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Tracing Family History

Family History in Hereford Diocese: the Church of England in Herefordshire, South Shropshire and parts of Worcestershire and Wales

Research into Family History, also known as Genealogy is now a very popular pastime. Unless a church has a specific web page dedicated to genealogy on A Church Near You it is unlikely that the church will be able to help. Busy Parish Priests will appreciate it if you try the other helpful sources listed below.
If you wish to visit the church or churchyard, for example to find a grave or headstone, you would normally be very welcome. Please remember that our churches are places of worship still and services may be taking place at the time of your visit. Please treat the area around the church with respect. Churchyards may or may not allow dogs on leads.

This page is designed to provide a starting point for your research. The parishes in the Diocese of Hereford are spread across the whole of Herefordshire, South Shropshire, parts of Worcestershire and 12 parishes over the border in Powys and Monmouth in Wales.

Registers

• Most churches have deposited their pre-1900 registers for baptisms, marriages and burials at the Diocesan Records Office in their County Records Office.
• You may contact the County Archivist, County Records Office as below for each County covered by the Diocese of Hereford
• Herefordshire
• Shropshire
• Worcestershire
• Powys
• Monmouth
• The most comprehensive site for genealogy is GENUKI (link to , the UK & Ireland Genealogy site, which lists extensive information about ChurchRecords for Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire and those in Wales. If you look at the GENUKI page for the particular parish you are interested in, under "Church Records", you should find which registers have been lodged at the County Records office.
• The Church of England website has some further "Anglican sources for tracing your family history"
• The Family History Centre in Myddelton Street, London holds extensive Birth, Marriage and Death records.
• The Library of the Society of Genealogists in London holds copies of some registers.
• The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is held by most family history centres, and includes Cornish records.
• There are numerous web-sites with Family History Information. Cyndi's List is a good starting point.
• For very recent register entries (i.e. within the last 20-50 years) you may be able to contact the parish priest if he has an email address or alternatively by snail mail at the address given on A Church Near You. You should be aware that fees will be charged for searches.