England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Cambridgeshire

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of bishop's transcripts from Cambridgeshire, covering the period 1599-1860. The collection was originally filmed at the Cambridge University Library. Availability of records may vary by time and locality.

Discontinued in the late 1800s, bishop's transcripts are copies of parish registers that ministers were supposed to send to the archdeacon or bishop every year. Before 1812, bishops’ transcripts were usually recorded on loose pieces of paper, but after that time, the transcripts were recorded on the same pre-printed forms as parish registers. As bishop’s transcripts generally contain more or less the same information as parish registers, they are an invaluable resource when parish records have been damaged, destroyed, or otherwise lost. However, because bishop's transcripts are, as their name implies, copies of the original records, they are more liable contain errors than parish registers might be. Most collections of bishops’ transcripts have been preserved, and their condition is relatively good considering the age of the records and their storage conditions over the centuries. Many collections have also been copied to microfilm or microfiche.

One of the historic counties of England, Cambridgeshire is located inland in the east of England. For a list of parishes in this county with links to more information about each of them, see Cambridgeshire Parishes.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The following lists indicate potential information given in each type of record. It must be remembered that every record may not provide all of the listed information, as record-keeping practices varied by time and location.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful if to know the following information:


 * Names of primary individuals such as the infant or bride and groom
 * Identifying information such as the approximate date and place of the event

To search by name: To search the collection fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare information about several individuals in order to make this determination.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * After 1812, the baptismal records list a place of residence, making it easier to identify where your family lived.
 * Marriage records sometimes state the residence for the bride and groom. You can use this information to look for their baptisms and to identify the children of this couple. Marriage records after 1754 list the names of witnesses, who were often family members. These can help you identify your ancestor’s family. Signatures in the records might be used to identify a particular individual by the handwriting style.
 * After 1812, and sometimes before, burial records include the age of the deceased. Use this age to approximate the person’s birth year and to find the baptismal record.
 * If the deceased is a child, the parents’ names might be given. This information helps to extend your family another generation.
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Indexes may contain human transcription errors such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities (Norfolk, Essex, Hertfordshire).
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals with the same family number.
 * Bishops’ transcripts are a backup source for parish registers that are missing or illegible. If possible, you may want to search both the parish registers and the bishops’ transcripts since one is a handwritten copy of the other and might contain differences.

Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west.

General Information About These Records
In 1537, the Church of England mandated that parishes begin keeping church registers by the next year (1538). These church registers continue to the present. Bishops’ transcripts, or copies of parish registers, were required beginning in 1598 and continued to the mid-1800s.

The vast majority of the English population belonged to the Church of England. Only since the mid-19th century have other religious groups made headway.

In 1530, King Henry VIII established the Church in England, also known as the Anglican Church, the State Church, or the Episcopal Church. A law passed in 1537 required ministers to record the baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place in their parishes. Priests recorded these events in registers and kept them at the parish level, which is the lowest level of authority in the Church of England. Within some parishes, chapelries were created to provide for the worship needs of the parishioner when the parish church was not easily accessible. Chapelries sometimes had the authority to perform baptisms, marriages, and burials, so they kept their own registers. Several parishes formed a deanery (presided over by a dean), several deaneries formed an archdeaconry (presided over by an archdeacon), and several archdeaconries formed a diocese (presided over by a bishop).

Beginning in 1598, ministers were required to send copies of their registers to an archdeacon or bishop annually. These copies are referred to as bishops’ transcripts, or sometimes archdeacon transcripts. As a result, two copies of many parish registers exist from 1598 to about the mid-1800s. After civil registration began in 1837, the value of keeping bishops’ transcripts diminished, so by 1870 most parishes had stopped making them.

Banns are proclamations of an intent to marry. After 1754, these banns were required to be read for three consecutive Sundays before a marriage so that anyone with reasons against the marriage could oppose it. Banns were read in both the bride’s parish and the groom’s parish.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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