Skip to content
  • Start free trial

The largest collection of British parish records online

Findmypast is home to millions of church baptisms, banns, marriages and burials dating back to 1538, many you won't find anywhere else online.

Search parish records
Mother and baby

Go way back with parish records

Baptism, banns, marriage, and burial records are essential building blocks for every family tree. These delicate old documents can help you learn more about the most important events in your ancestors’ lives and grow your family tree as far back as medieval times. Parish records were first introduced in Britain by Henry VIII in 1538, following the Church of England’s split with Rome and were taken at major family ceremonies from then on.

Parish church

Exclusive parish registers

Not only will you find the largest selection of UK parish records online at Findmypast, you'll also find ones you won't get anywhere else. Exclusive parish register collections from Cheshire, Devon, Hertfordshire, East Kent, Leicestershire, Rutland, Scotland (Roman Catholic), Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Wales, West Kent, Westminster and Yorkshire (North and East Riding) are all available, only at Findmypast.

3 quick parish records research tips

Start or upload your family tree

Clever family tree hints will instantly uncover parish records for you.

Make the most of marriages

Marriage registers take you back another generation by revealing fathers' names.

Church or government records?

While parish registers can date back to 1538, civil records only began in 1837.

Start your family tree

The power of parish records

My jaw dropped when I first searched Findmypast's parish registers. There, staring back at me from a baptism record, were the names of ancestors I'd been trying to find for years. It took a few seconds for it to sink in that I had NEVER seen this information before and that I now knew for sure who my 4th great grandparents were. So thrilling!

Kathy

Review collected independently by Trustpilot

Search online parish registers now

Enter a few details to see your family’s records at your fingertips.