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Parish Register Transcriptions

In 1984, the Committee of Clwyd FHS decided to undertake the massive task of making full transcriptions of all the pre-1813 registers of parishes within the then County of Clwyd.

Clwyd FHS members throughout the United Kingdom have now spent thirty years in transcribing, checking, resolving queries (with the assistance of the staffs of the County Record Offices and the National Library of Wales), typing, re-checking, and indexing.

The older registers - before 1754 for marriages, and before 1813 for baptisms and burials - are difficult to read, because standardised layouts were not normally used before those dates.

In most cases, the transcriptions have been made from the facsimiles (bound photocopies of the original registers) which are held by the local Rector or Vicar; but where these have been difficult to read, the Flintshire and Denbighshire Record Offices have allowed the Society to transcribe from the original registers - with the use of an Ultra-Violet lamp if necessary. (One member of the team commented that during the duration of the project, there had been literally hundreds of entries which were illegible in ordinary light, but 95% of these had been picked out clearly under the UV lamp).

The register entries have been compared with the Bishops Transcripts (where these exist), and in some cases the Bishops Transcripts have been used to fill gaps in the original registers. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy.

The County Record Offices, the National Library of Wales and the authorities of the Church in Wales have been extremely co-operative throughout the project.

The project is now complete - up to the year 1813. In some parishes, working parties have been enthusiastically continuing beyond 1813 for some time; and the Society has now decided to try to continue the entire project. The success of this venture will, of course, depend on the willingness and enthusiasm of the volunteers! If you would like to help, please contact the Society.

Transcriptions are available in traditional booklet format and also on microfiche. For a full list of the registers that have been transcribed so far, see the Publication Price List.

If you looking for a particular name or surname, one of our members, Jill Rose, has been working for some years on an index mainly based on the Society's parish register transcriptions. The index can now be accessed on her Clwyd Surnames website. Why not take a look at the index? It could help you to decide which transcriptions to buy!

Download a Bookstall Price List and Order Form

Download a Publication Price List


Other Publications

The Society has published various other datasets, as booklets or on CDs, such as Burial Registers from Local Authority and Non-conformist Cemeteries; Monumental Inscriptions; Marriage Strays; Welsh Wills Proved at Chester; Nonconformist registers for Denbighshire and Flintshire; Wrexham 1841 Census; ...

For a full list, see the Publication Price List for Other Publications.

Download a Publication Price List for Other Publications

Download a Publication Order Form

All Publications are also available to purchase through our on-line supplier - GenFair.

GenFair


Look-up Service

Researchers can request "look-ups" from the Society's published transcriptions of Parish Registers and Monumental Inscriptions; and also from the 1881 Census Indexes for the former county of Clwyd (i.e. largely the historic Denbighshire and Flintshire, plus the Edeirnion district of historic Merionethshire) for individual names.

Inland & European Members, the charge is £2 for up to three lines, £4 for four to six lines, etc..

Overseas members are entitled to ten free lookups in the Parish Register transcriptions and Monumental Inscriptions in each year.

Non-members may also use this service, the charge is £4 for up to three lines, £8 for four to six lines, etc..

The Society is unable to provide an "on-line" service for look-ups; please download a look-up request form, and post, together with a cheque or postal order, to the above address using conventional mail.

Whilst every care will be taken to give accurate information in good faith, the Society cannot be held responsible for any errors made in transcription. Fees are non-refundable, even if no information is found, because time has been spent on the research. In the event of an incorrect fee being received, only the equivalent amount of research will be undertaken.