London Parish Records Go Online

The news that History is falling by the wayside in schools is a strange one considering the lust for knowledge elsewhere. Ancestry.co.uk have stepped up the available genealogy information by putting online all London parish records since 1538, when Henry VIII's (sometime) right hand man Thomas Cromwell instituted the parish register system. Alright, you have to pay for access, but what a mine of information for researchers! Baptisms, marriages, burials and deaths are all there - covering the great plague and cholera outbreaks and starkly bringing home the pathetic average life expectancies c1850 - really not that long ago, when you think about it. If you enjoyed looking at old Londoners' bones last year, we bet your searching fingers are itching right now. (Image / Joe Dunckley)