Bishops’ transcripts for the diocese of Durham

Did you know that among the Durham Diocesan Records in Durham University Library are the bishops' transcripts of the registers of most parishes and chapelries in the diocese of Durham (including parishes and chapelries in Northumberland before the establishment of Newcastle diocese in 1882).  Note that Alston and Garrigill in Cumberland formed part of the diocese of Durham at this period.  The series also includes pre-1813 transcripts of the registers of parishes and chapelries from Yorkshire peculiar jurisdictions in Allerton and Allertonshire which were associated with Durham diocese.  In addition there are a few transcripts of the registers of Society of Friends burial grounds from the 1860s to the 1890s.  (Transcripts from the area known as Hexham and Hexhamshire in Northumberland prior to 1837 and from Allerton and Allertonshire 1813 onwards are among the York Diocesan Archives in the Borthwick Institute in York.)

The earliest transcript in Durham dates from 1660 and the latest from 1919.  For the majority of parishes and chapelries, however, transcripts survive only for the period from ca 1760 until the mid nineteenth century, and in many cases there are significant gaps within the holdings.  There are no transcripts of marriage register entries after the introduction of civil registration in 1837.  A list of the outside dates of all known surviving transcripts in this series, and of strays identified in other collections administered by Durham University Library and Durham Cathedral Library, is now available online at http://flambard.dur.ac.uk/dynaweb/handlist/ddr/ddrbts/   

In an exciting new development digitised images of all these transcripts have now also been made freely available on the pilot record search website of the Genealogical Society of Utah (part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) at http://pilot.familysearch.org : to access the images select Europe on the map of the world, then choose the collection England, Diocese of Durham Bishops' Transcripts ca.1700-1900.  Note that the names included in these images have not been indexed and so will not be found by doing a name search on the FamilySearch website.

Margaret McCollum

Durham University Library