Genealogy Chat

Does anyone know who holds parish records and how they can be accessed? Do you have to guess which church the individual was baptised in or is there some way of finding out? Most of the records I have are from the census and they don't give a church name - just an area like Clerkenwell for example where there are hundreds of churches

London Metropolitan Archives should hold registers for the Clerkenwell area: Google them to find their website. Children are unfortunately baptised all over the place. It is easier and cheaper to buy a birth certificate post 1837 than to look for a baptism because there are just so many churches. Luckily, most of those churches were built in the 1820s or later, so there are fewer churches in earlier periods. Familysearch, the LDS website, has an index to some marriages and baptisms. It can be helpful, but it is not entirely accurate. The actual registers will often give additional information, like where the family lived and the occupation of the father after 1812.

Parish records are held in the relevant County Record Office. Very few remain in the churches; to keep them the church must adhere to the proper standards for storing archival material and most can't afford that. The Society of Genealogists in London have incomplete copies, as do the LDS. You must know the church before you can search otherwise you'll go in circles. Find out the date the church was built and if it closed for repairs/restorations at any time. Check denominations too.