Church of England registers
We hold most historical registers for the Church of England in the Diocese of Manchester. You can check our church register to find out how to access them.
Online
- Most Anglican parish registers of the Diocese of Manchester (including Manchester Cathedral) are online at Ancestry. This includes digitised original registers and a name index of baptisms (1500s to 1915), marriages (1500s to 1930 and burials (1500s to 1985). Free access is available from any of our libraries.
- An index of burials at Manchester Cathedral 1573 to 1868 published by the Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society is available on findmypast. Free access is available from any of our libraries.
- Family Search is an index of baptisms and marriages from (mainly) Church of England registers. Whilst far from complete it can make a very good starting point. A list of the parishes covered can be found on the rootsweb site.
- The Lancashire Online Parish Clerks preserve records from various parishes and provides online access free of charge. Transcripts of various parish registers are available on this website.
At our Central Library you will find:
- microfilm copies for many Lancashire and Cheshire parishes, and a few in Derbyshire
- original registers for some Manchester Diocese parishes which have not been microfilmed or digitised. For details of all parish registers we hold, see our church register list.
- published volumes of the Lancashire Parish Register Society and it's unpublished transcripts
- microfiche index of baptisms and marriages for the British Isles