England, Norfolk Poor Law Union Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection covers records for the years 1796 through 1900.

Record History
Poor Law records were created by the parish vestry in collecting, dispersing, and protecting the funds for the legitimate poor of the parish. The first poor law came into effect with the Poor Law Act of 1601. Under this law the Church of England parish served as a unit of the local government in managing the care of the poor who lived in the parish. The vestry council, or “vestry” for short, was the administrative body of local government. Each English parish was independent of any other parish and had to care for its poor by collecting taxes (known as “raising rates”). As a result, parish officers were careful to keep the needy poor of other parishes out of their parish, and they kept a close watch on new move-ins.

One or two churchwardens and overseers were chosen each year as parish officers in the vestry. They were usually from the prominent men of the parish. The churchwarden collected taxes from all householders (anyone who owned or rented property) in the parish, except the poor. The overseer handled all matters relating to the care of the poor.

Why This Record Was Created
Poor Law records were created by the parish vestry in collecting, dispersing, and protecting the funds for the legitimate poor of the parish.

Record Description
The following is a brief description of each record group: RG 4 contains birth, marriage, and death records from Presbyterian, Baptist, and Independent churches (known collectively as the Congregational Church); the Royal Hospital in Chelsea; the Royal Hospital in Greenwich; the Dr. Williams’s Library; the Wesleyan Methodist Metropolitan Registry; the Bunhill Fields Burial Ground in Hackney, London; the South London Burial Ground in Walworth, London; and the Necropolis Burial Ground in Everton, Liverpool.

RG 5 contains birth records from the General Register Office; Dr. Williams’s Library; the Presbyterian, Independent, and Baptist Registry; and the Wesleyan Methodist Metropolitan Registry.

RG 6 contains birth, marriage and burial records from the Society of Friends’ (Quakers’) registers, notes and certificates, 1578-1841.

RG 7 contains records of clandestine marriages and baptisms in the Fleet Prison, the King’s Bench Prison, the Mint, and the May Fair Chapel, 1667-c1777.

RG 8 contains birth, marriage and death records surrendered to the Non-Parochial Registers Commission of 1857, and other registers and church records. “Among the more extensive collections in this series are the registers of the British Lying-in Hospital, Holborn, which record particulars of births and baptisms; registers of burials in the Victoria Park Cemetery, the New Burial Ground, Southwark, Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, Hackney, and the Bethnal Green Protestant Dissenters Burying Ground; registers of Chapels Royal at St James's Palace, Whitehall and Windsor Castle (Guide to BMD Registers, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk).

“The rest of the series contains the archive of the Russian Orthodox Church in London, 1721-1927. The records include not only registers of births, marriages, deaths, and conversions but also comprehensive general records on the day-to-day workings of the church. The usual language is Russian, with some Greek; there are a few documents such as certificates, letters and passports in English, French and German” (Guide to BMD Registers, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk).

The index from the original Web site usually lists the following information:

• Surnames

• Given names (also known as “forenames”)

• Relationship

• year of event

• Type of event

• place (by county)

• record group (RG 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) view (full details of a transcript or the page image)

How to Use the Record
Church records are an excellent source for validating the vital events in someone’s life and are also the best source of individual information. Use the index to link to your ancestor in the church record. Keep in mind that as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Related Websites
www.bmdregisters.co.uk/

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

http://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk/

Related Wiki Articles
England Nonconformist Church Records

Sources of This Collection
"England and Wales, Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8)," database, FamilySearch; from Her Majesty's Stationery Office (Great Brittain). "Index to the Non-conformist record classes RG 4-8." National Archive, London (England). Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

How to Cite Your Sources
Instructions for citing this source can be found at: Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)