A genealogy time line to help you with your
English ancestry research.
MEDIEVAL RECORDS
DATE
TITLE OF RECORDS or
ACT
NATURE &
SIGNIFICANCE
1085/6
The Domesday Book
William the Conqueror's great land survey of
England; in effect, the earliest English census (of sorts, as only
tenants-in-chief and their sub-tenants, i.e. the great landowners,
before and after the Conquest, were recorded by name).
1130+
Pipe Rolls
Accounts of Crown revenues rendered by the King's
sheriffs to the Exchequer. Tenants-in-chief can be traced in them.
1182+
Feet of Fines
Judgements of title to land, written three times
on a single scroll, cut in wavy lines to avoid forgery and filed at the
Court of Common Pleas. Early source of surnames.
1199+
Court of Chancery: Charter Rolls, Close Rolls and
Patent Rolls
Records of royal grants of land and rights, to
individuals and corporations, from the reign of King John.
13thC+
Manorial records
The estate manor was the unit of local
administration for centuries after the Norman Conquest. Records cover
the affairs of the manorial courts, which dealt with rights and duties,
disputes and changes of tenancy, etc.
1290-1344 (1524-1546)
Lay Subsidy Rolls
Revived by Henry VIII
Lists of those paying taxes on goods, levied for
a specific purpose like a foreign war. Important source for those
interested in the origins of surnames.
1377-1381
(1641 &
1660-1697)
Poll Tax Returns
Revived under Charles I
and Charles II
A tax per head, first levied under Richard II.
Important for
calculating the population at that time; and
providing early evidence of many surnames.
1483/4
College of Arms founded by Richard III
College has registers of armorial bearings
granted to English and Welsh families from the 15th century to the
present day, with pedigrees of thousands of families.
TUDOR AND STUART RECORDS
c. 16th C+
Ecclesiastical Courts
Dealt with disputes over attendance and behaviour
in church, conduct of parsons, state of the church, immorality, wills,
slander, etc. Nicknamed the Bawdy Courts due to large number of cases
involving fornication and adultery.
c. 16thC+
Quarter Sessions and Assize Courts
Though these were in place in the 14th C., few
records survive from before the late 16th C. Assize courts tried the
most serious crimes - murder, rape, robbery, larceny, arson, etc.
1524-1546
Lay Subsidy Rolls
Medieval tax on moveable goods revived by Henry
VIII. Lists used to calculate population.
1530-1688
Heralds'Visitations
County surveys of claims to arms by Heralds of
the College of Arms. Many have been published.
1538
PARISH REGISTERS
introduced by Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII
Single most important date in English genealogy
(along with civil registration in 1837) when Cromwell ordered each
parish in England and Wales to keep a register of baptisms, marriages
and burials.
1558
Earliest date from which many registers exist
From 1598 it was ordered that every parish should
keep a bound register and older registers (usually on single sheets)
should be copied into it. But many parishes only made their copies from
Elizabeth I's first regnal year.
1598
Bishops' Transcripts introduced
Copies of the registers that had to be sent
annually to the bishop. Invaluable as a backup where the original
registers have gaps, but details can vary, so worth checking both.
1597/1601
EARLIEST POOR LAW ACTS
Care of the poor became the responsibility of the
parish, a system that remained in place until 1834. Large numbers of
records covered by the Poor Laws include relief payments, settlements,
burials, bastardy bonds.
1641/2
Collection for distressed Protestants in Ireland
In March 1641/2 Charles I ordered a collection
from every parish for the relief of English Protestant settlers in
Ireland ousted by the Catholic Irish. Lists include many women and
supplement the Protestation Returns.
1642
Protestation Oath Returns
In 1642 Parliament ordered all males over 18 to
take an oath to defend the "true religion".
1649-1660
Commonwealth Interregnum
Period from the execution of Charles I to the
restoration of Charles II. Many pedigrees enter a "black hole". Civil
registration from 1653 to 1660.
1662-1688
Hearth Tax Returns
(survive only to 1674)
Major source. A tax on number of hearths in a
household, it was a principal source of revenue for Charles II and
James II. Returns valuable in calculating population.
1622+
First English newspaper
A vital source for "putting flesh on the bones"
of family history.
1665/6+
London Gazette
Carries many official notices of appointments,
honours, promotions, business affairs, bankruptcies, etc. Extant today.
1695-1706
Marriage Duty Act
A tax on marriages, births and burials and on
bachelors and widowers.
1696+
Poll Books
Another valuable source. Lists of electors and
how they voted.
RECORDS OF THE LATE STUART and HANOVERIAN
PERIODS
1693-20thC.
Land Tax
Ran for 270 years and was only abolished in 1963.
Few early returns, but from 1780-1832 fairly uniform survival for many
counties.
1696-1851
Window Tax
Replaced the Hearth Tax, but was equally
unpopular and led to people bricking up unwanted windows.
Late 17th C+
Social, trade and commercial directories
First London directory in 1677. Increasingly
published in the 18th and 19th centuries. A major source in later
Victorian times.
1733
Public records anglicised
Until this date, legal documents were in Latin.
1752
CALENDAR CHANGES
Britain switched from the Julian to the Gregorian
calendar, used in Catholic countries since 1582. Eleven days lost in
September to bring the country into line with Europe. Start of the year
changed from March 25th to January 1st.
1754
Hardwicke's Marriage Act
Most significant event since parish registers
were introduced in 1538. A law to prevent clandestine marriages, it
required all marriages to be performed in the Church of England, the
only exceptions allowed being those of Jews and Quakers.
1757+
Militia lists and musters
An extensive variety of military records list
from this date.
1784+
Assessed taxes
A curious assortment of taxes were levied on such
things as shops, servants, horses, carts and wagons - and even hair
powder. Some records survive in county record offices.
1801
First census taken
For statistical reasons only, but a few returns
that give names have survived from 1801-1831.
1832
Reform Act
Gave the franchise to many more people and
introduced electoral registers.
1834
POOR LAW AMENDMENT ACT
Heralded the second period of poor relief in
England and Wales. Scrapped the old parish system and introduced Boards
of Guardians.
VICTORIAN and 20th CENTURY RECORDS
1837
CIVIL REGISTRATION
Introduced into England and Wales on July 1st
1837, under which the state took over responsibility for registration
of all births, marriages and deaths.
1841 +
Census Returns
Census returns from 1841-1901 are the principal
sources, along with BMDs, of the Victorian era.
1858
Wills
The state took over responsibility from the
church for proving wills. Records at the Principal Registry of the
Family Division. Pre-1858 wills dating from the 14th century are
widespread.
1872
Parliamentary elections became secret
Until this date, poll books could reveal how a
person had voted.
1875
Births registration compulsory
Though people were supposed to register births
from the inception of the system, fines weren't imposed for failure
until this date.
1910
Lloyd George's "Domesday"
An Act that imposed a duty on increase in value
of land when sold and created millions of records.
1914-18
WORLD WARS I & II
CD of Soldiers Died in the Great War and records
of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
