England, Cornwall, Parish Registers, 1538-2010

What is in This Collection?

This collection contains select baptism, marriage, and burial records from the county of Cornwall for the years 1538-2010. Though the collection primarily contains Anglican records, it also includes some material for nonconformist chapels which were filmed at the Cornwall Record Office at the time of filming Church of England registers. There are also typed transcripts of Society of Friends marriages included for certain areas of the county.

Due to redrawing of diocese boundaries, this collection also contains records from the bordering county of Devon, particularly the perishes of St. Giles on the Heath and Werrington. Until 1876, the Diocese of Exeter covered the counties of Devon and Cornwall on the southwestern peninsula of Great Britain. After 1876, the Diocese of Exeter lost much of its territory to the newly created the Diocese of Truro. Exeter retained most of the county of Devon, and Truro was given the county of Cornwall plus the Devon parishes of Virginstow and St Giles on the Heath.

Parish registers have been kept at the local level across England since the mid-1500s. Due to this long and relatively stable tradition, these records are central to English genealogical research as they are often one of the only sources for finding families and individuals in England before the start of civil registration in 1837.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

For additional details about these records and help using them see England Parish Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Sample Images

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  Christening 1880

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  Marriage 1886

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  Burial 1881