Bedfordshire, England Genealogy

Bedfordshire is a centrally located county of England.

Getting Started

 * Finding Ancestors in England

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Bedfordshire, England

"BEDFORDSHIRE, or Beds, an inland county; bounded on the NW by Northampton, on the NE by Huntingdon, on the E by Cambridge, on the SE and the S by Herts, and on the SW and W by Bucks. Its length southward is 35 miles; its greatest breadth, 22½ miles; its circuit, about 145 miles; and its area 295,582 acres . ..

"Bedfordshire contains 122 parishes, parts of 3 other parishes, and 2 extra-parochial tracts...

"The county is governed by a lord-lieutenant, a high sheriff, about 36 deputy-lieutenants, and 160 magistrates. The assizes and quarter sessions are held at Bedford... It was formerly in the diocese of Lincoln, but is now in the diocese of Ely; and it constitutes an archdeaconry, comprising six deaneries... The places of worship within the electoral county in 1851 were 133 of the Church of England, with 42,557 sittings; 19 of Independents, 55 of Baptists, 3 of Quakers, 3 of Moravians, 78 of Wesleyan Methodists, 18 of Primitive Methodists, 1 of Brethren, 11 of isolated congregations, 1 of the Catholic and Apostolic church, 3 of Latter Day Saints, 1 of Roman Catholics, and 1 of Jews...

"Population in 1801 was 63,393: in 1821, 84,052; in 1841, 107,936; in 1861, 135,287..."

(The above extract is taken from: John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72). For the full account, go online to Vision of Britain.)

Civil Districts
When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, Bedfordshire was divided into a number of registration districts, each containing several parishes. The index to the civil records gives the name of the district where an event took place. Click here to see a list of the civil districts in Bedfordshire and the parishes covered by each. Read more about England Civil Registration.

Parishes
See a list of the parishes in Bedfordshire with links to articles.

Probate Jurisdictions
Before 1858, every town and parish in Bedfordshire was under the probate jurisdiction of several ecclesiastical courts. To read more about probate records and see a list of Bedfordshire towns and parishes and the probate courts that had jurisdiction over them, go to Bedfordshire Probate Records.

Research Tools

 * Bedfordshire websites
 * Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service
 * Bedfordshire Family History Society--and others--listed on the Bedfordshire societies GENUKI page.