Transcribing recent records

[Salvia]

I do a bit of transcribing for a well known website.  The last batch I downloaded was entitled  'UK Derbyshire Church of England Parish Records 1538-1910'.  When it appeared it was marriage register entries for 1973-4.  Now I got married in 1973 but would not be happy if all the details were available to all.  I emailed the site and they said "the names will not be published until the privacy laws of Great Britain are met".  I would be interested to hear others' views on the subject and what is the legal situation now?

Salvia

[LizzieW]

Your marriage record is available to anyone who wants to pay £9.25 to GRO to order a copy.  Of course they'd have to know your name and approximately when you married to find the reference number.  Births and Deaths up to 2006 are available to search on line, and marriages up to 2005.

Lizzie

[Salvia]

Yes, but its one thing having the index online but not the whole register entry.  And these are the church records, not the GRO.

[LizzieW]

The GRO record anyone can buy is just a copy of the church record. 

It will give your name and age, your husband's name and age, your occupations, your marital status, i.e. single, divorced etc. your address at the time of marriage and your father's name and occupation.  Also the name of the vicar who married you and the names of the witnesses who signed the register.

Lizzie

[GrahamSimons]

Surely a marriage is a public event - from which Joe Public can't be excluded [ I remember a door being very firmly left open]? So the record of the event is also public?

[stanmapstone]

The public must have unrestricted access to the building during any marriage ceremony to allow for valid objections against the marriage to be given. Every incumbent who has marriage registers in their custody must allow searches to be made "at all reasonable hours" under the provisions of the Marriage Act 1949. The Act also allows the issue of a certificate of any entry in the register, which must be a complete copy of the original entry.

Stan

[JenB]

When it appeared it was marriage register entries for 1973-4.  Now I got married in 1973 but would not be happy if all the details were available to all. 

I can very easily view many full church marriage register entries for 1973 on microfilm at my local record office, as can anyone else who wishes. As far as I'm aware there is no resitriction on viewing them or taking copies.

[stanmapstone]

Under the Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978, any person who has the custody of any register books belonging to a parish in a diocese, may, with the consent of the parochial church council of the parish, deposit any of those books or records, except a register book in use  in the diocesan record office for the diocese. This is usualy the local record office.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/1978/2?view=plain

Stan

[Sloe Gin]

I've got a CD of parish registers for a particular village (transcribed by the county FHS and on general sale) where the marriages go up to 2006.   

I'm not sure what they mean by "the privacy laws of Great Britain".  Surely there's no such thing?  Are there any laws at all that cover England, Scotland and Wales (but not Northern Ireland)?