English certificates?
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Anniespangles
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:43 am
English certificates?
Is there anyway of viewing the English BDM certificates online in a similar fashion to Scotlands People?I have 2 certificates I wish to see but one of them might not before the right people and I don't want to waste money buying unrelated folks marriage certificates.Any advice? Thanks
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arthurk
Re: English certificates?
The short answer is no, since the only way to see an official English BMD certificate is to order a copy. However, for some parts of the country there are ways round this.
For example, Ancestry have copies (images) of Church of England parish registers for many London parishes, and for the current (post-1974) county of West Yorkshire (and some Yorkshire non-conformist ones as well). I think they have some Lancashire ones too. If your ancestors were from the Medway towns area of Kent you might find the marriage on their CityArk site. And there are probably other sites too - some with transcriptions, some with indexes etc.
If you can tell us what place(s) and date(s) you're interested in, someone might be able to give you a more definite answer.
And if you do need to order a certificate, if you can get it from a local register office rather than the GRO, you can specify information which must match up - and if they can't find the right one, you should get your money back.
Arthur
For example, Ancestry have copies (images) of Church of England parish registers for many London parishes, and for the current (post-1974) county of West Yorkshire (and some Yorkshire non-conformist ones as well). I think they have some Lancashire ones too. If your ancestors were from the Medway towns area of Kent you might find the marriage on their CityArk site. And there are probably other sites too - some with transcriptions, some with indexes etc.
If you can tell us what place(s) and date(s) you're interested in, someone might be able to give you a more definite answer.
And if you do need to order a certificate, if you can get it from a local register office rather than the GRO, you can specify information which must match up - and if they can't find the right one, you should get your money back.
Arthur
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trish1
- Posts: 1320
- Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:38 am
- Location: australia
Re: English certificates?
Dorset marriages are also covered on Ancestry - and there may well be others. There are also some free to use sites - e.g. for cornwell http://www.cornwall-opc.org/index.htm
As Arthur mentioned - if you provide some information - perhaps county and dates if not names, there may be information available.
It is possible to get refunds through GRO if you provide information - that is not matched on your application. I don't know much about this - they used to charge only 50% if there was a mismatch - but I think it was determined that they did not have a law to cover this - so they increased prices and changed the procedure a few years ago
"Q5. Will I receive a refund if my application is unsuccessful?
GRO will provide a full refund if the application is unsuccessful. A refund will be made directly to your credit/debit card account via the Worldpay payment service provider. A letter or e-mail of explanation will also be sent to you. Please do not contact the General Register Office to enquire about any refund made until you have received and read this letter/email."
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certi ... ilyHistory
I think the application allows you to quote father's name and/or age (not on all certificates so a doubtful match) and/or other items to match.
Trish
As Arthur mentioned - if you provide some information - perhaps county and dates if not names, there may be information available.
It is possible to get refunds through GRO if you provide information - that is not matched on your application. I don't know much about this - they used to charge only 50% if there was a mismatch - but I think it was determined that they did not have a law to cover this - so they increased prices and changed the procedure a few years ago
"Q5. Will I receive a refund if my application is unsuccessful?
GRO will provide a full refund if the application is unsuccessful. A refund will be made directly to your credit/debit card account via the Worldpay payment service provider. A letter or e-mail of explanation will also be sent to you. Please do not contact the General Register Office to enquire about any refund made until you have received and read this letter/email."
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certi ... ilyHistory
I think the application allows you to quote father's name and/or age (not on all certificates so a doubtful match) and/or other items to match.
Trish