Caring for parish church records

Managing your parish records effectively is important to ensure that information is easily available whenever you need it.

You do not have to keep everything permanently: if you do, it will be difficult to unearth significant information from the mass of records.

If the wrong documents are destroyed, on the other hand, you and your successors will not be able to access information when it is needed.

It is also important to preserve parish records as they are a key source for anyone interested in local and family history.

The church was responsible for many civil functions in the past, such as giving relief to the poor, repairing parish roads, maintaining law and order and collecting local rates.

Churches were also often involved with local charities and schools, as indeed many still are today.

Documents relating to all these functions may survive in parish collections.

Church records of all dates also contain information about church services, the church fabric and church lands and property, which may be of great value to researchers both now and in the future.

• Registers and other records which are to be retained permanently should be written on good quality paper and in long-lasting ink. Registrar's ink, which the registrar requires for marriage registers, is also recommended for use in other registers: it is available from Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies (opens new window).
• Never use felt-tip or ball-point pens, which will fade and may stain or spread, especially in damp conditions.
• You can keep typed or computer-printed minutes in a loose-leaf folder, but ensure every page is dated and numbered so it is clear whether all the pages for a particular meeting are present.
• It is best not to stick typewritten copies into bound volumes. The additional bulk distorts and damages bindings, while glues and adhesive tape can also cause damage.
• Avoid using metal staples and paperclips (which may rust), rubber bands (which will perish and stick to paper), adhesive notes, self-adhesive tape or other modern contact adhesives.
• Any records which are to be preserved permanently are generally best stored as printed copies rather than as digital media (such as DVDs, hard drives or memory cards). This is because the longevity of such media is uncertain. Electronic records may become corrupted and software may become obsolete over time.
• It is best to print a copy of any document that is to be permanently preserved as soon as the final version has been created. Use good quality paper and, if possible, use a laser printer rather than an ink-jet printer. The ink in laser printers is generally more stable and less vulnerable to 'running' if paper gets damp.

• Rapid changes in temperature and humidity will damage documents over time. Damp conditions will encourage the growth of mould. The best place to store documents is somewhere cool, dry and well-ventilated, with a stable temperature and relative humidity.
• Avoid keeping documents near a direct heat source (such as radiators) or in direct sunlight. Photographs are especially vulnerable to damage from light.
• Dust, dirt, vermin and insects cause damage so try to minimise these risks. Keep documents away from other hazards too, such as communion wine and candles.
• Make sure that documents are loosely packed to avoid damage and to allow air to circulate as freely as possible. They should not be in direct contact with metal, concrete, stone, brick or plaster.
• The safe or other container in which documents are stored should, if possible, be raised off the floor in case of flooding.
• Place loose papers in good-quality folders or envelopes, but take care that gum on the latter cannot stick to their contents or to any other documents.
• Tie bundles of papers with unbleached linen tape. String tends to cut through papers.
• Documents should never be kept in plastic bags, nor should volumes be covered with self-adhesive plastic.
• If you wish to display any of your documents in the church, it is always best to exhibit a copy rather than the original. Documents (and photographs in particular) are very vulnerable to damage from light, which causes fading and photochemical deterioration of paper.

Please contact our conservation staff if you would like more detailed advice on the care and storage of your records.

The conservators also keep a list of suppliers of archive-quality stationery, such as envelopes, folders and photographic sleeves.

Damaged documents

Do not attempt to repair these, especially with modern contact adhesive tape or glues. Seek our advice urgently in the case of fire or flooding.

The nature and quantity of records varies greatly from parish to parish.

This makes it difficult to lay down hard and fast rules as to which documents should be kept and which may be destroyed.

Please contact us for advice if you are in any doubt.

Records which should be preserved

• Registers of baptisms, marriages, burials, banns and confirmations
• Registers of services
• Orders of service for special services held at the church (one copy of each)
• Documents relating to property, such as title deeds, terriers, maps and plans
• Documents relating to the church fabric, especially:
  • Major restorations and alterations, including quinquennial survey reports
  • Church log books
  • Faculties
  • Specifications
  • Plans
  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
• Papers concerning special parish projects
• Papers regarding benefactions
• Papers relating to legal rights and duties and to disputes
• Union of benefice papers, plurality orders and pastoral schemes and orders
• Parish profiles, compiled during vacancies in benefices
• Vestry minutes
• Parochial Church Council minutes, detailed agenda and reports
• Parochial Church Council account books and annual statements of account
• Churchwardens' accounts
• Records of the Overseers of the Poor (including overseers' accounts, rate books, apprenticeship indentures, bastardy papers and settlement papers)
• Records of the surveyors of the highway
• Records of the parish constables
• Records of local charities
• Records of local schools
• Parish magazines, church guides, and publicity material produced by the parish (one copy of each issue)
• Minutes, accounts, etc of auxiliary organisations, such as the choir, bellringers, Mothers' Union, Sunday School

For legal reasons, all financial records should be retained for seven years.

Records which can be destroyed

These documents can be disposed of when no longer needed for administrative purposes.

• Marriage and baptism certificate counterfoils
• Banns, burial and disposal certificates
• Baptism and banns applications
• Parochial Church Council cash books, paying-in books, bank statements, bills, used cheques and other subsidiary financial records
• Correspondence regarding routine parish administration and routine financial matters
• Insurance policies
• Circular letters sent out by other organisations

The Bishop of Norwich has designated the NRO as the Diocesan Record Office for the deposit of parish records in the Diocese of Norwich.

Similarly, the Bishop of Ely has appointed us as the place of deposit for parish records in the deanery of Fincham and Feltwell.

The Parochial Registers and Records Measure (opens new window), passed by the General Synod in 1978 (amended 1993), requires the following to be deposited with the Diocesan Record Office:

• All parish records more than 100 years old
• All registers starting 150 or more years ago (with the exception of marriage registers from July 1837 onwards)

Such records may be retained in the parish only if the Bishop grants special permission.

Baptism, burial and banns registers, begun 150 or more years ago, should be closed and new register books purchased.

It is also best to replace any marriage registers which were started more than 150 years ago and are still in use.

You should take both copies of the marriage register to your local superintendent registrar, who will supply new marriage registers free of charge and arrange the official closure of the old registers.

They will return one copy of the register to be kept with the parish records. We advise that you deposit this copy with us for safekeeping.

You may deposit records that are not in current use (however recent in date) at the NRO. Please contact us to make an appointment to transfer the records.

We will give you a receipt for the records, and in due course an archivist will catalogue them. We make no charge for looking after documents, which remain the property of the parish.

Documents are stored securely in our temperature and humidity controlled repository, which is fitted with an automatic fire protection system and meets the relevant British standards.

See our guide Adding to Norfolk's archives for more information on transferring documents.

Catalogue descriptions of parish records held by the NRO are available via our online service NROCAT (opens new window).

To see the list of records for your parish, go to NROCAT's welcome page, choose Church of England parishes from the Category Searches drop-down menu and select your parish name from the list.

Members of the public can consult the records (or microfilm copies of them) free of charge in our professionally-supervised searchroom.

Exceptions are documents which are deemed to be unfit for production (ie, which may be damaged by handling) and any confidential material which has been closed to public access for a specified period.

Such documents will not be produced to the public.

Exhibitions

We can provide churches with small exhibitions of their documents for special events, in accordance with the Parochial Registers and Records Measure.

Please contact us if you would like any further advice or information.

The Church of England Record Centre's leaflet Keep or Bin...? The Care of your Parish Records (opens new window), gives advice on creating and storing records. It also suggests retention guidelines for different classes of documents.