Guernsey Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Guernsey, go to the Religious Records page.

Introduction
Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names, relationships, dates, and places of baptism, marriage, and burial. Since civil registration on Guernsey did not begin until 1840, church records are a major source for genealogical research on Guernsey before 1840.

The Church of England is the established church on Guernsey. Because of this, the oldest and most prevalent church records on Guernsey are baptism, marriage, and burial registers created by the Church of England.

Understanding the Records
The earliest church records in Guernsey date to the 1600s. Most church records will be written in French (or Latin for the Catholic Churches) up until the 1900s. For tips on how to read French, see Tips on using Church Registers and Church registers.

Accessing the Records
The Priaulx Library has ALL parish registers for baptisms, marriages, and burials on microfilm. For a listing of what parish and cemetery records are available on microfilm at the Library, see Guernsey Parish Chapel and Cemetery Records. Many of these records have been indexed. To see a list of all indexes, go to www.priaulxlibrary.co.uk. The Library can be hired to look up a record or do professional research.

For information about when parish registers began for each parish and church in Guernsey, see www.keithspages.com.