Timeline of useful dates

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Timeline of useful dates

Postby Northern Lass » Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:51 am

TIMELINE LIST OF IMPORTANT DATES

The registration of baptisms, marriages and burials in England was first introduced by Sir Thomas Cromwell in 27
Henry VIII. (1535), but temporarily abandoned because of the opposition excited.

1538- (30 Henry VIII.) The project successfully initiated.

1552. Injunctions to this end repeated, and also in 1558.

I555- Cardinal Pole ordered the addition of sponsors' names to the baptismal entries.

I597- (39 Eliz.) All registers ordered to be copied on to parchment, and transcripts made annually, of the previous year's entries and sent to the Bishops' registries, and regulations formulated for their safe keeping. 25th Oct., 1597.

1603. (i Jac. I.). The yoth Canon of the Church affirmed the preceeding.

1645. (20 Car. L)- The Directory of Public Worship directed the dates of births and deaths (as well as dates of baptism and burial) to be recorded.

1649-1660. During this period manyregisters were imperfectly kept.

1653. 22nd Sept. The election by the parishioners of the "parish register" was enacted.

1654. 2Qth Sept. Civil marriage by magistrate ordered. These marriages were legalized (1660) 12 Car. II.c- 33-

1660. (12 Car. II.). The Restoration of the King, and the evicted and persecuted clergy.

1667. Burial in woollen enacted. 19 Car. II.

1678. Burial in woollen more strigently enacted. 30 Car. II.

1695 - Tax imposed on parish register entries dissuading the poor from having births and marriages recorded.

1698. Duties on register entries imposed for five years. 6 & 7 Will. III.(1694-8).

1896. The Parish Register Society started.

1706 - Tax on parish register entries abolished.

gisters started.
1752 - Beginning of Church year changed from 25 March to 1 January.

1753 - required for parental consent for people marrying if they were under 21. Consent could be given by parents for a
boy at 14 and a girl at 12.( Hardwicke's Marriage Act )

1765 - House numbering introduced......In Britain, house names were traditionally the only way of identifying a house. It wasn't until the Stamp Act of 1765 that house numbering was introduced in some areas; to this day, there are regions where houses are only named. The earliest house names tended to be descriptive, e.g. Copped Hall, The Greene Gate.

The act of Parliament in 1765 decreed that every house in a town or city would have a number followed by the name of the street or road, this giving rise to the familiar address format still in use but its use was not universal in the decades immediately after its introduction.

No evidence to support it, but I imagine London might have been one of the first. The London book trades 1775-1800 lists several London addresses with street location/ description and house numbers where the house has one.

1784 - Stamp Duty Act imposed a tax of three pence on parish register entries which again dissuaded the poor from having births and marriages recorded.

1794 - Stamp Duty Act parish register tax abolished.

1754 -1837 It was only with the introduction of pre-printed registers in the Church of England that information additional to the names of the parties concerned was required. For Baptisms and Burials these registers were introduced in 1813. For Baptisms this required in addition to the date of baptism and the names of the parties concerned, the abode of the parents and the occupation of the father. The Burial register required the date of burial, the name of the person and their abode and age.

For marriages, the format of the entry in the parish register was changed by the Hardwick Marriage Act such that after 1754, the parishes of the parties being married was required to be stated. After 1837, the format changed to the same as the civil marriage certificate requiring the abode, occupation, father’s name and occupation to be given for both the bride and the groom.

Prior to these dates it was at the whim of the incumbent or his clerk as to whether any additional information was included in the register other than the date and the names of the parties concerned.

The above comments apply specifically to the Church of England. For non-conformists, it was the individual denominations/chapels that decided as to what they should include in their registers (that is if they did indeed keep a register). Again, though, for marriages after 1837 they were required to adopt the standard marriage certificate format.

1837 - 1 July - Civil registration started.

1841 - 6 June - Census night.

1851- 30 March - Census night.

1861 - 7 April - Census night.

1866 - June quarter - Age at death included on GRO index.

1871 - 2 April - Census night.

1881 - 3 April - Census night.

1891 - 5 April - Census night.

1901- 31 March - Census night.

1911- 2 April - Census night

1911 - Sept Qtr- Mother’s maiden name included on GRO birth index.

1912 - March Qtr - Spouses surname included on GRO marriage index.

1929. The age of consent was raised to 16 (see 1753 Act)

1969 - Date of birth included on GRO death

---------------------------

Other useful timeline links

History of Oldbury Timeline
:grin:

1535 to 1898 are extracts taken from

THE PARISH REGISTER
BY
WILLIAM BRADBROOK, M.R.C.S.

Published 1910
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Re: Timeline of useful dates

Postby Northern Lass » Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:21 am

Please if you have any useful dates and info that could be added to this timeline post and I will include it.
nb once included your post will be deleted.

:wink:
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