Bristol Archives Handlist of parish registers, non-conformist registers and bishop’s transcripts Website www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-archives Online catalogue archives.bristol.gov.uk Email enquiries
[email protected] Updated 15 November 2016 1 Parish registers, non-conformist registers and bishop’s transcripts in Bristol Archives This handlist is a guide to the baptism, marriage and burial registers and bishop’s transcripts held at Bristol Archives. Please note that the list does not provide the contents of the records. Also, although it includes covering dates, the registers may not cover every year and there may be gaps in entries. In particular, there are large gaps in many of the bishop’s transcripts. Church of England records Parish registers We hold registers and records of parishes in the City and Deanery of Bristol (later the Archdeaconry of Bristol) which is part of the Diocese of Bristol. These cover: The city of Bristol Some parishes in southern Gloucestershire, north and east of Bristol A few parishes in north Somerset Some registers date from 1538, when parish registers were first introduced. Bishop’s transcripts We hold bishop’s transcripts for the areas listed above, as well as several Wiltshire parishes. We also hold microfiche copies of bishop’s transcripts for a few parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Bishop’s transcripts are a useful substitute when original registers have not survived. In particular, records of the following churches were destroyed or damaged in the Blitz during the Second World War: St Peter, St Mary le Port, St Paul Bedminster and Temple.