INTRODUCTION

Baptism, marriage & burial records
in Bosbury Parish Registers
The Parish Registers are bound ledgers stored at present in Bosbury parish church and hand-written by the vicar or his clerk. Note that actual dates of birth and death are rarely recorded either on the registers or on memorials.
Key dates

• 5 September 1538 - Thomas Cromwell, on Henry VIII’s orders, instructed every parish priest to keep a book and each week enter the baptisms, marriages and burials
• 1598 - copies or ‘Bishop’s Transcripts’ of new entries were to be sent each month to the diocesan centre
• 1643 to 1660 - during the Civil War and Commonwealth period, records were poorly kept and many are now missing after being destroyed or hidden by the clergy. The registers were returned to the churches following the Restoration in 1660
• 1733 - entries had to be made in English rather than Latin
• 1751 - after reform of the calendar, the start of the register year was changed from Lady Day (25th March) to 1st January
• 1812 - printed registers supplied by the King’s printer
• 1837 - no parish register entry if a marriage takes place in a Registry Office

Details given

• Baptisms 1550 to 1812 - date of baptism, name, parent’s names
• Baptisms 1813 - place of residence and parent’s occupation added
• Marriages 1559 to 1812 - date of marriage, full names given including surname of spouse
• Marriages 1763 onwards - place of residence added. Ages may be given as ‘Of Full Age’ if over 21 or ‘Minor’ if under
• Marriages 1790 onwards - marital status regularly included
• Marriages 1837 onwards - date of marriage, full names, ages, marital status, occupation, place of residence, father’s name and occupation
• Burials 1550 to 1812 - name and date of burial
• Burials 1813 - age at death and place of residence added