Bedfordshire Church Records

Hierarchy of Bedfordshire Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions
Here is the hierarchy of Church of England jurisdictions for Bedfordshire:


 * Before 1837, the county consisted of 122 parishes, parts of six others (five shared with Hertfordshire and one with Northamptonshire), and three extra-parochial tracks. More parishes were created as the population expanded, especially in the cities. See a list of parishes with links to articles.
 * The parishes are grouped into six deaneries (Bedford, Clapham, Dunstable, Easton, Fleete, and Shefford).
 * The six deaneries constitute the Archdeaconry of Bedford.
 * Before 1837, the archdeaconry was in the Diocese of Lincoln. Since 1837, it has been in the Diocese of Ely.
 * The diocese is included in the Province of Canterbury.

Parish Register Indices
The Bedfordshire Family History Society has produced a CD with a cumulative index to the registers of 130 parishes through 1812 (baptisms, marriages, and burials):.

Transcripts of most Bedfordshire parish registers have been published. Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837 Listed in alphabetical order.

Burials from 159 Bedfordshire places (355,503 entries) are included in the National Burial Index (£). Coverage.

33,515 Bedfordshire entries are included in England &amp; Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906 at Ancestry (£). Formerly known as British Isles Vital Records Index - 2nd Ed. Coverage.

Dustydocs also has Links to Free Genealogical Websites containing Parish Records.

Comparison of parish burial registers to probate records and to census data indicate that approximately 20-30% of burials were not recorded in the registers.

Copies of Records at the Family History Library
Of 154 pre-1900 parishes of Bedfordshire (including city parishes), the Genealogical Society of Utah has filmed the original parish registers for 148, or 96%. This number does not include Bishop’s Transcripts, Archdeacon Transcripts, parish chest material or other transcripts, many of which have also been microfilmed. In the FamilySearch Catalog, do a Place Search for the name of a parish.