About London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924

This collection includes Church of England parish registers of births and baptisms between 1813 and 1924 from the historical county of London, England. This collection also includes registers of births and baptisms that occurred in workhouses operated by the Boards of Guardians.

Parish records—primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials—were the first sets of vital records kept. Before civil registration began in 1837, key events in a person's life were typically recorded by the church, rather than the government. Dating back to the 16th century, parish records have become some of the longest running records available.

This collection may include the following details:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Date of baptism
• Parish
• County
• Parents' names
• Father’s occupation

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. Names of godparents were also included in baptism records from the mid to late twentieth century.

Baptismal records can be a great source of information to help trace your ancestors, especially since children were usually baptised within a few days or weeks of being born.

Collection in context

Records in this collection were gathered by clergy in the Church of England. Original records are kept at The London Archives.

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.

In 1834 the Poor Law Amendment Act was enacted. This law formed parishes into groups called Unions. Each Union elected a Board of Guardians, which was then responsible for the care of the poor, rather than the individual parishes. Among the records kept by poor law workhouses and infirmaries were registers of births and baptisms. In many London and Middlesex poor law unions or parishes the maternity ward was in the workhouse rather than in the workhouse infirmary. The registers recorded information about the births and baptisms that occurred at these institutions.

Churching is a rite or ceremony in which a woman recovering from childbirth is brought to the church to receive blessings and prayers. This ceremony was not always formally recorded, but when it was, it was often recorded on baptismal registers.