England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection of bishop's transcripts consists of yearly summaries of baptisms, marriages, and deaths for parishes throughout Cambridge. The collection was originally filmed at the Cambridge University Library. It covers the years 1599 to 1860.

Most bishops’ transcripts of Church of England parish registers have been preserved. Many have also been copied to microfilm or microfiche. The condition of the records is relatively good considering their age and their storage conditions over the centuries. In 1598, ministers were required to copy their registers onto parchment. If the minister failed to make such a copy, the register for that parish and its records did not survive. During the Commonwealth period, 1649–1660, many parish registers disappeared, and many transcripts were not kept because ministers were deposed from their parishes.

Parish registers were created to record church events of baptism or christening, marriage, and burial. Baptismal entries usually list the person’s birth date, and burial entries list the death date. In the Church of England, baptism, which was also called christening, was performed soon after the birth of a child. Marriage in the church legally united a man and a woman for civil legal reasons and for the purpose of founding a religiously sanctified family. Burial is a function of the church to inter the deceased soon after death.

Church of England parish registers are the most reliable and accurate family history source until July 1837, when the government instituted the civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths. Parish registers continue to play an important role because they are often more readily available than civil registers. Information in parish registers and bishops’ transcripts can be verified against each other.

Record Content


Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Given name of child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Parents' names and occupation of father
 * Legitimacy of child and parents
 * Names of godparents



Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Marriage date
 * Name of the bride and groom
 * Age of the bride and groom
 * May list names of parents or other relatives
 * After 1837, the full names of the fathers
 * Residence of the bride and groom
 * Marital status of individuals and couples
 * May list the dates that the marriage was announced (also called “banns published”). This normally took place on three separate occasions prior to the marriage and gave anyone with a valid reason a chance to object to the marriage.
 * After 1754, the full names of witnesses
 * May note if a spouse is single or widowed at the time of the marriage



Burial records usually contain the following information:


 * Burial date
 * Name of the deceased. If the deceased is a child, the father’s name might be given. If the deceased is a married woman, the husband’s name might be given.
 * Age of the person
 * Residence of the deceased
 * May give the sex of the deceased
 * Residence of the deceased

How to Use the Records
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

Search the Collection
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.

Using the Information
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.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * 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.

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.

Related Websites

 * Archive collections : Bishop's Transcripts
 * Gen UKI
 * Cambridgeshire Association for Local History
 * England in the early 21st century, with Cambridgeshire highlighted
 * Cambridgeshire in 1830
 * England and Wales Historic Maps
 * England and Wales History Links

Related Wiki Articles

 * Cambridgeshire
 * Cambridgeshire in the FamilySearch Catalog
 * England Church Records
 * England

Citations for This Collection
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