Family History information

Parish Registers

Only current Parish Registers are kept with the Benefice.  If you are doing family history and wish to look at the old registers these are kept at the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester for all the parishes in the Benefice

The History Centre is working with Ancestry to make a digitized version of their records available online and those from 1813 on can be found on Ancestry– although a subscription is needed to see these records many public libraries have one which enable you to view them for free.

You may find that some records for some of the Parishes can be found at  “Online Parish Clerk” (OPC), for example you may be able to look at transcriptions of marriages.

Bishop’s transcripts

Because these are owned by the Diocese rather than the Parish they are held with all of Salisbury Diocese archives in the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre and they cover different years for the different parishes.

Monumental inscriptions

For information on Monumental inscriptions please talk the relevant Church Wardens.