Reform Act of that year. Note the polling places and representation of the various parts of the county.
• Gloucestershire in 1900, an Ordnance Survey map showing rural districts, the boundaries of the larger towns, the smaller civil parishes of the time, and some hamlets and villages in each parish
• Gloucestershire in 1943, an Ordnance Survey map showing the rural districts after the changes to their structure in the 1930s

• A Vision of Britain through Time has a group of pages of statistical facts for almost every parish in the county
• GENUKI gives pointers to other archive sources as well as providing some details on each parish. The emphasis here is on ecclesiastical parishes (useful before 1837)
• A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 and tables of the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. The compiler has gone to a lot of work to provide this material. Respect his copyright.
• The FamilySearch Wiki for Gloucestershire provides a similar but not identical series of webpages to that provided by GENUKI
• English Jurisdictions, a supplementary website to FamilySearch outlining local parish boundaries in the middle on the 19th century. The information provided is especially useful for establishing the locations of ecclesiastical parishes in large towns and cathedral cities, as well as changes in their dedications (names). Very useful for Bristol.
• The Church Crawler has a website of photos and histories of English Churches with emphasis on Bristol.
• Unfortunately, the Victoria County History series provided by the website British History Online only provides information on Gloucestershire Churches in this part of the county. More general information on the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area is sadly omitted.
• Ancestry UK has recently added Gloucestershire Burials, 1813-1988; Confirmations, 1834-1913; Baptisms, 1813-1913; Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813; and Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938. (entry dated 1 Aug 2015)
• Ancestry has also now updated Bristol, England, Select Church of England Parish Registers, 1720-1933 (entry dated 14 Mar 2016)