West Yorkshire, England, vigslar och lysningar inom den engelska statskyrkan, 1813-1935

This database contains images of Church of England marriage records and banns in registers from parishes in the West Yorkshire area of England.

Parish Records

Before civil registration in England began in 1837, key events in a person’s life were typically recorded by the church rather than the state. Parish records are the best source of vital record information in England before the nineteenth century and remain an important source thereafter.

Marriage Records

The 1753 Marriage Act required that marriages in England and Wales be performed in a church, by bann or license, and recorded in a separate register on printed forms. Thus, after the act took effect in 1754, marriage banns typically list

• bride
• groom
• parish
• dates
• marital status (bachelor, widow, spinsters, etc.)
• occupation

Early records of marriage are similar and include

• bride
• groom
• marriage date
• parish
• witnesses
• who performed marriage
• marital status (possibly)

In 1837, new legislation required that ages, occupation, residence, and fathers’ names and professions be recorded. Marital status was also included. Remember, too, that a marriage bann does not guarantee that the marriage took place. Some marriage records dating from 1859 to 1872 are missing.

Earlier Records

For pre-1813 registers, please see the link provided in the Related Data Collections section.