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 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 County of Clwyd.

Clwyd FHS members throughout the United Kingdom have now spent twenty 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.

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.

The transcriptions are now available for general sale, either in Booklet format (A4 size), or on Microfiche.