Availability of Parish Registers

[DmTomo]

The "authorities" are quoted as being the reason for records being unavailable by Findmypast and I have seen it on other websites too. 

I was trying to find any legal reason anyone might have for withholding records.  I am not sure how a church's incumbent could claim copyright on documents created by someone else before they were born. I do think that they are public records which should be available to all.

[stanmapstone]

I know of at least one CoE church where ALL registers are retained, and you are not allowed to view them yourselves. They charge £19 for them searching for first hour (including issue of a copy of any entry found) and £16 per hour after that. 

Those are the old fees and not the latest 2015 2016 ones, that I posted. I understand that all non-current registers and records which are over 100 year old must be deposited in the Diocesan Record Office.

Stan


Stan

[jaybelnz]

At this stage of my life, that is actually being alive, I certainly wouldn't be very happy if my marriage - and divorce details - were available to the public without proper and thorough legal authentication. (The divorce details were obviously added by the authorities at the time of the divorce). We are living in an era of Identity Theft, and I believe we need to be very conscious of that fact. There are six people fully named on my marriage cert, and with addresses, mine, my husband, and both sets of parents.

I actually don't believe Parish Records under 100 years should be publically online either!  Much as I would like them to be!  😃

[Blue70]

The most recent record I've got is a photo taken from an original baptism register from 1970. The original register is in the record office. The church is still open and there was no access problem. I can understand the reluctance of churches or whoever to have more recent records online. I don't think it should be that easy to find background details of living people for privacy reasons.


Blue

[dawnsh]

I know of at least one CoE church where ALL registers are retained, and you are not allowed to view them yourselves. They charge £19 for them searching for first hour (including issue of a copy of any entry found) and £16 per hour after that. 

Those are the old fees and not the latest 2015 ones, that I posted. I understand that all non-current registers and records which are over 100 year old must be deposited in the Diocesan Record Office.

Stan


Stan

except for St Mary Abbots Kensington


http://smanews.weebly.com/contacts.html

[stanmapstone]

I am not sure how a church's incumbent could claim copyright on documents created by someone else before they were born. I do think that they are public records which should be available to all.

The register books referred to in subsection (1) above shall be provided by, and shall be deemed to belong to, the parochial church council of the parish. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/1978/2

Stan

[ReadyDale]

I know of at least one CoE church where ALL registers are retained, and you are not allowed to view them yourselves. They charge £19 for them searching for first hour (including issue of a copy of any entry found) and £16 per hour after that. 

Those are the old fees and not the latest 2015 ones, that I posted. I understand that all non-current registers and records which are over 100 year old must be deposited in the Diocesan Record Office.

Stan


Stan

except for St Mary Abbots Kensington


http://smanews.weebly.com/contacts.html

That was who I was thinking of Dawn (except I found the page with the old fees).

[stanmapstone]

except for St Mary Abbots Kensington
http://smanews.weebly.com/contacts.html

They  say The basic statuary fee of £28 covers the first hours search and one copy of an entry if found. Any additional time is charged at £28 per hour/part of hour.  They are the fees for 2015, the table I posted before is for 2016, my mistake.

Stan

[Archivos]

The "authorities" are quoted as being the reason for records being unavailable by Findmypast and I have seen it on other websites too. 

I was trying to find any legal reason anyone might have for withholding records.  I am not sure how a church's incumbent could claim copyright on documents created by someone else before they were born. I do think that they are public records which should be available to all.

Legal reasons can mean that there's legislation preventing them from being published, such as the Data Protection Act.  It is a hugely complex piece of legislation which places an enormous amount of responsibility on the data controller, whether or not they created the record.  The fines involved for breaching the act are massive, and not something you'd want against you.  The same goes for breaches of copyright, and note that under that legislation it is the individual who breaks the law who is fined regardless of the organisation they work for.

While some records are available to the public, that's not the same as them being a public record.