Browse through thousands of sacramental registers from the Roman Catholic dioceses of Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Northampton, Nottingham, Plymouth, Southwark and Westminster. The collection includes baptisms, marriages, burials, and congregational registers.
Browse through thousands of sacramental registers from the Roman Catholic dioceses of Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Northampton, Nottingham, Plymouth, Southwark and Westminster. The collection includes baptisms, marriages, burials, and congregational registers.
The records in this collection have been made available by from various Archdiocesan and Diocesan Archives in England, Findmypast is dedicated to adding further dioceses to this collection of Roman Catholic records. There are records available from 1657 until 1907. The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales placed a 110-year closure period on all sacramental records. Most of the records available here are from the 19th century.
With each volume, you can browse through the sacramental registers from beginning to end. The detail found in each volume will defer depending on the type of register you are viewing. Earlier registers recorded numerous events in one volume, for example, you may find baptisms, marriages, and burials all listed in one volume together. To search for your ancestor by name, select on the indexed record sets available in the Useful links and resources section. Below are lists of the details that may be available for each register type.
Baptisms
Birth date
Baptism date
Church
Parish
Father’s name
Mother’s name
Godparents
Priest
Marriages
Marriage date
Church
Parish
Spouse’s name
Spouse’s parish
Father’s name
Spouse’s father’s name
Witnesses’ names
Priest
Burials
Age
Death date
Burial date
Church
Congregational
The documents in this collection include anniversary books, confirmation lists, congregational lists, lists of benefactors and converts, parish diaries, and more. Most records will list the individual’s name, date or year of the event, and contain additional remarks related to the event.
Many of the registers will be written in Latin. Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church until the 1960s. Below are common Latin words you may find in the registers.
Aetati - age
Anno Domino – year of Our Lord
Baptizandi - baptized
Cognomen - surname
Die mensis – day of month
Domicilium - residence
Filium / Filiam - son or daughter
Matrimonium – the sacrament of Holy Matrimony or marriage
Matrina fuit - godmother was
Mensis - month
Natus - birth
Nomina parentum – the names of parents
Observanda – observations or notes
Patrinus fuit - godfather was
Praesntibus testibus – their presence as witnesses
Sepultum est - buried in
Sponsoribus – sponsors
You can search by year, event type and place.
Use the previous and next arrows or the image counter in the image viewer to navigate through a given register.
If you wish to search transcripts of these records, which will allow you to search by names, follow the links in the Useful links and resources section.