Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Genealogy

Guide to Cambridge, Cambridgeshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
CAMBRIDGE, a university, borough, and markettown, having separate jurisdiction, and forming a union and hundred of itself, in the county of Cambridge, on the river Cam, 51 miles (N. by E.) from London. It is the capital of Cambridgeshire. The railways go from it in six directions, toward London, Hitchin, Bedford, Huntingdon, Ely, and Ipswich, and toward all parts of the kingdom.

The city has long been famous as the seat of a university. Its trade is derived from the university, and from its being the centre of an agricultural district. It is now a chief station on the Great Eastern line, and is also connected with the other main lines. It has no mfrs. Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) was a native. The bor. returns 1 member to Parliament.-- The University of Cambridge consists of 17 colleges, each of which is governed by its own rules and customs. The 17 colleges are: -- St Peter's or Peter House (founded in 1257), Clare (1326), Pembroke (1347), Gonville and Caius (1348), Trinity Hall (1350), Corpus Christi (1352), King's (1441), Queen's (1448), St Catherine's (1473), Jesus (1496), Christ's (1505), St John's (1511), Magdalene (1519), Trinity (1546), Emmanuel (1584), Sidney Sussex (1598), Downing (1800), and Cavendish (1873). There are also 2 colleges -- Girton (3 miles from Cambridge) and Newnham -- for women, who, after their course of study and on passing the examinations, receive a certificate; but no degree is conferred upon them. The library contains upwards of 300,000 volumes, besides many valuable MSS. The laboratories and museums for the study of the natural sciences are splendidly equipped. The number of undergraduates is about 2500. The University returns 2 members to Parliament.

The town is divided into four distinct wards, named respectively Bridge ward, Market ward, High ward, and Preacher's ward; and contains the fourteen parishes of All Saints, St. Andrew the Great, St. Andrew the Less, St. Benedict, St. Botolph, St. Clement, St.Edward, St. Giles, St. Mary the Great, St. Mary the Less, St. Michael, St.Peter, St. Sepulchre, and the Holy Trinity.

The parishes and chapels within the city and parish boundary: All Saints - 1538, Holy Trinity - 1566, St Andrew the Great - 1600, St Andrew the Less - 1599, St Barnabas - 1889, St Benedict - 1539, St Botolph - 1564, St Clement - 1560, St Edward - 1558, St Giles - 1585, St Mary the Great - 1559, St Mary the Less- 1557, St Matthew - 1870, St Michael - 1538, St Paul - 1845, St Peter (later united to St Sepulchre) - 1586, St Philip - 1903, St Sepulchre - 1569, Queen's College - 1446, St Redegund, Barnwell Chapel - 1826, and Holy Trinity Newtown Chapelry - 1841.

Other places of worship were Independents, Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, Latter-Day Saints, and Roman Catholics.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church Records
There are many parishes and chapels in Cambridge. For church records see:


 * All Saints (records start 1538)
 * Holy Trinity (1566)
 * St Andrew the Great (1564)
 * St Andrew the Less (1753)
 * St Barnabas (1889)
 * St Benedict (1539)
 * St Botolph (1584)
 * St Clement (1560)
 * St Edward (1557)
 * St Giles (1596)
 * St Mary the Great (1557)
 * St Mary the Less (1558)
 * St Matthew (1870)
 * St Michael (1538)
 * St Paul (1845)
 * St Peter (1586) - later united to St Sepulchre
 * St Philip (1903)
 * St Sepulchre (1575)
 * Queen's College (1446)
 * St Redegund - see All Saints
 * Barnwell Chapel - see St Andrew the Less
 * Holy Trinity Newtown Chapelry (1841)

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Cambridgeshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Websites
Cambridge on GENUKI