Genealogy Chat

3 wedding certs arrived today - dead on time from GRO! If your relatives married in a Register Office rather than a church, is it likely the lady (or not!) was expecting? The other 2 I needed to prove my gg grandmother married the 2 chaps I suspected (and she did) but for both they just say Bradford Parish Church. Surely there would have been more than 1 Parish Church in Bradford? Thanks Debby

Bradford Parish Church probably refers to the oldest church in Bradford, the main one that has served the community for the longest. For example, there are several churches in Gillingham when my gg grandparents married in 1881, however the married at 'Gillingham Parish Church' which was the eldest church there, St Mary's (have looked up the records are the local records centre).

Brides were quite often pregnant, even those that married in church. If its a register office wedding, it might mean a) the couple have left it too late to have banns called - my gt gt grandparents married just under 3 weeks before their baby was born. or possibly the local vicar might have protested. But another reason is if the couple are of different faiths. My husband's gt grandparents married in a register office as one was Christian and the other Jewish. nell

My G Grandparents married in a register office. His parents didn't like his choice of bride so I guess the Reggie was the easiest option.

Thanks Just a little disappointed not to see a 'named' church on any of the 3! Debby

Debbie Go to LDS site, then into Library, type Bradford in search box and you should get a list of Churches in the area. The Parish Church will be the one with the oldest records. Hope this helps Marjorie

That's what I was saying in the first place!!! Gawd! Doesn't anyone ever listen to me? Chloe x

Marjorie Thank you for your help - I've checked it out on LDS and there's 117 listed - one does say Bradford Parish Church. That doesn't tell me where the church was - a lot of the others say which part of Bradford) and I assumed as she came from Idle (as did both her husbands) that it would have been the church in Idle which isn't mentioned in the list. Chloe Sorry if I annoyed you but we're not all experts on here and I wasn't sure where to look for the info. Debby

Debby I agree its annoying - I've had difficulty finding out which is the parish church in various bits of London - much easier in a small village where there is only one church! I've tried googling and its no help. I would suggest you ring Bradford central library and see if they can help. nell

Thanks Nell It's my Harriet again - she's becoming the bane of my life that woman! Debby

Chloe dear - you didn't mention the LDS website in your posting!!! Marjorie

Debby Marjorie's done a thread just for you! nell

Bradford Parish Church, dedicated to St Peter, is now the Cathedral. The ancient parishes in the West Riding covered vast areas. Frequently the places around the main centre were served by Chapelries within the Parish, rather than having separate Parishes as in other parts of the Country. There were six historic Chapelries in the Bradford Parish, which did not always have separate registers. These vast Parishes were subdivided in the 19th century as the population grew, and the Chapelries generally became independent Parishes as well. Stan

Thanks all for the input - I'm now a little wiser! Debby